Page 139

I slam the breech shut and lock it into place. There’s a lever on the Magistrate’s side.

I nod to it.

“Do it.”

Grinning like a school kid on a snow day, he grabs the lever and pulls.

Exactly nothing happens. No boom. No shudder. An absolute zero.

“Try it again,” I shout.

He pulls again and it’s the same big nothing.

He says, “You must have put it in wrong.”

“Let’s see.”

I open the breech and pull out the sword. Halfway out, it snaps and falls to the flatbed in pieces. I pick up one of the shards.

“It’s wood. It’s wood painted gold.”

“That cannot be,” says the Magistrate.

He reaches for some of the splinters, but I push him away.

The dead are just about on us. I climb on top of the gun.

“If you’re alive, duck, motherfuckers!”

I start screaming Hellion hoodoo as loud and fast as I can in every direction.

The first couple of hexes knock the forward wave of skeletons down, but the ones behind climb over like a swarm of rats. I keep shouting, going easy on the hexes until the last of Wanuri’s people are clear. When they are, the skeletons are right on us. Now I shout the rough stuff. The kind of hoodoo I used out on the river. I turn the air around the dead into fire until the road and hillsides are a solid carpet of flames. Some of the dead keep coming, but they’re slower than before. With each step they fall apart piece by piece and are easy for the havoc to take down.

I climb down off the gun and stand with the others, breathing hard. While they scan the road for any dead bastards out for a stroll, I look up at the sky. No flashes up there anymore. Whatever was happening is over. I get out the amber knife and wait to see who comes back.

A moment later Alice and Vehuel slam to the ground a few feet behind us. I jump down and run to them, grabbing Alice in a big hug when I get her. She hugs me back, but more of her attention is on Vehuel. I look over, and see why. There’s a hole you could put a fist in over her heart.

“What the hell happened over there?” I say.

“Johel and Phanuel were traitors,” says Alice. “Some of the officers have been going over to them for some time. I guess even a few generals.”

Traven stands nearby and looks over my shoulder.

He says, “Is there anything we can do for her?”

Alice holds her boss’s bloody hand.

“I don’t know.”

Vehuel opens her eyes.

“Did you try to fire the weapon?” she says.

“Yeah. It didn’t work.”

“Yes, it did. It worked perfectly.”

I look at the Magistrate, Raziel fucking archangel in disguise.