Page 101 of Death and Do-Overs

He smiled and made a face that suggested he disagreed. “I’d say every one of your bones is loyal.”

“That’s just because you don’t know me very well yet.”

“I take that as an invitation to learn more. Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

I rolled my eyes and approached one of the tables. “I like vegetable lasagna better than traditional.”

“Any vegetables in particular?”

On the tabletop was a corkboard with photos pinned. They were portraits. Many had Xs over them.

“X could be for those who are dead,” Levi surmised.

The gorilla guy who’d broken into my hotel room had an X over him, so that checked out. I didn’t recognize the rest. But there were plenty more photos that remained unmarked.

“Do you think this corkboard is a hit list? Like whoever owns this place cursed the people in the photos with a binding spell is slowly killing everyone off?”

“It could be.”

If so, where was?—

Levi pointed. “It’s you.”

My image wasn’t like the others. There wasn’t an X, or nothing, but instead a big question mark drawn over me in black marker.

“I guess I’m a mystery because I’m both dead and alive.”

“Like Schrödinger's cat.”

“The quantum mechanics thought experiment?” I raised a brow. “What are you, some sort of science genius? You said you were a magician.”

“I am.”

“You’re both?”

“I am a magician. I don’t consider myself a genius. Now, about that vegetable lasagna….” he said with a smirk.

“You want to know my favorite vegetable, but you kissed me, so you have to divulge everything about yourself first.”

“I do?”

“That’s the rules.”

“But you’re the one who kissed me.” A grin overtook his face. “Twice.”

I wanted to smack his grin off, or kiss it off, but I’d do neither.

As he looked over my expression, he only smiled wider. “Full disclosure. I won’t hold anything back.”

“Perfect,” I said.

“I’m forty-six years old. I don’t have a favorite color.”

“That’s weird. Give me something deeper.”

“When your friend Imogen first arrived in Nevermore, I told you I was following my own lead.”

“I remember.”

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