“Why do we have to do this every time we meet?”
She pulls her legs back together.
“Because it’s fun to watch you squirm.”
“Now who’s being boring? See you around.”
I open the door to the office.
“No, Jimmy. Don’t go away mad. I promise I’ll be good.”
I come back in and she points to the small chair by the makeup table. I sit down, feeling like a giant in a dollhouse.
“Have you ever watched any ghost porn?” she says. “I bet that girl of yours has. It’s quite the thing among discerning perverts and L.A.’s jaded royalty.”
“What the fuck is ghost porn?”
She sighs and drops her shoulders like a little kid about to have a tantrum.
“Fine. Never mind. What were we talking about?”
“Where are all the souls of the half dead? Anywhere in the Tenebrae?”
“The new souls are suspended in the sky like rotten fruit on sick trees. You’d love it, you morbid thing, you. Sometimes the twister reaches out like he’s trying to pluck them. He gets closer each time. You think it’s scary having people not die? Wait until this new Death gets going. He’s going to be a wild one.”
“I told you. He’s not Death. Maybe he thinks he is. Maybe he just wants to be, but he’s not the real thing.”
“I know he’s not really Death,” Cherry says. “He’s the Devil, finally coming to eat us, sins, bad dreams, and all.”
“That’s not true either. Listen to me. Lucifer isn’t like he was before. I know him and that isn’t him.”
Cherry crosses her arms and leans forward on her legs.
“I’m scared, Jimmy. I don’t know what to do. I’m scared all the time.”
Her face turns a pale red. She brushes some tears from her eyes.
“None of this would be happening if I’d listened to Mason and gotten myself a blue-yonder contract. If you love that girl of yours, you’ll get her one. You don’t want us to end up roomies here in the middle of this nowhere, do you?”
“Trust me, Cherry. Hell isn’t what you think it is anymore. It’s opening up to Heaven. You won’t have to stay down there. Soon you’ll be able to walk straight Upstairs.”
“If that’s true, come to the Tenebrae and go there with me.”
“I can’t. I’ve lost the Room. I can’t go anywhere anymore.”
“If you won’t go, then I’m sure not going alone.”
“I’m going to work it out. I can’t stand being stuck here on Earth all the time. When I fix things, I’ll see what I can do about you.”
“Sure. Later. When you’re not busy,” she says, and disappears.
I look around and find her in the mirror. I pick it up. She wipes away more tears.
“I’ll just wait right here, shall I, while you go save everybody else but me? Go away, Jimmy. You always let me down.”
I go out through the office and head for the front door.
“Wait a minute, Stark,” says Kitty. “You owe us for the mirror.”