“Why?”
“Because I stabbed him almost three months ago. I didn’t know he was alive until Saragossa told me he’d been at the synod.”
“Why did you stab him?”
Brigitte looks away. I’ve never seen her uncomfortable like this before.
“He wanted to eat me,” she says, shrugging. “Teddy is a ghoul. He eats the dead but he’d never eaten a revenant. Though I wasn’t a real zombie, I was as close as was left in the world and he wanted me. I thought I killed him.”
“Amanda said Teddy had been mugged. It’s what he must have told people. Does anyone else know about this?”
“I don’t think so.”
I flash on the ragged kids in the Tenebrae. So scared they form gangs and avoid other ghosts. I see their knife slashes and crescent-moon wounds. Bite marks.
I get up and feel my ribs. The armor saved me but something wet inside is sloshing against something else and it’s hard to breathe. That’s okay. Teddy doesn’t look like a sprinter. If he runs, I’ll take his little golf cart and chase him around the graveyards until his heart explodes.
“I’ll come with you,” says Brigitte. “I’ve felt dead inside and I thought it was the bite. It wasn’t. It was losing the hunt. When you killed off all the undead, my life lost meaning. Now, fighting again, I feel alive. Let me come with you and we’ll kill Teddy together.”
Sure. Candy wouldn’t mind the woman who kissed me in the bar tagging along. Maybe they can have some girl talk about shoes on the way to Malibu.
“If you want back in the game, that’s fine by me. But Teddy I can handle. I need you to get these idiots somewhere safe. If Aelita comes back, I don’t want her taking the royal assholes hostage.”
She nods.
“Just makes sure Teddy dies this time.”
“That I can promise. I’m cutting him into little pieces and burying him with the Imp. Let’s see how they enjoy each other in the Tenebrae.”
I look back at Blackburn.
“I’m sorry about your wife’s soul. I don’t know what to do about it, but if I come up with anything, I’ll let you know.”
He nods and puts his arm around her shoulders.
Pain is pain and even the rich and powerful get shafted sometimes. I want to hate Blackburn but I can’t. He’s too pathetic and his wife is too fucked up for that. But a part of me still wants to take his head. He let all those people die. He let Patty die. The Sandman Slim part of me that killed dozens of high families wants to cut a piece of revenge out of his hide. But this isn’t Hell and I’m not Sandman Slim full-time any more than I’m full-time Lucifer. I’ll stick to the Teddys of the world. The sure-thing monsters. That’s a judgment call I can make. A monster knows another monster and a real monster knows which ones need to die.
Candy gets out of the car when she sees me. I’m breathing better but walking slow.
“What happened in there?”
“I forgot to tip the maid and she short-sheeted the bed.”
“You realize you’re covered in blood?”
I look down at my shirt and armor. I’m a mess. If I wasn’t me, I’d probably be alarmed.
“Don’t worry. It’s mostly Cairo’s.”
“You’re holding your side.”
“I got nipped a couple of times but I’m fine. Just sore.”
She opens the Metro’s door.
“Get in the damn car. We’re going to the clinic.”
I shake my head.