Sandman Slim (Sandman Slim 1)

"What is wrong with you? If you want a girl to hurt you, there's professionals for that in the phone book."

I hold up the hand she just stabbed. "One more time. Come on. Have fun with it. Most people don't live long enough to do this twice."

I don't have to shout this time. She shoves the blade straight into my hand. But it sticks there, only about an eighth of an inch into the skin. There's no blood at all. She keeps trying to push the knife through. Really starts leaning on it. I have to take the knife out of her hand and set it on the floor. She takes my hand and examines it, looking for blood or a new wound. All she finds is a fresh red scar from where she stabbed me a couple of minutes ago.

"My whole body is kind of magic. Once you attack me a certain way, it doesn't really work all that well again."

"So, no one can ever stab you again?"

"I wish. The new scar you gave me just means that this hand is protected from being stabbed like that."

"Is that what all those scars are from? Getting stabbed?"

"That and other things. Kasabian shot me when I walked into his store, so I have some new ones from him. It's not so bad. Some people wear a crucifix or a pentagram for protection. I wear my protection right in my skin."

"Talking heads and magic scars. That's not what I thought magic would be like."

Allegra's looking a little pale right now and I don't think it's the concussion. My little magic show might have gone too far too fast for her. I root around in my memory for magic that doesn't involve anything blowing up. I come up with half a little spell. Something I would have done at lunch in grade school. I've always been lucky at making partial spells work, so I silently recite the words I remember, then tack on my own ending, careful to recite only human words and not the Hellion that keeps trying to sneak out.

Nothing happens. Then I feel a fluttering in my chest, like the old days on Earth when the magic was flowing.

I hold up my stabbed hand and blow across the fingertips. Five yellow flames flicker to life, one on top of each of my fingers. Candles made of flesh. The fire is real, but it doesn't burn me. I take a cigarette from the pack in my pocket and light one off my index finger, blowing the smoke up into the air.

Allegra glances from me and back to the flames, her eyes wide and staring. She reaches over my burning fingertips and snatches her hand back a second later.

"It's hot."

"That's why they call it fire. Put up your hand," I tell her. "Palm toward me."

She holds up her right hand. I touch my hand to hers and say a few words. The flames drift down my fingertips and over to hers.

"Blow on your fingers lightly."

She does it. The flames disappear.

"Do it again, only blow harder this time."

She puffs her cheeks and blows. The flames reignite.

"I can feel it. It's warm, but it doesn't hurt."

"Blow really hard."

The flames flare, from one to six inches. The moment she stops blowing, they shrink back to birthday candles.

"Is that magic enough for you?"

"Yeah, I'd say that covers it."

I blow lightly on her fingertips and the flames fade away.

"Now you've got a little charm on your hand and you can do that fire trick anytime you want. So, next time you start doubting, you'll know that what you're seeing is real because part of you is magic, too."

She stares at her unburned hand for a minute.

"Tell me about Mr. Kasabian's head. Is he dead? Did you do that to him?"

"No to the first question, and yes to the second."