The marsh hag sank low into the pond until only her head protruded, weedy hair floating atop the bright green algae. Her sunken eyes glowed a reptilian yellow in their woody sockets, and she licked her lips with her withered tongue. “Can I still frighten them?”

“Yeah,” I said. “You can still frighten them. So do we have a deal? Do I have your word?”

Meg Mucklebones sank even lower into the murky water, submerging the bottom half of her face. “Yes.” The word rose in a dank, sullen bubble, bursting on the surface with a whiff of vegetal putrescence—another vocabulary word Mr. Leary would be proud of me for remembering. A series of equally smelly, equally sullen bubbles followed. Her eyes held a resentful glow. “You have my word.”

I smiled. “Excellent.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

Twenty-eight

Within seconds, I had Brandon down from the trunk, both of us standing on what passed for solid ground in the wetlands.

Jen gave her brother a fierce hug, alternating between exclaiming over him in relief and scolding him. He endured both with an eleven-year-old’s guilty embarrassment, squirming in her embrace.

Cody and I exchanged a glance.

“Nice work,” he said to me.

“Thanks.” I was filthy, spattered with muck and slime from head to toe, but I actually felt pretty good. Nothing like a surge of pure adrenaline to chase away a hangover, I guess. “You, too.”

He holstered his gun and pulled a clean bandanna from his back pocket. “Might want to clean off your magic dagger, Pixy Stix.”

I wiped dauda-dagr’s gleaming blade clean of sticky green ichor before sheathing it. “Thanks. Love the belt, by the way.”

Cody’s mouth twitched. “It suits you.”

I peered down at it. “Really?”

“Uh-huh.” Shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, he rocked back on his bare heels. “Is it just me, or did something weird happen out there? Weirder than usual, I mean?”

I winced. “You saw it?”

“I saw something.”

“Yeah, I know what he means. I didn’t exactly see it, but I heard it. Halfway up the tree trunk, you yelled, ‘I’m busy,’” Jen supplied helpfully. “What was that all about?”

I sighed. “Dad.”

Both of them stared at me, with Brandon dividing his attention between the three of us, his gaze darting back and forth. In the pond, Meg Mucklebones continued to lurk, mostly submerged, her eyes glowing across the scummy water.

“Temptation scenario?” Jen asked in a low voice.

See, there are reasons to stay good friends with the people who know you best in the world.

“Yep.”

Her luminous brown gaze was steady. “But you passed?”

I nodded. “I passed.”

Jen gave me an approving punch in the arm. “Good job, Daisy-cakes. Hey, Brandon!” She nudged her brother. “This is Officer Fairfax. He helped us find you even though he’s off duty, so say thank you to him, okay?”