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“I’ll make sure Abbot pays you for this.”

“Sweet,” she says happily.

“How’s the King doing?”

“Ask him yourself. You’re friends now. As long as you respect him he’ll be there for you.”

“I still don’t understand any of your hoodoo.”

“The Stay Belows, the whole situation isn’t based on your magic. This is older stuff than that.”

“I use Hellion magic. That’s practically angelic and pretty damn old.”

Flicker shakes her head.

“Hellion is a bastardization of angelic magic and a lot younger. What I do, what the King is, doesn’t correspond to any of your systems. There aren’t any spells. No bending the universe to your will. Sure, there are calls and incantations, even cries for help, but they’re not to subjugate universal forces. When you work the old, old way, you are the universe and it moves through you. You just direct it here or there. It’s really pretty simple.”

I nod. “I don’t think I could ever do that kind of hoodoo.”

“Of course not. You’re a Black Lane Walker. You do what’s right for you. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help every now and then.”

“The King again.”

“He can help you send them home. When you’re ready, try making an offering.”

“I’m not sure Mr. Muninn would approve.”

“And where’s Mr. Muninn now? Is he helping you? The King is always here. Right under your feet.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Flicker wiggles her fingers at us and says, “Have fun, you two.”

Me and Candy stay for all three movies, eat popcorn and concession-stand hot dogs. We make out between the features, and for the moment at least, it really does feel like old times.

Janet seems a lot better the next night, though they still have a slight limp. That means, one more damn time, we get ready for the Lodge. They wrap their leg in an Ace bandage and say, “Tonight should be interesting.”

“Another birthday excursion?”

“Yes. Rudy Morrello’s. But don’t worry. He’s the last birthday boy for a while. After tonight, you won’t have to see anyone for a month or so.”

“You’re one hundred percent sure you want to go back?”

They stand and put weight on their leg. It holds.

“One thousand percent,” Janet says.

Not having to lay eyes on the doom twins—Dan and Juliette—for a few weeks sounds good, but I still haven’t picked up anything new about Stein. And my only other lead—Lisa Thivierge—is still missing. Maybe it’s time to stop being subtle with Dan and Juliette’s flock and start pinning people against the wall until they tell me a story. But even then, anything they say will be second- or thirdhand. I haven’t seen anyone old enough to have been in the Lodge in Stein’s day.

Maybe Abbot is right. Maybe I should go back and kill the Stay Belows one by one with my Gladius. But the idea grates on me. The spooks didn’t ask to be here. Stein drew them. Stein is the one who wants something and I want Stein. That means for now, I’m stuck with the Lodge.

Janet wants to ride the Hog to the doom twins’ house, so we have to crawl up the hill in the dark, dodging coyotes and stoner kids in Daddy’s Porsche. By the time we arrive at the mansion I’m in a dismal mood.

We go inside and it looks like any ordinary nouveau riche L.A. cocktail party. When they see her, everyone rushes over to greet Janet. A lot of them are jealous of her snake bite and wish it had happened to them,

because obviously, not getting burned alive wasn’t enough of a high for them. A lot of the dummies are burned red from the desert sun, with hands and faces scratched by rocks and the coarse vegetation. Manimal Mike looks like hell, but Maria must be some kind of athlete. Not a scratch on her. There’s a weird energy in the room. Giddy, but also wary. Seeing someone you know get eaten by a monster will do that to you. In a few minutes, Dan, Juliette, and Kenny arrive and greet everyone, especially the birthday boy, Rudy Morrello.

After a minute or two of adulation, Juliette raises her hands for quiet. When she speaks, she sounds like someone on TV trying to rope you into their pyramid scheme selling fake vitamins or wrinkle cream.