Old Demon and the Sea Witch (Welcome to Hell #9) - Eve Langlais Page 0,28

my bathroom suddenly much larger than it should be. The devil paced in the expanded space.

He muttered, too. “Gaia needs Shax to find something. But he’s not in his library. He’s not hiking some mountain or trekking across a wasteland. He’s here on this boat, so the thing they need is here.”

“Not necessarily. Shax is on this cruise because of his nephew,” I reminded Lucifer.

The devil waved a hand. “Secondary. My wife is involved. She would have provided a good cover. She wanted him on this ship going…” Lucifer snapped his fingers. “To the same place we had a spy from. Ding. Ding. Ding.”

“Seems kind of obvious.”

Lucifer glared. “I was waiting for you to come to that conclusion. Now that you have, it’s clear you need to go to Atlantis.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I am. We dock tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow is too long. You must get there before Shax. Find whatever it is they seek first.”

“But that would mean betraying him.”

“And?” Lucifer really didn’t grasp the problem with it.

“I can’t.”

The devil exhaled hotly. “Why the fuck not? Do you have a problem with winning?”

“No, but I do have a problem with cheating. The only reason I’m spying on Shax is because of you, which means swooping in and stealing whatever he’s looking for wouldn’t be right.” It felt important to not screw Shax over. A perverse honor among demons and witches and all that.

The devil clearly felt differently. His eyes glowed. “Are you refusing to do your job?”

I’d have to tread carefully. “Just wondering how you think I can get there early. Unless you’re planning to portal me there.”

Lucifer’s lips turned down. “Fuckers put some kind of shield up.”

“A place you can’t get into. How fascinating.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” Lucifer reminded. He stood still long enough for the shadows that trailed him to stop and give him shape. The massive wings at his back, the impression of size, and menace.

“I’ll be on your side when you start showing some respect, starting with knocking instead of just entering. Maybe if you tried that once in a while, people wouldn’t want shields that keep you out.”

“Rules. So many rules. You’re ruining all the fun. Making everyone miserable. Don’t do this. Don’t do that.” The devil roared. “It’s unconscionable.”

“And it’s only going to get worse.” The current generation liked their rules to have rules. And then those had more regulations. It wouldn’t be long before Hell changed its name because someone’s feelings were hurt.

“I want to know what’s in Atlantis,” Lucifer snapped “And I want to know yesterday.”

“Too bad, so sad.” To use a popular turn of phrase. “Flying via broom over that much water in search of a moving island isn’t happening or even feasible.”

“Then find another way. Where there’s one Undine, there’s probably more.” The shadow mist on the devil’s body suddenly expanded, hiding him. When it faded, he was gone.

The bathroom felt like a coffin, and I was running late. We were in DJ’s Locker, and the ship had stopped. I’d best say hi to my daughter and son-in-law before I ran off to save Shax from himself.

Rushing out on deck, I was just in time to see my granddaughter rescue her one true love, the possessor of the locket with the love spell. I’d done it again.

But that was all I got to do. Forget saying hello to my daughter and annoying her pirate husband. Suddenly, crawling over the railing, a group of fish men confronted me.

Only three. I could handle three.

“Hello, boys.” I looked at the Undines with their tiny loincloths.

A pair of them gripped spears. The middle one held out a long hunk of braided seaweed. “Hands,” he gurgled.

“I don’t think so.” I took a step back and froze as I heard a rustle of motion.

A sharp glance over my shoulder showed three more fish men flanking me. Then another group. Nine in total to form a semi-circle while I stood with my back to the bulkhead of the ship. I kind of appreciated that they took me seriously.

I held up a balled fist. The wind flowing past halted and began to form a ball.

The fellow in charge—the Undine with the seaweed—shook his head and spit. “No magic. You come.”

“Where?” I asked. If he said Atlantis, then maybe I should hitch a ride and see if I could arrive before the boat. That would please the dark lord. And then I’d share whatever info I discovered with Shax, and hopefully, prevent two gods from destroying