A guy about my age with a mess of brown hair that was sticking up on all angles like he’d just stepped out of bed appeared next to me. He smelled of beer with a touch of sulfur.
He whistled and said, “Gives a whole new meaning to the words Sloppy Joe. Doesn’t it?” He laughed, hands in his jean pockets. His skin was as pale as a white sheet under his black leather jacket, but his features were flawless, sculpted, and handsome. It was very distant, but the smell of sulfur hung around him.
He was a vampire.
He caught me staring at him. “You’re Tess, right? The new blood in town?”
The way he said blood made me shiver. I wasn’t sure I liked him. “Tessa.” Right now, I wasn’t here to make friends. He better not get in my way.
“I’m Ronin.” He raised his hand but lowered it at the scowl on Dolores’s face. He also lost his smile.
I sighed through my nose, feeling the earth thrum through the soles of my boots. The air was packed with thick energy that made all the hairs on my body rise, like static electricity. The only other place I’d felt a surge of power like that was at Davenport House.
“Do we know who this is?” I turned and looked over my aunts’ faces, standing over what was left of the body. Yes, I know, identifying the bloody mess was a stretch, but someone here had to know who this person was—that’s if this individual was from Hollow Cove and not some poor, straying human.
“We don’t know yet,” said Beverly, her face grim as she kept rubbing her arms like she was cold. “They didn’t have any ID on them. Right, Dolores?”
Dolores pressed her thin lips together. “Not that we found, no. This could be anyone. Ronin. Stop that.”
Ronin pulled back his finger that was an inch from touching a puddle of blood. “What?” he shrugged as he stood up, smiling. “It was calling to me.”
I frowned. Damn vampire.
“Could be a human who wandered in here,” said Ruth, as though reading my thoughts. “It wouldn’t be the first time a human got lost, took the wrong turn on Ocean Side, and ended up here.”
“But it doesn’t explain why they were killed this way,” said Dolores, her voice tense.
“A demon did this.” Martha came forward and took a drag of her cigarette. She caught me staring and added, “I smoke when I’m nervous.” Her eyes moved to the body and then back at my aunts. “Look at this. It’s like acid was poured on the body. Like in that Alien movie.”
“This wasn’t an alien, Martha,” said Dolores, sounding a little annoyed.
“More like the poor bastard ingested a bomb,” said Ronin.
Martha took another long drag of her cigarette. “This is the work of a demon. I know it. I can feel it in my bones.”
“A demon?” said a voice. I turned around to see a short, pudgy man with gray hair, a bow tie, and large brown eyes marching his way toward us. I recognized him as the same man I’d seen Martha talking with earlier. “We have a demon loose in our town!” he shrilled. “What are we going to do? Your wards are supposed to protect us. It’s why the town pays the Merlin Group.” He pointed a chubby finger at her. “For. Protection. Protect us!”
“Calm down, Gilbert,” said Dolores, a tired look on her face. “We don’t know if the attacker was a demon.”
Gilbert threw up his hands, his face darkening. “No? Just look at this! Look what they did. What else could do this?”
I could think of a few half-breeds. A deranged werewolf, a rogue vampire, a grumpy troll, even a Dark fae could have easily killed this person and made it look like a demon did it.
Half-breeds were a race of mortal creatures that had once been human and had been subjected to one of the demon viruses, which then turned them into the different demon races—vampires, werewolves, faeries, leprechauns, witches, shifters, and trolls, to name a few. Half-breeds had demon blood running through their veins, which gave them supernatural abilities and made them stronger and deadlier than humans.
As a White witch, I knew my ancestors had also been subjected to demonic blood. But unlike our cousins, the Dark witches, who borrowed their magic from demons, we used a more natural approach. We drew our power from ley lines—a series of networks through which magic energy flows throughout the world—and the four elements—earth, air, water, and fire.
The only thing that separated White or Dark witches was how they used their magic.
Still, I kept my mouth shut. Not because I feared the townspeople would think I was nuts, but because I knew everyone in Hollow Cove was a half-breed.
“We’re all in danger!” cried Gilbert, making other townspeople clutch one another in fear. “It’s still out there. Don’t you get it! It’s hunting us. They can kill us in our sleep! In our beds—”
Dolores slapped Gilbert across the face, and I jerked back as though she’d hit me. “Calm down, Gilbert,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm. “Your hysterics aren’t helping. You’re scaring everyone. Control yourself.”
The tiny man’s face went bright red. He opened his mouth to object. Then with a pop, he collapsed into a large barn owl and flew away, leaving a few tawny feathers floating to the ground behind him.
If I weren’t a witch, I would have probably fainted. Seeing as I was, I was fascinated and a little envious. I’d seen my share of shifters growing up, so no surprise there. Witches could also change their bodies with a transfiguring spell, but that took hours to prepare and it was equally dangerous. If you didn’t get it right, you might end up with half your body transformed and the rest of you… not. Yeah, not a good look.
Okay. Gilbert was a shifter. Interesting. Judging by his reaction, I doubted he was capable of this gruesome murder. I moved my gaze to the cluster of townspeople. Martha was on her second cigarette, blowing the smoke into a poor woman’s face who looked green and about to puke. Next to them was a young couple, werewolves, by the smell of wet dog that drifted from them. Then, the rest all got jumbled together with different animal scents. I couldn’t differentiate the weres from the shifters or even the witches. It was like stepping into a zoo.
The one thing they had in common was they all twitched with that same nervous energy. They were scared.
“Finally, someone with enough balls to shut the old man up,” said Ronin, staring at my aunt Dolores like she was his new best friend.
“He won’t forget that.” Beverly gave her sister a raised brow.
Ruth made a pout. “He probably won’t let me buy the devil’s claw I’ve been waiting for. His store is the only one that carries it in Maine.”
Dolores raised her chin. “I’m not sorry I did it. But if he’s right… it means…” Fear shifted on her features as she flicked her gaze over the crowd at something in the distance.
“What?” I looked over the crowd for something out of place but saw only the shadow of buildings.
The three sisters exchanged an uneasy sidelong glance between them. It had lasted only a few seconds, but I’d caught it. Something was definitely wrong, and they weren’t sharing.
“Tessa, you stay here and keep an eye on things,” ordered Dolores, her expression hard and all business again. “There’s something we have to do. Ladies?”
The three of them picked themselves up and walked away from the crime scene.
“Hey? Wait a minute.” I ran after them, my heart throbbing in my chest. “Where are you going? You can’t just leave me here… with them,” I added in a whisper, though I was sure most of them could hear our conversation.
“You’re a Merlin now, Tessa,” said Dolores. “It’s your job to protect the town, just like us. Whatever did this might still be out there.”
I searched my aunts’ faces. My gut instinct told me they were hiding something, and I would find out what that was.
I clenched my hands into fists. I wasn’t about to run away scared, especially not with an audience. I’d given them my word. I would see it through.
“Fine,” I said, hardening my resolve. “What do you want me to do?”
There was the slightest hesitation before Dolores said, “Find out who that person was and whether they were part of this town. It’s important.”
I nodded. “Okay. I can do that. And you? You’re off to do some serious magic. Aren’t you?”
Beverly gave me a small smile. “Something like that.”
“It’ll take us till morning,” said Ruth as she waved. “Don’t wait up.”
I watched as my aunts left together, mumbling to each other and leaving me alone with the slop of the dead and a bunch of strangers. That meant either they trusted I could find helpful information, or they wanted me out of the way while they did real magic.
I needed to up my game if I wanted to stay in Hollow Cove and become a real Merlin like my aunts. I’d barely been here two hours and there was already a murder.
I had a feeling my life was about to get seriously complicated.
4
Someone cleared their throat behind me. “Bummer. I think they just ditched you.”
I turned around to find Ronin standing way too close, so close I could see the witch orb’s light reflecting in his eyes, which were brown with golden specks, and smell the musky scent of cologne on him.
I glared at him. “You don’t know anything.”
“I know what my eyes see,” answered the vampire, smiling. “And that, right there, is them ditching you.”
What the hell was his problem? “What do you want?”
He perked up. “I can help.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got this.” I stepped around him and made my way back to the remnants of the dead. The crowd of onlookers were watching me, their eyes expectant like they thought I’d figure out who this person was and who had killed them just by standing here. I was not thrilled my aunts had left me alone with all these strangers.
Still, I had to show them I could do this. I would find out who had become a splatter of tomato soup, and I wouldn’t stop until I figured it out.
I stared at the red mess, racking my brain for anything I could remember reading about demons and other supernatural creatures that would leave a body in that state. Maybe I’d Google it when I got home. You’d be surprised what you could find on the web.
Ronin moved to stand next to me. “Aren’t you just a little glad this isn’t you?”
I let out a sigh. “Isn’t there a pint of blood with your name on it waiting for you somewhere?” I offered, wishing he would just go away.
“I don’t drink blood.”
I cocked a brow at him. “A vampire who doesn’t drink blood? Now, that’s a first.”
“Half-vampire,” corrected Ronin, his eyes on the bloody mess on the ground. “Mom’s a human, dad’s a vamp.”
I stared at him for a moment longer. Half-vampires weren’t a new thing, but they were rare since most of the babies died of complications shortly after birth. But for the few who survived, other vampire clans would destroy the child if they learned of it, all of which made Ronin special and interesting.
Seeing as he wasn’t going away, I knelt for a better look and grimaced as the powerful smell of bile rose to my nose. “Smells like it was regurgitated.”
“Like whatever ate him or her vomited it back out?” asked Ronin. “Nice.”
“Can’t be sure. But it smells like it.” And I was also betting that whatever creature, monster, or demon did this, was big.
“You’re going to need a huge straw to suck it all up,” said Ronin as he knelt next to me, smiling like he was imagining me doing just that.
Right. Did my aunts expect me to clean this up? And then what? What did they expect me to do with the remains? I started to sweat, feeling like an idiot. Did I bag it? No, that didn’t seem right. And you could just forget the straw. Yup. I thought I was about to throw up.
“Okay. Everyone, get back. Back, I said,” ordered a voice.
I looked over my shoulder. A broad-shouldered man with a tussle of black hair weaved his way through the crowd, and I found I couldn’t stop staring. There was a lot to see—a lot of him to admire. He walked with a confident strut and a predatory gait. His T-shirt did nothing to conceal his flat stomach and his powerful thighs were clearly evident under those snug jeans.
With a square jaw and perfectly straight nose, he looked about thirty-five, maybe younger, and familiar somehow. Maybe I’d seen him once when I was here before. Funny how I couldn’t remember someone so very, very pretty. I had to tell my jaw to close because didn’t want anyone to see the new girl with her mouth hanging down, staring at this sexy-as-hell man. Because that would be creepy. He probably had a giant ego to match those bulging bicep muscles. I knew guys like him. They dated models or women who groomed themselves just as much as they did and cared more about what they looked like than anything else. Just like my ex.
Yeah, I didn’t need that in my life right now.
Two burly men, both built like they spent most of their free time at the gym, moved behind him. One was fair, the other dark, and both had that predator manner just like the first one.
I pulled my eyes away but not before I noticed how everyone was giving the man a wide berth. “Who’s that?” I asked Ronin, seeing as he was still next to me, still a little too close.
“That’s Marcus. He’s the town’s chief,” said Ronin after a moment.
I raised my brows. “Like chief of police?”
Ronin nodded. “Yeah. He’s kind of the boss here.”
My gaze went back to the handsome chief. He was definitely not human. Vampire maybe? A shifter? He was way too hot to be a witch, but I could be wrong. He could be a witch-hotness-anomaly. “He’s not wearing his uniform,” I said and only then realized how loud my voice was.
Marcus’s head snapped my way. Gray eyes framed with dark eyelashes focused on me.
Oh. Crap.
Marcus stepped around the bloody mess on the ground and walked toward me. “Who are you?”
“Tessa,” I answered, not sure I liked his tone.
“Do you have a last name, Tessa?” he ordered, again with the tone, and stared at me with eyes that were hard and unyielding like stone.
Yup. I liked him as much as I liked ticks.
“How’s it going, Chief?” said Ronin, and I knew he was just trying to smooth the mood a little. Didn’t seem to work.
“Last name,” Marcus commanded again, like I was his servant.
If he thought he could scare me with his hard stare, he was in for a surprise.
I shrugged, keeping my eyes on the chief. “How about you give me yours, and I’ll give you mine,” I answered, making Ronin snort. The half-vampire was growing on me.
Marcus’s eyes narrowed, and he closed the distance between us until I had to look up at him.
“You’re tall,” I observed, and Ronin snorted again.
The chief’s face hardened. “I make it my business to know everyone in my town. I want to know who you are and why you’re here.”
Jeez. Why are the pretty ones always so nasty? “Your town? I thought this was Hollow Cove, not Marcus Cove.” Oopsy.
“I like her,” expressed Ronin, all smiles. “She’s entertaining. Let’s keep her.”
Marcus let out a breath. “Last name. Or I’ll have you arrested.”
My mouth fell. “For what? Breathing?” The nerve of this guy. If I knew how to spell him, I’d choose a deflatable spell, to deflate all those muscles and his ego, and give him a lanky twelve-year-old boy body. Yeah. The thought made me smile.
The big man pointed to the blood and guts. “Maybe this is your handiwork. I don’t know. I don’t know you.”
I balled my hands into fists. “It’s not. I’m here to help. To figure out what happened and to protect the town.” Yes, I was new and had no idea what I was doing or how I would protect the town. But so what? This guy was really pissing me off.
Marcus kept staring at me and then his eyes widened, something flickering behind them. “You’re Tessa Davenport.” It wasn’t a question.
I put my hands on my hips. “Yeah. So?”
Marcus’s jaw clenched. “You should leave. I don’t want you here.”
A slip of anger lit through me. He was just asking for me to punch him across the face. “Is it against the ‘law,’” I made quotes with my fingers, “that I’m standing here?”
Marcus blinked. “No.”
“Then I’m staying, Chief.” I heard Ronin laugh as I turned away from Marcus and made my way around the dead, looking for clues. That’s what I guessed I should be doing, though I had no freaking clue how to find clues—pun intended. And yes, I knew that sounded bad.
I caught Martha’s eye, and the witch gave me a thumbs up. I was not going there.
Kneeling as close as I would let myself get to the slop of remains, I could feel Marcus’s gaze on me, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a look in his direction. I wasn’t here for him. I was here for my aunts. I told them I would help them with this case, and that’s exactly what I was going to do. He would not scare me away.
“Marcus doesn’t like me either.” Ronin was next to me, staring down at the blood. “He’s jealous because I’ve got better hair. Are those fingers?” He pointed to three small cylindrical shapes resting in the pool of blood and guts.
“Those are definitely fingers.” I stared at what I thought was some flesh with hair. The scalp maybe? Yikes. Don’t throw up. “He doesn’t scare me.” I didn’t want Marcus to see how this scene was affecting me because it was.
Ronin flashed me his perfect white teeth. “So, what are we looking for?”
I couldn’t help but notice he used the word “we,” like we were a team or something. “Anything that’ll tell me who this person was.” My aunts never mentioned that I couldn’t ask for help, and right now, I needed it. “If I knew, I would be a little closer to finding who did this and why.”
“His name was Avi,” came Marcus’s loud voice. The bastard had been listening in on us.
I looked across from me to the handsome but seriously irritating chief. “And you got all this just by looking at this splatter of blood and guts?”
Shadow Witch (The Witches of Hollow Cove Book 1) Page 3
