Ding Dong Dead

  Ding Dong Dead

  Whitewitch Island Paranormal Cozies: #6

  Patti Larsen

  Kobo Edition

  Copyright 2022 by Patti Larsen

  Find out more about me at

  http://www.pattilarsen.com

  ***

  Kobo Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the vendor and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  ***

  Chapter One

  While I was positive my mother knew I was avoiding her phone calls, that didn’t stop her from trying. I sighed over the screen and her smiling face, the photo she’d insisted on using giving her a rather demonic appearance, though I’d never admit it to her. North American Magical League Emissary Morgana Drake might have wanted to believe she was warm and fuzzy, but there was a bit too much ice and iron fist in her makeup to make that possible.

  And though perhaps you consider me a bad daughter (as I’m certain my mother did as well) for not replying to her insistence I return home for the end of year celebrations I’d chosen to side-step this year, the idea of not having to play the role I’d been assigned at birth had me drifting in rather dreamy delight when my phone finally stopped ringing.

  This would be my first Christmas spent in my new house on my adopted island on the far side of the country and well out of the reach of my family for the holiday season and I wasn’t about to waste it. Don’t get me wrong, please. I loved my parents despite their positions, Dad’s status as Chief Defender for Guild Nemesis still making a position in his department a possibility, not that I’d ever take it. As for my older brother Mattew (and his impressive assistant defender wife and three well-placed children), my intimidating Gold Dragon Sentinel grandfather Chamberlain and equally powerful Hades Sentinel Necromancer grandmother Arimanthia, not to mention my mother’s position, and her side of the family and their own selective pedigrees, when home, I was surrounded by ambition I didn’t share. That didn’t mean I couldn’t love them. Of course, I did. But I didn’t have to like spending time with them, did I? And while others might have found the Drake family overwhelming, I grew up as one of them, understood their motivations and their failings. I was finding, however, the longer I kept my distance and the more time I spent here on Whitewitch Island in the midst of (mostly) normals without the weighty heritage I carried or the intense job of Guild Artemis Inquisitor controlling my every moment, I was actually enjoying this adaptation of age-old traditions the normals called Christmas.

  “You can’t dodge her forever, Georgia.” Caprice clicked at me, soft ticks in the back of her throat ruffling the white raven’s neck feathers as she settled herself on the perch beside the evergreen tree I’d decorated.

  “Morgana is going to show up on your doorstep one of these days,” Conscio agreed, the shining black male of the mated pair I adored shifting his position, tapping one of the shining silver balls with the tip of his beak. The two were often at home these days, the cooler weather a far cry from the icy chill of the East coast, so their lingering in my presence couldn’t have been winter related. Whatever their purpose for hanging around and sharing their personal opinions about my life and how I lived it, I was about to shoo the both of them out of the living room and lock the door behind them if they didn’t behave. They might have been magicked and their intelligence enhanced by the sorcerer I’d rescued them from, but they still maintained their adoration for all things sparkly and my tree seemed an endless enticement they couldn’t resist. I was getting tired of replacing balls and cleaning up broken ornaments from the hardwood floor. “You can’t hide from her forever. She always gets what she wants.”

  “Not this year.” I firmly took the ball from Conscio and hung it on the other side of the tree, realizing just how foolish I’d been to place it so close to their perch. A whisper of magic warded the evergreen from the two, at least for the time being. Their cleverness meant they’d already managed to circumnavigate my attempts to keep them from destroying this new tradition I was trying out. “Conscio, leave it!”

  I hadn’t meant to snap at him, certainly not in that tone of voice. He didn’t take it personally, however, both ravens chuckling at me before Caprice clicked a few times, head tilting to the side, dark eyes glossy. Whatever power the sorcerer had given her had drained her feathers of their color rather than her being born a true albino. I was personally grateful, pink eyes not the most comfortable shade in a raven’s intense stare.

  “We’re going to have a lovely holiday here, aren’t we, Mother?” I exhaled softly, tension leaving me when my big, black mastiff, Benjamin, head butted me with his unclipped ears perked, long tail wagging and not for the first time I was grateful he’d been spared the docking process when he’d been rejected as a Hades Hound. There was something sinister about the look of the initiated that Benjamin lacked, sweet temperament aside. It was bad enough he’d been struggling with instances of control I’d thought impossible, as though the process to excise his ability to tap into Hades power had failed. I really should have told someone but doing so put him at risk of being removed from my care and I just wasn’t willing to let him go. Whatever the reason for his slips into aggression and magic, he’d been his sweet self for months now and I could only watch over him and hope it was something he'd grow out of.

  Leave it to him to make me feel better. I ruffled his ears, bending to kiss his broad forehead. “We certainly are, Benny,” I said, nodding firmly to the ravens who both chuffed in amusement. Caprice’s attempt to tap one of the balls ended in a hiss as the wards snapped her with what amounted to a static spark. Served her right. “If you two behave yourselves, you’ll even get Christmas presents.” The tradition wasn’t all that far off Solstice gifting, to be honest, though the religious connotations of the normal’s holiday wasn’t exactly a match. Still, Christmas on the island seemed much more about the fictional man in the red suit and his reindeer than it did about anything to do with the church, so despite my family’s less-than-stellar history with organized religion, I was more than happy to partake.

  Especially since that meant new memories and truly making this place my home.

  “I wish Holly and Olive were going to be here.” Benny’s tail drooped a fraction. There was no surprise there, the Henrys not just one of Benny’s favorite families, but the younger of the pair practically adopted by my mastiff, even if Holly thought it was the other way around.

  “I think it’s lovely they decided to visit Holly’s grandparents,” I said. Olive had told me of her husband’s passing a few months ago. I hadn’t known she’d avoided interactions with his parents out of old grief. I was well aware of family dynamics and how complicated they could be, so when she told me she and Holly were heading to the mainland for Christmas to reconnect, I was happy for her. “Besides, you can play with Sam uninterrupted.”

  Benjamin instantly perked, panting his delight. “You’re right! Thanks, Mother.” He sank to the floor with a giant doggy grin while I shook my head and smiled. If anyone loved the massive hound as much as I did, it was Sam Spencer. Since I was rather enamored of the therapist handyman, I wasn’t about to complain the two adored one another as much as they did.

  “Speaking of whom.” I checked the time and realized I was running behind. “You two, stay away from the tree.” I jabbed a finger at the ravens as I headed to my bedroom. “Benny, watch them.”

  “Like that’ll help,” Conscio chuckled to Caprice’s guttural clicking.

  Sigh.

  It didn’t take me long to get dressed for the pending party, though I did pause a few times, once over the silver earrings I’d chosen to wear. They reminded me too much of the last pair my former partner, Elias Barrow, had given me and I realized I’d bought them for that very reason. I firmly set them aside, not wanting to think about the man I’d worked with for years, the man I’d thought had died in a horrible attack. The same man I’d discovered faked his own death for reasons I had, as yet, to uncover. Thinking about Elias only made me angry, and tonight was meant to be fun, wasn’t it? The mayor’s annual Christmas party was said to be a delightful and delicious affair with a selection of the island’s residents attending.

  Not that I’d normally have scored an invite, mind you. I wasn’t the favorite newcomer on Whitewitch Island by any stretch, at least in the eyes of the council. My “meddling” (I’d been asked to help, ahem) in the sheriff’s department cases hadn’t gone over as well as it should have (considering I’d assisted in multiple criminals facing justice, you’d think they’d be grateful). Whatever the reason for that ruling body’s dislike of me and my particular talents, I still felt welcome enough thanks to connections I’d made in the community. And surely offering Sam two tickets had come with the understanding I’d be his plus one?

  I almost allowed myself to believe it was an olive branch.

  Which had me hesitating again, frowning at my reflection in the mirror as I traded silver for rose gold. Our local sheriff, Harriet Quinn, and a woman I considered a dear friend, was still uncomfortable around me. No, I needed to be honest. She actively avoided me these days and had been for months. It seemed the longer we went without confronting the issue between us, the w
orse things became. She’d actually run away from me yesterday at the market, for legion’s sake. I tsked to myself as I fastened the large hoop, pinching my skin and hissing in irritation at the slip. I had an inkling that the local council on Whitewitch Island had given her an ultimatum after the last case I’d assisted her with. Why they’d decided I was no longer welcome when I’d been helpful all along, I had no idea, but it irked me much more than I was willing to admit. Poor Sam had listened to me complain about it enough times, as had my dear friend and necromancer ME Mavis Fernsby, even the ravens and Benjamin bearing the brunt of my irritation more than once. I finished fastening the second earring before removing both of them in a spiteful tug, knowing my annoyed inability to decide on jewelry was completely based in my worry and sadness over the loss of my friendship with Harriet.

  I hadn’t expected to like a normal as much as I did her and it hurt more than I was willing to admit.

  A set of diamond studs did the trick, my black velvet suit and red silk shell festive enough without feeling overdone. I did frown a bit at the choice when I thought about how many suits I’d worn over the years for various reasons but shrugged off the idea of a dress. Sam would love me in whatever I wore, and the soft and seductive feel of velvet always made me happy.

  Hopefully, it would have the same effect on him.

  Thinking about the delightful Dr. Spencer shifted my mood and I was humming a silly Christmas carol Holly taught me as I coiled my hair and pinned it in a loose updo. While he still took on a few construction jobs, Sam’s decision to return to his therapy practice, starting a small office in town, had seemed to open him up further to possibility. I hadn’t yet made my own decisions about the two of us, though our dates had turned to overnights and lovely breakfasts at his place and mine. And his parents had welcomed me with open arms, both Josephine and Lee Spencer delighted, it seemed, to have a woman in their son’s life.

  The touch of Sam at the edge of my property wards had me hurrying to the kitchen, pausing only to kiss Benjamin and give the ravens the evil eye on my way past.

  “I’ll be home soon,” I told the mastiff while I grabbed my clutch, forcing myself to pause and wait for Sam to knock before answering the door. Not because I wasn’t happy to see him, but because I’d greeted him far too many times without waiting and realized normals didn’t have the early warning system I did.

  “Have fun.” Benjamin’s attempt at enthusiasm was dimmed by his drooping ears and tail.

  “I’m sorry, Benny,” I said as Sam knocked. “I’ll bring you home a treat, all right?” Were we back home I still would have been forced to leave him behind, but that didn’t make his exclusion any better for either of us.

  “Donuts!” The ravens chorused from the living room, and I laughed as I opened the door.

  ***

  Chapter Two

  Sam hadn’t completely abandoned his small-town handyman style, though tonight he’d gone all out in a tailored black suit and Christmas themed tie, the dominant green of the design only making his eyes of the same color all the more striking. He’d even shaved the faint scruff he seemed to always wear, though I’d never asked him to do so (and had a bit of an attachment to it by now, thank you), a fresh haircut giving him a polished and modelesque appearance that had me wishing I’d worn a dress for him after all.

  “Hello, gorgeous.” He stepped across the threshold without difficulty, my wards welcoming him as much as I did, the soft, delightful kiss he pressed to my lips heating me up like no fire ever could. “You look amazing.”

  Benjamin normally waited patiently for attention but tonight his eagerness got the best of him, the giant mastiff shoving his way between us with his doggy grin and wagging tail thudding against me while Sam laughed and crouched to ruffle those soft, black ears.

  “Hey, buddy,” he said, his tone of voice always gentle and loving with Benjamin. “I wish you could come with us.”

  Considering we’d just had this conversation, I didn’t comment, though the mastiff did sit and stay with his ears perked like the very good boy he was and didn’t offer a single complaint or argument when Sam straightened up to offer me his arm.

  “Ms. Drake,” he said.

  “Dr. Spencer.” I inclined my head and hesitated. Surely, it wasn’t too late to change? The man in front of me deserved a more elegant outfit than the one I wore. But it was far too late, Sam already escorting me out my kitchen door, pausing as I locked it behind me. He teased me about it at times, since no one on this island seemed to lock their homes or cars, but I’d spent a lifetime in law enforcement—magical or not—and while my wards might keep normals away, I had enough enemies from my days with Guild Artemis turning the key on the lock meant more than a physical deterrent. I felt the wards shiver as the motion triggered my extra security, satisfied Benjamin and the ravens were protected along with my new home, before leaning into Sam and strolling with him through the cool California evening toward the center of town.

  “Mom and Dad are going to meet us there,” Sam said while we passed the Henry’s cottage and meandered down the lane toward Athens Avenue, Circe’s main street. He hesitated before speaking again, faint tension in him making me pay attention. “Mom’s going to ask you to spend Christmas with us.”

  Not that it was a total surprise, but I had made plans. Mavis was going to come to the house and spend the night, bringing her favorite meat pie and several bottles of wine for us to enjoy. We’d already had our own lovely early Solstice celebration, her hidden woodland clearing she’d been using for years now opening to me and my little family and welcoming us to the traditions she’d established over her ten years living on the island. I’d been part of some of the grandest Solstice gatherings those in power could muster and I can honestly say that evening with Mavis, Benjamin and the ravens was my favorite not-quite-Solstice ever.

  “Thanks for the warning?” I offered that as a question before laughing and Sam joined me.

  “I don’t want you to feel pressured,” he said. “You know she adores you. She practically has us mar—” He choked on that before stopping himself. “Well, she has plans for us.” I caught the rosiness of his cheeks, the way his full lips pulled sideways in a slow grin, head down as he blushed but didn’t seem opposed to said plans in the making.

  “I’m spending the holiday with Mavis,” I said, “and I’ll be delighted to share some of it with you, of course.”

  Sam nodded immediately. “It would mean the world to Mom,” he said, turning to stare down at me as we entered the far end of Athens Avenue, the strung lights lighting his green eyes, giving him an almost Fae appearance. Honestly, he was so delicious that any Seelie would be jealous, I was sure of it. “And to me.”

  He kissed me again to prove it.

  We carried on a moment later, any chill I might have been feeling from the 60ish temperatures banished by that moment of contact. There were, of course, things to be handled and choices to be made, decisions about what and what not to tell him should things progress as Josephine’s planned, but I had time and Sam seemed as content as I was to let our feelings for one another unfold as they happened.

  Yes, I know. Finding out who and what I was might put an end to this altogether. I knew there were others of my kind who had married outside the fold and hid their power from their partner, dealing with children down the road. The chance that Sam and I might be parents was a narrow window of unlikely, so I could probably get away with not telling him anything and letting him live in ignorance and bliss.

  The problem was, I wanted more from a life partner than that. When the time came, I’d tell him. And hopefully he could live with it.

  My heart was light, regardless, as we joined the small groups of people heading in the same direction we were, the strains of Christmas carols piping down the picturesque brick storefronts toward town hall. I adored Athens Avenue and its typically idyllic appearance, but the normals had gone to extremes with decorating Circe’s main street with multi-colored lights strung overhead to add to the white fairy ones already in place, giant candy canes and garlands engulfing the base of each wrought iron streetlamp glistening with more bulbs. Even the garbage cans had been adorned with snowman covers and Santa Claus suits, decorative benches draped across the backs with more greenery. The scent of evergreens and cinnamon hung in the still air, every store front adorned with their own scene, each window filled to the brim with decorations and designs. I smiled at the large red wreath outside of Oh, Sugar, the local bakery this year’s winner of best décor, wondering where the giant cake reindeer leaping from a snowbank of frosting and sparkles that was their centerpiece had gone.