Page 118 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Two

“Probably for the best.” A pair of warm hands stroked hisface. “He’s alive, at least.”

“You had to caress his face to figure that out?”

“Apparently. We are engaged, after all. He’s terriblyhandsome in that rugged, aging-biker kind of way.”

Aging?

“I hadn’t noticed,” the man said. “There’s more blood than Iexpected.”

“It disturbs me that you expected blood at all.”

“Yeah, well, comes with the job. St. James,” the man said,much louder than Donovan felt was necessary. “Are you bleeding internally?”

Donovan tried to answer, but it came out as a croak, so heraised a middle finger instead.

“I think he’s going to be fine,” the woman said.

A phone rang, and the woman picked up as Donovan tried topry his eyelids apart. What the actual fuck? Did thedoc superglue them together? Speaking of the doc... “Where is she?” he managedto say.

Someone put a warm towel in the palm of his hand. “She tookoff, but not before she called us.” Swopes. That made sense. The doc would knowthat Swopes could order him around. Donovan rarely listened, but he did like toorder people around.

He pressed the towel to his face, then groaned and rubbedhis eyes. “What happened?” he asked from behind the terrycloth.

The woman answered. Marika. “We were hoping you could tellus. Did you get shot?”

“I did. Rock salt. That shit hurtsso much worse than you think it will.”

“We picked up your truck on the way over,” Swopes said withway more humor in his voice than Donovan felt was necessary.

“How did you manage to get into my truck?”

“Marika has a remarkable ability to convince people to doher bidding.”

“It’s a gift,” she said.

Donovan laughed but instantly regretted it. He grabbed hisribs, realizing the doc had wrapped them as a wave of agony washed over him.

“Looks like she left you a party favor.”

Donovan finally managed to pry open his lids, and Swopespointed at a small plastic cup holding a clear liquid. It sat on the nightstandwith a note that read: Drink this. “Fuck that,” he said.“That stuff knocked me on my ass. She said it was liquid Lortab.”

Swopes picked it up and sniffed.“I’m pretty sure she lied to you.”

“She does that.

“Elwyn says hi,” Marika said.

“I have a bone to pick with her.”

“Oh, okay.” She put her phone on speaker.

“Hey, Donovan,” the precocious teen said as if she hadn’talmost sent him to his death.

“What is she? And why me?” Oddly enough, he didn’t have toexplain. That told him he was on the right track, and Teacup knew more than shewas letting on.

“I don’t know what she is. Are you okay?”

“Don’t change the subject.”