Cut to the Crone
A Spell’s Angels Cozy Mystery Book Four
Amanda M. Lee
WinchsterShaw Publications
Copyright © 2020 by Amanda M. Lee
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Prologue
1. One
2. Two
3. Three
4. Four
5. Five
6. Six
7. Seven
8. Eight
9. Nine
10. Ten
11. Eleven
12. Twelve
13. Thirteen
14. Fourteen
15. Fifteen
16. Sixteen
17. Seventeen
18. Eighteen
19. Nineteen
20. Twenty
21. Twenty-One
22. Twenty-Two
23. Twenty-Three
24. Twenty-Four
25. Twenty-Five
26. Twenty-Six
27. Twenty-Seven
28. Twenty-Eight
29. Twenty-Nine
Mailing List
About the Author
Books by Amanda M. Lee
Books by Lily Harper Hart
Prologue
Six years ago
The building was dark.
No, it was stark.
I was used to rough buildings in Detroit. The city seemed to be in the grip of a death spiral that simply refused to strike the final blow. This particular building was located on Livernois, very close to West Chicago, and the neighborhood was rough. That sounded odd to say given the fact that it was Detroit, and most people thought all the neighborhoods were rough. This particular neighborhood, however, was the stuff of nightmares.
Not my nightmares of course. I, Scout Randall, was afraid of nothing. When you grow up with nothing to lose, fear isn’t really part of your life. I’d already lost my family at a young age, abandoned in the middle of the night with no memory of who I was or where I came from. I grew up in the system, bouncing from home to home. While it wasn’t a terrible life, I don’t necessarily recommend it either.
Once I graduated, I decided to put my talents to use. From the outside, it probably appeared that I had zero talents. I was a middling student who wielded snark like a sword. There was more to me, though. There was magic ... and it was powerful magic at that. I grew up knowing it was there, but with no one to teach me, I had to learn boundaries and control myself. I was still a work in progress.
It was the magic that led me to my calling. I honestly believed that. It was magic that led me to Spells Angels, a group of monster hunters on motorcycles who tried to rid the world of evil.
To be fair, it was impossible to eradicate all evil. Not all monsters are bad. Free will plays into it. Just like not all humans are born good, not all monsters grow up and want to rip the world apart. When doling out retribution with glowing fingertips, you need to have balance.
I was still learning the balance.
“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” I whispered to my partner Evan Crawford. He stood next to me, shrouded in darkness beneath an old willow tree, and stared at the building in question.
“That’s what the caller said.” Evan was grim. “It looks bad, doesn’t it?”
That was an understatement. “That building looks like the stuff the Devil would belch up after a three-day bender.”
Evan’s lips quirked. He was darkly handsome and easygoing, and we had a good rapport. There was nothing romantic between us — I happened to believe romance and work didn’t mix, and he was also gay — but we were tight, like siblings. We played jokes on one another, had drinks at the bar after shift, and occasionally spoke about our fears and dreams. Evan had more of both than me.
“Do you think we should check it out?” he asked after a beat. “I mean, we don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“I’m pretty sure that if we get a call, anonymous or not, the rules state we have to check it out,” I said dryly.
“No. Section thirteen, subsection B, states that if we feel the anonymous caller is trying to set us up then we don’t have to answer the call.”
I slid my eyes to him, surprised. “Are you really suggesting we don’t check this out?”
He balked. “I didn’t say that. I just ... it could be a bad idea. That place looks like death. If we go in there, we might start looking like the exterior of that place, and the interior might be even worse.”
He had a point. I reached out with my magic, scanning the building for signs of life ... or death. I came up empty. “I don’t think there’s anything in there.”
He was dubious. “Your powers aren’t infallible. It’s entirely possible that something is in there shielding itself.”
“It would only bother to shield if it knew we were coming,” I pointed out.
Evan extended his hands and shot me a “well, duh” look. “That’s pretty much what I said five minutes ago. There’s every possibility this is a trap of some sort.”
He seemed adamant, ready to turn on his heel and leave. That was unlike him. He was the sort of guy who ran headlong into danger. The fear rolling off him this time was palpable, and I made up my mind on the spot. “Stay here. Keep an eye on the building. If something is inside, I’ll send word and you can call for backup.”
He reached out and grabbed my arm before I could disappear from the safety of the tree. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t go in there alone. They dispatched us together.”
I remained calm, although it took effort. “You don’t want to go in there. I’ll feel guilty if I don’t at least check it out. We’re talking five minutes. You don’t have to go with me.” I wasn’t guilting him — no, really — as much as trying to get him to see logic. He knew me well enough to know I couldn’t simply walk away from this. Women were going missing from Detroit streets at an alarming rate. I couldn’t pretend the call hadn’t come in.
That didn’t mean he had to go with me. I really did feel as if the building was safe, at least for now.
“I can’t let you go in there alone, Scout. That’s our number one rule. We never abandon our partner to certain death.”
I made a face. “Certain death? What have you been watching?”
“The SyFy Channel,” he said sheepishly.
I snorted. Well, that explained that. “It’s going to be fine.” I clapped his shoulder and started moving before he could muster another argument. All I wanted was to get this job over with and call it a night. Odds were minuscule that we would be called out again if something popped up. That meant we were free and clear to do whatever we wanted once clearing the building, and what I wanted was a drink, and maybe a game of pool.
Evan grumbled the entire way across the street, but he appeared to be resigned. By tacit agreement, we didn’t attempt to enter through the front door. The space was too open, and we would garner too much attention. That meant we had to walk to the back of the building to slip inside.
The neighborhood was rough, dealers and thugs on multiple corners conducting business. I could feel several sets of eyes on me but paid them little heed. That’s not to say humans weren’t dangerous. They were often irrational beasts who preferred shooting first and asking questions later. The amount of death and destruction attributed to humans was immense. I didn’t consider the individuals on the street to be a threat to me, though. I was only interested in the building.
There was no hesita
tion as we reached the door. I used my magic to throw the lock and immediately shoved open the heavy metal panel, striding inside as if I owned the place. It was eerily quiet.
I cocked my head, listening for the telltale sounds of scurrying vermin (both big and small) and came up empty. “See? I told you it was empty.” My smile was bold as I turned to Evan. “There’s nothing to be frightened of.”
He made an exaggerated face. “I’m not afraid.”
“Of course you’re not.”
“I’m not.”
“That’s what I said.”
After a moment of silence he said, “Don’t tell the others I was afraid to come in here. That will make me look like a weenie and that’s all anybody will talk about for weeks.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. It was so Evan to be worried about something like that. He had a tendency to fixate on small details that absolutely didn’t matter to anybody but himself. That was what he was doing now.
“I can see you smirking,” Evan groused. “You’re not even good at hiding it.”
“I’m not smirking. I’ve got something in the corner of my mouth.”
Evan was incredulous. “Something that makes you smile?”
“Oddly enough, yes.” I held it together even though it took monumental effort. “Let’s search the house. I’ll take the main floor and any basement. You take the second floor.”
The building was square, the sort that looked to have been home to a real estate or insurance agency at one time. That had to have been years ago, though, because the floors were rotting and all the tiles from the drop ceiling had disappeared.
“Are you sure you want to separate?” Even didn’t look thrilled with the prospect.
“There’s nobody here.”
“We don’t think anybody is here,” Evan countered. “We don’t know if that’s true.”
“Don’t you want to get this over with?”
“More than anything.”
“If we separate, we can get through this in three minutes flat.”
Rather than argue, he heaved out a sigh. “Fine. Just for the record, though, I don’t like this.”
“Duly noted.”
I opted for the basement first. In my head, if any of the missing prostitutes were being held in the building, it made sense that they would be locked up on the bottom floor.
The building lacked working electricity. That wasn’t a surprise. Most abandoned buildings in Detroit had their electrical service cut off sooner or later. I used my magic to cast a sprinkling nest of lights once I made it to the bottom of the stairs. There were no windows to offer even a hint of illumination, so it was my only option.
The basement looked to be the same size as the building, so not overly large or small, but there was absolutely nothing in it. There wasn’t even an errant homeless congregation huddling in the corners to avoid the weather. It was eerily silent … and that’s what made me nervous.
I made my rounds twice, wanting to make absolutely sure I wasn’t missing a hidden door or evil entity, then returned to the main floor. It was only then I realized something had gone wrong.
It was too quiet, too still. Also, everything had gone unbelievably cold.
“Evan?” My voice was raspy as I called for him, dry, as if I knew what was to come and couldn’t find the proper strength to deal.
He didn’t respond, of course. Then I heard what sounded like feet scraping against wood. It was coming from upstairs.
For a moment I stood rooted to my spot, unsure what to do. The fear only lasted for a moment, then I was barreling up the stairs. I lashed out without prodding when I hit the second-floor landing, knocking the incoming creature flying at me through a thin wall. I had no idea what lay beyond the plaster and drywall, and I honestly didn’t care. All I could think about was Evan, and it didn’t take me long to find him.
He was on his knees, two vampires holding him prone and still. An ugly wound colored his cheek and I could read the panic wafting off him in waves as I slid to a stop. Standing directly in front of me was a statuesque vampire, an icy blonde who looked Norwegian in origin. She wore a silver dress that would have fit in more at a party than an abandoned building, and she looked gleeful when she caught sight of me.
“Welcome,” she trilled in a girly voice, amusement positively dripping from her tongue.
Had it only been the three vampires, I would have started blasting and not thought about the ramifications for even a moment. Sure, Evan might have inadvertently been hit, but I was good at what I did, and I had faith in my abilities. However, there were too many of them. There had to be at least ten, including the one I blew into the next room.
“I see you were lying to us after all,” a gravelly voice noted, drawing my attention to the corner. This vampire was male, as dark as the other was light, and his annoyed eyes were fixed on Evan. “I told you what would happen if you lied to us.”
Evan didn’t respond. He looked whipped, making me think they’d done something else to him while I’d been fruitlessly searching the basement. His eyes were glassy when they locked with mine but there was a vacant expression reflected back, as if he’d already given up and was no longer dwelling in his own soul.
That wasn’t like him.
“I’m sorry I’m late.” I offered up a bright smile I didn’t feel. As with anything else, I figured trying to talk my way out of this situation, or at least buying time, was the best option. “Traffic was murder on the Lodge.”
The dark vampire slid his gaze to me. There was no amusement there. “I don’t believe you were invited to the party.”
“Is this a party? Wow. You could’ve fooled me. Next time let me handle your guest list.”
The vampire didn’t as much as crack a smile. Usually, when locked in a situation where they vastly outnumbered us, I’d found the fanged ego unable to stop from boasting. Apparently, this particular blood sucker didn’t suffer from that personality defect.
Drat.
“Okay, I can see you don’t want to have a proper conversation,” I said, shifting tactics. “How about we come to a compromise? I’m willing to magnanimously walk away with my friend and you guys can keep squatting here like freaky mole people, or whatever it is you’re doing. We’ll call it a draw and go our separate ways. How does that sound?”
The vampire merely blinked. Because I was me, I felt the need to fill the silence. “Or I could kick your ass and we could just end it that way.”
“Scout.” Evan made a disgusted sound in the base of his throat. “Why did you even bother coming up here? Why didn’t you just run?”
He had to be kidding. “I wasn’t going to leave you behind.”
“I’m already gone.” His voice cracked, the blood from his cheek wound running thicker and causing my heart to shudder. “Now you will be too. You should’ve run the second you realized there was trouble.”
I was nowhere near close to admitting defeat. “Now you listen here …” I took a menacing step forward. Those who knew me often said my ego was the thing parents told their children to fear in the darkness, but I always felt it was warranted. I refused to accept defeat, and because of that, I’d never been defeated. I didn’t expect that to change, and yet, in a split second, it did.
Strong hands gripped me from behind, tugging me backward. There had to be at least three more vampires behind me, ones I hadn’t registered or sensed, and they had my arms pinned at my sides before I even realized what was happening.
“Scout!” Evan sounded anguished as the blonde grabbed him by the hair and jerked back his head, exposing his neck.
It was as if I was caught in quicksand and couldn’t move. She was on him like a rabid dog before I could even suck in a breath, my mind refusing to process or accept what was playing out in front of me.
He struggled, his arms flailing, but he could do nothing against the vampires’ strength. I needed a plan, yet with no time, I did the only thing I could do. I stopped struggling
.
The vampires holding me must have been surprised because they loosened their grips, which was what I was hoping for. I took advantage of the momentary reprieve and jerked my arms free.
I only had one shot, so I blasted the hottest magic in my arsenal at the nearest vampires. They caught fire immediately, screaming and waving their arms as they made horrific noises, and once they released me, I focused on Evan. The plan was to fry the Nordic vampire, somehow carry my partner to the window, and then jump. Even in this neighborhood the vampires wouldn’t be able to fly under the radar and attack. Once out in the open, we would be safe.
“Evan!” I moved toward him, prepared to take on the vampire, but he was no longer moving. In fact, his face was chalk white, his eyes open in terror, and he was no longer breathing.
Evan was as still as death, because that’s what had claimed him.
I was frozen, disbelief holding me hostage, and then a voice screamed at me from inside my own head.
Move!
Everything inside hurt, and yet in the back of my mind, I knew I couldn’t dawdle. I raised my hands again, unleashing a torrent of fire, and aimed for the window.
I went through headfirst, rolling so I would have a softer landing. That didn’t stop the wind from being knocked out of me when I hit the ground, or the unimaginable pain coursing through my shoulder. All of that was nothing compared to the loss of Evan.
I had no hope that somehow there would be a miracle, that when backup arrived, they would find him on the second floor and manage to save him. Rather, the spot my partner occupied in my heart had become a black hole.
Cut to the Crone Page 1
