Darkest Night - Smoke And Mirrors Part 42

"No," Tony rea.s.sured him hurriedly. "No, you didn't hurt me." And just to rea.s.sure everyone else. "He didn't kiss me either." "Kissed you in the bus shelter."

Sorge snickered. "Bus shelter? That one of those gay euphemisms?"

"Kissed you when the Shadowlord controlled me."

And c.r.a.p again.

"Okay, he's definitely delusional," Tony sighed. And given the condition Mouse had been in for most of the evening- the irrational terror, the weeping-it would have been believable except. . .

"Oh, sure, acting like you're the only one to remember the Shadowlord! You're just a cameraman. He liked me best."

Mason's current condition made him less than reliable as backup except . . .

"The Shadowlord?" Kate spat out the last of shred of damp napkin. "I remember that son of a b.i.t.c.h!"

And Tina-who spent fourteen-hour days keeping track of dialogue changes and shot numbers and continuity while half a dozen people clambored for her attention and a dozen more built and brought to life Raymond Dark's world around her-put the pieces together. "I wonder," she said softly, "if Hartley and Lee would remember this Shadowlord.

What else aren't you telling us, Tony?"

"What else?" Best defense-good offense. "What do you mean what else?"

"You didn't tell us you were a wizard."

"I told you!"

"Somewhat after the fact. And since this is apparently a new thing," she added, folding her arms, "I find myself wondering about the circ.u.mstances of your discovery and just where these particular people and the Shadowlord fit in."

"The Shadowlord made me kiss Tony," Mouse sniffed.

Saleen finally looked interested. "Kinky."

"If the Shadowlord wanted to kiss someone, he should have kissed me," Mason muttered indignantly.

"The Shadowlord can kiss my a.s.s!" Kate barked.

"Tony?"

"I'm sure both Mason and Kate are very kissable." Great. Humor; not working. Tina was clearly not going to let it go.

"Look, it happened way back in the spring. It's not important now." He waved his still not entirely usable left hand around the room-both a gesture and a reminder. "We've got other stuff to worry about."

Right on cue, a door slammed in the distance and multiple pairs of feet pounded down the stairs. Adam yelled for Amy. Then they were in the dining room. Then the pantry door opened. The three adults charged in, Brianna riding Zev's hip.

"We didn't see Lee," Adam began, setting the lantern on the counter. "Although this one . . ." He jerked his head at Amy. ". . . went for a bit of a wander."

"I went to the front door," Amy snorted. "I checked on Everett. And the good news is he's still breathing. We skipped across the hall to Lee's dressing room together." She threw the emphasis at Adam. "He's not there." Suddenly realizing her audience wasn't paying full attention, she frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Seems that Tony only came partway out of the wizard closet."

Amy glanced over at him and he shrugged, hoping he looked like the rational one in the room.

"Does the term Shadowlord mean anything to you?" Tina asked her.

"Not to me." She glanced over at her companions. Adam and Zev shook their heads. Brianna yawned.

"Mason, Mouse, and Kate all remember a Shadowlord."

"Yeah, and they're loopy."

Go, Amy. Point out the obvious.

Tina shook her head, denying that was the end of the matter. "Tony as much as admitted there was something to it."

He had? Why the h.e.l.l had he done that?

"It happened last spring," Sorge put in.

"Last spring?" Amy rolled her eyes. "Please, a lot of strange s.h.i.+t happened last spring. Just before Arra left, everyone was having those weird memory lapses."

"Not everyone," Tina said slowly, thoughtfully. "Lee lost about eight hours. Kate lost nearly forty-eight. Mouse got into that fight that broke his jaw but doesn't remember it. Hartley fell off the wagon. And Tony had that little fit in the soundstage."

"Tony?"

And that little fit gave him the perfect excuse. He just had to convince them that he'd lost his memory, too.

Unfortunately, the lights came up and Lucy Lewis pushed a nameless fellow servant down the back stairs before he could begin.

Tony didn't know why Saleen thought the electrical tape wouldn't hold Mouse; it seemed to be holding him just fine. A quick glance to the right showed that Mouse was weeping again, Saleen and Pavin were looking bruised, and Mason had a rising goose egg on his forehead. He thought about apologizing, but since he had no idea if he'd been responsible, he decided to let it go.

"The boy in the bathroom didn't even notice the thing you drew. He's hiding 'cause he's scared of his daddy."

Crouched by his head, Brianna fingered her ap.r.o.n as she murmured into his left ear. "Karl's mommy didn't like it. 'Cept she couldn't see it because she had sticks in her eyes. The baby was way gross. I saw a movie just like it once."

"This isn't a movie."

"I know. If it was, there'd be popcorn and I wouldn't be . . ." she yawned. ". . . bored."

"So you're back." Peter took Brianna by the shoulder and pulled her away.

Since he'd obviously been talking, there didn't seem to be much point in denying it. "What's with the tape?"

"Just don't want any surprises."

"Surprises? What kind of surprises?"

"You tell us, Tony. Last spring, two people died."

"I had nothing to do with that!" How could they possibly connect that to him? "Amy? Zev?"

"A man who cheats on his wife will cheat on his mistress," Amy muttered unhappily.

"What the h.e.l.l is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you lied to us," Zev told him, looking betrayed. "And if you can lie about one thing . . ."

"You mean about being a wizard?" Neck aching, he let his head bounce back on the floor. "I didn't exactly lie. I mean, you never asked if I was a wizard."

"I asked how you got a hunk of beer bottle embedded in your arm. You said you were just goofing around."

"I was."

"With a spell?"

"Yeah, but I didn't exactly lie."

Before Zev could respond-although his opinion of Tony's answer was pretty clear from his expression, Peter stepped between them. "We want the truth about what happened last spring, Tony."

"Because nothing says trust us like electrical tape," Tony muttered, struggled a moment, and glared up at them. "What about Lee? Lee's still out there!"

"Before we go after Lee, we want the whole story."

"Why? The s.h.i.+t that went down last spring has nothing to do with the s.h.i.+t that's happening tonight."

"If the Shadowlord was here, he'd take me dancing," Mason muttered.

Tony winced. "Okay, some people are more . . . uh, open to the house because of it, but that's all."

"You don't think it might have been helpful to know that?"

"No." Maybe. "Lee . . ."

"You want to go after him? Talk fast."

Seemed like he didn't have an option.

"You messed with our memories!" Tina clutched at the front of her blouse with one hand and balled the other up into a fist. Appalled or angry-it looked like it could go either way. Tony knew what he was voting for.

"I didn't. Arra did."

Amy snorted. "Oh, that's so much better."

"Your memory didn't even get messed with," he reminded her. "You and Zev had already left the studio."

"Yeah, and that's another thing; how come I got left out!"

"You weren't left out. You'd just gone home."

She tossed her head. "Oh, sure, you say that now."

"How do we know he's not still lying?" Peter asked Sorge as Tony tried to figure out Amy's damage. "Gates to another world, invading armies of shadows. . . this is the kind of c.r.a.p our writers keep coming up with."

"No, it's c.r.a.ppier."

"Not as cliched as that story about the gas leak, though. I can think of half a dozen shows that've used it to explain away stuff with no explanation."

"True."

Tina leaned between them. "He messed with our memories!"

And he left out the part about Tina providing snackies for the b.a.s.t.a.r.d son of Henry VIII, too. In fact, he'd left Henry out entirely. He and Arra and CB had saved the world all on their own.

Backhanding both Peter's and Sorge's chests to ensure she had their attention, Tina added, "What's to say he won't mess with our memories again?"

"Hey! I had nothing to do with that decision. It was all CB and Arra!"

Her eyes narrowed and her upper lip curled. "We only have your word for that."

"So we keep him tied?"

Peter shrugged. "I'd feel safer."

Oh, for . . . Tony bounced his head on the floor a couple of times.

"What about the second lantern?" Peter asked. Sweat beaded the five o'clock shadow on his upper lip. He wasn't as calm as he sounded.

"We could go get it," Adam suggested. "We only have his word that the ballroom's dangerous."

Oh, man. Tony lifted his head again. "Brianna, what's in the ballroom?"

"Dancing dead people. And a really gross band." She thoughtfully scratched the back of her right leg with the toes of her left foot. "And Brenda. She danced with me."

"That's it. Untie me immediately. What kind of place is this where a wardrobe a.s.sistant can go dancing but not a star!"

Peter hurriedly s.h.i.+fted over so that he was in the actor's line of sight. "Mason, we just need to work out a few parts of the shot with the vampire hunters."

"But . . ."

"You know how your fan mail increases when we tie you up."

"Right."