Page 90 of Half Dead

My shoulders sagged as I entered the kitchen, where the ghosts immediately swarmed me.

“What did he give you?” Ray asked.

“A treasure map.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Nana Pratt said.

“I need to find a lost island in a bottomless pit and dig up a buried tablet that gives the possessor unlimited power.”

The elderly ghosts wore matching frowns.

“Okay, that sounds pretty bad,” Nana Pratt amended.

“I’m allowed to use magic for the underwater part, so I’ll need to ask Phaedra for another favor.” I pulled out my phone and clicked her name; I didn’t have time to spare.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Phaedra asked.

“Trial two. This one requires magical intervention.”

“Tell me how I can help.”

I did. Phaedra promised to deliver the result to me personally as soon as possible.

“Thanks, Phaedra. I couldn’t do this without you.” I couldn’t do any of this without help. Love was a chain reaction; my willingness to act out of love for Kane resulted in others acting out of love for me. A verb, just like I told West.

My next call was to Kane to update him on the details of the trial. He listened wordlessly to the point where I thought the call had been disconnected.

“Hello?”

“I’m here.”

“You’re quiet.”

“Picture me biting my tongue.”

“Say what you need to say, Kane. Communication is the key to a healthy relationship.”

“There will be no communication if you’re dead.”

I sighed into the phone. “I’d much rather hear that you believe in me.”

“You know I do, but this is too risky. The island has been abandoned since ancient times. You know what that means.”

“No indoor plumbing?”

“Monsters, Lorelei. The island will be overrun with powerful creatures that have lived unchecked for centuries. That’s likely the reason no one Lucifer has sent has ever returned.”

“I have experience with monsters, Kane.”

“Forfeit the trials. Let him take me. You can work on a plan with Josephine and Dantalion to set me free. Rope in the Assassins Guild if you have to.”

“You think trying to rescue you from Lucifer’s territory would be easier than this? He’ll be ready and waiting for us.”

“Dantalion and I managed it once.”

“Exactly. Lucifer wouldn’t let it happen again. His ego won’t allow it.”

Kane fell silent.

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