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

“Get your ass over here,” said Dane, pulling something off a shelf. “You don’t know how to handle weapons—you know how to punch?”


Dane grabbed his hand and slid something cold onto the fingers. He shuddered, looked down.


“There you go. Brass knuckles. Should be good in a close fight, even for you.”


“That’s basic,” said Javalynne, stepping forward. “I do have upgraded versions. Hardened in various bloods, coated with silver…”


“This’ll do,” said Dane, then to Sean, “More or less. Let’s get you some knives, too.”


Sean wandered helplessly around Javalynne’s selection of ways to kill people, wishing he could just relax. He didn’t like the thought of carrying around an assortment of weapons, and he very much didn’t care to use any of them. Not even a little.


Chapter 49