Stackpole, Michael A - Dark Conspiracy 02 (40 page)

”This is Coyote. Coyote, this is-“

“I know.” I bowed deeply and held the bow out of respect. Straightening up slowly, I noticed, from the corner of my eye that Crowley had also bowed to the elderly man. I smiled politely and made an introduction.

”May I present Damon Crowley.”

“We have met.”

Crowley smiled. “How kind of you to remember.It was a long time ago.”

I looked over at Crowley and raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

Crowley shrugged. “His coronation, a Red Army cell. It was a long time ago.”

The small man surveyed the courtyard. “You are responsible for this?”

I nodded reluctantly. “Some of it. The man who cata-lyzed it, Arrigo EI-Leichter, is dead. Your Colonel Nagashita killed him.”

“My grandson, is he one of these...things?”

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“No, sir, he is not.” I frowned. “El-Leichter was a pawn of a Dark Lord we call Fiddleback. Ryuhito resisted him.

Another Dark Lord, Pygmalion, offered Ryuhito something more. Your grandson left with him.”

The small man sighed heavily, then remained silent for a while. Sin looked down and swallowed hard, but the small man shook his head. “You were to get to him and convince him of his error. Clearly things were worse than I imagined, and I did not charge you with the right duty.”

He looked up at me. “Mr. MacNeal and Mr. Garrett have told me you are the person who is most capable of dealing with these Dark Lords. Is this accurate?”

“They are generous with praise and optimistic. However, with my friends I am willing to defy Dark Lords.”

“Can you bring my grandson back?”

I hesitated as the full import of the question landed on me heavily. Could we find a Dark Lord’s home dimension and extract Ryuhito? The logistics and timing for such an operation would be staggering. Part of me knew it would be impossible, but another part said that not even trying would be criminal. “It would be difficult and dangerous, but I am willing to try.”

“Good. Whatever it takes, you shall have. From this point forward, this facility is yours to use as a staging area.

My people will secure it. Draw up a list of things you need, and I will supply them. Whatever expenses you incur are mine.”

“You love your grandson very much.”

“This is true, but that is not the reason for my generosity here. As Itold Mr. MacNeal,” he said hoarsely, “I do not act out of love for Ryuhito, but out of my love for the world.”

He bowed and withdrew inside his group of guards.

Sinclair stared after him, then turned back with a surprised expression on his face. “Can it be done? Can we find Ryuhito and pull him out?”

“It can be done, but the odds of Elvis becoming the pope are a bit better than our chances of success.” I jerked a thumb at the carnage behind us. “Had Pygmalion not intervened, Fiddleback would have won here. Going one

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on one with a Dark Lord is not a survival trait.”

Crowley smiled slyly. “I don’t think we’ll have to go it alone, Coyote.”

“Oh?” The amused tone in his voice sent chills down my spine.

“As I noted before, Pygmalion is not a favorite of the other Dark Lords. In fact, in coming here I met one who pledged his help to destroy Pygmalion.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Crowley nodded solemnly. “In fact, he said without him you will fail. I think he’s right.”

“Who?” A sinking feeling tugged my stomach toward my toes as I realized who Crowley had spoken with.

”Fiddleback? An alliance with Fiddleback? I might as well commit suicide.”

“Without him, you likely will.” Crowley’s eyes hardened. “While I don’t begrudge you that option, I hope you reconsider. Alone, you’ll kill yourself. And the rest of world will die with you.”

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