Perilous Paws (Kitten Witch Cozy Mystery Book 8)

by Corrine Winters

  “You know what? Car’s all yours,” Mickey said, turning on his heel. “I must have hit my head when I fell. That or I’ve been drinking too much hooch…”

  Ember gaped in astonishment as the phantom hot rod burned its ethereal rubber and tore up the ground as it bore down on her. Munkilok’s theatrics notwithstanding, the car had enough weight to cause her injury if it hit.

  She could throw herself to the side, between the sheds where the car could not fit. Ember didn’t like that notion, however. She thought it prudent to establish boundaries with Munkilok right away.

  If she fled, or acted afraid, that might encourage further bad behavior from the possessing sprite. Ember needed to humble Munkilok.

  She summoned to mind a dispel that would sever the connection between the physical realm and the spiritual. The demonic hot rod bore down on her, less than fifteen feet away and gaining speed. Ember flicked her hands out, palms facing outward, and uttered the command words.

  A red nimbus exuded from her hands, growing into a flabby, thick disc which enveloped the speeding car. Instantly the phantom wheels and engine faded into smoke and mist. The frame hit the ground and dug in, leaving gouts of earth up behind until it came to a rest a few feet from Ember.

  Ember straightened up, and brushed dirt from her hair. Munkilok would be unable to manifest for some time, and would have difficulty taking over April’s body even if she remained willing.

  She returned to April and found the girl sitting against the fence, her eyes wide open as if in a trance.

  “April?” Ember shook her gently. April blinked several times until her eyes focused on Ember.

  “Oh, Miss Ember. Am I still going home with you? Munkilok doesn’t like you, but I do.”

  Ember smiled. “Yes, of course you can still come home with us.”

  Cedric jogged up, gazing at the chassis mired in the dirt before rushing up to Ember’s side.

  “Are you all right?”

  “We’re both fine,” Ember said, looking at the chassis. “Did your car break?”

  “No, the frame is pretty tough.” Cedric chuckled. “Anyway, it’s not like the hot rod has to win or anything, just get our foot in the door. So to speak.”

  On the way back to their house, Ember told Cedric of her encounter with Munkilok, up to the possession of the car.

  “I want her to stay with us for a while, Cedric,” Ember said.

  “And I told you we’d discuss it.”

  “So this is us discussing it,” Ember said.

  Cedric sighed. “I don’t like it. We have enough problems navigating our, um, situation without adding a foster kid to the mix.”

  “She needs us, Cedric. However much we’re in turmoil, it’s even worse for her.” Ember looked over her shoulder into the back seat, where April slumbered, snoring softly. “She just lost her mother, and her father is a known killer, not to mention the dark ritual Cassandra’s Wraith had performed on her. She needs us.”

  “I think she’d be better off with a couple who aren’t as busy as we are,” Cedric said. “You’ve barely been opening the bar lately, because you’ve been running around with me solving murders and trying to get my memory back.”

  Ember sighed. “Are you really going to use the bar against me?”

  “No, of course not.” Cedric frowned. “I’m not—I’m still getting used to the idea that I’m married at all, let alone can’t remember it. I’m not sure I’m ready, or willing, to be a parent. I’m not sure that I ever will be.”

  Ember flinched, turning a hurt gaze on him. “That’s not what you said before you lost your memory.”

  “Well, maybe it was like the tractor pulls and Hanky Bob. Maybe I kept it to myself so I wouldn’t upset you.”

  Ember leaned back in her seat, stunned to hear Cedric say such things. Being a parent had been one of the goals they’d discussed. She thought Cedric would make a fantastic father, in point of fact. No matter his reservations.

  Ember believed she could be a good mother, with a lot of effort. Why would Cedric want to shut the door so firmly in the face of having children? When he lost his memories, perhaps he lost a part of himself as well? A tenderness she had helped engender and coax out of him, nurturing his more caring side?

  “Hey, I’m sorry,” Cedric said. “I shouldn’t have said that. The truth is, I’m scared I won’t measure up to what April needs. Sorry for taking it out on you.”

  Ember forced her tone to remain civil when she spoke. “I understand that, but it’s time to step up. Protect and serve, remember?”

  Cedric glanced over his shoulder at the slumbering April and sighed.

  “Yes, I remember. Protect and serve. She looks so fragile when she’s sleeping.”

  “Yes. It’s hard to believe there’s a monster hiding underneath.”

  “And we’re bringing it into our home,” Cedric said.

  Ember had no response other than to hope they found Ash, and soon. The unfinished business had really begun to pile up.

  Twenty-Five

  The moon rose, brining not silver majesty, but a sickly yellow pallor to the nightscape. Ember shuffled about the kitchen, tending to the leftovers from dinner as Cedric set up the guest bedroom for April’s use upstairs.

  April sat nearby, coloring on her pages. Ember thought she was a bit above average in skill, depicting more complete images than many children her age. April primarily drew pictures of her mother listening to headphones in heaven. Sometimes she drew herself and Munkilok holding hands and cavorting about, frolicking like rabbits in a Disney cartoon.

  The depiction of Munkilok was particularly of interest. He had a short, squat body, the upper half human and the lower half that of a goat. Or maybe a pig. Munkilok’s bald dome was crowned by a pair of curling horns.

  A wood spirit of some sort? That brought her some measure of relief. The more sinister spirits didn’t have such a genial countenance. Not that wood spirits couldn’t also pose a threat. Their lack of understanding when it came to human affairs, mingled with their magical power, could cause disasters.

  All she had to do was recall the phantom hot rod speeding toward her, engine roaring with the flames of Hades, to remember how dangerous Munkilok could be.

  “What’s Sheriff Cedric up to, Miss Ember?” April asked.

  “He’s getting your bedroom set up for you, sweetie.”

  “Oh.” April went back to coloring. “Do you have any acrylic paints? Miss Crystal used to let us paint with acrylic.”

  “I don’t think so, but I’m sure we can get you some. I thought Miss Crystal was mean?”

  “Not all the time. She was always really nice after she got up from her naps.”

  “She took a lot of naps?”

  “Yes, she was a very tired person. Her eyes were always red, and she talked like she was half asleep. Oh, and she had a funny smell about her when she got back from a nap.”

  Ember chuckled. She could well imagine what actually went on during Crystal’s naps. Well, at least it wasn’t meth…

  “Nobody is all good or all bad,” Ember said. “We’ve all got both of those things inside of us.”

  “I’ve got Munkilok inside of me. He keeps the bad things away.”

  Ember pursed her lips, seating herself beside the child. “It’s nice of Mr. Munkilok to take care of you, April, but sooner or later you have to feel sad things. You can’t just bottle them up.”

  “Why would I want to feel sad things?”

  Ember picked up a crayon and sketched on a blank piece of paper. She made a grapevine design with teardrop shaped leaves. “No one wants to feel sad things, April. I—people who lose their husbands don’t want to feel sad. Sometimes we need to feel sad so we can get better.”

  “Like when I’m sad because I miss my Mom?”

  Ember nodded, putting a hand on top of April’s shoulders. “Uh huh. Just like that. It hurts a lot right now, but eventually it won’t hurt as bad.”

  “But it will always hur
t?”

  Ember pursed her lips. “Yes, but the good memories will eventually more than make up for the hurt. Eventually you’ll be able to think of your mother and smile.”

  April covered her face, shoulders shaking with sobs. Ember put her arm around April’s shoulders and the girl huddled against her.

  Cedric came downstairs, his face creased with worry. Ember shook her head slightly when he opened his mouth to speak.

  Cedric pointed at the garage. “I’ll just go get the cot.”

  He headed out into the garage while Ember comforted April. She stroked the girl’s long hair while Cedric banged and thumped around in the garage. A moment later he returned, carrying the cot in its folded configuration.

  April looked up out of tear-streaked eyes as he passed.

  “Aren’t you guys married?”

  “Yes, we are.”

  “Then why doesn’t he sleep with you?”

  Ember stiffened up a little bit. “That’s complicated.”

  “That’s what grown ups say when they don’t want to explain.”

  Ember sighed, remembering what Munkilok had said about condescending to April.

  “Sheriff Cedric’s memories got stolen, so he doesn’t remember me. He forgot we got married.”

  “Who stole his memories?” Ember was taken aback at how readily April believed her.

  “A bad witch, but she forgot where she hid them. I don’t know how to find his memories.”

  April shrugged. “Munkilok can find them. Munkilok can find anything.”

  Ember opened her mouth, then shut it. As desperate as she was to find out where Cedric’s memories had gone, she didn’t want to pressure an already traumatized, exhausted child before bedtime. April stifled another yawn and Ember’s conscience won out.

  “Let’s get you to bed, huh?”

  April nodded, rubbing her eyes. Ember tucked April into the guest bed and the child went out like a light. Ember stroked her soft cheek, then headed back into the master bedroom.

  Cedric was setting up the cot in the living room downstairs. She could hear every creak and dissatisfied grunt as his weight settled upon it.

  Ember listened to him roll and rattle around for over an hour before she flung the covers off of herself and padded to the top of the stairs.

  “Cedric?”

  “Yes?” he answered after a moment’s hesitation.

  “Just come sleep in the big bed. You know that cot hurts your back.”

  “The cot’s fine.”

  Ember put her hands on her hips. “It’s not fine, and you’re not going to be much use to me or April if you’re grunting and groaning and sore all day tomorrow. We’re adults. We can share a bed.”

  “Fine.” Cedric rose from the cot and padded up the stairs into view. He followed her into the bedroom and awkwardly clambered onto the mattress.

  “See? California King means plenty of room.” Ember nestled in to sleep. Unlike previous nights, she drifted right off to slumber.

  When she awoke in the morning, it was with Cedric nestled up behind her, curling his body around her own as he’d used to. Ember sighed, snuggled in, and decided to enjoy the moment.

  Cedric’s breathing changed. Ember knew he was awake. Yet, he didn’t move. He didn’t scoot away or make protestations to right and proper modesty.

  He just laid there with her, and in that moment, Ember found it enough.

  Twenty-Six

  Sage stood on Ember’s porch, the fading sunlight giving a reddish cast to her dark hair. The bat shifter listened as Ember explained the unique conditions she might experience babysitting April.

  “If she starts talking in a weird voice, or stuff starts floating, call me right away.”

  “I’ve had some experience with possessing entities, Ember I’ll be fine. You need to focus on infiltrating the hot rodders, remember? It’s your best bet of finding Ash.”

  Ember nodded, tight lipped. “I just hope this hot rod Hanky Bob is putting together doesn’t explode.”

  “Ha! I’m sure it’ll be fine. Say, are you planning on going dressed like that?”

  Ember looked down at herself. She had on a pair of snug denim jeans, ranch style boots and a black blouse with flared sleeves. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

  “There’s a standard to maintain. Here, let me google you some images.”

  Ember’s face turned red as she beheld the screen. “Sage, you can’t be serious! I can see that girl’s underwear!”

  “That’s the point.”

  “I—I don’t have the figure to pull this off.”

  “You actually do, but you don’t have the confidence. They’re going to smell you coming a mile away and mark you as a narc.”

  “There has to be a happy medium where I won’t feel like a streetwalker but bring them, ahem, to use the parlance of our times, swag.”

  “Just try to dress a little flashier.”

  “Fine.” Ember looked at herself and muttered the words to a glamour cantrip. The laws of physics bent and stretched to her whims as Ember reshaped her clothing to something more party centric. Her jeans turned into black leather pants, the boots grew steeper heels, and her blouse grew lace accents on the sleeves and shiny silver buttons. Ember adjusted to show a slight amount of cleavage, then presented herself to Sage.

  “Good enough, I guess,” Sage said. “At least you don’t look like the corn pone chick you are.”

  “I’ll show you corn pone,” Ember said with a grin. “Thanks again for taking care of April. If anything goes wrong, call me.”

  “I’m sure we’ll be fine, Ember. Be careful.”

  “Always,” Ember shouted back as she headed down the steps to the driveway, where Cedric awaited her.

  “Let’s hope Hanky Bob’s pulled it together in so short a time,” Cedric said.

  “As long as it doesn’t explode,” Ember replied.

  He chuckled and cocked an eyebrow at her new attire. “You look nice.”

  “Thanks,” Ember said, cheeks gaining a blush.

  They drove out to Hanky Bob’s place. Ember smiled when she saw Hanky Bob and his crew hanging around a tarp covered car, holding beers in their hands.

  When Cedric pulled to a stop, the men all adopted solemn expressions, like the burghers of Calais. Hanky Bob shuffled up to Cedric, literally holding his hat in his hand.

  “I want you to know, Cedric, we did the best we could with what he had on hand, but unfortunately we couldn’t meet the expectations for this project.”

  Cedric frowned, stroking his chin with his fingers. “Does it at least start up?”

  Hanky Bob sighed and patted Cedric’s shoulder sadly. He moved over to the tarp and gripped it.

  “Well, if you really must know, we didn’t meet your expectations because—”

  He whipped the tarp off with a flourish.

  “We freakin’ exceeded them!”

  The crew laughed and applauded. Cedric’s eyes went wide as he beheld the hot rod. Somewhere under all the bling, paint, and chrome lay the original Datsun chassis. It didn’t resemble a pickup truck any longer, but a futuristic spacecraft that happened to have wheels.

  Purple with a black and white leopard pattern along the trim, there was no way anyone would mistake it for a police vehicle.

  “This is amazing, Hanky Bob.”

  “Isn’t it? Here, you better get going.” Hanky Bob handed him the keys. “I hear there’s a big race in town!”

  Cedric hugged Hanky Bob as Ember climbed into the souped-up lowrider truck. The interior was done up in purple fake fur. She chuckled as Cedric folded his lanky form into the small cabin.

  “This is why all racers are usually small guys,” Ember said.

  “Don’t ruin this for me,” Cedric said in jest. “I finally get to live out my Dukes of Hazzard fantasies.”

  “Hmm. Well, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have some fun. I am saying you need to remember we’re doing this to find Ash, and hopefully catch a kil
ler.”

  “You don’t think it’s Olberman?”

  “I’m not assuming anything, but the more I think about it, the more I think he’s a poor fit. Right now, the theory I’m leaning toward is Ash has been possessed or otherwise compromised by an otherworldly entity. With the bridge between dimensions weakened because of all the dark magic in the last few years, it stands to reason.”

  “Unless Ash has gone bad, which neither of us can believe,” Cedric said. “We’ll find her, Ember. I promise.”

  The car rumbled to life. Cedric applied the gas, and they tore out of the gravel lot like their life depended on it. Cedric shifted with adroit flashes of his hand, a big smile forcing its way to his lips.

  “Yahoo! Hanky Bob, you outdone yourself on this one! Listen to that mechanical precision when she shifts.”

  “It is a very, um, fast ride,” Ember said. She was glad of the safety belt and air bags Cedric had insisted upon, even though they added weight to the vehicle. Her hand gripped the ‘fear strap’ above the passenger side window for much of the trek to the old salt mines.

  “Jackpot,” Cedric said as they pulled up on a large gathering of people, focused around a profusion of cars. Industrial lighting had been set up, providing a surprising amount of illumination.

  “They have generators for their lighting,” Ember said in awe. “And trucks to haul all their equipment away…even professional-looking camera crews. These guys aren’t just goofing around.”

  “No they are not. Let’s hope they’ll accept us.”

  A pair of men in baggy jeans approached Cedric as he pulled the Datsun to a halt. Cedric rolled the window down and peered out, plastering a smile on his face.

  “Hey there, homies,” Cedric said. “I heard ya’ll were doing some wicked awesome races tonight, and I thought I’d take old PPE here for a spin, see if I can’t win up some glory. What do you say, can I join your hallowed ranks of street racers?”

  Ember slapped a hand over her face. She should have insisted on doing the talking.

  The two men drew sub machine guns and leveled them through the window.

  “Um, so is that a no?”