Page 56 of Raising Hell
“If someone from Earth is trying to kill what is mine, you need to find him and stop him.” There was no doubting the command in Hades’ voice.
Megan bowed her head slightly.
“What did he look like?” she asked, looking at me again.
“Twenty-something, I guess. Dark hair. Goatee. Lighter complexion but not white pale. Maybe middle eastern? European? I didn’t look directly at him.”
“There are probably over two million people that match that description,” Megan said. “It’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else could help, though.”
She looked down at the floor for a minute. “There might be someone who can help. He’s good at spells. I’ll see if he has any ideas.”
I nodded and gave Megan a sad look.
“How many died?” I asked quietly.
She shook her head. “You don’t want to know. I’ll work on this. You—” She glanced at Hades. “Stay alive.”
“Thank you, daughter,” Hades said before sending her away with a wave of his hand.
I turned in his arms to face him.
“See? I had a whole conversation with her, and she’s still alive.”
“She is.”
“And we were nice to each other.”
“You were.”
I gave him a look. “Come on, Hades. You heard how familiar we were with one another. That happens with friendship. Why else would she tell me to stay alive?”
“She cares for the world she was born into and doesn’t want to see her people die in the wake of my anger should any more ill befall you.”
He had me there. That was probably exactly what Megan had meant.
“So now what?” I asked.
“Now we wait.”
“For the guy to strike again?”
Hades’ face flushed.
“He wouldn’t dare attempt to harm you a second time.”
I didn’t share Hades’ righteous certainty. The guy had come after me in a room full of people devoted to Hades. That didn’t ring of cowardice. It rang of determination.
My would-be killer would return. I had no doubt about that.
CHAPTERTEN
“The festival room was beautiful,”I said to take Hades’ mind off of what happened. “Thank you for restoring it.”
“Thank you for allowing it.”
“The day’s still young, not that we can tell. What else should we do?”
