by Tegan Maher
Sean walked toward him, a kind smile on his face. "I know this is difficult for you."
Zach just watched him approach, stunned. "Yeah, you could say that ..." He gazed around him at Erik, or what used to be Erik, lying tipped over on the floor.
Sean glanced at me, a question in his eyes. I knew what he was asking, and knew he was showing me huge respect by even bothering. He knew what needed done, and so did I. I nodded. "You may want to do something with the statue-formerly-known-as-Erik, and put some clothes on," he said, "though I have to say, the view is impressive."
I scowled at him, but moved to do as he suggested.
Alex and Billy burst through the door, and Billy had the good grace to look away while Alex pulled off his button-down and handed it to me. I slipped it on and was glad to see that it came almost to my knees.
"You guys are here just in time," I said. "I need help getting that"—I pointed toward Eric—"outside. Though what we're going to do with him from there is beyond me. I think it's a little creepy to just put him in the garden, though that was my initial thought."
Alex laughed. "I'm not carrying that." He gripped the stone around his neck—the blue quartz I'd noticed the first night I'd met him—and closed his eyes for a second.
Sean huffed out a breath. "All you halflings wandering around. You need to spend more time practicing your skills than playing human. Cori, Alex, I'll expect both of you at the mansion weekly for lessons. I have a wonderful witch in residence who's absolutely charming. You'll love her, I'm sure. Now, get moving. I have a memory to modify."
I frowned, semi-ignoring him in favor of watching the stone glow between Alex's fingers. He opened his eyes, then pointed toward the statue, raising it up and moving it toward the door.
"Wow!" said Billy, his eyes round. "Dude! You can change into a wolf and do magic? That's amazeballs."
I laughed, but waited until he got the stone outside before saying anything. "How did you—"
He put his hand out, shushing me, then raised it higher and pushed it out thirty or forty yards. "Duck," he said.
"What?" I no sooner got the question out than he opened his fists and the statue exploded into a thousand pieces. A small piece thunked against the hood of Sean's Lambo, and I cringed.
"Maybe we shouldn't mention that," Billy said.
"Yeah, maybe not," Alex replied.
Alex stopped by his car and popped the trunk. His overnight bag was in there, and he rummaged through and found me a smaller t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts that were big, but not so much that they would fall off. The guys turned their backs while I changed, then Alex slipped his shirt back on and we headed back to the house.
"So what does the crystal do?" I asked.
"It's meant to help me organize my thoughts and balance my two halves. I had a ton of trouble with my magic until my aunt, a healer, got me this for my twentieth birthday. Now I never take it off."
I hmphed. "I gotta get me one of those, then."
When we got back inside, we found Alex sitting at the table chatting with Zach. "Hey guys!" he said. "Sean said you were coming, but I was starting to worry."
I glanced at Sean, wondering what lead I was supposed to be following.
"I was just telling Zach here that you were coming to help him paint, since he's been doing this all himself. It's a nice welcome-home gift," he said. "Very generous of the three of you."
I rolled my eyes.
"What?" he said, raising a brow. "You're obviously dressed to paint."
"Yes," I said, giving his my most smarmy grin. "Yes I am. Zach, where do you want to start?"
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ZACH ORDERED PIZZA and we helped him paint until almost midnight. He went on and on about how close he was to opening up his own sandwich shop, something he'd always wanted to do.
I knew the sandwich-shop thing was real, but I didn't know what strings Sean had pulled—both in Zach's mind and in real life—to make it happen. I did know, though, that if he planted those memories, it was a sure bet that there would be a sandwich shop, or the beginnings of one, at the exact location Sean had planted in Zach's head.
By the time I made it home, I was exhausted. All I wanted to do was collapse in a chair, drink a glass of wine, and chillax. Chaos jumped into my lap as soon as I sat down, then curled up and went to sleep, and I leaned my head back, enjoying being still.
"Hey roomie!" Kat said, dancing down the stairs. Not that I wasn't glad to see her, but she had way too much energy for me right then.
"Hey, yourself. I can't decide if I love you or hate you for being a night owl."
She poured herself a glass of wine and joined me. "You love me, but whether it's because I'm a night person, or in spite of it is a question only you can answer."
"So have you had any more leads on who poisoned you?" I asked, taking a sip of my wine and stroking Chaos.
"As I matter of fact, I did," she said, pulling her feet up underneath her. "Lindsey Leeanne Hall."
I raised a brow. "Never heard of her. Why on earth would she want you dead?"
"It seems her boyfriend was working a kazillion overtime hours so he could buy her a super-nice engagement ring, and she got it into her head he was cheating. Rather than just call his work and verify, she started nosing through his phone."
She took a deep breath and shook her head. "It so happened he'd called the bar one night—probably to order to-go food since he works right up the street—and she took another idiotic leap and assumed he must be calling a girl."
I groaned. "You gotta be kidding me."
"Nope. And guess who the lucky girl working that night was!"
"Just ... wow. So what's Sean gonna do with her?"
She crinkled her brow. "Honestly, I'm not sure. It's such a convoluted mess that I don't think he knows, either. He's brutal, but he's fair. We're not necessarily sure the standard punishment fits here, so she's cooling her heels in the dungeon while he decides."
Drawing my brows together, I said, "Won't anybody notice she's gone?"
"Doubt it," she said. "The guy left her because ... well, she's batshit crazy, obviously. She has no family, and no job because he was supporting her, too."
Sometimes people astounded me.
"So tell me about your day," she said. "Sean says there was a little excitement."
"Yeah, you could say that," I said, smiling. I gave her the rundown pausing the tell her about the blue quartz pendant Alex used to balance himself so he could control his magic.
She crinkled her forehead. "That is so weird that you'd say that."
"Why?" I asked as she pushed to her feet and set her wine glass down.
"I'll be right back."
When a vampire says that, take them literally. Within three seconds, she was back, dangling one of the most beautiful pieces of blue quartz I'd ever seen from her fingers.
"Wow," I said, turning the stone as it dangled. "Where did you get that?"
"That's what's so weird," she said. "A good friend that I roomed with for twenty years or so stopped in to see me last week. She's an earth witch."
"Yeah, I remember her. Aina, right?" Chaos was focused on the stone, watching as it swung back and forth.
"That's right!" she said. "You did meet her. Anyway, on her last day here, she gave it to me and told me I'd know what to do with it when the time came. She used to make me crazy talking in riddles like that, but I learned to trust her. So ... I think I know what to do with it."
She handed it to me.
I hesitated. The piece was beautiful. "Kat, are you sure?"
"I'm sure," she said, pushing it toward me. "It feels right."
Chaos hadn't taken her eyes from it and watched, intent, as I fastened it around my neck.
The stone warmed against my neck and Kat grinned.
"I looked down and was surprised to see a faint blue glow emanating from inside it, just like Alex's had done."
"It was made just for you," Kat said.
"Yes it was," said Chaos, "And it's about time it found you."
THE END
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Thank You!
Thank you for joining me for the first story in Castle’s Bluff, a small Southern Georgia town where the residents are diverse and nobody’s exactly how they seem. I hope you enjoyed reading Howling for Revenge as much as I enjoyed writing it.
If this is the first of my books you’ve read, I invite you to visit Keyhole Lake, another small southern town, by starting with Sweet Murder, the first book in the Witches of Keyhole Lake Series, available on Amazon.
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Books by Tegan
Books in the Witches of Keyhole Lake Series
Sweet Murder
Murder to the Max
Murder so Magical
Mayhem and Murder
Murder and Marinade
Hook, Line, and Murder (May 16, 2018)
Witches of Keyhole Lake Shorts
Bubble, Bubble, Here Comes Trouble (Book 3.5)
Witching for a Miracle (Book 4.5)
Cori Sloan Witchy Werewolf Mysteries (Coming April, 2018)
Howling for Revenge
Enchanted Coast Magical Mysteries
The Deadly Daiquiri
About the Author
I was born and raised in the South and even hung my motorcycle helmet in Colorado for a few months. I've always had a touch of wanderlust and have never feared just packing up and going on new adventures, whether in real life or via the pages of a great book.
When I was a little girl, I didn't want to grow up to be a writer—I wanted to raise unicorns and be a superhero. When those gigs fell through, I chose the next best thing: creating my own magical lands filled with adventure, magic, humor, and romance.
