Ms Mariella Hamilton to expire before her time.
So how is it I know all this? Easy – Lilith told me. And from what I heard from Ana and Danny, they got the same spiel from their handlers. What I don't know is whether we were told because they suspected we were involved, or whether Quinn was simply made example of to every Collector in existence. Not that it really matters. Quinn's shelving broke something inside me. I withdrew into myself, hitting the bottle pretty hard and focusing on whatever collection was at hand, but I couldn't keep the guilt at bay. Ana didn't understand that what I was doing was trying my best to cope – she saw it as callous and uncaring. And that's when Danny made his move. Somehow, he convinced Ana that it was me who had hung Quinn out to dry. I hadn't the faintest idea what he told her, or whether he himself believed it. I guess it doesn't really matter what he believed, because either way, it spelled curtains for our little club. Ana and Danny rode off into the sunset, leaving me and Quinn behind. I guess sometimes friendship is a bitch.
"I admit," I said, "it wasn't only Quinn that brought me here. I wanted to see you, too – make sure you were OK."
Ana eyed me with suspicion. "Why wouldn't I be OK?"
"Ana, I talked to Danny."
"Ah," she said. "So that's why you've come – Danny told you he and I were over."
"That's right."
"And you came running all the way to Nowhere, Alabama just to see if I needed a shoulder to cry on? Why Samuel, I'm touched."
"It's not like that. I'm not here to get you back."
"Get me back ? I wasn't aware you ever had me."
"You know what I mean."
"I assure you, I do not. You and I, we had our fun, Sam, but I know full well your heart belongs to someone else."
Elizabeth. She was talking about my wife, Elizabeth. "She was a long time ago," I said. "Lifetimes now, it seems. And you know as well as I do I'm never going to see Elizabeth again."
"True," she said, "but that doesn't make you love her any less. I mean, you damned yourself to an eternity in hell to save her, Sam – how could I possibly compete with that? How could anybody? Besides, with you and Danny, it was never about loving me – it was about fixing me, possessing me. I swear, I wish the two of you would get it through your heads that I'm not some delicate little flower to be sheltered and protected. It would have saved us all a world of hurt."
"I told you, Ana – none of that is why I'm here."
"Then why, exactly, are you here?"
"I'm here because Danny's in some kind of trouble."
"And you think that you can help him."
"Something like that."
"You do so like to play the savior, don't you, Sam?" Her eyes drifted over to the woman lying still beside us, to the Collector trapped within. "It's a shame you're so goddamn lousy at it."
"I don't have time for this verbal sparring bullshit," I said. "Danny's missing, and I aim to find him. Now are you going to help me or not?"
She stared at me for a long moment, eyes narrowing in thought. "Why, Sam, I misread you! You're not helping Danny – you're hunting him. What, pray tell, did he do to piss you off so much?"
I considered lying to her, but at that moment, there was a rasping in the corner. A massive, bulbous wasp – too large by half for Alabama, but dead-on for the jungles of the Amazon – was skittering along the joint between ceiling and wall. The dry rat-a-tat of its wings against the plaster was like a death rattle. I wondered how long I had before its friends arrived.
"He stole something from me," I said. "A soul that I was sent to collect. And now I want it back."
"He stole a soul."
"That's right."
Ana shook her head in weary resignation. "Daniel, you idiot," she muttered, more to herself than to me.
"You don't sound too surprised."
"I wish I was. Truth is, I've seen something like this coming for a
So how is it I know all this? Easy – Lilith told me. And from what I heard from Ana and Danny, they got the same spiel from their handlers. What I don't know is whether we were told because they suspected we were involved, or whether Quinn was simply made example of to every Collector in existence. Not that it really matters. Quinn's shelving broke something inside me. I withdrew into myself, hitting the bottle pretty hard and focusing on whatever collection was at hand, but I couldn't keep the guilt at bay. Ana didn't understand that what I was doing was trying my best to cope – she saw it as callous and uncaring. And that's when Danny made his move. Somehow, he convinced Ana that it was me who had hung Quinn out to dry. I hadn't the faintest idea what he told her, or whether he himself believed it. I guess it doesn't really matter what he believed, because either way, it spelled curtains for our little club. Ana and Danny rode off into the sunset, leaving me and Quinn behind. I guess sometimes friendship is a bitch.
"I admit," I said, "it wasn't only Quinn that brought me here. I wanted to see you, too – make sure you were OK."
Ana eyed me with suspicion. "Why wouldn't I be OK?"
"Ana, I talked to Danny."
"Ah," she said. "So that's why you've come – Danny told you he and I were over."
"That's right."
"And you came running all the way to Nowhere, Alabama just to see if I needed a shoulder to cry on? Why Samuel, I'm touched."
"It's not like that. I'm not here to get you back."
"Get me back ? I wasn't aware you ever had me."
"You know what I mean."
"I assure you, I do not. You and I, we had our fun, Sam, but I know full well your heart belongs to someone else."
Elizabeth. She was talking about my wife, Elizabeth. "She was a long time ago," I said. "Lifetimes now, it seems. And you know as well as I do I'm never going to see Elizabeth again."
"True," she said, "but that doesn't make you love her any less. I mean, you damned yourself to an eternity in hell to save her, Sam – how could I possibly compete with that? How could anybody? Besides, with you and Danny, it was never about loving me – it was about fixing me, possessing me. I swear, I wish the two of you would get it through your heads that I'm not some delicate little flower to be sheltered and protected. It would have saved us all a world of hurt."
"I told you, Ana – none of that is why I'm here."
"Then why, exactly, are you here?"
"I'm here because Danny's in some kind of trouble."
"And you think that you can help him."
"Something like that."
"You do so like to play the savior, don't you, Sam?" Her eyes drifted over to the woman lying still beside us, to the Collector trapped within. "It's a shame you're so goddamn lousy at it."
"I don't have time for this verbal sparring bullshit," I said. "Danny's missing, and I aim to find him. Now are you going to help me or not?"
She stared at me for a long moment, eyes narrowing in thought. "Why, Sam, I misread you! You're not helping Danny – you're hunting him. What, pray tell, did he do to piss you off so much?"
I considered lying to her, but at that moment, there was a rasping in the corner. A massive, bulbous wasp – too large by half for Alabama, but dead-on for the jungles of the Amazon – was skittering along the joint between ceiling and wall. The dry rat-a-tat of its wings against the plaster was like a death rattle. I wondered how long I had before its friends arrived.
"He stole something from me," I said. "A soul that I was sent to collect. And now I want it back."
"He stole a soul."
"That's right."
Ana shook her head in weary resignation. "Daniel, you idiot," she muttered, more to herself than to me.
"You don't sound too surprised."
"I wish I was. Truth is, I've seen something like this coming for a
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