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

The elderly man was sitting on the porch steps when they pulled up. He glared at them, long and hard, andwaited until they were halfway to the house before turning and entering.


“Yeah, we’re definitely welcome here,” said Sean.


“Relax. We’re here to confront them for a confession, nothing else.” Well, Dane wouldn’t mind a bitof a scrap. He could definitely take two witches, if they didn’t pull out any difficult spells and Seanhad the sense to run back to the car until it was all over.


The door opened and Hazel emerged, enraged and with a staff in her hand. It was studded with smooth stones and shining chips of some kind of rock, and Dane felt his heart pound at the fire in her eyes. He hadn’t gotten in a proper fight in ages—he didn’t count ghosts or possessed things—and his veins pulsed at the thought of one.


“I’m done speaking to you. Go. Now.”


Chapter 52