Acheron Highway: A Jonathan Shade Novel (10 page)

“You’ll pass them along the way, so tell them to back off.”

“I’m a soldier, not a commander.”

“Fine.
 
Just tell the general.”

“I’ll do that, but you’ll still have thousands of spirits coming your way, using the dead to get around.
 
And just so you know, the waves that are coming will kill you if you aren’t helping.
 
If you want to survive, you should try to help.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

“Do more than that.”

I looked at Brand.
 
“You can cut off his head now.”

Brand grinned.
 
“I’d rather play with him some more.”

“Plenty more where he came from.”

Brand shrugged.
 
“Good point.”

He placed Andy on the floor and pulled the sword free.

Brand smiled.
 
“Say good-bye, Matt.”

Andy rolled his eyes as Brand swung the blade downward.
 
Andy’s head rolled.

Kelly walked over and looked at the sword stuck in one of the padded mats on the floor.
 
“Brand?” she said.

“Yeah?”

“You’re buying me a new mat.”

CHAPTER NINE

Like Kelly’s old dojo, the new one had an apartment above it, but she used it only for storage because it was too small for two people.
 
For her residence, she bought a condo over in Lakewood, which was where she and Brand lived.
 
As my car wasn’t fit for driving at the moment, we all piled into Kelly’s SUV and pulled out into traffic heading west.

I sat in the back with Miranda.

“We can drop you off at your place,” I said.

“I don’t feel safe there.”

“Why not?”

“All those zombie things are out there.”

“They were looking for me,” I said.

“So they won’t be after me to get to you?”

“Nope.”

“Does that mean Zach didn’t raise the dead people?”

“It seems to me that someone else did the Lazarus-come-forth routine here.”

“Why couldn’t Lazarus come third?” Brand asked.

We ignored him.

“So Greek mythology is real?
 
Hades and Persephone and such?” Miranda asked.

“Let’s just say that not all of it is fiction, though it rarely turns out to be the way Edith Hamilton said.”

“And you know Charon?”

“Near as I can tell, Charon is an office or a rank, but yes, I’ve met two of them.”

“My head is spinning.
 
Dead people rising, gods and goddesses, magic, psychic spies.
 
Next thing you know, you’ll tell me pizza was given to us by aliens from Mars.”

“Different galaxy,” I said.

She looked at me.

“Kidding,” I said.
 
“Though I am a bit hungry.”

“It’s late,” Kelly said.
 
“You can have an apple at my place.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Miranda looked uncomfortable.

I patted her knee.
 
“Things will get better.”

“There are too many ifs that go with that statement,” she said.
 
“They’ll get better if my heart is still beating and if we can get it back and if it can be returned to my chest and if we aren’t overrun by dead people.”

“What’s your gut feeling on your heart?”

“It was still beating when he took it.”

I nodded.
 
“We’ll go with that, then.
 
I know a healer who can put it back for you.
 
She’s very good.”

“What about the dead people?”

“Not entirely your problem.
 
Again, they aren’t after you.
 
If we can keep you clear of them, we should be able to keep you safe.
 
And who knows, maybe Zach can help with putting the dead folks back into their graves.”

“He’d have to be damn powerful,” Brand said.

Again, we ignored him.
 
“Don’t worry,” I told Miranda.
 
“I won’t let you down.
 
I promise.”

I meant it, but I wasn’t sure how I could deliver.
 
I had not been able to save Naomi, so how the hell was I supposed to save Miranda?
 
I felt lost and while I wanted to help her, I felt as if I were trying to do so from a continent away.

“I trust you,” she said.
 
“But I don’t want to go home.
 
I feel safer with you.”

“We could have been killed tonight.”

“But we weren’t.
 
You were so calm.
 
So brave.”

Brand, who kept watching us, rolled his eyes.

I didn’t want them to know that it wasn’t bravery.
 
I just didn’t care.
 
If I died, no big.
 
If I lived, oh well.
 
Of course, that doesn’t strike confidence into the heart of a client.
 
Then again, my client didn’t have a heart, so maybe it didn’t matter.

“I’m crashing at Kelly’s tonight,” I said.

Kelly glanced at us in the rearview mirror.
 
“You’re both welcome to stay at my place tonight,” she said.

“Thank you,” Miranda said.

I stared out the window, watching the streets of Denver roll past.
 
All those people living their lives, oblivious to what was going on around them.
 
How many of them knew dead people were rising?
 
How many of them knew there was real magic?
 
How many of them could even imagine a beautiful woman walking around without a heart?

I pulled out my cell, scrolled through recent calls, and placed one to Walter.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” he said.

“No hello?”

“It’s after midnight.”

“So you should let it all hang down.”

“What do you want, Shade?”

“We didn’t set a time for tomorrow.”

I heard a loud crash in the background.

“Shit.”

“Is everything OK?” I asked, thinking dead people might be breaking into his house.

“My damn grandson just got home and he’s drunk off his ass as always.
 
Hang on.”
 
The next bit was muffled, so I’m guessing Walter put his hand over the phone.
 
“I hope you weren’t driving, you ignorant little bastard!”

I didn’t hear Ryan’s reply.

“What did you say to me?” Walter shouted.
 
I heard a ruffle as he moved his hand.
 
Then I heard a thump and footsteps.
 
The next thirty seconds were all raised voices arguing, but I couldn’t make out the words.

Walter came back to the phone out of breath.
 
His tone was even more gruff.
 
“Goddamn kids these days.
 
Do me a favor and shoot Ryan when you come by tomorrow.”

“I try not to shoot people,” I said.

“Then what good are you?
 
Be here at three.”
 
He hung up.

Brand looked over the seat at me.
 
“Maybe you should aim better.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”
 
He faced forward then turned to Kelly.
 
“Why do you keep this clown around, anyway?”

“Because it irritates you,” Kelly said.

It’s nice to be useful.

#

Kelly’s place had an extra bedroom, which she never used.
 
We got Miranda set up in there; then I joined Kelly and Brand in the living room.
 
Kelly had a blanket folded at the end of the couch with a pillow on top.

“You’re good to go,” she said.

“Thanks.”

“You OK?”

Brand rolled his eyes.
 
“Do we have to let him talk about his feelings and shit?
 
I’m ready for some bedroom Olympics.”

Kelly punched him in the arm and knocked him sideways several steps.
 
He grinned.

“Go to bed, Brand.
 
I’ll be there soon.”

“Whatever.”
 
Brand looked at me.
 
“Don’t—” He stopped when Kelly shot him a look.
 
He laughed.
 
“Don’t forget that you’re buying breakfast tomorrow.”

“Nice save,” Kelly said.
 
“Go.”

When he left the room, Kelly sat on the sofa and I sat down beside her.

“So,” she said.
 
“How are you doing?”

“Brand is right.
 
We don’t need to do the sharing thing.”

Esther popped into the room.
 
“Is this a private party?”

“Hey, Esther,” Kelly said.
 
“Anything to report?”

“And how” she said.
 
She looked over at me for a moment then turned her attention back to Kelly.
 
“You were right about those ragamuffin palookas.
 
They’re definitely camping out at Jonathan’s place.
 
Must be a hundred of them!”

“What are they doing?”

“Just waiting.”
 
Esther looked at me.
 
“Kelly said I should keep an eye on your place in case those dead hoods try to break in, but they’re just gathering there.
 
I got bored.”

“Good call,” I said.

Brand walked back into the room.
 
“You guys talking to the ghost lady again?”

“You can join in if you like,” Kelly said.
 
“There’s a typewriter key in the desk drawer.”

Normal people can’t see Esther, but as Brand and Kelly are both magically engineered, if they touch part of Esther’s old typewriter, they can see and hear her.

Esther frowned.
 
“I don’t want to talk to that ignorant torpedo.
 
He’s—”

Brand opened the drawer and grabbed the key.

“—a nasty old pill, and I’d punch him right in the kisser if I had the chance.”

“You talking about me?” Brand asked.
 
“Because I’d kiss you any day if I wasn’t with Kelly.”

“Bank’s permanently closed for you, buster.”
 
With that, Esther popped away.

“Was it something I said?”

“Usually,” Kelly said.
 
She faced me.
 
“Want us to go over and slice and dice the dead guys for you?”

“Not yet,” I said.
 
“If
numbnuts
hadn’t chased Esther off, I could find out if the neighbors are seeing the dead folks or if they’re keeping hidden.”

“Does it matter?”

“A little,” I said.
 
“If the dead folks are staying hidden, which seems unlikely if there are a hundred of them, we could just slice them up and rebury them.
 
If they’re out in the open, we can’t just hack them apart.”

“Why not?” Brand asked.

“Because people will see us.”

“So?
 
What are they
gonna
do?”

“Call the police.”

“So?
 
What will the cops do?”

“Make my life hell.”

“And that’s different from normal how?”

“I don’t need the attention.
 
That’s all.
 
If mundanes are seeing the corpses walking around, it will end up on the news, and that can cause a panic.
 
Do you have a magic marker and some paper?”