Murder Among the Roses | Book 1

3. Pain in the Fangs

Cordelia was a royal pain in Vesryn's fangs. That wicked witch thought she was awfully clever for casting that death curse and robbing him down to his bare arse cheeks, but Vesryn always had a backup plan.

Unfortunately, his latest one hadn't prevailed like he had hoped it would. He adjusted the robe Evangeline had given him, grateful for something to cover his naked flesh. At least she wasn't wicked like the witch he was hunting down, but he couldn't find himself able to stop thinking about her delicate, warm hands cradling him.

Those cozy memories morphed into bloodshed as he stuffed his numb stubs into the robe's pocket with a grimace. Best not to let any morning commuters notice them. Vesryn continued down the sidewalk, his magic vibrating through his veins as he followed the trail to the witch's hideout.

Vesryn wouldn't let her get away that easily with stealing his clothes and his fingers. Although the latter were intentional, nobody liked to lose a game when they were on a winning streak. That witch wanted to take a blow to his ego, and he couldn't deny how well it had worked.

Upon reaching a shop nestled between Sole-Mates shoe store and Mystic Mavery's Fortunes, dread knotted painfully in the pit of Vesryn's stomach when he peeked through the window display glass. There was a giant For Sale sign taped to the corner. Empty shelves lined the inside like skeleton bones, and Vesryn cursed under his breath.

After he made sure nobody lurked around, he coaxed a little magic from his good hand as a tiny vine snaked its way into the keyhole. It took a few good shimmies for the mechanism to give way and open with a soft click so he could step inside. Vesryn knew damn well that the witch was long gone, but he wanted to see if she'd left anything behind to give him any clues to her new whereabouts.

An abnormally large rodent with shiny purple fur darted across his feet, and he jumped out of its way. Purple rats weren't heard of in Raven's Coven, or anywhere else as far as Vesryn was aware, so it was likely a leftover experiment that Cordelia had left behind. Hopefully, the critter wasn't poisonous.

Further inside the shop, he found a plastic to-go container left behind on her built-in counter. For Vesryn was scrawled across the top in cursive writing with a cutesy red heart drawn beside his name. She knew he was too curious to ignore a message for him.

Nausea twisted like a knife to the gut when he popped open the container, revealing a bloody thick goop that sloshed when he moved it. It was filled with noodles and slices of mushrooms, but most prominent were the chopped and grated remains of his fingers.

"Fucking witch!" Vesryn cursed as he reeled back.

He had to dispose of the stew himself out in the dumpster behind the shop because he didn't want any of the human detectives he worked with snooping around and tracing his body parts back to him. It would make him the damned laughing stock of the station. He was no closer to catching Cordelia than he was before. With a frustrated groan, he shifted into a bat and soared up into the sky.

Thunder rumbled in the dark gray sky as storm clouds rolled in from the south. Icy wind nipped at his face as he soared over Raven's Cove and the treetops of the forest where their hideout was located. If he hurried, he would make it home before the storm hit at full force.

Vesryn dived down into the thick trees, careful not to snag his wings on any of the branches. Small pole lanterns guided him to his landing so he could shift back into his vampire form once he reached their garden house. A shallow stream circled around the house, with a wooden bridge he had to cross to reach the door. It was built for protective measures, just in case any dangerous vampire hunters or monsters happened to stumble upon their humble abode.