Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(10)

They stopped a few feet from it. “What’s in there?” the second boy asked.

“A staked revenant that’s also chained,” Jeremy spoke up. “You called us before we could destroy it.”

The first boy rubbed his nose in disgust. “Y’all have weird jobs.”

Jeremy’s lips twisted, but he looked at Simone before sighing. “I hate being nicer than I want to be.”

“Whatever, pendejo.” Simone pointed at the door, and it swung open on its own. “Lay him on the seat and make sure his legs don’t dangle. As long as he doesn’t touch it, he’ll be fine.”

The two werewolf youths looked like they wanted to protest more, but they deposited Rudy without further comment.

The second boy scratched the back of his neck. “Ted back there isn’t the only one feeling this way, but unless there’s proof, we have to accept the outcome. No matter how much we wish differently.” In conjunction with his words, shouts went up in the house, probably cheering on the winner.

Simone’s shoulders sagged. Everyone had to pretend everything was cool for the sake of the pack. It was times like this she felt the true burden of being married into another monster’s world. Too many eyes were on her to display her emotions just yet, so she got in the car and waited for Jeremy to get in. Rudy’s leg first, and then I figure out what the hell is going on. The two boys stood off to the side like an honor guard as she pulled away.




IT WAS a forty-minute drive to the old Civil War cemetery that had been retaken by the woods after years of neglect in favor of more well-known historical sites. The road was still passable, but it would take magic to keep it so for much longer. Her plan was to get it over with as quickly as possible. Take care of Rudy’s injuries and then the revenant. Beside her, Jeremy sat with his arms crossed and his lips pursed. “We’ll move the body in a few minutes.” She got out of the car and opened the back door. After Simone lifted the revenant’s head, she pulled up the carpet’s edge. Attached to the floor, hanging by clamps she had installed, was her machete. So far, it had only cut off one living head. She pressed her palm over the sheathed blade and the clamps released. Simone handed the blade to Jeremy who took it and placed it on her seat. She gave her attention back to the torn mess of Rudy’s leg. If she were a werewolf, maybe she could get away with hunting down the fucker who did this. But she was the sensible human who had less reason than any of the pack to act recklessly.

As she pulled Rudy’s injured leg out straighter, his face twisted into a grimace. Her fingers started to shake. To cut so deeply, the other werewolf’s fur, skin, or even part of a claw probably rested in Rudy’s wounds. Since the attack was instigated by the other party’s lust for power, a consumption curse would be the perfect answer to that greed. Add in a dash of concentrated gluttony, and that fucker would feast on his flesh like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“You smell like a wolf on the hunt.”

“Why shouldn’t I do some hunting? You had no problems stirring shit without consulting me.” Simone unwrapped the end piece of the bandage. Blood stuck to it in globs, and Rudy turned away. Healing the wrong bits to each other was a risk when she couldn’t see specifics under so much blood, so she continued freeing the leg without using her magic to ease Rudy’s pain.

“Stop, stop, stop, stop.” Rudy waved his hands vigorously. “I need a minute.”

Half the bandage hung limply, and Rudy’s leg was no longer in line with itself. Simone leaned her head on the doorframe and closed her eyes. She couldn’t look at Rudy right then because she wanted to beat the shit out of him. “Pinche culero.”

Rudy’s head bowed so low that she could only see his thick hair gathered into a bun like a topknot. “I couldn’t let my friend die.”

“But it’s okay for you? What happened to ‘we make these decisions together’?”

“No calls during a monster hunt, remember?”

“Which is why you call Clive, and he forwards the message to me. The fight was supposed to be next month anyway. ?Qué carajo pasó?”

“Phaedran challenged Ethan tonight, and Ethan accepted.” Rudy’s mouth pulled down at the corners in an attempt at a puppy face, but the result was too lopsided because of how drugged he was. “He and I thought it would be easier on the pack if they just got it over with.”

“The wolves at the house said he cheated.”

“He had Ethan on his ass in a minute, and me down right after him.”

“Why the fuck did you get between them?”

“Because I saw it in Phaedran’s eyes. He wasn’t just going for the win. He wanted a kill, and that is not my pack!” Rudy slumped so low that he looked like a devastated little kid. “That’s not the pack you left everything for.”

Idioto macho, Simone thought. And I’m dumb too because he’s too messed up for me to stay mad at him for long. She pointed at his leg. “I can only feel your life force trying to heal you. However Phaedran cheated, he didn’t use magic.”

Rudy raised his fist to slam it into the seat but lowered it when Simone shook her head in warning.

“I will be so much more pissed at you if you break my car too.”

“It doesn’t mean that they didn’t cheat,” Jeremy said from the front seat. “I can think of loads of ways to do it without anyone sensing it.”