by Ruby Loren
January frowned. She did mind!
I’m going to be living above the shop from now on, so I’ll be out of your hair. If you need any magical help, or just want a break from my father’s idea of magical tuition, give me a call!
Best wishes,
Simon
P.S. This cake is hex free.
Read on for the first two chapters of Death’s Endless Enchanter!
Death’s Endless Enchanter
Ruby Loren
Chapter One
January stared at the last slice of chocolate cake left in the box and debated whether she should save it for later. There might not be a later! She reminded herself and grabbed the sticky wedge, saving on washing up by eating straight from the box. She was using the same excuse to avoid doing the washing up that was growing into a significant pile by the sink.
She sighed as she sank her teeth into the cake that sneaky Simon had made using her secret recipe for chocolate cake. He’d used the same recipe to win the Hobbling Cake Off competition. She’d been kicked out of the very same competition for saving the lives of the judges, who’d been about to tuck into a plate of hobnobs carrying a deadly curse. Being the good guy didn’t always pay.
January chewed her mouthful, thoughtfully, hoping it wouldn’t be the last cake she got to eat. But nothing was certain right now.
Leah, the witch-vampire bounty hunter, who had been trying to assassinate her, had disappeared. January had no idea whether the bounty hunting contract on her life still stood. She hoped she didn’t find out the answer the hard way.
Her phone buzzed along the kitchen counter and she picked it up.
“I’ve scoped the area and it looks clear. You can come,” Ryan, the man she loved, said. “Hey… you’ve just eaten the last slice, haven’t you?”
January gulped, feeling guilty. His shifter hearing must have picked up on the chewing sounds. She’d tried so hard to be quiet!
“I’ll make you a new cake, I promise.” She bit her lip. “Well, you can have a slice of one of the cakes I’m making for the bar. I might make you pay for it, though,” she added.
There was an indignant splutter on the other end of the line. The bar was Ryan’s project.
“Oh… I didn’t mean with money,” January said, her voice dipping lower.
She heard Ryan’s surprised intake of breath on the other end of the line and promptly hung up with a smile.
Tonight was going to be fun.
Tonight was going to be fun… later. January mentally corrected when she walked through the freezing forest and arrived at the small clearing where the shape-shifters met as a pack every full moon. Tonight, the moon was hardly in evidence. She was out in the woods on a far less enjoyable errand.
Ryan appeared by her side. January was unsurprised to discover that the wolves were already there. They’d probably been scouting the area for traps, just like Ryan had been. What did surprise her was the fact that four of the werewolves were in wolf form.
“Aren’t we meant to be meeting for a discussion?” January whispered to Ryan out of the corner of her mouth.
Ryan’s lips twitched up a little but he didn’t respond. He was already in character – the tough, no nonsense, pack enforcer. January privately thought he didn’t need to bother with the act. The wolves already knew what he was capable of. He was the one who had destroyed their champion, Dominic – a wolf who had challenged January for leadership of the Witchwood pack.
“Then again, I suppose the last time I spoke to Cedric, a bomb went off a few seconds later,” she added, realising that the wolves were justifiably nervous.
“Hi!” January said, as brightly as she could when they were close enough to speak. She smiled her best ‘I really want us all to be friends’ waitress-trained smile at them, but their stony faces stayed blank.
“Let’s start the discussion on how the Witchwood wolf pack and your pack of hybrids can co-exist,” Cedric Underwood said. He was a big man with a dark beard that was just starting to show the first few threads of silver. January wondered if he’d become the new pack leader after the brief reign of Dominic London.
“Okay, to business,” she said, already raising an eyebrow at the way he’d distinctly separated their packs. “I still stand by what I said about two packs not being able to co-exist in one territory. Previously, I advised the wolves to go elsewhere, but now I see that may have been unreasonable. Instead, perhaps we could divide the forest into two?” It was not a suggestion she was fond of, but it was better than having the two groups together. Unless they united, there would be confrontations and then, undoubtedly, violence.
“We want the forest. We were here first.”
January and Ryan turned to stare at the tall woman standing to the side of Cedric. Her eyes seemed to not want to meet January’s, but there was no doubt that she was the one who’d spoken.
“I never wanted to run this pack, but this is the way it’s worked out, and the local shifters want to keep it this way. I’d hand over if I could,” January explained through gritted teeth, for what felt like the hundredth time.
Next to her, Ryan shifted his weight from one foot to another and she realised he probably thought she was coming across as weak by showing her reluctance for leadership. She shook her head. Weak was one thing she wasn’t.
“You had your chance with your challenger. You know what happened,” Ryan cut in, his voice a timbre close to the growl of a big cat. January felt the electricity in the air crackle as tensions rose. A couple of the wolves fought the urge to change and fight.
Cedric nodded his head. He was still and quiet, January noticed, and thought that the wolves may have finally picked a strong and sensible leader.
“I agree that we have to work out an accord. I am in favour of your idea of splitting the forest, but I’d like to discuss the terms of the divide and how the boundaries will be kept…”
Negotiating the finer points of January’s grudging compromise took a long time. The sky was starting to lighten over the treetops to the east when their negotiations finally came to a close. Neither side was happy, which probably meant that the agreement was a fair one.
“Oh, there’s one more thing you should know,” Cedric dropped in when they were finally about to go their separate ways. “We were approached by a group of wolves… loners… last week. They said that they were looking to join a pack, but I have to say, I didn’t believe them. I suspect that they were probably scouts for another alpha. There’s a chance that this unknown alpha may be planning an attempt to take over the Witchwood pack.”
January bit her lip in frustration and Ryan actually growled in annoyance. They’d just spent hours working out an agreement, and now Cedric was saying that the pack could change leadership at any time? All of their new accords would be worthless.
“We’re keeping a close eye on the situation and will of course take action should the need arise,” Cedric finished.
January fixed him with a stare, evaluating his strengths and weaknesses - one leader to another - for the first time. Something flickered in Cedric’s gaze, and January wasn’t filled with confidence. There was definitely more to this group of outsider wolves than they were being told.
“If you need help, we’ll be there,” she said.
A surprised murmuring broke out among the ranks of the wolves. January felt the ghost of a smile crossed her lips for an instant. That would give the pack something to talk about. Perhaps now, they would finally start to see that far from wanting to take over the pack and force them all to bend the knee, she was actually on their side.
Chapter Two
January threw a handful of chocolate chunks into what she thought was her brownie mix and swore. She looked down at the spaghetti bolognese, which now featured melted chocolate as a new and exotic secret ingredient. She pushed her white blonde hair back from her face and sighed, before hurriedly stirring it into the tomato sauce. Who knew? She’d heard of people adding coffee to good ol’ spag bol b
efore, so why not chocolate?
She had a nasty feeling she would find out ‘why not’ a bit later.
“We’ve got our first customers!” Ryan called, poking his head around the corner of the kitchen and grinning at January. She threw him an exasperated look and started stirring the spaghetti again. The scent of tomato flavoured chocolate wafted around the kitchen and she was forced to concede that she should start over.
“They all want the cakes you’ve put out. By the time I get back out there, I think the special will already be half gone. You might have to make another!” Ryan joked and then ducked when a saucepan flew towards his head. Fortunately, it wasn’t the one that contained the suspicious spaghetti.
“Hey, chill out! It’s all going really well. We’re a hit!” He said, even the flying saucepan failing to dent his smile. January couldn’t help smiling back. Things may be stressful in the kitchen, but at least their efforts were being rewarded.
Ryan sniffed and wrinkled his nose. “Have you added chocolate to the spaghetti?” He saw the look on January’s face and held his hands up. “Whoa, okay! I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”
January tried to continue to look superior but failed. A smile twitched the corners of her mouth. “I’m sorry, but it’s probably going to end up being our dinner tonight,” she said, wincing when the scent of the strange sauce hit her again. Rather a lot of chocolate had gone into the mix.
“Don’t feel you have to deprive yourself, dig in to that spaghetti! I’m very full of cake right now,” Ryan said, rubbing his belly, emphatically.
January looked heavenwards. “Ryan! You’re going to eat our profits! It’s no wonder the special is running out.”
Ryan grinned. “If you make another one… there’ll be more profit to make and more cake for me to eat.”
“Just remember, no one will respect a chubby jaguar pack enforcer!” She reminded him. He shot her a mock hurt look. January laughed when he stalked back out of the kitchen and left her alone with the suspicious spaghetti.
“Hey Jan! How’s it going? This place looks great!”
January looked up from the table she’d been serving and discovered Mike was standing there. She tried not to frown. How did he always know where to find her, despite her never sharing anything about herself?
“Thanks Mike, what’s up?” She said, deciding that it wasn’t worth the bother of asking. There was absolutely nothing supernatural about Mike. It was far more likely that his job in a bank meant he heard all of the local gossip.
“I just came by to say we’ve got band practice this week. I’ve got us a drummer lined up… you know, after Leah left town.”
January bit her lip. That was the mistruth she’d told Mike when Leah the drummer had turned out to be a vampire witch, working as a bounty hunter for a group of ancient vampires who wanted January dead. Leah was currently MIA. January hoped she’d left town for good.
“Are they any good?” January asked and felt her spirits sink when Mike screwed up his face.
“They might have been good about 60 years ago,” Mike admitted.
January’s face fell. Clearly this was a drummer whose main credential was ‘experience’.
“Man, I wish Leah hadn’t left,” he said, forlornly.
January reached across and patted his shoulder. He’d been carrying quite a candle for Leah. It was fortunate that he had never learned just how much she wasn’t his type.
Half an hour later, January’s old employer, Charlie Rose, showed up.
“Charlie! What are you doing here?” January asked, curious as to why Charlie would leave the tearooms at one of its busiest times of the day. The plump woman ran a hand through her bright red hair and smiled, showing her dimples.
“Actually, I just came to see where all of my regulars ran off to. I think I have my answer now.” She looked around the room with her laser stare. January noticed several familiar faces from Madame Rose’s tearooms sink down a little lower in their chairs.
January smiled. “Don’t worry, now that Lucy can bake cakes and not cardboard, you’ll keep your clientele. And you’ve got Danny! I’m the one who should be worried. Anyway, you know Ryan and I don’t want to compete with you, right? Perhaps we could even do cake swaps, or something?” January suggested and was pleased when Charlie echoed her own smile.
“Love it! We’ll have to meet for a coffee and a slice or ten to discuss business.” Charlie’s face grew a little wistful and January suddenly worried that her old boss, and friend, did regret her leaving after all. “I always knew you could take your baking further than what I could offer you. You’re the kind of person who is destined to achieve something in life. Nothing can stop you. I can sense it,” she said and shook her head. “I sometimes think I’ve got some of my Irish Grandmother’s gift in me! She was a seer, you know.”
January blinked, unused to hearing compliments - especially a compliment as sincerely meant as this one.
Charlie twisted her shirt in her hands, evidently forgetting she wasn’t dressed in her usual apron. “Oh and by the way, believe me when I say you’re lucky you aren’t working at the tearooms anymore. Danny and Lucy are all over each other all the time! I’m concerned it’s putting customers off. I may have to step in with a few sanctions.” She sighed. “I bet that will be a barrel of laughs. That’s the other reason I decided to pop by - I thought I was about to lose my lunch…” Charlie grinned and the serious mood vanished.
January waved her off, after pressing a slice of the special on her and a few other treats for the rest of the staff at Madam Rose’s Tearooms.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of cake, scones, and spaghetti bolognese (version 2.0). It was only when the sun was starting to dip below the horizon and January was out sweeping the entrance that she had a second to think. She paused, broom in hand and looked up at the fiery sky. For a moment, she forgot all about the pack problems, her apparent magical immortality, and the threat of the old vampires. Instead, she lost herself in the mild spring air and the sunset.
“Excuse me, does Ryan Eridge work here?”
January wrenched her gaze away from the sky, returning to reality with a bump. A tall, slim woman stood in front of her. She had beautiful coffee coloured skin and eyes so hazel, they were almost gold.
She also reeked of were-jaguar.
“He does. Come right in and I’ll find him for you. Who shall I say wants to see him?” January asked, insanely curious. Who was this beautiful jaguar woman?
They crossed the threshold and before the mysterious woman could answer her, Ryan walked out of the kitchen into the bar.
He ground to a halt and stared. “Bella?” A choking sound came from his throat. “I thought you were dead.”
Books in the Series
Death’s Dark Horse
Death’s Hexed Hobnobs
Death’s Endless Enchanter
Death’s Ethereal Enemy
Death’s Last Laugh
Prequel: Death’s Reckless Reaper
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Also by Ruby Loren
MADIGAN AMOS ZOO MYSTERIES
Penguins and Mortal Peril
The Silence of the Snakes
Murder is a Monkey’s Game
The Peacock’s Poison
A Memory for Murder
Whales and a Watery Grave
Chameleons and a Corpse
Foxes and Fatal Attraction
Monday’s Murderer
Prequel: Parrots and Payback
HOLLY WINTER CHRISTMAS MYSTERIES
Snowed in with Death
A Fatal Frost
Murder Beneath the Mistletoe
Winter’s Last Victim
EMILY HAVERSSON OLD HOUSE MYSTERIES
The Lavender of Larch Hall
The Leaves of Llewellyn Keep
The Snow of Sev
erly Castle
The Frost of Friston Manor
The Heart of Heathley House
HAYLEY ARGENT HORSE MYSTERIES
The Swallow’s Storm
The Starling’s Summer
The Falcon’s Frost
The Waxwing’s Winter
BLOOMING SERIES
Blooming
Abscission
Frost-Bitten
Blossoming
Flowering
Fruition
