carefully, “that Molly was taken by the Powers That Be. And that if they’d wanted me, they could have just as easily taken me at the same time. So if they didn’t want me then, why are they so keen I should take part in their Big Game now?”
“Because you’re the first one to break in,” said Walker. “The Powers That Be admire that. They’re impressed, and that really doesn’t happen very often. Trust me . . . They’re fascinated to see what you might do next.”
“What if I decide I don’t want to take part in their damned Game?” I said. “What if I’m just here to break Molly out?”
“You can’t,” said Walker. “With or without your family, or your quite remarkable armour, you’re no match for the Powers That Be. This . . . is their world. They made it. Everything here answers to them. The very rules of reality in this place change from moment to moment, according to what the Powers That Be want them to be. And I have to tell you, Eddie, Molly doesn’t want to leave. She wants the way out that winning the Game offers her. She knows what’s waiting for her, at the end, all the awful things in store for her . . . and even the infamous wild witch is sensible enough to be scared of that. It’s one thing to take on such an appalling burden when you’re young, and driven by rage and revenge. It’s quite another to see the awful things you’ve condemned yourself to drawing nearer day by day, and to know there’s no way out.”
“My family have entered into a great many Pacts and Agreements of their own,” I said. “They have power to call on that could be used for the cancelling of debts . . .”
“Not here,” said Walker. “We’re a long way from anywhere your family has influence or power. You’re all Molly’s got, Eddie.”
“Always,” I said.
I took another step forward, until Walker and I were practically face-to-face. He didn’t flinch, didn’t fall back.
“Where’s Molly?” I said. “I could make you tell me . . .”
“No, you couldn’t,” said Walker.
I started to reach for the Colt Repeater at my hip, in its hidden pocket dimension, and then I hesitated, and stopped myself. The real Walker had a Voice that could not be resisted or denied. That could make you do anything, anything at all. There are those who say he once made a corpse sit up on its slab in the mortuary to answer his questions. And there was always the chance . . . that this was the real Walker. People in the Nightside don’t follow the usual rules about anything, including Life and Death. Walker could have faked his own death, for reasons of his own. He’d done stranger and sneakier things, in his time. If my uncle Jack could come back . . . If he had come back . . . I took my hand away from my side, away from my stash of hidden weapons and dirty tricks. I didn’t want to reveal all my cards, all my nasty little secrets, just yet. Not until I had a better understanding of the lay of the land, and the rules of the Big Game.
I looked at Walker, and he looked calmly back at me. As though he knew everything I’d just been thinking. Which was very Walker . . .
“So,” I said, “is it just you, or have you brought a few friends and colleagues with you? Like John Taylor, or Shotgun Suzie?”
“Perish the thought,” said Walker. “They’re far too busy running the Nightside in my absence. And the Powers That Be are very careful about who they let into this world. Those two would wreck the place.”
“What gives these Powers authority over you?” I said. “I didn’t think anyone could order you around. You’ve faced down gods and devils in the Nightside, in your time.”
“Oh, I have,” said Walker. “Really. You have no idea. But this . . . is different.”
I waited, but that was all he had to say on the matter.
“The real Walker would never put up with that,” I said.
“You’re right,” said Walker. “He wouldn’t. Unless, of course, it served some hidden purpose of his own.”
“Okay, you’re making my head hurt now,” I said. “Which is the best argument yet that you are the real deal.”
I looked around me, at the green grass and the blue sky, the bright Summer sun and the