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

He was tempted to join Sean in the shower the next morning, too, but instead took care of himself in the downstairs bathroom while the professor was showering. Dane wanted a clear mind, no agitation, no distractions. He didn’t bother to make breakfast, and though Sean said nothing, there was disappointment in his eyes as they drove to Crypt Coffee.


“We’ll get you a muffin,” said Dane as he got out of the car in the lot. Sean sighed.


“I don’t need one. I will want a coffee—I’m barely awake. It’s like you exhausted me last night.”


“Going to do it again today. Crash course knife throwing practice for an hour, then it’s off to the wicked witches’.”


Sean groaned and ordered something with three shovels, which Winter repeated with a yawn.


“Pour yourself something standard on the house and I’ll finish ringing up this asshole,” said Dane.


She nodded. He slipped behind the counter and added the cost of the weapons to Sean’s cash back, which he pocketed as Sean groaned again.


Chapter 51