Pickup Styx Read Online Free Page B

spell for bringing the dead back to life.”
    Cheney came over and read the spell. “This would work . . . if we had a necromancer, which we don’t.”
    I sighed and dropped my head onto my arms. This was impossible. Necromancers were creepy and verged on evil. They only did magic that affected the dead. Where my magic created, their magic destroyed. Befriending a necromancer had never been high on my priority list.
    “I’ll keep looking,” Katrina said with renewed determination.
    “Wait,”—my head popped up—“I do know a necromancer. Well, sort of.”
    “Where did you meet a necromancer? And how do you ‘sort of’ know one?” Cheney asked, slightly surprised.
    “I met one when I was staying with Sy. She’s a bounty hunter. I can’t remember her name, but I bet he knows. And I say ‘sort of’ because I met her, but we didn’t hang out. She's kind of mean, but that’s normal for a necromancer.”
    “This could work,” Sebastian said.
    Cheney paced. “Are you kidding me? Selene can’t put her life in the hands of a dark witch she barely knows.”
    “Yeah,” Katrina said with a slight grin. “Haven’t you seen Snow White?”
    I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Cheney looked like he was about to flip his lid, which meant the other two should probably give him space.
    I waved Sebastian and Katrina away and walked around the table. “It’s never going to be perfect.”
    “You don’t know her at all—not even her name. How can we trust this woman?”
    “Because we have to.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head over his heart.
    “None of this is a joking matter.”
    “I know, but sometimes if you can’t find the humor in things, all you’ll do is feel sorry for yourself—and who has that ever helped?”
    “What will I do without you? When you became a changeling, at least I knew you were alive. I could still see you if I needed to. What happens if you don’t come back?”
    “Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.”
    Cheney tilted my chin up so I could meet his eyes. “I’m serious. I can’t lose you. I’ve lost too many people in my life.”
    I placed my hand on his cheek. “You will carry on because you have to carry on. A lot of people depend on you.”
    “But who do I get to depend on?”
    “You have me and Sebastian and Sy and my coven.”
    “Those are your friends.”
    “They’re yours too.”
    He nodded, but his face stayed contemplative. I knew Sebastian’s betrayal had cut him deep. He was Cheney’s closest friend. We hadn’t discussed it further, but he’d been short with Sebastian ever since. I didn’t know how to make Cheney believe that Sebastian would always be there to help him. All he had to do was ask. I took a deep breath. “I found someone who has been to the Underworld before and made it out.”
    Cheney snapped out of whatever thought he’d been having. “Who?”
    “I’ll tell you as soon as I find out whether or not he’ll go with me.”
    Cheney narrowed his eyes. “Why do I have the feeling I’m going to hate everything about this plan?”
    “Because you are, but if it works, we’ll be free of all of this.” I kissed him softly. “Free to live our lives however we want.”
    “If this works, I want more than that.”
    I raised an eyebrow.
    “I want you to marry me—again.”
    I laughed. “Isn’t breaking that bond part of what got us into this mess?”
    “Maybe this is the universe’s way of telling us we should have had faith and stuck it out last time. So what is your answer?” He dropped down onto one knee. “Will you marry me?”
    I knew Sebastian and Katrina were probably watching, but all I could see was Cheney.
    “Of course,” I said without a moment’s hesitation.
     

     
    I went to the Horse Head Pub to meet Corbin, Cheney at my side. I couldn’t convince him to stay behind, and honestly I hadn’t wanted to. No one knew how much time we had left together, so I wanted to spend the