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bodies, compound eyes, grinding teeth and clattering mandibles, and long, quivering antennae. Insects, of
all shapes and breeds, species I'd never seen before, all horribly, unnaturally large. More of them came
scuttling and scurrying out of the ruined buildings, or skittering down the crumbling walls, light as a breath
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of air for all their size, joining the hundreds and hundreds already circling us, hopping and seething in a
living carpet, covering the ground. The smallest were six inches long, the largest two and even three feet
in length, with great serrated mandibles that looked sharp enough and strong enough to take off a man's
arm or leg in a single vicious bite. Sometimes the insects crawled right over
each other to get a better look at us, but for the moment at least they maintained a safe distance.
I could feel my gorge rising. I really can't stand creepy-crawlies.
"Well," I made myself say lightly, "I always thought insects would end up inheriting the world. Just never
thought they'd be so bloody big."
"Cockroaches," said Joanna, her voice thick with loathing and disgust. "Revolting things. I should have
stomped on more when I had the chance." She waved her cigarette lighter at the nearest insects, and they
actually seemed to shrink back a little. It had to be the light. It wasn't any real threat now, but their
instincts remembered. Maybe we could use it to open up a path, make a run for it... I glanced at Eddie,
to see how he was doing, and was horrified to discover he was quietly crying. What had they done to
him? The great and terrible Razor Eddie, Punk God of the Straight Razor, reduced to tears by a bunch of
bloody bugs? I was suddenly so angry I couldn't speak. Somehow, before I left this place, there was
going to be some serious payback.
"This ... is disgusting," said Joanna. "We've come to where the really wild things are. Nature at its most
basic and appalling."
"Got that right," said a familiar, cheerful and self-satisfied voice. I looked round sharply, and there he
was, in a little circle entirely clear of insects the Collector. An old acquaintance of mine, from before
I left the Nightside. Not a friend. I don't think the Collector has friends. Got a hell of a lot of enemies,
though. He was currently dressed as a gangster from the Roaring Twenties; every detail correct, from the
white spats on his shoes to the overbearing colour scheme of the waistcoat, to the snap-brimmed hat. But
he was at least thirty pounds too heavy for the suit, and his stomach strained against the half-buttoned
waistcoat. As always there was an impression of the utterly false about him. Of someone hiding behind a
whole series of masks. His face was almost painfully florid, his eyes gleamed fiercely, and his smile was
totally insincere. No change there, then. Warm yellow sunlight surrounded him, from no obvious source,
and the insects gave it plenty of room.
"What the hell are you doing here, Collector?" I said. "And who did you steal that incredibly vulgar suit
from?"
"It is rather good, isn't it?" said the Collector smugly. "It's an original Al Capone, acquired from his very
own wardrobe when he wasn't looking. He won't miss it. He had twenty others just like it. I even have a
letter of authentification, from Capone's tailor." He beamed about him, not in the least disturbed by his
surroundings. "We do meet in the strangest places, don't we, John?"
"Do I take it you know this person?" said Joanna, looking at me almost accusingly.
"This is the Collector," I explained resignedly.
"You name it and he collects it; even if it's nailed down and surrounded by barbed wire. Nothing too
rare or too obscure but he hasn't got a line on it. He has an endless appetite for the unique item, and the
thrill of the chase. Word is he gets off just indexing his hoard. The Collector, thief, con man, cheat, and
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quite possibly the most conscienceless individual in the Nightside. There's nothing he won't go after, no
matter how precious it might be to other people. I know other collectors, not in his league, who'd give
everything they owned, and everything you owned, just for a tour of the Collector's famous and very well
hidden warehouse. How's it going, Collector? Found the Phoenix's Egg yet?"
He shrugged. "Hard to tell, until it hatches." He turned his entirely unconvincing smile on Joanna. "You
don't want to believe everything you hear about me, my dear. I am a very misunderstood man."
"No you're not," I said. "You're a grave robber, a miser and a meddler in history. Archaeologists use
your name to frighten their children. You don't care who gets hurt, as long as you get what you want."
"I save things that would otherwise disappear into the mists of history," said the Collector, unperturbed.
"One day I'll open a museum in the Nightside, so everyone can appreciate my treasures ... But for the
moment there are just too many competitors, jealous people, who would cheerfully rob me blind."
"What are you doing here, Collector?" I said. "I
wouldn't have thought there was anything valuable left here for you to appropriate."
"You have such limited vision, John," said the Collector, shaking his head sadly. "Surrounded by
treasures, and so blind to them. Look around you. There are species of insect here unknown to the world [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]