Page 58 of Plaidypus
I supposed, for someone who teleported, a thousand kilometers counted as close. According to my phone, he’d taken us to Adelaide, where we would be fishing for bream. The cityscape environment pleased Darlene, as the Devil’s chosen spot was all of five minutes away from a coffee shop that served her beloved iced coffee. Lucifer’s presence meant other hopeful fishers stayed away. Any other day, I would have harbored a certain amount of guilt, but I’d been played.
The Devil promised if I kept my goody-goody tendencies at bay, he would take us to a prime spot for camping, where I’d enjoy a campfire and cocoa.
I sent my goody-goody tendencies off to pack their bags.
As such, armed with iced coffee, a cozy lounge chair, and my new rod, I settled in for a life of laze.
Within ten minutes of setting up, Lucifer dozed, paying zero attention to his line. At the first sign he’d gotten interest in his bait, Darlene giggled.
The Devil kept on sleeping, much to our amusement.
As I wanted to see what the hell a bream was, I grabbed his rod, took a moment to get a feel for the fish, and once certain hehadgarnered the attention of some finned adversary out to steal his bait, I set the hook with a jerk.
Luck was with me more than skill, considering how long the fish had been able to play with the bait before I’d stolen the rod. Whatever was on the line put up a nice fight, and within a minute of starting the battle, my arm ached.
“Whatever it is, it’s big,” Darlene commented, and then she sat up and gave her husband a kick.
The Devil jerked, snorted, and woke. “What? What?”
“Nadine’s catching what should have been your fish. She spotted something playing with your line and took over.”
Lucifer yawned. “What a pity. I have to sit here and watch a pretty woman catch a fish.”
“When you aren’t observing the back of your eyelids.”
“What? The temperature is great as is the company, and I have a good chair and a rod. What else am I supposed to do?”
“Fish?” Darlene suggested.
“It looks like Nadine is having fun. How is the rod?”
Judging from the rather extreme bend to the rod, I worried it might snap under whatever the hell behemoth I’d hooked. “I’m concerned I’m about to cost you at least several hundred dollars in replacing this rod.”
“It won’t break, and I’ve got good test on it. If it breaks, it’s my fault for not putting enough protections on it. I like when the rods bend. It amuses me.”
“Wait. How big of a fish can this rod take before it snaps?”
“I might be concerned if I were to battle a rather large tuna.”
I loved bendy rods, but after the first few broken rods, I’d stopped getting them in favor of stronger models. “I can get a bendy rod that won’t snap?”
“Would you like a bendy rod that won’t snap?”
I muttered curses, as I couldn’t inflict my best pout on Lucifer and give the fish on the line sufficient attention. “Just how big are bream, anyway?”
“Not as big as what you’re catching. Thereareother species in here.” The Devil laughed, got up, and joined me, peering into the river. “I am so glad I questioned the serious fishers. The fellow I got this spot from has brought in the breamandsome other fun species here, and I do believe you’ve caught one of the fun species. I need jewels for the conservatory, so if you caught a jewel for me, it’s coming home with me.”
“A jewel?” I asked, eyeing the water. While I spotted some disturbances at the surface, I hadn’t gotten a good look at my quarry.
A jumping fish might escape my hook, which was the last thing I wanted.
“Australia is home to some lovely fish species, and I’d like to conserve a species that can be caught here. They have many names, but I prefer the silver ghost. To me, they look like silvery jewels. I only take in species turned in by the CDC or I get myself—or I steal out of questionable locations for the sake of the wildlife. As such, my fish conservatory is heavily limited from what I’ve caught or gotten from a fish store. So, please do catch me one.”
“Is silver ghost another word for leviathan?” I blurted.
“No, but it is another name for the mulloway, or the elusive jewfish.”
“Jewfish?”
