The Cursed Crow and the Deadly Hex

by Kelly Ethan

  Xandie slipped out a single piece of parchment hidden at the bottom of the pile. She looked up at Ethan in shock. “My grandfather?”

  “Once Paladin decided Proctor was an Armageddon risk, they assigned a handler for Elspeth. That was your grandfather.”

  Lucas Munro’s report was the direct opposite to Proctor’s. It detailed misappropriation, mishandling and negligent activities carried out by the Morrigan Coven. His recommendation was for Elspeth Harrow to go undercover to expose Proctor’s abuse of power. “He had faith in her and what she’d uncovered. No wonder she fell for him.”

  Jackson snorted as he pulled into Xandie’s drive. Lights immediately blazed on in the Library. “Braver man than I am to take on a Harrow witch.”

  Xandie snapped the file at the agent. “You’ll never get a chance to know, memory thief.”

  He grabbed the weaponized file from Xandie and dropped it on the seat behind him. “You’ll never let go of that, will you? Did you ever think I wouldn’t have been able to do it if the Library hadn’t wanted me to?”

  “Don’t. Remind. Me.” Realistically, she understood why he’d had to do it, and the Library had agreed to it. It protected her from all magic, except that which it deemed necessary. But it still annoyed her.

  Ethan tendered Xandie a charming smile. “Fancy a coffee nightcap? We can go over the files again?”

  Xandie had seen both the Proctor and Elspeth files. Now she wanted to know one thing from agent Ethan Jackson. “You have a file on my grandmother and my grandfather. What about me? Xandie Meyers?”

  He looked uncomfortable. “Anyone who has the potential to be a threat has a file.”

  Xandie raised both eyebrows. “Not exactly an answer. Or is it? So, I’m a threat? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Jackson tapped the steering wheel. “You’re the Librarian to the Great Supernatural Library of Alexandria. You could interfere and control any aspect of the hidden world. Yes, you have a file.”

  He thought she was a threat? That she could stoop so low as to manipulate her connection to the Library? He didn’t know the real her. Xandie snatched the file on Whitburn, opened the car door and slammed it behind her. She’d read the file in peace after cleaning up the Library.

  Jackson yelled through the open driver’s window, “I take it the nightcap is off?”

  Xandie opened her front door before turning to face Jackson. “I’d hate for you to feel uncomfortable having coffee with a potential global threat to the world.” With that, she slammed the door shut. The resounding thump echoed her satisfaction at having the last word.

  Ten

  “Of course the guy has a file on you. You’re the Librarian with access to potentially life-destroying power.” Theo licked his pet imp, Horatio, soaking the hairless imp’s hot-pink tracksuit.

  Xandie growled and shelved a title on Unicorn Slaying Procedures. “I am not a security risk. That’s Elspeth, not me.”

  Theo coughed up a furball, narrowly avoiding the imp. “That’s all Harrow witches.”

  She had to admit, Harrow women thrived on chaos and mayhem. Especially Elspeth. Her cousin, Holly, was the only exception to the rule. The half-Banshee witch always seemed to have a little pocket of serenity around her. Except when she squabbled with their cousin, Lila. Then fireworks detonated her aura of peace. “I still don’t like the idea,” Xandie whined her complaint and then exhaled. “I guess I can understand why, but it still annoys me.” She narrowed her gaze and glared around the Library. “And I haven’t forgotten your role in this, Library.”

  The lights in the circular room flickered a little as if in regret.

  “I still love you, but I’m not happy with your actions, got it?” The Library lights blazed bright before settling to a warm glow. A flotilla of flying scrolls lifted into the air and dueled madly above Xandie. A swirling whirligig of white notes drifted down around her like large paper snowflakes.

  Xandie snagged the scrolls and unrolled one tied off with a red ribbon and read out loud, “Vampir—Blunt Instrument or a Quasi Souled Entity?” Many weird and wonderful writings made it into the Library. Curiosity had Xandie unrolling two other scrolls. “The Care and Handling of Wounded Vampires. How to Cultivate a Vampire: Make Allies, not Enemies.”

  Xandie dropped the scrolls into the shelving bin. “Vampires on the brain, Library?” Not expecting an answer, she tackled all the notes. Every time the Library granted an information or access request, a small note was generated and delivered to Xandie for action. She’d write an appointment in the diary and the Library would decide if or when to issue an invitation.

  “Have I been neglecting you lately? Is that why you’ve stored up all these requests?”

  “I’d take those requests as a yes. You have been somewhat involved with finding dead bodies,” Theo remarked snidely, ignoring the chittering Horatio.

  “I’m a catalyst, remember, Theo? Just like my mother. Bodies find me, not the other way around. Actually...” Xandie tapped her chin. “Should I ask the Library about Morrigan again?”

  “You’ve done that before and came up with bupkis. What makes now so different?”

  “Because Jackson recently shared Elspeth and Whitburn’s files with me.” Maybe the Library would let her access information now? “Library? Could I have access to all Morrigan Coven information? The Paranormal Investigative Group has already shared files. Surely I should have access?” Xandie flicked to a free page in the appointment book and read the words that formed. “Access now marginal. Information pending.” It was a start. She’d have to wait for the information to surface.

  Xandie smiled her thanks and took a deep breath as she looked around. Every shelf gleamed, every book shelved in the correct place. Deep leather armchairs and low tables sat ready for use. Empty desks lined one end of the room and a fireplace, also clean, now graced the wall near the waiting room. “When did we get a fireplace?

  “The same time the Library decided we need an antique Victorian fainting couch and a first aid kit. This morning.”

  “That’s a tad ominous.”

  “Roll with the Library, Meyers.” Theo stretched, his back arching. “I would suggest you leave Whitburn’s file and the information the Library digs up until after you’ve waded through the Library requests. Otherwise, she’ll think you’re ignoring her.”

  Theo could have a point. Xandie collected up the scattered notes and systematically waded through them. Some she wrote in the book and some she binned. Xandie was pretty sure needing a place for a make-out session did not qualify as Library business. One name caught Xandie’s attention. “Lucien Benoit requested access? Where have I seen that name before?”

  A book on vampire clans lifted into the air and landed in front of Xandie. She clicked her fingers. “The Library got it right. Benoit was a vampire and a coven member. According to Elspeth’s files, he was a friend and an accomplice of hers.”

  “What does the vampire look like?”

  Xandie paged through the clan book until she found a description. “Ah, tall and skinny, with a sharp nose only a mother could love.”

  “And pale? Very, very pale?”

  Xandie slammed the book shut. “He’s a vampire. Of course he’s pale.”

  “And at the window,” Theo pointed out helpfully and backed away from the window that Lucien Benoit stood plastered against.

  Xandie spun to face the windows and screeched. A tall, pale man with a beak of a nose hugged the windows, scratching at the glass.

  “Library, we have an intruder,” Theo hissed and gathered Horatio, depositing him on his back, both ready for a quick getaway.

  The scratching vampire pushed himself away from the window and disappeared from view.

  Xandie hefted the tome on vampire clans and raised it overhead. She took a cautious step to the window and peered out. It was full dark and barely any light cut the black night outside. “Where has he gone? I can’t see anything?”

  “Xandie?”

 
She continued to peer outside as she answered Theo, “What’s up?”

  “Did you lock the waiting room door?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about the Library door?”

  Xandie spun around. “I... Maybe?”

  “I think that maybe should have been a no.” Theo pointed with a paw at the door that was slowly opening, one creak at a time.

  “Library, it’d be great if you did something right now,” Xandie hollered as she hoisted a book, ready to throw. The lights muted to a welcoming glow.

  “Don’t think the Library’s worried, Xandie.” Theo cowered under a leather armchair.

  “Fine. I’ll deal with this myself.” Xandie threw the book as the door swung open, but it landed harmlessly on the floor.

  “Bonjour, Librarian. I need some help.” A tall, beaky nosed vampire stumbled into the room.

  “We are not food and are armed with heavy books that hurt when thrown.” Xandie hefted another book menacingly.

  “Why on earth would I hurt the Librarian and a Harrow? Elspeth would have my non-beating heart in a moment.” The vampire wavered, blinking glassy eyes. “I believe I’m going to pass out. Contact Elspeth. She’ll know what to do.” With that, the vampire collapsed gracefully onto the fainting couch.

  “So that’s why the Library redecorated,” Theo murmured as he crawled out from underneath the chair.

  Xandie tentatively walked forward and poked the unconscious vampire. His chest rose and fell slowly—very slowly—but otherwise, he was out of it. Xandie noticed a red patch spreading on the flouncy white shirt. Lifting a torn edge, she peeked underneath and spotted a weeping tear in the left side of his chest. Xandie grabbed a wad of bandages, plugging the hole as well as she could. But she needed to do more. She just had no clue about vampire physiology. Xandie needed help. She needed Elspeth.

  Xandie needed her grandmother, or she’d have another body on her hands.

  Literally...

  “Aren’t vampires supposed to explode if they go out during the day?” Xandie whispered to Lila as they watched Buchanan and Elspeth clean up after stitching Lucien Benoit’s chest. She’d got a distress call out to Elspeth, and her grandmother had come racing to the Library with Buchanan and Lila’s bakery van in tow. She’d performed a basic patch job on his wound and shifted him to Harrow House.

  “The very skilled Elspeth dealt with that issue decades ago.”

  The thin tone of Lucien Benoit reached Xandie’s ears. She fought the red wave threatening to cover her cheeks. “Sorry, I’m relatively new to all this supernatural stuff.”

  Lucien pushed himself up on the couch with a wince. He patted Elspeth’s hands as she fussed around. “Enough, ma petite. I am whole, thanks to you. But your granddaughter needs to know all.”

  “Argh.” Elspeth stomped off, swearing all the way.

  Lucien smiled. “I adore my Elspeth, but she doesn’t cope well when those she cares about are hurt or threatened.”

  “Who says I care about you, Benoit? You’ve always been a thorn in my side,” Elspeth snapped.

  “Ah, but I am also all that is debonair.” The tall vampire winked at Holly and Lila.

  “He was more a minion than a thorn. Elspeth was the ringleader and Minerva and Benoit, her loyal subjects. They thrived on the chaos she caused,” Buchanan added in a dry tone.

  “Elspeth, she was magnifique with mayhem.” Benoit shook his head. “We should have believed her when she told us about Proctor, Whitburn and the Morpheus Amulet. For that, my Elspeth, I am deeply sorry.” He raised a shaking hand to his chest and rubbed it.

  “Oh, for Hecate’s sake.” Elspeth stomped to Lucien and shoved a clear glass filled with bubbling purple liquid at him. “Drink this.” She dangled the glass in front of Benoit and scowled until he drank. Then she turned to Xandie. “Thank you for calling us. He’s always had a lousy sense of direction.”

  Swallowing manfully, Lucien shook his finger at Elspeth playfully. “Your granddaughter is the Librarian. I knew she’d be able to help me and find you. And I was right.”

  Xandie cleared her throat as Lila pushed her gently toward the wounded vampire. “Thanks. But given I was ready to brain you with books, the Library is the one to thank. She knew you were coming and prepared for it.”

  He winced. “It all worked out in the end.”

  “But what about the beginning?” Holly’s quiet voice filled the room. “What happened to you?”

  “That’s a story.” He cleared his throat. “Hellacious contacted me six months ago. Frantic about something.”

  “What?” Xandie was more than curious. What would upset someone who raised the dead for a living?

  Benoit shrugged and then placed a hand on his chest. “I have no clue. I would not take his call. Whitburn is a two-faced snake.”

  “Luc,” Elspeth growled at her friend.

  “Shush, Elspeth. You may have liked the man, but I always saw through his posturing.”

  Xandie broke in before the two old friends started squabbling. “What does Whitburn contacting you have to do with your wounds?”

  “Because since that call, someone’s been following me. Then I heard about Hannah and Minerva’s death. I decided to come visit Elspeth.”

  “Safety in numbers?” Lila winked at the debonair vampire.

  He smiled briefly. “Something like that. I use a blood donor service. I ring up and they send a volunteer around. Last month, I had a sore fang but couldn’t get in to see the dentist. That probably saved my life.”

  “I swear, you have a morbid fear of medical specialists.” Elspeth shook her head, disgusted.

  “But it saved my life. The donor turned up, and I fed, but my fang hurt so I stopped feeding. Plus, I was getting a woozy head. Next thing, my donor staked me. I pushed the woman off and stumbled next door for help, but to no avail. So, I immediately left for Point Muse.”

  “You didn’t get help for your wound? Did your donor explain her motives at all?” Holly questioned.

  Lila nudged Xandie. “Ooh, look at our Harrow Banshee, using detective terms like motive.”

  “I didn’t think the wound was serious and decided discretion was better than valor, and I needed to get to Elspeth as soon as possible. I got a call from my neighbor on the way here. The woman had no memory of attacking me, or even coming to my house. She had her regular checkup at the donor service and the doctor prescribed Vitamin C, but otherwise, everything was fine. Next thing, she’s at my place, surrounded by PIG agents.”

  Sounded to Xandie like someone got to the poor woman. But how did the perp know Benoit would call the service right then? “Is the donor service a regular thing?”

  Lucien nodded. “I have a regular appointment set up with the company. Same time once a month with the same O positive donor, but she went on holiday a few weeks ago. Some cruise she won. I had to take a relief donor.”

  Bingo. “Yeah, we’ve seen that before. Did the doctor say why they prescribed the Vitamin C?”

  “That’s the thing, it wasn’t the normal doctor either. The normal one had been called away. A doctor by the name of Burne filled in. I think they prescribed iron, too, but the dose the new donor was given was quadruple the normal amount. That’s why I was woozy. Excess iron overwhelms vampiric senses.”

  Burne. This was becoming a pattern. “The doctor wanted you disoriented so the donor could stake you.”

  Benoit nodded at Xandie. “I agree. Plus, the PIG agents are fairly sure a memory hex wiped the donor.”

  “Hexes again,” Xandie murmured.

  “All my specialties.” Elspeth admitted and sagged onto the couch next to her friend. “Most of the hexes you’ve seen so far have been straight out of the coven’s toolbox. I designed them all.”

  “Kind of a specific thing to do. Use hexes designed by a coven member to kill others in the coven. Someone hates you, Elspeth, really and truly hates you.” Xandie stared at her grandmother, brain working overtime. “What about Lucien’s amu
let piece?” Xandie turned to the wounded vampire. “Do you still have it?”

  He smiled wryly. “It goes everywhere with me.” Lucien pointed to a decorative tattoo on his upper chest, opposite to his wound.

  “Your trickiness will get you dead, Luc.”

  “Sorry?” Xandie wasn’t following.

  “Smarty fangs had a scribe transfer the amulet piece into ink and had an Ink Witch tattoo him. He thinks it’s foolproof.”

  “But it is, ma Coeur. You must be proud of my deviousness.” Lucien smirked at a fuming Elspeth.

  “Until the killer cuts out a chunk of your chest and transforms it into the amulet piece.”

  “Ah, but the killer will be delayed somewhat, and that is if they can even find where my amulet piece hides.”

  “Who knew about your piece?”

  “Only those PIG people,” the vampire sneered at the mention of the Paranormal Investigative Group.

  Lucien was still a target as much as Elspeth was. They both needed to be under lock and key and watched. Easier said than done. “Someone who knows Elspeth, knows her past, is hunting her down with all her devious tricks.”

  Elspeth cackled and lights overhead fizzled. “That ain’t news.”

  No, it wasn’t. People either hated Elspeth or loved her. No in between for her grandmother.

  But stalking victims with her grandmother’s own hexes? It was already personal, but now it had taken on a new level of creepy.

  Eleven

  “Don’t let that baker cousin of yours catch you munching in here. She might get your grandmother to hex me.” Delilah winked as she placed a pot of tea in front of Xandie.

  Swallowing her mouthful of fluffy berry pancake, Xandie waved a fork at Delilah. “Elspeth’s bark is worse than her bite.”

  “I doubt that, honey.” Delilah cleared off a booth next to Xandie’s table.

  “I won’t tell if you won’t.” Xandie smiled widely and then forked in another mouthful.