Blind Shrike | Page 7

you pissed me off," said Barry. "Can't you tell
the difference?"
Spyder got out of the cab and leaned in the front passenger window.
Barry kept the gun pointed at him. "Funny, my ex said something like
that when she split."
Barry gave Spyder the finger, gunned his engine and shot straight down
Haight Street before being caught at the next corner by a half-dozen
jaywalking punks.
That guy was going to shoot me, thought Spyder. He considered that as
he walked the last half block to the studio. Maybe it wasn't such a bad
option. The hallucinations weren't letting up. Maybe being shot was
what he needed to kick his brain out of the peculiar abyss into which it
had fallen. Spyder had the feeling that the day wasn't going to get any
better.
Six
A Trick of the Light

Spyder walked with his head down, not allow-ing himself to look
around no -matter how odd or enticing the visions: black hooves, crows
chatting with rats, the suddenly sinister insect-silhouettes of
panhandlers he'd seen a thousand times before.
He smelled musk and ambergris, cook fires and sewage. It reminded
him of the Moroccan souks, but he was very far away from Morocco.
In fact, very far away from anything familiar right now.
A sense of relief came over Spyder when he entered the tattoo studio
and closed the door behind him. A couple of college girls were
inspecting the flash designs on the walls and giggling nervously to each
other. They didn't have wings or horns or extra eyes. They were a
beautiful sight. Spyder could hear Lulu in the back with one of her
piercing customers. "You'll feel a little pressure and then a slight sting,
but that's all," she said. "Relax."
Hungry for a normal moment he spoke to the college girls. "If you have
any questions about the tattoo work, that's what I do around here, so
you can ask me."
The girls looked at him and the taller one, a cafŽ2dau-lait brunette with
bright green eyes, said, "How much for the black panther? That's a real
traditional one, right?"
"Yeah. All the pieces on that wall go way back. And we charge by the
hour, so the price depends on how big and where you want it. We have
a hundred dollar minimum."
The girls whispered to each other, then turned to Spyder. "We're going
to think about it. Do you have a card?"
Spyder went behind the counter and found one of the studio's cards. He
felt self-conscious handing it to the brunette. The card had a symbol on
it. Spyder knew it was something Celtic, but he had no idea what it
meant.
"Thanks," said the dark haired girl, letting her fingertips brush against

Spyder's as she accepted the card. Under normal circumstances, Spyder
would have taken that as a signal to go into his charming act, complete
with self-effacing patter and a certain calculated awkwardness that gave
him the look of someone who might need just a little looking after.
Today, however, all he could muster was a tired smile. "Any time," he
said and turned away from the girls, looking for his appointment book
so he could cancel everyone set for that day. Maybe for the rest of the
week, he thought.
His head and body ached and his hands shook a little as he leafed
through the appointments. "Every rabbit hole has a bottom," he said
quietly, remembering something that Sara Durango had told him after
giving him his first hit of acid when he was fourteen.
Lulu and her female client were coming out of the back room when
Spyder settled on the numbers he needed to call. He didn't look up, not
ready to deal with the world, much less make eye contact with Lulu or
the girl.
"Remember," said Lulu, "you're going to want to soak in a sea salt bath
and use that antibiotic cream every day."
"Every day," said the other woman. Spyder heard the little bell over the
door ring as she left.
Spyder had to concentrate to make his fingers punch the right numbers
into the phone. It rang a few times then gave a subtle click as it
switched over the voice mail. "Hi. This is Spyder Lee over at Route
666 Tattoos. Sorry, but I have to cancel our appointment for this
afternoon." He settled back in his seat, giving Lulu a pained smile. "I'm
not feeling that well and...holy shit...."
Spyder set down the receiver and stood up, coming around the counter.
Something was terribly wrong. He took Lulu gently by the arm.
"Goddam," said Spyder -leading her to a chair. "What happened to
you?"
Lulu looked at him, puzzled. "Nothing happened to me. You're the one

who got stomped, 'member sugar?" She