Ghosted, p.20
Ghosted, page 20
part #4 of Girl's Guide to Voodoo Bounty Hunting Series
Nessa kept her hands at her sides. They were in a castle in the air, with the Fae Queen of Air, surrounded by other Air Elementals. Unless she was prepared to call on her dark magic, there wasn’t much point in starting a fight. And even then, it was a fight she could not ultimately win.
“Did you ask her?” the Queen said in English to Roland.
Still on one knee, the Paladin replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And…” she raised an imperious eyebrow.
“She agreed to my terms, Your Majesty.”
The Queen allowed a tiny smile to crease her beautiful features.
Nessa’s heart jumped into her throat so fast she thought she would choke.
“Wait, what?” Nessa barked. “You asked the favor for her?”
Roland did not move.
The Queen inclined her head. Answer enough.
Spitting in indignation, Pim somersaulted back to his feline form. There would be no battle, he understood. They’d been royally bamboozled.
“Was this the plan from the start?” she asked, her eyes darting from Roland to the Queen. “Kidnap my fairies and force a favor from me?”
The Queen hit her with a blast of icy air. Nessa flew backward from the force of the wind. She hit the stone wall so hard she saw stars.
The Queen’s tone was as cold as her spell. “Remember to whom you speak.”
Nessa was too busy trying to breathe to make a smart-ass reply. Probably for the better.
Holding hands, the fairies ran to Nessa. A sparkling wall of gold appeared in front of her and the Queen. A barrier.
“Taco!” they said menacingly, glaring at the ruler of Air.
Head high, the Queen ignored them.
Roland hadn’t moved.
Pim was pacing, alternating between his feline and werecat forms. Dazed or not, Nessa could feel the waves of anger coming off him. He would very much like to carve up the haughty monarch.
The world tilted precariously as Nessa sat upright. Both her magical and physical energy meters were flashing their red warning lights: empty. She felt as wrung out as a dry sponge and about as smart. Holding onto one of the chains bolted into the wall, Nessa managed to pull herself to her feet. She was not having this conversation lying on the floor.
The fairies lifted the barrier slightly to allow Pim to pass through. He radiated magic, sending the last of his own energy into his mistress.
It was barely a trickle. They were both physically spent. Finished. Kaput.
“Was this the plan from the start, Your Majesty?” she gave the title as much malice as she could manage.
The Queen lifted a fingertip at Roland.
He stood immediately, facing Nessa. “Yes. Part of it. Not all.”
“Your talents, Nessa Chevalier Scott, are rare and deep,” said the Queen in a languid tone. “Princess Nepenta’s treachery and the use of the Soul Eater in your world was an opportunity to avail myself of those talents. Far too delicious a chance to pass up, I am sure you will agree.”
No, Nessa did not agree. Wisely she kept those thoughts to herself.
Pim hissed his opinion, however.
“Your fairies have been returned to you by Roland. You owe my Paladin a favor. My Paladin owes me.” She met Nessa’s eyes. The Queen’s eyes were the color of arctic ice and every degree as cold. “You will be hearing from us, Nessa Chevalier Scott.”
In a swirl of silk and pearls, the Queen floated out the door. Saying over her shoulder, “Return the crown. Send the child and her vermin on their way, Paladin.”
“Bitch,” said Nessa, not caring if the Queen heard.
The fairies snapped their fingers, lowering the golden shield. They crowded close to Nessa, supporting her as she swayed unsteadily.
“She didn’t need to show up,” Nessa said to Pim. “We would have gone home thinking we owed Roland for saving the fairies. Nope. She wanted to twist the knife herself. Show me who was really in charge.”
“Taco, taco, taco,” chorused the fairies.
Roland opened his mouth to speak.
“Don’t,” Nessa growled, every bit as menacing as werecat Pim. “Don’t say a word.”
He kept silent; his face impassive as he handed her the Portal Crown.
She snatched it back, thrusting the silver crown into the backpack. She wouldn’t need it. Roland was sending them home.
Lifting his hand, he waved open a Portal on a burst of cold air.
Peering through, Nessa saw her scooter and the dumpster behind the Taco Bell. Where she had wasted her hard-earned money buying the traitorous Roland his damn dinner.
Jerk.
Nessa pulled the fairies close. “Maybe you should have been the one the Kasha took to Hell, Roland,” Nessa said.
Hand in hand and with Pim in the lead, they stepped through.
“Maybe I should have,” she heard him say as the Portal closed behind her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A short time later the fairies were stuffing themselves with tacos, burritos, and a new taste treat –spicy french fries. She’d bought them colas as well. They needed the sugar and caffeine.
Glamour didn’t work on Nessa, a side effect of her ability to see ghosts. She could only hope the fairies had disguised themselves in their usual costume of rainbow-haired teenage ninety’s wannabes. Just in case, they were outside on the patio despite the evening chill. Their time in Fae had been a mere blink in the Mortal world.
She wasn’t sure what to do next. Aunt Emerald’s wards wouldn’t let the girls into the house. Once their stomachs were full, they would need a bath with a lot of soap, clean clothes, and sleep.
Waiting until they were full – another dent in Nessa’s food budget – she took out a little notepad and pen. Not knowing each other’s language was a real drawback. Drawing pictures helped fill in those gaps.
Quickly drawing a bunch of sunflowers and a gate, Nessa made stick figures of herself, a circle for the Portal, and the three fairies going through. She was hoping they would want to return home rather than guard Nessa.
‘Please let them want to go home,’ she prayed silently.
They squealed enthusiastically causing a family walking into the restaurant to turn and stare.
“Happy,” Nessa explained with a wave of her hand. “Very happy.”
“Taco, taco, taco,” the fairies sang loudly, jumping up to do an impromptu jig. They were so high from the sugar.
The parents shoved the kids between them and quickly went inside.
Nessa went back to the dumpsters, the fairies still dancing. She opened the Portal.
They dropped to their knees, bowing. She was their queen, after all. Nessa had to pull them up gesturing to the Portal.
“Yes, you are welcome. I am sorry you were tortured because of me. Please go home. Please.”
After more bowing, hand-kissing, and three choruses of their favorite taco song, they danced drunkenly through the Portal.
Note to self, Nessa thought. Cola makes faeries drunk/high.
She closed the Portal with a sigh of relief. Pim had collapsed onto the ground. Rolling on his back he put all four paws in the air and let his tongue hang out the side of his mouth.
“Dead tired, kitty. I get it. Me too.”
She gathered him up in her arms. Slinging him up on one shoulder, she opened the scooter basket to remove her helmet. She laid Pim inside on his little cushion.
In a moment she had snapped on her helmet, released the hexed locks, and fastened the chain on the back. Before turning the ignition, she checked her phone. A dozen texts from both Barracuda and Ravi.
She called Mr. Barracuda first.
“Are you safe,” he demanded, picking up on the first ring.
“For now,” Nessa said honestly.
“Was it you and your dang cat raising tornados all over Boyle Heights?”
She hesitated, “Uh, no… yes… maybe… which answer gets me in less trouble?”
Muffled laughter echoed over the receiver. Rose Marie and Pansie, she thought.
“Hmph,” Barracuda snorted. “Not sure yet.”
“I have your Fudo Cord. It was amazing.”
“Did you catch the Soul Eater?”
“I did. Or your cord did. Until he got snatched by a Japanese Buddhist cat from Hell.”
She proceeded to tell him the story of the night’s adventures. He put it on speaker so the twins could hear. Her description of losing the Soul Eater to a cat had them all laughing in sympathy.
Somehow their laughter eased the tight knot of tension in her own heart. They were laughing with her, not at her. Undoubtedly, they had lost many bail jumpers under similarly bizarre circumstances.
“What about those fairies of yours?” he asked.
“Saved them,” Nessa said. She didn’t need to explain more tonight.
“Well see you come in tomorrow,” his voice turned gruff. “I have a backload of cases for you and your lazy cat. I am losing money as we speak.”
She heard the twins giggling, so she didn’t take his tone too seriously. Maybe her dad had known what he was doing when he borrowed money and magic from Roman Barracuda. She could have done far worse than land at his door.
He was grumbling about no-good criminal scum running off with his hard-earned money as he rang off.
Next, she phoned Ravi.
“Jeezus Nessa,” he said almost shouting. “Are you alive?”
Laughing she said she was.
“What happened to the Soul Eater?”
She told him about the cat from hell.
“Oh man,” he moaned. “Why do you get all the good stuff? I was stuck at the hospital scrubbing CCTV. Now I’m in the office filing stupid reports.”
“Believe me, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat. Oh, oh. Jun Hee was with me for a lot of the action. He’s trying to claim the Soul Eater bounty from the Infernal Court. He has a video. But it was me who caught him. One hundred percent.”
“What an asshole,” snarled Ravi.
“He drove off with Madame Valencia. She’s the one who put up the bounty he said.”
“Yeah, but before she can give it to him, the Court must sign off. Anyway, nothing is going to happen until business hours tomorrow.”
“You have business hours? For magic?”
He laughed, “Banking hours. Hey, let’s meet for coffee in the morning at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. The one on Hawthorne. We can see what’s what with the bounty. I am on your side; right?”
“Thanks Ravi. How about nine a.m.?”
“Cool. Get some rest. You and Pim must be exhausted.”
She could not disagree.
Her sight was blurring from fatigue by the time they motored back to Hermosa Beach.
“Aunt Emerald? I’m home,” she called quietly, entering through the kitchen. Her stomach was growling. She’d thrown up everything after being hijacked to Faerie. Then at Taco Bell, she’d only bought food for the Faeries to save money. Aunt Emerald liked to cook and always made extra.
“Nessa, you alright?” came her aunt’s voice from the living room.
“I’m alive,” she sighed, “guess that’s about as good as it gets tonight.”
A half-full baking dish of meatloaf sat on top of the oven with a dish of what looked like Au Gratin potatoes by it. Yum.
Pim jumped on the counter, licking his lips.
She prepared plates for them as her aunt walked in.
“Well, go on,” her aunt said. “You can talk and eat. What happened?”
For the third time, Nessa described the evening’s events since she left home after the scrying. Nessa went into far more detail than she had with Mr. Barracuda or Ravi. Aunt Emerald was family.
It took double helpings of meatloaf and potatoes for Nessa and two glasses of red wine for her aunt before she got to the part about Roland tricking her.
“Damn Fae,” her aunt shook her head. “I hate them.”
Right now, so did Nessa.
“Where’s dad?” she asked casually as if she didn’t really care.
She’d kept her distance since he’d shown up at the house a few days before. After all the action tonight, and his part in some of it, she’d expected him to want to hear the story. Wouldn’t he?
“Gone,” said Aunt Emerald. “Came back, packed his bag, and took off.”
Pim stopped licking his whiskers.
Nessa stared at her aunt. “Again?”
She drained her glass and poured a little more wine. “Yep.”
Her aunt was not a demonstrative woman. Only rarely did she touch Nessa far less show any affection. Tonight, she laid a hand on Nessa’s knee.
“Sorry, honey.” She patted it several times. “Real sorry.”
“He didn’t say anything? Like where he was going or about throwing me to the mercy of Barracuda Bail Bonds?”
“Nothing. He gave me some cash and drove off. Oh, I think he went up to your room. Maybe he left you a note?”
Nessa rinsed their plates, thanked her aunt for the food, and went upstairs to her room. Fiona’s door was closed, no light underneath. She hadn’t thought to look for the other witch’s car. It didn’t matter. Fiona probably wouldn’t care where Nessa had been the past couple of days. A mini-holiday for the other witch from slumming it with Barracuda Bail Bonds.
No note was waiting for her in the living room. The same for the bedroom.
Pim meowed and butted his head against her in sympathy.
“What did I expect?” she asked him. “He’s had enough of us. He’s made it pretty clear.”
After swallowing a couple of Ibuprofen, she stripped out of her clothes in the bathroom. Standing under the shower, lathered in soap she wondered why he’d come to her apartment if not to leave a message.
Washing the cream rinse out of her hair the idea hit her like a punch in the gut. Fear zinged up and down her spine. She grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her as she ran into the bedroom.
Surprised, Pim jumped off the bed.
She pulled open her bureau drawer throwing socks, underwear, and bras into the air.
Instead of the orb, she found two boxes of her special blue contacts. The ones she needed to hide her inky black eyes.
No orb.
Deadbeat Dad had taken it.
Sinking down on the floor she put her head in her hands.
“Dang it, Pim.”
Her cell phone rang. Nessa was tempted to let it go to voice mail. God damn deadbeat dad. It kept ringing. She pulled it out of her hoodie pocket.
‘Ravi’ flashed on the screen.
Oh. Thinking it could be about the bounty from the Soul Eater, she tapped answer.
“Hey, Ravi.”
“Hey, Nessa. Um…” he cleared his throat. “You know how I said I was still at the office?”
“Yeah,” she said picking underpants off the floor.
He cleared his throat again. Why did he sound nervous?
“And I would look into the Madame Valencia bounty?”
She tucked them in the drawer. “Yes.”
“Well, um, uh…I found something in the queue for the Infernal Court tomorrow…” the pause lengthened.
She put a pair of socks back in, next to the underwear. “And?”
“You’re being summoned.”
“What do you mean summoned. Like, magically?”
“No. Sorry, this sort of took me by surprise. Um, you’re going to be served a summons to appear in court.”
“I’m what?” Her voice came out in a screech.
“You’re being charged with wrongful endangerment from weather magic because of the tornados. Four tornadoes. Jeezus. You summoned four tornadoes in twenty-four hours?”
“Maybe five,” she squeaked.
“Not good, Nessa. Also, malicious disregard for public safety and cloaking protocols in...” he paused, “in Beverly Hills. You attacked a coffee lounge in Beverly Hills?”
Nessa’s stomach cartwheeled into her socks.
“You better get a lawyer. Fast.”
Ohhhhhh crap.
To be continued in Girl’s Guide to Voodoo Bounty Hunting 5: High Jinx
Keep reading for an exclusive preview of High Jinx!
Copyright 2022 by Eden Crowne. All rights reserved.
HIGH JINX: Exclusive Preview
CHAPTER ONE
“You are in a heap of trouble, young lady.”
Judge Adaeze looked sternly down at Nessa from her high perch in the courtroom.
Nessa squirmed. She certainly was.
With only a few hours’ notice, she’d been summoned to the Infernal Court on charges of malicious disregard for public safety and ignoring cloaking protocols. This was due to her unfortunate run-in with a Soul Eater. Soul Eaters are not nice people. It had taken a lot of magic on Nessa’s part to stop him. A swarm of tornadoes touching down in East LA level of magic.
The Infernal Court was not pleased. How the Court knew it was Nessa and not some other summoner was still a mystery.
Thank God for Ravi’s warning.
Ravi Sing was an enforcement officer with the Infernal Court. Nessa called him a Witch Cop. He hated that. He was also her friend. Something she’d had very few of in her life trailing behind Deadbeat Dad.
As soon as he saw the summons in the Court ledger, he’d called her. After she got off the phone with him, she called her boss, Roman Barracuda.
Roman Barracuda owned Barracuda Bail Bonds in Compton. A few short weeks ago, Nessa’s father had skipped town owing Mr. Barracuda big time. Only the debt wasn’t money. It was magic. Nessa had been left as collateral.
Thanks, Dad. Love you too.
She and her Familiar Pim were working off the debt as novice bounty hunters one bail jumper at a time.
The Soul Eater hadn’t been a bail bonds job. But if anyone knew how to get her out of trouble with the Infernal Court, it was Roman Barracuda.
The Court was hidden in a row of nondescript buildings in Redondo Beach. Since her boss handled both real-world and supernatural bonds, Nessa had dropped off a few bail jumpers here. She’d never been inside the actual courtroom.
The room was… intimidating. Yep, Nessa thought. That was the word for it. Gray stone floor, stone walls, stone ceiling. Black sigils covered every surface. They glowed with a harsh light. You’d think black couldn’t glow. Apparently, it can. The sigils lit up the room. No other lighting was necessary.
“Did you ask her?” the Queen said in English to Roland.
Still on one knee, the Paladin replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And…” she raised an imperious eyebrow.
“She agreed to my terms, Your Majesty.”
The Queen allowed a tiny smile to crease her beautiful features.
Nessa’s heart jumped into her throat so fast she thought she would choke.
“Wait, what?” Nessa barked. “You asked the favor for her?”
Roland did not move.
The Queen inclined her head. Answer enough.
Spitting in indignation, Pim somersaulted back to his feline form. There would be no battle, he understood. They’d been royally bamboozled.
“Was this the plan from the start?” she asked, her eyes darting from Roland to the Queen. “Kidnap my fairies and force a favor from me?”
The Queen hit her with a blast of icy air. Nessa flew backward from the force of the wind. She hit the stone wall so hard she saw stars.
The Queen’s tone was as cold as her spell. “Remember to whom you speak.”
Nessa was too busy trying to breathe to make a smart-ass reply. Probably for the better.
Holding hands, the fairies ran to Nessa. A sparkling wall of gold appeared in front of her and the Queen. A barrier.
“Taco!” they said menacingly, glaring at the ruler of Air.
Head high, the Queen ignored them.
Roland hadn’t moved.
Pim was pacing, alternating between his feline and werecat forms. Dazed or not, Nessa could feel the waves of anger coming off him. He would very much like to carve up the haughty monarch.
The world tilted precariously as Nessa sat upright. Both her magical and physical energy meters were flashing their red warning lights: empty. She felt as wrung out as a dry sponge and about as smart. Holding onto one of the chains bolted into the wall, Nessa managed to pull herself to her feet. She was not having this conversation lying on the floor.
The fairies lifted the barrier slightly to allow Pim to pass through. He radiated magic, sending the last of his own energy into his mistress.
It was barely a trickle. They were both physically spent. Finished. Kaput.
“Was this the plan from the start, Your Majesty?” she gave the title as much malice as she could manage.
The Queen lifted a fingertip at Roland.
He stood immediately, facing Nessa. “Yes. Part of it. Not all.”
“Your talents, Nessa Chevalier Scott, are rare and deep,” said the Queen in a languid tone. “Princess Nepenta’s treachery and the use of the Soul Eater in your world was an opportunity to avail myself of those talents. Far too delicious a chance to pass up, I am sure you will agree.”
No, Nessa did not agree. Wisely she kept those thoughts to herself.
Pim hissed his opinion, however.
“Your fairies have been returned to you by Roland. You owe my Paladin a favor. My Paladin owes me.” She met Nessa’s eyes. The Queen’s eyes were the color of arctic ice and every degree as cold. “You will be hearing from us, Nessa Chevalier Scott.”
In a swirl of silk and pearls, the Queen floated out the door. Saying over her shoulder, “Return the crown. Send the child and her vermin on their way, Paladin.”
“Bitch,” said Nessa, not caring if the Queen heard.
The fairies snapped their fingers, lowering the golden shield. They crowded close to Nessa, supporting her as she swayed unsteadily.
“She didn’t need to show up,” Nessa said to Pim. “We would have gone home thinking we owed Roland for saving the fairies. Nope. She wanted to twist the knife herself. Show me who was really in charge.”
“Taco, taco, taco,” chorused the fairies.
Roland opened his mouth to speak.
“Don’t,” Nessa growled, every bit as menacing as werecat Pim. “Don’t say a word.”
He kept silent; his face impassive as he handed her the Portal Crown.
She snatched it back, thrusting the silver crown into the backpack. She wouldn’t need it. Roland was sending them home.
Lifting his hand, he waved open a Portal on a burst of cold air.
Peering through, Nessa saw her scooter and the dumpster behind the Taco Bell. Where she had wasted her hard-earned money buying the traitorous Roland his damn dinner.
Jerk.
Nessa pulled the fairies close. “Maybe you should have been the one the Kasha took to Hell, Roland,” Nessa said.
Hand in hand and with Pim in the lead, they stepped through.
“Maybe I should have,” she heard him say as the Portal closed behind her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A short time later the fairies were stuffing themselves with tacos, burritos, and a new taste treat –spicy french fries. She’d bought them colas as well. They needed the sugar and caffeine.
Glamour didn’t work on Nessa, a side effect of her ability to see ghosts. She could only hope the fairies had disguised themselves in their usual costume of rainbow-haired teenage ninety’s wannabes. Just in case, they were outside on the patio despite the evening chill. Their time in Fae had been a mere blink in the Mortal world.
She wasn’t sure what to do next. Aunt Emerald’s wards wouldn’t let the girls into the house. Once their stomachs were full, they would need a bath with a lot of soap, clean clothes, and sleep.
Waiting until they were full – another dent in Nessa’s food budget – she took out a little notepad and pen. Not knowing each other’s language was a real drawback. Drawing pictures helped fill in those gaps.
Quickly drawing a bunch of sunflowers and a gate, Nessa made stick figures of herself, a circle for the Portal, and the three fairies going through. She was hoping they would want to return home rather than guard Nessa.
‘Please let them want to go home,’ she prayed silently.
They squealed enthusiastically causing a family walking into the restaurant to turn and stare.
“Happy,” Nessa explained with a wave of her hand. “Very happy.”
“Taco, taco, taco,” the fairies sang loudly, jumping up to do an impromptu jig. They were so high from the sugar.
The parents shoved the kids between them and quickly went inside.
Nessa went back to the dumpsters, the fairies still dancing. She opened the Portal.
They dropped to their knees, bowing. She was their queen, after all. Nessa had to pull them up gesturing to the Portal.
“Yes, you are welcome. I am sorry you were tortured because of me. Please go home. Please.”
After more bowing, hand-kissing, and three choruses of their favorite taco song, they danced drunkenly through the Portal.
Note to self, Nessa thought. Cola makes faeries drunk/high.
She closed the Portal with a sigh of relief. Pim had collapsed onto the ground. Rolling on his back he put all four paws in the air and let his tongue hang out the side of his mouth.
“Dead tired, kitty. I get it. Me too.”
She gathered him up in her arms. Slinging him up on one shoulder, she opened the scooter basket to remove her helmet. She laid Pim inside on his little cushion.
In a moment she had snapped on her helmet, released the hexed locks, and fastened the chain on the back. Before turning the ignition, she checked her phone. A dozen texts from both Barracuda and Ravi.
She called Mr. Barracuda first.
“Are you safe,” he demanded, picking up on the first ring.
“For now,” Nessa said honestly.
“Was it you and your dang cat raising tornados all over Boyle Heights?”
She hesitated, “Uh, no… yes… maybe… which answer gets me in less trouble?”
Muffled laughter echoed over the receiver. Rose Marie and Pansie, she thought.
“Hmph,” Barracuda snorted. “Not sure yet.”
“I have your Fudo Cord. It was amazing.”
“Did you catch the Soul Eater?”
“I did. Or your cord did. Until he got snatched by a Japanese Buddhist cat from Hell.”
She proceeded to tell him the story of the night’s adventures. He put it on speaker so the twins could hear. Her description of losing the Soul Eater to a cat had them all laughing in sympathy.
Somehow their laughter eased the tight knot of tension in her own heart. They were laughing with her, not at her. Undoubtedly, they had lost many bail jumpers under similarly bizarre circumstances.
“What about those fairies of yours?” he asked.
“Saved them,” Nessa said. She didn’t need to explain more tonight.
“Well see you come in tomorrow,” his voice turned gruff. “I have a backload of cases for you and your lazy cat. I am losing money as we speak.”
She heard the twins giggling, so she didn’t take his tone too seriously. Maybe her dad had known what he was doing when he borrowed money and magic from Roman Barracuda. She could have done far worse than land at his door.
He was grumbling about no-good criminal scum running off with his hard-earned money as he rang off.
Next, she phoned Ravi.
“Jeezus Nessa,” he said almost shouting. “Are you alive?”
Laughing she said she was.
“What happened to the Soul Eater?”
She told him about the cat from hell.
“Oh man,” he moaned. “Why do you get all the good stuff? I was stuck at the hospital scrubbing CCTV. Now I’m in the office filing stupid reports.”
“Believe me, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat. Oh, oh. Jun Hee was with me for a lot of the action. He’s trying to claim the Soul Eater bounty from the Infernal Court. He has a video. But it was me who caught him. One hundred percent.”
“What an asshole,” snarled Ravi.
“He drove off with Madame Valencia. She’s the one who put up the bounty he said.”
“Yeah, but before she can give it to him, the Court must sign off. Anyway, nothing is going to happen until business hours tomorrow.”
“You have business hours? For magic?”
He laughed, “Banking hours. Hey, let’s meet for coffee in the morning at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. The one on Hawthorne. We can see what’s what with the bounty. I am on your side; right?”
“Thanks Ravi. How about nine a.m.?”
“Cool. Get some rest. You and Pim must be exhausted.”
She could not disagree.
Her sight was blurring from fatigue by the time they motored back to Hermosa Beach.
“Aunt Emerald? I’m home,” she called quietly, entering through the kitchen. Her stomach was growling. She’d thrown up everything after being hijacked to Faerie. Then at Taco Bell, she’d only bought food for the Faeries to save money. Aunt Emerald liked to cook and always made extra.
“Nessa, you alright?” came her aunt’s voice from the living room.
“I’m alive,” she sighed, “guess that’s about as good as it gets tonight.”
A half-full baking dish of meatloaf sat on top of the oven with a dish of what looked like Au Gratin potatoes by it. Yum.
Pim jumped on the counter, licking his lips.
She prepared plates for them as her aunt walked in.
“Well, go on,” her aunt said. “You can talk and eat. What happened?”
For the third time, Nessa described the evening’s events since she left home after the scrying. Nessa went into far more detail than she had with Mr. Barracuda or Ravi. Aunt Emerald was family.
It took double helpings of meatloaf and potatoes for Nessa and two glasses of red wine for her aunt before she got to the part about Roland tricking her.
“Damn Fae,” her aunt shook her head. “I hate them.”
Right now, so did Nessa.
“Where’s dad?” she asked casually as if she didn’t really care.
She’d kept her distance since he’d shown up at the house a few days before. After all the action tonight, and his part in some of it, she’d expected him to want to hear the story. Wouldn’t he?
“Gone,” said Aunt Emerald. “Came back, packed his bag, and took off.”
Pim stopped licking his whiskers.
Nessa stared at her aunt. “Again?”
She drained her glass and poured a little more wine. “Yep.”
Her aunt was not a demonstrative woman. Only rarely did she touch Nessa far less show any affection. Tonight, she laid a hand on Nessa’s knee.
“Sorry, honey.” She patted it several times. “Real sorry.”
“He didn’t say anything? Like where he was going or about throwing me to the mercy of Barracuda Bail Bonds?”
“Nothing. He gave me some cash and drove off. Oh, I think he went up to your room. Maybe he left you a note?”
Nessa rinsed their plates, thanked her aunt for the food, and went upstairs to her room. Fiona’s door was closed, no light underneath. She hadn’t thought to look for the other witch’s car. It didn’t matter. Fiona probably wouldn’t care where Nessa had been the past couple of days. A mini-holiday for the other witch from slumming it with Barracuda Bail Bonds.
No note was waiting for her in the living room. The same for the bedroom.
Pim meowed and butted his head against her in sympathy.
“What did I expect?” she asked him. “He’s had enough of us. He’s made it pretty clear.”
After swallowing a couple of Ibuprofen, she stripped out of her clothes in the bathroom. Standing under the shower, lathered in soap she wondered why he’d come to her apartment if not to leave a message.
Washing the cream rinse out of her hair the idea hit her like a punch in the gut. Fear zinged up and down her spine. She grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her as she ran into the bedroom.
Surprised, Pim jumped off the bed.
She pulled open her bureau drawer throwing socks, underwear, and bras into the air.
Instead of the orb, she found two boxes of her special blue contacts. The ones she needed to hide her inky black eyes.
No orb.
Deadbeat Dad had taken it.
Sinking down on the floor she put her head in her hands.
“Dang it, Pim.”
Her cell phone rang. Nessa was tempted to let it go to voice mail. God damn deadbeat dad. It kept ringing. She pulled it out of her hoodie pocket.
‘Ravi’ flashed on the screen.
Oh. Thinking it could be about the bounty from the Soul Eater, she tapped answer.
“Hey, Ravi.”
“Hey, Nessa. Um…” he cleared his throat. “You know how I said I was still at the office?”
“Yeah,” she said picking underpants off the floor.
He cleared his throat again. Why did he sound nervous?
“And I would look into the Madame Valencia bounty?”
She tucked them in the drawer. “Yes.”
“Well, um, uh…I found something in the queue for the Infernal Court tomorrow…” the pause lengthened.
She put a pair of socks back in, next to the underwear. “And?”
“You’re being summoned.”
“What do you mean summoned. Like, magically?”
“No. Sorry, this sort of took me by surprise. Um, you’re going to be served a summons to appear in court.”
“I’m what?” Her voice came out in a screech.
“You’re being charged with wrongful endangerment from weather magic because of the tornados. Four tornadoes. Jeezus. You summoned four tornadoes in twenty-four hours?”
“Maybe five,” she squeaked.
“Not good, Nessa. Also, malicious disregard for public safety and cloaking protocols in...” he paused, “in Beverly Hills. You attacked a coffee lounge in Beverly Hills?”
Nessa’s stomach cartwheeled into her socks.
“You better get a lawyer. Fast.”
Ohhhhhh crap.
To be continued in Girl’s Guide to Voodoo Bounty Hunting 5: High Jinx
Keep reading for an exclusive preview of High Jinx!
Copyright 2022 by Eden Crowne. All rights reserved.
HIGH JINX: Exclusive Preview
CHAPTER ONE
“You are in a heap of trouble, young lady.”
Judge Adaeze looked sternly down at Nessa from her high perch in the courtroom.
Nessa squirmed. She certainly was.
With only a few hours’ notice, she’d been summoned to the Infernal Court on charges of malicious disregard for public safety and ignoring cloaking protocols. This was due to her unfortunate run-in with a Soul Eater. Soul Eaters are not nice people. It had taken a lot of magic on Nessa’s part to stop him. A swarm of tornadoes touching down in East LA level of magic.
The Infernal Court was not pleased. How the Court knew it was Nessa and not some other summoner was still a mystery.
Thank God for Ravi’s warning.
Ravi Sing was an enforcement officer with the Infernal Court. Nessa called him a Witch Cop. He hated that. He was also her friend. Something she’d had very few of in her life trailing behind Deadbeat Dad.
As soon as he saw the summons in the Court ledger, he’d called her. After she got off the phone with him, she called her boss, Roman Barracuda.
Roman Barracuda owned Barracuda Bail Bonds in Compton. A few short weeks ago, Nessa’s father had skipped town owing Mr. Barracuda big time. Only the debt wasn’t money. It was magic. Nessa had been left as collateral.
Thanks, Dad. Love you too.
She and her Familiar Pim were working off the debt as novice bounty hunters one bail jumper at a time.
The Soul Eater hadn’t been a bail bonds job. But if anyone knew how to get her out of trouble with the Infernal Court, it was Roman Barracuda.
The Court was hidden in a row of nondescript buildings in Redondo Beach. Since her boss handled both real-world and supernatural bonds, Nessa had dropped off a few bail jumpers here. She’d never been inside the actual courtroom.
The room was… intimidating. Yep, Nessa thought. That was the word for it. Gray stone floor, stone walls, stone ceiling. Black sigils covered every surface. They glowed with a harsh light. You’d think black couldn’t glow. Apparently, it can. The sigils lit up the room. No other lighting was necessary.
