Sweet Murder Hex (Sweetland Witch) (A Cozy Mystery Book)

by Zoe Arden

  "Don't!" I cried. "He's your son! Doesn't that count for something?"

  Vlaski stepped forward. "The girl is right."

  My eyes shot toward him. I was right? What sort of sick trick was this?

  Vlaski continued into the room, so casual you'd never have known he'd just been thrown out a window. He didn't even look hurt.

  "We need to do this the right way for the ritual to work." Vlaski placed one hand on Russell's shoulder. Russ slowly let go of Colt, backing away. "The ritual is the most important thing."

  I was so sick of hearing about rituals. It seemed like someone on Heavenly Haven was always trying to do some ancient ritual to bring them more power or extend their life or something. What did this ritual do?

  "How does killing Colt in some ritual help your cause?" I asked.

  Vlaski looked at me, thinking, deciding. "It's an old vampirical ritual. Colt's blood is precious because he is the sole blood relation to Russell. It is hard to find true blood relations to vampires. Most of us have none. If we did, they died off long ago. It must be close blood, a daughter or son, a mother or father. Cousins and aunts won't do it. The bond isn't there."

  "What do you do with the blood?" I asked, feeling sick. Vlaski was lecturing me like this was a high school science course. "Do you drink it?"

  "No, that would be wasteful. Once the victim has been let of their blood," I saw Colt wince at the word 'victim,' "you combine your own vampirical blood with it. Just a few drops. The incantation is said and then the blood is dispersed."

  "Dispersed?"

  "To those whose loyalty I wish. They will each receive a dropper full of the blood and it will bind them to me. They will do as I say when I say, without question."

  My confusion must have been evident because Vlaski asked,

  "What don't you understand?"

  "Well, it's just that if this is Russell's blood mixed with Colt's... won't they be loyal to Russell?"

  Vlaski sneered. "They will be loyal to me because Russell is loyal to me."

  Russ was watching Vlaski, his eyes dark.

  "So, you're just going to hand out blood to vampires and make them join you?"

  "Not just vampires, residents of your town. In fact, I thought that Sweetland Cove would be the perfect place to begin my little experiment. I will turn the people living here into vampires, force them to drink the ritualistic blood, and then together we will move onto the mainland, slowly taking over until people begin to realize they have no choice but to submit to us."

  Colt sank slowly to his knees. He looked tired and beaten.

  "So, Russ, when you saved me from Vlaski that night in the town square... that was all a setup? To gain my trust?"

  Russell nodded. "I needed you."

  "For what?"

  "To lead me to Colt."

  "I still don't understand—"

  "Enough," Vlaski snapped. "It is not for you to understand." He turned to Russell. "Get the book."

  Russ grabbed Colt, who drew back, afraid. "Where is it?" Russ asked. "Did you bring it as instructed?"

  Colt nodded. He pulled something from his coat pocket—The Last Vampire—and gave it to his father.

  Vlaski grabbed it from him and started flipping through it. He stopped on the page he wanted. "Here it is. That fool. I knew Melbourne had it in here. He didn't even know what he was carrying." Vlaski was laughing.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  "The ritual, the incantation, it's all here. I lost my copy some time ago but I knew Melbourne had written it down. He thought it was a poem I'd written or some such nonsense. This is what we needed. What I've been waiting for."

  He handed the book back to Russell.

  "You must say this first, and again after you drain him."

  Colt's face paled at the word drain. He looked at me, "I'm so sorry, Ava. I just couldn't do it. I know he's not my father anymore, but... his face..." Colt shook his head. My heart broke for him. "I just couldn't do it."

  "Let's get on with it," Vlaski said. "Come on."

  Russell took the book and began to read as Vlaski retrieved several large bowls from a pantry. They looked old. Silver.

  "Make sure you only take a little blood for yourself. We'll need most of it for the others. Don't spill one drop. If we need more containers, I have them."

  He placed the bowls around Colt. My stomach churned as I realized they meant to literally drain Colt's blood into these bowls. Russell finished saying his incantation. He moved toward Colt and tilted his head back. Colt closed his eyes.

  Russell bared his fangs. He hovered over Colt's neck for a full minute before Vlaski snapped at him.

  "What are you waiting for? Do it!"

  Russ turned to him. "I can't."

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  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-EIGHT

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  Vlaski let out a loud, guttural scream. "What do you mean you can't?"

  Russell stood up, facing him. "I can't do it," he repeated.

  "I'll make you do it," Vlaski growled. He lunged at Russell.

  The door to the apartment burst open. Melbourne and Sheriff Knoxx burst into the room, followed by Eleanor, Trixie, Lucy, and my father. Vlaski paused just long enough to take them in, then continued toward Russell.

  Melbourne didn't wait. He jumped between them, knocking Vlaski out of the way.

  "Dad!" I cried. He ran to me and worked to untie my wrists. They were red from the rope burns I'd earned trying to wriggle free. They ached, but they would be okay. The ropes finally fell away and I hugged my father. He hugged me back.

  "Ava, I'm so sorry. I should never have let you out of my sight. You're lucky Lucy came by the house when she did and that she was able to find us."

  I shot Lucy a grateful look. She was on the other side of me, hugging me to her. "By the way," she said, "you owe Snowball an extra can of tuna."

  I grinned. Snowball could have all the tuna she wanted for getting my family here.

  Melbourne was locked in a struggle with Vlaski. Eleanor and Trixie lifted their hands into the air. They seemed to be working together to cast some sort of spell. Whatever it was, it wasn't working. They looked frustrated.

  "Eli!" Eleanor called. "We need you!"

  My dad kissed my head then hurried to my aunts. They huddled together as Lucy helped me up. "What do we do now?" she asked.

  I looked around the room, trying to decide where to go. Russell was watching Vlaski and Melbourne as they fought each other. It was brutal. Colt was still on the ground, in shock, I think, from coming so close to his own father killing him. Or maybe he was more in shock that Russell had let him go. I knew I was.

  "Russell!" Vlaski called between punches. Melbourne sank his teeth into Vlaski's neck. He let out a loud yelp and kicked Melbourne so hard I thought I heard Melbourne's leg crack. Could vampires break bones? Judging by the way that Melbourne was now limping, I'd say yes.

  "Russell!" Vlaski called again. "I need your help!" I could see that it pained Vlaski to ask for help from anyone, but Melbourne was a strong fighter.

  A white light suddenly slammed into Vlaski. I looked over to see my father and aunts smiling. The light they were emitting—like a bright stream of sunlight—seemed to be sucking the energy from Vlaski. His face crumpled, his eyes sunk into the back of his head, his knees buckled. It was good to see Vlaski falling apart.

  Russell ran to my aunts.

  "Look out!" Lucy cried.

  "It was too late. Russ knocked Eleanor over. Trixie's feet got caught up and she tripped over her sister. Russell didn't even have to knock her down. My dad was a little harder to take out. Whatever light they'd conjured was still in the palm of his hand. He shot it out at Russell like a tennis ball. It hit Russell square in the face and he staggered backward.

  Eleanor and Trixie jumped back up. They tried to re-engage their strange yellow-white light but it was too l
ate. The bit my father had leftover faded and Russell was regaining his footing. So was Vlaski. Together, they turned on my family.

  I ran as fast as I could and jumped on Vlaski's back, covering his eyes. He let out an annoyed grunt and tried to shrug me off. I wrapped my legs around his chest and hung on tight. The two holes that Melbourne had made in his neck were still there, though I could see they were already healing. I dug my finger into one of them and Vlaski let out a surprisingly painful yell.

  I went flying off his back and hit the wall. Colt was already in the mix. He was standing between my family and his. Russell leered at him. "Get out of the way!" he yelled.

  Colt didn't move. He stayed with my father and aunts, standing his ground. Vlaski pulled Colt away from them, holding him in the air over his head like he weighed less than nothing. Vlaski was mad. Things couldn't possibly have gone more wrong. He wanted someone to blame, and that someone was going to be Colt. He spun him so fast that my own head got dizzy. I tried to jump on his back again but Vlaski was ready for that.

  He easily brushed me off, throwing me off to the side like I was a piece of trash. He pressed Colt up against the wall. His fangs were long daggers ready to take a life.

  "Russell's still weaker than I thought. If he can't kill you, I will."

  "If you kill me, the ritual won't work. It has to be a blood relative. You said so."

  "Yes, but at least I'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're dead."

  "Vlaski," Russell said softly from behind him, "I'll do it."

  Vlaski paused and turned around. Russ was standing there, a sorry expression on his face. "I'll do it," he repeated. "Trust me."

  Vlaski stepped aside. "You have twenty seconds," he said.

  "That's all I'll need."

  He walked over to Russell while the rest of my family stood by watching. Melbourne was crawling toward them. His leg was worse than I'd thought. I could see bone popping out of the side of his leg. Russ opened his mouth, ready to sink his teeth in. Vlaski stood smugly behind them, watching with a happy gleam in his eye.

  Suddenly, Russell spun around. In one swift move, he lifted a chair leg that he'd been hiding at his side and stabbed it right through Vlaski's heart. Vlaski's eyes widened in surprise.

  "Why?" he croaked.

  "Because," Russell said, "Colt is my son. You are a monster. There was never any choice." He screwed the leg in further, and Vlaski's eyes closed. He fell to the floor, dead. Trixie ran to Melbourne and helped him up.

  "Is he really...?" she asked.

  "Yes," Melbourne said. "Most definitely."

  There was a strange sound that seemed to start coming from Vlaski's body. Like bees buzzing. It was very low, almost too low to hear. The room suddenly felt warmer by at least ten degrees. We watched, fascinated, as Vlaski's skin began to change. It turned gray and brittle. Flaky. I don't know how long it took, less than a minute. His body seemed to just disintegrate before our eyes, leaving nothing but a pile of ash.

  We all stood staring at it.

  "Now what?" I asked.

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-NINE

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  When Sheriff Knoxx showed up with Otis Winken, the first thing that happened was Tadpole got ready to spray. His black and white tail bushed up like a cat's and he held it straight up, presenting us with his backside.

  "Tadpole, no!" Otis yelled. He looked apologetically at us. "It's the scent of danger," he said. "Tadpole smells it and it makes him behave very defensively." Otis patted Tadpole's head and Tadpole's tail went back to normal. He made soft mewing-like noises as Otis scratched under his chin.

  Sheriff Knoxx was too worried about Eleanor to pay Otis or Tadpole much attention. He was holding her in his arms like she was an ancient treasure just discovered.

  "Are you all right?" he asked her repeatedly. She nodded and kissed him, trying to reassure him that everything was fine. "Next time you go to do something dangerous, call me first. At least give me a chance to help you."

  Eleanor assured him that she would.

  Russell cleared his throat. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. "You know, the ashes really should be scattered," he said, his toe kicking gently at the pile of gray that used to be Vlaski. "I mean, the odds of Vlaski coming back from this are highly unlikely, but you never can take any chances. Especially with that man."

  Melbourne nodded his agreement. We didn't need telling twice. Trixie found a dustpan with a broom sitting against the wall. She scooped the ashes up, went to the window, and sprinkled half of them over the side. The other half she washed down the drain in the bathroom sink.

  "Russell's right, no need to take chances. Better to disposed of him in two places than one, don't you think?"

  When she was done with the ashes, she went back to Melbourne, who was lying on the floor, the bone in his leg still protruding but less so.

  "I know vampires heal quickly," Melbourne said, looking pained but he was trying to hide it for Trixie's sake, "but I don't think my leg will get much better until Dr. Dunne resets this bone for me."

  Trixie sat on the ground beside him and put an arm around his shoulder.

  "Ambulance is on the way," Sheriff Knoxx told him. Melbourne grunted his thanks and tried not to pass out. There was no blood, not really, more like a blackish substance that oozed lightly around the opening in his skin. I crinkled my nose and looked away.

  Lucy stood near me and Colt. She looked more fascinated by everything than scared of it. I thought that she was almost sorry to see the ashes go. She looked as though she would have preferred to study them like a scientist doing an experiment.

  Colt was alternating looks between the floor, his dad, and Sheriff Knoxx. I squeezed his hand tenderly, knowing that this couldn't be easy for him. His dad had just saved our lives, but how many lives of others had he taken before this point?

  Colt looked at me. I thought he was trying to ask me a silent question, but I wasn't sure what. I squeezed his hand harder, hoping it gave him whatever encouragement he needed to do whatever he had to do.

  He took a deep breath and stepped toward his dad, "Russell Hudson, you're under—"

  Sheriff Knoxx stepped in. "Hold on, Colt. Let me handle this." I could see in his eyes that he just wanted to help. There was no need for Russ to arrest his own father. That would be a scarring experience. "Besides, last time I checked, you were no longer a COMHA agent, so you have no authority to arrest anyone." He winked at Colt, then turned to Russ, who was holding his head high.

  "Russell Hudson, you're under arrest for the murder of Rachel Sessler and the attempted murders of Ava Rose Fortune and Colt Hudson." He said it all very matter-of-factly, as though arresting someone for murder were an everyday practice. In Sweetland Cove, though, it almost was.

  We all braced ourselves, waiting to see what Russell would do. I had a sudden vision of him flipping out, deciding that he couldn't handle jail time, and jumping out the window, disappearing into the night. We would forever be looking over our shoulders, wondering if every shadow in the darkness was him or someone like him.

  Russell simply held out his hands for Sheriff Knoxx, who removed the cuffs from his belt and placed them around Russell's wrists. I suddenly wondered if they could actually hold a vampire. Vampires were strong. Really strong. If Russ decided he didn't want to be locked up, could he simply pull the cuffs apart and make his escape? I'd have to ask Melbourne about that later when he was feeling better.

  Sheriff Knoxx led Russell downstairs. We all followed after them, everyone except Trixie and Melbourne, who remained upstairs waiting for a stretcher. I didn't know how long it would take Melbourne to heal once the bone was set, but for now, he wasn't going anywhere. Not if it meant he had to walk.

  Sheriff Knoxx placed Russell into the back of his car and spoke to Colt in hushed tones. A few minutes later, he got behind the dri
ver's seat and pulled away. Colt came over to me.

  "What did Sheriff Knoxx say?" I asked.

  Colt shrugged. "He said that my father told him he didn't kill Rachel Sessler, that Vlaski did."

  "Do you believe him?"

  He shrugged again.

  "I don't know what to believe anymore."

  "Colt... he saved your life. In the end, he chose you over Vlaski. No matter what might have happened in the last thirteen years, he still loves you. He's still your dad."

  "Thanks," Colt said. "I wish I could believe that."

  * * *

  CHAPTER

  FORTY

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  We sat around the hospital waiting room with Trixie, who was upset but not inconsolable. After all, Melbourne was a vampire, not a human. He wasn't going to die from his injuries. Dr. Dunne just had to set the bone and it should heal within a matter of hours after that, maybe even sooner.

  Dr. Dunne had already checked me over. I was fine, he said. Yes, the two small puncture wounds in my neck looked bad, but Russell had been telling the truth when he said they wouldn't hurt me. From what I could tell, Russ had done little more than pierce my skin just enough to prove to Vlaski that he was on his side.

  Colt had gone to the station with Sheriff Knoxx. He wanted to help process his dad, who was almost certainly going to spend the rest of his life in jail unless he could prove he hadn't killed Rachel Sessler. Even if that were proven, though, what about the rest of it? Helping Vlaski, kidnapping me… there were simply too many different aspects to his life that gave off a negative impression.