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 collided with Percival, grunting in shock to realize he’d been seeing clearly. The two of them went down in a tangle of limbs, too many limbs. Sean counted six, eight limbs and wondered briefly whether Percival was an octopus now, but a blow to his stomach that winded him pushed him back. His guts lurched and he gasped for air, Percival drawing himself up before him. He looked pissed, his robes fluttering open in the chill morning breeze, his leg drawing back in slow motion.


Sean gagged as Percival kicked him again, tried to suck in air. Percival’s hand grabbed his hair and yanked, pulling him sideways into a tree. Sean figured this was it, mind seizing completely when he heard the gunshot.


Percival froze, the trees shifting around him. Sean pulled in a needed breath, heard another shot. He staggered away, blinking, and saw Dane not far off, propping himself against a tree, gun in hand. He fired again, and again. Percival fell to the ground and didn’t move.


Chapter 63