The Tome of Bill (Book 7): The Wicked Dead Read Online Free

the peanut gallery, I wasn’t sure.
    “It’s not like that,” I said at last, trying to get us back on track. “He just wanted to wrestle.”
    Sally wiped tears from her eyes. “Oh, I bet he did.”
    Christy slammed her hand down on the table hard enough to get everyone’s attention. “That’s enough. We need to be serious about this.”
    The laughter subsided as all eyes turned to her.
    “That’s better. I just need to know one thing before you continue, Bill.”
    “What?”
    “Did Alexander caress your cheek and call you King Leonidas?”
    And once more, that set them off. Even Sheila didn’t bother to hide the laughter at my expense. As for me, all I could do was stare wide-eyed at Christy.
    She shrugged and gave me a half-smile. “Sorry. Tom made me watch 300 with him the other night. Guess I’ve been hanging around you guys a little too much.”
    * * *
    As things settled back down, Ed walked into our kitchen nook and grabbed some beers to pass around. Everyone, save Christy, accepted one and, by the look on her face, she was half tempted. Couldn’t say I blamed her. With the world on the brink of annihilation and certain doom only a couple of hundred miles north of us, the Surgeon General’s warnings could go take a flying fuck off the nearest skyscraper.
    Ed placed the extra on the coffee table and took his seat again. “Gotta say, this whole internal debate thing is a bit weird. I never took you for the split personality type.”
    “It’s not all that strange,” Tom replied. “Bill plays with himself all the time, so talking isn’t too much of a stretch.”
    I was sorely tempted to chuck my bottle at him, but figured it would be a waste of perfectly good beer. Instead, I just glared at him. “I’m thinking you should be in the room when we wake up Dr. Death.”
    “No. I’m going to be in the room,” Sheila said. “For protection.” She had the barest of red color on her cheeks despite her serious tone. Maybe it was the beer she was drinking, or more likely Tom’s asshole comment.
    “He was just kidding about me playing with myself,” I stammered, once again unable to shake off old habits.
    She held up a hand. “I really didn’t need to know either way.”
    Slick one, Bill.
    “But I’m serious. I’m really not convinced this is a good idea, but if the group thinks you should go through with it, then we need to make sure precautions are taken.”
    “No argument there.”
    Her wish for precautions wasn’t surprising. I knew she considered that part of me a threat, a mad dog that might need to be put down. She was right to do so. I just hoped it didn’t come down to that – for both our sakes.
    “Well, I still think it’s shithouse crazy,” Sally chimed in, “but I’ll admit to being curious. I want to see what this big bad wolf looks like.”
    “You’ve already seen it.”
    “So people keep telling me.”
    “What do you think?” Sheila asked Christy.
    Christy took a moment to gather her thoughts. I saw the conflict in her eyes. Under normal circumstances, I’m fairly certain her answer would have been a definitive “Hell no!” But the stakes had recently been raised. Her entire belief system had come crashing down just days prior. The mentor of her people – the so-called White Mother – was, in actuality, tinged a different color by all the blood on her hands.
    Evidence suggested the White Mother was more a motherfucker – the creator of the Jahabich, unholy monsters made of stone and the enslaved souls of their vanquished enemies. Yeah, it had probably been a bit of a stressful week for the poor girl.
    When she spoke at last, her voice was steady, even if her haunted eyes betrayed her. “Controlling a mindless monster is a dangerous game. Even with my skills at mind manipulation, relentless rage is nearly impossible to contain, much less master. But if Bill is right, and this other personality...”
    “Dr. Death,” I added. “At least, that’s what I call