The wolf snarled and took a step toward Bo.
Bo snapped his fingers.
The wolf jerked like he’d just bopped his nose against a window.
“Well, shit,” the ghost breathed.
“To begin with,” Bo went on like the ghost wasn’t even there, like he hadn’t just stopped the ghost wolf in its tracks, “I need you to tell me you remember the rules of our agreement.”
“We stay alive,” Lu said, “or…as alive as we are, together. You don’t change that as long as we find things for you, bring people together for you, and deliver things for you.”
“That’s a lot,” the ghost said. “You’re doing everything. All his grunt work. What do you get out of this? What do you get?”
“In exchange, we have the right to break this deal at any time without consulting you.”
“Oh,” the ghost said. “All right. An exit plan. Not the dumbest thing to ask for.”
“That’s true,” Bo said. “Anything else?”
“You said you’d help us find the book.” Lu’s finger touched the feather key under her shirt, and Bo’s sharp gaze followed. “And you told us to find a rabbit. I found a small statue.” She pulled the little rabbit statue out of her jacket pocket and put it on the table in front of her. “But I don’t think that’s it.”
“It isn’t,” he said. “You’ve already found the rabbit and passed it by.”
I frowned. “It’s not that guy is it?” I thumbed toward the ghost, who made an affronted sound.
Bo smiled, and the diamond stud in his ear shattered light. “No, Valentine isn’t a rabbit.”
“Holy fuck,” the ghost whispered. “You know I’m here? You know my name? You have to listen to me. I was murdered. I want revenge.”
Bo took another swig of beer, then turned his full attention to the ghost.
“I am not the god of death. I am not the god of reincarnation. What you seek, I cannot give you.”
“But youarea god.” The ghost, Valentine, placed one fist on the table, leather and beads wrapped around his wrist shifting as he leaned right into Bo’s space. “You can bend universes to your whim. I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll do what they can’t do for you. I’ll find your rabbit.”
“No,” I said, maybe a little too loudly if the sudden attention from the other patrons in the place meant anything. “No,” I said quieter. “We’ll find the rabbit. If Valentine wants to make another deal with you, that’s his business, but not ours, understand?”
Bo hummed. “You’ve already seen my rabbit and passed it by, Brogan. Our deal stands, but I am trying to help you. That was part of our bargain too. For reasons I can’t divulge—sometimes even gods must tread softly—Valentine will help you to find it.”
“No,” I said.
“Yes!” the ghost said. “And if I do that, if I help them help you, you will owe me, god. You willoweme.”
Bo’s eyes, clear and calm, went black with storms. “I don’t owe you anything. Do not test my patience.”
Valentine’s wolf snarled, but the ghost didn’t pull back. “Or what? You’ll kill me? I wonder what that would be like? Wandering around dead.”
“We don’t need him to help us,” Lu said.
“We surely the fuck do not,” I agreed.
Valentine straightened and stuck his hands under his armpits. “Screw that. I’m in. Just to get out of this place. Just to…do something. I’m in. I’ll find the rabbit.”
Bo nodded, pleased everything had gone his way. “Good. Brogan, Lu, find the rabbit. With Val.”
I opened my mouth, but Lu put her hand over my wrist, asking me to wait.
“And then what?” she asked. “We find the rabbit. With Valentine’s help. Then do we return it to you, or deliver it to someone, or to somewhere?”
