“All in due time. Who are your friends?”
He points to Traven and the dog pack.
“Don’t worry about them,” I say. “They’re just some strays Alice picked up on the way.”
“Good,” says Michael. He turns to his goons. “Kill them.”
“Okay. Wait. They’re with me.”
“See? You were lying and I knew it.”
“You don’t have to kill them because you’re pissed at me. I take back all that other stuff I said about you. You seem like a swell, reasonable guy. Let’s talk this over, bastard to bastard.”
That really makes him smile.
“In that case, you’re all free to go. Enjoy Heaven.”
The others look at me.
I tell them, “Don’t move.” To Michael I say, “What’s the catch?”
“You know exactly what the catch is,” he says.
“Before I decide, tell me something. Did you see what happened or did someone tell you we had it?”
“Guess.”
“Wormwood. They told you.”
He looks at the bastards hovering above us.
“What a clever monster he is. I’ll keep his head on my mantel and take it out every now and then to scare children.”
His people chuckle.
“You’re very ugly, you know,” he says.
“So I’ve heard.”
It looks like I have one thing in my favor. He knows we have the Light Killer, but he doesn’t know it’s broken and a fake. Maybe I can do something with that.
“Listen, we both know I’m not just going to hand you the sword.”
“Fine. Kill his friends.”
“See, I was right. You’re a small-time little shit with a big ego.”
He holds up his hand for the attack squad to stop.
“You really should stop talking or I’ll kill your friends slowly in front of you.”
“I’m saying if you are who you say you are, send the glee club home and the two of us fight for the sword and my friends.”
“Stop it,” says Alice. “You’re being an asshole again.”
“Just because I’m an asshole doesn’t mean I’m wrong. This kind of thing is pretty much all I’ve done for the last twelve years.”
“What would Candy say? Your ego is as big as his. You think she’d be proud of you being this stupid?”