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“I was wrong about this town.” Zoe’s chest tightened as she spoke her well-rehearsed lie. “There’s no power here that Chthonic Power Solutions can harness.”
Mr. Gravesend’s eyes widened in shock. “But the readings!”
“The readings I discovered were nothing more than a fluke. The tracker must have gotten damaged in the crash.”
Mr. Gravesend sucked in a breath, like some nightmarish pufferfish ready to explode. His skeletal hands wrapped around a fountain pen, the power of his fury snapping it in half. For a brief moment, a violent and terrible darkness flashed within his eyes, until Zoe shrank back from her laptop screen in fear. But the formidable CEO drew a calming breath, until the dark fury within his eyes receded.
“Well... that is an unexpected turn of events.“ His mouth twisted, as if he tasted something deeply unpleasant. “Needless to say, the board will expect you to find an alternative site imminently. I expect you back in the office by the first thing tomorrow!”
“Actually, about that…” Zoe drew a breath, and tried to summon what remained of her courage. “I’ve decided to take a vacation.”
Mr. Gravesend’s eyes might have burned with a formidable fury before, but now they bulged with incomprehension.
“A... what?“ He spat out his words, as if he’d ingested a mouthful of poison. “Why on earth would you need a vacation?”
At this, Zoe smiled warmly.
“To live. To step away from my work, and experience the magic in the world again. Although, I’m beginning to realize that might be something you don’t understand.“ Despite her hammering heartbeat, Zoe forced herself to meet the formidable businessman’s gaze. “I’ll see you next week, Mr. Gravesend.”
Without another word, Zoe ended the call. She wiped her sweaty palms, and drew a deep breath to calm her racing heart. All her life, she’d never questioned a single order from Mr. Gravesend, and she’d certainly never taken a vacation. She’d just committed career suicide, and put the final nail in the coffin of her promotion. And yet, as a rush of exhilaration and relief flooded through her, she realized she’d never felt so alive. She looked at her work belongings, before she turned to Spooks, who merrily sped through the motel like a steam train.
“Spooks, would you be interested in making a delivery on the Spooks Express?” As a joyful toot from the poltergeist suggested an affirmative, Zoe pulled her report of the Underworld from her satchel, and handed it to him. “Then take these files, and throw them into the depths of Tartarus. Express delivery.”
Zoe watched as the poltergeist raced away in a trail of blue smoke, before she gazed at the sparkling snow-covered landscape beyond. A landscape where magic slumbered beneath the frost and ice, waiting to be re-awakened. All it would take was for one lost soul to rediscover it.
“Well, here goes nothing.” Zoe rolled up her sleeves and flexed her fingers, before placing them on her keyboard. “This could take a while...”
With a glug of coffee, Zoe began to type, her fingers moving in rhythm with drifts of snow that tapped lightly on the windowpane. Her thoughts of Chthonic Power Solutions and Mr. Gravesend faded, as her mind traveled to the sights of the Underworld. She thought of the vibrant geysers of the Bubbling Bog, the quaint cactus fields, and the spell-binding panorama from the Throne of the Underworld. Hours slipped away, until daylight turned to dusk. But Zoe was far away, journeying through her memories of the Underworld, sharing them with the world, one keystroke at a time.
With a final click, Zoe raised her hands from the keyboard. She rubbed sleep from her eyes, and glanced at the will-ó-wisp to see it dozing on the corner of her screen. But as she studied the creation before her, she realized, finally, it was ready. And she’d never had a more enjoyable day’s work in her life.
A mug of freshly brewed coffee aroused her senses, until Misty appeared in a cloud of green smoke.
“Working yourself to the bone again, sugar?”
“Actually, I’ve been working on something different. A side project.” Despite the fatigue in Zoe’s wrists, she smiled. “Summon everyone from the motel. I have something to show you.”
The saloon soon filled with the busy chatter of specters and spirits. Zoe glanced at the makeshift crowd, as Spooks merrily chased Cerberus around the bar stools, while the Phantom Fiestadores arrived in a clatter and twang of their instruments. As Shadow swept into the saloon in a swirl of darkness, she drew a breath and readied herself.
“This better be important, fleshie.” Spooks swung from the chandelier, merrily catapulting cobwebs at the crowd gathered below. “This is prime poltergeisting hour. It takes a lot of time and effort to leave a trail of chaos everywhere I go, you know...”
“Well, I have an announcement to make...” Zoe fumbled with her hands nervously, before she gazed at the crowd before her. “Do you remember when I first arrived here? When I said that I would help spread the word about the Underworld?”
“Of course!” Spooks somersaulted across the floor, before breaking into a headstand. “You were going to be the Ferrywoman of the Underworld. Our travel blogger extraordinaire!”
Zoe’s stomach churned with guilt. She glanced at the will-ó-wisp perched beside her, and drew a breath, knowing she had to make things right.
“I summoned you here, because I wanted to tell you the truth. I haven’t written a travel blog about the Underworld.”
Spooks tumbled from his headstand, sprawling onto the floor, until he peered up at Zoe in surprise.
“Then what have you been doing all this time? You were glued to that fleshie typewriter machine all day!”
“I’ve been working on something different.” Zoe drew a breath, before she turned her laptop to face the room. “This.”
All grew still as every spirit and ghost peered closer to the laptop screen in wonder. Silence blanketed the crowd, until Spooks cocked his head in confusion.
“What is it?”
