Free Fierce Lessons (Ghosts & Demons Series Book 3) by Robert Chazz Chute, Holly Pop

the second level of the underground parking garage.”
    “Why didn’t Anguloora send me down here using that? I drowned , for God’s sake!”
    “No,” the old wizard said. “You drowned for my sake. I had to be sure you were the right one to send. You demonstrated sufficient commitment to the cause, so thank you.”
    “Next time you want a commitment from me, let’s just spit in our palms and shake on it.”
    “You had Chumele’s prediction. You knew I’d come. You didn’t have to test me further.”
    The old magician sighed. “You know all those email scams? The ones from thieves claiming to be Nigerian princes offering to split ill-gotten gains with anyone who will answer their email? Pay a small fee, give up some information and they bilk the innocent and the greedy?”
    “Yeah. What’s your point?”
    “They are all written using atrocious, awkward grammar. It is apparent at a glance that the email is a scam, correct?”
    “Sure.”
    “The easily spotted ploy is part of the design of the deception. The letters are written so it is obvious to any reasonably intelligent person that it is a scam. But the grifters don’t want to snag smart people with their tomfoolery. They are searching out the idiots who will actually send them money. The dumber the letter, the better it acts as a screening device and the greater their chance of success. They only want to deal with stupid people.”
    “Can I get a nap between here and the end of this conversation?”  
    He laughed. “Iowa. You see yourself as a force for good. I see you as strong enough for the task and dumb enough to want to make the attempt. Finding your way to me is how I know you are the right person for the job ahead.”
    “Dumb as King Arthur. Great.”
    “What the Arthurian legend leaves out is that anyone unworthy to hold the sword was tortured when they tried to hold it. Knowing they’d die if they weren’t the chosen one stopped many unworthy cowards from trying their hand at it. You are my champion.”
    “Don’t go anywhere until I get back.” I began the long climb up to a trap door in the armory.
    As I pulled myself up the ladder with my new sword on my back, Merlin called up from his pit of despair. “If you fail me, I’ll open a rift right into the middle of the Ra, right down here. The battle demons will boil into the Keep like wasps from a broken hive! Do not take long. I have waited long enough!”
    Lesson 166:When doing the right thing feels this wrong, you’re already screwed.

11
    W hen I got to the room I shared with Manhattan at the Keep, I found a small scabbard hanging from the doorknob. Bad timing. I knocked anyway.
    I heard rustling and a giggle.
    “Manny?”
    “I’m in the Delta quadrant, Iowa. Come back later!”
    I spoke through the door. “I need to talk to you.”
    “Is it an emergency?”
    “I died today,” I said.
    “Are you dying right now?”
    I knocked harder. “Manhattan! I’m getting you out of greasing tanks and taking you to a place where there are palm trees. At least, I think they have palm trees.”
    I heard a thump as her feet hit the floor.
    She yanked the door open. Manny wore a neon yellow tank top, but backwards, so the cotton scooped under her bare boobs. “Dude! Palm trees? For real?”
    I looked at the ceiling. “Um…yup. We’ve got a mission and I’m leading it. Are you in?”
    “If you aren’t joking about the palm trees…and I guess you do sort of owe me considering I got demoted today for defending your honor and all that.”
    I glanced down for a moment, marveling at how far her brown nipples stuck out. I checked the hallway to make sure no one else was around. “I was thinking you’d owe me for getting you out of the kind of trouble you hate and into the kind of trouble you like.”
    “Who else is on the team?”
    “I’ve got some ideas, but I need a consult. Meet me in C&C.”
    “How soon?”
    “How soon can you ditch your playmate and get your armor on? I need