by Kelly Ethan
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...
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I want to thank everyone who spent the time to read my novel. My world is small town magic, mystery and mayhem. With plenty of snarky laughs along the way.
I’ve always enjoyed writing all manner of murder and mayhem. No matter the genre, I love kick-ass and sarcastic heroines who like to save the day and the hero.
With a busy and chaotic household, writing is my outlet for madness. I live in Australia and when not writing I can be found binge watching any supernatural/paranormal and mystery television shows.
Visit me today at my website or say hello on Facebook or Twitter.
Website:
https://www.kellyethan.com
Also by Kelly Ethan
Cozy Paranormal Mystery:
The Pernicious Pixie and the Choked Word.
The Killer Knight and the Murderous Chairleg.
The Dastardly Dragon Killer and the Poisoned Breath.
The Murderous Monster and the Stony Gaze.
The Cursed Crow and the Deadly Hex.
Paranormal Romance:
Miss Predictable.
Mr Muse.
Mr and Mrs Monster.
Non-Fiction:
Heart and Craft
The Murderous Monster and the Stony Gaze
BOOK three
There’s a murder at the pet show, a monster on the loose and a nosy librarian turned sleuth.
Let the mayhem begin…
Xandie Meyers and Point Muse had settled into a peaceful routine after a spate of supernatural murders and mayhem. But the peace is upset with the grand opening of Point Muse Springs Resort and its drawcard event, the Supernatural Pet and Familiar Show—S.P.A.F.S for short.
Not everyone is happy with the resort opening and the pet show coming to town. A series of accidents, hoof and horn disease and gastro plagues the contestants.
But when the competition favorite is turned to stone and the show takes a fatal turn, the prime suspect is Amelia Harrow. Witch, Vet, pet show hater and Xandie’s Aunt.
Xandie has no choice but to turn Sherlock librarian and go undercover at the pet show with a trash-talking pug named Colin.
It’s time to pet up, win the show and solve a murder…
But can Xandie survive long enough to navigate her freaky new world? Or will things that go bump in the night have her for a midnight snack?
If you like snarky dialogue, murder and mayhem then you’ll love the next installment in Kelly Ethan’s Point Muse Mysteries, a new cozy paranormal mystery series.
Unlock the mayhem of The Murderous Monster and the Stony Gaze!
The Cruel Crow and the Deadly Hex.
Book Four
There’s a murder at Harrow House, a cruel crow stalking old friends and a nosy librarian turned sleuth.
Let the mayhem begin…
With barely a breath to relax, Xandie Meyers and her family of Harrow witches now must deal with a new problem.
One that dropped dead at their feet.
Someone is targeting old members of Elspeth Harrow’s, Morrighan Coven. The same Elspeth Harrow who happens to be Xandie’s long lost Grandmother.
People are dying and all signs point to an inside job. Xandie has no choice but to swin
g into Sherlock librarian mode.
Between bizarre accidents, a defanged vampire, reanimated animal corpses and a search for a missing doomsday device, Xandie barely has time to sniff out the killer. A villain that’s always two steps ahead. But whoever the murderer is they hadn’t counted on the stubbornness of Harrow witches and one nosy librarian.
Can Xandie stop a supernatural apocalypse? Or will things that go bump in the night have her for a midnight snack?
If you like snarky dialogue, murder and mayhem then you’ll love the next installment in Kelly Ethan’s Point Muse Mysteries, a new cozy paranormal mystery series.
Unlock the mayhem of The Cruel Crow and the Deadly Hex!