Nick knew there was a fine line between a gift and a bribe. He could only hope that he was still on the right side of that line. “I would have ripped all those things for your Afterlights, without getting anything in return,” he told Isaiah. “But you’re right—there are a couple of things I’d like to ask you for.”

“You can ask,” said Isaiah, “but it doesn’t mean I’m gonna give.”

Nick cleared his throat so that his speech lost that thick chocolatey tone. “First I need information. I need to know about other Afterlights in other towns and cities in the South. I need numbers if you have them, and what those Afterlights are like—are they friends or enemies? Are they easy to deal with, or should they be avoided? You know— that kind of thing.”

“Fine,” said Isaiah. “I’ll tell you what I know about the South.” The chair creaked as Isaiah leaned back in it. “But that’s not all you want, is it?”

Nick took a moment. This one wouldn’t be as easy. He tried to sit up as straight as he could in the low-slung sofa, and looked Isaiah in the eye.

“I’d like fifty of your Afterlights.”

Isaiah’s expression became so stony, the features of his face actually seemed changed. “They’re not for sale,” he growled.

“No—that’s not what I mean.” Nick said. “Mary Hightower is a threat to all of us, and I can guarantee you that she’s building an army. Which means I need to build one too. So I’m asking you for fifty volunteers. Only those who want to go—I don’t want to force anyone.”

Isaiah took his time to think about it. “I don’t like it,” he said. “I don’t like it one bit … but I do get the feeling that living under the Sky Witch would be a whole lot worse.”

Nick leaned forward. “Will you do it, then? Will you ask for volunteers?”

“If I give it my blessing, you’ll get your volunteers,” Isaiah said. “But it’s gonna take more than ‘ten reasonable requests,’ from the Ripper to get my blessing.”

“All right, then—what?”

What Isaiah asked for was a feast. A Christmas feast for his entire vapor, regardless of the fact that it was the summer. Nick supposed that in a timeless world, each day could be whatever day you wanted it to be.

“Everyone knows how hard it is to find food that’s crossed over,” Isaiah pointed out. “You saw how they acted when they saw that ice cream. Coulda had a riot if I wasn’t there to keep the peace.” Isaiah indicated a little jar in the corner that held just one unbroken fortune cookie. “Mostly we get those damn fortune cookies—and when it’s a bad fortune, no one’ll even eat the crumbs.”