Page 6 of Death Trap

“You mean she was a bitch,” I said with a laugh.

“Worse than that,” she went on. An obvious attempt to skip over the word ‘bitch.’ “Let’s just say I’m not surprised she’s not here in this afterlife.”

“She could be. Just in a different place,” I started to say, but she shook her head.

“She would have found me by now if she was here. Believe me.”

“How would she know you died, though?”

Marla took a deep breath and then let it out in a rush, one of her perfect curls catching the air. “We’re twins.”

I stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

“We have always had a special bond. Our magic has been connected since the womb, so she would have known when I died. Just like I knew when she did.”

Wow. That was insane. And a little scary.

“I’m pretty sure she’s in…”—Marla leaned in closer and whispered—“the bad place.”

“Hell?” Was that even a curse?

“Yeah. There.”

“So, you could say she’s youreviltwin?” My laugh was cut short by Marla’s all too serious expression. To her, this was not a joke.

Silence stretched between us as I searched for something more fitting to say.

“What’s her name?” I swallowed past the tightness in my throat. I didn’t have access to anyone in the Hell dimensions, but maybe Simon did. It was possible he could confirm if she was there or not.

“Tamara. Same last name as mine. She never married.”

I’d have to remember that.

“I’ll see if I can find out if she’s there or not.”

“I can bet money she is.” A noticeable shiver ran through her, and her tiny frame shook. “Ihopeshe is.”

Marla was one of the strongest witches in existence, and she was scared of her own sister? This woman must have done some real shit in her life to get a reaction like that from her and then get herself put in a Hell dimension.

“Wait, Jade, did you say you can look up people and see what afterlife they’re in?” Wyatt dragged his dirty rag along the wooden bar top as he came over to us again.

I looked up. “Yeah, I can. Why?”

“Can you type in my wife’s name in there and find her?” Hope sparked in his normally hard gaze. “I asked about her during orientation, but no one would give me any information. I figured she’d be here, in the supernatural side, like me. But I’m not sure where.”

“That’s strange.” Usually husbands and wives were reunited in the afterlife after their orientation. If they wanted to be, that is. I was surprised no one could give him any information on her whereabouts. “Yeah, I can plug it in for you. What’s her full name?”

“Lisa Gail Michaels. Benton is her maiden name, if that helps.”

I tapped my watch’s black screen twice. Three white dots blinked, waiting for my voice to give it direction. A real upgrade from those bulky tablets.

“Lisa Gail Michaels,” I said, making sure to pronounce each part of the name carefully. The three dots jumped one by one, signaling the device was “thinking.” After a few seconds, the wordsSoul cannot be foundflashed on screen.

“Huh.”

“What?” Wyatt asked, frowning.

“Hold on. Give me a minute.”