Page 2 of Cursed
“Cops are trained to look forhumanpatterns, not supernatural ones,” Seth pointed out. “What doesn’t make sense, they ignore as impossible. And don’t forget—my parents never mentioned the deaths that happened in my own family. They never recognized the pattern, either.”
A century ago, a sheriff’s posse hunted and killed Rhyfel Gremory, a powerful warlock. His devoted witch-disciples stalked and murdered the sheriff and his deputies, and used spell work to create a bond to their dead master’s spirit, requiring the murder of the eldest male of each of the posse’s families. In Jesse’s case, the warlock accidentally chose the wrong brother, leaving Seth guilt-ridden as well as bent on revenge.
Seth set out to hunt down Gremory’s disciples and stop the carnage, trying to save other families from the heartbreak he had known. He never expected to fall in love with the coven’s next intended victim—Evan. Together, they dispatched that warlock, started hunting the rest of Gremory’s coven together, and became partners in every way in the process.
Seth watched Alicia to make sure she was okay. She waved off his concern as she ate and drank, regaining her color. Alicia was in her late thirties, plump and unassuming, which made some people underestimate her ability as a powerful psychic and medium. Her black hair fell in waves over her shoulder, a contrast to bright blue eyes.
“Take your time and get your second wind,” Seth cautioned. “Megan will whip my ass if she doesn’t think I took good care of you.” Alicia and her wife, Megan, shared the modest white clapboard house where Alicia did her readings.
Seth turned back to Evan. “We found Vernon’s aliases over the years. He’s stayed pretty close to the shipping company his father started back in the 1800s. Quite a rise from a sea captainwith a single cargo vessel to a small fleet specializing in high-end, unusual cargo.”
“Veryunusual,” Evan added. “I figured they’d be smuggling rhino horns, pangolin scales, or tiger bones for ritual ingredients. Not shifter filet or yeti tenderloin.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust.
“Makes me wonder who his customers are.” Seth leaned back in his chair. “Other immortals? High-status non-humans like vampires, werewolves, and lesser witches?”
“No one’s ever been able to pin a smuggling rap on Vernon in all this time,” Evan pointed out. “I doubt monster meat is the only thing he’s moving in those ships. He’s either got protection spells out the wazoo or he’s paid off all the right people.”
“Probably both,” Alicia said in a smooth, low-country drawl, already bouncing back from the energy expended with Jenning’s ghost. “He’s smart, and he’s had time to diversify. Savannah’s a major port. If he’s stayed in business this long, he’s learned to change with the markets.”
“Why can’t these guys find a way to earn a living that doesn’t involve killing people?” Seth muttered. All of the disciples made their fortunes and kept their wealth in decidedly illegal ways. While the underworld warlocks weren’t friends, they did work together when power and profit aligned. Between manufacturing and distributing recreational drugs and pharmaceuticals designed for non-humans and shifter trafficking, the remaining dark witches had begun to function more like a cartel than a coven, bound together by their need to sacrifice to their dead master’s ghost to retain their magic and immortality.
“Because there’s money in murder,” Evan observed. “And as we’ve said before, wealth buys security if you don’t want people noticing that you never age or die.”
“We’ve talked with three ghosts so far who were killed by Vernon outside of the ritual cycle,” Alicia pointed out, taking another gulp of the sports drink. “They all got too close to whatever’s coming and going in those shipping containers. That’s good to know, but I’m not sure how it gets you what you need to stop his next sacrifice.”
Seth sighed. “I’m not sure yet, either. Evan and I are still working on a plan. We talked with a friend in Pittsburgh on our way here from Cleveland. He knows a lot about lore and magic, and he’s got access to an arcane library. That gave us some ideas, on top of what we’ve learned the hard way dealing with the other witch-disciples.”
He and Evan had destroyed six of Gremory’s disciples so far, and one had died of indirect causes. That left five more—including Vernon and the witch responsible for Jesse’s death. The very first of the coven they fought had sacrificed victims from Evan’s family for a century and would have murdered Evan if Seth hadn’t intervened.
“I know you’re a hot stuff hacker, but Teag’s got magic going for him.” Alicia set aside her empty bottle. “If there’s something to be found online, he’ll do it.”
Seth grinned. “I’m hoping to pick up some of his tricks. We’re going to get together with him, Cassidy, and Rowan, and see if we can figure out Vernon’s weak spot and a strategy to take him down.”
Vernon made his base in Savannah. Seth and Evan were currently in Charleston, less than two hours away, to confer with friends who knew a lot about stopping monsters and high-powered supernatural beings. They had worked together several months ago to take down the disciple headquartered there and stayed in touch as Seth and Evan pursued warlocks in other cities.
“It’s good to see you boys again,” Alicia said. “Maybe someday you’ll drop by when the world isn’t ending.”
Seth felt his cheeks heat. “Sorry about that. We’ve been running at top speed trying not to get killed. But I’m really hoping it won’t always be like that.” He stole a glance at Evan, who squeezed his hand beneath the table.
“I know, and there’s no shame in that. But sometimes we all get so tied up with saving the world that we can’t just take a couple of evenings off to have a good time,” Alicia replied. “That’s important too,” she reminded them.
Seth’s gaze drifted back to the empty space where the ghost had been. “Do you think our friend is going to be a problem?” he asked, clearly meaning the spirit.
Alicia frowned. “He’s been dead for a while and gathering power, but he hasn’t tried to hurt anyone. Now that he knows someone is taking his death seriously and planning to stop his killer, I think that will keep him from getting involved. He didn’t seem unreasonable, the way ghosts are when they’re losing what’s left of their humanity.”
Once they were sure Alicia wasn’t too drained from the séance, they took their leave, promising to keep her in the loop on the hunt for the next witch-disciple.
Seth and Evan stepped out into the bright, clear day. “That was intense.” Seth bumped shoulders with Evan. Charleston still wasn’t a comfortable place for two men to hold hands in public.
“I can’t blame the ghost for being angry,” Evan replied. “And I’m squicked out over the possibilities of what Vernon might be doing with monster bits.”
“Nothing good, that’s for sure. But the quantity seems off for spell components. Maybe he’s running a processing plant for hellhound food?” Seth quipped, but as he spoke, something clicked into place in his brain. He and Evan shared a look.
“Oh, my God. What if he’s feeding them to something?” Evan looked like he might be sick.
“Just when you think things can’t get any weirder,” Seth said.
They weren’t due to meet with their friends for about an hour, so they took the opportunity for some much-needed downtime. Seth felt like they had been running at full speed since he had rescued Evan, because that was mostly true.
