Free Prospero Lost: Prospero's Daughter, Book I by L. Jagi Lamplighter Page B

we leave?”
    “No. Absolutely not.” Mab rose to his feet and stalked over to stand in front of me. “There is no way, Ma’am, that I am going to help this kook find his magical glorified kindling.”
    “ ‘Kook’? Who you calling a kook? Mr. Sam Spade wannabe?” Mephisto turned to me. “Tell him how great it will be, Miranda. Just like old times! We’ll travel together, and I’ll help you. And if we just happen upon my staff? Well, that’s fine, too.”
    His mention of old times evoked memories of countless treks, some pleasant, some disastrous. I recalled one time Father, Mephisto, and I had gone to Switzerland to meet with a yeti and discuss avalanches. Taking Mephisto, the Beast Tamer, instead of one of the enforcers—Theo, Titus, or Gregor—had turned out to be a mistake. Mephisto did gain a new shaggy friend he could summon up with a tap of his staff; however, nothing was ever done to improve the avalanche situation.
    “No, Mephisto,” I said firmly as I pictured Mephisto’s well-meaning antics resulting in my being buried under ten feet of snow again.
    “At last, she shows some sense,” muttered Mab.
    “But, you’ll need help. What if the Three Shadowed Ones attack?” Mephisto said.
    Mab snorted. “What help would you be?”
    “I could hit them with my lute,” Mephisto offered helpfully, evidently forgetting the instrument he had broken. Or perhaps he was envisioning a fate for the one I had promised to buy him.
    “No. I’ll leave you a little money. You won’t be destitute.” I made a mental note to dispatch an Aerie One to keep an eye on him.
    “But I could help. I know I could,” he continued plaintively. “I knew how to use a sword . . . once.”
    “No.”
    “Please! Don’t leave me behind, Miranda. I’m afraid to be on my own without my staff. Please?”
    I hated to hear him beg. He sounded so pathetic. Yet, I was certain if I brought him along, it would lead to another calamity such as our encounter with the yeti, or the time Theo and I were nearly drowned by his mermaid friends. We were facing the Powers of Hell, and even a slight mistake could lead to a fate far worse than frostbite.
    “Come on, Mab,” I said, “We need to keep going. Lives could be at stake.”
     
    MAB and I gathered our hats and coats. Mephisto retreated into the corner, where he sat with his arms crossed, sulking. I offered him some money, but he just threw it on the floor. I shrugged and returned to Mab.
    “Do you have any more leads?” I asked, “Or must we return to Oregon?”
    A crafty look came into Mephisto’s eyes. He leapt up and stepped in front of us to stand in the doorway.
    “And, of course, you know where you’re going. So, you don’t need me to lead you around. But perhaps I’ll see you at Theo’s? Or maybe at Cornelius’s? Got to be going, now. Bye.”
    He waved good-bye and started out the door. Mab and I exchanged glances.
    “Mephisto! Wait!”
    “Yes?” Part way down the hall, Mephisto froze as if in mid-step. He turned and leaned back toward us, cupping a hand about his ear. “You called?”
    “You know where Theo is?”
    “And Cornelius! And Logistilla!”
    “I don’t suppose you’ll tell us?” I asked sadly.
    “What do you take me for? A fool?” he asked, throwing up his hands. “But of course, I would be willing to lead you there, if . . .”
    “If . . . what?”
    “If you make your detective help me find my staff,” he said.
    I looked at Mab. He was scowling.
    “Could be a matter of life or death for some of my brothers, Mab. What if we hadn’t heard of the Three Shadowed Ones when the darkness started forming in the Great Hall?”
    Mab stared at me hard for quite some time. Finally, he nodded glumly.
    “Okay, Mephisto,” I said. “You have yourself a deal.”
    “Yippee,” yelled Mephisto, punching the air as he leapt.
    The phone rang in the room behind us.
    “Could you get that Mab? It could be from our Chicago branch,” I said.
    “While