The Tome of Bill (Book 7): The Wicked Dead (12 page)

As I walked up to my place, I doubted it would, but then one never knew when a bout of insomnia would hit – making a late-night session of mindless machine gun rampaging the perfect way to kill some time.

I let myself in. Tom was nowhere to be seen and his door was shut. I couldn’t blame him. He’d probably barricaded himself in after Christy’s little “fuck everyone but my baby” speech. Some days, that chick could easily be as scary as any vamp.

A small part of me was glad that it had been her master, Harry Decker, and not her that had the mad-on for killing me. He’d been an egomaniacal dickhead, but I could handle that. The frothing-at-the-mouth lunatics were easy to spot coming. It was the quiet ones you had to watch out for.

Ed was sitting on the couch, a book in hand. He looked up at me and I saw a small bandage on the inside elbow of his right arm. I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Hasn’t even been a day and you already fall prey to Dr. Alucard’s charms, eh? That’s Dracula spelled...”

“I know what it is, dipshit.”

“Don’t get all testy with me. I’m not the one jabbing you with things.”

“Think he’ll figure anything out with it?”

“Dave? He’s been fucking around with my blood for a full year and it’s only now that he’s starting to come up with anything.”

“Oh?”

“Pretty minor shit, according to him at least.” I opened our fridge to look for something to drink – maybe orange juice spiked with blood. “Even so, you never know when something insignificant can turn the tide.”

“Might not help, but it can’t hurt.”

“Exactly.” I poured my beverage into a mostly clean mug from our dish drain. “But who knows? He might spot something interesting in your sample.”

“Maybe I’ll get lucky and find out I only have a day left to live.”

“I doubt that. Two or three days is likely, however, depending on how long it takes us to get up north.”

“Your confidence fills me with inspired hope.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

Our phone rang. As the first of the chimes subsided, I glanced at Ed. He shrugged. Aside from my call home the night before, our last caller had just been a message from Tom’s sister checking in from the newly relocated Pandora Coven, now of Sacramento, California. Maybe it was her again.

I picked up without bothering to check the display. Though the landlines still seemed to work fine, some of the advanced functions like Caller ID had been on the fritz.

“Home for supernatural rejects,” I answered. “Bill speaking.”

“Considering the current state of affairs, Dr. Death, I am not sure whether to consider that a joke or not,” a smooth voice replied.

“James?”

“Indeed. Now, if you will pardon me for just a moment.
CEASE RECORDING THIS CONVERSATION. HANG UP, AND FORGET IT EVER HAPPENED!!
”

I almost dropped the receiver as his voice rang out, piercing my skull like a diamond-tipped drill bit. “Ow!”

Ed spun from his place on the couch and asked, “You okay, Bill?”

“Didn’t you fucking hear...?” Then I remembered that he probably didn’t. Not a bad tradeoff for nearly dying. “Oh, never mind.”

“Who is it?”

I mouthed “James” just as there came a slight clicking noise from the receiver.

“Are you still there, Dr. Death?”

Raising the phone back to my ear, I replied, “Yep. I’m here.”

“Good. I apologize for the compulsion, but you have to know that the First would have agents keeping you under observation.”

I’d suspected as much, but stupidly hadn’t considered the phones.

“I would also caution you to please not put this conversation on speaker. I prefer it be between our ears only.”

My finger paused right above the speaker button. “Wouldn’t dream of it. It’s good to hear from you. We didn’t get much chance to talk during the trial.”

“Nor did I expect us to. Any fraternization between us during such an event would almost certainly be frowned upon.”

He probably had a point, especially since he’d been one of our jurors. “So ... how’s the arm?”

“Quite fine. I am loathe to admit it, but I found my penance to be a terrible inconvenience. I was glad to see it end.”

Inconvenience wasn’t quite the word I’d use for having to chop off my own arm every time it started to regenerate, but different strokes and all that. “Me too.” I would have loved to have chatted for a while, but knowing James, that wasn’t in the cards. “I assume this isn’t a social call.”

“I am pleased to hear you say that. A part of me feared that you would be your usual flippant self, ignoring the issues in favor of idle banter. Alas, I am not certain whether to be gladdened or worried to find you answering this call.”

“Oh?”

“When the First hand out a sentence such as was given to you, it is expected to be carried out posthaste unless the convicted should wish to face even more dire consequences.”

“Call me crazy.” I hesitated for a moment, unsure how much I should say, but then pushed that aside. This was James. I owed him a lot. I could at the very least afford him a little bit of trust. “But, I got the impression that Yehoshua was more saving our asses than handing us over to die.”

“And indeed he was. Never doubt that. He is a man of utmost intellect and cunning. He no doubt saw the bigger picture at play – that you and your friends would best serve in your current capacity. Know, however, that his grief for Theodora is real. Should you survive the coming days, you may wish to warn the Icon to stay clear of him.”

“Yeah, about her ... listen, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied. I...”

“You have already been tried and convicted of those crimes, Dr. Death. As far as I am concerned, justice has been served ... in a fashion at least. Suffice it to say I am not entirely innocent of the crime of keeping secrets myself.” I was curious if he would spill anything juicy, but he just went on. “In some ways, I was glad to see it. It shows you have been paying some attention to our ways.”

“When in Rome.”

“Quite true. Nevertheless, Yehoshua may very well have spared your life for the moment, but have no doubt that Alexander will make it a point to see your sentence enforced.”

“Let me guess; that means sooner rather than later.”

“No. That means
now
.”

* * *

“Wait, what?”

“That is partially what I was calling to tell you. Your grace period has ended. Alexander is vexed at the embarrassment you caused him. I do not pretend to know his mind, but I would wager that any liberties he has afforded you in the past have been stretched to their limit and beyond. If you are not already a student of history, you would do well to read up. You would learn that Alexander of Macedon was not one to suffer slights lightly.”

Oh crap. “So when?”

“Did you not listen to what I just said? You and your friends need to finish whatever preparations you are making. If you are still where you are by the morrow’s sunset, I dare say you will end up entertaining
guests
who will not easily be sated by dinner and drinks.”

Well, he had part of that right anyway. At least two of my friends had the potential to become the main course if things got ugly. Still, it’s not like I could pack up and leave with a moment’s notice. Some of us were still unaccounted for. “Listen, I need more time...”

“That is not mine to give.”

“But Sally and Sheila...”

“Must accompany you. It has been decreed.” There came a pause from the other end of the line. When James again spoke, his voice was clearly pained. “I know what has befallen Sally.”

“Alex told you what he did?”

“No, he did not. Though I am of the First, I am certain I do not hold his favor any longer. Were it not for us already having lost Theodora, I might worry about my own seat being prematurely vacated.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“Hear me and hear me well, my friend. If you have any wisdom at all in your head, you will never assume there is anything that Alexander would not do. Such was the folly of many vanquished by him, both before and after he took his place among our kind.”

“Gotcha. So I guess he’s busy trying to fill that vacancy.”

“Have you not heard? No, I suppose you wouldn’t have.”

“Heard what?”

There was a slight hesitation on the other end. “Never mind. It is of no matter at this moment. There are, as the humans say, bigger fish to fry.”

Fuck, if that wasn’t an understatement. I had enough to feed a small army. “So you were saying about Sally?”

“Yes. I am not the most learned man to ever walk this Earth, yet it was painfully obvious she was under compulsion. If I were to guess, I would say it happened sometime between the debacle when the Icon was first brought in and when next we were seated.”

“Right on the money. The fucker did it to her with me in the room, even.”

“Have a care, Dr. Death. Alexander and I are still of the First. Though we may not see eye to eye, I believe in the institutions of our people and will not hear them casually sullied by a child.”

Gah! Sometimes, James was maddening in his adherence to the rules. Even so, I had enough enemies. I couldn’t afford to make any new ones. “Sorry.”

“I will consider your remark stricken from the official record. However, for the sake of both conversation and curiosity, if you wish to share precisely what the compulsion entailed, I shall entertain your words.”

Okay, so maybe not as by-the-book as I thought. Oh, who was I kidding? James was a complex guy. I had about as much chance of figuring him out over the phone as I did of solving a Rubik’s Cube with my eyes shut.

I relayed to him what happened in the jail cell that Sally, Tom, and I had shared – how Alex had informed us that he considered the two of us to be a formidable team right before commanding her to forget any history she had with me and my friends.

James was silent for a few moments. “I suspected as much. Her behavior toward me when next we met was curious – a throwback to an earlier time, if you will, as if the years in between had melted away.”

At first, I wasn’t sure what he meant, then remembered back to the not-so-innocent-looking peck on the cheek she’d given him. Normally, that wasn’t something one picked up on, but a fellow like me – who’d been relegated to the friend zone far too many times in his life – had a bit of insight into the difference between a “you’re my best bud” kiss and an “I want to fuck your brains out” one.

Don’t get me wrong, Sally and James were a more pleasant picture than the thought of her banging Mark the rock monster. Even so... “Yeah, about that,” I replied, unable to help myself. “So what did you mean by...”

“This is most troubling,” he said, completely ignoring me. Big surprise there. Christ, it’s not like I was going to ask for many details. “Alexander was not incorrect about you two. Sadly for us, he was more right than he had any reason to believe.”

“Uh, okay.”

“I am sorry to be cryptic, Dr. Death. However, I think we both know Sally plays it close to the vest when it comes to what she reveals about herself and her past.”

“Trust issues,” I muttered.

“Well earned.”

“I have no doubt.”

“You don’t know the half of it, I’m afraid. And I am not at liberty to divulge,” he added as if sensing my next question. “It will have to suffice for you to know you have had as much impact upon her as she upon you.”

Numerous different scenarios ran through my head. A good deal of them ended with her pushing me down onto a bed in a sleazy motel room while saying how much she wanted me.

“You have helped her find her humanity,” he continued, squashing that fantasy.

“Oh.”

“I would hope you are understating your position because believe me when I say that is most certainly the case.”

“No,” I replied. “It’s not that. I mean, I know she’s changed. She ... well ...
cares
now. You should have seen her in Vegas. A couple more months, and the homeless there would have been ready to canonize her. I also know she hasn’t forgotten that part. She’s still her.”

“For now.”

“What do you mean?”

“She hasn’t forgotten herself, but she has forgotten the reason she was able to find herself again. How soon, I wonder, before that fades and she begins to lose all she has gained.”

“Oh come on; she wasn’t that evil when I met her.”

“No. Sally has never been evil. She is, however, complicated. She is also highly capable, as I am sure you’re aware.”

I shifted uncomfortably where I stood. Movement caught my eye, and I saw Ed rise from his seat. He glanced my way and mouthed a question. I nodded and gave him the thumbs up, not really certain what else to say.

He shrugged and headed toward his bedroom.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” I called after him, remembering James’s words from earlier.

“Excuse me?”

“Not you,” I said into the receiver. “Sorry, James, but I’m not sure I see the point in what you’re saying. Sally’s had her memories of me wiped. But we’re working on it.”

“Of that, I have no doubt. That is why I recommended she stay with you in the first place.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“The issue at hand is that the trust and friendship you two had took the better part of a year and several close calls with death to cement. That is gone now and in its place ... I do not know.”

“Go on.”

“Though it pains me greatly to say this, we do not know her motivations right at the moment. She may wish to get her memories back, or it may be a ruse – a cover for something else.”

“So what you’re saying is...”

“What I am saying is that you would be wise to not trust her.”

I let James’s words sink in. On the one hand, I didn’t want to believe him. Hell, Sally and I had been through so much in so little time. During all of it, she’d stood by my side.

At the same time, this was James who was talking. If it had been anyone else, my roommates even, I’d have blown it off in a second. But what he said made sense. Though she was still Sally inside, she was essentially surrounded by strangers. Well-meaning strangers, sure, but could she really know that?