by Kat Cotton
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
MILLENNIAL MISCHIEF
First edition. February 7, 2019.
Copyright © 2019 Kat Cotton.
Written by Kat Cotton.
Also by Kat Cotton
Clem Starr Box Set
Clem Starr Demon Fighter Box Set: Books 1-3
Clem Starr Demon Fighter Box Set - Books 4-6
Clem Starr: Demon Fighter
Demon Child
Moonlight Virgin
Vampire Prince
Undead Alchemist
Super Starr
Merry Clem-mas
Mystery Widow
Harajuku Crows
Millennial Mischief
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Also By Kat Cotton
Millennial Mischief (Harajuku Crows, #1)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Also By Kat Cotton
Millennial Mischief
Harajuku Crows #1
Hello Kitty, hello sushi, hello... demons?
When my parents told me I was the next in line as guardian to a powerful and ancient stone, I thought they’d been smoking the crack pipe. Then they told me they’d lost that stone and I’d need to go to Tokyo to retrieve it, so I stopped worrying about their potential drug problem and started packing my bags.
What they didn’t tell me was that I’d be working for a creepy old man, with a team who hate me and a whole lot of paranormal weirdos wanting to destroy me.
And I’m supposed to be some kind of weirdo paranormal myself, I just don’t know what!
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Chapter 1
I’d only been back at university for two days when my parents forced me to come home. Literally forced. Not a “Please come home, Molly”. Not a “Hey, we need to talk... and maybe we could do that over the phone.” Nope. Nothing simple.
They deferred my enrollment.
Deferred me without even discussing it with me first.
Who does that?
My parents, I guess. Although it seemed completely out of character. My parents never seemed that on the ball. They tended to float around in their own bubble without worrying that much about the outside world. It surprised me that they even knew the name of my university.
So, instead of heading to the bar with my friends, I had to drive home instead.
I indicated to turn off the freeway. Driving without air conditioning on a gridlocked freeway was no joke in the hot Australian summer. Once I hit the open road, I’d wind down the windows and get a breeze flowing through the car at least.
They hadn’t even given me time to settle back in. I hadn’t unpacked my case or erased the traces of the Airbnb guests who’d rented my room over the summer break.
I hadn’t even finished making my “best year ever” list and that was of prime importance. Second year of uni had to be the best year. I wanted to fit in all the fun and drinking and hanging out with my friends before those real-world responsibilities kicked in. I couldn’t do that while taking a year off.
A massive truck overtook me as I got on the exit ramp. I hunkered down in my seat to protect myself until he got safely past then shook my fist angrily at him. Jerk.
Mum hadn’t even given me any reason why they wanted me home. “I can’t explain over the phone,” she’d said. That didn’t reassure me. She said no one was sick or injured. They’d probably done something stupid like wiped the hard drive on their computer again. That didn’t justify a deferment though. A deferment took a ton of paperwork to reverse. I’d already tried.
Come to think of it, how had my parents managed to defer me? For starters, I’m legally an adult. That gave them no authority. And, secondly, it takes forever for paperwork to get done. A simple subject change can take weeks. So, how had my parents, who are the most incompetent, technophobe people on earth get it through so fast?
I scooped up a handful of M&Ms and put them in my mouth. M&Ms are controversial driving snacks. You can’t sort them into color order without risking a major accident but mixing the colors up seemed just wrong.
That rattle in the engine hadn’t stopped. I’d hoped it’d magically cure itself. I cranked up the music even though I’d listened to this song fifty times with all the driving over the past few days.
Why couldn’t I have normal parents? The type who called once a week to make sure you’re still alive and eating enough vegetables? Instead, I had the kind who didn’t own a microwave because they worried about radiation and who celebrated solstices instead of real holidays. Weird, hippy parents.
I drove past the house with the bright purple fence. One hour down, four to go.
That clunking of the engine got louder. If it got any worse, I wouldn’t be able to hear my music over it.
I’d reached the house with the “onions for sale” sign. From there to the twee craft shop took an hour with nothing much in between, just paddocks stretching out to the distant mountains. I hated this stretch. The open spaces and blue skies and emptiness. Even that blue sky had darkened. I wanted to get home before nightfall.
There wasn’t even a place to stop for a decent coffee, just a few tiny towns off the main road. Surely a café around here would be a public service. Something to keep people awake.
My music cut in and out. It always did around here, so far from civilization that my phone reception got patchy.
All the playlists on my phone bored me. I finally found one – “rock your socks off oldies” that I hadn’t sickened myself off of yet.
I looked up, as my car swerved off the road. I gave the wheel a sharp tug to avoid landing in a ditch.
I reached out for more M&Ms but got nothing. I slapped my hand down on the pack sitting on the passenger seat. Empty. Maybe some had fallen down the crack in the seat but I couldn’t feel for them while driving.
I sighed and patted the seat beside me. Even if the M&Ms were gone, I had other treats, if only I could find them.
I couldn’t feel a single sugary snack though. Damn it, I’d only been driving for two hours and I’d thought I had sufficient snacks for the full five hours. There was nothing at all on this stupid road for miles, either. I could turn off and go into one of those tiny little towns but that’d slow me right down.
Then I started getting tired. My legs hurt. The sooner I got out of this car, the better.
That rattling in the engine got worse. I sure as hell didn’t want to break down on this stretch of road. Nothing but paddocks full of sheep for as far as the eye could see. I pressed my foot on the pedal. The faster I drove, the sooner
I’d be home.
As soon as I thought that though, the rattling got worse. It upgraded to a full-on banging. And was that smoke coming out of the engine or did I imagine it? I’d been driving so long, I could possibly be hallucinating.
Then the car shuddered to a stop.
Damn. Double damn.
I rolled onto the verge of the road, then got out and opened the hood. I had no idea why I did that. I knew absolutely nothing about cars.
Everything looked fine under there. It was all greasy engine parts. There was a weird smell but maybe cars always smelled like that under the hood. If I touched anything, I could make things worse.
I slammed the hood down and leaned against the side of the car. Damn pain in the ass car. I kicked the tire. Then I kicked it again. I thought about calling Mum but she’d be all about positive thoughts and sending things out into the universe. Even though I knew jackshit about cars, I’d bet good money that positive thinking never once came up on the curriculum at mechanic school.
Instead, I googled what smoke coming out of an engine meant but a sidebar ad caught my eye.
Roadside assistance!
Heckings, yeah. That’s who I needed to call. They’d be here in a jiffy and have me back on the road. They might even bring me a latte if I asked nicely. After all, that was the whole point of roadside assistance.
I searched for their number and gave them a call then explained my situation.
“No, I’m not a member,” I told the woman.
When she told me their joining prices, I almost dropped my phone. She had to be kidding. One year’s membership would ruin me. I had some savings but I had that earmarked for important things like drinking and new clothes. Plus I’d spent a fortune already on fuel and snacks.
“Say what? That’s more than this piece of shit car cost me in the first place.”
I hung up, then regretted it. What were my other options? Hauling that suitcase out of the back seat and thumbing a lift?
With the number of cars that had passed me while I’d been here, I’d be pushing my luck. This wasn’t exactly a busy stretch of road. It might take hours for another car to come along, and then who even knew if they’d stop.
I grabbed a chocolate bar out of my bag and jumped up on the back of the car so if a car came along, I could easily flag them down.
Those damn sheep kept looking at me, bleating like they had something to say about the issue.
“Shut up, sheep,” I yelled at them.
A crow cawed in response. Had there been that many crows sitting on that fence when I’d broken down? They all stared at me with their beady eyes. I turned my back on them but that just gave them the chance to attack without warning.
I turned back and stared them down.
Could this day get any worse? The sun hung low in the sky. It’d be dark soon and, if being stranded on a deserted stretch of road in daylight freaked me out, I didn’t even want to think about what it’d be like in the dark.
I scrolled through my contact list on my phone. I had a few friends still living back home but getting them to drive all the way here to pick me up was a huge ask. I’d have to offer something pretty huge to sweeten the pot. And I had no pot sweetening stuff. Ashley might do it if she had a car but the rest of them would at least want fuel money.
A car came speeding down the road. I jumped up and waved. They must’ve seen me because they screeched the brakes and pulled a sudden U turn, spraying up gravel, then skidded to a stop behind me.
I knew someone would come to my rescue.
My smile soon faded, though. The guy getting out of the driver’s seat had a slack jawed look with a leering gleam in his eyes and the way he grabbed his crotch let me know he didn’t have the kind of roadside assistance I wanted.
Chapter 2
The guy’s leer turned into a scary smile. A smile that made my skin goosepimple and my breath catch in my chest. There was nothing in that smile to suggest mercy or goodwill and a lot to suggest a shallow, unmarked grave once they’d finished with me.
“Ah... hi,” I said, hoping I’d misread the situation.
His friend got out and slammed the passenger door then the two of them exchanged looks and nodded.
Both of them snickered. The driver ran his hands down his plaid shirt without taking his gaze from my boobs.
It struck me how alone and vulnerable I was here.
Very alone.
Very vulnerable.
Despite the heat, a cold chill ran through me. My stomach churned so badly, I had to hug myself.
Those guys weren’t here to help. I could run. I could phone someone. But chances were, these guys would tackle me before I could do anything to save myself.
Still, I tried to work my phone. Maybe I could dial emergency services without looking at the screen. But it slipped from my sweat soaked hand, landing in the gravel at my feet.
The two of them edged closer. My gaze darted around, knowing there was no escape but hoping against hope. I could make a run for it across those sheep paddocks. Maybe, eventually, I’d find a farm house but more likely, they’d run me down. At least here on the roadside I had a slight chance some passerby would see me and stop.
I could bargain with them. I could offer them money to leave me alone. But I had no money. Hell, they could have my car if they let me walk away. Walking was fine with me.
The passenger guy rubbed his crotch. Light flashed off the gold hoop in his ear. That earring looked out of place with the rest of his outfit like some stolen bounty.
I needed to escape.
My car. If I jumped in and locked the doors, I’d be safe.
I had about five seconds before they were on me. I edged along the side of the car, not breaking eye contact. My hand reached out for the door handle.
I flung the door open when the driver lunged at me. He smashed his body into mine, slamming the door shut behind me.
I trembled. My only sanctuary taken from me. All the while, my stomach twisted into tighter and tighter knots. It wasn’t like these guys would let me run off for a toilet break.
I should’ve just paid the roadside assistance fees. I’d have some friendly mechanic here helping me now instead of just crows and sheep.
The driver licked his lips and laughed. I kicked him before he could do any more but he just kept laughing. He stood so close now, I had no chance of escape. The other closed in on my other side.
My gaze flittered between them. Two on one, I’d never win this fight.
“What’s wrong, darl?” the driver drawled. “We just want to help you... and have a little fun...”
The stench of sweat and bourbon came off him in waves. I tried backing away but, with the car behind me, I had nowhere to go.
He grabbed my wrists. I froze, trying to shrink. He gawped at me like he didn’t even see me as a human being, just a lump of meat he could use for his own amusement. Even if I had money to offer, he’d steal it and I’d be no better off.
Only a miracle would save me now. Tears welled in my eyes. I had nothing, no weapon even to defend myself.
I wanted to scream but the sound stuck in my throat. Screaming would do me no good anyway. Who’d hear me out here?
The crows screeched as though they’d taken over the screaming for me.
The guy dropped my wrists to grip my jaw tight. I tried to kick him but he’d blocked my body so tight I couldn’t get any power into it. Instead, I tried to squirm away.
“She’s feisty,” he said.
“Means she wants it,” his friend said.
That made no sense at all but I wasn’t about to argue with them. If I stayed still and quiet, they might hurt me less. I could only hope. They’d have their fun and get it over with quickly. My insides chilled at the thought but I saw no other way out of this.
The shrieking of the crows got louder. The passenger guy picked up a rock and threw it at them. I tried getting away while they were distracted but I couldn’t move. As the rock struck the f
ence, the crows rose up into the air.
Everything turned black as the crows descended. The driver screamed and jumped back, letting go of my jaw.
The crows perched on his head and shoulders. More and more descended until I could barely see a thing.
I put my arms over my head, squatting down to protect myself as I became surrounded by the flutter of wings. The cold metal of the car body against my back became the only thing connecting me to reality.
Each time the wings hit my skin, I flinched, waiting for something more brutal. But it was only a gentle swipe. Nothing to scream about. No pecking, no biting. The flutter seemed almost reassuring, like the crows wanted to be my friends, but they weren’t. I didn’t want friends with beady eyes and sharp beaks.
I stayed huddled down as the screams and cawing reached a crescendo around me, drowning out the thumping of my heart. Drowning out the weird noises coming from my stomach even. I rubbed my stomach, trying to calm it down.
I’d die here on the side of the road with my bones picked clean by those damn crows and that’d be a welcome death compared to being raped to death by rednecks.
Until that happened, I could only hug myself and hope for the best.
If I could reach my phone, I’d call for help but without uncovering my eyes, I could only feel around on the ground.
The flapping around me died down a little tempting me to look up but, if I did that, would the crows peck my eyes out? My fingers dug into my knees.
A crow settled on my shoulder. I jumped. They’d finished off the rednecks and wanted to start on me? But he cawed gently and something cold dropped on my lap. I opened my eyes a little and grabbed it.
A gold hoop earring. The crow had given it to me?
As suddenly as they’d started, the crows went silent.
A car started up. The rednecks?
Then I heard the car skidding through the gravel.
I risked peeking up. They’d gone and the crows had gone back to sitting on the fence. A few black feathers on the ground were the only signs of what had happened. I looked at that earring in my hand again, half afraid it’d still have earlobe attached to it but thankfully, no.