Dane's a Decrypter down on his luck -- after accidentally dispatching the wrong creature, he's sent to a small town where the cryptids he hunts are sparse. Crypt Coffee becomes his business front, but instead of a thrilling new mission on the side, he's stuck sending ghosts back to where they came from. Dane can annoy customers, at least, and tries to scare off Professor Sean Sanderson when he starts poking around too much.<br><br>But Sean isn’t about to stay away. Not when he hears about the murder of a former student, and definitely not if young, exciting Dane has information about it. But the more he allows himself to get dragged into this supernatural world of monsters and ghosts, the more the danger escalates. And if Sean and Dane aren’t careful, tracking down a murderer who can use magic might just get them killed.

Bad Seed

Most of what he’d dealt with so far was spirit-related. You got a lot of ghosts right next to a cemetery. Ned was helpful mainly with that, although he often had random information and Dane couldn’tfigure out where the hell he’d gotten it. He never cared to say, either.


“Getting another problem grave,” said Ned. Dane took a drink and glared at him to continue. “Out near the three pines. Not a recent one, either—she’s been dead almost as long as me. Eliza Bartley, rest her soul, refuses to keep resting her soul.”


“Specifics? What are we looking at? Possessions, undead, whatever the hell you are but evil…?”


“Who’s to say I’m not evil?” asked Ned, and grinned. His face pulled too wide and stretched into a gruesome look. Dane was unimpressed. He took a final drink and replaced the rye.


“I am. I don’t like you I’ll send you on.”


“I’d say I’d like to see you try, but here doesn’t seem the place.”


Chapter 4