Page 67 of Death Trap

“Do you want to know how to contact him?”

She shook her head. “No need. I’ll find him.”

A bit strange but okay.

“Thanks for all your help, Arianna,” I said and started for the door.

“Wait.”

I turned.

With a solemn expression on her face, she moved in front of the counter. “Can you tell my aunt something for me?”

Oh no. Here came the emotional stuff I wasn’t good with. But still, I owed her. And Marla, so I had to buck up.

“Of course,” I said.

“Tell her not to worry. I’m watering her flowers every day.”

I paused, almost unsure if I had heard her right.

“That’s what you want me to tell her?” I asked. “That’s it?”

Of all the things she could have said, she chose that? So many people would kill to get a chance to communicate with their loved ones, and Arianna wanted to make sure Marla knew she was keeping up with her garden? These two must have had some relationship.

A small smile creased her lips. “Yeah. Sometimes I believed she loved that garden more than me.”

In that simple statement, I sensed the love and gratitude she had for Marla. Their relationship might not have been typical, but it was theirs, and the two obviously cared for each other very much. In their own way.

I nodded and left.

Once I scanned the street and made sure the Halfling hadn’t returned, I quickly went to a nearby building, drew the spirit door, and stepped through. When I emerged on the other side, I was relieved to find the transition had changed me back into a spirit.

That was good to know. Everything that was going on with me was so unpredictable, it was getting annoying.

Looking over my shoulder for any signs of a certain sexy angel, I hurried to the closest transportation platform and rocketed off to Styx Corp. When I emerged on Styx’s marble steps, I paused, remembering Maryanne at the front desk. If she saw me again, there would be questions. So many questions. Possibly a buzz over to Simon.

I pulled out the necklace and tied it around my neck. The magic flowed over me, leaving me with a heavy dose of the heebie-jeebies and the strange firecracker twang on my tongue. I sucked on my tongue until the taste subsided.

The necklace was surprisingly heavy. Whether that was from the magic weighing it down or the Victorian-looking pendant dangling from the front, I couldn’t be sure.

My only hope was that whatever Arianna had done worked with the incantation and I could skate by everyone undetected.

Walking into the building, I held the breath I no longer had. I spotted Maryanne straight away sitting where she always did behind her desk, her beady little eyes and magnified glasses glancing my way immediately. Like she had been waiting for me to show up. Or maybe she was just bored. Or maybe both.

But when our eyes locked, she glanced back down at whatever she was doing on her desk. Solitaire on the computer most likely.

The necklace had to be working. There was no way Maryanne—of all people—would just look away from me. Ever. Especially when there was such a prime opportunity to dog on me.

I tried to walk by her as casually as possible, which turned out a little stiff, but still, Maryanne’s eyes never lifted to me again. Feeling accomplished, I strolled into the hall of elevators and went over to the one on the right that went down.

Glancing up and down the hall, I waited for a few people to pass by before taking out Monnie’s ruby ring and slipping it on my finger. A chill ricocheted through me instantly, and I shivered. With one more quick look over my shoulder, I pressed my hand against the metal of the elevator. The sound of rusty gears scraping together grated against my eardrums as the doors slowly opened.

For the second time, and hopefully my last, I stepped inside.

Once the doors opened again and I walked down the long, haunting corridor, the jitters of what I was actually doing smacked me fully in the gut. Nausea quickly followed. Here I was, in Hell, by myself this time. No protection. No Guardian. Just my magical trinkets, unpredictable glowy fingers, and…well, me.

Why did I think this was a good idea again?

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