Page 117 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

“Connor?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“I have to find Lily Joy. I’m going back under. You have to be prepared to bring me back if necessary.”

His whole body went rigid. “You think she’s in trouble?”

“I don’t know. But I have to find her. I have to help her. You heard Lilith. The family has to be in on saving the world. She’s family.”

“Do what you have to do. I’m awake.”

I leaned in to press a kiss to his furrowed lips. “We’re going to the beach when this is done. You, me, Sim, and Madigan. A long beach vacation. I will end Luc if he tries to stop you.”

Connor rolled on top of me to press a longer, lingering kiss back. Then with my eyes still closed, I started concentrating on finding Lily Joy. It took me manifesting the astral projection this time rather than it happening naturally. I floated through the door, but instead of finding my cousin, my spirit zipped through the sky at breakneck speed, finally plunging me down into the water of probably the Pacific Ocean. Instinctively, I gulped a large breath before my head went under, which was dumb because I didn’t need to breathe. My body lay in a comfy bed back in England next to Connor. Still, I held my breath until my chest burned and I let it out. The bubbles from my exiting air must have hit a sensor because a door opened. It opened without any water rushing inside. A forcefield?

My spirit passed through and the door slid shut again. I continued down into Hades. This had to be Leviathan’s quadrant. Lily Joy slept on the ground leaning against the largest tank I’d ever seen in my life, containing a giant squid that would’ve made Captain Nemo pee his pants. As I watched this monster sleep, I thought maybeTwenty Thousand LeaguesUnder the Seamight’ve been more of a biography than a fantasy novel.

As I floated down toward Lily Joy, the squid’s eye popped open and it made this horrendous sound. Who knew squids even made sounds? It began to glow a bright red and the energy in the room turned hostile.

Lily Joy’s eyes popped open, and she gasped. “Simone?” she asked, rubbing at her eyes.

“Are you hurt? Are you trapped? What can I do?”

“You’re floating,” she said.

“My body is with Connor. How are you?”

“I’m fine. Leviathan offered me sanctuary.”

“Leviathan? He’s… He’s…”

“A really nice guy. Did you know it’s all an act? He’s an introvert who prefers to spend his time with his pets. Apparently, he’s surly to everyone else to keep them away and keep them from trying to take his territory.”

I didn’t know how to feel about this. Both Luc and Connor had said I didn’t want to deal with Lev. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Leviathan?”

She nodded. “He’s willing to help us. His pets are at our disposal should we need them. He just doesn’t like confrontation himself. He wishes he was a go-getter like Luc, always willing to help to make himself look better with the ladies—Lev’s words, not mine.”

“You’re on a nickname basis with one of the kings of the underworld?”

“Two if you count Luc. But I can tell you that Lev hates the idea of Hell taking over. He says they have a good thing now and wants no part of it.”

So we had Leviathan on our side? This war just kept getting weirder and weirder.

“I need you to get to the Orkney Islands. Knap of Howar. It’s important. Can Lev help you get to the Orkney Islands?”

“It’s islands. I’m sure he can.”

“Great.” That was a load off. “Sim and Madigan are meeting us in two days. If I had my body, I’d manifest you there right now, but given my current state, I don’t think it’s possible.”

“No biggie. I’ll be there as soon as I can—oh, don’t tell anyone else about Lev. It would upset him. He likes his privacy.”

“My lips are sealed.” I could’ve cried from relief.

“Do you know what happened to Daniel?”

“Daniel would be?”

“The hellhound who helped me escape. We got separated after he helped me find a place to rest. He showed up the day the demons attacked. He was very intense and spoke very little—he generally acted like every breath I took upset him, but he helped me, so I want him to be okay.”

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