Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(8)

Simone shook her head. “If she saw it, she’d be freaking the hell out, not just waving.”

As soon as they reached her, the client breathlessly pointed inside the dimly lit service door. “He came back again. I still couldn’t see his face, but I heard him scrambling near Taco Bell. Hurry before he makes a bigger mess.”

Jeremy exchanged a glance with Simone, then said to the client, “You stay here, and we’ll take care of it.”

“If he’s some pervert, you guys can hurt him a little, right?”

“We’ll take that into consideration.” Simone held out her hand. “Do you have the keys?”

“Yeah, I got them in my pocket.” The client dumped a clinking pile of keys into Simone’s hand. She stepped out of the way. “Is that everything I’m supposed to do?”

“We’ll let you know if we need anything more.” With his wand in one hand, Jeremy pulled open the door with his free one. Simone followed him inside, and they waited until the girl was out of sight before speaking.

“It’s kind of an asshole thing not to tell her what’s in here.”

“The asshole thing would be to spring her dead sister on her.” Simone shook her head. “I really wish people wouldn’t perform last rites from weird religious texts they find online.”

“It was bad luck her keys dropping in grave dirt too.”

“This girl is getting a steal given how little money we’re taking for this job. Everyone else except Levi would have charged her triple.”

“May we please talk about something else?” Jeremy stepped forward, glad that he didn’t have to bypass family chains in the empty hallways.

“Okay. How’s the life you don’t have?”

Jeremy stopped and peeked around the corner. Nothing moved. “Splendid. How is the family I unwillingly have to hear about every day?” He kept walking.

“In good health. I can’t complain.”

A bottle of taco sauce rolled across the floor in front of them. “Hello, little stalker,” Jeremy whispered. He pointed at the coffee kiosk, and they ducked behind the counter.

Simone opened her bag and took out a bedsheet. She unfurled her end and tossed the other side to Jeremy.

Out of sight, pans banged, and a woman grunted as more condiments crashed to the floor. A brief head nod between them, and Jeremy held up the keys. As soon as he jangled them, the noise stopped. They crouched down as the sound of hands and feet slapping the floor headed toward them.

Around the corner of the kiosk, a woman’s pale face appeared, sniffing the air. Yellow eyes locked on them, and the revenant’s body dipped to the floor while her elbows and knees bent like a frog preparing to leap. She jumped, but Simone and Jeremy whipped the sheet open and slammed her back down with it.

Jeremy wrapped as much of his side of the sheet over the undead woman as he could. Simone mirrored his movements, and they quickly tied the ends together. Nails imprinted under the cloth, so Jeremy slammed his foot on the revenant’s hand.

Simone yanked out her folded blue tarp, hastily straightening it to cover the sheet.

What little of the undead woman’s mind that was intact probably realized she had fallen into a trap, and she fought harder. As they slipped the tarp underneath her body, a leg clipped Jeremy’s stomach. He rolled his body on top of her, so she had less room to thrash. A muffled screeching vibrated his ears.

“Oops.” Simone’s grip broke.

With only one person holding her, the revenant crawled away while Jeremy still clutched its neck. When Jeremy jammed his hand under her chin, the revenant’s jagged teeth could only bite air. “Bugger all, Simone!”

“It was too strong!”

“Excuses do me no good right now!” The revenant slammed him against the wall. “Do something! I can’t hold on for long!”

“I don’t know what to do since I’m so weak and helpless.”

Simone’s out-of-character words shocked Jeremy enough that he briefly took his eyes off the revenant to look at his coworker. She stood, calmly watching. Anger gave Jeremy the strength to hang on even when the revenant’s clawed hands dug into the wall and she began climbing it like a spider. She did it on purpose! Oh fuck this, I don’t need her help. Jeremy freed one hand and dug inside his back pocket for the stake. His legs swung down, but he got them wrapped around the revenant’s waist again. Going for her heart from behind would be harder, but he had no choice. Focusing his magic on the stake to pierce with greater strength, Jeremy drove it into the revenant’s back, the wood sinking in her heart like tearing through paper. The thrashing ceased. Jeremy and the revenant dropped to the floor. He pointed his wand down to thicken the air, softening his landing and saving him from a broken neck. Next to him, the revenant’s torso lay twisted in the opposite direction from her legs. He turned to Simone, who stood with her wand at her side. “Are you happy?”

She tilted her head in thought. “Not really, but I’ll take what I can get.”

Jeremy pointed at the undead girl. “Hurting her was worth your petty desires?”

“She’s dead.”

“Can I wrap her up without you accidentally removing the stake, or do you have other things in mind?”

Simone waved her wand, causing Jeremy to grip his own tightly in readiness for an attack.