Nightside 02 - Agents of Light and Darkness

said. “I can feel it from here. It’s like every bad thought you ever had, wrapped up in one never-ending nightmare.”
    “Yeah,” said Suzie. “Like it’s poisoning the air, just by existing.”
    The Collector looked at me slyly. “You could keep it for yourself, Taylor. You could. This simple cup is powerful beyond all your wildest fantasies. It could make you rich, worshipped, adored. It can satisfy every dirty little yearning in your soul. It has the answer to every question you ever had. The truth about your past, your enemies… even your mother.”
    I looked at the Unholy Grail, and it was like looking into the heart of temptation. Suzie watched me carefully, but said nothing. She trusted me to do the right thing. And in the end, perhaps it was that trust that gave me the strength to turn away.
    “Put it in a bag, Collector. I wouldn’t dirty my hands by touching it.”
    The Collector pulled an airline carry-on bag out of the packing pieces and stuffed the Unholy Grail into it. He almost seemed relieved. I took the bag and slung the strap over my shoulder.
    “Merlin!” I said, raising my voice. “I know you’re listening. We’ve got it. Bring us home.”
    Merlin’s magic gathered about us, preparing to teleport Suzie and me back to Strangefellows, and the waiting angels. And in the last possible moment, when the Collector was sure the teleport spell had been activated and couldn’t be stopped, he stepped forward and shouted one last vicious hurt.
    “You’re not the only one who can find things, Taylor! There was a time I used to take commissions, in return for help in establishing my collection. I found your father for your mother! I put them together. Everything you are is because of me!”
    I went for his throat with furious hands, but Suzie and I were already fading away. The last thing I heard on the Moon was the Collector laughing, loud and bitterly, as though his heart would break.

For the Remission of Sin

    S trangefellows sprang into being around us again, and Suzie braced herself for the thick black smoke, but there wasn’t any this time. She looked suspiciously about her, and mere was Merlin, no longer sprawled on his dark iron throne but leaning casually against the long wooden bar, a bottle of the good whiskey in one tattooed hand. He smiled unpleasantly and took a long drink from the bottle. I glanced at the gaping hole in Merlin’s chest, where his heart used to be, half-expecting to see the swallowed whiskey come running out of it. “Welcome back, far travelers,” said Merlin. “I deference to your delicate feelings, I dispensed with the smoke this time. Typical of youngsters today. No respect for tradition. Probably wouldn’t know what to do with a newt’s eye if I slapped it in your hand.”
    I stepped forward, and he stopped talking. “Send us back!” I said, my hands clenched into fists, so angry it was all I could do to get the words out. “Send us back, right now. Better still, grab the Collector again and haul his nasty ass back down here, so I can beat the truth out of him with my bare hands.”
    “Easy, tiger,” said Suzie, moving in close beside me. Her voice was surprisingly gentle. “I’m the violent one in this partnership, remember?”
    “Things change,” I said, not taking my eyes off Merlin. “I want the Collector here, right now. He knows things. Things about my mother, and my father. And I will break his bones one by one, and make him eat every last piece, until he tells me what I need to know.”
    “Wow,” said Suzie. “Hard-core, Taylor.”
    “I’m sorry,” said Merlin, still leaning against the bar, entirely unmoved by the raw fury in my voice and eyes. “The Collector has disappeared from his lair under the Moon’s surface, taking his collection with him. I can’t see him anywhere. Which ought to be impossible, but that’s the modern age for you. No doubt I’ll track him down eventually, but that will take time. For a mere mortal, he’s surprisingly elusive.”
    I was so angry and frustrated I could hardly breathe, ready to lash out at anyone, even Merlin. Suzie moved as close to me as she could without actually touching me, calming me with her presence, and slowly the red haze began to lift from my thoughts. It’s always thoughts of family that drive me crazy, and it’s always my friends who bring me back.
    “Let it go, John,” Suzie said calmly, reasonably. “There’ll be other times. He can’t hide from us forever.