Witch Hunter. Shannon Curtis

him.

      Dave pressed his lips together. It was easy to see the witch was using dark magic, and he’d taken a life. No wonder the Ancestors had assigned him a new target.

      Well, tracking the damned was part of his job, and he was good at it. He’d start looking—right after he’d patched himself up. He winced as he looked down at the brand that was already beginning to heal. Damn. It was over his heart, too. He shook his head as he stalked over to his bathroom door. The Ancestors didn’t seem to care where he got the message, as long as he got it. Well, he’d received it, loud and clear.

      He had a witch to kill.

      Sully Timmerman glanced cautiously about the schoolroom.

      “Relax, Sully. The kids are having their lunch outside,” Jenny Forsyth said with a smile as she set out test papers on the students’ desks.

      “The day I relax is the day I get caught,” Sully said, then smiled as she leaned her hip against the teacher’s desk. “How are the munchkins?”

      Jenny smiled. “They’re good, right now. They don’t know they have a math test this afternoon.”

      Sully grinned. “You are such a cruel woman.”

      “And you love it.” Jenny put the paper on the last desk, then strolled toward the front of the classroom. “How is work going?”

      Sully nodded. “It’s slowly picking up. I have a delivery in the car for the diner, and it looks like the mayor’s wife wants a new set of cutlery for their anniversary.”

      “Cutlery? For an anniversary?”

      “Twenty-five years, silver.” Sully shrugged. “Hey, it’s an order, so I’m happy.” Being a cutler was a dying art. There were so many cheaper options for pretty cutlery in a home, but Sully’s reputation as a master cutler was finally beginning to bring in some new business, and now that she had a website, she was getting orders coming in from all over the place. She glanced at her watch and winced. “I’d better get going. I want to get Lucy in between the lunch and dinner rush.”

      She picked up her satchel, and the not-so-subtle clink reminded her of the unofficial delivery in her bag. “Oops, nearly forgot.”

      She pulled the heavy cloth bag out of her satchel, and set it down on Jenny’s desk with a dull chink. “Better find a good place for this lot.”

      Jenny’s eyebrows rose as she undid the drawstring and peered inside. She whistled. “Wow. That is a lot of silver dollars. That will help quite a few families,” she said quietly. She lifted her gaze to Sully’s. “You take a big risk, you know.”

      Sully shrugged. “Hey, every little bit counts, right? It’s not much, but if it helps, than that’s the main thing.” She was satisfied with this particular delivery. She’d counterfeited over two thousand dollars, this time, and that bag contained only about half that. Jenny would make sure it got to those who most needed it. This null community was struggling, more so than most, and if the offcuts from the pieces she made could help put food on the table for some of these people, then the risk was worth it. She pulled her strap up over her shoulder as the school bell chimed outside, signaling the end of the lunch play period. “Now, hide it, or we’ll both be in trouble.”

      Jenny opened her desk drawer and dropped the bag inside as the door to the classroom burst open, and her students swarmed inside. Their eyes brightened when they saw Sully, and she was nearly bowled over when the twenty or so seven-year-olds rushed to her. She hugged as many as she could as she made her way through the throng to the door.

      “Hey, Sully, you want to join us next month for the school fete?” Jenny called.

      The school fete was scheduled to coincide with the Harvest Moon Festival. Sully turned as the kids cheered, and she folded her arms and frowned. “I don’t know. Is it worth it, Noah?” she looked at the young red-haired boy, who nodded, his blue eyes bright. Noah’s mother, Susanne, was another of Sully’s friends.

      “It is, Sully. We’ve got rides and donkeys.”

      Sully’s eyebrows rose. “Donkeys?” She glanced over at Jenny.

      “Petting zoo,” Jenny explained. She leaned closer. “Jacob will be there, too.”

      Sully shot her friend an exasperated look. Jenny had been trying to fix her up with her brother since she’d moved to Serenity Cove, and to date Sully had successfully avoided the hookup. Jacob was nice—good-looking, too, but she just wasn’t interested. In anyone. She turned back to Noah.

      “Donkeys, huh? Oh, well, I’ll have to come for that.” She winked at him. “Tell your mom hi from me.” She waved to the kids as she closed the door behind her, grinning. A day surrounded by nulls? Yes, please.

      She strode out of the two-story building that was elementary, middle and high school to the resident null community, and over to her beat-up sky blue station wagon. She sat in the driver’s seat for a moment, enjoying the peace, the quiet. All the kids were back in class, but she was still close enough she was affected by their presence.

      She closed her eyes. She was surrounded by...nothing. It was so beautiful. Dark. Silent. Peaceful. It was the absence, the void, that embraced her, and she loved it. She knew most witches avoided nulls like a hex, but she found there was a tranquility in their presence that she couldn’t find anywhere else.

      She opened her eyes, and shored up her shields, making sure that there were no cracks, no fractures in her defenses. When she was satisfied her mental walls were strong, and no light could cut through, she started her engine and drove the ten minutes into Serenity Cove.

      She pulled the box out from the back of her car, lifting the tailgate with her hip. She didn’t bother winding up the window or locking it. Anybody with half a mind to steal her car must be desperate, and welcome to it. Besides, everyone in town knew this was her car, and you didn’t steal from a witch. The resulting curse wasn’t worth it.

      She walked up the steps to the Brewhaus Diner, and her flip-flops made a smacking sound on the veranda. She pushed through the door and the tinkling sound of the bell above the door brought an almost instinctive response as she stepped inside. She put a smile on her face as she ignored muffled emotions knocking at her protective walls.

      Cheryl Conners, the waitress, was hiding her hurt that Sheriff Clinton was absorbed in his phone and not her. Sheriff Clinton was worried—but that seemed to be his default setting. Harold’s gout was troubling him, Graham, the cook, was tired and his feet hurt, Mrs. Peterson was fighting off a strong cold, and Lucy—

      Sully halted at the diner counter. Lucy wasn’t happy. No, she was...heartbroken. She couldn’t see the woman, but she could feel her pain—and that was with her shields up.

      She placed the box on the counter and looked over at Cheryl as the waitress walked over to her.

      “I’m here to see Lucy,” Sully said softly. She glanced toward the swing door that led to the kitchen and the office beyond. “Is she okay?”

      Cheryl shook her head. “She got some bad news.” She lifted her chin in the direction of the sheriff. “They found Gary’s body last night.”

      Sully gasped, then lifted her hand to cover her mouth. “Oh, no.”

      Gary Adler was the coach over at the null comprehensive school, and Lucy’s longtime boyfriend. No wonder the woman emitted the feel of devastation.

      Sully patted the box on the counter. “Look, I’ll leave these here, we can talk about sorting stuff out later. She’s got enough on her plate, tell her not to worry about this. We can talk when she’s ready, but don’t stress over it.” She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “When is the funeral?”

      “Won’t be for a few days, yet,” Sheriff Clinton said, glancing up from his phone. “We’ve got to wait for the autopsy.”

      Sully nodded. Gary had watched what he ate, exercised regularly,