“Would you want to know where your treasure ended up?” Harley asked.
“Or that you had a daughter?” Stephen added.
“Before we go any further… Harley, look and see if the GSD will get us down the St. Lawrence. If not, how much time will we have to do it the old fashioned way?”
“Are you thinking about going after the treasure yourself?” Harley asked.
Captain Waite smiled. “It may be nothing. It may be everything. But it would give us excellent bargaining power with the Peacock. Stephen, stay a moment. Harley, report back to me as soon as you figure this out.”
Waite drummed his fingers on the desk. He looked over at Stephen and asked, “What am I going to do with you?”
“I’m a hard worker.”
“No better man.”
“Then why is there a problem?” Stephen asked.
“You don’t belong here. It must be the energy you connected with at Lucifer’s Lip, but land ghosts don’t normally thrive here. Look at yourself. You may have muscled up from the hard work, but you’re aging. We don’t age here.”
Stephen raised his hands. They looked normal to him.
“Go and look in the mirror and tell me, what do you see?”
Stephen got up and did just that. His face had weathered because of the salt spray, and his temples were full-on gray. His beard, that he had let grow, was mostly gray.
“How old were you when you died?”
“Thirty-five maybe, we didn’t really pay much attention back then. Farming is hard work. I’ve always looked forty.”
“I’m looking at a man passing through the prime of his life, Stephen. And you’ve only been with us such a short time. You’re too thin. I’m going to put you ashore when we reach the continent. It may not be too late.”
“What if I don’t want to go home?”
“Then don’t go. But I’m not going to have you waste away aboard the ship. It’s bad for morale. Plus, I think you’re vulnerable here. There are dark forces angry with you. I’ve smelt the fragrance of an old one on these decks.”
“Old one?”
“Demons smell of sulfur. The fallen smell of Frankincense. This smell was cloaked, but it did still leave Frankincense behind.”
“When did you smell it?”
“Just after I pulled the demon blade out of Crocker’s body. The very same blade the woman named Cooper handed over to me when she arrived to bring you home.”
“Do you think she killed Crocker?”
“No. Harley said she was in hospital on St. Kitts at the time. Someone who was very angry left him as a warning.”
“What’s the warning?” Stephen asked.
“You’re next.”
“Me?”
“I think so. Crocker paid for his dalliance with Mia with his life.”
“He could have died for his hunting of the birdmen,” Stephen argued.
“Then he would have been dead years ago. Prepare yourself. Shave clean. Because when you cross over, your state of dress and hygiene will stay with you until the light comes for you.”
“So, you’re kicking me off the Devil’s Pride because you’re scared?”
“If I were scared, I would toss you in the sea now. This is a kindness I am doing because you’ve been a good sailor. Go home, and take your problems with you.”
~
Lazar was sweeping the front porch when he heard the flapping of wings. He assumed it was Mia or Nicholai. He looked out and was surprised by the jet-black stallion now grazing on the hillside. He saw a man of military bearing walking towards the farmhouse. Lazar moved quickly down the stairs.
“May I help you, sir?”
Abigor looked at the one-legged young man and admired his confidence on the metal that replaced his leg. “I’m looking for Mia Martin.”
“She’s on a PEEPs investigation. May I have your name, and I’ll tell her you called?”
“Abigor, the Grand Duke of Hell.”
Lazar tried not to show fear. He had heard enough about this entity to understand he was dealing with something very powerful.
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize your banner.”
“What banner?”
“Exactly, it seems when a general comes a calling he brings his army with him.”
“You’ve seen battle.”
“A coward’s battle. No banner announcing their attack. No blaring of trumpets. Nothing but a well-placed bomb.”
“I do agree with you. I’m not here to do battle with Mia. I’m inquiring about her health.”
“She was cleared by her doctors.”
“Doctors plural… interesting,” Abigor said. “May I speak to Stephen Murphy?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know where he is. He didn’t return with the Martins.”
“So I heard.”
“May I fetch you a beverage?” Lazar asked.
Abigor looked at him oddly. “Now, you’re being hospitable, why?”
“It occurred to me that you’re a friend of Mia’s, and I was not being very welcoming.”
“No, you were being cautions. I would accept a cool drink.”
“Do you drink beer?” Lazar asked.
Abigor laughed. “I drink beer. In a glass, please.”
“Coming up. Would you like to come in or sit on the porch? It’s such a nice day.”
“I agree. The porch will be fine.”
Lazar and Abigor sat drinking beer and talking about battles. While the young man related his stories, Abigor walked his mind house and gathered information. He could see that Mia had tried to repair the mud walls of the soldier’s mind abode. He sensed an old enemy had also been there too. Raphael…
“We are handicapped by politics,” Lazar complained.
“Even I’m handicapped by politics,” Abigor agreed. “Forgive me, I was just walking in your mind house - it’s a bad habit amongst we mind readers. Tell me, why would you let Raphael in? Are you a believer?”
“I am now. I don’t worship him, but I have seen his power. He saved Mia. She had this tumor growing…”
“She told me. I thought it was a lie.”
“No.
