Page 126 of Dead Heat

“To hide from her?”

“Well, yes, but I mean that’s how I ended up dead in the first place. She killed me.”

Okay, I wasn’t expectingthat.

He lowered his head. “Next thing I knew, I was sailing on a boat to the afterlife with a group of other unfortunate souls.”

“Why would she kill you if you were the only one who could tell her the location of the arrow?”

“Erika is impulsive and temperamental. I’m sure she realized her mistake immediately, but there was nothing she could do.”

“Except devise a plan to drag you back to her,” I said.

“I have no doubt she ransacked my home afterward, but she wouldn’t have found it there.”

“I don’t understand,” Max interrupted. “She had to know Oskar would resist coming with you.”

“She did, which is why she gave me the potion and madeup some cockamamie story about his anxiety.” I tugged the vial from my pocket and held it up. “She wasn’t kidding about silencing him. That’s probably the only point of this.” It made sense. I wasn’t familiar with any stories that involved a soul needing a potion to leave Helheim. I should’ve known better than to trust a witch.

Oskar pointed to the vial. “She told you to use that on me?”

I nodded. “Here’s my dilemma. If I don’t bring you back, someone dies.”

“She chooses those she deems disposable,” Oskar said. “She must’ve decided it was a life that could be lost.”

How dare she decide that sweet Alessandro was expendable. Erika wasn’t even a goddess. Where did she get off believing she had the right to determine someone’s fate?

“Alessandro is a friend of mine, and I can assure you that he doesn’t deserve this.”

“Erika is ruthless. She will do whatever it takes to get her way.”

“And I guess you knew that if you went to all the trouble of switching afterlifes.”

“I should’ve known she’d find me eventually. She has all of eternity on her side.”

“This is quite the conundrum. What do we do?” Max asked.

I tapped my foot, thinking. “If I can get the mistletoe arrow before the deadline to deliver Oskar, then I have leverage.”

“You heard the man,” Max said, his voice rising. “Erika is impulsive and temperamental. What if she finds you first and kills you and Alessandro both?”

“You can’t let her have it,” Oskar insisted.

“I wouldn’t actually give it to her,” I said. “I’d only trickher into believing I would so that she’ll release Alessandro from her magic.”

“Or you could use the arrow against her,” Oskar suggested. “I didn’t have the stomach for it, but you might.”

“That isn’t my style, Oskar.”

“If you’re going to threaten her with it, you’ll need to show proof that you have it or she won’t believe you.”

“Do you trust me enough to tell me where it is?”

“The fact that you wouldn’t use the arrow against her despite all the harm she’s caused tells me everything I need to know.” He gave us the location of the arrow as well as the means to access it.

“Thank you, Oskar. I’m sorry for what happened to you. It wasn’t fair.”

“Life is unfair,” he replied. “I must say, so far, death has exceeded my expectations. Helheim is a delightful place to spend eternity if you enjoy beer and charbroiled meats, which I do.”

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