“We’ll be out in a minute,” said Coop, and Phil was gone again. Coop went to a dresser drawer and pulled out a green folder.

“You’re a pretty good pickpocket for an old guy,” said Giselle.

“Lucky is more like it,” said Coop. “The blood and all the dead people were a good distraction.”

The two of them looked over the deed to the world. The first few words read, “The bearer of this document . . .”

Giselle pointed. “You see that? That’s not just for an angel. That’s you, Coop. You’re the bearer,” said Giselle.

“So I am.”

“The whole world. That would be a hard thing to give up.”

“Not so hard,” he said. He took out a cigarette lighter and touched the flame to the bottom of the document. The two of them walked into the little half bath and dropped it into the sink, watching it burn down to ashes.

“Come on, assholes. You’re missing it,” said Phil, popping in and out of their brains.

“He’s right. Let’s go back to the party. It’s a nice night out,” said Giselle.

“Yeah,” said Coop. “It’s a nice night.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THANKS TO MY AGENT, GINGER CLARK, AND MY EDITOR, David Pomerico. Thanks also to Pamela Spengler-Jaffe, Jennifer Brehl, Kelly O’Connor, Caroline Perny, Shawn Nicholls, Dana Trombley, Jessie Edwards, Rebecca Lucash, and the rest of the team at Harper Voyager. Thanks also to Jonathan Lyons, Sarah Perillo, and Holly Frederick. As always, thanks to Nicola for everything else.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR RICHARD KADREY has published eleven novels: Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, Aloha from Hell, Devil Said Bang, Kill City Blues, The Getaway God, Killing Pretty, Dead Set, Butcher Bird, Metrophage, and The Everything Box, as well as more than fifty short stories. He has been immortalized as an action figure, his short story “Goodbye Houston Street, Goodbye” was nominated for a British Science Fiction Association Award, and his novel Butcher Bird was nominated for the Prix Elbakin in France. The acclaimed writer and photographer lives in San Francisco, California.

Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

ALSO BY RICHARD KADREY

Metrophage

Dead Set

Sandman Slim Novels

Killing Pretty

The Getaway God

Kill City Blues

Devil Said Bang

Aloha from Hell

Kill the Dead

Sandman Slim

CREDITS

Cover design by Owen Corrigan

Cover photograph © Paolo74s / Getty Images

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