Chapter 29

I set off at a fast pace, Fluffy happily trotting by my side. I dropped the plastic bag with the soil into a not-yet-overflowing trashcan a couple of streets away and brought out my phone.

First, a fast text to Dru telling her things had escalated and I wouldn’t make it to the shop to help and to close if it got too overwhelming.

Sacrificeshad to be made for the greater good. What good was having a witchy tea shop open for Halloween if I wasn’t there to enjoy it?

Mynext call was to Hutton.

“Witch!”

“Are you still at the shop?” I asked, swerving to avoid a group of partying frat boys.

“No,” he exclaimed. “I have better things to do!”

“Awesome. I need your help.”

“No.”

“A witch killed DesmondCrane in my shop and is leaving bits of him around Olmeda. We need to find the bits and the witch before they do something awful.”

Along pause ensued.

“Say that again?” he said cautiously.

“You heard right. Ian is going to check Bosko’s and Janet’s places. Can you check the pentagram on your wall?”

“Who killed Crane?”

“The witch who’s leaving bits of him around,” I answered patiently. AsGrandma used to say, it never hurts to be kind even in times of murder and distress.

Paraphrasing.

“You think whoever drew the pentagrams killed Crane? And is now, what, doing some kind of spell with his body parts?”

“Yes and yes.” I looked down at Fluffy. “See? A bit of kindness makes the brain go brr-brr.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Can you check for me? I don’t want anyone else to learn about Crane’s death, so if you can’t go, I’ll do it myself.”

Hepaused again, maybe pondering the cons and pros and where the trick lay. “Yeah, okay. I’ll check it out. You’re going to the Cabinet?”

“Yes. IfI find nothing there, we’ll need to check other creepy spots in Olmeda.” Maybe go to the coven house again. Just because the witch hadn’t used it before I’d checked it out, it didn’t mean I hadn’t just missed them.

“You’ll owe me for this.”

“I’ll tell Sonia you were very helpful in investigating the pentagram prankster.”

Hesnorted. “One favor, no time limit.”

Oh, we were playing that game, huh? “What about I keep making your alpha potion and don’t tell your pack you’re lying to them?”

“What about I tell the Council you practice dark magic?”

“Allegedly!”

“The dark web marketplace says otherwise.”

“MayI remind you it was my idea to bring Ian to the challenge, and without him, you might not even be alive?”

“Yeah, bet he was happy about that.”

“More than you think. Fine. A small favor.”

“Good enough. I’ll text if I find anything.”

“And you’ll check somewhere else if you don’t?”

“Where?”

Iwent through Olmeda’s creepy highlights in my head. “Check the creepy Cinderella house.”

Heacknowledged this by ending the call.

“You are such a much better furry butt than Hutton,” I told Fluffy. I had to say it loudly since we had arrived at the more popular streets and some of the restaurants were blaring music through their open doors, earning me a few stares.

Fluffybarked, which earned us more attention and a request to take a photo with the witch and her cute bee familiar.

Fluffywas so excited by the extra attention, I didn’t have the heart to deny it, even if I was tapping my feet with impatience on the inside.

Patience. Take the ham and cheese sandwich out of the pan too fast, and the butter won’t be browned enough and the cheese not melty enough.

Afterthe photo was taken, I hurried on just to run smack right into Olmeda’sHalloween parade.

Metalbarricades did a decent job of keeping the street clear for the performers, and the crowd was so dense, I had to hold Fluffy and elbow my way. It was no use. Even if I made it past the thick rim of onlookers, I’d have to wait for a good moment to run across, then fight my way on the other side. Mounted police officers were monitoring the parade, and the last thing I wanted was to call attention to myself.

Nothingsaid Halloween fun like spending a night in a police station being grilled by OfficerBrooks about why I was carrying DesmondCrane’s finger around in my dog walking bag.

Ichanged directions and tried remembering an alternate route to the Cabinet. AlthoughI’d been in this part of OldOlmeda plenty of times, I hadn’t exactly had the time to memorize the smaller streets. Running a witchy tea shop was a lot more draining than you’d imagine.

Myphone vibrated inside my pocket as Fluffy and I took a narrower street that ran parallel to the parade. Ian.

“Did you find anything?” I asked right away.

“Nothing weird at Bosko’s. On my way to Janet’s.”

“Good.” Although, was it? Finding nothing meant fewer hints at who the witch was, where they were, or what Bagley’s current haunting situation was. “I’m still on the way to the Cabinet.”

“An earth mage just got into the Crawler.”

Iwhirled around. Fluffy whined at the abrupt change of direction. “An earth mage?”

“Yes. I asked Mark to give me a call if any came around.” TheCrawler’s entrance ward was a spell the likes of which I’d never thought possible to put down—it activated when a paranormal stood on it and turned different colors according to type. I’d meant to ask the owner who had put it down for them, but since the bar didn’t admit witches, the occasion hadn’t materialized yet.

“Are they still there?” I asked.

“Wait for me,” Ian ordered, and I imagined his budding scowl as he pondered the possibilities of me listening.

“It’s a race!”

Ihurried my steps, energized now that I had a clear target in mind. It didn’t take long for me and Fluffy to arrive at Guiles and Romary. The crowds were unbearable here, spilling into the streets from the different bars. Drunken shouts and techno music mixed with pop filled the air, and I had to take Fluffy up again in my arms lest she get crushed.

TheCrawler was on one of the smaller streets fanning out of the main clubbing thoroughfare. Normally, it would be a bit quieter, but today it was as crowded as Guiles and Romary proper.

“Mark,” I greeted him excitedly once I was closer. As the bouncer of the Crawler, he was dressed in all black, scary scowl included. The pub itself was another hole in the wall pub with a brightly lit wide entrance. “Ian called and said you had an earth mage come by?” I searched our surroundings eagerly. “Where are they?”

Markshooed me aside as a man walked up to the entrance. I obliged happily, too excited to remember our usual feud, and waited for him to check the newcomer’s age before letting him in. The ward on the ground didn’t light up—non-paranormal.

“The mage?” I prompted once the man was inside.

Markthumbed toward the door. “He’s in there.”

Mymouth fell open. “You let him inside?”

Ahint of a smirk curved his lips. “Mage, not witch.”

“Wow. I have no words.”

Hewinked. “No words needed, sugarplum.”

Higher road, I reminded myself. “CanI go inside for a moment and check him out?”

Markeyed my witch hat dubiously. “I don’t know. I might get fired if I let you in.”

“Oh, c’mon. The policy can’t be that strict?”

“Them’s the rules, ma’am,” he drawled, full of glee. He gave me another look over. “BetCavalier is on the way. He can deal with it.”

Theaudacity of this man. “I can deal with it if you let me in.”

Atthat moment the door opened, and a thin man walked out, stopping abruptly as he saw me and Mark.

Markblinked at his appearance, which was such an un-Mark reaction that I took it as genuine surprise. And why would Mark be taken aback?

Becausethis must be the earth mage.

Perhapshe read something in our expressions, because the man took a second look at me, whirled around, and made a run for it.

“Stop!” I exclaimed, setting Fluffy on the ground and starting after him but having to contend with the crowd.

Markzoomed past me, pushing into whoever stood in his way. I’d lost track of the mage in the crowd, but Mark had no such problem. Fluffy and I followed the path he was creating through the sea of people into Guiles and Romary, then a side street, then around a corner, then into an empty alleyway where Mark gave up all pretense and, with a sudden burst of speed, caught up to the mage and pushed him down.

Istopped, panting, and patted my skirts for my freezing potion.

Themage rolled onto his feet and dug into his coat’s pocket. In the next moment, he had thrown a handful of dirt toward Mark’s face. Earth mage, all right.

Markdidn’t seem to care. He grew taller, his clothes suddenly too small and bulging, his neck cording with muscle, and his eyes red under a nearby street lamp. He had gone into full berserker mode.

Berserkersgained a burst of inhuman strength, agility, and speed for a brief amount of time. In this mode, they could outrun and outfight any other paranormal kind, including demons or shifters, but only for a short time.

Thehandful of soil flew toward Mark’s face. He ignored it, closing his eyes and keeping his mouth firmly shut as he rammed the mage into the wall. The soil fell to the asphalt as the mage hit the bricks of the building hard. Mark raised a hand, ready to knock the man out, but the clumps of soil suddenly lifted, pressing against Mark’s wrist and changing his trajectory—barely.

“Don’t knock him out,” I warned, leaning onto my tiptoes to watch the fight. “We need to ask questions.”

“Get off me!” the mage exclaimed, pushing at Mark ineffectively.

Markgrunted, slapped the dirt away as it made another weak attempt to attack his face, and twisted the mage around, slamming him against the bricks of the building and keeping his arm firmly against his back. The mage whimpered in pain, and the soil fell to the ground again.

Itwas a disappointing show of power. Key had kept a demon glued to the ground with about the same amount of soil.

Thiscouldn’t be our guy.

Fluffyyipped and tugged at her leash, eager to explore the interesting tidbits of dirt scattered around the ground, and possibly some of the suspect puddles of liquid.

Ithadn’t rained in a couple of days.

“Witch,” Mark said, an edge of dark eagerness in his voice. Bet he didn’t get to run down people often. “Ask your questions.” His eyes were still red, but his bulk had diminished back into his normal self.

Iwalked closer, keeping a tight leash on Fluffy. “What other earth mage is in town?”

“I don’t know.” The man tried to struggle out of Mark’s hold, then winced.

“I’m sure you do. Or would you rather I call in the bounty hunters?”

Theman stiffened. “I’ve done nothing.”

“I’m sure that’s why you ran from us.” I arched my brows. “Council trouble, huh?” He hadn’t exactly run from us so much as from me, the obvious witch.

“Lies!” But his shifting eyes said otherwise. Someone needed to start a school of villainy or something. So far, most bad guys I’d encountered in Olmeda had come up lacking in subtlety.

“You know,” I said, “that bar you just came out of is a bounty hunter hotspot.”

Theman turned a little green. “What?”

“There’s probably one coming as we speak.”

Theman’s nervous gaze drifted toward the entrance of the alleyway.

“So,” I continued, “it might be better if you just answer my question. Then the berserker here can let you go, and we’ll forget we ever met you, right?” I glanced at Mark.

Heshrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

Fluffybarked once to cast her vote.

“Okay, okay,” the man said in a rush, still eyeing the entrance of the alleyway. “What do you want to know?”

“We’re looking for a powerful earth mage. We know he’s in Olmeda, taking illegal jobs.”

“Slater.”