“If you’re looking to make your fortune, make it quick. The world might be ending soon.”
He stands and picks up his folding knife and the remains of the Power Bar.
“The world is always ending. A fiefdom rises. A fiefdom falls. It’s the way of things.”
“This time is different. If it happens, all the fiefdoms that ever were or will ever be are right down the toilet.”
He cocks his head.
“Well, that’s different.”
“A little bit.”
“Thanks for the warning. We’ll see about making our way in the world a wee bit faster.”
He starts away and I call after him, “Have you heard of a ghost people call the old Roman?”
Arawn stops.
“Remember when you asked if we dislike vampires?”
“Yes.”
“We like ghosts even less.”
His men get up and stand around him.
“Do you know how to get there?”
“Not a clue. Thanks again for the knife. Ta.”
He starts up the stairs and his men follow. The Grays don’t make a sound as they go. They march into the dark and in a few seconds it’s like they were never there.
“I think I found something,” says Delon.
He’s squatting, leaning against the wall and drinking water from a bottle that’s three quarters empty. How long have we been in Kill City? It seems like a couple of days, but it can’t be more than a few hours.
“We turn right at the end of the hall, past a collapsed ceiling, and there’s a door that leads down.”
Vidocq stands and hefts his pack onto his shoulder.
“One of the Gray men told me about a door nearby. That must be it,” he says.
“Saddle up, everyone. The sooner we get downstairs, the sooner we’re out of Tombstone,” I say. Big talker. I try to stand up and it feels like my head is spinning around like Linda Blair’s. Candy comes over and helps me to my feet.
Everyone gathers up their gear and heads out. Traven takes a minute to change the batteries in his flashlight, then starts up the stairs with the rest of us. Good-bye, Shoggot country. Good riddance. If Hattie doesn’t poison your water supply, I’ll be very surprised.
The floor at the end of the hall is buckled like someone squeezed it from both ends like an accordion. Delon is back in the lead. Vidocq follows with Brigitte and Candy right behind. I’m at the back with Traven, stumbling along like a toddler just learning to walk.
“Are you in much pain?” he says.
“Just enough, thanks. Sorry I dragged you into this mess, Father.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been more use along the way. Maybe I should have learned to use a gun.”
I have to lean my arm against the wall to get over the places where the folds in the floor rise above my knees.
“You might have noticed that we have a lot of shooters and it hasn’t kept us out of trouble. You’ll get to show your stuff when we find the Qomrama. You know anything more about it? Where it came from? Who made it?”