The Night Beat

are.”
    We all had something that would dust another undead -- in case one of our own turned to the bad. But, from mildest holy water bullets to the mighty Dusters, we never turned it on each other until that point. Of course, this wasn’t really a situation where I could say one of our own had turned against us. Frankly, if what I was seeing was real, and Ralph’s blood all over me said it was as real as it got, part of Little Harp’s soul had always been in Jack.
    I got in front of Ralph. “Get out of here.”
    Little Harp laughed, then shifted. It was Jack looking at me, holding the gun which he had cocked and aimed right at me. “Come on, Vic. Let me get rid of him. Then we can go off together, just like you always wanted.”
    “I wanted what I thought you were, not what you really are.”
    “You’re sure?” He cocked his head at me and looked almost boyish. “Maybe I’m exactly what you wanted.”
    “I didn’t want to hook up with one of the Prince’s major minions. To set the record straight and all.”
    He snorted. “Sure you did. You were hot for me from the first moment you saw me. And what’s wrong with that? We belong together. You don’t fit with him and you never will,” he pointed at Ralph with the gun barrel. “He’s a loser. Besides, you can’t stand him, and you know it.”
    “He’s a better being than you’ll ever be.”
    “Big words. Impressive and heartfelt, I’m sure.” Jack sighed. “But let’s be realistic. He’s not the one for you, now, is he?”
    “I think the bastard’s trying too hard,” Sexy Cindy said as she slammed one of my end tables against the back of Jack’s head. “Or however that quote goes. And like I said to her freak mother, get away from our girl.”
    “Methinks the lady doth protest too much, my dear,” Freddy said, as he hit Jack at the knees with my coffee table. “From the Bard. And I agree with both sentiments.”
    “Shakespeare,” Merc added as he swooped in and grabbed Ralph. “I’m sure he had a ‘get away from our girl’ quote, too.”
    “Nice to see you guys, where did you come from?” I leaped over the table and grabbed the gun. Sadly, Jack still had it firmly in hand, but at least I had the barrel pointing up and not at any being I cared about.
    “We were hiding,” L.K. said, as he wrapped at bath sheet around Jack’s head and held it there. Jack shook his head wildly, but L.K. held on.
    “Where?” I tried to wrench the gun away, but Jack wasn’t having any of it. I decided not to complain -- if he had both hands on the gun, he couldn’t take the towel off or get L.K.
    “Somewhere we’ll tell you about when enemy dude isn’t right here,” Sexy Cindy said. “Now might be a good time to tell you that he wasn’t an infrequent visitor to our corner, both before you were his partner and after.”
    I was well-placed and, by now, beyond angry. I slammed my knee into Jack’s groin. Happily, he made the sound men make when they’re so slammed. I slammed my other knee into his face as he crumpled to the ground, still holding onto the gun.
    “We’re officially broken up. I promise. On sanctified or desecrated ground or just totaled apartment building. I’m officially cutting you loose.”
    “You promised.” How he could get that out clearly I didn’t want to contemplate.
    My doors burst open and four beings swarmed in. Black Angels One and Two looked angrier than I’d ever seen. I really hoped they weren’t that angry just at me.
    Cain reached us first, grabbed the gun, and wrenched it out of both of our hands. I fell back into Freddy’s conveniently waiting arms. L.K. zipped over to us. Merc still had Ralph, who wasn’t looking anything close to great, but who was, for all I could tell, still unalive.
    Miriam grabbed Jack and spun him towards her. “I warned you.”
    I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear him clearly. He laughed. “You warned a part of me. That part cared. But it’s dead. Like you’ll be.” He shifted again, and instead of Jack or Little Harp or a werewolf, the Adversary was there, all twelve feet of him. He smashed through my ceiling as he leaped into the air, still holding Miriam.
    I didn’t think and I’m pretty sure Ralph didn’t, either. Instincts took over and we both leaped. I caught one leg, Ralph caught the other. We locked our jaws and held on. Then we went on Mister Adversary’s Wild Ride, Magdalena, Cain and Abel right behind us.
    We weren’t slowing him down.