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“You did,” says Candy.
“Feel free to come or go through any of the shadows in here,” says Muninn. “I don’t think you’ll be wanting to take the long way next time.”
“Not even a little. See you around, Mr. Muninn.”
“It was nice meeting you,” says Candy.
“Good-bye, my dear. I hope we meet again.”
“Me too.”
I pull Candy through a shadow and a wave of nausea and we come out in the living room in the Chateau.
Kasabian looks up from his computer.
“Where have you two been? You smell like something a dead raccoon horked up.”
I look at Candy.
“Told you so.”
“WHO ARE YOU calling?” says Candy.
I’m dripping on the carpet and she’s still toweling off from the shower. I’m turned away dialing the phone so she doesn’t have to look at the new scar I picked up from Garrett’s lucky shot.
I say, “Manimal Mike. He might know who made the fake 8 Ball.”
She comes out of the bathroom, takes the phone from my hand, and tosses it on the bed.
“Stop it,” she says.
“Why?”
“Because you just got shot. Because you just got blown up and we just came back from Hell.”
“I had a donut this morning.”
“See? I didn’t know that.”
“You were sitting right there.”
“I wasn’t paying attention.”
I know what she’s getting at even if she doesn’t want to say it. Days like this I can maybe catch a bullet, she can maybe get her laptop murdered, and maybe we can go to Hell, but doing them all the same day isn’t exactly normal, even for someone as fierce as Candy.
I nod. Get a glove to put on over my Kissi hand.
“Okay, country mouse. I guess getting to Mike’s in the next ten minutes isn’t going to save the world. What did you have in mind? Shuffleboard or coupon clipping?”
She pushes me down so I’m sitting on the bed.
“How about sitting still for a whole sixty seconds. I think you have this illusion that you’re a shark. Like you think you’ll choke if you stopped moving all the time.”
“The bullet’s out. I’m all healed up inside.”
“I know that in my head, but it doesn’t feel that way yet. And I see you trying to hide the wound, so don’t bother. Can we please just be here for a minute together without weird weapons or old gods or monsters between us?”
“Come here,” I say, and pull her down on the bed. She curls around me with her leg over mine.
