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

“Have you ever burned a house before?” he asked, and Dane’s scowl found a different place to land, somewhere to the side of Sean. “So no.”


“Look, this is how we handle it. Sometimes cleanup gets messy. If you don’t like it, you can walk.”


Sean knew that meant more than just bowing out while Dane handled the arson. He was being told to get thehell out for good if he was going to refuse to go through with this, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like having to choose, and he didn’t like being told what to do. Sean crossed the room to Dane, stood right up next to him so that their bodies were nearly touching.


“And then what? You report me to your Order?”


Dane tilted his head up slightly. Sean could smell the alcohol warm on his breath when he spoke.


“Deserve it, wouldn’t you? I don’t need a mom. And if you’re going to let me down, you can get the hell out.”


Chapter 21