Page 71 of The Rusalka and Mr. Right

“Calder will head there after alerting the others who live in the lake.”

I’ll ask about lake people later. “I don’t even know where the hell that boat is, she’s never— Hang on.” I put the phone on my chest, wondering if the vampire can hear how hard my heart is beating as I storm to the bathroom and rip the clanking metal box free.

“Marina brought something from her houseboat to the apartment the other day. She told me not to open it, but she said it meant something to her, that it was the only thing worth bringing. It’s still here. If she was going to leave me—”

“She will not leave you. She would not have made her vows to you if she were going to leave you,” Minegold says sternly. “Open the box.”

“But she said—”

“I think she will forgive us if there are clues to her whereabouts inside.”

“Good point.” I put the phone down on the tile floor and lift the lid with both hands, frowning at what I see inside. Coins. Lots of coins. Chains. Rings. A bracelet. A heart-shaped necklace. It’s not the little boxy pendant that Minegold gave her, the “emergency battery” that stores up sexual energy. That’s still lying on the nightstand.

Shit, is this stuff from her victims?

Fuck it, I don’t care. And half of it looks feminine. And old. Could be hers from decades ago. Centuries, even.

“What is in the box?” Minegold demands.

“Coins and some jewelry. All green and tarnished.”

“Ah, yes. Probably trinkets she’s found in the water. I wonder why she told you not to open it?”

My stomach relaxes with his explanation. “I don’t know. This is kind of her bank account in a box if that’s the case. Maybe shedidn’t want me to know how much—more like how little—she has?”

“Possible.”

“Y’all are magical! Can’t someone whip up a spell to find her?”

“Yes. Ordinarily. We need an item of hers, preferably some of her hair, a nail clipping, a bit of blood—”

“Who the hell has—wait, I have a brush with her hair in it.”

“Bring it with you and come to the magic shop in town. I’m already there with the books I believe may be important to understanding Koshchei’s demise.”

“Magic shop in town? I... I think I know that place. It’s all purple and black, right?”

“It does stand out, doesn’t it?” I can hear a grim humor in his voice.

“Be there in five.” I grab the box (just in case) and the brush, and sprint for my keys.

“I did say ordinarily. Sometimes... Sometimes very powerful beings can block scrying.”

I’ll ask what “scrying” is later; I’m already pounding down the hallway. “Powerful like—”

“Like Koshchei.”

“He’s not up yet. Not awake. There’s no moon, I thought it was all about the full moon!” I sound panicked and whiny. I want to call my mom and dad, and I don’t give a fuck that I’m closer to thirty than thirteen, too old to want my family to hold me together.

“I know, so did I. I... I don’t know what to tell you, only that I am very concerned.”

Fuck this. I’m calling my mom. “Be right there.”

I hang up in one push and hit the number for my parents’ house phone in the next.

Mom picks up. “Kevin!” Her voice injects straight comfort into my veins.

“Mom, put me on speaker and get Dad to listen. Marina’s missing.”

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