Special Agent in Charge (The Federal Witch Book 3)

by T S Paul

  "This will not stop me. I will rip your head right off." The Austin Alpha roared at me in his warrior form. He struggled in the soft earth to pull himself up.

  Cat and Chuck began firing their weapons at the shifted Weres, but bullets bounced off of Josiah. He only laughed at their attempts.

  "The Witch who worked with you should be tried along with you," I yelled at him.

  "Too late. Me and the boys ate him one night. Didn't we boys?"

  The giant Weasels managed to dig their way out of my trap and were stalking toward me, sharp teeth gleaming. I thought for the thousandth time. How did Jack do this without Magick? That thought gave me an idea. Reaching into my bag, I palmed two of the bombs I made.

  Throwing as hard as I could I tossed the bombs at the group of trapped Weres.

  "I told you Magick doesn't work on us, little girl. I'm going to eat you and your little friends!" The bombs exploded on contact and clouds of smoke surrounded the Weres.

  "It's not Magick. It's science." I could hear Josiah and the others choking and hacking in my aconite cloud.

  As the smoke cleared, I could see the Weasels writhing as they shifted back into their human forms. The same could be said for their leader.

  "What is happening? I don't understand! I'm immune to Magick!" His Warrior form was gone, and a human stuck in quicksand remained.

  I walked over to him and yanked off his necklace. "Not anymore you aren't." I drew my weapon.

  "Going to shoot me now?" Defiant to the end.

  "I ought to, but I think jail is the place for you now."

  "I've been to jail before. Do you really think it will hold me? Weres don't do well in prison. We don't play nice, nice with the meat puppets. I'll be out soon enough."

  "A federal facility is a lot different than what you may remember," I stated. "And Arkansas? They have the death penalty now. I don't think you will be getting out anytime soon."

  I really should have thought things out before I tossed the bombs. Trust me when I say that trying to put handcuffs on a naked man trapped in the mud is not the most interesting thing in the world. Although it works much faster after you freeze him.

  ~~~~~~~

  The State Police, regular FBI, ATU, and a host of other alphabet agencies descended on us after we reported in. The death toll was in the hundreds and never thoroughly published. The news media kept us out of it. Special Agent Jeran Ford officially got all the credit for the fast work of his team in capturing the slavery ring and killers. Those in the know understood it was us and not Ford. But we don't do this job for recognition anyway.

  "What's next for us?" Bill sat next to Anastasia without flinching away. He's come a long way.

  "Chupacabra sighting. There is a small town in Illinois called Elgin that is being plagued by the things."

  "I thought they were only in the Southwest?" Cat looked over at me puzzled.

  I chuckled. "Funny story. A local circus had a pair of them as an attraction, and they escaped. They were trying to breed the creatures, and they apparently succeeded. Now they are all over the place."

  "Are we the pound now?" Chuck commented.

  "Magical critters are our job too. Think of it as an enhanced Jackalope hunt. These things have sharp pointy teeth and claws instead of horns."

  "Oh, that makes all the difference then. Count me in, I guess. What else did the circus have?"

  Anastasia pulled out a tablet and presses a couple buttons. "According to my research, they have a Phoenix and Unicorn too. Local officials are holding them for us. Some of their permits didn't check out."

  "We need to wrap things up here and pay Billie Jean off for the use of her camp. Any thoughts on places to stop along the way to Illinois?"

  Our little group was finally a cohesive team. Magical creatures and villains should shudder in their shoes or fur because Magical Crimes was on the case.

  ~~~~~~~

  Only the light from over a dozen candles lit the cave. A small table sat surrounded by gold, gems, and artwork not seen by human eyes for centuries. A lone human figure sat at the table. He nervously fiddled with his phone.

  "Put it away Issac. No electronics allowed in here." A great, deep voice boomed. "Why are you here?"

  "One of the Lost popped up on our radar recently. One of our contacts in America informed us of his capture."

  "Did they really? Which one of our lost lambs is it? I had no idea that anyone over there was powerful enough to best one of us." The voice was softer but still the loudest thing Issac had ever heard.

  "It was Sárkány. He was living in San Diego in a museum of all places."

  "Interesting. Did he have the Book with him and was it recovered?" The loud voice was softer still. It had a cloying quality to it.

  Issac swallowed. "Um, No. The American Witches Council laid claim to all of his possessions as well as his petrified body."

  "Petrified? Petrified how?"

  "Our Agents were not sure of that fact. Somehow, he was transmuted to stone. They think he might still be alive somehow."

  "Interesting. Contact the Council. Inform them that our Ambassador will arrive soon to discuss returning our lost brethren and all of his belongings to the fold."

  "Yes, Lord Leomaris, it will be done as you ask." Issac scurried from the cave into the light of the bright sun. He would rather be out in the cold and snow than in there. A loud roar shook the ground, and gouts of flame shot out of the cave entrance. Case in point.

  Copyrights

  This book is a work of fiction, All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright (c) 2017 T S Paul

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Cover designed by Heather Hamilton-Senter

  Developmental Editing by Diane Velasquez, Dorene Johnson

  Grammar Check and finishing Edits by Kat Lind

  And ProWriter Aid and Grammerly

  All writing was done on Scrivener and Google Docs

  Special thanks to Michael and to my wife Heather who keeps me grounded and to Merlin the Cat, we are his minions.

  Early in the story Agatha talks about Fergus's Unicorn Fort. This is that story.

  Unicorn Fort

  By

  TS Paul

  "Salad! I just love me some salad. If humans do one thing right, it's food preparation." I realize that talking to a plastic toy would mean I was crazy in some circles. Many would say I was nuts anyway. Certainly, a few in my old herd would agree. I can just see old Peter's face at my new size and ability to talk. He would laugh himself silly.

  Thinking about Peter made me sad. I was supposed to fight him for control of the herd and the best breeding females. So much for that. He must think I'm dead.

  I walked out of my home and onto the table top. Agatha had brought me to this cold place with too many tall tables just last week. It was like show and tell all over again. I am sure scared of that Jack guy! He about jumped out of his shoes when she thrust me at him. Her being in the FBI has worked out well for me so far until now. She left me alone at times when she was in class and 'let' me order pizza and stuff. Now I'm in this truck-house-thing that she calls an RV. I haven't had the chance to explore it completely yet.

  "Fergus, we have to go check out a crime scene. This is a strange city with lots of dangers, stay in the RV please."

  "Sure. I can do that." I smiled at her and nodded my head. It was time to be like that human on TV, Kentucky Smith. Exploring strange new places, seeking out new food, and broadly going where no human has before. Or something like that. I only watched it for the horse scenes. As soon as the door closed, I sprang into action. OK. I walked into action. Springing is for the young.

  At first gla
nce this place was huge. If I had been full sized it would have been extremely cramped for a Unicorn to move around in. Much of the space was taken up by shelving and counters. Agatha said it was a working vehicle. I hoped it worked. If not we were going to be stuck here for a while. What interested me the most was the area around the table. I found a space under the table, up against the wall that would be perfect for a Unicorn fort. It was small enough for me but big enough for my TV and my recliner. A hidden space to watch in comfort and safety. No way those stinky cat's would find me here.

  Moving stuff down is hard. I could jump down but carrying my phone was dangerous. I ended up dropping it on the couch then sliding it along the floor. My recliner came down the same way. Several hours later I had the perfect, cat free, Unicorn Fort!

  "...we need to get the checklist and get moving."

  "OK, let me check on Fergus first."

  Listening, I didn't hear any cats, but I did hear my name mentioned. Not wanting my fort to be discovered, I raced out and got up on the table.

  "Hey, buddy. Sorry, we took so long. The locals didn't want us involved with their case. How was your day?" I looked up at Agatha and gave her one of my smiles.

  "Good."

  "Wonderful. We are moving the RV today so hold on. The next assignment is only a few hours away." She stepped away and began checking cabinets and doors. With no one watching, I went back to my fort. What use was a cat-free space if everyone used it?

  Halfway into the Sparkle the Pony TV show, I knew something was wrong! The walls of my fort began to shake and slowly move toward each other. My fort was getting smaller and smaller. Then the small entrance to my fort closed together, trapping me inside. I'd wedged my phone into the space to slow down the walls and dialed 911, because that is what humans say to do when in trouble.

  "911 what's your emergency?"

  "Help, the walls are closing in and trying to crush me!"

  "Can you give me your location? I will send a unit right away!"

  "I'm under the table next to the wall. I've got my phone wedged in the space to slow the walls down."

  "...Where did you say you were?" The operator sounded strange all of a sudden.

  "Under the table. The walls are like that scene in Star Battles where they were all stuck in that trash thingy. They are trying to crush me!"

  "Sir, calling 911 for prank calls carries a fine and possible imprisonment. Stay on the line, and I will send..."

  The walls made my phone bow and then it made a loud cracking noise! The movement stopped all of a sudden.

  "Hey, Jack this thing is stuck or something. It got really slow all of sudden." I could hear Agatha's voice.

  "Something might be wedged in the slide. Back it up and then go forward again." Jack yelled from the back room.

  The walls started to move backward, then the broken and shattered remains of my phone dropped free, hitting the floor with a crunch. The walls stopped moving, made a strange grinding sound and then suddenly jerked to close up again.

  The hole that led outside was open, and when it started to close again, I ran for it. To me, it felt like one of the cartoon characters from that show with the bird and the dog. My hooves started to slide, so I did what the race drivers always said. Turn into the slide! I threw my body in the direction of the slide, and I passed through the hole just as it slammed shut with a resounding crunch!

  "Fergus, are you OK?" Agatha was peering under the table looking at me.

  I glanced back at the entrance to my Unicorn Fort and gasped. The wall was completely closed. If I had stayed, I would be really flat about now.

  "I'm OK. Uh, I sort of need a new phone."

  The Federal Witch

  Born a Witch Drafted by the FBI! Now Available in Audio!

  Conjuring Quantico - Coming soon in Audio!

  Magical Probi

  Special Agent in Charge

  Witness Enchantment - Look for it Mid 2017

  Night of the Unicorn - TBD

  Invisible Elder - TBD

  Blood on the Moon - TBD

  Child of Darkness -TBD

  Cat's Night Out, Tails from the Federal Witch

  Athena Lee Chronicles

  The Forgotten Engineer

  Engineering Murder

  Ghost ships of Terra

  Revolutionary

  Insurrection

  Imperial Subversion

  The Martian Inheritance -Also available in Audio!

  Infiltration

  Prelude to War

  War to the Knife

  Ghosts of Noodlemass Past

  Athena Lee Universe

  Shades of Learning

  Space Cadets - Coming Soon Early 2017

  Short Story Collections

  Wilson's War

  A Colony of CATTs

  Box Sets

  Chronicles of Athena Lee - Books 1-3

  Chronicles of Athena Lee - Books 4-6

  Chronicles of Athena Lee - Books 7-9 plus the prequel

  The Federal Witch Book 1

  Standalone or tie-ins

  The Tide: The Multiverse Wave

  The Lost Pilot

  Uncommon Life

  Kutherian Gambit

  Alpha Class. The Etheric Academy book 1

  Don't forget to check the Blog every week for a New Wilson or Fergus story.

  So ends yet another book in the Federal Witch series. Don't be sad about Cat and her possible lost love. She will find someone before too long. My wife jokes with me that I can't write a love scene. She desperately wants me to try writing erotica so she can laugh at me. I am of course resisting. Love interests will come along in time in the story. I don't really write sex scenes so you as readers are spared that at least. However, I did write a love story of sorts for an anthology recently. Cupid's Bow and Cupid's Arrow are due to be released on February 8th. I don't have a link to it yet but I will post about it on my Blog and Facebook page. Fergus is the hero in the story. He explores his personal origins and tells of a lost love. Should be fun.

  That is just to the beginning. As I write this I am laying out my notes for Alpha class 2. The kids start the second part of their journey and go to work for Jeo. If you read the Kutherian Gambit series you know who I'm talking about. If not Go check them out! Alpha class was written for the younger crowd but if bad language, vampires, and aliens don't scare you? Check them out today!

  Enough of me massaging Michael Anderle's ego. And my own of course. Let's talk about the future and what is to come next on this epic journey I call a writing career. I have three major series going at the moment: Athena Lee, The Federal Witch, and The Etheric Academy.

  Alpha class book 2 is next on my agenda followed by Space Cadets. The Athena Lee Universe book 2. We get to finally find out about Tisiphone and her friends on their internship. The comes more Alpha class. We have a great many Etheric Academy books planned for the future. Why not? The universe is broad and filled with fun and interesting species and aliens.

  At the end of this book I have future books listed. The Federal Witch now has upcoming titles going all the way up to book 8! So expect at least 5 more in the series plus the short stories.

  What else is there going on? Well I have a story planned for one of Author Craig Martelle's anthologies. It will be something new not related to the current series. No idea yet what it is yet.

  There is a children's series kicking around in my brain that will come out eventually this year sometime as well as a passion project that might see the light of day. We will see. As always I can be found hiding on a myriad of websites including Facebook, Goodreads, Book Bub, and my Blog. Drop me a line at tspaulauthor@gmail.com or make a comment or review. I do answer my mail. I have a merchandising site now if you are just dying for a Fergus coffee cup or Want to celebrate the Jackalope Hunt.

  Glad you enjoyed the book.

  Now go check out a few others written by some friends of mine. I'm highlighting Thrillers this time.

  This is my way o
f paying it forward as an Author. I helped found an author group on Facebook called 20bks to 50k. It is made up of Authors, Editors, Cover Artists, Bloggers, Industry professionals, and potential writers. It's a safe place to learn about the craft of writing. Everyone needs a leg up sometimes. So here is mine way of helping. These are some of the best New writers out there today. Give them a read or just stop in and say hi.

  A cold snap had settled over the suburbs of Richmond during the night, making the tops of the trees heavy with frost. The tall pines bent slightly toward the ground, trembling in the cold wind. There was still another hour before sunrise.