Nightside 04 - Hex and the City

can't trust anyone else not to be seduced by the temptations on offer. Someone has to keep a clear head and see this place for what it really is. Someone has to keep the animals in their cages. You made me understand just how ... corrupting the Nightside is."
    "And that's why you, and the others, performed the Ba-balon Working?"
    "Yes." Walker sipped at his tea, taking his time to make it clear he was changing the subject. "Once again—what are you doing here, Sophia? I wasn't aware demons from Hell got nostalgic over their old victims. Or have the Authorities given you to someone else, someone I should know about?"
    "No," said Pretty Poison. "I'm with Sinner now."
    Walker put down his cup and raised an eyebrow. "You're that succubus? Well... I'm impressed. Really. So you're the demon currently working with John Taylor. You do have a taste for powerful men, don't you?"
    "I'm with Sinner now," Pretty Poison said patiently. "And only Sinner. Officially, I was sent up out of Hell to corrupt him, break his heart, and blacken his soul, so that the Pit can claim him again. Actually, I volunteered for this mission, to try and understand a love that could survive even in Hell. How anyone could honestly love a Fallen thing like me."
    "You expect me to believe that?" said Walker. "I know better than anyone that love means nothing to you."
    "That was then," said Pretty Poison. "Much has changed since then. After all this time with my Sidney, I'm still just starting to understand how he feels about me. And just possibly, I'm starting to understand what you felt for me, back then. And how badly I hurt you."
    "I'm married," said Walker. "Very happily married. Almost twenty-three years now."
    "I'm glad. What's her name?"
    "Sheila. We have two boys. Keith is at Oxford, Robert is in the military. Good boys, both of them. I had them raised outside the Nightside. They know nothing about what I really do for a living."
    "I'm glad, Henry. Really."
    "So, this Sinner." Walker's voice was entirely casual. It would have fooled anyone else. "He really loves you?"
    "Yes. A legendary love, even in Hell."
    "I loved you."
    "He loved me even after he saw my true nature. What I really am. My dear Sidney.. .I'm sorry I hurt you, Henry."
    Walker drank his tea. "Demons lie. That's their true nature."
    "Even demons can change."
    Walker looked at her coldly. "You expect me to believe that?"
    "I believe it," said Pretty Poison. "I have to."
    They sat together for a while, drinking their tea, saying nothing, surrounded by civilised sounds.
    "I know you've got people blocking the Gate to the Lord of Thorns' domain," Pretty Poison said abruptly. "And more people blocking other entrances. Under orders from the Authorities, I take it?"
    "Of course," said Walker. "But if you can get out to visit me here, I have to assume the others can, too. I'd better
    talk to my security people, arrange to have the containing wards strengthened. Maybe call in some more specialists. Is that why you've come here to see me? To beg for my help?"
    "All the wards and specialists in the Nightside won't stop us, darling," Pretty Poison said calmly. "The Lord of Thorns is on our side."
    Walker actually blinked a few times. "How the hell did you manage that? I didn't think anyone escaped his judgement."
    "He believes in us," said Pretty Poison. "And most especially, he believes in John Taylor. Talk to me about the Authorities, Henry."
    "Why?"
    "Because. Indulge me."
    Walker shrugged. "If it'll get you out of here any quicker... There's no big mystery about the Authorities, really. They're just who everyone thinks they are; the city Names, the old, established business families who've gained so much wealth, power, and influence from centuries of investment in the Nightside. The people in and behind the Londinium Club, who avoid celebrity and open displays of wealth and power, but pull the strings of those who do. The men behind the scenes, who will do or authorise anything at all, to maintain the status quo that has always benefited them. And I work for them because all the other alternatives are worse. I have investigated other options, down the years, but most people just didn't want to know. The thought of so much responsibility scared the shit out of them. And the few who were interested turned out to want it for all the wrong reasons. So I turned them in to the Authorities. I'm in charge, inasmuch as anyone is, because I alone have no interest in the temptations and seductions of