Maggie on the Bounty by Kate Danley Read Free Book Online Page A

mean and nasty from The Other Side is hanging out where it
should not be hanging out."
    "Which
means more paying work for you and I?"
    "Yes,"
I said.  "But for once, could you not think about a paycheck?"
    "Will
Lacy be delivering the paycheck?"
    "For
once, could you not think about Lacy?"
    "I
usually think about Lacy far more than once."
    I pulled out my phone. 
There were no messages.  There was also no reception, but that was beside the
point.  "I wish she would call already with the results
of that vampire we dropped off."
    "You
think the vampire has something to do with these poltergeists?"
    "You
think it doesn't?"
    "It
could be coincidence."
    "I'm
not going to chalk it up to nothing until we find out it's nothing."
    "We
can always refuse this job, Maggie," Killian pointed out.  "We could enjoy the weekend in our stateroom, watch Earth television,
and collect the half fee in a few days."
    That
actually sounded really nice, but if there was something here, I had a feeling
they weren't the type to let us sit in our room eating bon-bons.  As Dad always
used to say, "Err on the side of kick-butt before your butt is
kicked." 
    "I'll
be fine," I said.  "I just prefer something I can stake over things
that go bump in the night." 
    The rest of the tour group had
exited the room and were excitedly showing off their pictures, exclaiming to
each other that they had most definitely had a close encounter of the Other
Worldly kind because their flash had lit up some dust in the air.  They had
absolutely no idea that when you encounter a ghost, there is no mistaking it
for dust.
    The guide led us down the hallway
and down a couple of flights of stairs, right into the center of the ship.  He
announced, "We are now entering the most haunted swimming pool on our
ship."
    I felt like this was akin to
saying, "You're my favorite oldest daughter," but who was I to quibble?
    The guide was still talking about
the features of the room, the diving boards, the mother-of-pearl ceiling, the
tile work.  When he finally let us in, it was actually a really pretty room. 
It was two stories, the one with the pool and deck, then a sweeping staircase
that led to a balcony that wrapped around the whole pool.  The better for
industrious young'uns to look down unsuspecting tops.  There were empty His and
Hers dressing rooms at both the front and back of the room. 
    "This is the site of the most
haunted area on our ship.  We have had paranormal investigators come by and
they suggest there is a vortex located inside the dressing room over to your
right," he said in his bored-spiel voice.  "Please feel free to look
around the room on your own."
    Killian jerked his head towards the
corner and we both wandered over to this supposed vortex.
    It was a fucking portal alright. 
It was closed right now, but I could feel the signature.  It's like scar tissue
on the boundary.  Run your hand across the surface and you can feel a walker's
efforts.
    "We got a weak spot right
here, Killian," I said, pointing out the rip, forgetting for a moment I
wasn't working with my dad.
    He stared at it intently.  "I
do not see a thing."
    It was just a little
moment, but one of those punch-to-the-gut reality checks.  It wasn't the elf's
fault.  I just hadn't quite been ready.  I... wasn't working with my dad.  I
took a breath and squished all those feelings down before Killian got a whiff
of them.  "The boundary is naturally thin here, but it also has a scar in
it.  If you open up a portal once or twice, it can heal itself so that you
never even know a portal was even there.  But I can feel this one like a
keloid, which means it is opened often by someone who doesn't really know what
they're doing.  Someone's been moving things in and out of this pool room and
it wasn't too long ago."
    "If you all would follow me,
please," the tour guide asked.  "We need to keep moving along."
    I whispered to Killian, "First
chance we have to ditch them, you and I come back