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“Henry,” Grayson said with a snap of his fingers. “We should ask Henry.”

“Why?” I asked. “Has he said something?”

Gray held up his hand and tilted it back and forth. “Not in so many words, but he’s definitely hinted that he knows where some things are.”

“You’re kidding?” I was filled with a mix of surprise and irritation bordering on anger. “Why didn’t he say anything to us?” And why had he kept this to himself all this time?

Gray shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe he’s not entirely certain what he’s seen.”

“Did he know about Hikaru’s tail? Or the wyvern eggs?” Elvira’s form intensified, solidifying and lending a heavier presence to the room. Elvira might be dead, but all her emotions remained fully intact. And right now, she was pissed.

“No.” Gray was quick to reassure her. “I asked him about it, and Henry was genuinely horrified by both things, especially Hikaru’s tail.”

Elvira settled, though she continued sending less than pleasant vibes into the room.

“Elvira, dear, do you think you can find Henry and ask him to join us?”

“It will be my pleasure,” Elvira answered before she winked out of existence.

“I hope that wasn’t a mistake.” Tabitha let loose a weighted breath. “Elvira can be a bit…reactive at times.”

“She won’t hurt Henry, will she?” Gray worriedly asked. “I didn’t mean to get him into trouble, I just thought he might be able to help if he understood the breadth of the situation.”

“No,” Tabitha answered with a fond grin. “Elvira won’t physically hurt Henry. She’ll pester and admonish him to death, but she won’t harm a hair on his dusty head.”

“What are you goin’ on about my hair for?” Henry scolded as he slipped through a heating grate. Waving his tiny hands over his head, he smacked the seemingly empty air. “Get away from me, you damn ghost. Stop fussin’. I can’t hear myself think with all that squawkin’ you’re doin’.”

“I wouldn’t have to fuss and squawk if you were more upfront from the beginning.”

“What on earth are you talkin’ about?” Henry sauntered into the room, taking his sweet time as he made his way to the loveseat Gray and I were sitting on. Climbing Gray’s pant leg, Henry plopped down on Gray’s knee. Small particles of dust filled the air as he slapped his hands against his pants. “Hey, Grayson. How’s it goin’?” Henry salaciously waggled his eyebrows. “Looks like things are progressin’ between you and Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass.” Henry thumbed my direction before rolling onto his back and cackling like a madman.

Gray sent me an apologetic glance. Ignoring the stick-up-his-ass comment, Gray asked, “If I show you a picture of something we found, will you tell me if you’ve seen more?”

Henry immediately sobered. “Is that what Elvira’s scoldin’ me about?”

Hands on hips, Elvira leaned in close enough that I could feel the cold of her spiritual form. “Scolding is meant for children. You’re a grown-ass adult. I wasn’t scolding you; I was berating you. Learn the difference.”

Gray thankfully cut off the derogatory remark we could all see forming on Henry’s lips. “Henry, this is important.” Gray waved at me, and I retrieved my phone, pulling up the picture of the buzzweed we found. “Have you seen this before?”

The smartphone was larger than Henry. The light from the screen highlighted Henry’s dirty face and clothes. His reaction made his knowledge obvious. With a cautious nod, Henry said, “I’ve seen a few of ’em scattered about. Why?”

Gray and I shared a hopeful look before I asked, “Do you remember where?”

For reasons unknown, Henry hedged and offered a weak “maybe.”

“Henry, this is very important,” Tabitha said. “These objects are very dangerous. We need to find all of them and get them out of the compound. Otherwise, it won’t be safe to stay here.”

That garnered Henry’s attention. “What do you mean? What’s it do?”

Elvira bluntly answered, “If activated, they will turn the Magical Usage Compound into a morgue.” I wasn’t certain where Elvira got that idea from, but I wasn’t certain she was wrong and so I held my silence.

“And what would you care about that?” Henry asked. “You’re already dead.”

Elvira’s body jerked back, her back half disappearing into the wall. Elvira looked wrecked before her expression hardened and she disappeared.

Tabitha wasn’t pleased. “That was incredibly rude and insensitive, Henry.”

For his part, Henry did appear contrite. “I didn’t say anything untrue. The truth hurts is a sayin’ for a reason.”