No Dominion The Walker Papers - By CE Murphy Page 0,23

across time and space to—”

“Save the world, doll? Like you done a hundred times or so now?”

My girl’s mouth snapped shut. I stepped up to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “I’ve told you I don’t know how many times, Joanie. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. You got me all tangled up in this crazy fantastic world of yours, and I ain’t never lived like I done the past year. You keep throwin’ yourself in headlong into you don’t know what, and you do it every time because you’re tryin’ ta make the world a better place. You keep saying you want to grow up to be like me. Kid, I wish I’d been young like you.”

All the fight went outta her, just like that. She had pretty green eyes and did her best to look tough most of the time, but right then her eyes softened and there wasn’t anything tough about her. She was just my girl, soft-hearted and hard-headed through and through. I squeezed her shoulders. “I’m doin’ this thing because it’s what you’d do if you could,” I told her, then winked. “Besides, this might be my one chance to kick death in the balls. You ain’t gonna stop an old man from that dance, are you?”

Jo laughed. She looked like she didn’t want to, but she laughed anyway, and hugged me and said what I knew she would: “Old man. I don’t see any old men here. Okay, Gary, but if you don’t come back…” She let me go, then repeated the threat, this time with a waggling finger at Cernunnos.

The god dipped his chin, eclipsing the setting sun and throwing the budding horns on his temples into relief. His voice went formal, making him seem just a little more alien, just a little more god-like, than he was when he sat and smirked. “You have my word, and that is not a thing I give lightly.”

Joanne thrust her jaw out, staring at him, then turned back to me all sharp and business-like to shove her rapier into my hands. “All right, fine. Here. You take this. You can use it, right? I mean, hell, you can do everything else.”

I took it with a chuckle and rotated my wrist, feeling its weight. The thing was balanced perfectly. I coulda held it on a fingertip and spun it around if my arms were long enough. “I’m better with a saxophone, darlin’, but I’ll make do. You sure, though? You might need it.”

Her jaw was still stuck out. “I’m not the one proposing to go face down the man himself. You need it more than I do. Gary, are you sure? Because this is nuts.”

“You can’t do it, sweetheart. It’s time you learn we’ll go into battle for you, even if you ain’t there.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“Good generals don’t.” I pulled Jo close and kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you on the other side, darlin’.”

She backed up enough to gimme a fierce scowl. “Of time. Just the other side of time. No stupid heroics, okay, Gary? Not when I’m not there to save you.”

“I promise.” I gave her my best charming smile, then turned the same grin on Cernunnos. “Mind if I share your ride?”

He looked like I’d stuck him in the eye with a pin, and pointed at the boy rider beside him. “Share his. The mare is accustomed to mortal riders.”

“All right. You okay with that, kid?”

The boy offered me a hand. I took it to be polite, but he showed inhuman strength in pullin’ me up on the horse behind him. I shoved the rapier into a loop on the saddle and winked at Jo. “Go get ‘em, sweetheart.”

And then I rode off into the sunset.

CHAPTER TWO

There was nothin’ in the world like riding with the Wild Hunt. Dogs, big white fellas with red-tipped ears and huge mouths, ran in front of us and bayed like bloodhounds. Grey-beaked rooks chattered and scattered in the air around us, and the horses’ hooves pounded against the sky like they were running over cobblestones, loud warnings to anyone smart enough to get outta the way. Cernunnos rode in the lead, the rest of us like a flock of geese behind him, spread out in a V that shifted and mutated as we scrambled up clouds and down moonbeams. Even ridin’ double with the boy, I had a grin stuck to my teeth and couldn’t let it go.

Night

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