Hell of a Witch (Crypt Witch Cozy Mystery Series Book 2)

by K. E. O'Connor

  Hell of a Witch

  Crypt Witch Cozy Mystery Series, Volume 2

  K.E. O'Connor

  Published by K.E. O'Connor, 2018.

  While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

  HELL OF A WITCH

  First edition. September 2, 2018.

  Copyright © 2018 K.E. O'Connor.

  Written by K.E. O'Connor.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Investigate more cozy mysteries by K.E. O’Connor:

  Chapter 1

  It was official; I hated the city. Not this particular city but all cities. And crowds, not a fan of those either. As I shoved my way through the throng of non-magicals turning out from their office jobs, I made sure to keep my breathing shallow. The smell of stale coffee and what might have been desperation wafted off people’s clothes as I passed them.

  The fumes from the vehicles crawling by almost made me gag. I’d never considered myself a country girl, but every time I came to a city like this, I changed my mind. What I wouldn’t do for a lungful of clean, fresh air from Willow Tree Falls and only the occasional buzz of a bike or car dawdling past me. This stress-fueled, horn honking misery did nothing for me.

  I stepped to the side to get out of the worst of the commuter foot traffic and reluctantly took a deep breath. I filtered out the stench of the non-magicals around me. I was seeking one smell. The stench of a demon. Every demon came with an unpleasant whiff of sulfur. Some were worse than others, like they’d spent their morning bathing in a bucket of rancid eggs. This one was your average smelly demon. Raksh was a sneaky one, though. He’d eluded me for three long, city stinking days.

  I blamed Angel Force for giving him such a good head start. Dazielle hadn’t told me he’d eluded their custody until almost a week had passed. His head start caused me more of a headache than I needed. Not that I needed another one.

  My nose wrinkled, and I stepped into the alleyway on my left. I was running this gig solo. Before Wiggles had turned into a hellhound, he’d often accompanied me away from the magical bubble of Willow Tree Falls on the demon hunts. He was good at finding demons when he wasn’t distracted by food. And it was nice to have company, especially in the world of non-magicals, where everything felt a little off and weird.

  Since Wiggles’ transformation, he was confined to Willow Tree Falls forever, unless I could figure out a way to maintain his magic away from the sanctity of our home. He didn’t seem to mind; he loved Willow Tree Falls, but I did miss hanging out with him.

  No matter, I had a demon to hunt in an alleyway, and time was not on my side. I’d already had three urgent messages from Mom on my mobile snow globe, reminding me in an increasingly shrill tone that I needed to get back in time for the mid-summer solstice celebrations that evening. It was a big deal in Willow Tree Falls. Solstice was a time when we recharged our magic batteries and gave thanks to the power at our fingertips, a power that none of the non-magicals around me knew anything about.

  That was why I was creeping along a grimy alleyway. I was searching for this demon to keep the non-magicals safe. I sometimes wondered why I bothered to risk my neck to keep their eyes shielded from the magic truth. Every non-magical I met seemed unhappy. When they came to our healing stones or to try our thermal spas, it was in the hope of a restorative cure for their stress aches. If they knew what really lurked around many a dark corner, they’d be even more stressed.

  The noise of the busy street faded as I continued along the alleyway.

  “Here demon,” I whispered. “Come take a nap in my cute little bag.” I patted the plain brown bag that hung from a belt loop on my black pants. This wasn’t your normal bag; there was no make-up or hair spray in here. This bag was a miniature demon prison, just like the one my family looked after in the cemetery at Willow Tree Falls. The Crypt family was in the business of demon hunting and incarceration and had been for centuries.

  My bag had nothing on the prison, but could hold a demon as I transported him to Willow Tree Falls and let the angels determine the fate of the demon I’d captured.

  My sister, Aurora, was always trying to make it pretty by attaching pin badges and sticking on sequins. They never lasted. Demons hated the bag. They fought tooth and claw to avoid being shoved into it, and all the pretty stuff fell off.

  The sulfurous smell grew. I glanced up at the grimy brick walls surrounding me. Nope, no demon hiding there waiting to pounce on my head. Raksh was a shapeshifter and could fly short distances. All demons had the potential to live forever if they looked after themselves. Raksh was several hundred years old and wanted for three ritualized sacrifices of non-magicals. In his defense, he’d said he needed to conduct the rituals to maintain his strength, given that so few non-magicals worshipped him anymore. But he’d broken magic laws. We never harmed non-magicals, unless they directly threatened us, no matter how annoying they could be with their giant purses and obsession with cell phones.

  A door slammed open behind me. I spun on my heel, the bag raised, ready to capture Raksh.

  A red-faced man wearing a white apron slung two black bags of trash out the door. He glanced in my direction, and his eyes widened. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Enjoying the view.” I lowered the bag and acted like it was my right to be lurking around a dark, damp alley.

  “You shouldn’t be back here.”

  I shrugged and looked away. I hoped this guy wouldn’t give me trouble. There was a demon around here, and the non-magical wouldn’t want to be anywhere near us if we fought. Demons liked to use non-magicals as shields.

  The guy snorted before pulling the door shut behind him, muttering something about junkies and ending up dead in the gutter.

  “As if,” I said quietly to myself. The kind of drugs they served in the non-magical world held no appeal. Now, if you placed a bowl of my own home-dried magic mushrooms and a few lemon drops in front of me, I’d be tempted.

  I scratched my way through some trash, grimacing as I did so. A hot swell of Frank’s energy shifted up my spine as if he sensed danger. Frank, my unwelcome resident demon, was my constant companion, no matter what I tried to get him evicted. Having swallowed him to save my sister when we were kids, he now lived inside me but often tried to get out and finish what he’d started with Aurora. He also didn’t react well to stress or danger, something I often found myself in.

  “You can stay where you are,” I muttered to him. “I’m dealing with this one.”

  He chuckled quietly but made no further attempt to get out.

  I’d given Frank a couple of hours respite as soon as I’d left Willow Tree Falls and was a safe distance from my family. He had to come out now and again; otherwise, my resistance weakened, and he could take control whenever he wanted.

  I remembered little about those hours and had woken with a banging headache, the taste of whiskey on
my breath, and the remains of two takeout pizza boxes beside me. Who’d have thought demons were junk food addicts? And Frank had the sweetest tooth imaginable.

  I glanced down at whatever disgusting thing I stepped on as it squelched beneath my black boot. It might have once been a used diaper.

  When I looked up, a long-limbed, green-scaled demon stood in front of me, his pinprick sharp teeth bared. I shook my head. Why couldn’t Raksh have shape-shifted into something cute, like a unicorn or a fluffy kitten? Why did it always have to be something gross and scaly, something with teeth and long jagged-looking claws?

  I opened my bag. “I hope you’re going to come quietly.”

  Raksh hissed and swiped his claws at me.

  “I take that as a no.”

  Raksh inclined his head. “I am honored that a Crypt witch would come for me.”

  “Don’t be. I was the only one with free time on my hands.”

  Raksh chuckled. “I know you, Tempest Crypt. You work for the angels.”

  “I work for myself.” It always grated that I freelanced for Angel Force. If they only knew how to do their jobs properly, I wouldn’t have to go running around clearing up their mistakes. But my family insisted we help them. It was an old tradition, starting back in the days when my Granny Dottie dated the old Angel Force police chief. Even though he was retired, she still felt we needed to give them a hand and capture all the mad, bad demons who escaped their clutches more regularly than they should.

  The demon capturing fell to me if it happened outside of Willow Tree Falls. The rest of my family spent their time guarding the prison and kicking any demon butt that decided to sneak out.

  “You’re a pretty witch,” Raksh said. “I’d like to wrap my claws into your long hair and take a bite of that creamy skin.”

  “If you’re hungry, there’s a pizza parlor a block away.”

  “I prefer my food alive when I eat it.” His forked tongue flickered across his teeth.

  I shrugged. I’d met worse demons. I lived every day with a worse demon inside of me. Raksh could issue all the threats he wanted, but this demon was going in my bag. There was no way I’d miss the mid-summer celebrations because of this rule breaker. The celebrations meant lots of home-baked goodies and partying, and I was always down for some of that.

  Plus, my own business, Cloven Hoof, was hosting a stall and selling pick me ups and tonics to give everyone a little extra buzz. My bar manager, Merrie, would cover the stall, but when Willow Tree Falls was full of celebrating locals and non-magicals, she’d need all the help she could get. I promised her I’d be back in time.

  Raksh twisted his neck unnaturally. “How about we play a game?”

  “I don’t have time for games.”

  “How about I guess the real name of your demon?”

  My breath hitched. No one knew Frank’s real name. To know a demon’s true name was to have power over him. It didn’t mean you could completely control the demon, but it gave you leverage and weakened them. I’d deliberately chosen the name Frank for my unwanted guest because it sounded like such a harmless name, and I knew it annoyed him.

  “I see I have your attention.” Raksh tapped his claws on the brick wall.

  “You can’t know who he is,” I said. “Nobody does.”

  “Some do. Your demon does.”

  “He’s not going to tell me, and I doubt the two of you ran in the same circles when he was free.”

  Raksh shrugged. “If you’re not interested—”

  “I didn’t say that. What do you know?”

  His sharp-toothed smile grew. “Lower your bag, take me for a pizza, and we’ll talk.”

  This was a con. It had to be. Still, I was tempted. If I knew Frank’s real name, it would make my life so much easier. I’d be able to spend more time in Willow Tree Falls with my family. As much as they annoyed me at times, I still loved them. It hurt to have to leave in order to keep them, and Aurora in particular, safe.

  “I’ll buy you one slice, and you tell me everything you know about Frank.”

  “I want a family-sized stuffed crust with twelve toppings. And I want dessert.”

  “Two slices.”

  “A medium Margherita with a stuffed crust.”

  “A small Margherita and no dessert.”

  Raksh scowled at me. “Very well.”

  The door behind me opened again. Two guys stepped out with cigarettes in their mouths.

  The demon lunged at them, screaming in an ear splittingly high range as he did so.

  “Oh, balls!” I threw myself in front of the two men. Raksh would try to injure the non-magicals in the hope he could slip away in the chaos.

  “What the...” One of the men jumped backward, and his cigarette landed on the ground.

  Demons could reveal themselves to non-magicals, but they usually only saw a blur of movement when a demon was around.

  “There’s nothing to see here,” I yelled. “Get back inside.” I took the full force of Raksh’s charge and stumbled into the non-magicals as his energy slammed into me.

  Raksh bounced away, his laugh echoing off the walls.

  I felt hands on my shoulders and quickly shrugged them off. “Get inside. It’s not safe out here.”

  “Are you a cop?” one of the non-magicals asked as he scanned the alley with wide eyes. “Is something going down out here? Bruce said there was some junkie hanging around in the alley and to be careful when we came out for a smoke.”

  “Bruce would be right. I’m much worse than the cops.” I blasted a throwback spell into Raksh’s chest as he dove at me, giving me a few seconds before he launched himself at the non-magicals again.

  “What did you just do?” The taller of the two non-magicals stared at me with his mouth open.

  “Nothing. It was a camera flash. I’m collecting evidence of the junkie. Now, get inside.” I gestured at the door. Why weren’t they getting the hint? They’d be dead if they didn’t get their butts out of this alley.

  “Are you sure we can’t give you a hand? You look kind of small to handle some doped-up loser.”

  “I can handle plenty more than that. Let me help you find the door.” I grabbed hold of them by the collars of their work shirts and threw them through the doorway, slamming it behind them and sealing it with a spell.

  As I turned back to face Raksh, he threw himself at me. There was no time to open the bag as his claws flashed in front of my eyes.

  I took a breath, steeled myself for what was about to happen, and swallowed him. He struggled and spat curses at me. He also exuded a sour tasting green goo that had me using all my willpower so as not to spit him out.

  Tears ran down my cheeks as the hot acid sensation of a demon sliding down my throat tore through me. It was never my preferred method of capturing a demon. The bag was so much kinder on my stomach. This was a rare gift of mine, if you can call it a gift, being able to contain a demon inside me.

  A loud belch shot out of my lips. That was another side effect of hosting demons. I almost lost my grip on Raksh. It didn’t help that Frank was already inside me and occupying so much space. He did not like to share his living accommodation with anyone.

  “Stay down,” I muttered as I gripped my stomach and leaned against the wall, feeling the demon’s power trickle through my body, the hot energy heating me from head to toe.

  After several minutes of deep breathing, I had Raksh under my control and a gross coating of green demon goo all over my favorite black shirt and sliding down my chin.

  “There she is,” came a shout from the end of the alleyway.

  I looked up to see two cops staring at me. The guys I’d shoved through the door stood next to them.

  “She’s the junkie who attacked us.”

  “Thanks for nothing, guys. Next time, I’ll let the demon play with you.” I pushed myself away from the wall. It was time to leave. I’d gotten what I needed, but this had been a messy search and retrieval operation. Whenever possible, we didn’t
use magic around non-magicals. It left them confused and reporting they’d seen some alien or a ghost to a tabloid paper.

  I was out of options and trapped in an alleyway with two cautious looking cops heading my way, their hands too close to their guns for my liking. I also had two restless demons on board. I had about two hours before I lost control of them both. I had to get back to Willow Tree Falls and release Raksh. I needed to use magic again.

  I focused my energy on a transportation spell. This was taxing magic, so I needed to concentrate.

  “Miss, what are you doing in this alleyway?”

  I ignored the cop and imagined stepping through a door and finding myself on the main street in Willow Tree Falls, seeing the pastel pink sign of Sprinkles bakery and Wiggles racing toward me with his tongue hanging out.

  “Miss, place your hands where we can see them and walk toward us.”

  I shook my head, closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

  Chapter 2

  I let out a relieved sigh as I opened my eyes and found myself in Willow Tree Falls. The cops would have a great story to tell their friends at the bar tonight about a goo-covered woman, who had vanished into thin air. Not that I cared about that; no one would believe them. But the world was down one demon thanks to my capture of Raksh. It was a win all around.

  I felt the ground tremble beneath my feet and had just enough time to catch Wiggles as he launched himself into my arms. I collapsed backward on the ground as his furry face crowded mine and he licked my cheek.

  “Have you missed me?” he asked as he continued to give my face lots of affectionate, sloppy licks. “You taste gross by the way, and you’re covered in slime.”

  “Thanks for nothing.” I ruffled his fur, rolled him off me, and stood. “I’ve been stuck in hell for three days and am carrying two demons. I’m going to taste gross.”

  Wiggles tipped his head to the side. “You didn’t bag him?”

  “Raksh didn’t want to be bagged. He wanted to eat some non-magicals, so I had to think on my feet.” I brushed dust off my black pants and stopped to check out Wiggles properly. “What are you wearing?”