Nightside 06 - Sharper Than a Serpents Tooth

place around this bar won't keep her out forever. She'll be here, very soon now. And if she finds me in my present condition, she'll strike me down with a look and a word and laugh while she does it. And then she'll take you over, John, make you her puppet, and use your gift as though it were her own. Just as she's planned from the very beginning."
    I considered him for a long moment, letting the silence build. "But now you're here, to save the day. Because you have a plan, too, don't you, Merlin?"
    He nodded. "Yes. I have a plan."
    "Of course you do. You're Merlin Satanspawn, and you always have a plan."
    "Don't drag my father into this," said Merlin. "You know very well we never got on. Now, John Taylor, I need you to use your gift for me. I need you to find my missing heart and bring it here to me. I will place it back in my breast, and then… Ah then, I will show you wonders and miracles beyond your wildest dreams! I will live again, my body made new and vital, and all my old power will return! I shall be the greatest magician of this Age, and walk out of this bar, free at last… to teach Lilith the error of her ways."
    There was a long pause. I looked around, and it was clear that no-one except Merlin thought this was a good idea.
    "You might win against Lilith," I said finally. "Or you might not. But even if you did… who's to say you might not prove as great a threat as she?"
    Everyone looked at me, then at Merlin. He rose slowly up out of his chair, his dead body creaking and groaning, and I stood my ground, facing him unflinchingly.
    "I could make you find my heart," said Merlin.
    "No you couldn't," I said.
    We stared at each other, both of us very still. I looked into the flames that were his eyes, and I'd never felt colder in my life. And in the end, Merlin looked away first. He sat down heavily on his chair. I sat down quickly, too, so no-one would see how badly my legs were shaking. There were impressed murmurs all around me, but I just nodded stiffly. I was the only one there who knew for sure that I'd been bluffing.
    "I've had enough of this," I said harshly. "Enough of guesses and warnings and prophecies of doom. It's time to get to the heart of the matter, time to find out the truth, once and for all. You were right all along, Cathy. The only way to find out what I need to know, is to use my gift. So, gift, Why did Lilith give you to me ?"
    I was ready for another fight, another concentrated effort of will that would half kill me, but in the end it was as easy as taking a deep breath. As though my gift had been waiting all my life for me to ask of it the one question that really mattered. My shadow stood up before me, separating itself, taking on form and substance until it looked exactly like me, right down to the white trench coat with the flapping sleeve. Exactly like me, in every detail—except my doppelganger's eyes were full of darkness. It leaned against a table and folded its arms across its chest, smiling mockingly at me.
    "Took you long enough," it said. Its voice was smooth, assured, and only just short of openly taunting. "Well, here I am, John. Your gift personified, ready to answer all your questions."
    "All right," I said. My mouth was very dry. "How do you work? How is it you're always able to find the things that are hidden from everyone else?"
    "Easy. I tap directly into reality itself. I see everything that is, all at once. I'm really so much more than you ever allowed me to be, John."
    "Damn," Tommy said quietly. "That is… really spooky."
    "Why did Lilith give you to me?" I said.
    "Because she intends to use you to find the Speaking Gun. The most powerful weapon in the world. It was originally created to kill angels and demons, but it can do so much more than that. Lilith will use the Speaking Gun to remake the Nightside in her own image. Return it to what she originally intended it to be, before Humanity infested and perverted it from its true purpose and nature. She was responsible for the Gun's creation, long and long ago. Adam gave of his rib and his flesh to make Eve, and after Lilith came back up from Hell, having lain down with demons and given birth to monsters, she also gave of her rib and her flesh, to make the Speaking Gun. With the help of Abraxus Artificers."
    "Yeah," Suzie said suddenly. "That was engraved on the stock of the Speaking Gun; Abraxus Artificers, the old firm, solving problems since the beginning. I've always been very good at remembering things,