Point Muse Cozy Paranormal Mystery Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Kelly Ethan

  “We have a deal and a truce. As long as you come in for regular hair checks every six weeks.”

  Holly spoke up before Xandie. “You got it. It’s a deal.” She shook the hairdressers’ hands and skipped out the shop.

  Snickering and waving to Dorothy and Olive, Xandie followed her cousin. She ran straight into the back of the demon-ridden Professor Amoru.

  “We must stop meeting like this, Alexandra.”

  Xandie scooted back, an automatic apology tripping off her tongue. She scrutinized the man in front of her. Snappily dressed in a well-cut dove gray suit, with a stylish midnight blue bow tie. All teamed with a pale cream dress shirt. His silver hair was combed back, and powder blue eyes twinkled with a definite red ring around the pupil. “Are you cataloguing me for any reason, dear child?”

  Breaking their stare, she flashed him a blinding smile. “Is there a reason I should scrutinize you?”

  The charming Professor’s smile didn’t waver at all, but his eyes narrowed a tad. “None. Whatever happens I will never harm you or your line. Not now.”

  Not now? What about before today? Xandie changed the subject. “I had to vacate my house yesterday. Infestation of Imps.”

  Professor Amoru tisked. “Imps are pernicious creatures when left to annoy their victims.”

  “Especially when directed by someone.”

  The professor laughed out loud. “Imps are better when they are given explicit instructions to cause chaos but not injure. Or so I’ve heard.”

  “They injured my bra by parachuting and my cat, Theo, was emotionally wounded when they tied him up for target practice with my kitchen knives before I managed to rescue him.” Xandie glowered at the demon in men’s clothing.

  His humor dropped, absent from face and voice. “I’m sure whoever controlled the imps isn’t happy to hear the news. But Imps abhor felines, possibly why they may have gone outside their initial orders.”

  “The imps hated Theo. They were about to use a carving knife.”

  “I’m sure the master of the imps will correct that oversight. But I very much doubt whether the imps will attack again.”

  “Because the master didn’t get access to the library?” Or because he did?

  “Rest assured, librarian. There will be no more incursions of imps for nefarious purposes. I’m sure the master has learned his lesson.” Amoru bowed to Xandie and sauntered down the pavement.

  Holly popped up behind Xandie. “He wanted to let you know you won’t get hurt without admitting it.”

  “What makes you think ‘I won’t harm you or your line’ comment is honest?”

  Holly considered Xandie’s words, her eyes unfocused and tinged with silver before turning back to Harrow amber. “Yep, I think he’s telling the truth. At least for now. He vibed on Sera. I think their arguing kept him more human. He isn’t happy she’s gone and who wants an annoyed demon. But that doesn’t mean he won’t give up any access to the library, he just won’t harm you to do it.”

  “Wise words, cousin of mine, wise words.” Xandie linked arms with Holly as they strolled in the opposite direction to Point Muse’s resident demon.

  For now, she had to focus on the Knight and a way to expose him…

  Without it costing her life.

  Twelve

  “Elspeth was a bust, but you all got make-overs? Great.” Pouting, Lila threw herself down onto a small sofa in Xandie’s library.

  “Don’t you try that with us. The old girls spilled you visit them every six weeks, traitor.” Holly pointed an accusing finger at her cousin.

  “Good hair, just don’t share.” Lila fluffed her curly brown locks and posed. “Find a good hairdresser and keep them, even if they’re crazy, naked wiccans in a war with your family.”

  Holly and Xandie looked at each other and shrugged.

  Xandie couldn’t argue with logic. “You learn anything from Elspeth?” She stroked a purring Theo who’d crawled into her lap.

  “Nope. Same stuff as before. But she said he’d had a regard for Sera and would never harm her. Whatever that means.”

  Holly paced one side of the library. “Means fighting with Sera made him happy. But he’s a demon, maybe the same one who burned down the library. Do we trust him?”

  Trusting a demon, in Xandie’s opinion, sounded like an exercise in futility. But he seemed genuine when he swore he’d never harm Sera or her family. “So, we have the mayor and the Professor, both suspects. Both want access to the library; the question is do they want it bad enough to kill?”

  “That’s an easy answer to find.” Theo jumped down from Xandie’s lap and sauntered over the Lila. One mighty bound and he joined her on the couch. He rolled over and presented his tummy for a rub. “If asked the right way, the library can pin down every supernatural creature, their clan, history, weakness etc. in the world. The mayor could use the information to hunt down and exterminate every non-human bloodline. In the demon’s case, he could extract information on other demons in the demonic hierarchy and use it to take control.”

  “He’d control the underworld or hell or whatever it’s called?” Xandie stared off into space. Both of her suspects had valid motives, but she was missing something. A link, a compelling reason to murder a person in cold blood. Or did she just want her great-aunt’s murder to mean something?

  This time Lila answered Xandie. “Nope. Not the Underworld. Hades controls that. Demons have a hierarchy. Imps are on the bottom, then second tier demons and then first tier. Next is Admin, commanders, lords and ladies. The top three layers are Grand Dukes, Princes and the emperor. A generalization, but about right.” Lila wrinkled her nose. “My dad works for Hades in the Underworld. He sometimes comes into contact with them.”

  “And Amoru?” Xandie couldn’t stand sitting anymore and wandered the shelves, trailing her fingers over book spines and bound scrolls.

  Holly slipped into Xandie’s space, reclined and closed her eyes. “No clue. But the demon who burned the library had to be a Grand Duke at least.”

  Thinking the problem through, Xandie picked up a scroll and tapped her chin with it. “They both want access to the library to find supernatural creatures to kill or blackmail. But how does the library help them do that?” Xandie’s necklace warmed against her neck and the scroll she held lifted a little in her hands.

  Taking the hint, she unrolled it. Names, species and whereabouts flickered on the papyrus. Changing position as the subject listed moved around. This is what the mayor wanted. “An all you can kill supernatural buffet.” Xandie muttered.

  “Excuse you?” Lila frowned at the strange comment.

  She showed them the scroll. “I must have picked up the library’s vibes, and without thinking, grabbed this scroll. It lists supernatural creatures and their whereabouts in real time. And it includes demons and who they inhabit while they visit the earth plane.”

  “Gold for human or demon.” Holly opened her eyes. “Does this mean Amoru and the mayor are level pegging as suspects? What about the Professor’s non-aggression oath to you and your line?”

  Lila weighed in. “Doesn’t have to hurt her to get the scroll or access to the library. He just needs to get Xandie out of the way for a while and convince the library to let him in. What’s the plan?”

  “A trap.” Xandie hid the scroll behind a copy of the ‘Carnivorous Eating Habits of Unicorns.’ “We need to entice both of the suspects out with bait. Have Braun and his shifter minions standing by to deal with them afterward.”

  Holly stared worriedly at her cousin. “Bait?”

  “Me and the scroll. I’ll tell them I know who they are and offer them the scroll for the best price.”

  “No way.” Lila shook her head. “They won’t believe you’d cave for money.”

  “Not money, protection. And my job. I’ll tell them I want safety from Sanguis reprisals. My condition will be the safety of Point Muse residents and my family. It’ll make it more believable.”

  “Might work,” L
ila mused. “But we have to get the messages to our suspects and sort out protection in case everything goes sideways. But Braun will stop you if he gets wind of the plan too soon.”

  “That’s why we set up the meet with the suspects and then tell Braun just before show time. He gets to our meet in enough time to back us up but not stop it.” Xandie held up her phone. “We have to hope our phones are working and decided when and where to meet. Any ideas?”

  Lila raised a hand like a kid in school. “What about the old drive-in outside town? It’s abandoned and the kids use it for hooking up, but no one should be there during the week. Plenty of room for the shifters to take the suspects down. Also, it's outside of town if the demon gets frisky.”

  Agreeing, Holly sat up and flicked through her phone. “Elspeth put a boost spell on my phone, so the ley lines don’t affect the reception too much. She should be able to design a potion or a ritual which binds a human or a demon in case of any issues.”

  “Remind me to get that boost from Elspeth. The lack of reception in Point Muse drives me crazy. Right, we have a where sorted. What about when?” Satisfaction seeped into Xandie’s bones. This was a plan. The right course of action provided the knight and the demon didn’t kill her.

  “What about tomorrow? Let’s say Thursday at the drive-in at one a.m. No entrance fee needed.” Holly snickered.

  “Why one in the morning, Cuz?” Lila wandered over to Holly and whacked her on the back of her head. “That’s for a poor attempt at a joke. We expect better from a mouthy Harrow.”

  “Ow.” Holly rubbed the spot on the back of her head and glowered at Lila. “Midnight is too clichéd, eleven p.m. is too early, one it is.”

  “It’s a date.” Xandie smirked at her banshee cousin. “Since you find the situation hilarious, you get to call Braun and give him the details just before we go.” Xandie sure as heck wasn’t volunteering to call the bane of her life, Police Chief Braun. “I’ll do the mayor. Lila can contact the Professor and Elspeth for the binding spell.” Not waiting for her cousins, she dialed the mayor’s number. The library should boost the signal enough for the call to go through. Wouldn’t be much of a trap if no one turned up.

  “The mayor’s office. Irene Cummings here,” frosty tones iced the line.

  “Xandie Meyers from the library. I’d like to pass on an urgent message to the mayor.”

  “And?”

  The spinster wasn’t giving an inch. “I know who the mayor is. Equis. Pura. Sanguis.” Xandie recited the Knights Sanguis Latin motto. “I want to barter my safety and that of the Point Muse residents for a scroll stating the movements of all supernatural creatures.” Take the bait, Irene.

  “Go on.”

  Hooked. “Meeting is Thursday, one a.m., at the old drive-in. I’ll bring the scroll, but the mayor has to come alone.” Xandie hung up the phone and wiped her palms on her jeans. She turned to her cousins and mimed a victory dance.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Theo hissed at Xandie.

  “It’s my plan. If everyone follows it, nothing will go wrong.” Xandie smiled, impressed by her plan-making skills.

  “Famous last words. And I mean last.” Theo marched off, his tail swinging.

  “We’re all going to die,” Lila moaned as the three girls crouched behind the abandoned snack bar counter at the drive-in.

  “Holly hasn’t screamed yet.” Xandie peered close at Holly’s eyes. Not a speck of silver covered the pupils. “Nope, all good.”

  Holly blinked while she shoveled popcorn into her mouth.

  “Although she may be in a butter popcorn coma.” Xandie poked at chipmunk Holly’s puffed-out cheeks.

  Arching an eyebrow, Holly swallowed a mouthful of buttery goodness. “Can’t help it. It’s this or donuts and I want to do my jeans up tomorrow.”

  Lila liberated a handful of popcorn from Holly. “How about you don’t bring any food at all?”

  “How about you get your face out of my popcorn,” Holly hissed back, teeth bared at her cousin.

  Rubbing her forehead, Xandie pulled the carton of popcorn out of Holly’s hand and dumped it on the ground behind her. “There, now the only eating will be the imps if they turn up. They can overdose their arteries on butter and choke to death. Now can we focus on our murder suspects?”

  Holly and Lila sniffed together and then ignored each other.

  “Holly, did you get hold of Braun and let him know the plan?” Xandie nibbled her lip. If she was honest, she was a tad nervous about tonight. Having Braun as back up, as much as it pained her to admit, made her more positive about tonight’s outcome.

  “He was out policing. But Aggie said she’d pass the message on. She also said they’d be there even if they had to swim through a lake of honey.” She considered Aggie’s words for a moment. “I have no clue what that means, but she sounded serious.”

  “No Braun for the moment. We need to stall.”

  “That may be a problem.” Lila pointed to the figure walking toward the meeting spot. “Someone turned up early.”

  The three girls dropped below the counter in the old snack bar.

  Xandie raised her head and squinted. The demon needed to walk straight into the binding circle they’d etched with the blessed chalk Elspeth had dug up for them. The trap would hold the demon until they gave the sign to Elspeth who’d deliver him back to his demonic buddies…supposedly? Not that Xandie had ever dealt with a demon before. But Theo was confident it would work. A cat confident blessed chalk would hold a demon. Yep. Not a normal day.

  “It’s Amoru. I can feel him tonight.” Holly’s eyes shivered silver.

  Xandie shuddered. That phrase wasn’t creepy at all. Taking a deep breath, she stood. Lila shoved the fake scroll provided by the library into her hands. Xandie stepped away from the old snack shack and shuffled toward the demon trap. Taking her time, she pulled up at the edge of the trap. The chalk they’d used was barely visible in the muted glow of the lights they’d rigged up. Professor Amoru had dressed in a dinner suit with a snazzy blue bow tie.

  He bowed his silver-lined head in a formal welcome. “Greetings, Alexandra. Are you sure you should take this course of action?” He arched an eyebrow. “Sera would not have approved. Theo must be leading you astray.”

  Theo had already coughed multiple fur balls into her shoes to show his displeasure. He was afraid she’d compromise the library, and he’d lose another librarian. “You don’t want the scroll?” Xandie lifted it above her head in query.

  He tracked the movement. “If you give, I will receive. This mission has consumed my being for a long time.” His eyes gleamed red, before settling back to plain blue.

  “So, you’re a demon? Did you kill the man you’re inside of? Did you kill my great-aunt?” Xandie lowered her arm; her grand gesture seemed a little stupid now.

  “Ah, my child.” Amoru sighed and shuffled closer to the chalk circle. “I have had many bodies, some willing and others not. But this one was a gift or a curse from the library herself. I can remain on earth in this form without shifting. But I must live as a human to use it. The library permits small magics, like the imps.” He chuckled for a moment. “I did not expect the antics of underwear-parachuting denizens of hell. But big magic will force me back to the demonic life of body hopping.”

  “Why did Sera do that for you?” Maybe her great-aunt had liked the demon more than she’d let on to those around her.

  “Sera didn’t, the library did. It has forgiven me for burning her down, I think.”

  “And my great-aunt? Did you kill her to get access to the library?”

  He flung his hands in the air in human frustration. “Do you think the library would permit me a body if I had killed her librarian? Sera and I crossed swords, but the fighting made both of our lives less boring. I never hurt her.” He held his hands, palms up, out to Xandie. “Access is paramount, but I do not want to hurt you and I never touched a hair on Sera’s head.”

  Xandie believed his wor
ds and her necklace tightened around her throat. The library must agree with his words as well. But they still had to follow the plan. If it wasn’t the demon, it had to be the mayor. Xandie waved the scroll. “Fine, I believe you. Here’s the scroll. Come and take it.”

  With a curious smile on his face, equal parts pride and mischief, he stepped into the circle and stopped. “A binding circle with blessed chalk?” He dropped his head back and guffawed deep bellows of delight. “Elspeth. So entertaining.”

  “This circle means you can’t shift or leave. If you didn’t kill Sera that means our other suspect did. But I need you here in the circle, so I don’t get distracted. I promise we’ll let you out,” Xandie pleaded with Amoru. The last things she needed were a grumpy demon stalking her.

  “This is a dangerous game you play, child. Make sure it doesn’t come back and stab you. But I can’t fault your need for justice for Sera.” He smiled his acceptance.

  Xandie nodded to Amoru and stepped back from the circle, careful not to smudge the chalk lines.

  She headed toward the other side of the lot where they had another circle etched. This time one to bind and hold a human. As Xandie skirted the snack shack, she spared a glance for where her cousins had hidden behind the counter. No sign. Hopefully this meant Lila and Holly had snuck off to find Braun and tell him they had a demon trapped. She’d have to delay the mayor until the bear cavalry arrived.

  There was no hint. No sound of footsteps. The sound of metal grinding on metal and the sting of a sharp blade slicing her skin was her first sign the knight had ambushed her.

  “I must say, you have wrapped this whole situation up for me.”

  A woman’s cold tones froze Xandie’s blood. “But the mayor?” It had to be him.

  “Please, my brother would never have the guts to do what was necessary.”

  “You mean kill people.”

  Irene giggled. Her sword tip wobbled a fraction and Xandie held her breath. Irene’s whole demeanor changed. In black clothing, with a sword and a backbone, she was a fearsome enemy.