Nightside 10 - The Good the Bad and the Uncanny

something far greater.
    “Welcome back,” I said, stepping forward. “Now would you mind telling me what in God’s name is going on here?”
    He looked right at me, and his gaze stopped me dead in my tracks, as though he’d slammed a cold hand against my chest. I gave the Lord of Thorns my best friendly smile and hoped that he’d remember me. Preferably kindly.
    “Walker!” The Lord of Thorns made a curse of his name. “This is all down to him! He betrayed me ... I will strike him down for this crime, and the Authorities who ordered it!”
    I looked at Larry. “Didn’t you somehow know Walker was going to be behind all this?”
    “Does seem to be his day,” said Larry.
    “The Authorities are dead,” I said to the Lord of Thorns, with all the politeness I could muster. “Lilith’s children killed and ate them all, during the War. There’s a new Authorities now. Good people. Mostly.”
    “They’d better be,” said the Lord of Thorns. The more he talked, the more human he seemed, his presence falling away to more bearable levels. Didn’t make him any less scary, though. This one man had been set in judgement over the whole Nightside, with power to back it up; and he looked in the mood to pass judgement on every damned one of us.
    “Excuse me for asking,” I ventured, cautiously. “But what exactly has Walker done? What’s made you so angry? And what brought you back from the ... quiet man I met here last time?”
    “That would be me,” said Hadleigh Oblivion.
    We all looked round sharply, and there he was, standing in the church doorway. In his long black leather coat, so dark it seemed made from a piece of the night itself, with his bone-white face and long mane of jet-black hair, his dark, unblinking eyes and his arrogantly cheerful smile, he looked utterly black and white; because there was no room for shades of grey in his world.
    The world of the Detective Inspectre.
    He seemed entirely unaffected by the Lord of Thorns’ angry presence, or by the power that still blazed so very brightly inside the church. In fact, Hadleigh gave the distinct impression that he’d seen it all before and hadn’t been impressed then. And perhaps he had; he was a product of the Deep School, after all. Hadleigh gave the impression that wherever he was, that was where he was supposed to be. He might not have possessed the power of the Lord of Thorns, but there was no doubt he was still a power in himself
    He strode forward into the church, bowed slightly to the Lord of Thorns, nodded to me, and smiled easily at Larry.
    “Hello, little brother. Sorry I couldn’t make it to your funeral.”
    “Not many did,” said Larry, staring openly at his older brother. “I ended up having to put flowers on my own grave. There wasn’t any body in it, of course; I’m still using it. But our parents wanted a grave and a headstone and flowers, so that’s what they got. Hell, they miss you more than they do me. Would it kill you to visit them once in a while?”
    “I have duties and responsibilities,” said Hadleigh. “And my time isn’t always my own.”
    “Do you know where Tommy is?” said Larry, blunt and to the point as ever.
    “I’ll get to that,” said Hadleigh. “But first things first. Starting with you, Mr. Taylor.”
    Larry looked surprised for the first time. “You know Taylor?”
    “I know everyone,” said Hadleigh Oblivion. “Whether they know it or not. Hello, John. I’ve been watching you for some time.”
    “Okay,” I said. “That’s actually quite creepy, but moving on ... What brings you out into plain view?”
    “You. And Walker.” Hadleigh paused, seeming to consider his words carefully. “Something important is going to be decided, very soon, something that will affect the whole Nightside. I’m here to prevent certain outside forces from interfering. On either side.”
    “So you didn’t come back to help me find Tommy,” said Larry. “I should have known.”
    “I’ll help if I can, while I’m here,” said Hadleigh. “I would have come back for Tommy eventually, but ...”
    “Yeah, I know,” said Larry. “Duties and responsibilities.”
    “You have no idea what I had to give up, what I had to turn my back on, to become what I am,” said Hadleigh.
    “Was it worth it?” said Larry.
    “Ask me another time,” said Hadleigh. “We have business to be about. Let’s deal with the Lord of Thorns first, before he explodes from rage and frustration.”
    “Suits