Witch Way Out (Witch Detectives #3) (23 page)
Read Witch Way Out (Witch Detectives #3) Online
Authors: Eve Paludan,Stuart Sharp
Oh, he wanted to play games, did he? Well, we could both do that. I walked out into the office without bothering to dress, knowing that Niall’s eyes would be on me the whole way. I found the package on Siobhan’s desk, picking it up carefully. It was a long, slender box wrapped in white ribbon. There was no card on the outside.
I opened it and stared at the contents. A single flower lay within, so pale that it was almost translucent. I knew that kind of flower. I had seen them before, ghostly and glowing in the half-light of Underneath, in gardens that should have been impossible so far from the surface. There was a card inside, and on that card, there wasn’t a message, just a name.
Luc.
Luc, the goblin who had guided me down into the dark. Who had apparently found Ulm’s body with Nea. Who had tried to persuade me not to go further. Who had refused to kill us when Kal ordered it. Luc, who was apparently dangerous enough that Kal had turned to him when he needed someone killed. Who had guided Siobhan safely home, but then left her alone with Nea.
What was this flower? A threat? An apology? A declaration of undying love, or merely a way of thanking me for dealing with Ulm’s killers? It could have been any of the above, or all of them. It could have meant that Luc was coming to kill me, or that he admired me. Luc was nothing if not complicated. I looked over at Niall. It seemed I was
good
at attracting complicated men into my life.
“What is it?” Niall asked, moving up behind me, his arms folding around me.
I shook my head. “Nothing that you won’t be able to distract me from quite easily, I’m sure.”
“Well, I do love a challenge.”
The End
***
Elle and Niall will return in
Witch Bones
(The Witch Detectives #4)
Siobhan’s prophesied goblin baby arrives, Fergie the werewolf gets moonstruck, and Elle finds out the shocking truth about how Niall found her, what he knows and what he really wants...
BOOKS BY EVE PALUDAN
BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE (series)
Burning
(Trilogy #1)
Afterglow
(Trilogy #2)
Radiance (Trilogy #3)
WITCH DETECTIVES (series)
Witchy Business
(Book #1)
Witch and Famous
(Book #2)
Witch Way Out (Book #3)
ANGEL DETECTIVES (series)
The Man Who Fell from the Sky
(Book #1)
THE GHOST FILES (series)
Ghost Fire
(Book #3)
RANCH LOVERS ROMANCE (series)
Taking Back Tara
(Book #1)
Tara Takes Christmas
(Book #2)
SINGLE TITLES (non-series)
Finding Jessie: A Mystery Romance
Chasing Broadway: A Romantic Comedy
COLLECTIONS AND BOXED SETS
The Ghost Files Boxed Set
(also with books by J.R. Rain, Scott Nicholson, and Evelyn Klebert)
(includes
Taking Back Tara
and
Tara Takes Christmas
)
NONFICTION
The Romance Writer’s Pink Pages: The Insider’s Guide to Getting Your Romance Novel Published (3 editions – out of print)
Go to Eve Paludan’s Author and Books Page on Amazon
Return to the Table of Contents
OTHER BOOKS BY STUART SHARP
SINGLE TITLES (non-series)
Go to Stuart Sharp’s Author and Books Page on Amazon
Return to the Table of Contents
READING SAMPLE by Eve Paludan
-
The Man Who Fell from the Sky
The Man Who Fell from the Sky
(Angel Detectives Case #1)
by
Eve Paludan
Prologue
The killer pushed Cody’s headless body off the horse into the waterfalls. Swept into braided channels of gray glacier melt, the body plunged into an underwater gorge where kinetic energy stripped flesh from bone and pounded the morsels into frothy grains.
The vortex released those bits into the river, in a Montana wilderness so remote that once, on a July afternoon, Cody had wedged his fishing pole into a tree crotch while he made love to his wife on a sun-warmed flat rock under the open sky.
But it wasn’t summer when Cody disappeared. It was on the snowy morning of Christmas Day, 2008.
That same day, a velvet sack of Montana sapphires also disappeared.
And, Heaven and Earth would have to move before anyone knew what happened to Cody.
Chapter One
“To be reborn, first you have to die,” whispered a familiar voice in the Council Hall of Angels.
Cody whirled, his wings rustling. “Emily! You’re here?” Her hair was as white as her feathers.
“I wouldn’t miss your hearing for anything, grandson-in-law.”
“But who’s with Mariah?”
“A guardian angel pro tem.”
“Oh!” Cody gulped. “Are you upset that I asked to replace you?”
“No. Your concerns are valid.”
He nodded. “I’ve got unfinished business. Thanks for coming.”
“I’m not a spectator. Didn’t they tell you I’m your Champion?”
“No! Really? I’ve been on retreat since my last guardian post ended. When my charge crossed over.”
“Where’d they send you on retreat?”
He smiled. “Hawaii. I swam and sang with wild dolphins.”
“Sweet mother of pearl. I want to do that when my charge crosses over.” Emily winked. “In about sixty years.”
Chimes rang.
Cody squeezed her hand. “Emily. Thank you.”
“It’s what we do. Godspeed.” Emily glided into the champion’s box.
Cody floated slightly above the dais in the golden-lit room. Whatever the council decided at his hearing, he’d have to accept it.
Haniel, council leader, spoke: “Cody, you requested a new guardian appointment to serve Mariah Bliss of Third Planet, North America, U.S., western Montana, rural district.”
“Yes.” Please. Recollections of his widow surfaced from his mortal memories: coppery tresses, ivory skin spattered with golden freckles, blue-gray eyes and a lush red mouth. Most of all, Mariah’s heart tugged at him. Still.
Haniel addressed Emily. “Does the Champion wish to speak on the Petitioner’s behalf?”
“I support Cody’s request. No one could be a better guardian angel for her.”
Haniel softly conferred with the council and Emily.
“Cody, your request was denied.” Haniel raised an index finger as he felt Cody’s emotions rise. “But only in preparation of a more suitable post.”
Cody bowed his head and replied, “Thank you for your wisdom. Please assign me where I may serve the greater good.”
“Thank you for your humble answer,” Haniel replied. “Based upon your record of devoted service, and by your Champion’s request, you’ll be sent back on official, special assignment to Mariah Bliss. But not as a guardian angel. Your new post requires you to return to mortal life.”
Cody gasped. “How?”
“Your angelic spirit will descend into an existing mortal. You’ll influence his consciousness and use his human form to solve your own murder. Your Champion describes her charge, Mariah, as despondent; she asks if you can assist with some...”
Haniel looked at Emily.
“TLC,” Emily added.
Cody’s feathers quivered with joy. “I can assist with TLC. I’d be honored for the chance to solve my own murder. But I have questions.”
“Ask them.”
“Well, the Highest knows the answer to every whodunit. So why have me ‘solve’ my own murder?”
Haniel paused, then framed his answer with care. “In order to manifest positive changes to the lives of Mariah and others close to her, a re-mortaled angel can’t simply be provided with the identity of a killer. Your investigation will be a labor of love, diligence, even spiritual seeking.”
“Could you explain a little more, please?” Cody asked.
Haniel sighed. “The mortals are bumbling your missing person’s investigation. Mariah isn’t moving forward with her life. She needs closure and compassion. Or as Emily called it, ‘TLC.’ You’re the only being who can provide what is necessary. But the only way you can provide this ‘TLC’ is from within a mortal body because angels aren’t supposed to…”
“Gotcha.” Cody felt a blush rising. “What will I remember in this man‘s body?”
“You keep all your memories, human and angelic -- except for the twenty-four hours preceding and including your death -- so that you can find your killer in due time.”
“To manifest change through the journey,” Cody surmised. “It’s not about the destination at all.”
“Ah, I see that you do understand.”
He nodded. “So, am I allowed to, as a mortal, really love her in every way?”
A hint of a smile crossed Haniel’s mouth. “You will be human. You’ll have free will.”
“Mariah’s been sending up a prayer storm, hasn’t she?”
“A tsunami. She broke the record for the most prayers ever received from Montana.”
“I’m not surprised. How long will I remain a mortal?”
“Until life ends for your host body.” Haniel exchanged glances with Emily and then continued. “Unless you choose to leave it. If you exit the mortal body, you’ll take the form of an at-liberty, free-will angel but you won’t be able to re-enter your host.”
“Why would I leave the host body?” Cody asked.
“Only the Highest knows.”
Cody pondered this. “What happens to the spirit of the person whose body I inhabit?”
“He’s tormented by a tragedy so great that, at first, your spirit will be the primary power. His own separate consciousness will take point as healing progresses. We’re in danger of losing him to the other side, so your assignment is also change his life path. He’s on the Angel of Death contingency list.”
Cody shuddered. “The AOD contingency list? Who is this human?”
“A convicted murderer.”
Cody’s eyes widened. “In prison?”
“No. On parole.”
Whew! Cody decided the assignment would be beyond challenging. “What else I should know?”
“The council would prefer that you not tell Mariah that that your angelic spirit is inside this man’s body. You’ll have free will, so we can’t stop you, but we caution that telling her could cause her emotional confusion or logistical paradoxes related to your previous life with her.”
He expected that caveat. He nodded. “I’ll strive to go forward with grace in the new host body.”
“Wonderful. We’ll conclude now.”
Cody extended his wings in an angel’s farewell. “Pax to all, for who you have been, who you are, and who you will be.”
The chimes sounded to end the hearing. Emily disappeared from the hall.
Amid “Godspeeds” expressed to Cody, the Highest entered the gathering. He glided to Cody, all-seeing eyes alight with compassion.
The Highest touched nail-scarred palms to Cody’s wings. With a brief tingle, they disappeared. Cody, now deprived of his lush wings, nearly wept.
The Highest kissed Cody’s forehead and said, “Selah.” Cody knew that selah could mean many things. Among the translations were: forever, lift up, pause and listen, prayer, seal up, even, so it goes.
“Selah,” Cody replied.
The light of Heaven faded. Cody blinked at pinpoints of stars in a black velvet void as his journey back began.
He fell from the Heavens into his new mortal body…
But something went wrong.
Terribly wrong…
Do you want to know what happens next in
The Man Who Fell from the Sky
?
Go to Eve Paludan’s Author and Books Page on Amazon
Return to the Table of Contents
###
Table of Contents
- WITCH WAY OUT
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Other Books by Eve Paludan
- Other Books by Stuart Sharp
- Reading Sample
- Return to the Table of Contents
- The Man Who Fell from the Sky