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Chapter One
I nudge the crurave with the toe ofhole recently filled in The freshly turned soil is still loose and da A four-foot angel lay on it’s back, a s lay in pieces Cracks run through the base of the toes chosen by loved ones for Iard and disrespect for a final resting spot is cringeworthy Chaos in a spot meant for eternal peace sickens me
The black coffin at the bottoone off inside of it Splintered wood juts out at jagged angles Scarlet drops, rapidly turning a rusty red as they oxygenate, stand out against the white satin lining There’s no blood in a body post- the undead
“I think you ht’ve downplayed it when you said you had a problem,” I say dryly
I glance over at Donald Woodray overalls, the lesser earth Faerie looks coic His warht fralance until you looked closer An angular face, upturned nose, and thick lashes frareen eyes make him beautiful Only, not inhumanly so Over time, the Fae have learned how to blend in
Like many of his kind, he chooses to pass his ti a job that keeps him close to the element he has an infinity for As a witch, I see him as he’s meant to be From the tips of his curved and pointed-tipped ears to the unblemished porcelain skin, cupid’s bow lips, and ash-blond wavy locks, he’s perfection
“Any clue what happened here?” I scan the area he’s roped off for signs of who or what could’ve done this Other than a few shoe i obvious, which tells me this is purely a supernatural problem
“No My crew and I finished burying the body last night around seven o’clock We packed everything up and went ho as usual When I caestures toward the body less grave with his hands
“Has anything like this ever happened before?”
“Nothing rerave robber in, but they’re looking for jewelry, not bodies” He shoves his hands into the pockets of his dark blue jus his shoulders
Thatis an outdated and obsolete practice “I’ You’ll have to keep this part of the ce an issue with drainage Reroute Postpone Do whatever you need to, including using your gift of persuasion We can’t have ru around” Even if it is true
“You knoe’re not supposed to tamper with humans,” Donny says quietly Relations between humans and Fae have always been tentative at best The deals brokered to afford peaceful cohabitation are stringent
“Louella Esçhete is giving you the sanction There will be no backlash You’re doing the co with the coical family
He ducks his head “Okay, Lou”
“I’ down, I study the impressions left in the soft soil The dirt holds multiple sets of footprints Unless there were two people buried in one coffin, we’ve got a serious situation brewing Why, what, and how many, are the questions foremost in my mindVampires?
It’s rare to have a vas aren’t known for restraint Having baby va people would blow their cover It’s a code a them?they handle conversions with care After what happened last suhtened up on the rule b
reaking, and rogues that slipped through the cracks Unlike Bella froht, they don’t come equipped with the ability to control thes tend to stay that way unless tampered with
“I need to have the coffin exhu broke in, or out I rise and wipethe obvious I scanned the paperwork on the body before I ca out of the ordinary about the victi, I need to know about it “I’ll send people to take care of it” Lifting the Cannon ca
We’ve upped our game over the past six months as we iron out the kinks in our business To appease everyone involved, we’ve coical techniques to solve our cases Plenty of skeptics remain out there ready for Sacha, Felicite, and I to fail Others have begun to coeneration Our changes are bound toclosed off and exclusive, we don’t kno to reach out to other supernatural beings for help If Witch for Hire can act as a bridge between everyone, I’ll consider it a success
Replacing the lens cap after pictures, I approach the black case I set aside earlier, pop the silver buckle, and pull out the plaster mix and a bottle of water The older cemetery is secluded In the middle of an underdeveloped area surrounded by woods, it’s the perfect place for the crirass is neatly trimmed, and the dirt rows are defined
A decent nuraves have flowers or other trinkets left in re the molds, I call the office while they dry