Dark Days

CHAPTER 32

They emerged into London near the pavilion opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum. Pete sat down heavily on the carved steps, and Jack’s body decided that sounded like a wonderful idea and followed suit. He didn’t fight it.

Belial took the box from his jacket and used it to give Jack a salute. “I do like you, Jack. Much as I like anything made of meat. I’ll be in touch. Knowing a Prince is going to be a good thing in the long run. You’ll see.”

He turned and walked away into the shadows, and Pete nudged Jack. “You’re not even going to try to hex him?”

“First off, any hex I can sling is going to bounce right off that beast’s scaly hide,” Jack said. He could barely keep his eyes open, and his leg had started hurting in earnest, each beat of his heart sending a fresh throb of molten fire through his thigh. “Second, I’m too tired to go after him for a petty squabble.”

Pete snorted. “I almost died, and he stole the blade from you. That’s not exactly petty.”

“I’m truly sorry for what you had to do,” Jack said. “But as to the second part…” He reached into Pete’s jacket and drew forth the blade, which looked smaller and older, less threatening, out in the fading sunlight of the real world.

Pete’s mouth opened, then shut again, and she managed a grin. “Dammit, Jack Winter. Just when I think I’ve seen all your tricks.”

“That one’s nothing special,” Jack said. “Seth and I practiced lift and drop about ten thousand times when he took me in. Bought me dinner and a roof over my head more than a few times when things were thin.”

“And now it’s got us a way to kill Legion,” Pete said. She looked down at his leg and grimaced. “After we get that looked at, of course.”

“I’m fine,” Jack said, although the pain in his leg insisted differently. “Just run by a pharmacy with me and grab some first aid, then we need to find out where Legion is and how we can get to him.”

Pete stood. She was already steadier, and her color was coming back. Jack was glad that at least one of them didn’t look like they were two steps from kicking off. “I don’t believe you,” she said.

Jack clambered up and tried to reply, but his leg sent such an electric charge through him that his chest seized up and his words came out as a moan.

He tried to tell Pete he was fine, some disinfectant and a pressure bandage would make him right as rain, but that blackness came up again, the one that had nothing to do with his sight, and he passed out before he hit the pavement.