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

Sean followed him outside and he lit it up without hesitation. The flames sprang up like flicking on a light and the house turned into a searingly bright blur. Dane hefted up his bag, unable to move at first, until Sean’s hand brushing against the back of his tore him out of it. He glanced over, heart pounding, and heard the sound of an engine.


“Shit, run,” he said, and took off toward the trees, Sean at his side. The professor was in shape enough to keep up, which was good because Dane would have no choice but to ask the Order to interfere if he was caught.


They reached the trees as headlights tore down the driveway. The car stopped, the door slammed.


“Fuck,” said Sean, and turned back to look.


Dane peered out from the trees, too, seeing the outlines of two people staring at the house. When one rushed forward the other held them back. Dane saw the first collapse against the car and the second put a phone to their ear.


Chapter 23