Butcher Bird

"There are too many people looking for us," said Shrike. "There's no ship that can sail us away from this mess. And I need to get this key out of my body. The only way to do that is to get to Hell and succeed."

"I'm going with you," said Spyder.

"You can't. One glimpse of the underworld and you'll be trapped there forever."

"I'm not going to sit by the door reading the funnies, wondering what time you're getting home from work."

"This is just stupid and dangerous. Why are you doing this?"

Spyder kissed Shrike's cheek. "Didn't you get the memo? Heroes are coming smaller this year."

They went and sat back down at the fire with Count Non and Lulu. The Count had his long legs propped against the far wall of the cave. Spyder watched as a tarantula worked its way down from the ceiling, stepped onto Count's boot and crept up his leg. When it reached his hip, Non grabbed the tarantula and tossed it into the fire, where it writhed and sizzled. Spyder looked at the man.

"When you cut out the poison sac, tarantula tastes a lot like crab," the Count said.

"There must be some seriously fucked up Boy Scouts where you come from," said Spyder.

Lulu was making shadow animals on the wall. She wiggled her fingers to create a giant spider.

"The Count and me were having a chat, and we agree on the whole Elvis thing. 'Suspicious Minds' is a fine song, but Tom-fucking-Jones could've sung it as well. Probably did, too. I don't have any Tom Jones CDs."

"I have a bootleg of Elvis doing 'Suspicious Minds' live that I'll play for you when we get back," said Spyder. "You'll see it's worth suffering any number of white-leather Vegas jumpsuits. For a song like that, you've got to take the good with the bad."

Twenty-Nine

Berenice

"It's Berenice," said Shrike. "We're lucky we followed the river."

"Now we know what town it is," said Spyder. "We could have just walked here through some sewer pipe and skipped the whole Hindenburg drama."

"No. Berenice isn't like other cities. It isn't really here. Only the memory of the city."

"A city like the Coma Gardens?"

"Berenice is where memories live when we're done with them. It's where they're born and it's where they eventually die."

"What good does it do us? We can't ride the memory of horses to the mountains."

"There are humans in Berenice," said Count Non. "Someone has to be there to bear witness. Otherwise, the memories fade away. To make money, the human inhabitants trade with travelers."

"Trade what?" asked Lulu.

"Lost keys, lost pets, lost dreams, lost hope," said Shrike. "I passed through there once before. It can be dangerous. Psychically. You don't want to turn a corner and run into your own lost virginity."

"Speak for yourself. I'd do me at fourteen," said Lulu. "Let's follow the goddam yellow brick road."

"No road, Lulu. Just the river," said Spyder.

"Shit."

"We'll swim," said Shrike. "We just have to get past the city walls. Inside, there are walkways along all the canals."

"You cool with swimming, Lulu?" Spyder asked.

"Excuse me, son. You were the civilian. I was a lifeguard at YMCA summer camp, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was a while back before your troubles."

"You think my empty eyes and guts are going to fill up with water and drown me? That ain't going to happen. But thanks a fuckload for bringing it up."

"I'm just worried is all."

"Don't be," Lulu said, and waded into the river. When she was knee deep, she turned back. "There aren't any sharks or things with stingers out here, are there?"

"Nothing that can hurt you," said Shrike.

"Count, you get on one side and I'll get on the other. We'll put Shrike and Primo between us. Make sure no one wanders off course," said Spyder.

The Count smiled. "A fine idea."

"Primo, are you all right swimming with one arm?" asked Shrike.

"I'll be a little slow, I think," he said.

"Slow's fine. No one's in a rush to find their lost socks," said Spyder.

Shrike took Spyder's arm as they waded into the river. When she swam, she did so with ease and confidence. Spyder realized quickly that she didn't need much looking after. He kept an eye on Primo, who was doing a kind of modified dog paddle with his one good arm. The swimmer Spyder kept wondering about was the Count. How he managed to stay afloat while still wearing his chainmail amazed Spyder. Lulu was ahead of them, a strong, steady swimmer. She'd tied her jacket around her waist and on certain strokes, her Hello Kitty shirt slid up her body, letting the morning sun glint off the glass and metal she'd inserted into her wounded flesh.

Something brushed along Spyder's legs. Fingers touched his chest, tugged at his arms as they entered the water on each stroke. "What the fuck is happening?"

"They can't hurt you," Shrike said. "They're just memories. Drowned sailors, corsairs, anyone who died in water."