that had free wireless access. Midian and Chogyi Jake were ready to act as decoys, drawing off as many parasitized victims of the Invisible College as they could.
The trick was to not let my decoys get killed over it. And that meant making sure they were moving quickly and unpredictably. The good news was that that required only money, and I had that.
"Okay," I said as the lawyer's functionary finished talking. "Can you e-mail me the address of the airstrip?"
"It's on its way," he said. "And the motorcycles will be there between noon and two o'clock tomorrow."
"Great," I said.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Ms. Heller?"
A cadre of priests chanting exorcism rites. The number of a really good pizza joint. Some groceries.
"No," I said. "I think we're good."
I dropped the connection and went back into the kitchen. Midian was leaning over a wide metal bowl with a whisk in one hand and a bottle of brandy in the other.
"Everything's taken care of," I said. "You'll be out of here on a bike fast enough to outrun the cops, and there's a flight chartered to get you out of the city. All you need to do is get there alive. Or. You know. As alive as you get."
"You're a class act, kid," Midian said. "You want to taste this sauce? I'm not sure it's working."
He held out a wooden spoon dripping with something brown and sweet smelling. I tried it.
"It's working," I said. "That's really good."
The vampire grinned crookedly and took a drink of the brandy. I went back to Chogyi Jake's room and knocked gently on the door before I opened it. He was sitting perfectly still in the middle of the floor. The drapes were lowered, casting the room in a soft twilight. It occurred to me that I'd almost never seen Chogyi Jake when he wasn't smiling or on the verge of it. His face was soft as sleep, expressionless and peaceful. As I watched, he drew in a deep breath and let it sigh out between his teeth. His dark eyes opened.
"Hey," I said.
"How are you?" he asked.
"Nervous," I said. "I mean, not ten-thousand-dollar-shopping-binge nervous. Just, you know, ready. I've got a way out for Midian, and I'm getting a second cycle for you."
"Just like Ex," he said. "The three bikers of the apocalypse."
"I'm not above stealing a good idea," I said. I stepped into the gloom and sat on the edge of the bed. "I had a close call this morning. I don't think I'm going out again. Until...you know. Until. How about you? You all right?"
"I'll be fine," Chogyi Jake said, looking up at me.
"But not fine yet," I said.
"Frightened," he said.
"You? I didn't think you got scared," I said, trying to make it sound like a joke.
"Everyone gets frightened," he said. "And tired. It's been a hard week. I can't..."
He shook his head.
"It's good that this will be over soon. The wards are going to fail. Soon."
I nodded. Maybe I'd known that.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Yes," he said.
"Do you think I'm doing the right thing? Or am I just going to get us all killed?"
Chogyi Jake leaned forward, stretched, and rose to his feet. The stubble on his scalp was getting longer. In the dim light, it looked like a black halo close against his temples.
"Interesting phrasing," he said. "Do you really think that what makes an action right or wrong is how it turns out?"
"I think that's got a lot to do with what makes it stupid or not, yes," I said.
"Ah. That's a different question. I thought you meant whether we were doing a good thing instead of an evil one. You mean good tactics rather than poor?"
I sighed.
"I'm not sure what I mean. Except I'm afraid of what happens if we fail out there."
"It would be more pleasant to win. But even if we don't, that doesn't mean that the effort was wrong."
"Has anyone ever told you that you are really freaking terrible at pep talks? You could just pat me on the head and say it'll all be fine and not to worry."
"It'll all be fine," he said, patting me on the head. "Don't worry."
"Okay. That so didn't work," I said. "But thank you. For staying with me. For trying to do this."
"It's who I am," he said.
"Thanks for being you," I said.
"You're welcome. And thank you for becoming who you needed to be," he said.
He leaned over and took my hand in his. I was amazed