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“You idiot,”
3
“do you know how much you’ve set us back?
2
I should say, set yourself back, since it’s your girlfriend we’re looking for.”
3
“You’re just lucky that Dvorov isn’t my only contact.
3
Come on, we’re heading out.”
3
ome on, we’re heading out.”
0
He held the door for me and Amy when we reached the bottom of the stairs.
1
Walking outside, I was shocked to see that it was already dark.
2
“Night comes quickly here,”
0
“Night comes quickly here,” said Nepthys quietly as he came out behind me.
2
“Didn’t I warn you?”
0
“Okay,”
1
“Okay,” he said as we hit the street, “we’re going to see another friend of mine.
1
“we’re going to see another friend of mine.
3
First, though, we are getting you a hat.
3
You look ridiculous with a shaved head.”
2
At a nearby stand, he grabbed the first hat that would cover my head and might pass back in real Boston.
0
It was a black baseball cap that read “Dead Can Dance” in gold across the front.
3
“Dead Can Dance”
3
Amy liked it, I think.
3
She still hadn’t spoken since I named her, so I wasn’t sure.
0
He took us to a squat, long building whose roof bulged up like the ribs of a gutted animal.
0
The black door opened as we came up to it, and a pale man opened the door.
2
I only say “he” because he didn’t have a hint of femininity.
3
“he”
0
His eyes were white.
3
From behind him, I could hear something that sounded like a remix of the Cure’s “A Forest”.
1
“A Forest”
1
“I’m here to see Isis.
3
Tell her that Nepthys is here to see her.”
0
The man closed his eyes.
3
A moment later, he opened them again and stepped aside to let us in.
1
Nepthys walked straight past him and I tried to keep up, taking Amy’s small hand so that she wouldn’t lag behind.
0
Amy gave my hand a squeeze.
1
Nepthys lead us down a hallway that matched the building’s façade, a vaulted, ribbed intestine of a hallway, whose black walls looked unsettlingly organic.
0
We kissed and slipped inside.
1
Then there was a door, which opened as we approached.
3
Inside, the space opened into a wide, square chamber mirrored and so dark that it could have been any size.
2
The old vaulted church was stripped down: there was no cloth on the altar, just a DJ’s toolkit and his beer.
2
These were incontestably male.
1
“Nepthys!”
2
said the woman, slithering up across the furs to sit up.
0
As she rose, her robes fell open and I realized that, except for what looked like a red silk kimono, she was naked – naked and stunning.
2
I had an urge to cover Amy’s eyes.
3
“It’s been years since I’ve seen you.
1
Please, come and sit beside me, and introduce your friends.”
3
“This man is here in search of his lover, who was stolen from him in the human world,”
0
“This man is here in search of his lover, who was stolen from him in the human world,” said Nepthys, ushering us toward the woman in silk.
3
“The girl is …surprising,”
2
“The girl is …surprising,” he concluded.
1
“And I am Isis,”
3
“And I am Isis,” said the woman, offering her hand to me.
0
I took it and, dropping to one knee, gave her fingers a small kiss.
2
It seemed appropriate.
0
“It is an honor to meet you, Lady Isis,”
2
“It is an honor to meet you, Lady Isis,” I said.
1
She laughed, liquid, alluring, alarming.
0
“Oh, precious!
2
He has lovely manners, Nepthys, despite his poor taste in hats.
1
You may leave out the ‘Lady,’ boy.
3
Through the dark, I could see three bolts left in the wall from where they’d taken down the crucifix.
0
“Now, how can I help the elegantly mannered friend of my Nepthys and his surprising young charge?
0
I hope I can start by offering some wine.”
1
Nepthys poured out wine for three of us.
0
“May I have a little more of what you gave me before, Nepthys?”
2
I asked.
3
“I still feel a little woozy.”
2
He poured a dollop of the clear liquid into one cup and passed it to me.
1
The wine’s rich scent had a touch of something chemical that I recognized from the bar, but it filled my mouth and sank into my veins with reassuring warmth.
1
Isis’ nostrils twitched slightly.
3
This story might be interesting.
0
Does it have anything to do with why your head is shaved?”
3
“It was part of the price for this girl, who was a rock at the time,”
0
“It was part of the price for this girl, who was a rock at the time,” explained Nepthys.
0
“I have a feeling that she was worth the trade,”
0
“I have a feeling that she was worth the trade,” I added.
3
Amy, still holding my hand, smiled.
1
“She may be at that,”
0
“She may be at that,” said Isis, gazing at her.
3
A confessional too beaten-up to have been sold was shaking in a way that suggested activity inside, and where the pews had been taken out, a couple hundred people were testifying to the DJ’s moving sermon.
1
She has good blood under her cheeks.
1
Good, round breasts, too, even though they’re small, they suit her.”
1
Amy didn’t blush, and I hoped that she didn’t understand what Isis was saying.
0
“She would have been worth it,”
2
“She would have been worth it,” Nepthys interrupted, “if this fool hadn’t accidentally woken her up before we could give her to our contact.
0
“if this fool hadn’t accidentally woken her up before we could give her to our contact.
3
He was going to give us valuable information for her.”
0
“Now I understand why you’re here,”
0
“Now I understand why you’re here,” said Isis.
1
“So what do you need to know?”
3
“You know I wouldn’t come to you if I could get this information another way,”
2
“You know I wouldn’t come to you if I could get this information another way,” said Nepthys apologetically.
2
“I think that the person who stole the girl we’re looking for might be a vampire.
2
Isis …you know some way to locate the undead, don’t you?”
3
If I know him, I can find him.
3
If not, you’ll have to bring me something to work with.”
3
Nepthys looked at me.
0
I thought back to seeing the man in the hollow church and described his skin, his dark hair, the way that light seemed to flow around him, as best as I could.
2
Isis set her elbows in the fur and rested her head on her hands while I spoke and tried not to stare at her full, hanging breasts.
2
When I had told her all that I could remember, she blinked her black lashes and said, “I remember him.”
0