Dicing with Death by Beth Chambers Page A

asked pointedly.
    Max suddenly developed an intense interest in making sure all of the bones had been removed from his fish.
    â€˜Oh, you know, a week, maybe two,’ replied Greg happily.
    â€˜Right.’ Liah had the ability to make single syllables ooze significance.
    Max finally looked back up to meet her accusing stare.
    â€˜Thanks very much for the kind offer,’ she told Greg without breaking eye contact with Max. ‘But I won’t be staying longer than a night, two at the most.’
    Greg shrugged, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere. Over dessert he chatted briefly about his job. ‘I’m a location scout. I travel around the world finding the best places for films to be shot in.’
    Max felt a rush of pride. His dad was so cool.
    â€˜What’s a film?’ asked Liah, sweetly.
    Max spent the evening playing chess with Gregwhile Liah returned with rapt attention to the laptop.
    â€˜Why did you leave?’ The question had left Max’s lips before he’d even consciously thought of asking it.
    Greg sighed. ‘It was complicated. I always meant to come back, you know. But by the time I was ready, your mother had moved on.’
    I knew it!
thought Max. His dad had always meant to return. If his mother hadn’t married David, his dad would have come back and they would have been a family once again.
    â€˜I always suspected you’d come and find me, that you’d strike out and do what you wanted.’ He reached out to ruffle Max’s hair. ‘You’re a chip off the old block.’
    * * *
    Later that night, Liah walked into Max’s bedroom. She perched on the end of the bed and glared at him. ‘We can’t stay with your dad for Christmas. We’ve got a job to do, and we’ve got to do it,
now
.’
    â€˜No,
I’ve
got a job to do,’ Max pointed out. ‘And it’s up to me how I do it.’
    â€˜You
know
that all you’re supposed to be doing is looking for the elixir,’ Liah hissed. ‘This isn’t the time to be playing happy families.’
    Max sat up. ‘Talking of knowing things. You knew this was my dad’s house before we even came to the Overworld, didn’t you?’
    Liah became engrossed in examining her fingernails. ‘I might have heard something,’ she said.
    â€˜Yeah, right,’ Max said. ‘You knew and you didn’t warn me!’
    In the following silence a picture fell off the wall, landing with a clatter on the floor.
    â€˜That’s the second time today,’ Liah frowned. ‘Earlier a magazine fell off the coffee table even though I wasn’t anywhere near it.’
    Max shrugged. He had enough on his mind without worrying about possible poltergeist activity. ‘Trust me, I know what I’m doing. Although I don’t think for one minute that my dad’s got anything to do with the elixir.’ After spending some time with his father, Max was convinced that there had to be someone else involved.
    Liah folded her arms. ‘Well, that’s what we’re here to find out. And fast.’

Chapter Twelve
    The following night Max suddenly awoke. He wondered what had disturbed him as he yawned and went to stretch, and then realised he couldn’t move his legs. He struggled against the dead weight crushing them, before thrashing out in an attempt to switch on the bedside light.
    Two pinpricks of amber glowed in the dark. ‘No need for the light,’ growled a familiar voice. An equally familiar stink wafted across the room.
    Max’s fingers plucked nervously against the sheets. He hadn’t had a chance to look for the elixir, because his dad had taken them out for the day sightseeing.
    Not that it matters
, he thought.
Dad doesn’t have it. There’s no way he’d be involved with this kind of supernatural weirdness
. He went on the defensive. ‘I haven’t found the elixir, and if you ask me I