Ballistic Kiss (Sandman Slim 11)

I stumble through the debris, grab the envelope from his hands, and rip it open.

Something falls onto the floor.

It’s an old Polaroid. A happy, naked couple smile out at me from the faded plastic. There’s a trimmed tree in the background.

Across the bottom in ballpoint pen someone has written, “Chris and Samantha, Christmas ’77.”

The man I immediately recognize as Chris Stein. As for the woman, I take the photo under one of the few working lights to get a good look at kill-crazy Samantha.

Only it’s not Samantha.

It’s Manimal Mike’s girlfriend, Maria Simon, but in 1977—looking exactly the way she does now.

I put the photo in my pocket and grab Vidocq.

“Forget everything I just said. We’re going to a party.”

Through another shadow, we come out into Dan and Juliette’s living room. I bark some hoodoo to lock the place down tight. No one in. No one out. I get out my na’at and head down into the rumpus room with Vidocq close behind me.

There’s no one downstairs. Kenny’s big table is gone. The floor is covered in candles, milagros, and other supernatural baubles. Someone has pulled the boards off the entrance

to the Jackal’s Backbone, so I have a pretty good idea of where the table went. But not knowing why worries me.

Vidocq looks into the stone tunnel.

“Is that where we are going?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have any idea what’s waiting for us?”

“A bunch of thrill-kill psychos. Also, probably, some highly agitated ghosts.”

“Merde,” he says quietly, and takes a fistful of vials from inside his coat. “Shall we go?”

I run through the tunnel into the mountain with Vidocq right behind me. As we go, I extend the na’at into a barbed whip. A good weapon for making an impression and cutting through crowds. It’s times like this that I wish my angelic side was just a bit more angelic. Like, it would be nice to have wings right now. Walking through shadows is fast, but you have to have some idea of where you’re going. If I start jumping through shadows down here, I could shoot right past whatever the Lodge is up to and end up with the weight lifters on Venice Beach. If I had wings, maybe I could carry Vidocq across the ceiling of the Jackal’s Backbone and he could bomb whatever was happening with his vials. But I can’t, so I keep running and being bitter about getting shortchanged angel-wise.

It takes us a few minutes more to find the Lodge Within the Lodge party. We hang back behind a boulder and check out the scene.

At first, all I can see is people. More of them than I expected. There were six or eight at the last Lodge Within the Lodge meeting. Now the number of people is easily double that. Those are lousy odds for us, but it also simplifies things. Before, I wasn’t sure how rough I would have to get. With this many potential assholes to get through, there’s no holding back. Move or die, fuckers. It’s that simple.

I spot Maria talking to Juliette. Good. At least I know all the bad guys are here tonight.

The way things are laid out, I can’t actually make out what’s happening. But I see a lot of weapons in the hands of the Lodge members. Old, brutal stuff. Heavy broadswords. War hammers. Mayan obsidian-bladed battle axes.

Trash wizard Kenny has made an appearance. Still in the House of Knives. Still being sliced and diced like pastrami. That’s nice, at least. He’s called up a few Stay Belows, who hang at the back of the scene. No telling what they’re for but I don’t like it.

I have no idea what Vidocq is thinking right now. Probably “What the hell did I sign up for?” To be fair, I wish I knew what’s going on too. It would help to have some sense of it so I don’t make things worse. Kenny helps me out there.

When he isn’t being carved up like Thanksgiving dinner, he says, “Congratulations on a great job, everybody. Good effort. With this sacrifice, I’ll be able to bring each of you into the Land of the Dead so that you see the mad truth that lies beyond judgment and the grave.”

Is that what all the old weapons are for? A sacrifice? You don’t need that much hardware to kill anything you can fit down here. It makes me think this isn’t like the bird sacrifice but some kind of dismemberment scene. Or worse. A disemboweling, like with the guts monster back at the canyon.

I crane my neck, trying to make out what’s on the sacrifice block. I don’t hear any barking, so I don’t think they went with Dan’s dog pack idea. And I don’t smell shit everywhere, so I’m guessing Juliette’s horse fantasy was jettisoned too. I swear if I hear one squeak or squall that sounds like a little kid, I’m going to personally gut every one of these fuckers. Vidocq can have whatever is left.

Finally, I have an idea on how to move in efficiently and scatter the Lodge bastards. As I start whispering it to Vidocq, someone screams.

“Fuck all of you motherfuckers!”