“There’s no reason to think that they’ll all get through. Or even one complete deity. Even one would be almost impossible to defeat. We’ll have to hope that when they come, it will be in the form of something like Lamia. A larger and more dangerous fragment, but something on a scale we can comprehend.”

“This isn’t a pep talk, right? Because if it is, you’re doing it wrong.”

He looks at his coffee cup. Turns it around in his hands like he wishes there was something in there besides coffee.

“Sorry. I’m still working some of this through in my head. Talking about it helps.”

“All this theoretical stuff is interesting, but how do we fight them? And how will the Angra get free in the first place?”

“That’s the one piece of good news I have. It looks like they can’t come back all the way on their own, no matter how many cracks appear between the universes. The full Angra can only return through a summoning.”

“Great. Where’s the Golden Vigil when you need them? They could set up surveillance on every Angra cult in California.”

“It’s not that simple. We’re talking about a ritual. Something anyone with the right knowledge can do without even necessarily realizing what they’re doing.”

“So, some kids with the wrong book and a Ouija board could destroy the universe.”

“I don’t know about that exact scenario, but essentially that’s it.”

“Fucking great. So we’re still nowhere.”

“No. I believe that the Qomrama is the key. It can kill gods, but I believe it’s the key to releasing them too. We need to have it and find out if there is a way to destroy it.”

“Why don’t you work on that last bit? I’ll keep looking until someone coughs it up or I think of something better to do.”

“And you’ll bring me along on your next adventure?”

“Absolutely. Now, why don’t you go back with the others?”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure yet. But you’ll know it when you see it.”

“Thank you for the talk. Maybe there’s a way out of this after all.”

“One more thing. Do you think the Terminator had a soul?”

“Excuse me?”

“I mean yeah, he was a robot, but he had a human body on top of all the gears. The body was even cloned from a real guy. So could someone or something like the Terminator have a soul?”

He thinks for a minute and shakes his head.

“No. I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

“I was hoping to track someone down in Hell, but now I doubt he’s there. I doubt he’s anywhere.”

“You’ll have to explain that to me sometime.”

“Sure. Sometime.”

He gets up and goes and joins Brigitte with the others.

So much for tracking down Trevor Moseley in Hell and giving him the third degree. I hold up the remains of my coffee to Carlos.

“Can you make this more interesting?”

He gets a dusty bottle from under the counter and pours a shot of Aqua Regia into the cup. Just what I need to kill those last few brain cells that are getting in the way of what I think I need to do.

Tags: Richard Kadrey Sandman Slim Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net