Three Witches and a Killer: Wicked Western Witches Book 1 (12 page)

The beam of the flashlight fell on Holly’s bare legs. I raised it slowly and saw that both she and Pax were tied to a tree and gagged.

Forgetting the fact that the whole thing was probably a trap, I rushed to their aid. Her eyes wide and panicked, Holly began shaking her head.

I froze at the sound of laughter coming from behind me.

“How did I just know you’d fall for it?” Glory said, her words followed by a fit of giggles.

Slowly, I turned to face her.

In a black gown fit for a queen, Glory Petrova stood her ground as the laughter continued bubbling out of her mouth.

There was a glint of insanity in her eyes that was more horrifying than anything I’d faced so far, including Mickey D.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked.

She raised her slender shoulders in what was supposed to pass for a shrug. “It’s simple, dear girl. The Queen of the Witches wants to step down and I intend to take her place.”

I couldn’t think of a single thing to say in response to her insane words.

“With the heads of the families gone, I’ll be her only choice,” Glory explained.

“So you killed your own husband?” I was aghast.

“Canton wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway.”

“What about your sons or the Trevil boys. Wouldn’t they also have a chance at the crown? Do you plan to kill them too?”

Glory cocked her head to one side as she considered my words. “Actually, that thought never crossed my mind, but no matter. The Queen has set her sights on you, so it is you that must die.”

“How do you know this? In fact, how do you even know she plans to step down?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“You could say I have my ways … and my spies,” she laughed.

“You’re crazy!”

Waving my words away, she chuckled. “Enough of this. It’s time to take care of all three of you. No one will stand in my way now.”

Extending her arms out in front of her, she tilted her hand until her palms were facing the sky. Glory starting chanting words that I didn’t understand. She was speaking Latin or some kind of strange language that I didn’t recognize.

Suddenly, blood began to ooze from her pores and bubble over the edges of her hands. As the blood fell to the earth, a form began to take shape. It wasn’t long before I recognized Garrett, though at the moment he was every inch a vampire.

“Kill them!” Glory commanded.

Garrett turned his blue fluorescent eyes on me and began to move slowly in my direction.

“Don’t!” I yelled.

He hesitated, seeming to fight against Glory’s command.

“Get the blood,” he whispered in a gravelly voice.

My eyes flew to Glory and that’s when I realized that she was wearing a vial of something around her neck.

I closed the distance between us so fast that she had no time to react. Grasping the chain, I yanked it from her neck.

Gasping, Glory fell to her knees.

“Now I am going to kill you, witch,” Garrett bellowed.

“Wait!” I spoke up. “Let the police or the Queen take care of her.”

“Why not be rid of her now?”

“Well, she did wake you from your sleep. That’s something,” I reasoned.

Glory looked up at me and I was surprised to see a hint of gratitude in her eyes.

Garrett turned back to me. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” I said, making an attempt to smile. “What will you do now?”

He shrugged. “Time will tell but I do believe we’ll be seeing each other again.”

Without waiting for a response, he rose into the air and was gone.

While keeping an eye on Glory, I rushed over to untie my cousins. “How did they manage to get you guys in the first place? Some witches you are,” I scolded.

“Hey, we couldn’t help it,” Holly piped up. “When that vampire looks into your eyes, you can’t help but do what he says. It’s just like in the movies.”

I couldn’t help but wonder why Garrett hadn’t tried to hypnotize me with his vampire eyes, or maybe he had tried but it hadn’t worked.

Chapter Sixteen

It was a beautiful morning, made even better by the fact that I’d solved my first case the night before and was in the process of sending an update to my mysterious client. It also helped that I’d actually had time this morning for a leisurely cup of coffee.

Just as I sealed my report in a large manila envelope, Dad strolled into my office and cast a slight shadow on my day.

It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to see my father. I loved my father, but I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of him being in my office while I still had a zombie stored in my closet.

“I just wanted to congratulate you on the conclusion of your first case,” he said, his smile full of pride.

“Dad, how many times do I have to tell you? This is my
third
case.”

“Well, I thought you’d like to know that Glory’s trial has been moved to New Orleans. I’m sure you can guess why.”

“I can,” I said with a nod.

It didn’t surprise me one bit that the Queen of the witches had decided to handle the situation herself. A mortal jail cell would never be enough to hold a witch like Glory.

Suddenly, I remembered the butcher and how he was stalking Rainy. “Hmm, dad. There is something I have to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“The butcher is stalking Rainy Petrova. I saw all the photographs on his wall the last time I visited. Someone might want to tell her.”

A frown marred Dad’s handsome face. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Sure as sure can be.”

“I’ll send Buck over to investigate. Until then, you girls should probably do all your shopping at the Pantry.”

That was something I could totally agree with my father on.

A shuffling sound from the closet drew my father’s attention. “What was that?”

“Rats.” I frowned. “I’ve had a problem with them lately.

“Well, you’ll probably want to get that taken care of.”

Again, Dad and I agreed on something. Twice in one day. That had to be a record.

“I’ll see you tonight for dinner. Don’t forget, you promised your mother,” he said, turning to leave.

“I’ll be there.”

As soon as Dad was gone, I got up from my chair and stared at the closet door.

What the hell was I going to do with Mickey D?

No sooner had the thought formed and a shadow began to take shape right in front of me. It was the same shadow that had been stalking me.

For some reason, I’d just associated my nighttime stalker with Glory’s mischief, but now I realized that there might not even be a connection.

Slowly, the shadow turned into a tall thin woman with a cascade of dark curls that hung to her waist. She had the greenest eyes I’d ever seen, set in a flawless face. Her dark complexion glowed with unblemished beauty.

The woman had to be Asia Martell.

“I see that you recognize me,” she said, her ruby red lips spreading into a smile.

Since I was too tongue-tied to utter a word, I just nodded.

The dark blue satin gown she wore hugged her curves perfectly.

“Would you like some help with your problem?” she asked, motioned toward the closet with her dainty hand.

Again I nodded. “Please.”

Asia opened the small black bag she was holding and pulled out a tiny pistol. It was so small, I wasn’t even sure it was real.

Resting her green eyes on me, she said, “You are going to have to make a choice, Sadie. Are you going to put him out of his misery, and possibly save the world from a zombie apocalypse, or are you going to be selfish and let him go on like he is?”

Damn, she didn’t make things easy at all!

“The choice is yours,” she said, shoving the gun at me.

Part of me was more than happy to shoot him, but the sane part of me might have a problem with it.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “He was my husband, once.”

“Is he still … your husband? Is he even human?” she asked.

She had a point. Whoever Mickey D had been before, he was obviously something different now.

Pushing a loud sigh from between my lips, I took the gun. “I’ll shoot him, I guess, but only on one condition. I should stand trial for murder. It’s my fault he is like this. You can take me back to New Orleans or turn me over to the sheriff,” I instructed.

Asia lowered her head in what was supposed to be a nod.

As soon as the witch raised her eyes and glanced at the door, it swung open.

Taking a deep breath, I pointed the pistol and started squeezing the trigger, but then hesitated and released it.

As much as I tried to focus on that rotting face, I kept seeing the real Mickey there. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Try again,” Asia prompted. “You must learn to do what must be done, no matter the cost.”

I had no idea what she meant by that, but at that moment Mickey lunged from the closet, breaking the chains that held him.

Panicked, I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.

I flinched, fully expecting the gunshot to shatter my eardrums, but there was no sound.

Was the damn thing even loaded?

Chancing a look, I opened my eyes, hoping I wouldn’t see Mickey’s head all over the wall behind him.

It wasn’t. He was lying flat on his back. Stepping a little closer, I saw that his face was covered with some kind of glowing pink powder.

I had no idea what the stuff was, but it seemed to have done the trick. Now all I had to worry about was being arrested.

I turned to Asia to ask what I should do next, but she was gone.

Now I was stuck with a body and turning myself in. I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to do that.

From a distance, I could hear her laughter. “Congratulations. You passed the first test.”

What did she mean by that?

She couldn’t seriously be considering me for her position, could she?”

There was no time to think about it. Right before my eyes, Mickey D got to his feet.

“What’s going on here?” he asked as rotting flesh began to fall from healthy skin. “What have you done to me?” he demanded.

“Nothing,” I said, feigning innocence.

“Like hell you haven’t!” he bellowed. “I’m going to call the police and have you arrested for kidnapping. Where are we anyway?”

“Shadow Crossing.”

“Where’s a phone. I’m calling the police. You’re in trouble now,” he threatened.

I totally remembered why I’d tried to turn him into a frog in the first place.

“Hey, Mickey!” I interrupted his ranting.

Stopping, he turned his glare on me.

“The door is right there,” I pointed to my office door. “I’ll bet if you look real hard, you’ll find a payphone somewhere, but I doubt it. Now get out!”

Without another word, he stormed out the door.

One could only hope that would be the last I’d see of him, though I wouldn’t be willing to bet money on it.

# # #

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Dead Man Calling

An Undertaker Mystery

Kendra Ashe

CopyrightÓ 2015 Kendra Ashe

All Rights Reserved

Lavine Press 2015

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

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