"And now I amfirst mate of the Sea Witch." How splendid for you, to be the Captain's mate." The Sorceressemphasised her words so that it was clear she...implied another meaning tothe word mate than the purely nautical one.The Akkadian realised that there was some history between the two womenthat he should investigate. If he was to protect the witch and berestored then whatever animosity the redheaded pirate held for theSorceress needed watching closely. Her name alone marked her aspotentially. Gauge stood up to leave the table. “You guys feel like hangin’ out after school? Get blazed at my house or somethin’?”“I would but unfortunately I can’t,” she said. “My mom’s organizing this fancy sit down diner for some people from my dad’s firm. They told me and my brother to be home early so they can show off our model family.’’With twinkling in his eyes he grinned. “Playin’ the good girl huh. What’s in it for you?’’She batted her lashes. ‘‘A new set of wheels.’’He shook his head in. “Come with me. You too, Kirim.”“I’ll have the names of those involved transferred to your office, Monitor,” Minat added.“Good, we’ll deal with it when they sleep.”And with that Kirim and I followed Herrick to a lift and were whisked away.The lift journey took a long time by the standards of the ones I normally took. Eventually it opened though and Herrick escorted us to what appeared to be an office, if only because it contained a real desk.“Sit please,” he commanded; as it definitely wasn’t a. ’ I barked a laugh. ‘Molly Mahone.’ ‘Herman Benson,’ he replied, letting go of me and stepping back so abruptly that I almost reeled against the hot stove. He thrust his right hand out toward me. ‘Glad to meet you, Molly.’ I laughed again, and we shook hands. He didn’t let go, and instead, pulled me toward him, embraced me, and kissed me again. The smoke alarm went off (no, not from the kiss, the pan of bacon grease was still on the burner), and he busied himself removing the battery while I.