The Sandman Slim Series Books 1-4. Richard Kadrey

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      “I should have done that when I first moved into the store.”

      “You fucked up. So fix it. Here.”

      He pulls a pencil-size piece of lead from his side pocket and puts it in my hand.

      “Now you don’t have any excuse. You can draw the circle and do any spell you want.”

      “I haven’t done that kind of magic in a long time.”

      “What kind of magic have you been doing?”

      “Killing things, mostly.”

      “That’ll make you friends. Try a shielding spell later. Maybe having the lead in your hand will trigger some muscle memory and it’ll come back to you. If you can’t make it work, call me. I’ll talk you through it.”

      “Okay.”

      “You should call me anyway. Let me take those bullets out of you. Five, isn’t it? Maybe they won’t kill you, but they can still cause an infection.”

      “If they do, you can just fix me with your rocks.”

      “Rocks? Oh. Those. No. Those are glass.”

      “I’ve never even heard of glass like that.”

      “That doesn’t surprise me. Those are some of the rarest objects in existence. I don’t suppose you’d let me take those slugs out tonight?”

      “No thanks. Maybe when I’m done.”

      “That’s what I figured.”

      Kinski flicks the remains of his cigarette out into the dark lot and looks at his watch. “Your young lady is probably back on her feet by now.”

      “What do I owe you?”

      Kinski shakes his head. “We’ll settle up when you let me take out those bullets. And listen: Candy gets kind of pissy when unexpected calls come late at night. Her people get twitchy after dark. But she gets over it. You have any problems, you need anything and Eugène can’t help, you call me.”

      “You don’t even know me. Why would you do that?”

      “I was young and reckless and stupid once, too. Maybe between Eugène and me, we can keep you alive long enough to wise up.”

      “What did you do that was so reckless and stupid?”

      “I’ll tell you that when you let me get those bullets.”

      “I was in Hell,” I say, and I have no idea why, except that there’s something about Kinski that reminds me of my father. He’s bringing out some weird, little-kid part of me that wants to confess my sins and ask for forgiveness. Only I don’t want forgiveness, from anything or anyone. But right now I can’t stop myself.

      “I was in Hell for eleven years. Most Hellions had never seen a live human. I was the most exciting thing that happened to them seen since they were booted out of Heaven. When they got done with me, when the torture and freak shows and rape got boring, I killed things for them. I was really good at it.”

      “I knew there was a reason you are the way you are. I guess a season in Hell is a better excuse than most.”

      “Vidocq told you?”

      “Relax, boy. It’s L.A. We’ve all got secrets around here. And we know how to keep them.”

      “Who are her people?”

      “Excuse me?”

      “You said Candy gets pissy about unexpected, late-night calls. What does that mean?”

      “Oh,” he says, and opens the clinic door. “She’s a Jade. But we’re working on it.”

      Candy walks Allegra out of the clinic while I open up the Escalade. We both help her get inside and stretched out in the back.

      “Thanks,” I tell Candy.

      “You’re welcome.”

      I start the engine, but she keeps standing there. She gestures for me to roll down the window. I push the button and the glass slides away. She steps up onto the running board and leans into the car, just a few inches from my face.

      “Doc told you about me. I can tell. I want you to know you don’t have to be afraid of me. Eugène likes you. Doc likes you. That means I like you. We’re all family now. All the funny little people who live in the cracks in the world.”

      People say that Jades are like vampires, but really they’re more like human tarantulas. When you get bit, you don’t swoon in Bela Lugosi ecstasy; you’re paralyzed while something in the Jade’s saliva dissolves you from the inside. Then they drink you, leaving you as hollow as a chocolate Easter bunny. I haven’t been this close to a Jade in a long time and it’s freaking me out a little.

      I say, “I used to kill your kind.”

      She grins.

      “I used to kill yours. See? We already have something in common.”

      “Is the doc a Jade or something?”

      “Doc? Wow. In the history of wrong guesses, that was about the wrongest wrong guess since ever.”

      “You’re not like the other Jades I’ve met.”

      “What? I’m not all slinky and seductive?”

      “No, you’re cute enough. You’re just not much of a monster.”

      “That’s okay. I think you’re monster enough for both of us.”

      Allegra sits up and looks around.

      “Are we home yet?” she asks.

      “I should go.”

      “Yeah, you should,” says Candy. She gives me a peck on the cheek and jumps down off the van. Kinski comes outside; she runs over to him and slips under his big arm as he holds it up for her. She waves as we pull out of the parking lot.

      I should have known that Candy was a Jade back in the exam room. That trick she did with her voice, almost sending me to sleep on my feet, that’s Black Widow 101 stuff. She sure didn’t come on like a Jade, except for one thing. That kiss on the cheek came from lips as cold as any dead thing I’ve ever touched. So, why did I enjoy it so much? After being a monk for most of eleven years, any attention from a cute girl, alive or dead, will get under your skin. There’s the good news. The bad news? On top of everything else, I might be turning into a necrophiliac.

      WHEN ALICE AND I got together, I wasn’t the only one with secrets. One night, after a particularly long evening of bruising sex on the couch in our un-air-conditioned living room, she blurted out, “I’m rich.”

      “What?”

      “I’m filthy, balls-out, stinking rich. My whole family СКАЧАТЬ