Page 43 of Dead End

“Use the underground tunnel. Better safe than sorry.”

“You’re singing my tune.” He hung up.

I knew in my gut something like this would happen the moment I fled Paradise, but my inner child desperately hoped for a different outcome. The same child who prayed her grandparents wouldn’t age so they could never leave her. The same child who wished upon star after endless star that her parents would one day appear at her door, alive and unharmed.

They say comparison is the thief of joy, but for me it was always disappointment. It got to the point where any moment of happiness or contentment left me waiting for theother shoe to drop, which prevented me from fully enjoying the experience while it was happening. Embarking on a relationship with Kane was the first time I started to believe that life could be different, but now…

I shook off the despair. There was too much to work to do. “Hey, Ray. I could use your help with something.”

The ghost was by my side in a fraction of a second. “Research?”

“Yes. When I was in Paradise, there were a couple references to Unas that seemed to strike terror in the hearts of the gods and supernaturals there. I want to know why.”

Ray wiggled his fingers over the computer keyboard as though preparing to play a concerto. “This sounds like the perfect project for me.”

“Thank you for that,” Nana Pratt said, as I exited the kitchen. “Now that the library’s finished, he’s been trying to mess around with my garden.”

“I hope you asserted your boundaries.”

She folded her arms. “Oh, I most certainly did. I told him the next time he touched one of my azaleas, he was going to find a clump of weeds on his grave.”

I bit back a smile. “And that was enough to dissuade him, was it?”

“It seemed to do the trick. He took an interest in the layer of pond scum on the moat.”

I cringed. “There’s scum on the water?”

“You won’t be floating around on your black swan anytime soon unless you want your fingers and toes tinted green.”

I cast a glance over my shoulder at Ray, typing away furiously on the computer. Hmm. Take down The Corporation or clean the moat? Decisions, decisions.

I opted to let Ray continue his research. There’d be no swan action this year if I didn’t survive what was coming.

Goran appeared at the top of the stairs. “Did I hear you mention there’s scum on the water?”

“There’s a layer on the moat, apparently.”

“And this is unacceptable to you?” He seemed uncertain why that would be. You could take the prince out of the vodyanoy, but you couldn’t take the vodyanoy out of the prince.

“I would like to float on my inflatable swan…” I nearly said, “when the weather warms up,” but the weather wasn’t my concern right now.

Goran descended the stairs. “Say no more. I’ll take care of the offensive substance while you battle good and evil.”

“I’m not battling good, only evil. More like shades of gray.”

“As you like. Leave the scum to me.”

Nana Pratt observed him with the keen of eye of a woman with toddler experience. “He’s going to eat it, isn’t he?”

“Honestly, at this point, I don’t care how it gets done.”

The ghost’s wrinkled lips melded together in disgust. “Why do I bother cooking for someone who prefers the taste of grime?”

I waited for Goran to leave the house before I responded. “He’s been eating the fruits of waterways for a very long time. Human food will take some getting used to, I imagine. Cut him some slack.”

“He has been asking questions about my recipes,” Nana Pratt said. “I write down the answers for him on a sheet of paper. Not the ideal system, but it seems to work for us.”

“That’s good. I’m glad he’s eager to learn.” It would certainly help him in the romance department, should the opportunity arise. After all those years he suffered unjustly under a curse, Goran deserved a good partner.

---