Darren Shan - Procession of the dead

As our bodies dried in the bedroom, we shoved the two beds together and explored some more. I was struck again by Ama's peculiar beauty. I didn't know how others would respond to her-she wasn't men's magazine material-but to my excited eyes she was perfection.

We made love slowly but just as passionately as the first time. We were still new to each other but it was as if we'd been partners for years. We knew exactly how to please one another, moving without thinking, loving intuitively. We hit climax at the same time and it was painfully blissful.

"If we could bottle what we have," Ama said afterward as we lay on the beds, wrapped in each other's arms, "we'd make a fortune."

"Who cares about money?" I said, nuzzling her neck. "I don't want to share. Let the rest of the world go hang."

"That's not a nice thing to say," she giggled.

"I'm not a very nice man," I smiled.

"Is that the truth?" she asked seriously.

"Having regrets?"

"I just want to know. I love you but I don't understand what it is about you that I love or why. There's so much that's a mystery to me. I'd like to know what sort of man I've pledged myself to."

I sighed and propped myself up on an elbow. My fingers made invisible circles on the flesh of her stomach while I spoke. "I'm a gangster. I steal, bully, hurt. Kill if necessary. I don't harm innocents. I believe in family and sticking by one's friends. But I've done bad things, Ama, and I intend to do worse."

She nodded sadly. "I figured as much."

"Is it too dreadful to bear?" I asked quietly.

She shrugged. "At least you're honest."

"Can you love a man just for being honest?"

"Yes," she said after a moment's hesitation. "But can you love a woman who'd love a man like you?"

"I'm prepared to give her a go." I smothered her with a kiss and she kissed back. Soon we were making love again and all worries and doubts were lost to passion.

We checked out of the motel and made our way across town, then separated a few blocks from Party Central. Ama went around to the back. I strolled through the lobby and checked in. Said I wanted to use the computers. That wasn't unusual. I handed over my shoes and socks and started up the stairs. I took my time, reflecting on the task ahead, ruminating on Wami's words. While I was distracted, a good picture of the woman formed in my mind. I tried using it to pry open the locks of my past but they were as secure as ever.

I was walking along calmly when, on the sixth floor, a shadow detached itself from one of the walls and grabbed my left arm. I almost lost control and fell down the stairs to an untimely, ridiculous death.

"Capac, it's me."

"Jesus!" I snapped. "Are you trying to save The Cardinal the job of killing me? What are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet up top."

"I didn't want to go alone. I got nervous."

I studied Ama in the dim light. She was trembling. She'd seemed so brave before, I never stopped to think how unsettling it must be. She was, after all, the daughter of a restaurateur. It was only natural that she should feel intimidated and unsure of herself in a situation like this.

"You want to call this off?" I asked. "I can go by myself."

"No." She smiled shakily. "It's just nerves. They'll pass."

"You're sure?" When she nodded, I gave her hand a squeeze and we headed up, Ama leading the way. The stairs were deserted. "Don't you ever run into anyone?" I whispered.

"Rarely. Occasionally I'll hear someone coming, slip behind a door and wait for them to pass. You're the only one who caught me. Lucky you, eh?"

I grunted and we continued past the ninth and tenth floors, then the eleventh and twelfth. There wasn't even anybody on the unlucky thirteenth. I was starting to see how Ama had gotten away with this for so long, how easy it was to pass unnoticed if you kept your nerve, when the door to the fourteenth floor swung open on us.

We were seven steps down with nowhere to hide. As my heart dropped to my toes, I recognized the stone features of Ford Tasso. Acting impulsively, I moved up beside Ama and thrust an arm around her waist. I buried my face in her hair and pretended not to notice The Cardinal's right-hand man.

Ford's hand went to his holster at the sight of intruders on the stairs so close to the fifteenth. His reflexes were way sharper than they should have been-I hoped I'd be in such good shape if I lived that long, which didn't seem likely at the moment. When he saw me he relaxed and lowered his fingers, but his expression was harsh.

"Capac," he snapped. I looked up as if surprised. "What are you doing here? And why aren't you using the elevator like any normal person?"

"I could ask the same about you," I replied cheekily.

"Doctor's orders. I need to exercise. I don't have time for a gym, so I jog up and down these stairs as often as I can." He glanced at Ama. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Ama, my secretary. I'm moving up in the world."

"What's she doing here?" he asked.

"I'm showing her the ropes. Introducing her to the staff, helping her get her bearings. You know."

"There are people paid to do that."

"Sure there are, but…" I patted Ama's butt in a way I'm sure she despised. "There's nothing like the personal touch." I winked slyly.

Ford chortled, the sound of a corpse having a seizure, and moved down past us. "Use the elevator next time," he said. "I might have shot you if it was darker."

"Yes, boss." I grinned and held the expression until he turned out of sight. Then we looked at each other and sagged.

"Christ," Ama wheezed. "I come here dozens of times by myself, no hassles. The first night I bring you, Ford fucking Tasso turns up! Are you a jinx, Raimi?"

"Let's hope not," I said. "You've got to admit, though, I handled him pretty well."

"You were OK."

"Just OK? What would you have done if you'd been alone?"

"Dropped my drawers and fucked him placid," she laughed.

We made it to the nineteenth without further surprises. It housed a huge room the length of the building. It was dusty and I found myself coughing. Ama loaned me a handkerchief. I thanked her between convulsions. It was dark up here, lights set at infrequent intervals, too few and weak to be much use. Ama drew a small flashlight from one of her many pockets and flicked it on. She moved away from the door, into the heart of the gloom. I followed quietly, gazing around with interest.

Boxes stood in huge piles like silent guardians wherever I looked. Each pillar was set apart from its companions by three or four feet. A maze of passageways ran through the towers.

"What's in these?" I asked, tapping one of the piles.

"Everything. There are no clear divisions. Maps, blueprints, newspaper clippings and personal files. Minutes from secret government meetings, stuff he must have paid a fortune for. Lists of kennels, retirement homes and schools. Medical records. Photographs of hobos. Anything you can put on paper."

I moved among a few of the skyscrapers, brushed against one by accident and froze, expecting it to topple. But it didn't even shimmer. I gave it a harder push but it was solid. Samson would have had his work cut out for him here.

"This place is like a museum," Ama said. She was gliding between the pillars too. "Records going back centuries. Nearly all of it's original. I bet the curators in this city would keel over in shock if they knew a place like this existed."

"What about the guards?" I was starting to feel edgy about the lack of security. The open window was hard enough to buy, but to move so easily up the stairs and through floors like this… How could The Cardinal's people be so careless?

"You have to listen for them," she said. "But they're easy to avoid-they carry lights and are noisy. Like I've said, the reputation of Party Central is its prime defense. People just don't believe anybody could ever get in."