Kingdom of Darkness by Andy McDermott

side. He regarded the pale skin in silence, then let out a heavy sigh. ‘So, when were you planning on telling me?’
    ‘I . . . don’t know,’ she admitted. ‘I didn’t want to worry you.’
    ‘You didn’t . . .’ Another sigh, this time of disbelief and exasperation. ‘I’m your fucking husband , Nina. How could you not tell me?’
    Revealed on Nina’s flank was a line of ugly lumps, the largest almost half an inch across. They could easily have been mistaken for blisters, or warts – but both Nina and Eddie knew they were far more malevolent. ‘When did these appear?’
    She couldn’t meet his eyes, using the excuse of examining the blemishes to look away. ‘I don’t know exactly,’ she lied. It had been close to two weeks. ‘The biggest one came out first, and it . . . it’s just been growing ever since.’
    ‘And you deliberately kept them hidden from me? Is that why you suddenly started wearing T-shirts to bed?’ She nodded. ‘For fuck’s sake ! You should have told me!’
    Nina looked back at him. ‘What could you have done about them?’
    The simple, quiet question floored him. ‘About them? Not much,’ he had to admit. ‘But I could do things for you ! Whatever you need, I’ll do it.’
    ‘You already are, Eddie.’ She blinked away a tear. ‘You already are. But . . .’
    ‘But?’
    ‘There’s nothing you can do about – about these .’ She jabbed at the lumps with sudden anger. ‘There’s nothing anyone can do, nothing! We both know what’s going to happen to me. These things are going to kill me, and I didn’t tell you about them because the thing I need most from you is for you not to worry for me, and if I think about what’s going to happen I get so mad because – because – because of all the things I’ll never get to do ! Like having a child – only now we daren’t risk it . . .’
    ‘The doctors didn’t think I could get infected.’
    ‘But the baby would be! We already know that . . .’ She broke down, letting the wet towel drop to the floor as she clutched Eddie tightly.
    ‘It’s okay, it’s okay,’ he said, wrapping his muscular arms around her.
    ‘It’s not, though, is it?’ she managed through her sobs.
    He choked back tears of his own. ‘No, it’s fucking not. If I hadn’t already killed the fuckers who caused all this, I’d kill ’em again! Bastards.’
    Nina sighed. ‘Enough people have died already. All that death, and nothing to show for it. We found Valhalla, we found something that had been hidden for over a thousand years, but they burned it down. It’s a waste.’ Anger flared in her once more. ‘The whole thing’s such a waste , Eddie! I’m dying, and for what? I found something incredible, and they destroyed it!’
    ‘Yeah, and we also found something horrible, and it’s a bloody good job that got destroyed too,’ he reminded her. ‘We kept a bunch of arseholes from getting hold of the worst poison on the planet. And we stopped a nuclear war while we were at it.’
    ‘Saving the world again, right?’ She managed a small, sad laugh.
    Eddie made a similar sound of strained amusement. ‘Wouldn’t be the first time. Christ, it wouldn’t even be the second time.’
    ‘And this is what we get in return?’ She felt her naked side again, disgusted by the tumorous excrescences. ‘This is why I want to go to Egypt,’ she said, looking back at her husband with renewed determination. ‘One last job, as the cliché goes. If nothing else, I can help make sure that Alexander’s tomb is opened properly. Part of that legacy I talked about.’
    ‘What, finding Atlantis and Excalibur and El Dorado and everything else wasn’t enough?’ There was still an edge behind the words, even though his tone had lightened.
    ‘I just don’t like loose ends. Please, Eddie. Let me do this.’
    He took a deep breath. ‘Two days?’ he finally said. ‘Two days, and then we’re done. Okay?’
    ‘Okay,’ she promised.