Shadow closed his hand around the eye. He wished he could come back with something smart and sharp, but Town was already back at the Humvee, and climbing up into the car; and Shadow still couldn’t think of anything clever to say.
They drove east. Dawn found them in Princeton, Missouri. Shadow had not slept yet.
Nancy said, “Anywhere you want us to drop you? If I were you, I’d rustle up some ID and head for Canada. Or Mexico.”
“I’m sticking with you guys,” said Shadow. “It’s what Wednesday would have wanted.”
“You aren’t working for him anymore. He’s dead. Once we drop his body off, you are free to go.”
“And do what?”
“Keep out of the way, while the war is on,” said Nancy. He flipped his turn signal, and took a left.
“Hide yourself, for a little time,” said Czernobog. “Then, when this is over, you will come back to me, and I will finish the whole thing.”
Shadow said, “Where are we taking the body?”
“Virginia. There’s a tree,” said Nancy.
“A world tree,” said Czernobog with gloomy satisfaction. “We had one in my part of the world. But ours grew under the world, not above it.”
“We put him at the foot of the tree,” said Nancy. “We leave him there. We let you go. We drive south. There’s a battle. Blood is shed. Many die. The world changes, a little.”
“You don’t want me at your battle? I’m pretty big. I’m good in a fight.”
Nancy turned his head to Shadow and smiled—the first real smile Shadow had seen on Mr. Nancy’s face since he had rescued Shadow from the Lumber County Jail. “Most of this battle will be fought in a place you cannot go, and you cannot touch.”
“In the hearts and the minds of the people,” said Czernobog. “Like at the big roundabout.”
“Huh?”
“The carousel,” said Mr. Nancy.
“Oh,” said Shadow. “Backstage. I got it. Like the desert with the bones in.”
Mr. Nancy raised his head. “Every time I figure you don’t have enough sense to bring guts to a bear, you surprise me. Yeah, that’s where the real battle will happen. Everythin’ else will just be flash and thunder.”
“Tell me about the vigil,” said Shadow.
“Someone has to stay with the body. It’s a tradition. We’ll find somebody.”
“He wanted me to do it.”
“No,” said Czernobog. “It will kill you. Bad, bad, bad idea.”
“Yeah? It’ll kill me? To stay with his body?”
“It’s not what I’d want at my funeral,” said Mr. Nancy. “When I die, I just want them to plant me somewhere warm. And then when pretty women walk over my grave I would grab their ankles, like in that movie.”
“I never saw that movie,” said Czernobog.
“Of course you did. It’s right at the end. It’s the high school movie. All the children goin’ to the prom.”
Czernobog shook his head.
Shadow said, “The film’s called Carrie, Mr. Czernobog. Okay, one of you tell me about the vigil.”
Nancy said, “You tell him. I’m drivin’.”