“Sure,” Alicia said. “No street shoes on the gym floors, blah blah blah.” She smiled and the girl smiled back, and then we were off through the gym like we’d actually come here to work out.
No reason to do that. Our bodies weren’t going to change. We walked past a locker room, and I caught a whiff of chlorine. “They have a pool?” I asked.
Alicia shrugged. “Abena likes to swim. After hours, of course. She put that thing in sometime in the eighties. It’s actually a big membership draw.”
Alicia led us through a door marked "maintenance only" and down a flight of dark stairs. Movie-theater lights lined the floor, and we switch-backed lower and lower.
As we descended, I couldn’t help but wonder if those were the last people I was ever going to smell, the last city lights I was ever going to see.
I was still mourning food, the sun, my own body chemistry. I wasn’t ready to die—not at Vance’s hand, or the Old Ones’.
I could feel two corpses up ahead, but I assumed that anyone powerful enough to run the west coast had to be invisible to me. We reached a landing, and Alicia knocked three times on a metal door. A window in the door slid open, and a male face appeared.
Alicia flashed her membership card at him again. “We’re here to see the Old Ones,” she said. “I imagine they’re expecting us by now.”
They would have felt us coming, same as Thorpe. I couldn’t sneak up on them if my life depended on it.
Hopefully this time it didn’t.
The door opened, but the corpse still stood in front of it. “They’re expecting them,” he said, pointing at me and then at Jack. “I’m supposed to let them in alone.”
Alicia chewed on her lip. “I’ll wait for you here, then.”
I looked at her, meeting her worried eyes, trying to appear braver than I was. This was no careful calculation, no brilliant plan.
This was desperation, a shot in the dark.
“Thank you,” I said.
She opened her mouth and hesitated, like she wasn’t sure whether to say you’re welcome or I’m sorry.
“Good luck,” she said finally.
I paused, and for a split second, I thought I might change my mind, go back up the endless stairs and through the city of Los Angeles and out to the ocean where I would dive under the water and swim way, way out and see what happened to a corpse adrift at sea.
I bet Vance wouldn’t find me there.
I reached for Jack’s hand and squeezed it.
And then the corpse led us through the door and shut Alicia on the other side.
This was it. No going back.
Eighteen
Jack held my hand tight as we followed the corpse through hallways, also lined with little bright dots so we could see where to step. A bright light appeared down the way, and we approached a room with a candelabra chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a yellow light. The temperature seemed to drop as I entered, as if the room were more than empty—a void where all energy slowed to a stop.
There, at a round wooden table, sat three corpses, their skin shriveled like raisins. Their flesh sunk in around their eyes and hung loose on their bones.
The corpse in the center leaned forward, long black braids swinging onto the table in front of her, weighed down by thick glass beads. Her skin was so thin that it looked like brown bottle glass.
The corpse to her left was much taller, and still had a handful of hair on his wrinkled head. He wore a tuxedo, black bow tie tight at his neck. His chin bore what might have been a beard, if it hadn’t grown thin and patchy.
The last one looked like an undead member of the Hell’s Angels, or maybe just the zombie who stole their biker leathers. He grinned. “Aren’t you a tender morsel?” he said. As he talked, the skin on his jaw jiggled, like it was about to fall free of his face.
It wasn’t until his eyes shifted to me that I realized he’d been talking to Jack.
The corpse in the tux leaned forward. “What Minas means to say is, welcome to our city.” His voice sounded hoarse, as if he were recovering from laryngitis. “We’ve been expecting you.”
To think in junior high I wanted to be popular. Now I wished no one would notice me again for the rest of my unlife.
“Have a seat,” Braids said. Her voice sounded young and sweet, despite her appearance.
Two chairs sat across the table from them. Jack pulled one out for me and then took the one beside it. I sat on the edge of the chair, resting my hands on the table in front of them to keep them from shaking.
Jack went back to hyper-extending his fingers under the table.
He must be as nervous as I was.
“Why a gym?” I asked. My words were casual, but my voice shook. Though they didn’t react, I knew the corpses must have noticed. Perhaps that was good. Frightened people were less imposing.
“It’s good business,” Tux said.
“This isn’t the dark ages,” Leather said. “There are some things about those days I miss, but not the economics. I wouldn’t give up capitalism for all the serf flesh in Europe.”
“But you didn’t come here to talk about our business ventures,” Tux said.
Leather waved a hand at me. “Get on with it. We’re busy people. We don’t have all night.”
I wanted to ask what else they had on their schedule, but thought better of it. I leaned back in my chair. From this angle, I got a good, long look at their teeth. Tux’s were perfect, though they were nearly translucent. Leather’s teeth were chipped and horribly yellowed, and Braids’ teeth were stained a deep red. I made a mental note to buy a tooth whitening kit.
“We need help,” I said. “Vance is after us.” It seemed impossible that they wouldn’t know who Vance was, so I wasn’t sure what I needed to explain.
“Ah, Vance,” Tux said. “He’s angry. Even more angry than when the last one escaped.”
I sat up straight in my chair. “You talked to him?” I asked. Vance said corpse bosses the world over would send me back to him. And I’d walked right into their den.
Braids shook her head. “Barnabas can detect him.”
I stiffened. Could he be that close? “Where is he?”
Tux cocked his head a bit. “Mountains,” he said. “Near the center of his territory.”
That would be the Wasatch Mountains. Probably still in Salt Lake. “And you can sense him all the way there?”
Braids smiled. “He can see them all,” she said. “There is nowhere in the world to hide from him.”
I felt nauseated. Vance said he could sense all of the Salt Lake Valley, Delia could cover Vegas, and who knew how many more puppets he had.
But the world?
“That’s awesome,” Jack said.
Ah, flattery. I should have thought of that.
But when I looked over at Jack, I was startled to see that he actually did seem awed.
He couldn’t possibly think of this as a good thing. There would be no running from someone like that. “Can Vance do that?” I asked.
“Vance is an infant,” Tux said. “Barely a century old. He doesn’t have that kind of power.”
If they did, I wasn’t sure how Vance had stood against them. “You’ve been able to sense me, then. All the time, ever since Vance turned me.”
Tux shrugged. “I watch so many wretched souls,” he said. “I was aware Vance had spawned another of his projects, but I learned little of you personally.”
Still. The idea that someone so powerful had known about what was happening and had done nothing . . . not even cared to learn enough to help . . . well, it was sickening. “That’s what I am to you then? His project?”
“We’ve been aware of it for some time now,” Tux said. “He turns young girls, until he finds ones who inherit the desirable traits.”
“That’s sick,” Jack said. “We can all agree that’s sick, right?”
The Old Ones just stared at him. Jack no longer looked impressed.
“It is sick,” I said. “H
e tortures us until we’re broken enough to manipulate.” I looked at Tux. “How many of us are there?”
“His failures are dead,” Tux said. “But there have been a few successes. They watch other parts of his territory. His political power has grown faster than his senses.”
Leather’s gaze sharpened on Jack. “He always kills the males immediately.”
“We left,” I said. “We got away.”
“For a while,” Leather said.
I shivered. “He’s not going to leave us alone, is he?”
“Not likely,” Braids said. “The more of his people get away, the more his reputation will suffer. And he’s not fond of leaving people alone who might someday be able to challenge him.”
“What about Thorpe?” Jack asked. “You protect him?”
“We tolerate him,” Tux said. “He protects himself.”
“For now,” Leather said again. “Vance isn’t powerful enough to tangle with us. Yet.”
Yet. “And what? You’re just going to wait around until he is?”
“Vance is no business of ours,” Braids said.
“Why not?” I asked. “He could be a threat to you.” He certainly would be, with his corpse serum. But if I told them about that, they might make Thorpe hand it over.
I couldn’t let that happen. Not when it was our only defense against whichever corpse lord came after us next.
Tux shrugged. “If we push into Vance’s territory, we’ll look aggressive. Lords of other areas will wonder if they’re next. The risk outweighs the reward.”
I stared at them. This time being told I didn’t matter didn’t feel safe at all.
There was silence for a moment, and then Jack leaned his elbows on the table.
“What are you?” he asked.
It was a legitimate question. Unless they looked like this before they died, their bodies shouldn’t be decaying this way. And it would keep the conversation going, hopefully long enough for me to figure out how to convince them.
Leather’s smile widened. “You mean why do we look like we stepped out of the grave? Most people are too polite to ask. I like you.”
Jack didn’t look put off by the hungry way Leather eyed him, but he should have been.
“Regeneration doesn’t last forever,” Braids said. “Eventually, even your undead body begins to fail, though few survive long enough to see it.”
“How old are you?” Jack said. “Is that rude to ask?”
“It’s not rude to ask a corpse his age,” Leather said. “But it’s foolish to believe the answer.”
“I’ve stopped counting,” Braids said.
Leather pointed at Tux. “He claims he was an adviser to Herod.”
“Herod,” I said. “The baby-killer in the Bible?”
Tux smirked. “Hindsight is twenty-twenty.” He stretched, lifting his arms above his head and arching his back. His hands dipped farther behind his back than was natural. “I miss the old days. In my prime, no one cared if a few outcasts disappeared. Good riddance, they’d think, and I’d have a meaty meal. All this sanitized blood extraction spoils my appetite.”
Leather waved his hands in the air. “The things liberal guilt has done to the blood supply.”
I wasn’t sure these creatures were capable of feeling guilt. Had they always been that way, or did it come with age?
Regardless, we needed to get to the point. And I wasn’t above trying outright begging. “Please,” I said. “We need your protection. You have to help us.”
Braids took one of her locks in her hand, twisting the bead around and around.
“Ah,” Leather said. “Frightened little mouse is looking for the cats to protect her.” He smiled wider. The yellow of his teeth darkened to a deep mustard on his bicuspids.
I scratched my nails against the bottom of the table. Maybe Alicia was right. I never should have come here.
“So that’s what you do with your power?” Jack asked. “Sit on your asses and let some infant run the show? Let him torment people just because they’re weaker or more vulnerable than he is?”
All three of them stared at him in silence again, and while there was a strong chance he was about to get us killed, it was a fair accusation.
“If you won’t protect us,” I said, “there’s nowhere for us to go.” I supposed we could try to work a casket scheme of our own, but it would require forgery, licensure, and connections neither of us had.
And if we made it into another territory, likely as not, the local corpse lords would see us as a threat, and kill us.
Jack was looking at them sharply, now. Accusatorily, in fact.
At least he hadn’t been seduced by his own awe. I needed him on my side.
“You understand the problem you pose,” Tux said. “You must be aware that you’re not a normal corpse. You’re much more dangerous than that.”
“But you tolerate Thorpe,” I said. “Isn’t he like me?”
“Thorpe stays on our borders,” Braids said. “He doesn’t make waves.”
“Your very presence causes trouble,” Tux said. “Do you think Vance will let you go just because we say please?”
I sat back in my chair. “But you said he wasn’t a match for you.”
“Not yet,” Braids said again. “But that might not stop him from trying.”
I was losing ground fast. “That’s exactly why she needs your protection,” Jack said.
I looked at him. He hadn’t included himself in that.
“We’re not in the business of offering protection,” Tux said. “And you’re bait for Vance, and a threat to everything we’ve built here. I’m surprised you made it this far.”
“You don’t understand,” I said. “The things Vance did to me—”
“He created you,” Braids said. “And because of his meddling, you are like him.”
I pushed my chair back. I could hear Lyle’s voice in my head. What is the difference between you and Vance?
“I’m not a monster,” I said.
Leather smacked his lips. “We’re all monsters, sweetheart.”
Maybe Thorpe was right. Maybe they were. If that was the case, I was going about this all wrong. I needed to appeal to their sense of self-preservation, not their non-existent sympathy.
“Vance might not be ready to take you out yet,” I said. “But he’s trying to build an army of us, do you know that? An army only he can control.”
“Elect used to be rare,” Tux said. “No more than one in a century or two—that survived the first week, anyway.”
“Congratulations on making it past that, child,” Leather said.
Tux frowned. “Quiet. I’m talking.”
“You’re always talking,” Leather said. “Get to the point.”
Tux drummed his fingers on the table. “The point is, she’s right. Something’s changed. He’s found a way to increase the odds, somehow.” He watched me carefully. I’d gotten him interested. That was an improvement.
“There’s this scientist,” I said. “He’s doing genetic experiments for Vance.” Jack looked at me. We hadn’t discussed the details of Vance’s operation. We hadn’t had time. “If you help me,” I said, “I could give you information. I could repeat what he told me. I could—”
“I like your nerve,” Leather said. “Still trying to convince us to help you when we’re all thinking of cutting off your head.”
I shivered visibly. The more Leather threatened me, the wider he grinned.
“But-but it is your concern,” I said. “I think Vance is trying to create corpses that he can control through drugs and things, but that can’t control each other. That could be a threat to you, if he succeeds.”
“Ah, science,” Braids said. “Things were simpler when mortals chalked it up to humors and left it at that.”
“Simpler, maybe,” Leather said. “But not nearly so interesting.”
At least they’d gotten distracted from my demise. “So you can kill me, but you can’t ignore Vance fore
ver.”
They seemed to consider that for a moment. Tux looked at Braids. “Perhaps not forever,” she said. “But we’re old. We’ve learned how to wait. None of us would have survived this long without that wisdom.”
Tux shook his head. “The time isn’t right yet.”
Leather nodded. “Agreed.”
Jack leaned forward again, looking from one of them to the next. “And what if Vance was gone?” he asked.
They were all three silent, watching him, and I was right there with them.
“Gone where?” I asked.
“Gone,” Jack said. “Dead.”
“I’m not sure how that’s relevant,” Tux said. “I assure you he isn’t.”
“It sounded like an offer to me,” Leather said, watching Jack with rapt attention. “Isn’t that right?”
Jack shrugged. “I don’t see what choice we have. If you won’t protect us, and we can’t catch a plane out of here, then when he comes after us, we’re going to have to kill him.”
I bit my front teeth deep into my lip and ran my tongue over the flesh as it healed.
“If Vance was dead,” Braids said. “There would be a dispute over his territory.” She gave Jack a dark look. “If you can’t handle Vance, you can’t survive that.”
Jack smiled.
Oh. I understood where Jack was going with this. If it’d been halfway possible it would have been brilliant.
But it might be enough to get us out of this room alive.
“What if there was no dispute?” I asked. “What if his killers only wanted sanctuary within the territory of those who took over from Vance?”
“Drop the hypotheticals,” Leather said. “They give me a headache.”
I didn’t imagine he’d had a headache in a millennium.
“If you assassinate Vance,” Tux said, “how are the lords of the eastern territories to know that we didn’t send you to do it?”
“We’re from Vance’s territory,” I said. “If you know what Vance is up to, turning girls he thinks he can control, then they probably know about it, too. I have plenty of reason to kill Vance without your prompting, and everyone knows it.”
“Your prospects,” Braids said, “are not optimistic.”
To be fair, I agreed with her. I had a thought, but I didn’t have time to decide if it was a good one.
Long Dark Night Page 17
