A delicate cough came from the ghost behind the portal. “Actually, I might know a guy.”
Chapter
Thirty-Four
LUCIFER
Oh, I was eager to hear what the little ghost had to say. Truly ethical billionaires were few and far between. I sat back and waited for her to drop her knowledge on us all. There was no possibility I’d be surprised, but I was willing to be wrong.
“His name is Ransom. He’s a cowboy in Devil’s Grove, Texas.”
Exactly as I’d expected. See? The pool was and ever shall be shallow.
Also, the name of the town was no coincidence. I might have played a part in that many years ago.
“Uh, aren’t we sort of skipping several steps?” Merri asked.
“Such as?” I drawled, loving the feel of my mate’s attention on me.
“Whether or not he’s still alive? The non-supernatural world might be functioning as though it’s business as usual, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been impacted by the lead-up to the apocalypse.”
“That’s easily enough remedied,” Hades said.
“All over it, boss. Say less.”
Asshole disappeared from view only to return a few heartbeats later with a very annoyed woman wearing horn-rimmed glasses beside him.
“You rang?” she asked in a very put-out voice.
“We need to know if someone made a trip down the Styx,” Hades explained.
The woman sighed and manifested a rather impressive binder. “Name?”
“Brett Ransom,” Kiki answered.
“Let’s see... Radner, Rammstein, Ranklin, Ratliff. Nope. No Ransoms. Not yet, at least. There’s time.”
Kiki’s shoulders slumped in relief, and I’d bet my wings she had a story to tell as it pertained to Ransom. She found her soulmate in the underworld, but that didn’t mean the woman didn’t have a past. I couldn’t imagine what Ransom joining the party would do if she looked that grateful he was still topside. She’d have quite a bit of explaining to do once he finally did kick the bucket.
“Great, if that’s all, I’ve got shit to do. We’re pretty busy down here, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
“Thanks, Janine,” Hades called, but she’d already vanished from sight.
“All right, one problem solved. We know the guy’s alive. Still doesn’t mean we know where to find him,” Alek said, wary gaze on Kiki.
“We could try a locator spell,” Merri suggested, only to immediately catch herself. “Wait, that requires a personal item. Shit.”
“I know where he lives,” Kiki offered.
“He could be hunkered down somewhere else. Do we really have time to waste on a maybe?” Alek asked, the question genuine.
“Well, we know we have at least a day or two before the horsewomen will be able to pull off another whammy like they did today. Even if they have blood stored up, magic like that requires time to prep,” Moira answered.
“Still, we don’t want to chase shadows. A strategic search would be far more beneficial for all involved,” Chaos said.
“Well, yeah, of course. But strategy requires information. So unless someone has some relevant bit of knowledge they’re sitting on, we’re not gonna get the opportunity to do that this time,” Moira shot back.
Before I could offer up said relevant knowledge, Sin piped up. “Speaking of all involved, who wants to be part of this mission?”