“Who is on vacation,” Than reminded me, “and would prefer to remain so.”
Which meant he didn’t want to pick up his powers and do the big, Death things that would make him have to leave Ordinary for a year.
If push came to shove, I hoped he’d change his mind.
“This is it,” Bathin said.
“What are we facing?” I asked.
“Something worse than we’ve ever seen.”
“Details, Bathin.”
“A demon. A very powerful demon.”
“You know which demon is opening the vortex?”
“Yes.” He sounded like it pained him to admit that.
“Who is it?”
“My uncle.”
I didn’t even have a second to process that because a crowd of pirates was blocking the road.
Yes, pirates.
The road was filled with human beings of every size dressed as pirates. A few wore other costumes—I spotted a couple princesses, an astronaut, and that hockey mascot who looked like a psychotic Muppet—but mostly it was pirates.
“What is this?” Bathin asked.
“I don’t know.”
“It is the Slammin’ Salmon Pparade,” Than said. “Costumes encouraged. Nautical theme.”
And, yeah, as soon as he said it, I remembered hearing Jean say something about contributing to the event to make it more fun, and gods knew she loved a Halloween party.
I swore. There would be no getting through this crowd with the cruiser.
The street wasn’t even one full lane, and it was uneven, with no sidewalks or shoulders. Houses rose on one side stacked up on a rise, and hotels closely packed the other side between us and the beach. This was one of the older roads that had originally been used by horse or bicycle. There was barely room for one car when the street was clear.
The street ended at the beach, where the short river from the lake wandered out to meet the sea.
“Shall I turn on the sirens and lights now?” Than asked politely.
“No, we’ll go on foot.” I muscled the car onto the edge of someone’s yard, blocking the mailbox and half the driveway.
I scanned the crowd for Bertie, but couldn’t spot her in the throng. What I did see was a weird green light coming from the beach where the river met the ocean.
“Vortex?” I asked. We were all jogging now, pressing through the crowd. I shouted in my Police Voice for people to step aside, but the crowd was mesmerized by the light.
They thought it was part of the show.
Or maybe it was actually hypnotizing them.
Than stepped in front of me and extended his hand, long fingers relaxed, palm forward.
“To one side,” he instructed. “This is your police.”
