“Be quiet,” she spat. “That’s your problem. You always want the easy life. Sometimes, we have to do things we shouldn’t to get what we need.”
Dazielle jumped to her feet, a glimmer of white magic on her hands. “Is there something you need to tell me, Mrs. Romer?”
She glared around at the anxious faces in the room. “The Romers are strong. We have traditions to uphold. If anyone joins our family, they must be loyal. We do not allow people who cheat and have low morals be involved with us. And we do not allow rivals to take what is ours. My son deserved so much more than some dancing tart in his life.”
Star gasped as her hand went to her mouth.
I sort of agreed with Mrs. Romer. It was never cool to cheat.
“Is that a confession?” Dazielle asked.
Mrs. Romer lifted her chin. “Deacon was a decent enough person, but his death meant the family name would remain intact, a harlot and her lover would be discredited, and our business would remain safe. His sacrifice was a worthy one. I would have found another way to ruin Mannie before long.”
“And Aurora?” I asked.
Mrs. Romer shrugged. “As you said, she was easy to implicate. I have nothing against your family other than your superior attitude, but when Angel Force stopped me from framing Mannie, I had to cover my tracks.”
I let out a sigh and handed the microphone back to Mayor Grenville, surprised to see my fingers shake a little. My job was done. Aurora was in the clear, and the killer had been found.
I felt a hand go round my waist and discovered Axel standing behind me.
“Nice job,” he whispered. “You should consider a job full-time with Angel Force. They’d never have figured that out.”
I looked up at him and grinned. “I only just did. When I saw them all standing together, it clicked into place. Mannie, Star, and Giovanni. Add in Giovanni’s domineering mother, who’d do anything to protect him, and there was the answer. I didn’t have a clue about Petra’s idea for a rival snow globe business, but I knew she was thinking of making a change.”
Axel surprised me by kissing my forehead. “There’s more good in you than you realize, Tempest.”
I shrugged and smiled. Maybe there was some good in me, and maybe Frank wasn’t always such a bad demon, but I would always need to be careful not to go too dark.
Axel stepped back as Aurora ran onto the stage and flung her arms around me. “I’m innocent. You’ve cleared my name and in front of everybody.”
I gasped as she squeezed me tightly. “You could have done it yourself. You didn’t need me.”
“I’ll always need you,” Aurora said. “No matter how mean that demon is inside of you, you’re my sister and I’m yours. We’re in this together.”
I grinned at her and looked around the room again. Mrs. Romer was being escorted away by an angry looking Dazielle, who rubbed her chest where she’d been blasted with magic. Giovanni was right behind her, slumping along like a scolded puppy. My gaze locked onto Rhett’s, and I saw him scowling. As I tracked the direction of his scowl, I saw he was glaring at Axel.
Could he be jealous of Axel kissing me? He couldn’t seriously imagine I was interested in Axel. I watched as Rhett left the hall with his biker gang behind him.
Grenville tapped a finger on the microphone to get everyone’s attention. “I know we’ve just had something of an exciting time, but we still have our new mayor to announce. I need to pass the baton of power to someone else, so I can get practicing my golf swing.”
Everyone laughed politely and looked back at the stage.
“Please don’t be me,” Axel whispered as I moved out of the way and stood next to him.
“What about your great speech about keeping Willow Tree Falls traditional?”
“Hmmm, it’s a nice idea but think about how much hard work it will be. I’m a playboy at heart. I’m not cut out for authority. I’ll have to find something else to impress my father with.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to welcome the new mayor of Willow Tree Falls to the stage, Mannie Winter.”
“Three cheers for our new philandering mayor,” I whispered.
Axel let out a relieved sigh and nodded.
Mannie managed to look both happy and chastised as he stepped onto the stage. He had the cheek to wink at me as he passed and took the microphone from Grenville. “Well, this has been something of an illuminating evening. First off, I must apologize for my unusual outfit. I had something of a wardrobe malfunction and limited choice as to what to wear on this important evening. I hope it doesn’t make you change your mind about voting for me.”
I suppressed a smile. Trust Frank to leave only the truly revolting clothes untouched in Mannie’s closet.
“Thank you all for your votes. I promise to do my best for Willow Tree Falls. No more murders and no underhanded business dealings. We don’t need rivalry here. We can all work together in harmony.”
I looked at Mrs. Winter and Star, who both stood awkwardly by the side of the stage. There was no chance they’d ever be harmonious. Mannie would have a lot of apologies to make before this evening was over.
“We’re all a part of an incredible community. I have big plans for Willow Tree Falls. We are going to turn this into an even more amazing place. Everybody’s business will be booming.”
The audience politely applauded, many of them peering intently at Star and Mrs. Winter in the hope they’d start the next round of entertainment for the evening.
I had to hand it to the ladies. They were doing an excellent job of pretending the other didn’t exist.
“I sort of wish you had won,” I said to Axel as we slipped off the stage. “I do not like change.”
“Who does?” Axel scrubbed at his chin. “About cutting me off at Cloven Hoof—”
“It’s for your own good.”
“I’m not sure I can manage on my own.”
I glanced at him. “You’ll be fine.”
“Maybe you could give me some pointers, you know, how to stay clear of future over indulgences?”
“Are you looking for a sponsor to keep you clean of my produce?”
“No! Well, maybe for a while. Until you think I’m a responsible, solid citizen again.” He grinned at me. “It would mean you stopping by my place more often.”
My mouth twisted to the side. I did feel a sliver of responsibility. I should have kept more of an eye on all my customers at Cloven Hoof. If I had, Axel wouldn’t be in a mess and need babysitting.
“What do you say? We could make it a regular date.”
My thoughts went to Rhett, and I shook my head. “It won’t be a date.”
“Okay, an intervention.”
“For a month, that’s it, then you’re on your own.”
Axel grinned. “A month is all I need.”
My eyes narrowed as I looked at him. “To do what?”
His grin widened as he strolled away. “You’ll see.”
Mom appeared before I could chase after Axel and convince him we were never getting romantically involved. She handed me a carrot cake cupcake and tucked an arm around my shoulders.
“Thanks, this looks lovely.”
“You deserve it after helping your sister.” She squeezed me tighter.
I smiled as I leaned into her hug and tried to remain calm. I could sense Frank shifting inside me, excited by all the action and pushing to get out now Aurora was around.
I stuffed the cupcake in my mouth. Frank would have to wait. I couldn’t abandon my family, not right now.
Wiggles bounded over, chocolate frosting on his nose. “This is a great party.”
I looked around the room. It felt too closed-in and hot. I eased away from Mom. “I’ll be back in a second.”
She nodded, a knowing expression on her face. “Take your time. We’ll be waiting.”
I walked away as Frank became increasingly frustrated at being trapped.
Wiggles bounded along next to me. “Get a grip on your de
mon. We cannot miss the celebrations. Plus, I want to see when Mrs. Winter is going to explode and slam dunk Star.”
“I’m trying.” I stopped in a quiet corner and turned my back, so nobody could see me. “Stop fighting me. You’re never going to win.”
Wiggle nudged my fingers in a show of reassurance. “You can beat him.”
“I will,” I whispered.
“One day, I’ll win,” Frank said in my head. “When you least expect it, I’ll get out. Then nothing will stop me.”
I leaned my head against the wall and focused on everything good in my life. I had my family, I was surrounded by people who cared about their community, I’d just solved a murder, and I had Wiggles. But Frank was right. I could only fight him for so long. It was a struggle to be here, but I wasn’t giving up. I loved my home, and I loved my family. It was selfish of me to stay, putting Aurora at risk, but I couldn’t help myself.
A chocolate brownie appeared on a plate in front of me.
I took a deep breath and turned. Aurora stood there, her smile pensive. “I thought your blood sugar might need a boost.”
I swallowed slowly and looked anywhere but her. “I’ve just had a cake.”
“This is different. It’s a brownie.” She handed it to me. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is perfect.” I discreetly belched into my hand as Frank made one more failed attempt to come through. I rubbed my stomach until he finally settled. Not today, Frank, today was all about me celebrating with my family. My sister was innocent, her name had been cleared, and we had a new mayor in the village.
I took a risk and slung an arm around Aurora’s shoulders. “It looks like there’s going to be some changes in Willow Tree Falls.”
“So long as you’re here to see them happen, I don’t mind what they are.” Aurora glanced at me. “You aren’t going anywhere for a while, are you? I sort of like having my big sister looking out for me.”
“I’m staying.” We walked back to the rest of our family. “It looks like you’re stuck with me, at least for a while.”
I couldn’t stay forever, but I could stay for now. Being surrounded by my loved ones helped make everything better. I looked around at all the people and smiled. This was Willow Tree Falls, and this was my family. The whole thing was a weird and wonderful mess.
As I watched Wiggles chase a fallen sausage roll across the room, people scattering out of the way to avoid the hellhound, my heart warmed, and I leaned against Aurora. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you enjoyed Luck of the Witch, take a look at the first chapter in book 2 in the series: Hell of a Witch.
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 for almost a week. His head start caused me more of a headache than I needed.
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 them 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 did 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.
Luck of the Witch (Crypt Witch Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) Page 21