Death stares at him for a minute.
“That’s an interesting question. You’re not entirely subject to its laws yourself, are you?”
“That’s right. I’ve been, as far as I can tell, rendered immortal. It was an accident, a slip of the hand while performing an experiment in Paris in 1856.”
“Why is it that you want to know? You’ve had ample time to observe the process of death. You must have learned something.”
“Not enough,” Vidocq says. He finishes his drink. “I’ve only seen it from the outside. I want to know what it’s like. The transition from life to unlife. Is it something felt? Is it a journey or the blink of an eye?”
“You’re not asking for yourself, are you?”
Vidocq leans back against the storeroom wall.
“There was a woman I knew in Paris. Liliane. I loved her very much. I want to know what she experienced when she died and went from our world to yours.”
“Oh yes. I know who you’re talking about. She didn’t.”
“Die? Of course she did. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“I’m afraid your eyes were wrong.”
“Her heart stopped. Her breathing. How is this possible?”
“It’s not my place to say.”
“All right. I was wrong and she didn’t die then. When did she die?”
Death keeps his mouth shut.
&n
bsp; Vidocq says, “Is she not dead?”
Death looks away.
“Can we talk about something else?”
Vidocq stares down at his hands. I pour him another drink and look at Death.
“I know your name. Your body’s name. It’s Eric Townsend. He was some kind of stockbroker. Does any of that sound familiar?”
“No.”
“He was part of a group called the White Light Legion. That’s what the tattoo on your arm is. Their sigil. I didn’t think about it until this morning, but I wonder if he could have been a necromancer in his spare time.”
“I wouldn’t know. Necromancy has never interested me. And most magicians involved in death magic want to speak to the souls of the departed, not me.”
“But some must have tried to contact you.”
“Of course.”
“What happened?”
“None was powerful enough to compel me and I didn’t have any interest in the weak ones. As you might have guessed, my job is a busy one.”
Vidocq says, “How is it you’re able to be all places at once and carry away a thousand souls all dying at the same time?”
Death drums his fingers on his knee.