The Bride Wore Black Leather

to my face, and the fingers came away bloody. I could see the blood, but I couldn’t feel it. Cathy handed me a handkerchief, and I mopped roughly at my face till the bleeding stopped. Crying tears of blood was not a good sign. I couldn’t keep on using my gift like this. It was killing me by inches. I offered Cathy her handkerchief back; but she looked at the bloody mess and shook her head quickly. I tucked the handkerchief away in an inside pocket. Not the kind of thing you want to leave lying around, in the Nightside. There’s a lot you can achieve with someone else’s blood, little of it good. When I looked at Cathy again, she was looking at me as though she was already buying the wreath.
    “Boss,” said Cathy. “What’s happening to you? You look like shit. You look like death warmed up and allowed to congeal.”
    “It’s the gift,” I said, as steadily as I could. “You go to the well too often, you get blood instead of water. I’ll last. I’ve still got things to do.”
    “We need to get you back to Strangefellows,” said Cathy. “Alex has all kinds of stuff there that will put you right.”
    “No,” I said. “I think I’ve gone beyond anything Alex can help me with. It doesn’t matter. We have to get to St Jude’s. That’s got to be Ground Zero. You don’t have to come with me, Cathy.”
    “Yes I do,” she said sturdily. “I’m damned if I’ll let anyone interfere with the wedding preparations for tomorrow. You promised I could be maid of honour, and I’m holding you to it.” She stopped, and looked at me thoughtfully. “Do you suppose . . . the Lord of Thorns will be there?”
    “I’m banking on it,” I said. “He’s the only weapon I’ve got left.”

TEN
    Truths and Consequences
    St. Jude’s is still the only real church in the Nightside, tucked away in an area where nobody goes and a hell of a long way from the Street of the Gods. Because St Jude’s is the real deal. It’s only an old, cold, stone structure, built so long ago no-one remembers when, with featureless grey walls, unmarked by time or weather or the designs of man. No tower, no bell, no crucifix on display, a few slit windows, here and there, and one narrow doorway. St Jude’s isn’t meant to be easy to find or easy to enter. This is a church where you can talk directly with your god, and expect to be heard. And, more worryingly, answered. Dreams can come true, and miracles can happen. So be very careful what you ask for.
    I had Cathy park the MINI Cooper some distance away from the church, and after she’d locked it up and armed the defences, we left the car where it was and made our way slowly, and carefully, and hopefully very quietly, down the long, narrow street that led to the church. St. Jude’s stood grim and alone in the moonlight. There was no-one else about, and even the ever-present roar of traffic seemed faded and far-away. As though we had come to a whole new place, where everyone kept their heads down to avoid being noticed. It’s one thing to pray to God when you’re in trouble; it’s quite another to have Him take a personal interest in you.
    St. Jude’s stood alone because it liked it that way. It existed in its own small and very private world, and always had.
    “You really think the Sun King won’t hear us coming?” said Cathy. “It’s so quiet here you could hear a mouse thinking about farting.”
    “Why make it easy for him?” I said. “I’ve reached the stage where I’ll take any advantage I can get my hands on.”
    Cathy gave me a sideways look. “You really believe all this living-god crap, boss?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. “I’ve met powers and dominations in my time, and any number of gods and demons, but the Sun King . . . is something else. When he says he wants to change the world, he’s not being metaphorical. Look how easily he turned the whole of the Nightside against me. Even my mother couldn’t do that during the Lilith War; and she’s a Biblical Myth.”
    Even as we drew near St. Jude’s, keeping alert for any sound or sight of the Sun King, I was still keeping a careful watch on Cathy. If she was going to betray me, this would be the perfect time and place. I didn’t want to believe that, didn’t even want to think that; but after Suzie . . . I didn’t know what to believe any more. But all the way up the narrow road, right up to the church itself, Cathy said nothing, did nothing but stick close by my side, ready for