Page 87 of Necromancers Don't Raise

I dragged Mercury out, followed closely by Vincent Bellham. He gave me a slight frown once we were in the hallway.

“You had my daughter transport Mr. Good to an unsecure location.”

“Did I? I suppose I was making up for the time she had me jump off a bridge.”

He nodded, lips pursed. “Fair enough. Where are you two going now?”

“The Cat’s Pause. Would you care to join us?”

He nodded and gestured us to follow him. “Oh, I am definitely going to the Cat’s Pause to have a word with my daughter. We’ll take my car as traveling through infernal dimensions isn’t exactly healthy for the average human. Also me.”

After the short drive, when we walked in the sushi bar, Gabriela was singing a duet with Anna the Grand Sorcerer, eighties rock like it was her soul. When she finished, she saw us and came over immediately.

“Mr. Good escaped once he’d dropped your mom at the Bell. Can you believe it?”

I blinked at her. “He has bat wings. He could just fly away. Don’t worry. I’m sure when he’s bored, he’ll go back to jail.”

“But he was only there for protection from Salina. Now that she’s not a threat…”

I shrugged. “So, what do you want me to do about it? I don’t have bat wings.”

She scowled at me. “Mr. Good is a terrorist. He needs to be behind bars. He tried to assassinate the president!”

“Sorry, but I don’t think Mr. Good tries to assassinate people. He probably did it just so that he’d have an excuse to go to prison. The guy’s been evading authorities for a long time. His lawyers are the best in the world.”

She prickled. “Excuse me, but my mother-in-law is the best lawyer in the world.”

I grinned and gave her a quick hug. “Look, I get that you need to go after Mr. Good, and I’m all for that, but he could have run, and he chose to stay and protect my mom and me. I mean, maybe the time he’s spent in prison has changed him for the better.”

She glowered at me. “You’re not going to help me flush him out, are you?”

“I just got married. I’m actually going on my honeymoon right after Philip shows up.”

“Speak of the devil,” Mercury said in a low rumble, directly behind me.

I turned and waved at Philip, hurrying over to him. “You did the best job I’ve ever imagined. You’re the most talented, amazing enchanter I’ve ever met.”

He blinked at me, his gorgeousness absolutely enchanting. “Naturally, because you wouldn’t remember any other enchanters you’ve ever met.”

“Right. So, do you think you can find the enchanter who made the video and the spell to make everyone not suspicious of the fire?”

“No. I think I’m going to get my statue and then spend time on a beach somewhere with it.”

“Oh. That’s not at all more information than I needed. Mercury?” I turned and there he was, pulling the statue out of his coat and handing it carefully over to me.

I turned and handed it to Philip, who took it reverently in his hands, eyes gleaming as he soaked in the risqué image of Cassandra Clarence.

How he was looking at that statue was seriously disturbing. I cleared my throat. “And now you’ll hand over the footage of the second interview.”

“I’ll email it to you.”

“Really? Because I need it as soon as possible.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked away from the statue and glared at me. “You doubt my word?”

“No, I really want to have video of Mercury without his shirt raising the dead. I’d take it with me to a beach if I didn’t have the real thing, and honestly, I still want it.”

Mercury snorted, but Philip nodded, like that made sense to him.

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