The Monstrous Seven (A Hannah Hickok Witchy Mystery Book 4)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Surprise washed over Cooper’s face. “What makes you say that?”

  “Astra said there were seven magical threads converging. The guy in the restaurant said the word ‘sins.’ That could mean the seven deadly sins. I know from the reading I’ve been doing in Abigail’s library that seven is a magical number. I just think it makes sense.”

  “You think we’re dealing with the seven deadly sins?” Boone didn’t look convinced. “I’m not sure I can get onboard with that.”

  “Why not?” Hannah refused to back down. “The guy at the restaurant was clearly gluttony. I mean ... he would’ve forced those people to eat themselves to death if we didn’t step in and do something.”

  “And the guy in Casper Creek?”

  “Wrath.” The answer came to Hannah out of nowhere, but it felt right. “He was getting off on the men fighting. I’m still not sure why his magic was pointed at the men, but it makes sense.”

  “So ... you’re saying there are other sins out there, walking and talking and wreaking havoc?”

  “I ... yes.” Hannah looked to Cooper for help, a plea in her eyes. “You believe me, right?”

  “I believe you might be on to something,” Cooper replied without hesitation. “I’m not sure I wholeheartedly agree, but it’s as good a theory as anything.”

  “So, what do we do?” Boone queried. “I mean, how do we protect the people of this area? The phenomenon obviously isn’t contained to Casper Creek.”

  Cooper held out his hands. “I don’t know. We need to figure it out, though. I don’t think we’re going to have a lot of time.”

  Hannah nodded without hesitation. “I agree. We need to do some research. Since nobody is hungry, tonight is as good a time as any.”

  Cooper managed to hold in a groan, but just barely. That’s not how he saw the night going. There seemed to be little choice in the matter now. “Research it is.” He flashed Hannah a smile and tried to ignore the wide grin on Boone’s face. “This night really sucks.”

  Boone snickered. “You’ll survive ... thanks to your girlfriend. It’s better than eating yourself to death, right?”

  “You’ve got me there.”

  AFTER HOURS OF FRUITLESS RESEARCH, HANNAH and Cooper passed out in her bed shortly before two o’clock. They were awakened a short six hours later by a large magic book being dropped between them on the bed.

  “Rise and shine!”

  Abigail Jenkins was a morning person even before she died. Now that she was a ghost, and had regular access to the granddaughter she couldn’t spend time with when she was a child, she was positively giddy at a time when Hannah would’ve killed someone for a mug of coffee.

  “Abigail,” she muttered, throwing her arm over her face. “What are you doing here? It’s not even dawn.”

  “It’s after eight,” Abigail chided, tugging on Hannah’s hand to get her attention. It had taken her some time to get used to her new abilities, but now she was fairly confident about what she could (and could not, for that matter) accomplish. “You’re going to regret it if you sleep your life away.”

  “That’s good advice,” Cooper murmured, shifting so he was on his side and could study Abigail’s excited face. She’d been like a mother to him at a time when he was struggling after several tours overseas. He adored her with every fiber of his being. That didn’t mean he wanted her interrupting his morning time — which happened to be his favorite time of day — with Hannah. “Maybe we should come up with a way for you to knock, huh?”

  Abigail beamed at him. “Have I mentioned how happy I am that you two have found each other? I think it’s adorable that you’re together.”

  Her mind slowly catching up to the morning, Hannah jerked her head up and glanced down. She couldn’t remember if she’d bothered to dress in anything for bed. She “sort of” remembered Cooper collecting her when she started falling out on the couch and carrying her to bed. That was all she wrote, and she thought it was possible Cooper basically stripped her bare and shoved her under the covers before climbing in next to her. Thankfully, though, she still wore her T-shirt from the night before. That, at least, was something.

  “You’re perfectly respectable,” Abigail reassured her. “I always check before waking you.”

  “The fact that you check isn’t going to cut down on the embarrassment factor,” Hannah argued, struggling to a sitting position. “I know you’re my grandmother and all, but it could still turn ultra-weird if we’re not careful.”

  “I wouldn’t wake you up if I saw you were in a compromising position,” Abigail reassured her, grinning. “You wouldn’t even know what I saw because I would never mention it.”

  “That sounds practical,” Cooper muttered, dragging a hand through his morning-tousled hair. “What’s with the book?”

  “I saw the research you guys were conducting last night,” Abigail explained. “You’re not looking in the right place. That’s the correct book.” She inclined her head toward the leather tome that had landed between Hannah and Cooper.

  “How do you know what we’re looking for?” Hannah queried, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as Cooper flipped open the book. There was a bookmark lodged between two pages and he assumed that’s where he was supposed to start reading.

  “Because I’ve been hearing whispers,” Abigail replied. “The paranormal crowd is all atwitter. This is a big deal. It’s a magical nexus, after all.”

  Hannah’s eyebrows drew together and she forced her attention on the book. The page in question showed a grotesque drawing of seven magical beasts, all of whom were snakelike in appearance at what should’ve been their feet. “Are they one entity?”

  Abigail shook her head. “It’s fair to say that they work for the same goal. They are not one entity. They are, however, joined by a magical convergence.”

  “This says they’re furies,” Cooper noted, his mind busy. He shrugged off sleep faster than Hannah, who was still trying to figure out what time of day it was. “I thought furies were women.”

  “You’re thinking of the furies from mythology,” Abigail countered. “Those three were famous because they hunted men for sport ... and revenge ... and a few other reasons.”

  “What other reasons?” Hannah asked, curious despite herself.

  “They wanted penises for potions.”

  “Oh, ugh.”

  “Ugh is right.” Cooper shifted, distinctly uncomfortable. “I could’ve gone my whole life without hearing that story.”

  Abigail’s eyes twinkled. “You asked. Those three furies were famous because their story went viral back in the day. They were only a small contingent of a larger army, though. True furies can be both male and female.”

  “And that’s what we’re dealing with here?” Hannah queried.

  “It makes as much sense as anything, doesn’t it?” Abigail pressed. “The embodiment of the seven deadly sins has been used as a weapon in paranormal circles for years. It’s almost passé now.”

  “And yet they’re here,” Hannah murmured.

  “They are,” Abigail agreed. “You have seven enemies. I can see the magical lines of power. Whether they’re really the seven deadly sins, I can’t say. That’s the persona they’ve decided to adopt, though.”

  “Then we’re down to six,” Cooper mused. “Hannah took out one last night.”

  “She did.” Abigail bobbed her head. “The others will most certainly know that. They’ll be doubling their efforts. You have to prepare yourselves.”

  Cooper let loose a sigh. “Can we have coffee before we start preparing for the war?”

  “I guess, but you’d better make it fast.”

  “I appreciate your support.”

  “You always have that. This is serious, though.”

  Cooper knew that without having to be told. “It is. We’ll figure it out.” He squeezed Hannah’s hand reassuringly. “We’re already ahead of where we were six hours ago. It’s going to be okay.”

  “Do you ever get tired of
promising that?” Hannah asked, finding her voice.

  “Not when it’s true.”

  “Fair enough.” She let loose a sigh. “I definitely need coffee before we delve into this. I hate to say it, but I could use some breakfast, too.”

  When they left the restaurant the previous evening, Cooper was convinced he would never eat again. Reality wouldn’t allow for that, though. “Breakfast is definitely on the menu. You can count on that.”

  11

  Eleven

  Since they were both out of their element, Cooper and Hannah called in reinforcements ... in the form of Danielle Garrett and Jackie Metcalf, two members of the local coven.

  “Furies?” Danielle pursed her lips as Hannah showed them the book. “That’s ... new.”

  “Not really,” Jackie countered. She was the de facto leader of the coven and was normally unflappable. Now she seemed distressed. “A lot of what people assume to be demons are actually furies.”

  “So you’re familiar with them?” Cooper looked hopeful as he opened the bag of McDonald’s takeout Tyler had brought to feed the group.

  “I’ve heard of them,” Jackie clarified. “I’ve never taken any on. I mean ... I’m not even sure if they can be killed.”

  “Hannah killed one last night,” Cooper countered, inhaling deeply as he unwrapped his McGriddle. Much like Hannah, he was starving. “Oh, this must be what Heaven smells like.”

  Hannah didn’t hide her amusement. “I kind of wish you looked at me with the same lust you’re reserving for that sandwich.”

  “Oh, I look at you with lust.” Cooper grinned as he shoved a bagel sandwich in her direction. “This sandwich is just ... exactly what I need right now.”

  “It’s good to know the way to your heart,” Hannah teased as she took the open chair next to him. Her stomach let loose a hearty growl at the exact moment everyone else fell silent, causing her cheeks to color. “Of course, I might be a little hungry, too.”

  “Hey, from what you described with the dude at the restaurant last night, I’m not surprised that you lost your appetite for a bit,” Tyler offered. He’d purchased two sandwiches for himself and didn’t appear bothered in the least by the odd looks he was getting. “What? I’m hungry. McDonald’s has the best breakfast sandwiches ever invented.”

  “We just want to make sure you’re not infected,” Hannah teased.

  “He’s not,” Cooper reassured her. “I can vouch for him. We’ve eaten McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches together at least once a week for the past three years and he always gets the same thing.”

  “Which is?”

  “A McGriddle and an Egg McMuffin,” Jackie volunteered, seemingly disinterested. “Cooper is right. Tyler might be a glutton for processed breakfast sandwiches, but he’s hardly a new glutton.”

  “I heard that.” Tyler jabbed a finger in her direction. “My breakfast is too yummy to care, though.”

  Jackie smirked. “Good to know.” She turned serious as she pinched off a corner off her hash browns and turned her full attention to Hannah. “Did you really kill a fury?”

  Hannah hesitated and then nodded. “I think so. I mean ... he seemed dead.”

  “She fried him,” Cooper acknowledged. “By the time he hit the ground, he was nothing but dust.”

  “Maybe that means he poofed like the other guy,” Hannah countered, her mind busy. “I mean ... he could’ve realized he was in trouble and ran.”

  “Except he still had an army of hungry zombies at his disposal,” Cooper pointed out. “Technically, he still had the upper hand. When you hit him with your magic, he looked surprised. The spell was broken by the time he turned to dust. That seems to indicate to me that you killed him.”

  “I would agree,” Jackie said. “We can’t be a hundred percent certain at this point, but I’m as close as I can get to that number. That means we have six left.”

  “Had we known what we were dealing with, Hannah could’ve taken out the other one before that poor man was killed,” Danielle noted. “It’s too bad we’re so far behind.”

  Hannah’s heart heaved. “Yeah. It’s too bad we didn’t know.”

  “Stop that,” Cooper admonished, his mouth full of food. He didn’t care that his fingers were greasy when he moved them to the back of Hannah’s neck to rub at the tension pooling there. “You did the absolute best you possibly could,” he reassured her. “There was no way for you to know. It’s not as if you could hurl magic at that guy without a reasonable assumption that he was a monster.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Danielle offered quickly. “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you did anything wrong. Of course you did absolutely everything you could.”

  Hannah nodded numbly. “I know. I just ... it’s a sad thing.” She flashed a smile that she didn’t really feel. “It’s okay. I know I couldn’t have done anything.”

  “Basically, we called you here because we need to figure out a plan of attack,” Cooper noted, changing the subject. “We have six furies out there and I’m guessing they’re going to be out for blood now that we’ve killed one of them. They won’t want to risk losing another member of their team so ... we need to figure things out.”

  “It’s not going to be as easy as you would like,” Jackie noted. “You and Hannah are the only ones to have seen these creatures so far. Until we witness them in action ... .” She trailed off.

  “We still need a general plan.” Cooper was firm. “We can’t simply sit back and wait for them to attack us. That’s not the way to win this.”

  “Are we to assume that they’ll come at us individually?” Danielle queried. “I mean ... wouldn’t it make more sense for them to attack as a group? They’re stronger that way.”

  “Yes, but they seem to use different methods of attack,” Hannah pointed out. “The guy who was here in town wanted to influence the men to attack one another. He didn’t actually get his hands dirty.”

  “And the guy who was trying to get everyone to eat themselves to death was in the thick of things, shoveling food into his mouth as if it was about to be outlawed, but he didn’t particularly look keen at the notion of having a showdown with Hannah,” Cooper added. “In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think he looked annoyed.”

  “I think he expected us to start eating before we noticed anything strange was going on,” Hannah admitted. “He would’ve preferred having us fall victim to him like everybody else. When that didn’t happen, it was as if taking us on magically was an afterthought ... and he didn’t like it.”

  “So, maybe the ritual is more important than the outcome,” Jackie mused. “That is ... interesting.”

  “Can we use it to our advantage?” Cooper countered. “That’s what I want to know.”

  “I think it’s possible.”

  They lapsed into comfortable silence as Jackie and Danielle read up on the section of book provided by Abigail. They appeared lost in thought, which gave Hannah a chance to survey the room.

  “Where is Becky?” she asked finally. She’d just noticed the woman wasn’t part of the group and she found it strange.

  “We called her,” Jackie replied, not looking up from the book. “She declined to be involved.”

  “She declined?” Cooper was incredulous. “Are you serious? This is a dangerous situation.”

  “And she’s still getting over the last dangerous situation,” Danielle pointed out. “I’m not sure she’ll ever truly get over that, if you want to know the truth. I don’t think she’s up for a big fight right now.”

  “I’m not sure she’ll ever be up for a big fight again,” Jackie admitted. “She seems disinterested in life right now. She’s especially disinterested in anything that’s happening out here. I think there’s still a chance she could snap out of it, but I wouldn’t expect miracles this go-around.”

  “Well, that’s just great.” Cooper made a face. “I’m glad to know we can rely on her in times of peril.”

  Hannah pressed her lips together a
nd raised her eyebrows, earning a sidelong look from her boyfriend.

  “What?” he asked, defensive.

  “That was a little dramatic,” Hannah noted. “Like Lindsey dramatic. Times of peril? Since when do you say things like that?”

  “Since ... now.” Cooper rolled his neck, his breakfast sandwich abandoned on the table. “I’m just saying that I expected more from her.”

  Hannah frowned as she stared at the sandwich, waiting for Cooper to remember he was famished. When he didn’t, she slowly got to her feet. Her inner danger alarm was pinging and she couldn’t ignore it.

  “Someone is here,” she announced, opting not to stand on preamble.

  “There are a lot of people here,” Tyler noted, wiping his hands on a napkin. “We called them here so we could come up with a plan.”

  “No, not us.” Hannah moved to the front of the saloon and peered out over the door, her heart plummeting to her feet when she caught sight of a familiar figure standing in the street. She would’ve recognized him anywhere even though he wasn’t dancing. “Crap.”

  Cooper moved to her side, his expression darkening when he saw the man. “Is that him?”

  Hannah nodded.

  “I’ll take care of this one.” Cooper moved to push through the door, but she grabbed his wrist before he could overdose on testosterone.

  “You can’t handle this,” she insisted, desperate. “He can control your emotions. I have to handle this.”

  Cooper hesitated. “I can’t let you go out there alone.”

  “You don’t have a choice.” Hannah refused to back down. “If you go out there, he could influence you to hurt me. Is that what you want?”

  Cooper was horrified at the prospect. “Of course not. I ... you can’t handle this yourself, though.”

  “She won’t be by herself,” Jackie reassured him, getting to her feet. “We’ll be with her. She’s right, though. If you’re susceptible to whatever power this creature is wielding, you need to stay in here. That’s all there is to it.”