Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“Heavy and crackling. Like someone left a window open between here and the underworld. A magical draft is being let in.”
Grammy sniffed and folded her arms over her bosom. “That’s what you get when demons force doors open. They break things.”
“Can Sky fix what the demon king broke? Or does the demon need to fix it?” Nolan inquired.
“Yes, I can fix it,” Sky answered, only to have Grammy huff at him.
“No, he can’t. Not properly, at least.” The ghost pursed her lips together and wrinkled her brow in thought. “Sky can create a patch that will stop the leak, but it won’t be as strong as a fix by the demon. It will allow him to still summon his minions for menial work, but if something as big and powerful as a demon comes through, the door will tear.” She turned to Sky and wagged her finger at him. “And that’s gonna be even harder to fix. A patch won’t work a second time. You need to get that demon up here to fix this mess he made.”
“Zalramon, Grammy,” Sky emphasized, leaning toward her. “It’s Zalramon, king of the underworld, who’s made this mess. I can’t just call him up here like I would Frank or Greg. I need to be diplomatic about this or I’m going to wind up in the underworld permanently, whether I’m alive or dead.”
Grammy clicked her tongue twice at him. “Only you, Skylar. Only you could get yourself into this kind of mess.”
He almost rolled his eyes at his grandmother, but that was a fast way of getting a house shoe to the back of the head. Given the amount of energy zipping through the air, that would freaking hurt right now.
“Since you have some extra juice, would you go ask around? See if you can figure out what got loose while I wait to hear from Zal?” He batted his eyelashes at her and gave her his sweetest smile. “The sooner I figure that out, the sooner I can get rid of it, which keeps those earth witches off my back.”
Grammy nodded. “I’ll ask the other ghosts in the area. Maybe I can turn up some helpful information.” She began to leave but stopped and narrowed her eyes at him. “You need to take a nap. Even if we get the information you need, you’re going to be too damn tired to cast a single spell.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he gets some rest,” Nolan interjected. Sky’s mouth fell open while Grammy chuckled as she disappeared.
“You gonna put me to bed?” Sky drawled, trying for a low and sexy tone, but he was feeling like dog poo and probably looked like it, too. He doubted he could seduce an incubus, even if it were starving.
“Yes, I am, baby. Now finish your message to the demon.”
Honey and baby in the same day!
He didn’t care how pathetic he looked. He was going to capitalize on his good fortune while he could.
With more speed than finesse, he made a pair of sandwiches, trying to save the best cuts and options for the demon king. The note might have had zero finesse, but he laid out that he needed the door properly sealed and to know what had escaped from the underworld.
After tucking the note into the bag, he summoned Frank. The minion was, in fact, very pissy about his sandwich being more cheese and bread than meat. However, he lost some of his attitude when he learned he was making a delivery to his boss.
When Frank disappeared, Nolan rose and helped Sky put everything away. The very kind and thoughtful man then ushered him up the stairs.
“You need sleep, Sky,” Nolan pressed. “You seem like you’re about to fall over. I don’t know how you can expect to do anything about the doorway or the creature on the loose if you can’t even keep your eyes open.”
“But—”
“Let Zalramon and his people do some work. You can at least catch an hour or two of sleep while you wait.”
Sky pouted, his bottom lip jutting out. “But if I sleep, you’ll leave. We’re having a pleasant morning together. You helped with the roses and the cemetery.” He might have tacked on in a grumpy tone under his breath. “Just a shame the witches had to butt in.”
“What if I stay and take a nap with you?” Nolan offered.
Sky didn’t question his luck, but he did question his ability to fall asleep with Nolan lying right next to him. Well, if he didn’t sleep, there were plenty of other things he was interested in doing in bed.
He pulled on a pair of comfortable cotton shorts and handed over a baggy pair to Nolan, along with a T-shirt. Unfortunately, that was too small. Boo-hoo. Nolan had to lie in bed with no shirt on. Such a shame.