Chapter 1

“A bookstore?” Laci Valentine questioned as she glanced around the musty business, tucking a strand of her long, dark hair behind her ear. The entire place smelled like an antique store that sprung a leak, drenching the stained carpet, which no one ever cleaned. “Why would you open a bookstore?”

“And not even a new bookstore,” Jayden, Laci’s younger sister, noticed. “This place smells like they locked it up in the Florida heat for centuries. It’s moldy. What was here before you bought the place? A stale cheese store?”

Nazareth chuckled as he pulled a handful of books out of a box and laid them on the table. “What’s wrong with a bookstore? Do you have something against reading?”

Laci shook her head. This new venture of Nazareth Xavier’s was a little…odd. And out of the blue. Laci expected the older man to disappear once he finished teaching her the ins and outs of being a necromancer, but instead, he decided to make Harbor City his permanent residence. Of course, that also meant he remained a constant fixture in their lives, as well, something Laci could live without. She grew to accept the fact magic wasn’t finished with her, but that didn’t mean everything in her life had to center on witchcraft, did it?

Of course, the older man—over a hundred, according to him, though he barely looked fifty—still dressed like a college professor trying to be hip. He wore faded jeans, frayed at the hem, white sneakers, and a tweed coat with dark brown patches at the elbows. The only item of clothing Laci could say with certainty he changed on a regular basis was his shirts, which always were long-sleeve button-downs. He rarely brushed his shaggy, light brown hair which poked out around his ears in careless wisps, and by the looks of him, a stiff wind would blow him into the next town. Still, from everything Laci saw of him so far, Nazareth Xavier had an underlying strength that kept him alive in the face of demons and poltergeists.

“I’m in college,” Jayden said as she leaned on the dusty counter, standing back away from it immediately, her face twisted in a scowl as she stared at the grime on her hands. “Nothing we read is fun. Are you sure people will want to come into this place? It smells, it’s filthy, and it’s full of books. Way too many books.”

Nazareth laughed as he shook his head. “Knowledge rests in books. So do vast worlds to titillate the imagination.” He glanced over at Jayden, a smirk on his face as he reached into the box for another handful of books. “The imagination always needs titillating.”

“That sounded wrong on so many levels,” Laci said, giggling. She grabbed an old rag from the corner of the counter, sprayed some cleaner on top, and wipe it down. “Your location wouldn’t have anything to do with its proximity to The Murky Cauldron, would it? I mean, there are other places available for a business outside of the downtown area.”

Nazareth shrugged. “And yet, it seems like all the action happens downtown. Besides, Melli at that bakery down the road has excellent lemon tarts. Have you tried them?”

Jayden laughed as she nodded. “Everyone who works downtown or hangs out here regularly has tried them. Just be careful. Melli loves to gossip about people and isn’t above making up the gossip if she’s having a slow day.” She then gave a devilish chuckle. “But, from what Wanda says, Melli has her eyes set on Famallumi, which I think makes Wanda a little jealous.”

Laci shot her sister a confused look. “Why would Wanda be..?” Then her eyes popped open. “Are you saying Wanda is crushing on the elf? No way!”

Nazareth shook his head as he leaned back from the box of books, reaching into his coat pocket for the flask he kept there. “Okay, let’s get something straight. I’m old. Really old. There will be no girlish laughter and gossip in my bookstore. It gives me the hives.” He took a long drink of his whiskey.

The girls stared at him a moment and then burst out in laughter. Nazareth just rolled his eyes as he lifted his flask again, which made Laci laugh even harder.

When the Valentine sisters ceased their torture of the necromancer, Laci asked, “So, what is your true reason for hanging around?”

He cocked an eyebrow at her as he twisted the cap back onto his flask and shoved it into his coat pocket. “I thought that would be obvious. I’m here because of you.” He reached back into the box and pulled out some more books. “You’ve only known about your powers for a couple of weeks, and you’ve yet to learn everything there is to know. Hekate wants me to remain here to help you gain your footing.”

Laci said nothing, remembering her one encounter with the goddess Hekate so far. It was right after her hellhounds pulled Laci out of the burning mind of Emma Croft in order to destroy the revenant of Death, Tharon. Laci never thought she’d get out of the dead woman’s mind, prepared to sacrifice her life to protect the others, to protect her city really.

“So, you’re here to act as Laci’s babysitter?” Jayden asked. “Or are you more like her version of Rupert Giles, since, you know, you own a bookstore and all.”

“Does that make me Buffy, the Vampire Slayer?” Laci asked. “Wait, are there such a thing as vampires? I mean, we’ve seen just about everything else. Did Buffy ever fight ghosts?”

Nazareth rolled his eyes. “Do you remember that one episode where the entire town went silent? No one could talk at all?”

“I loved that episode,” Jayden said. “I’m surprised you know it.”

“I wish we were in that episode right now,” Nazareth said, tossing the empty box on the floor behind the counter.

“Rude,” Jayden said in a huff, crossing her arms over her chest.

“But accurate,” the old man said. He then turned to Laci. “I am not your babysitter. I’m here to help you realize your powers when it comes to necromancy.” He then shrugged. “Of course, from everything I’ve heard about this town, Harbor City has been a hotbed of supernatural fun. I thought I’d hang out and see what pops up.”

“Well, I’m kind of hoping the supernatural world stays quiet for a while,” Laci said as she flipped open a book on the counter. “I’ve experienced enough of the faerie realm and demons and ghosts and…”

“And here I thought we were getting along just swell,” Duncan Underwood said from in front of her, bouncing his eyebrows at her, his body materializing in the center of the counter stacked full of books.

Laci yelped as she jumped backward, the book falling on the floor.