“Oh, goddamn,” said Minty Fresh (damn on the downbeat, with pain and sustain). “Goddamn, my hood and grille are all fucked up. Goddamn. I will tolerate the rising of darkness to cover the world, but you do not fuck with my ride.”
He jumped back in the car, threw it into gear, and screeched around the next corner.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to run over the bitches again. You do not fuck with my ride.”
“Well, what did you think would happen when you ran them over?”
“Not this. I never ran over anyone before. Don’t act like that’s a surprise.”
Charlie looked at the gleaming interior of the car, the bloodred leather seats, the dash fitted with walnut burl and gold-plated knobs.
“This is a great car. My mailman would love this car.”
“Your mailman?”
“He collects vintage pimp wear.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“Nothing.”
They were already on Guerrero Street and Minty floored it as they approached the target block. The first Morrigan he had hit was just getting to her knees when he hit her again, knocking her over two parked cars and into the side of a vacant building. The second one turned to face them and bared her claws, which raked the hood as he rolled over her with a drumroll of thumps, then he ran over the third one’s legs as she was crawling back into the storm sewer.
“Jeez,” Charlie said, turning and looking out the back window.
Minty Fresh seemed to turn his full attention to driving safely now. “What the hell are those things?”
“I call them sewer harpies. They’re the things that call to us from the storm sewers. They’re a lot stronger now than they used to be.”
“They’re scary is what they are,” said Minty.
“I don’t know,” Charlie said. “Have you gotten a good look at them? I mean, they got the badonkadonk out back and some fine bajoopbadangs up front, know what I’m sayin’, dog? Buss a rock wid a playa?” He offered his fist for Minty to buss him a rock, but alas, the mint one left him hangin’.
“Stop that,” Fresh said.
“Sorry,” Charlie said.
“Talk Like a Playa in Ten Days or Less—Stone Thug Edition?” Minty asked.
Charlie nodded. “We got the CD into the store a couple of months ago. I practice in the van. How am I doing?”
“Your Negro-osity is uncanny. I had to keep checking to make sure you’re still white.”
“Thanks,” Charlie said, then, as if a light went on: “Hey, I’ve been looking for you—where the hell have you been?”
“Hiding out. One of those things came after me on the BART a few nights ago when I was coming back from Oakland.”
“How’d you get away?”
“Those little animal things, a bunch of them attacked her in the dark. I could hear her screaming at them, tearing them to ribbons, but they held her off until the train pulled into the station, which was full of people. She bolted back into the tunnel. There were pieces of the animal creatures everywhere in the train car.”
Minty turned onto Van Ness and started heading toward Charlie’s side of town.
“So they helped you? They’re not part of the Underworlders trying to take over?”
“They don’t appear to be. They saved my ass.”
“So you know some of the Death Merchants have been killed?”
“I didn’t know. It wasn’t in the paper. I saw where Anton’s shop burned up last night. He didn’t make it out?”
“They found pieces of him,” Charlie said.
“Charlie, I think I caused this.” Minty Fresh turned and really looked at Charlie for the first time, his golden eyes looking forlorn. “I failed to collect my last two soul vessels, and all of this started.”
“I thought it was me,” Charlie said. “I missed two as well. But I don’t think it’s us. My two clients are alive, I think they’re in that house where I was going when you saved me: the Three Jewels Buddhist Center. There’s a woman there who’s been buying up soul vessels, too.”
“Cute brunette?” Minty asked.
“I don’t know. Why?”
“She bought some from me, too. Tried to disguise herself, but it was her.”
“Well, she’s in that house back there. I’ve got to go back there.”
“I don’t want anything to do with those bitches with the claws,” Minty said.
“True dat,” Charlie said. “I had a thing with one of them.”
“No.”
“Yeah, she got all up in my grille and shit—had to cut da ho loose.”
“Stop that.”
“Sorry. Anyway, I’ve got to go back.”
“You sure? I don’t think they’re dead. Doesn’t look like they can be dead.”
“You could run over them again. By the way, how did you know where to find me?”
“After I heard about Anton’s place burning, I tried to call him and got a disconnected message, so I went to your store. I talked to that little Goth girl you have working for you. She told me where you went. Talked to her for about ten minutes. She knows about me—I mean us? The Death Merchants?”
“Yes, I told her a long time ago. Wasn’t she, uh, busy when you got there? With a guy, I mean.”
“No. She seeing anyone?”
“I thought you were gay?”
“I never said that.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t go out of your way to deny it either.”
“Charlie, I run a music store in the Castro, I’d do more business as a gay Death Merchant than a straight shopkeeper.”
“Good point. I never thought of that.”
“Color me surprised. So, she seeing anyone?”
“She’s half your age and I think she’s a little twisted—sexually, I mean.”
“So is she seeing anyone?”
“She’s like a little sister to me, Fresh. Don’t you have employees like that?”
“Have you never met anyone who works in a record store? There’s no greater repository of unjustified arrogance in the world. I’d poison my employees if I thought I could find replacements.”
“I don’t think she’s seeing anybody, but since the world is about to be taken over by the Forces of Darkness, you may not have time for dating.”
“I don’t know. She seems like she might have an in with the Forces of Darkness. I like her, she’s funny in a sort of macabre way, and she likes Miles.”
“Lily likes Miles Davis?”
“You don’t know that about your little sister?”
Charlie threw his hands up. “Take her, use her, throw her away, I don’t care, she’s only part-time. You can date my daughter, too. She’s going to be six and probably loves Coltrane for all I know.”
“Calm down, you’re overreacting.”
“Just turn around and take me back to that Buddhist center. I’ve got to stop this thing. It’s all on me, Fresh. I’m the Luminatus.”
“You are not.”
“I am,” Charlie said.
“You’re the Great Death—with a capital D? You? You know this to be true?”
“I do,” Charlie said.
“I knew there was something different about you, but I thought that the Luminatus would be—I don’t know—taller.”
“Don’t start with that, okay.”
Minty swung the car off Van Ness into a hotel turnaround.
“Where are you going?” Charlie said.
“To run over some sewer harpies again.”
“Back to the Buddhist center?”
“Uh-huh. You have any weapons besides that stupid sword?”
“My cop friend told me I should get a gun.”
Minty Fresh reached into his moss-green jacket and came out with the biggest pistol Charlie had ever seen. He placed it on the seat. “Take it. Desert Eagle fifty-caliber. It’ll stop a bear.”