The Kill Society (Sandman Slim)(87)

“Now who’s being an asshole?”

“Tough. I’m staying.”

“You’re a warrior now. You can’t do that from here.”

“Which is why you should come with me.”

“I can’t.”

“Please be quiet, both of you,” says Vehuel. “I don’t know how Heaven could ever stand the two of you at the same time. But I know it must.”

I get up.

“My mind is made up.”

“So is mine,” says Alice.

Vehuel says, “Might I point out something to you both.”

“Go for it.”

“The Lux Occisor must be returned to Heaven.”

“Why? It’s a fake,” I say.

“But few know the truth and that’s how it must remain. Angels on both sides of the conflict will rethink their positions when they learn that God has recaptured his thunderbolt sword.”

“Fucking hell. I can’t even begin to count up the lies I’ve heard since Samael dumped me back down here. I’ll tell you one thing, even when he was Lucifer, he didn’t lie the way other angels and Mr. Muninn do.”

“Cry, gnash your teeth, and rend your garments all you want, little Abomination. The sword must be returned. If you don’t do it, then Alice must, and one wrong touch could kill her. Are you really so stubborn that you’d risk her life?”

I look at Traven.

“You’re smart. Isn’t there something in your books about this? Some kind of magic Saran Wrap or doggie bag we can put it in?”

“I’m afraid I’m out of magic doggie bags.”

Alice is giving me that look she used to give me back in L.A. The one that says, You know you have to go to the dentist. You know you’re going to the dentist. Why are you screwing around about it and making it a hundred times worse? And she was always right. Not wanting to do something isn’t the same as knowing you’re not going to do it. Fair isn’t an option in this universe.

On the other hand, blackmail is.

“I’ll go under one condition.”

“What’s that?” says Vehuel.

“Traven and what’s left of the dog pack get to come, too.”

“What’s the dog pack?” says Wanuri.

“It’s what I called all of you behind your backs.”

“Charming.”

“Don’t ruin your chance for Heaven by making ridiculous demands,” says Traven. “We’ll find our way back to Pandemonium and join the other refugees.”

“I accept your offer,” says Vehuel.

“Really?” Traven says. “Well. Thank God for ridiculous demands.”

“Wait—did you just extort our way into Heaven?” says Wanuri.

“Yeah,” I say. “You, Traven, Daja, Doris, and Gisco. But it has to be your choice. You can stay if you want.”

“Fuck that. I’m not going to crawl around in shit forever when I can have wings and armor like her,” she says, turning to Alice. “I want a flaming sword to hurt some bastards.”

“The right bastards,” says Alice.

“Of course.”

“Just making sure.”

I look at the others.

“What about the rest of you?”

They nod and grunt affirmatives.

“Can I bring my knives?” says Doris.

“You should probably leave those,” Alice says.

“I was afraid so.” She takes them off one by one and tosses them into the road.

Gisco grunts something.

“Yes. They can fix your leg,” says Alice. “That’s one of the archangel Raphael’s specialties.”

That gets an enthusiastic nod.

“What about the rest of the havoc?” says Daja.

I look over at the remains of the messiah’s terror squad. They don’t look so scary now with no vehicles or food or water. And there’s a lot fewer of them than when I joined the show.

“Which way is Pandemonium?” I ask Vehuel.

“Due east.”

I point east and shout, “Go that way. There’s food and water in Pandemonium. Then head south. You’ll find other souls there. Sooner or later, Heaven’s gates will open. You don’t want to miss it.”

Just a few leave at first. Then small groups, and finally the rest, start the long walk east. Cherry stands there like maybe I’ll tell her our conversation was a joke. She’s a wreck and always has been. I can forgive her a lot, but not Wormwood. Finally, she gets the idea and follows the others.

“That’s taken care of. Now I guess we grab the Light Killer.”

“Every scrap and splinter. Leave nothing behind,” says Vehuel.

“Getting barked at by angels. Heaven is going to be fun.”

We spend the next half hour scraping up pieces of the sword from the flatbed and the road. We wrap everything in a moldy curtain Daja grabs from one of the abandoned houses. All except one little pinkie-size piece that we almost missed. I stick that in my pocket. After one last look around, I take the heap to Vehuel.

“That’s it. Let’s get going before you make us sweep up the whole Tenebrae.”

“I don’t think she’s going anywhere,” says Alice.