I go into the bedroom and wake Howard.
He looks at me and tries to hide his smile. He fails.
“You’re looking well,” he says.
I sit on the end of the bed, trying to look as nonlethal as an extra from Night of the Living Dead can.
“I’m here to make a deal. Tell me what you want to do Ludovico’s Ellicit.”
“You know what I want. I want to be free of you. I want to go back to Eva’s house.”
“You’re safer here right now. There’s a lot of gunplay around town. But if you fix me, I guarantee I’ll leave you alone.”
“What kind of guarantee?”
“There are people in the next room. One person in particular. I’ve promised them I’ll leave them alone too. I care more about them than anything, including me. If you help me out, I’ll make the same deal with you.”
Howard’s raises his eyebrows a little.
“Is Sandman Slim offering me true love like his lady friend outside?”
“I’ll throw in something else too.”
“What?”
“Protection. You know what I can do. You help me out, I’ll keep Wormwood off your back.”
“How?”
“By killing them.”
He frowns.
“You see, it’s that kind of behavior that makes me hesitate. You kill the things that upset you. But I upset you. You’d kill me if you could, but you can’t. Not right now at least.”
“What if I swear in front of them? I’m not going to lie about that in front of Candy. Not for my life. She’d hate me for it.”
“Very dramatic,” says Howard. “Believe me, if I thought that helping you would keep me safe, I would do it.”
“Let me ask you something. What’s your middle name?”
“Lee. Why?”
I cannot catch a fucking break in this life. Or maybe I can.
“Exactly how good a necromancer are you? I mean, could you bring yourself back to life?”
“Another empty threat?” says Howard.
“It’s a real question. I only bring it up because your name is next on the faction’s kill list.”
Howard sits up a little straighter.
“‘Kill list’?” he says. “What do you mean?”
I get up off the bed. I have to touch the wall to keep from swaying on my bad leg.
“I took it off a dead faction magician. You’re good with languages. Read it yourself.”