Die and Stay Dead
Page 45
Philip looked at me. “You really think we can do this alone? You saw those demons. They’re as big as redwoods.”
“We won’t be alone,” I said. “Did you bring the other thing I asked you to?”
He nodded. “It was right where you said it would be. Under your mattress. You might want to come up with a new hiding place one of these days.”
“It’s an old habit,” I said.
Philip took the object out of his pocket and put it in my hand. It was a carved bone whistle the gargoyles had given me.
Use this should you ever have need of us, and no matter where we are, we will come.
“There’s just one more thing,” Philip said. He reached into his soaking wet coat and pulled out Nightclaw, wrapped in its black velvet cloth. “I had to go back in the Hudson for it, but it was just where we left it, sticking out of Behemoth’s ditched hindquarters. One blow from this dagger will end any demon that tries to mess with our shit.” He looked at me pointedly. “Any demon. You understand me? You start reverting back to your old ways, I won’t think twice about cutting you. And don’t go thinking this is something you can come back from, either. This is Nightclaw. The Guardians forged it to kill the Voyavold. If I cut you with it, you’ll stay dead. So you make sure to keep that demon shit in check.”
“Fair enough.” I took a deep breath. “Are you ready for this?”
“To watch a demon fight other demons? I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said.
A demon fighting other demons. It reminded me of something Crixton said. Demonwar is coming. I didn’t know what he meant until now.
Another crash sounded above us. More dirt and stone rained down onto the bridge.
“Going back up there is suicide,” Philip said. “But I suppose we all have to die sometime.”
“I suppose we do,” I said.
We left the ice bridge, retracing our steps back through the tunnels toward a dark and dying city.
ALSO BY NICHOLAS KAUFMANN
Hunt at World’s End
Chasing the Dragon
Still Life: Nine Stories
Dying Is My Business
About the Author
Nicholas Kaufmann is the Bram Stoker-, Thriller-, and Shirley Jackson Award–nominated author of Dying Is My Business, Chasing the Dragon, Hunt at World’s End, and Still Life: Nine Stories. Over the years, he’s worked in publishing, owned his own bookstore, managed a video store, and was a development associate for a literary agent. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and two ridiculous cats.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DIE AND STAY DEAD. Copyright © 2014 by Nicholas Kaufmann. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design by Ervin Serrano
Cover illustration by Chris McGrath
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The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-03612-4 (trade paperback)
ISBN 978-1-250-03611-7 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781250036117
First Edition: October 2014