Dispelled
A Null for Hire Novel
Book One
Terri L. Austin
Genre: urban fantasy
Date of Publication: Nov. 1, 2016
ISBN ebook: 978-1-946066-00-8
ISBN print: 978-1-946066-01-5
Number of pages: 340
Word Count: 90,000
Cover Artist: http://www.thedarkrayne.com/
Book Description:
They call me an abomination. A mutant. A curse on their kind.
I don’t let it bother me. Much.
My name is Holly James, and what they say is true. I’m a freak of nature—a null. My mere presence zaps the magic from Others, rendering them powerless. That’s why they hate me. But here’s the kicker: I’ve found a way to profit from my lack of mojo.
Whether it’s acting as a mystical wet blanket in a dispute between pyromancers or keeping hormonal shifters from changing during a sweet sixteen party, I provide a highly specialized service. For a hefty fee.
When a young witch turns up dead, clutching an amulet cursed with black magic, my estranged grandfather asks for my help. In return for nullifying the necklace, Gramps promises to find my missing mother—a witch who vanished after my birth. Of course there’s a catch. He wants me to assist Cade McAllister, the arrogant sorcerer in charge of investigating the case.
Cade resents my existence, let alone my attempts to help. Still, I’ll do whatever it takes to find my mom. For my own peace of mind I have to know what happened to her, and I won’t allow anything to get in my way. Not even this crazy, irrational longing I feel for a hot sorcerer with the sexiest scowl I’ve ever seen.
Excerpt 2:
Thaddeus Aldridge
was a loon. What else would explain hubcaps and rusted mufflers hanging from a
tree in the front yard like ripened fruit? Or the army of ceramic gnomes lined
up in formation on the sparse brown lawn,
waving gardening implements like weapons?
His ramshackle
property stood six miles from the highway. The narrow, two-story house was
missing more paint than not. Faded red shutters hung cockeyed next to filthy
windows. On the sagging porch sat a ripped, floral sofa. On that sofa sat an
old man wearing overalls—no shirt—chain smoking and using a Folgers coffee can
for an ashtray.
Cade parked in
front of the house and we stepped out
into the heat. No wind moved the heavy, humid air.
Before we took
two steps toward him, the old man stood, flicked the butt in the can, and
grabbed a gnarled wooden wand from his pocket. “Get off my land. This here is
private property.” He raised the wand, pointed it toward us, then looked at it with a frown. His eyes shot to me.
“What the Sam Hill?”
“I’m a null.”
Surprise flashed
across his features as he made a move to dash inside but Cade was there before
him, blocking the screen door. “Sit down, old man. We’re just here to talk.”
The heavy scarf
draped around my neck itched, and I rubbed at it while I climbed the weathered,
rickety porch steps to get a better look at the loon in question. Thaddeus
Aldridge could be summed up in one color: gray. Gray hair, gray stubble, gray
skin.
His sunken brown
eyes shot angry daggers at Cade. “I don’t have to talk to you.”
Cade crossed his
arms. “According to section three-thirteen, subsection B of the Code—”
“Don’t quote the
Code to me, son, I wrote the damn book.” He stomped back to the sofa and fell
onto it.
“My name’s Cade
McAllister. I’m a Council Investigator.”
“I don’t give a
hot goddamn who you are. This is my house, and you brought a null here. Now I’m
gonna have to redo all my wards. You know
how long that’ll take?”
Cade walked from
the door to perch his ass on the porch railing. I copied his move.
With a sigh,
Aldridge lit up a smoke, squinting as he
inhaled. He ran a thumb over a groove in the wand.
Wands were passé.
Even Gran didn’t use a wand back in the day. They were a crutch. If you rely on
your wand and find yourself without it, you’re screwed.
“Where’s Vane?”
Cade asked.
The old fart
puffed away. Soon his head was enveloped
in a cloud of smoke. “How should I know? That boy don’t inform me of his comings and goings.”
Cade turned to
me. “Go check inside. See what you can find.”
On the one hand,
I really didn’t want to go into the house. Who knew what disaster lurked there?
On the other hand, I was suspicious that Cade might discover some clue and not
share it with me. No matter which hand I chose, it was a lose-lose proposition.
I looked into
Cade’s eyes, widened mine in warning, and poked his chest with a finger. “We’re
partners, don’t forget.”
When I walked inside the house, letting the screen door slam
behind me, I heard Aldridge’s wheezy laugh. “I reckon she’s a handful.”
“You have no
idea,” Cade rumbled.
The place reeked
with sixty years’ worth of stale smoke that was probably embedded into the
walls and scarred wood floor. Newspapers, old coffee cups, and dust covered
every surface. I walked to the kitchen. It was even grosser in there. Years of
food had been cooked onto the stovetop.
It made the burger I’d eaten earlier rebel in my stomach.
I took in the
kitchen and spotted the phone. He had an old-fashioned, yellow rotary attached
to the wall. Rotary, for God’s sake. No redial, no phone history.
But next to the phone, I found a number written in
ink on the peeling wallpaper. I didn’t use my cell because I didn’t want it to
show up on caller ID. So with two fingers, I gingerly picked up the receiver
and spun the dial.
A deep voice
answered. “Hey, Gramps, what’s up?”
“Um, hi. Is this
Vane?”
“Who the fuck is
this?”
I swallowed. “My
name is Holly James. Cade McAllister and I are—”
He hung up on me.
Son of a bitch.
I grabbed my
phone, entered the number in my address book, and walked back outside.
Cade had his chin
propped in one hand as he nodded, listening to the old man.
“Probably using
some ancient black spell to mask the signature,” Thaddeus said around a
cigarette. “But when you run into the caster, you should find a trace of it on
his aura.” He stopped to hack before spitting into the coffee can. “Sorry ’bout
that. Anyway, you can’t hide a dark aura for long. Not without a continual
supply of sacrificial blood and blowing through a lot of power. It always
leaves a stain somewhere.”
Cade glanced at
me, his eyebrows shooting up. “Find anything?”
“I called Vane, and he hung up on me.”
Thaddeus sniffed.
“Yeah, he don’t like to talk on the phone
none. Especially to strangers. And if’n he knew you was a null, he’d be even less inclined.”
“Well, thanks for
your time.” Cade held out his hand, and the old man shook it. “Good to talk
shop with you.”
“Come back and
see me, son. But don’t bring this one.” He jerked his head in my direction.
I rolled my eyes
and made my way to the Ford. As I did, I held the ends of the scarf up to my
nose. I stank of cigarette smoke. Blech.
Cade took the
gravel road leading to the highway. I slid my gaze to him. “I have Vane’s
number.”
“Good.”
I waited a beat. “What did you mean back there
about talking shop?”
“Thaddeus used to
be an investigator himself. He’s still sharp.”
“Learn anything
new?”
“Not really.”
“Did he tell you
about Vane?”
“No.” He turned
on the radio to block my questions.
I reached out and
hit the search button. I was tired of classic rock. I stopped on a country
station. “So what is Vane Aldridge and how did he know London? Why would he
want to kill her? Bigger question, why
would he want to kill Stephanie?”
“He didn’t kill
anybody, Holly. Vane works for the Council.”
I stared at him
in silence for a full minute. “What the hell, Cade? Did you know this all
along?” I smacked my forehead. Of course
he did. That’s why he’d tensed up when Mick Raven said the name. “How long were
you going to keep this from me?”
“I’m telling you
now.”
Seething, I
stared out the window. What else was McAllister hiding? Probably a whole host
of things. That just jacked my anger up even further. “What does Vane Aldridge
do for the Council?”
“He enforces
their decisions.”
About the Author:
Terri L. Austin is a mild-mannered writer by day and a reality TV junkie by night. She lives in Missouri with her family, and loves to hear from readers.
Drop her a line at http://www.terrilaustin.com/
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1 comment:
Thanks for hosting me!
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