Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

pulled in all her arms, turned, and directed all her energy at him.
And then there was nothing but the burning cave.
Lamia shook off the despair. She would simply return to Hell. She had kept her bargain.  She never left the island prison, and she had never told the demon his name. She would plead for her old job back. No one wanted the position anyway.
“STEPHEN!” Kevin called out as he searched the sea behind him. The boat moved just at the edge of the storm towards the harbor where the captain had promised he would shelter the boat as Hurricane Kelly continued on her northern trek.
Fergus moved up from below deck to stand at his friend’s side and asked, “Any sign of him?”
“Not since the explosion.”
“Ted wants to speak with you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.  He just shouted that he needed to speak to the both of us,” Fergus said, scratching his head. “I don’t know why he had to shout. I was standing in front of him at the time.”
“I think he was complaining about not being able to hear.  The explosion from the island may have damaged his hearing,” Kevin said.  “Remember when Wild Wally fell asleep and didn’t clear the blasting site on the old canal?”
“Yep, he said it was like church bells had taken up permanent residence in his noggin.  We were up there when Stephen blew up the island.  I hear fine.”
“You’re dead.”
“Well, there’s that…” Fergus confessed.
“I’m worried about my boy,” Kevin said.
“He saved our bacon,” Fergus said.  “Mia and Mason mentioned that he was brave, but I had no idea.”
“We’re talking about him like he’s dead.”
“He is dead,” Fergus pointed out.
Kevin couldn’t help chuckling.  “Come on, let’s go and see Ted before he shouts the boat down around our ears.”
Ted kept opening and closing his mouth trying to pop his ears.  Burt lay on the stateroom couch with an ice pack on his head that Mason had provided.  The Callens were below decks when the explosions occurred. The only pain they were experiencing was listening to Ted shout nonstop.
Kevin and Fergus appeared in front of Ted.
“I WANTED TO…”
Kevin put his finger to his lips and then moved his hand in front of him slowly downwards.
“I…”
Kevin moved the imaginary lever lower.
Ted caught on.  He adjusted and asked in a moderate voice, “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”  To him, it sounded like he was talking underwater.
“Don’t…” Kevin could see Ted was struggling to hear.  He raised his voice level to compensate.  “I don’t know.  I think they were feeling sorry for you.”
“I wanted to tell you where I think your son is.”
“Where?”
“When he was in Sentinel Woods, he had batted away an exploding hand grenade.  That’s a hand-sized explosive device,” he explained.  “He hit it, and it exploded, sending him into another dimension.  But it also energized him.  He came back stronger.  I think that the force of the C4 exploding must have booted him far from the island.  He’ll either go looking for Mia first, or he’ll work on finding us.  Either way, I wanted to tell you that he’s probably fine.”
“What about Mia?” Kevin asked.
Ted pulled off his t-shirt and pointed to the hummingbird tattoo.  “As long as this is here, she exists.”
“Where?”  Kevin asked Ted.
“She was headed into the Pit of Despair with the demon.  Burt is worried that she is going to face severe consequences for her actions.  I think she’ll be able to talk her way out of it.  If not, after this storm, I’m going to fly to Haiti and request an audience with Roumain.”
“Who’s he?” Fergus asked.
“He’s the keeper of Purgatory.  He’ll know what to do,” Ted said.  “Mia did what she did to protect us.  Unfortunately, the demon-with-no-name did not keep his promise.”
“Is that why the creature came after us?” Kevin asked.
“She came after us like a woman scorned,” Ted said.  “The beast must have thought we had the demon on the boat with us.  Otherwise, she would have crushed us instantly.  She was just looking for him.  Perhaps inside of Mia.”
“Poor old gal,” Fergus said.  “She kind of reminds me of Catherine Murphy.”
“Nah, Catherine didn’t love me that much,” Kevin said sadly.  “Not nearly enough to sustain our marriage, let alone come looking for me when I’d gone.”
“She sent Stephen to find you and bring you home,” Fergus reminded Kevin.
“Yes, she did.  And he did bring me home time and time again.  Now I wish, with my whole heart, I could do the same.  Where is my boy?”

Chapter Fourteen
They fished him out of the sea.  They tried to take his weapon from him, but he clung to it as if it were part of him.
“Let ’im have it,” the boatswain said.  “It may come in ’andy.”
Murphy opened his eyes and stared up into the tattooed face of a dark-skinned man.  “Where am I?” he asked.
“You’re aboard the Devil’s Pride.  The fastest vessel in the Caribbean.  Who are you?”
“Stephen Murphy.  I’m from Illinois.”
“Is the Ill Noise a galleon?” the man asked him.
“No.”  Murphy tried to stand but was still being held down by two other colorfully dressed sailors.  “May I stand?”
“Let ’im up,” the boatswain ordered.
Murphy stood and shook off the restraining hand of a sailor.  “I’m not a sailor.  I’m a farmer from a place called Illinois,” he corrected.  “I died when a tree fell on me.”
This caused a few of the sailors within earshot to laugh.
The boatswain nodded.  He seemed to think a moment and smiled before he asked, “’ow the ’ell did you get ’ere, farmer?”
“I exploded an island.  I’m not sure where here is?”
A murmur moved through the men on the deck of the tall ship.
“Exploded