page35 (1/2)

I leaned back further ins and Winter frowned but they were too intrigued by what Grenvilleernails; out of the corner ofout of Grenville’s ears

‘Ivy,’ Winter said, ‘does Ipsissihts to offer about Blackbeard? Could he perhaps send sohosts to search for him? They could prove to be our salvation’

Grenville didn’t react to Winter’s suggestion His attention remained wholly on me ‘Don’t you want to knohat you’ve done?’ he demanded

I started to pick at a hangnail as Grenville started to staressed into childhood after we died Spending the afterlife throwing temper tantrums didn’t seem like the best use of a phantom’s time, but maybe with eternity to contemplate there wasn’t much else to do What did I know?

‘Maybe he could speak to Clare Rees and the other coven ghosts again,’ Ipsissi to do with animals, or if they had any pets that died recently If they used a pet creht be how Blackbeard targeted them in the first place’

I looked up ‘That’s a really good idea’

‘I can’t talk to anyone else!’ Grenville yelled in my face ‘They won’t talk to me any more! And it’s all your fault! Because you’ve screwed everything up, the others all want a new representative! We’ve spent a long ti out a schedule There is a hierarchy and soenerations The queue has been established for over a century and you leapfrog it willy-nilly! That last spirit whose curse you smashed had only been here for a decade or two He was number 22,633 and you put him at the front of the line! And that idiot who couldn’t keep his penis in his clothes wasn’t iven a bit of freedo up!’ He held up his palms towards me ‘I can’t even bear to look at you You have no understanding of anything’ He shook his head and vanished

Winter raised his eyebrows ‘Well?’

I bit ood ht be on our own for a while’

The door banged open and Maid a piece of paper His face was shining ‘I think I have the place,’ he said ‘I think thishis victims’

There was a brief mutter from underneath the table ‘Thank fuck,’ Brutus said ‘We need to depart this hellhole tout suite’

I started and looked down at him Had I really just heard that? He blinked innocently and started to lick his paws

Chapter Fifteen

‘We should call the police and get thes said

Winter pursed his lips ‘They don’t knohat they should be looking for It’ll be like sending in a barber to do the work of a plu the knowledge to follow the right clues and find the right person’

‘There are Arcane Branch witches nearby, some very talented ones We could send them in’

‘But they haven’t seen Blackbeard in person Ivy has She’ll recognise him faster than anyone else Besides, if one of the Arcane Branch witches gets twitchy and uses ’

The Ipsissirimaced ‘But if Blackbeard is there because he works there, he’ll recognise you both and the game will be up’

Winter drew back his shoulders ‘If Blackbeard happens to be there, he won’t be walking out of that building unless he’s in our custody or a body bag’

Even I sucked in a breath at that one Winter had a way of saying things that could send serious shivers of fear down your spine It was probably the ed to be so sincere and yet co another hu

The Ipsissi ‘You are both civilians You have no place…’

‘When you put Ivy on Dead Man’s Hill with an incantation to draw a necroic and martyr herself, she was a civilian’ Winter stared at his old boss, his eyes like chips of blue ice The moment of silence that folloas one of the most uncomfortable of my life