Nightside 10 - The Good the Bad and the Uncanny

spot of blood anywhere on his smart city suit, and his old-school tie wasn’t an inch out of place. He might have come from his club, or a board meeting. He let us admire him for a moment, then strolled unhurriedly forward to join us, the steel ferule of his umbrella tapping loudly on the bare stone floor.
    “My ears are burning,” he murmured. “The only thing worse than being talked about is being sniped at by enemies. Don’t you want to hear my side of the story?”
    The Lord of Thorns stabbed a bony finger at him. “Betrayer!”
    Walker ignored him, his calm gaze fixed on Hadleigh, who stared thoughtfully back. Two of the most powerful men in the Nightside stood looking at each other, and I felt like diving for cover. If they decided to go at it, even the Church of St. Jude might not be strong enough to contain the explosion. For all I knew, Walker had a whole army waiting outside to back him up; and I didn’t even want to think what kind of forces Hadleigh Oblivion might be able to call on. And if the Lord of Thorns decided to get involved ... I drifted surreptitiously to one side, so there was nothing between me and the exit.
    “I knew my talking to the Lord of Thorns would bring you here, Walker,” Hadleigh said finally.
    “No-one brings me anywhere,” said Walker. “I just go where I’m needed.”
    “We have so much in common,” said Hadleigh.
    “I wouldn’t put money on it,” said Walker.
    “Your time is up, Henry,” said Hadleigh. “Time for you to step down and let others take over.”
    “Not just yet,” Walker murmured. “There are still loose ends to be taken care of first. Like the Lord of Thorns. Yesterday’s man, who can’t seem to understand that he isn’t needed or wanted any more.”
    The Lord of Thorns thrust his wooden staff at Walker, and the temperature inside the church plummeted.
    “You betrayed me! I am the Overseer of the Nightside!”
    “That was then; this is now,” Walker said calmly. “Yours was a simpler office, for a simpler time. We’ve all moved on since then. Things are different now. More complex.”
    “More corrupt!”
    “You see? You don’t understand the Nightside at all. These days, it exists to provide a safe haven for all those people and forces too dangerous to be allowed to run free in the outside world. The old days, the days of the Great Experiment, are gone. It’s all about business now, satisfying needs and appetites, making money by entertaining the tourists. Just one big, very profitable, freak show. And your old-fashioned ideas of what is and is not permissible ... are bad for business.”
    He used his Voice then. The Voice that compels all who hear it and cannot be denied or disobeyed. The blunt force of its power swept through the church, pushing everything else aside, settling over us like a spiritual strait jacket.
    “Be still,” said Walker. “Be calm. Listen to me. You know I have only your best interests at heart.”
    It worked on Larry. It even worked on Hadleigh. They stood still, smiling at Walker with open, empty faces. Ready to do whatever he told them because, for all their unnatural status, they were still men, and Walker’s Voice had power over the living and the dead. It only partly worked on me, because I am my mother’s son; but while I was still struggling to throw it off, the Lord of Thorns laughed mockingly and threw Walker’s Voice back in his face with one sweep of his staff. The power trembling on the air shattered like glass, and Walker actually fell back a step, staring blankly at the Lord of Thorns.
    “Do not seek to command me with our Creator’s Voice, little man! I am closer to Him than you will ever be! Defend yourself, functionary! Or will you claim you tried to rob us of our free will for the greater good?”
    “I told you,” said Walker, pulling the remains of his dignity about him again. “I don’t do Good, or Evil. I support the status quo. I keep the wheels turning, and I keep the natives from getting out of hand. Tell him, John. You’ve seen what I do and why it must be done. Surely you of all people understand that what I do is necessary!”
    The Lord of Thorns looked at me. “Time to choose a side, John Taylor.”
    “Yes,” said Walker. “Whose side are you on?”
    I looked at him. “Anyone’s but yours.”
    “You always have to do things the hard way, don’t you, John?” said Walker.
    He flipped open his gold pocket-watch, and the Timeslip within leapt out, enveloped