Page 54 of Hooked on a Witch
“Reevo isn’t a do-it-yourself project. You almost lost your arm the last time you tangled with him. I’m going with you.”
Merck shook his head.
“I can keep up with you. I know a lot of your tricks. I’m not scared of death.”
“That’s the problem. I need you to stay alive. When I die on Friday, you’ll wait for me to get back the next time around. A favorable judgment from the gods isn’t looking good, which means I’ll be shuttled into a new body. Who knows how long it’ll be before I remember any of this. Fifteen years? I hope I’ll remember you and here. You’ll need to help my juvenile future self.”
“You’re shitting me. You want me to sit here with my thumb up my ass until you’re new body gets with the program?”
“Yes.”
“The gods won’t kill you. They can’t. There’s too much going on right now for you to suddenly disappear.”
“I have no control over any of this and I hate it.”
Danny resumed his gaze on his computer screen. “All of this has to do with Sleeping Beauty, doesn’t it?”
“Pretty sure it does. I don’t want you to worry about her right now. She’s at her house. Safe with her people. I need you to find everything you can on Poseidon’s Trident. I don’t want the CliffsNotes from a high school Greek mythology textbook. I need the old stuff. The stuff translated off parchment. I need to know its powers. I particularly need to know who can touch it.” Merck strode to the oversized Greek painting behind the desk and pulled it away from the wall to expose the safe. He keyed in the ten-digit code and removed a centuries-old text. “There should be something in this.”
Danny flipped through the browned parchment pages. “It’s in ancient handwritten Greek. This’ll take me days to translate.”
“You don’t have days. You have twelve hours. I’m relying on all the time you spent with Rosetta Stone last year.”
“That was Greek speaking, not reading. It’s a different alphabet.”
“I know.”
“You can do this twenty times faster than me.”
“I don’t have time. I have to police deviant magical bastards.” He grabbed his tactical vest off the floor and shoved the newly loaded mags into a pocket.
“I’m going with you. This ain’t optional.”
Merck appreciated the loyalty. Two was better than one, even if he would spend part of his time keeping Danny safe. “I prefer you here. I need you to work on this.”
“I can translate in the car.” Danny flashed his stubborn face.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Danny researched online during the drive, occasionally spouting random unhelpful facts to point out the messed-up psychology of the Greek gods. “This is useless.”
“The secrets that matter probably aren’t online.”
“Are you looking for something in particular?” Danny unwrapped a protein bar. “Want one?” he asked with a full mouth. “Got a new flavor yesterday. It’s chocolate walnut.”
Merck shook his head. The last time he’d tried one of Danny’s bars he couldn’t get its pasty taste out of his mouth for hours. If he chose to eat overprocessed carbs in a bar, he preferred a candy bar.
Merck parallel parked up the street from the only witch bar in Savannah. Even though it was early afternoon, it’d be busy. The bar specialized not only in booze and drugs, but also had a back room where one could purchase potions, ingredients, spells, and some totems. The items, although costly, weren’t top quality or unique. It was the Target of the witch world, good for basics but not for high-end items.
He placed a few items from his tactical vest into the inner pockets of his leather coat. “What would be a better use of your time than be here is to go plant a bug in Owen’s rental car.”
“Great idea. I sent Chad a few hours ago. He thrives on pseudo-spy shit like that. He already texted me he hacked the rental car service to find out which car they’re using, and it’s done. He’s going to hang around to be sure Owen doesn’t upgrade his car choice.”
“Great.” It didn’t come out enthusiastic.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Lead on, boss.” Danny waved toward the club’s entrance.
The bouncer’s eyes widened as they approached. In a thick Southern accent, the meatloaf said, “Merck. Unusual for us to see you during daylight. We don’t want no trouble, now do we?”
