by Kelly Ethan
Xandie eased her eyes open, expecting to see the white glossy tiles of Es Penne’s bathroom, but instead a rough granite ceiling above her and sand and rocks surrounded her.
“Caves near your library. In case you’re wondering?”
It shamed her to admit it, but the sound of her friend’s voice was as good as chocolate. “Priss?” Xandie squinted and made out the vague figure of someone else slumped against the opposite wall.
“Alive and tied.”
“I found Melody. She’s out cold and bleeding.”
“Yeah, she got hit first. I went down next.”
Xandie pushed herself to a seated position. She leaned back against the rough wall. “I found Es, almost freed her until Adelind knocked me out.”
“About that...” Priss sounded embarrassed.
“Where is Es? She was trying to tell me something then Adelind bopped me on the head.” Xandie hadn’t been quick enough to free the teenager, but with the broken sword she was sure the resourceful teenager would do it for herself. And lead the rescue party straight to them.
“Es isn’t here. I assume the killer left her. I don’t think they wanted her harmed.”
“At the very least, that something in Adelind’s favor.”
“That’s the thing. We made a tiny miscalculation.”
“About Adelind?”
“It wasn’t her that hit us. It was Ronald.”
Say what? She’d pegged Ronald as a follower, not to doer. “Carrying out his wife’s orders? Right?”
“This is all Ronald, darling. Do you think I’d poison my mother?” Adelind’s disgusted tones echoed through the cave.
“Adelind?”
“Yes, Adelind. The Penne heir, mother of Esmeralda, wife to a murderer. The gossips will milk this atrocious story for all it’s worth.”
“Let me guess. Ronald popped you on head, tied you up and left you in a cave?”
“Smart librarian. Yes, I left this morning for my spa appointment. Next thing I know, Ronald pops up wearing a blonde wig and I wake up in this filthy cave of unwanted discards.”
“He pretended to be the pizza boy and took Melody out, then me. I woke up here to my aunt’s vengeful tirade against her no-good husband.”
“Don’t call me that. I have no proof you’re Melinda’s child and I don’t believe Ronald would kill my sister.”
“Oh, he did. The police have the proof. Marjorie’s seen the letters. She believes Priss is her granddaughter.”
There was dead silence for a moment as Adelind digested the news. She asked in a little voice, “Is my mother alive?”
Beneath the anger, Xandie heard her desperate grief hiding.
“Yes, Alexandra. Is my mother-in-law alive?” Ronald Penne’s plummy tones filled the cave.
Xandie closed her eyes and whispered to the library to send help. Her necklace tightened for a second and then released. A sharp shape underneath her bottom poked her tender skin. A knife, the same knife she’d removed from the butler’s pantry.
“Well?”
Xandie forced herself to sound grief stricken. “She...I’m sorry. Marjorie passed away before I left for the Penne house. I wanted to break the news myself.” If Ronald thought Marjorie was dead, he wouldn’t try to hurt the elderly dragon again.
“Oh God.” Adelind choked off a cry, falling silent.
“Damn you,” Priss cursed. “What next, Ronald?”
“Well, darling niece, since Marjorie’s dead, I kill you. And my sweet wife must go as she’s the current heir and I’ll take over as regent until Esmeralda’s of age.”
“Have you met your daughter? No way will she allow someone else to be her mouthpiece.” Xandie snickered at Es following orders.
“I’m her father. She’ll do as I tell her.” Ronald puffed his chest out. He extended a sharp dragon claw toward Xandie. “As for you. I have no fight with the library, if you keep your trap shut. I’ll bring a forget-me-witch to wipe your memory and release you.”
Xandie shuddered. She had no clue what kind of witch that was, but it sounded vaguely familiar like she’d heard the term in passing somewhere before. Still, the thought of letting one near her gave her the heebie-jeebies.
“And Priss and Adelind? What are you going to do to them?”
“I’ve found an appropriate way to dispose of my family issues.” Ronald smile widened. “I am, by far, the best choice to take the clan forward into a glorious drakon future.”
“Wow, Adelind. You married a nutcase.” Xandie couldn’t believe the tripe Ronald was dribbling.
“He was desperate for a powerful dragon name. When I married him, I thought he’d be an asset to the clan.” Adelind sniffed.
Priss snorted. “More like you thought he’d do whatever you wanted.”
Adelind snapped at her niece, “It’s not my fault. He’s a mental defective.”
Compassion was not Adeline’s middle name. Xandie wriggled and winced when the blade jabbed into skin. She shifted to see if she could touch the blade, but her hands were tied, and the knife wasn’t hidden between her clothing any longer but wedged between her back and the wall. It must have fallen out of her clothing when the dastardly dragon dumped her on the ground.
“Now, now, librarian. No point wrestling against my ropes. I’m brilliant at knot tying.” He waggled a finger at Adelind. “And sorry, darling, but the ropes are spelled. You can’t flame them or slice them with your claws. Sit tight until I return with the witch.”
“What about Priss and Adelind? You haven’t told me how you’ll kill them?” Xandie kept him talking. Her cousins would realize she was in trouble when she didn’t call. She hoped Es knew where her father had taken his victims. Because otherwise, who would check in a deserted cave underneath her house?
“Why, drown, of course.” Ronald look confused as if he expected more from Xandie. “Adelind is a fire dragon, she can’t breathe underwater and Melinda’s child is a hybrid. No powers to speak of. All my loose ends dealt with and no messy bodies to dispose of. I’ll bring the witch here and then release you. Hopefully before the tide comes in.” Ronald winked and blew a kiss to his soon-to-be-dead wife. He disappeared through the mouth of the cave.
“Aunt, I hope you had a prenup in place. If you escape, you’ll need it.”
Adelind growled. “We’re dragons. Of course I did.”
“I lied. Marjorie was alive when I left. The doctors expect a full recovery once they administer a special antidote for the poison.”
“There is no antidote for Dragon’s Breath,” she replied bitterly. “No matter what the doctors do, my mother will die. The poison has a one hundred percent kill rate.”
“The immortality potion a golden dragon gave me for your mom might help.”
“The Hesper dragons came to my mother’s aid? Why? What did she have on them?”
“She saved a young Hesper dragon years ago. They’re just repaying a favor. She’ll be fine, but right now, we aren’t. Es grabbed the broken sword, so I’m hoping she’s escaped by now and notified the cops.”
Adelind whispered her thanks.
Xandie wriggled until she grasped the knife underneath her. Ronald had tied her hands behind, made grabbing the blade much easier.
“Xandie? You’re quiet? Are you okay?” Priss rolled across the uneven ground until she faced Xandie.
“Just trying to reach the knife I hid so both of you can get rid of your ropes.” Xandie rolled against the wall and levered herself to her knees. She shuffled forward, knife gripped tight, gritting teeth as sharp rocks cut into her jeans-clad knees.
She let out a squeal as she toppled into an indentation in the sand. After wriggling around, she managed to flop onto her side. Xandie flipped the knife toward Priss, but it landed near Adelind instead. “That’s the best I can do. Any of you reach it?”
“No chance, unless I wriggle like a worm on a hook. What about you, Auntie?”
Adelind sat up and used her feet to push herself forward. She reac
hed the knife and pulled it toward her with her feet. She grunted as the sharp edge nicked skin. “Don’t call me Auntie.”
She braced the blade against a rock and rubbed her bound hands up and down until the ropes fell away. Adelind undid her bound ankles and stretched. She turned to cut her niece’s bindings, but rocks falling outside and raised voices froze her.
“Quick, give Priss the knife. And get out of here. One of us needs to lead the cops here,” Xandie hissed at the dragon.
Priss snatched the blade from her aunt. “Escape while you can.”
“That ex-husband of mine will regret his actions for the rest of his short miserable life.” With that, she slunk out of the cave mouth and disappeared.
“Hurry.”
“What about you?” Priss sawed at the ropes on her wrists.
“He won’t kill me. I just get a memory wipe. You need to leave before he comes back.”
“Too late.” A figure leaned over Xandie. Ronald’s face contorted with rage. “How did my annoyingly-alive wife escape?”
“Maybe the ropes weren’t dragon proof.” Xandie shrugged, unconcerned.
Ronald leaned over Xandie and yelled, spit spraying over her, “I will track her down. I will be the heir.” Ronald grabbed Xandie by an arm and dragged her over to Priss. “Someone snuck in a knife, how practical.”
He grabbed the knife off Priss and sneered at her attempts to escape. “One of you dead is better than nothing.” Ronald kicked Priss in the side and tapped his foot in a small puddle of water that had filled while he’d been talking. “Few minutes more and this cave will fill, and you’ll be out of my hair.”
Priss smiled. “I’m glad I’m not slumming in your gene pool.”
Ronald screamed at her defiance and dragged Xandie to the beach outside. “Climb. The witch is at the top. He’s under orders to hex you if you do anything but climb.”
“Hard to climb with hands and feet tied.” She hopped on the spot to emphasize her point.
Ronald pulled his perfect non-moving hair and grew a claw and sliced the ropes securing her ankles and wrists.
Moving to the rock face, Xandie waited for Ronald to join her, but he moved back to watch as the sea rushed in. She grabbed a hunk of granite and hauled herself up as the incoming tide covered their footprints in the sand. Another large wave surged inside the cavern. Xandie hung off the cliff face, waiting for the Priss. She sagged when no one appeared.
“I knew my plan was foolproof.” Ronald clapped like a child and glared at Xandie. “Keep climbing, unless you want to join my niece in her watery grave.”
Choking back sobs, she climbed as fast as her lack of athleticism allowed. Hands stretching for holds, she scrabbled to cling to the rocks. Xandie had no clue how long the climb had taken but she was nearing the top. Closer to forgetting Ronald, the dastardly dragon killer. Speaking of Ronald...
On cue, a jagged male voice screeched from below her. Xandie paused for a quick look below. The ocean had swept in and there was no sign of the demented dragon. “Hope the damn water swallowed you up, Ronald Penne.”
“Here’s hoping. Otherwise he’ll be on the run from an angry dragon wife for as long as he breathes.” A calloused hand attached to a hairy arm, dropped into Xandie’s vision.
Eighteen
“Come on, Meyers. You need to do more cardio. That cliff climb was pitiful.” Chief Zachary Braun grabbed one of Xandie’s trembling hands and hauled her to the top of the cliff.
She lay flat on the ground, hugging it and panting. Maybe cranky pants Braun was right. Time to quit hot chocolates and butter puffs. Xandie stared at her nemesis. “How did you know?”
He squinted an electric-blue eye at her. “Let’s see, phone call from my mom, text from Melody, frantic call from Es Penne and a personal visit from an annoyed dragon kidnap victim. Plus, a heads-up from Elspeth.” Zack nodded over his shoulder.
Xandie rolled over and scrambled up. Elspeth, in an emerald green bedazzled jogging suit, sat on top of a crying skinny bald man.
Her grandmother gave a wave. “Impressive climb, Xandie sweetie. I had feelers out in the underground. A contact gave me a heads-up on this lowlife forget-me-witch who had signed a contract with a dragon by the name of Penne. I tracked him to the clifftop and sat on him until Zachy arrived.”
“She flashed me and then immobilized me with a hex. I can’t move except to talk and breathe. Do you have any idea how heavy she is?” The bald man shuddered. “I need to forget myself and the last fifteen minutes, including that horrible sight of her flashing me her private areas. No one should remember that.” The witch gagged.
“Oh, shush. You should be so lucky.” Elspeth grinned and gave Xandie the thumbs-up.
Xandie shook her head at her grandmother’s antics. But her thoughts focused on her friend.
“Priss is still down there. We couldn’t untie her in time. The tide came in.” Xandie fought the sobs crowding her throat. She’d only known the dragon slayer for a short time, but Priss had become a friend. No one, not even Ronald, deserved to drown in a watery grave.
“I wouldn’t bet on it.” Elspeth cackled. “She still holding her mother’s scale?”
“She had it when she visited Marjorie at the police station, why?”
Elspeth pointed.
A whoosh of wind burst past Xandie. Ronald flew screaming into the air before he landed with a meaty splat. Elspeth burst a water balloon over him. He stiffened and went statue still.
She cackled again. “Immobilizing hex bombs. Works on witches and dragons.”
Xandie only had eyes for the silvery-pink and sapphire dragon hovering in the air above them. The same dragon that collapsed and shrunk to a Priss-sized blonde cheerleader.
Priss bounced up. “Did you see? Can you believe it? Dragon.” She punched her arm up. “Hybrids rule.”
Running up to Priss, Xandie squeezed her tight in a librarian-dragon-hybrid hug. “How? I... The last thing I saw was the cave filling up.”
“I grabbed my mom’s scale and the water swallowed me, there was an electric shock, and I swam out a dragon. I surfaced and there was old Ronald, clinging to the rock, then whoosh, wings popped out, and here I am.”
“Melinda’s scales were silvery-pink.” Marjorie with the help of Es and Adelind, walked toward them. “You held the scale to your heart. Your mother’s last wish would have been to keep you safe. So, the scale did that, and you became a dragon.” Marjorie chuckled. “The sapphire color is more water dragons, and that’s not a Penne trait, but it saved your life.”
Elspeth waved a hand. “But it was a Makepeace trait. I did some research. The Makepeace family has been slayers for decades. But once upon a time, a slayer fell in love with a water dragon. Priss is a combination of both. Wings and fins.” She snorted at her rhyming.
Marjorie stood in front of Priss. “You kept Es and Adelind safe. Most of all, you’re my granddaughter, and I can’t wait to get to know you.” Marjorie folded Priss in a hug both dragons came out of teary eyed.
Zach Braun hauled Ronald, and the forget-me-witch, upright and snapped cuffs on them. He marched them straight past Xandie but paused to shake his head at her. “Mom filled me in on the last few weeks. You seriously can’t keep out of trouble. Are you a body magnet?” He handed his prisoners over to his brothers.
“It’s not my fault. Dead bodies just love me,” Xandie yelled. As a comeback it sucked, but it was the truth. Priss and her family were safe, the murder solved. The only loose end was her mom’s whereabouts. For now, all Xandie could do was hope the troll would turn up some information. And maybe peace and quiet and no bodies for a while.
But this was Point Muse. She just hoped the next corpse the town threw at her didn’t involve free climbing. Because she really didn’t want to give up her hot chocolate...
The End
The Murderous Monster and the Stony Gaze
A Point Muse Cozy Paranormal Mystery. Book Three
Kelly Ethan
On
e
“It was just a little pinch.” Elspeth Harrow, grandmother to the Harrow clan of witches, winked at her uptight granddaughter.
“A little pinch that could get you arrested.”
“He was flattered. Even gave me his grandfather’s number.” Elspeth waved the small piece of paper like a well-earned trophy.
“Are we talking about the same thing? The fire? That you caused with a witchy potion mishap.”
Elspeth hid the paper behind her back with a guilty twitch. “Yesss?” She drawled her word and smiled sweetly at Xandie.
Alexandra Meyers aka Xandie, librarian to the supernatural Great Library of Alexandria, currently residing in Point Muse, Maine, covered her face with her hands as two burly firefighters marched past munching on chocolate chip cookies. “Tell me that’s a plain old cookie with nothing special added to it?”
Elspeth pasted an innocent expression on her wrinkled face. “Of course. There’s no way their teeth will glow in the dark for the next week at all. That would be a dirty trick to play on such fine and fit young gentlemen.”
Xandie growled in frustration. The haggish Harrow witch liked to play in the darker end of the magic spectrum. Her five foot nothing of a grandmother had an obsession with colorful wigs too. Xandie hadn’t seen Elspeth’s natural hair in months. Instead, she was a continuous parade of rainbow-colored wigs and bedazzled jogger suits. Her grandmother was a mayhem loving, but also slightly evil, formidable witch. No one crossed Elspeth Harrow unless they had a death wish or a good hex remover.
“Give it up, Xandie.” Lila Harrow, baker witch extraordinaire, slapped her cousin on the back. “She’ll always cause chaos. I think it keeps her from dying.”
“That and the ground-down bones of the innocents she’s hexed.” Amelia Harrow, Lila’s mother, sneered at Elspeth. “Seriously, you couldn’t wait to burn down Harrow House until we’d left for work this morning?”