Ghost Dance Read online

  Meanwhile, here she was, stuck in the mundane world. She'd chosen a diner in the sleepy Noe Valley, a place where nothing too remarkable ever happened. She knew she couldn't stay in town long, though. Or in the country. Hammond would want to know what had happened to PD, and she didn't want to tell him that either. She wasn't going back to the Agency.

  "Did I do the right thing?" Morgan asked.

  She laughed and he frowned. He looked tired too. She'd seen the long burn on his chest from Lahav's blade, though he'd covered it with a fresh T-shirt, and she knew he must be in a lot of pain.

  "Well, I'm still alive" she said. "Personally, I count that as a win." His frown deepened and she laughed. "That not enough for you? We also disbanded the Croatoans - stopped them stealing anyone else's bodies. We didn't save the people they'd already taken but they're in the spirit world now. Maybe they'll find a way back to themselves."

  "You think?"

  She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just glad it's over and we made it."

  "That's not all that matters, though, is it?"

  "Isn't it? I thought that was the point of what happened in there. Do what's best for you, let other people deal with their own shit and don't let any higher power tell you how to run your life. You destroyed the guardian of Eden - now anyone can be free of heaven or hell if they want to."

  "But you sent Eden away," he said.

  "Back into the spirit world. If you visit it there in your dreams, you can eat the fruit the way Raven meant you to."

  "Was he the devil? Did I pick a side in there - the wrong one?"

  "Raven isn't on either of their sides," she said. She'd come to accept what the god had done. He'd acted according to his own principles, which was all she could have expected of him. And he wasn't a hypocrite. He'd used his own freedom from moral constraints to give humanity their own.

  Morgan still seemed troubled. "I don't know. I just... I don't want to live in a world that's run by people like Lahav. But I don't want people like Belle in charge either. And Coby... we stopped him getting back here but he got off scot free. What happens to him now?"

  She took a mouthful of eggs Benedict before she answered. It tasted great and she took the time to appreciate it. She hadn't been sure she'd have the chance to do something this ordinary again. "Coby's trapped in the spirit world," she said finally. "Forever, I guess."

  "And what will happen to him there? Will he pay for what he's done?"

  "I doubt it. I think... Actually, I think he's sort of a god now."

  He looked horrified. "A god?"

  "Yeah. He can't do anything terrible, not really, but he can appear in the dreams of people sensitive to the spirit realm - the way Raven did to him. He can influence people, inspire them, at least those who are open to his way of thinking."

  "Inspire them to be like him?"

  She nodded. "If that's the way they're already inclined."

  "Jesus. The god of serial killers."

  She studied him, his over-serious face and soft eyes. "What does it matter, anyway? We did the best we could and we both escaped, even if we're not going to win any popularity contests with our respective employers. We can go far away and get on with our lives."

  "Not me," he said. "I'm going back to the Hermetic Division."

  "You're kidding, right? You totally screwed them. You'll be lucky if they just lock you up."

  He shrugged and looked away. "I don't think anyone should be able to get away with just anything. Because of what I did, all kinds of people like Coby might not have to pay in the next life. I can't change that now. But at least I can make sure I pay for what I've done in this one."

  "Count me out," she said. "I'm heading for the hills."

  He smiled finally. "That's OK. I'm still not sorry I saved you."