Crazy Cat Lady by Gemma Thorne

Author:Gemma Thorne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: magic, supernatural, witchcraft, witches, demons, deities, psychics, tough heroines, smart urban fantasy, funny urban fantasy, gothic, shapeshifters, vampires, contemporary fantasy, cozy mystery
Publisher: Gemma Thorne
Published: 2018-04-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Fiddlesticks.

“Hot damn, that man is good with a syringe, if you know what I mean,” Gramma Jude murmured, peeking over the porch railing with mmm-hmm eyes.

Journi looked at her. “No, I can honestly say I don’t know what you mean.”

“She’s down,” Dr. Daniel called from his crouched position beside the now-unconscious mutated calico that had been trying to chew its way through the Burkes’ front door.

Nodding, Journi stood and left the relative cover of the shrubbed corner between the house and porch. Gramma Jude, Frieda, and Josephine followed. As they made their way around the walkway to meet Dr. Daniel, Journi glanced up at the sky. Darkness had fallen, and the rotating cloud of tainted magic had picked up speed and strength. In the wan glow of the streetlights, trees swayed, their nearly naked branches waving like skeletal arms. Stray pieces of trash from a toppled garbage can skittered across the yard and sidewalk, and a wind chime hanging from the Burkes’ porch clanged unharmoniously, its strands tangled. The distant howl of sirens could barely be heard over the roar of wind.

“Let’s move,” she told the others, holding her hair out of her eyes.

Shielding their faces from blowing debris, the group hurried across the lawn, bullying their way through Mr. Jenkins’ prized shrubs. As they neared his tidy porch, the ominousness Journi had felt at the Burkes’ grew more potent with each step, and she realized she’d been picking up the superfluous overflow before. This was where the darkness had been festering all along. And she wasn’t the only one who felt it. Josephine, Frieda, Gramma Jude, and even Dr. Daniel had gone white, their faces drawn with unease. Nothing good waited for them here.

“Yep,” Gramma Jude said, eying the front door. “We’ve found the rectum at the end of the tunnel.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, Dr. Daniel choked. Frieda and Josephine only sighed.

Journi shook her head. “Pretty sure that’s not how the saying goes.”

Gramma Jude shrugged and then nodded at Journi and Dr. Daniel. “You two take the front. We’ll take the back.”

Vowing to later chew out her entire family for not-so-sneakily attempting to pair her with the heroic veterinarian, Journi nodded back. “Try reaching the CST again. See if you can get Sergeant Sargent. Let her know we found the source.”

“Will do,” Frieda said, and the three of them left, taking the glow of Gramma Jude’s wand with them.

Journi produced a flashlight from her satchel and glanced at Dr. Daniel. “Ready?”

He brandished a syringe like a dagger. “Ready.”

Sidestepping a garden gnome that the wind had knocked over, Journi hurried up Mr. Jenkins’ porch steps, flattening herself against the brickwork beside the door. Dr. Daniel did the same on the opposite side. They nodded at each other, and Journi tried the knob.

It was unlocked, and she allowed the door to swing open. When nothing immediately lunged out, she peered inside. A tidy living room greeted her, its understated but stylish furniture warmly lit by a holographic fire crackling in the hearth.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.