Dead Harvest

  "Shit, Sam, do you even realize what you've done? Nobody's killed one of my kind since the last Great War! If word gets out that Beleth is dead, the Fallen are liable to get the wrong idea, figure he's a victim of the crackdown. That happens, we've got war in the fucking streets. Not to mention, it's gonna come out eventually what really happened, and that's gonna lead them all to the both of us. When that happens, this little girl is gonna be the least of your worries. Man, you've fucked us but good."

  "So what's the play, then?" I asked.

  "Sam, you have to let me go – it's the only way. I can make sure nobody catches wind of what we've done. Beleth's got to have some enemies in the demon-world – our only shot's to try and put this all on them. If it looks like he's been killed by one of his own, we can maybe avoid a war."

  "Avoid our asses in a sling, you mean," I said.

  "That, too. You're in no position to begrudge me my motives, Sam."

  "You forget, I'm already in a world of shit for taking the girl. Honestly, what's a little more heat?"

  "I'm not talking a little, Sam. You're a fucking gnat right now – an annoyance. Word gets out you killed Beleth, they're gonna think you're trying to jumpstart the End Days. That'd make you priority number one for both sides. We're all happy in our roles, Sam. Comfortable. Isn't anybody on either side that wants to see the balance disrupted."

  I fell silent a moment, mulling what he'd just told me. "If I let you go," I asked, "what assurance do I have you'll do as you say?"

  Kate balked. "Sam, you couldn't seriously be considering letting him go?"

  If Merihem heard her, though, he gave no indication. His eyes were locked on mine, his face betraying nothing. "You have my word," he said.

  "Your word," Anders said. "Some fucking use that is."

  "Yeah, Sam – let's finish this guy," Pinch chimed in.

  "His word is his bond," I said, quietly. The corners of Merihem's mouth turned upward ever so slightly, almost imperceptible in the flickering candlelight. Almost.

  "What?" Kate asked.

  "His word is his bond," I repeated. "He's obligated to honor it. It's the way of his kind." I didn't say the rest. That his kind is disinclined to make pacts that end well for the second party – witness my day job. I didn't mention it because the way I saw it, we were both desperate. We both stood to lose. And if letting him go bought me enough time to clear Kate's name, then the deal would have been worth it, and the consequences be damned.

  "So he'd have to help us?" Pinch asked.

  "We let you walk out of here, and you leave us be, you got me? You don't come after the girl, you don't send anyone after her – you don't let it slip you might know where she is. Same goes for any of them. These kids are untouchable."

  Merihem nodded. "All I'm worried about right now is my own ass. They tie me to Beleth's death, and it's all over. Far as I'm concerned, I never saw you."

  "Anders," I said, "set down the rope."

  "Are we really gonna do this?" he asked.

  "I don't see we have a choice."

  "This is ridiculous," Kate said.

  "Anders, the rope."

  Anders let go of the rope. It fell to the floor. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding.

  "Sam," said Merihem, "you're making the right choice."

  I swear I never saw it coming. One minute, Kate stood fuming beside me, and the next, she'd closed the gap to Merihem. In one smooth motion, she kicked the chair out from beneath him. He teetered for a moment, his eyes wide with fear and surprise, and then he fell atop the shards. A horrid, guttural scream pierced the air and blew out windows the factory over. Candles guttered and died all around us. Anders crumpled to the floor, head in hands, and Pinch began to cry. But Kate never wavered, never flinched. As Merihem's writhing, fading form burst open, releasing the thousands of nameless scurrying things that passed for his soul, she spat on it, paying no heed to the terrible creatures that crawled, dragged, and scampered across her feet.

  And under her breath, nearly lost beneath the echoing screams, she said, "That's for my family, you evil son of a bitch."

18.

Finally all was silent, and the mewling creatures gone. Anders was lying on the concrete floor, his eyes clenched shut, his face twisted in pain. He held his hands to his ears, a useless gesture. The sound he sought to keep out was in his mind: the anguished cries of those nameless, scurrying things that were once Merihem as they faded from existence. I knew, because I'd heard it twice now. Just two more things I wished I could unremember. Two among thousands.