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“Less than half?” I said. “I didn’t go through all that just to save less than half!”
“You saved as many as you could,” said Walker. “That’s always been my job—to save as many people as possible.”
“Even if you have to sacrifice some of your own people along the way?” I said.
“Exactly,” said Walker.
“Why should you get to decide who lives and who dies?” said Suzie.
“I don’t,” said Walker. “That’s up to the Authorities.”
“But they’re dead,” I said. “We were both there when they were killed and eaten by Lilith’s monstrous children. So who . . . exactly . . . pulls your strings these days?”
“The new Authorities,” said Walker, smiling pleasantly. “That’s why I’m here. I need you to come with me and meet the new Authorities.”
I considered him thoughtfully. “Now you know very well I’ve never got on with authority figures.”
“These people . . . are different,” said Walker.
“Why now?” I said.
“Because the Walking Man has finally come to the Nightside,” said Walker.
I sat up straight, and Suzie pushed herself away from the wall. Walker’s voice was as cool and collected as always, but some statements have a power all their own. I would have sworn the room was suddenly colder.
“How do you know it’s really him and not just some wa
“Because it’s my business to know things like that,” said Walker. “The Walking Man, the wrath of God in the world of men, the most powerful and scariest agent of the Good, ever, has come at last to the Nightside to punish the guilty. And everyone here is either ru
Suzie paced up and down the room, scowling heavily, her thumbs tucked in the top of her jeans. She might have been worried, or she might have been relishing the challenge. She wasn’t scared. Suzie didn’t get scared or intimidated. Those were things that happened to other people, usually because of Suzie. She sat down abruptly on the edge of the couch, next to me. Close though she was, she still didn’t quite touch me. I caught Walker noticing that, and he nodded slowly.
“So close,” he said. “In every way but one.”
I gave him my best hard look, but to his credit he didn’t flinch. “Is there anything you don’t know about?” I said.
He smiled briefly. “You’d be surprised.”
“It’s none of your business,” said Suzie. “And if you say anything to anyone, I’ll kill you.”
“You’d be surprised how many people already know, or guess,” said Walker. “It’s hard to keep secrets in the Nightside. I am merely . . . concerned.”
“Why?” I said bluntly. “What are we, to you? What have I ever been to you, except a threat to your precious status quo, or an expendable agent for some mission too dangerous or too dirty for your own people? And now, suddenly, you’re concerned about me? Why, for God’s sake?”
“Because you’re my son,” said Walker. “In every way that matters.”
He couldn’t have surprised me more if he’d taken out a gun and shot me. Suzie and I looked blankly at each other, then back at Walker, but he gave every indication of being perfectly serious. He smiled briefly, holding his dignity close about him.
“We’ve never really talked, have we?” he said. “Only shared a few threats and insults, in passing . . . or discussed the details of some case we had to work on together. All very brisk and businesslike. You can’t afford to get too close to someone you know you may have to kill one day. But things are different now, in so many ways.”
“I thought you had two sons?” I said. I didn’t know what else to say.
“Oh yes,” said Walker. “Good boys, both of them. We don’t talk. What could we talk about? I’ve gone to great pains to ensure that neither they nor their mother has any idea what it is I do for a living. They know nothing about the Nightside, or the terrible things I have to do here, just to keep the peace. I couldn’t bear it if they knew. They might look at me as though I were some kind of monster. I used to be so good at keeping my two lives separate. Two lives, two Walkers, doing my best to give equal time to both. But the Nightside is a jealous mistress . . . and what used to be my real life, my sane and rational life, got sacrificed to the greater good.
“My boys, my fine boys . . . are strangers to me now. You’re all I’ve got, John. The only son of my oldest friend. I’d forgotten how much that time meant to me, until I met your father again during the Lilith War. Those happy days of our youth . . . We thought we were going to change the world; and unfortunately we did. Now your father is gone, again, and you’re all I’ve got left, John. Perhaps the nearest thing to a real son I’ll ever have. The only son who could ever hope to understand me.”
“How many times have you tried to kill me?” I said. “Directly, or indirectly?”
“That’s family for you,” said Walker. “In the Nightside.”
I looked at him for a long time.
“Don’t listen to him,” said Suzie. “You can’t believe him. It’s Walker.”
“The words manipulative and emotional blackmail do spring to mind,” I said. “This is all so sudden, Walker.”
“I know,” he said calmly. “I put it all down to midlife crisis myself.”
“And where does all this leave us?” I said.
“Exactly where we were before,” said Walker. “We’ll still probably end up having to kill each other, someday. For what will no doubt seem like perfectly good reasons at the time. But it means . . . I’m allowed to be concerned. About you, and Suzie. And no, you don’t get a say in the matter.”
“We’re doing fine,” said Suzie. “We’re making progress.”
She let one arm rest casually across my shoulders. And I hope only I could tell what the effort cost her.
“Let us talk about the Walking Man,” I said. Everything else could wait till later, after I’d had more time to think about it. “He’s never come here before. So, why now?”
“In the past, the Nightside’s unique nature kept out all direct agents of Heaven and Hell,” said Walker. “But since Lilith was banished again, it appears a subtle change has come over the Nightside, and many things that were not possible before are cropping up now with regrettable regularity.”
“So all kinds of agents for the Good could be turning up here?” I said.
“Or agents of Evil,” said Suzie.
“Well, quite,” murmured Walker. “As if things weren’t complicated enough . . .”
“Still,” I said, “what’s bringing the Walking Man here now?”
“It would appear he disapproves of the new Authorities,” said Walker. “The group whose interests I now represent.”
“That’s why you’re here!” I said. “Because if they’re in danger, so are you!”
Walker smiled and said nothing.
“Who are they?” said Suzie. “These new Authorities? The old bunch were nothing more than faceless businessmen who ran things because they owned most of the Nightside. So, are we talking about their families? The next generation? Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, don’t get screwed again?”
“The inheritors?” said Walker, with something very like a sniff. “They wish. We saw them off. One quick glimpse of what actually goes on here, and they couldn’t sell their holdings fast enough. No . . . Certain personages in the Nightside have come together to represent the main interests in this place. Essentially, the Nightside is now determined to run itself.”
“Who, exactly?” I said. “Who are these brand-new self-appointed Authorities? Do I know them?”
“Some of them, certainly,” said Walker. “They all know you. That’s why I’m here.”
“How can you serve people from the Nightside?” I said, honestly curious. “You’ve never made any secret about your feelings for us. You always said the best thing to do would be to nuke the place and wipe out the whole damned freak show once and for all.”