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

“Don’t like to bring it up, but yes. I prefer the Big at the front. Makes you feel at home.”


“So you’re not a Big?” asked Dane.


Sean nearly tore into him, but Big Frank turned back to him first.


“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.


Dane opened his mouth, but Sean grabbed Dane’s arm around an impressive tattoo and yanked him away.


“Cows in the Kale with blueberries,” said the smoothie mixer.


Sean released Dane before he got punched.


“That’s mine.” Sean grabbed the cup and stared at the two straws poking out the top.


“He’s with you,” said the teen, then turned back to make the next smoothie order.


When Sean looked up, Dane was slinking away to go question Big Frank again. Dane protested all the way out to the parking lot.


“I had more questions to ask that asshole,” he said. “What’s with the straws?”


“One’s yours. Let’s take a walk.”


Chapter 44