Jane Davey’s Locket by Eve Langlais Page 0,4

the sea. Fewer living men to ogle my mother. And no kid around to insist they wear clothes and keep their door shut when they had sex, which came after the rule I instituted about no sex outside the bedroom. An edict my parents hated. I sometimes wondered if my dad had gotten his ship sunk on purpose so I’d stop cramping their style.

“How did we get onto the topic of sex, anyhow? We were discussing my locket.”

“Find the locket, and you’ll find your mate.”

“I’d rather not. And as for the cruise, you’re going alone. I’m staying right here.”

“You have to come. I already bought you a ticket.”

“But I don’t want to go. Can’t, as a matter of fact. Some of us have a job, you know.”

“No, you don’t.” Grandma’s lips curved into an evil smile. “Didn’t you hear? You were fired.”

“Since when?”

My cell phone rang. A glance at the display showed that it was work. I answered. Listened to a flat voice informing me that my services were no longer needed, and hung up. I arched a brow at my grandma. “What did you do?”

“I knew you’d try and use that awful job of yours as an excuse to stay home.” That awful job being that of a bank teller replete with a steady paycheck, benefits, and paid holidays. “So I called the bank manager and told him that you said wildly inappropriate things to me and asked to see my knickers.”

“Grandma!” The urge to throttle her overwhelmed me to the point where I tucked my hands behind my back. “I could have asked for time off.”

“You wouldn’t have.” Spoken sagely by someone who knew me very well. “Now that you find yourself with free time, go pack.”

Arguing further would prove useless. Surely an opportunity to push her overboard would present itself.

2

Jane: Ahoy, matey! I need a drink.

Despite myself, I was rather impressed by the sheer size of the ocean liner, Sushi Lover, just one of the many cruise ships available from Pleasure Industries. Multiple storied, it appeared utterly normal to the casual eye. A glamour, of course. When I coasted through its boundary, riding a stiff breeze, I got to see the details that set it apart from the mundane ships, such as the giant harpoon at the stern just in case a mighty ocean denizen came after us.

The dock had a line of people boarding. Suckers. Grandma and I landed our brooms on the top deck, alighting in the pentagram painted to guide those of us arriving by air. The North American and European witches stuck with brooms, a few of them styled in the popular Quidditch trend, but the fellow who’d glided in a moment before us had chosen to use a rug. We moved out of the way just in time for a zooming armchair.

Grandma sniffed at the sight of it. “Young’uns nowadays have no respect for the old customs.”

“Looks more comfortable than a stick up my ass,” I mumbled.

“Then you didn’t use enough lube.” The suggestion was thrown to me by a demon who strode past. He spent too much time ogling my grandma, who didn’t notice the leering at all.

There was a young lady on hand providing valet storage for our brooms, and an ogre for our baggage, which was only a small bag each. Brooms weren’t exactly ideal for carrying much.

The day proved to be overcast, cloudy with a chance of rain. It matched my mood. Not on purpose. But when I scowled, the whole sky scowled with me.

Already, the forecast in Seattle where I lived, showed sunny skies for the next few days.

Enjoy it while you can because I’ll be back before you know it. Since a young age, my mood tended to affect the weather. Of late, it had been soggier than usual.

We weren’t the only ones arriving. A portal to Hell, resembling a dark rip midair with flame-colored edges, spilled more than a few denizens on board, including more demons with intricate horns and red-eyed gazes.

The golden arch across from the portal had no traffic at all. Snooty angels tended to keep to themselves.

Another circle on deck catered to the winged sort, like the gorgeous dark dragon who alighted, stirring up the air and whipping my hair in all kinds of directions.

Showoff.

A ghoul was assigned to show us to our rooms. He led us to an elevator, and as it moved between the floors, he gave us a brief introduction. “Welcome aboard the Sushi Lover, captained by none other