Page 92 of Half Dead

“We’ll let Lorelei be the judge of that.” Gunther turned to me. “Why do you need an underwater aid?”

I filled them in on the details.

The lines across Cam’s forehead deepened. “That sounds incredibly dangerous.”

“Did you think he would send me to Hawaii to bring back one of those lava rock necklaces?”

Cam perked up. “Too bad. That would look great with your coloring.”

“While we’re on the subject of accessories, can you wear a patch, pretty please?” Gun asked, batting his unfairly thick eyelashes.

“Why would I wear an eye patch? I’m not a pirate just because I’m sailing the high seas.”

“And you’re looking for buried treasure.” He shrugged. “If the booty fits…”

“I’ll need full access to my vision to find a lost tablet, thanks.”

“You can at least humor me by taking your cutlass.”

I sighed. “Yes, because this trial is all about humoring you.”

Gun’s lips thinned. “I’m trying to keep a sense of humor about this whole thing. Be a good friend and play along.”

“This is awful and I’m feeling every second of it.” Camryn dumped half the box of Nerds down her throat.

“What happened to no carbs?” Gun swiped the box from her hand. “No more sugar for you today.”

Nana Pratt took the opportunity to set a plate of muffins on the table. She was nothing if not persistent.

“Do you want me to sage the house while you’re gone?” Cam asked with a tone of hopefulness.

Gunther’s upper lip notched. “There isn’t enough sage in the world to get rid of Lucifer’s negative energy.”

“I agree with Gun,” I said. “And he’s likely to show up again anyway, so you’d only have to repeat the process.”

Gun squeezed my shoulder. “I like your optimism.”

“That Lucifer will be back?” I asked.

“No, that you will.”

“Do we know anything about the missing island?” Camryn asked.

“Only that the one I need is in a bottomless pit,” I said. “And the tablet is buried there. Ray has been on research detail.”

The ghost’s silence following my statement suggested he still hadn’t found anything useful.

Gun examined one of the muffins. “Aren’t you worried about handing over the tablet to Lucifer?” He bit into the muffin and started to choke.

“Of course.”

“The muffin must be too dry,” Nana Pratt said. “Gunther needs a glass of milk to wash it down.”

Gunther likely needed something stronger than milk to combat those flavors.

The ward activated and an image of Phaedra rippled in the kitchen. My spirits lifted as she made a thumbs-up gesture. Phase one complete.

“My magic is here.” I hurried to greet the witch at the door.

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