“Reserve officer, but yes.”
“I read the table of contents in the book you gave me. I do not recall the section on carrying out a murder. There was, however, a section on catching and bringing to justice those who might commit it. Did I misread?”
“No.” I puffed out a breath. For a being who never smiled, he sure looked happy with himself.
“Here we are.” Harold strolled in with a tray holding three tea cups and two small teapots.
“Do you know how to kill Bathin, Harold?” I asked.
“I’m an index, my dear, not a dime-store novel.” He smiled and set the tea on the side table. “But if anyone can do it, it will be you,” he said heartily. “You are a Reed, after all.”
I grinned. “I should buy you some pom-poms to wave.”
“Yes, you should. I would be very good at varsity sports, were I alive. And human. And inclined to sports of any kind. Oolong?”
“Gods, yes,” I practically groaned.
Harold made quick work of serving us, then sat and held the cup in his hands, bringing it up to his mouth now and then. He didn’t drink, but had once told me he could taste the flavor and feel the heat in the steam.
Than and I sipped in silence for a moment while the library hushed and mumbled around us. I was waiting for the tug in my chest to tell me where I needed to be, but it was quiet. Content.
Maybe I just needed to be right where I was.
“All right, so I need the instruction page on how to use the scissors with one blade of ruby and one blade of black.”
Than stilled. “Do you have those scissors?”
“Yes.”
“Are they here?”
“Not in the library.”
“But they are within Ordinary’s borders?”
“Yes.”
“You understand they are demon made?”
“Yep. Bathin said his mother made them.”
Than nodded. “I believe that is true.”
“But I can’t use the scissors to cut Delaney’s soul out of Bathin’s possession without the book with the page. Or at least that’s what a crossroads demon told me.
“That may or may not be true. But wielding a demon blade forged by the Queen of the Underworld is not without consequences.”
“I know. They damage the user. Greatly and permanently, as far as I can tell. But I’m out of options. I’ve thought of offering him my soul in exchange…”
“I forbid it,” Harold said gently, like we were haggling over which brand of crackers to stock in the pantry.
“…but I can’t see how Bathin having another soul will do anything to fix the situation. So. Can you get me that book, Than?”
“The one with the page?” It came out as a simple question but the load of sarcasm he piled on top of those few words was staggering.
“The operating manual for the scissors. I think our best move is to get Delaney’s soul back, and face the consequences before we’re either attacked by the king of the Underworld or have that Hell vortex reopen.”
“You live an interesting life, Myra Reed,” Than said.
