Curses and Corpses (Witch Haven Mystery - a fun cozy witch paranormal mystery Book 3)

by K E O'Connor

  “What’s your problem? I’m guessing it’s related to whatever is hitting this crypt?”

  “The problem is, everyone is saying you’re responsible for my corpses getting up and walking around.”

  “I thought you didn’t listen to gossip?”

  She sniffed. “Only when it suits me. And I’ve heard it from several sources, most of them reliable. Why would you mess with my dead?”

  “I haven’t been messing with them.”

  “You were interested in them when you were poking around the cemetery. Did you think you’d left clues behind and was worried someone would realize you’re behind this?”

  I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. “I wish I could stand here and argue with you, but I’ve got a lot going on, and your corpses are now at the bottom of my to-do list. My friends are in trouble. I have to—”

  “You have to fix my corpse problem. They were fine before you interfered.”

  “I can’t fix them! I don’t know why they’re on the rise. Although...”

  Miss Digby shuffled closer. “What do you know about them?”

  “Nothing for certain, but while you were getting your gossip fix about me, was there any talk of people losing their magic? Or forgetting magic even exists?”

  She grunted out her surprise. “I suppose that’s your doing too?”

  “No, but maybe the memory loss and the dead getting up for a wander could be connected. How many corpses are we talking?”

  “All of them.”

  My jaw dropped and a trickle of fear ran down my spine. “Every single dead body is now...” I waved at the door.

  “Yep. It happened not long after you’d done your snooping around. Keep talking. Why do you think this is all connected?”

  “Maybe the magic from last night triggered something.” I looked at the closed crypt door as several sharp bangs echoed through the chilled interior. “The dead have forgotten they’re supposed to be dead, just like everyone who helped me stop Albert and his group has forgotten what happened.” My gaze ran over Miss Digby. “Everyone apart from you and me.”

  “I had nothing to do with that. And I didn’t stick around to the end, so I missed the finale.”

  “There was a pulse of foul smelling magic that flowed out across the cemetery. Everyone was hit with it. It could have seeped into the dirt and made the dead think it was time to wake up.”

  Miss Digby scrubbed at her chin. “It would take someone with power to influence so many corpses. Did you cast that magic?”

  “No, but the thing that took Luna did.”

  “And you think that’s the cause of my problems?”

  “It must be. Or it’s a big part of it. We can’t let this take away people’s memories of magic and spell casting, or it really will be the end of Witch Haven. Odessa no longer believes she’s a witch, and she doesn’t even remember her scarecrows. The change happened so quickly. It was scary.”

  “That’s not my problem to worry about.”

  “It is if this magic is messing with your residents. They’ve forgotten they’re supposed to be dead. You won’t get a second of peace while you try to contain them.”

  She grunted again. “Maybe so. But we need to deal with these corpses before anything else. The Magic Council hired you for this job, so get to work. I don’t care who you are, but you must settle my dead.”

  I looked around the inside of the cold, solid crypt and dread trickled down my spine. “There’s a reason we materialized inside here, isn’t there?”

  Miss Digby nodded. “Everyone is up and about. And, well, let’s just say they aren’t happy to be here.” She pulled up her sleeve to reveal three large bite marks.

  I sucked in a breath. “Silvaria, I promise you, I had nothing to do with the dead rising. This magic is hurting the people we care about, and I’d never unleash anything like that on the village.”

  “You did once. You could be doing it again.”

  I lifted my chin and stared her down. “No! Not anymore.”

  “Maybe I believe that, maybe I don’t, but I still need your backup. I can’t handle them on my own. Not when they’re so vicious.”

  “You’re asking for my help?”

  She growled at me. “I’m asking you to fix the mess I think you’re involved with. Are you able to do that?”

  A loud crash on the side of the crypt made me flinch. “We could stay in here. Maybe they’ll go back in their coffins once they get bored.”

  “No, this rising feels different. I’ve tried every spell I can think of to get them to settle, but the magic only aggravates them. This time, they’re not going down without a fight. Are you with me?”

  I gulped. Taking on a cemetery full of angry corpses felt beyond me. But Silvaria must be struggling if she asked for help. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Get them to calm down. Use whatever means you have to. I’ve put a barrier around the cemetery so they can’t escape into the village and cause havoc, but I can only hold that for so long. We must reduce their numbers and subdue as many as we can.”

  “When you say reduce their numbers...”

  “Slice, dice, and blast the bones apart.”

  “Uh, right. Got it.”

  “Let’s go take down some corpses. Follow me.” Miss Digby shuffled over and pushed open the heavy crypt door.

  The second it opened, moans and groans filled the air.

  I peeked over her shoulder and instantly backed away. There were dozens of shambling corpses out there.

  “Are you ready?” Miss Digby said.

  “Not really.”

  “Good. Let’s go. You deal with the group on the left, I’ll tackle the right.” She charged out, twirling her bone stick and slamming it into anything that got close.

  I snuck out on my tiptoes and edged around the crypt. It seemed disrespectful to destroy these bony shamblers, especially if magic was making them misbehave.

  Silvaria yelled a battle cry, and I heard bones shatter. She didn’t seem to care much about the skeletons she was supposed to protect. I’d probably feel the same if they’d taken a few chunks out of my arm with their rotten teeth.

  I blasted a warning flare of magic at three corpses who were paying me too much attention, but they kept on coming.

  “This doesn’t need to get nasty,” I said. “Head on home and shut the lid when you get there.”

  They moaned and then charged. Jeez! They were fast.

  I dodged around the crypt and came face-to-face with two more bony attackers. I slammed a knockback spell into them and leaped over their bones as they hit the ground.

  I spotted Miss Digby dashing across the cemetery, a group of corpses chasing her.

  Teeth clacked too close to my ear, and I hit the dirt just as a huge corpse dressed in a decaying black suit grabbed me.

  “Not today, my friend.” I blasted him away and staggered to my feet. If I kept getting involved in fights like this, I’d need to enrol in ninja witch school.

  “Indigo! Get over here,” Miss Digby yelled.

  I dodged through the skeletons in various states of stomach churning decay and ran toward her. My heart raced as I saw her surrounded by the dead.

  I knocked a few away as I approached. “Run!”

  “I can’t. And my magic is fading. I’m exhausted,” she gasped out. “I’m using too much energy to keep the barrier in place. My spells are losing focus.”

  A few corpses got too close, and I shoved one away and blasted the others with a fireball.

  “Keep fighting,” I yelled. “They have to slow down soon.”

  Miss Digby slumped down and heaved out a breath. “I give up.”

  “Don’t do that!” I pushed away a corpse. “You can’t stop now. Their numbers are thinning, and some are staying away from us. They’ve seen what will happen if they don’t.”

  “I can’t go on.” Miss Digby pinched the bridge of her nose. “I never wanted to be a cemetery guardian.”

  I grab
bed a corpse in a headlock as it tried to grab Miss Digby and flung it away. “Get up! Don’t give up now. If you do, they’ll definitely beat us.”

  “It was my parents’ fault. They were cemetery guardians and insisted I go into the family business.” She shook her head. “You know what I wanted to be?”

  “How about alive? That’s good enough for now.” I blasted more magic at the corpses and sent a group of three flying away.

  “I wanted to be a dancer. I wanted to travel the world and make people spellbound with my incredible moves. It’ll never happen now, not with my dodgy hips.”

  “You’ll have dodgy everythings if these corpses get their hands on you. Silvaria, on your feet. Keep on fighting.”

  She glanced up at me, and the resignation in her eyes was clear. “Why? If I let the corpses take me, I can finally let go. I don’t have to pretend to be something I’m not.”

  I glanced at her. She sounded a lot like me. I’d once been that cynical until I’d learned that things could change and get better if you opened yourself up to the possibility.

  “You could join an amateur dance troupe. You can still dance while doing your duties here.” I hit a corpse in the chest with a fireball. It burst into flames and staggered away, slamming into more corpses and sending them tumbling.

  “It wouldn’t be the same,” Silvaria said. “Everyone would laugh at me. The skinny, bony old woman limping around and shaking her bits that have no legal right to be shaken.”

  “Who cares if they do laugh? Don’t let other people’s opinions of you stop you from doing what will make you happy.” I raced forward and rammed into a corpse, before slamming it to the ground. I rolled around with my moldy, ripe friend for a few seconds, before shattering it apart with a spell.

  I kicked a corpse that got too close, then jumped up and raced back to Silvaria. “You can change your life. You can make it better. But you’ll only do that if you stand up now and help me.”

  She struggled to her feet and glanced at me. “It’s too late for us. We should let the corpses take us.”

  My head whipped around. “Take us where?”

  “Anywhere is better than here. They can eat us, bury us, or do what they like with us.”

  “Maybe that works for you, but I’ve not given up yet.” I heaved in a breath and my head spun as I inhaled decay and dirt. I would have to admit defeat soon. I was pulling double duty in my attempt to defeat these corpses, and they just kept on coming. “Silvaria, use your magic!”

  She held up a hand and a pale trickle of magic fell to the floor. “I’m done.”

  I gulped in air. “How many dead are buried in this cemetery?”

  “A few hundred, if you don’t count the double graves.”

  “I do. Silvaria, if you don’t use your magic to protect yourself, you might as well be dead. I promise, if we get out of this, I’ll find you a dance school, and I’ll even come to the first lesson with you. We can shake our bits together to the loudest music we can find and not give two flying figs what people think of us.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you want to help me fulfill my dreams?”

  “I don’t exactly want to, but you dragged me into this mess. I’m trying to save our butts and give you something to live for.” I blasted out a knockback spell. It took out a few corpses, but some of them weren’t affected as the power of my spells weakened.

  Silvaria rolled her shoulders and a glint of determination entered her eyes. “Maybe this is the wrong fight.”

  “It could be, but we need to finish it, before it finishes us,” I said. “Are you with me?”

  She stepped away, shook her head, and vanished.

  “What the...” If Silvaria was leaving, so was I. I cast a transportation spell to get me the heck out of corpseville. Nothing happened.

  I wrestled with a corpse for a second, and once I got free, I tried again. My magic was weak, but I should have one last big spell left in me.

  I was about to cast again, but hesitated. Silvaria had put a barrier around the cemetery, and she was probably the only one who could get in and out. That sneaky, mean-spirited cemetery guardian. She’d brought me here knowing I wouldn’t be able to escape.

  Curses flew from my lips as I got whacked on the head by a hard, bony arm.

  I was on my own with these skeletons, and I’d have to fight them until my magic wore out and I became corpse food.

  I’d just sparked a raggedy looking fireball in my hand, when there was a guttural roar from behind the crowd of corpses pressing in on me. Something huge with an orange head charged through them, shattering bones and flinging them in all directions.

  I lowered my fireball. It was Shamrock!

  He smashed, thumped, and plowed his way through the corpses, until he reached me.

  I stared at him, my mouth open. “That was incredible.” I squeaked as he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift.

  “Hey! I’m good. I can walk. You don’t need to carry me.” I squeaked again as Shamrock rocketed away, slammed through several more corpses, and headed to the gates.

  Chapter 13

  I was bumped and jostled on Shamrock’s shoulder as he raced to the wooden gates of the cemetery. He was like a super athlete, dodging and weaving to avoid the corpses. And when he couldn’t get out of their way, he slammed through them like a professional linebacker.

  I raised my head and saw that the corpses left behind weren’t pursuing us. Maybe they’d learned it was better not to tangle with an angry scarecrow on a mission to save the witch he was besotted with.

  “You can put me down, Shamrock. We’re good. No one is chasing us.”

  He didn’t let go as he barreled toward the gates, and I could do nothing but hold on tight and hope he’d tire.

  I yelped as I was abruptly jerked off his shoulder. Shamrock staggered back and lost his hold on me. I hit the ground and rolled over until a headstone stopped me.

  My eyes widened as I pulled myself up and tried to figure out what had happened. Shamrock was flat on his back, one arm bent at an unnatural angle, and one side of his wonderful pumpkin head smashed in as if he’d just hit a brick wall. I grimaced. Or rather, an invisible magic barrier no one could see.

  I scrambled over to him. The light was still blazing in his eyes and he made a groaning sound.

  “Hang in there. I’ll get us out.” I stood and hurried to the gates, but before I could reach them, my fingers met invisible resistance I couldn’t push through. Yep, this was one strong magic barrier making sure we weren’t getting anywhere fast.

  I hurried back to Shamrock, wincing at how badly he’d been mangled. “We’ll get you fixed up once we’re out of here. I just have to figure out how to get through this barrier.” I did a quick look around to make sure the corpses weren’t paying us attention, but it seemed like they’d had enough. There were some still shambling around, but they weren’t heading our way.

  I went back to the barrier and tested it. The magic was holding fast. Silvaria had meant business when she put this in place. But I’d find a way through. I had an injured scarecrow who needed medical attention. And I had to hope Odessa could repair him. Perhaps this is what she needed, a prompt to remind her what an awesome witch she really was.

  I drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and centered my magic, focusing on bringing down part of the barrier. The magic sparked and wavered, but I was exhausted and my magical battery was drained. I needed time to recharge, and the energy in the cemetery wasn’t the best source to use. After all, almost everything in here was dead.

  I returned to Shamrock, sat next to him, and patted his shoulder. “Thanks for saving me from the corpses. But I have to ask, how did you know it was me?”

  He beckoned me closer, and as I leaned down, he sniffed me.

  I jerked back. “You know what I smell like?”

  Shamrock nodded his damaged head. That was kind of creepy, but also interesting that I had a unique smell. Well, unique t
o this scarecrow.

  “Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to see if I can find where Silvaria keeps the supplies. She could have something useful we can use to carve a hole through her magic.”

  Shamrock attempted to crawl after me as I hurried away, but after some encouragement, he flopped back on the ground.

  I hunted around the cemetery, looking for anywhere Silvaria might store her magic equipment. Most magic users used items to channel or charge their magic, but all I found were shovels, a well-used pickaxe, and something that looked worryingly like a bone saw. Maybe she used her bone walking stick as her energy channel, or she was using the bones of her residents to draw power. I shuddered. I was definitely not being buried in this place. I didn’t want anyone shaping my bones into a handy walking stick.

  After a thorough search of the cemetery, I came up empty-handed. I emerged from behind a large tree and yelped as I came face-to-face with four corpses.

  They groaned and stumbled toward me. I backed away, not wanting to get into another magic fight. I still had a little power left, but I needed to save it so I could figure out a way to get out of here and help Shamrock.

  “Nice walking dead. There’s nothing to see here. You head back to your coffins. I expect you could do with a lie down after all this excitement.”

  They didn’t seem to agree and kept groaning and shuffling toward me.

  I dodged to one side as one of them made a grab for me. My heel caught on something and I lost my balance. I flapped my arms to stay upright, but suddenly I was falling. And rather than hitting the dirt, I kept on falling.

  I groaned as I landed on my back and something crunched beneath me. I scrambled up and looked around. Holy broomsticks! I’d landed in an open grave. And I wasn’t the only occupant.

  My body shuddered at the feel of the slimy, itchy energy leeching off the skeleton I’d hit. My teeth chattered and all the warmth left my body.

  I staggered to my feet and took a second to get my bearings. The grave I’d landed in had been dug so deep, I couldn’t see over the top.

  But at least the corpses hadn’t followed me in, although I could hear them groaning and shuffling around nearby, but they were staying away from the grave. Maybe they could feel the dark vibes emanating from these bones, just like I could.