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"No, it’s okay," Audrey said "He did shag ed - but I’, you know, it was a preshag decision" She threw her papers on the table and cli, how’s yourkiss and entwined hi to open an oyster until Minty Fresh cleared his throat and she turned to hi to you, Mr Fresh"

"Yes Thank you" Minty leaned to the side so he could see Charlie "Whether they were here for you, or for our clients who didn’t die, they’ll be back, you know that?"

"The Morrigan?" said Audrey

"Huh," said the Death Merchants, again in chorus

"You guys are so cute," Audrey gushed "They’re called the Morrigan Raven women - personifications of death in the fore into birds There are three of them, all part of the saan"

Charlie leaned back from her so he could look her in the eye "How do you know that?"

"I just looked it up on the Internet" Audrey climbed out of Charlie’s lap, picked up the papers on the table, and began to read "’The Morrigan consists of three distinct entities: Macha, who haunts the battlefield, and takes heads of warriors as tribute in battle - she is said to be able to heal a warrior froh heads to her The Celtic warriors called the severed heads Macha’s acorns She is considered the e, the passion of battle and killing - she was said to collect the seed of fallen warriors, and use its power to inspire a sexual frenzy for battle, a literal bloodlust And Nemain, who is frenzy, was said to drive soldiers into battle with a howl so fierce that it could cause eneht - her claere venomous and thethe venom into the eyes of enemy soldiers to blind them’"

"That’s them," said Minty Fresh "I saw venom come from the claws of the one on the BART"

"Yeah," Charlie said, "and I think I remember Babd - the bloodlust one That’s them I have to talk to Lily I sent her to Berkeley to find out about the She must have not even looked"

"Yeah, ask her if she’s seeing anybody," Minty Fresh said To Audrey: "Did it say how you kill them? What their weaknesses are?"

Audrey shook her head "Just that warriors took dogs into battle to protect against the Morrigan"

"Dogs," Charlie echoed "That explains whyyou, Fresh, we’re going to be okay Destiny is on our side"

"Yeah, you said that Call us a cab"

"I wonder why of all the different gods and demons in the Underworld, the Celtic ones are here"

"Maybe they’re all here," Minty said "I had a crazy Indian tell yptian jackal-headed god of the dead"

"That’s great!" Charlie said "A jackal - that’s a type of dog You have natural abilities to battle the Morrigan, see"

Minty looked at Audrey "If you don’t do sooing to shoot him"

"Oh yeah," Charlie said "Can I still borrow one of your big guns?"

Minty unfolded to his feet "I’ outside to call a cab and wait, Charlie If you’re coood-bye now, because I’ adoringly at Audrey "I think we’re safe in the daylight anyway"

"Monk shagger," Minty growled as he ducked under the doorway

Auntie Cassie let Charlie into their sreeting hus almost as soon as it started

"Daddy!"

Charlie swept Sophie up in his are color; then, when Jane caged her as well

"Uh, let go," Jane said, pushing him away "You smell like incense"

"Oh, Jane, I can’t believe it, she’s so wonderful"

"He got laid," Cassandra said

"You got laid?" Jane said, kissing her brother on the cheek "I’ot laid," Sophie said to the hellhounds, who see the news

"No, not laid," Charlie said, and there was a collective sigh of disappointh of relief, "but that’s not the thing The thing is she’s wonderful She’s gorgeous, and kind, and sweet, and - "

"Charlie," Jane interrupted, "you called us and told us that there was soet Sophie and protect her, and you were going on a date?"

"No, no, there was - is danger, at least in the dark, and I did need you to get Sophie, but I ain

"Honey, we don’t say that, okay," Charlie said "Auntie Jane and Auntie Cassie shouldn’t say that either It’s not nice"

"Like ’kitty’ and ’not in the butt’?"

"Exactly, honey"

"Okay, Daddy So it wasn’t nice?"

"Daddy has to go to our house and get his date book, pumpkin, we’ll talk about this later Giveand a kiss and Charlie thought that heshe had been his only future, his only joy, and now he had this other joy, and he wanted to share it with her "I’ll coht back, okay?"

"Okay Let me down"

Charlie let her slide to the floor and she ran off to another part of the house

"So it wasn’t nice?" Jane asked

"I’uys in the middle of it I didn’t mean to scare you"

Jane thumped him in the arm "So it was nice?"

"It was really nice," Charlie said, breaking into a grin "She’s really nice She’s so nice I miss Mom"

"Lost me," Cassandra said

"Because I’d like Mo okay That I ood for Sophie"

"Whoa, don’t juer," Jane said "You just met this woman, you need to slon - and remember, this co a woman in"

"Slut," Cassie "

Cassie looked at Jane "You were right, he really did need to get laid"

"That’s not it!"

Charlie’s cell rang "Excuse uys" He flipped it open

"Asher, what the hell have you done?" It was Lily She was crying "What the hell have you let loose?"

"What, Lily? What?"

"It was just here The frontof the shop is gone Gone! It just cah the shop, and took all of your soul thingies Loaded the and fleay Fuck, Asher Ihideous"

"Yeah, Lily, are you okay? Is Ray okay?"

"Yeah, I’m okay Ray didn’t coh theIt wasn’t interested in anything but that shelf Asher, it was as big as a bull and it fucking flew!"

She sounded like she was on the edge of hysteria "Hold on, Lily Stay there and I’ll come to you Go in the back room and don’t open the door until you hear ?"

"I don’t know, Lily"

The bullheaded Death flew into the culvert and iing the bag of souls behind hier The tiing on the City - the City where he had staked his territory so o - his city Still, they would cohtfully his All of the old gods of death: Yama and Anubis and Mors, Thanatos and Charon and Mahakala, Azrael and Eods born of the energy of Man’s greatest fear, the fear of death - all of the to rise as the leader of darkness and the dead, as the Luan, he would become the one But first he had to an, and take down the wretched huo a long way toward healing his brides He reat ship was reat leathery wings like a war dru, swirling around the ship’s an, torn and broken, aiting for him on the deck

"What did I tell you?" Babd said "It’s really not that great Above, huh? I, for one, could do without cars altogether"

Jane drove while Charlie fired out phone calls on his cell, first to Rivera, then to Minty Fresh Within a half an hour they were all standing in Charlie’s store, or the wreckage that had been Charlie’s store, and uniforet the glass swept up

"The tourists have to love this," Nick Cavuto said, gnawing an unlit cigar "Right on the cable-car line Perfect"

Rivera was sitting in the back roo Lily while Charlie, Jane, and Cassandra tried to sort through the s back on their shelves Minty Fresh stood by the front door, wearing shades, looking entirely too cool for the destruction that lay strewn around him Sophie was content to sit in the corner and feed shoes to Alvin and Moha ht this would be a good place to bring your kid?"

Charlie turned to the big cop and leaned on the counter "Tell me, Detective, in your professional opinion, what procedure should I use in dealing with robbery by a flying - at Charlie as if he’d had water thrown in his face, not really angry, just very surprised Finally, he grinned around his cigar, and said, "Mr Asher, I ao outside and smoke, call in to the dispatcher, and have her look that particular protocol up You have stuone?"

"I’ll do that," Charlie said He went into the office with Lily and Rivera and said, "Rivera, can I get some police protection here at uns?"

Rivera nodded, patting Lily on the hand as he looked away "I can give you two, Charlie, but not for longer than twenty-four hours You sure you don’t want to get out of town?"

"Upstairs we have the security bars and steel doors, we have the hellhounds and Minty Fresh’s weapons, and besides, they’ve already been here I have a feeling they got what they came for, but the cops would make me feel better"

Lily looked at Charlie She was in total ed her lipstick halfway across her face "I’ht I would handle it better than this It was so scary It wasn’t mysterious and cool, it was horrible The eyes and the teeth - I peed, Asher I’lad you had the sense to get out of its way"

"Asher, if you’re the Lu must be your competition"

"What? What is that?" Rivera said

"It’s her weird Gothy stuff, Inspector Don’t worry about it," Charlie said He looked through to the door and saw Minty Fresh standing at the front of the shop, looking at hi, Well? So Charlie asked: "Hey, Lily, are you seeing anyone?"

Lily wiped her nose on the sleeve of her chef ’s coat "Look, Asher - I, uh - I’ to have to withdraw that offer I made you I mean, after Ray, I’ain Ever"

"I wasn’t asking forFresh

"Oh," Lily said, following his gaze, noiping her eyes with her sleeves "Oh Fuck Cover for roup" She dashed into the employee washroom and slaoing on here?"

Charlie was going to try to co and he held up his finger to pause time "Charlie Asher," he said

"Charlie, it’s Audrey," caht now The Morrigan are here"