Diggin up crones, p.75
Diggin' Up Crones, page 75
Then they were gone.
We went to The Cauldron to celebrate. To my way of thinking, there wasn’t much to celebrate. People were dead — a lot of them — and Bonnie was still out there. On top of that, Cernunnos and Hecate were up to something. They hadn’t shown their faces during the entire showdown in the field.
“What are you thinking?” Evan asked as he hopped on the empty stool to my right. Poet was on my left, laughing and having a good time as she watched her people mingle with mine. We’d all had a good time when Marissa tried to hit on Cole without realizing he was already spoken for. Now she was taking his disinterest personally. It was the little things, after all.
At the pool table, Kade and Gunner postured for superiority. Nellie and Tillie conspired at the other end of the bar, their heads bent together. Naida and Raven sat with Rick and Andrea engaged in serious conversation. Cole, Luke, and Evan were at the window, laughing about something innocuous.
The family was all together. We were united but still in trouble.
“I think Bonnie is still out there and she’s going to hide until she’s at full strength,” I replied tiredly.
“We weren’t ready to fight her yet anyway.”
“We need Raven’s cousin,” I agreed.
“I’ll stay on her,” Poet promised. “I’ll make sure the cousin is here soon.”
“That’s good.” I tried to smile but couldn’t manage it.
“You’re worried about the gods,” Evan guessed.
There was no sense denying it. “They’re both here, up to something. They worked together to deal with the Jay situation, but they have separate agendas.”
“Which means bad things for us,” Evan surmised.
“Yup.” I was resigned.
“We’ll be fine.” Poet patted my forearm.
I gave her an incredulous look. “How can you say that?”
“Because history has proven that we’ll be fine.” She was serious. “I get that you feel off because you let those hyenas go. I even understand why you’d be upset, but you did the right thing.”
I didn’t doubt that. “I’m just worried,” I admitted. “Bonnie’s return starts the clock ticking.”
Poet bobbed her head. “I’m okay with that.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to win. The sooner it’s done, the sooner we can move on to planning my move to a tropical island and your engagement to the shifter of your dreams.”
I gave her a dirty look. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t act as if you’re not excited. We all know it’s coming.” Her grin was wide. “Do you think he’s going to get you a big diamond?”
Gunner and I had talked, vaguely, about getting engaged down the line. It wasn’t going to happen today, or even this week. This month was out of the question too.
“We have other things to focus on,” I reminded her, my temper flaring.
She laughed. “Life isn’t worth living if you don’t embrace the joy.” She lowered her voice. “And you should be preparing yourself.”
My stomach twisted, suspicion bubbling up. “What do you know?”
“You did the right thing today,” she replied. “I know that we’re going to win in the end. Nothing else seems important right now.”
I wanted to argue with her, but didn’t. “I could eat,” I said, looking around.
“The Winchesters are bringing a huge spread,” Evan replied. “I heard Bay talking to her mother on the phone.”
“That will make Gunner happy.”
“Don’t kid yourself; we’re all happy.”
We were, but for how long? Jay was dead — something we would have trouble explaining — and the town had suffered a bruising blow.
For tonight, though, we were safe and it was okay to be happy. “I need a drink,” I announced, lifting my chin to catch Whistler’s gaze.
“Now you’re talking.” Evan thumped my back and lowered his voice. “We’ll figure all of this out. Have a little faith.”
Faith was in short supply, but today was a win and I had three of the four nexus keys. That would have to be enough.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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An Avery Shaw Mystery
Who, What, Where, When, Die
If it Bleeds, it Leads
Buried Leads
Shot Off The Presses
The Preditorial Page
Misquoted & Demoted
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Any Witch Way You Can
Every Witch Way But Wicked
Witching You Were Here
Witching on a Star
Something to Witch About
Witch Me Luck
Life’s a Witch
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Murder Most Witchy
A Witch Before Dying
A Breath of Witchy Air
Witch, Interrupted
Flip the Witch Switch
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To Love a Witch
The Witch is Back
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Last Witch Attempt
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Careful What You Witch For
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On a Witch and a Prayer
You Only Witch Once
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Thistle While You Work
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All My Witches
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Only the Lonely
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The Grim Reaper Gaffe
A Moonstone Bay Cozy Mystery
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Witch Out of Water
Freaky Deaky Tiki
To Spell With It
Hex Type Thing
Brewing Up a Storm
Long, Hot, Witchy Summer
Great Hexpectations
The Joy of Hex
Witch is the Word
Beach Blanket Wendigo
Bewitched & Bothered
Witching on the Job
All Witches on Deck
Better Luck Hex Time
At Charm’s Length
From Fear to Eternity
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Bad to the Crone
No Crones About It
No Crone Unturned
Cut to the Crone
Romancing the Crone
A Crone to Pick
Sticks and Crones
Game of Crones
Cast the First Crone
Crone Cold Dead
Chilled to the Crone
Two Birds, One Crone
Crone It Down
Crone Sweet Crone
Crone of Thorns
A Two Broomsticks Gas & Grill Cozy Mystery
Sinfully Delicious
Caffeinated Calamity
A Little Slice of Death
Follow the Crumbs
Grease the Wheel
We All Scream
The Secret’s in the Sauce
As the Cookie Crumbles
Chilled to the Bone
Sinister Snack Attack
Once Bitten, Twice Dead
Wham, Bam, in a Jam
A Luna Thorn Witchy Mystery
Monster Mayhem
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Undead Urges
Hexy Hijinks
Karma Killer
Sinister Séance
Vexing Vampires
A Nightshade Detective Agency Witchy Mystery
Witches With Benefits
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Graduating
Living Covenant Trilogy
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Everlasting Covenant
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Wolf on the Job
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Jerry Takes Charge
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Grave Homecoming
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Grave Holiday
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An Ivy Morgan Mystery
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A Rowan Gray Mystery
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Murky Seas
Stormy Seas
Sunken Seas
Choppy Seas
Churning Seas
Dangerous Seas
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Raging Seas
A Hannah Hickock Witchy Cozy Mystery
The Dirty Coven
A Fistful of Demons
Boot Scootin’ Boogeyman
The Monstrous Seven
Dances With Witches
All the Pretty Witches
Haunt ‘Em High
The Ghoul, the Bad, & The Ugly
Haunted Plains Drifter
For a Few Witches More
A Bad Day at Casper Creek
Live Like You Were Scrying
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Achy Breaky Hex
Witchy Woman Blues
A Supernatural Speakeasy Cozy Mystery
The Hexorcist
Witch Confidential
Curse A Brew Streak
Witch is the New Black
Hex, Drugs & Rock and Roll
My Brew Heaven
Once in a Brew Moon
Heaven & Spell
That Magic Moment
Black & Brew
The Hexhibitionist
Hextraordinary Circumstances
Hexcess Baggage
Merry Hexmas
The Agony & the Hex-stasy
Hex Education
A Witch on the Rocks Cozy Mystery
Tall Tales & Witchy Fails
Witch At The End of the Tunnel
Eat, Drink, & Be Witchy
Witching With Sharks
Witches of the Deep
Against the Witchy Tide
Cold as a Witch’s Tequila Sunrise
Witches Get Stitches
What Dies Beneath
From Were to Eternity
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The Only Witch in the Sea
A Return to Magic Cozy Mystery
Older, Wiser, Witchier
New Ghosts, Old Tricks
Imaginary Fiends
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There’s Something About Magic
Don’t Be Afraid of the Spark
Hocus Focus
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Skeletons In the Closet
Graveyard Shift
Like Mother, Like Monster
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Wicked Seas
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True Grit Spirit
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Fiends In Low Places
Wicked Graves
Hardy Brothers Security
Deadly Intentions
Deadly Intuition
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Deadly Proposal
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Deadly Ever After
Deadly Honeymoon
Deadly Questions
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Deadly Vacation
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Deadly Storm
Deadly Dealings
Deadly Christmas
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Deadly Reunion
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Raising the Bar
Under the Influence
From Bad to Cursed
THE SNOW MUST GO ON
Shake Up & Smell the Coffee
On Thin Ice
The Snowball Effect
