Bone Witch (Winter Wayne Book 1)

  BONE WITCH

  WINTER WAYNE, Book 1

  D.N. HOXA

  Copyright © 2017 by D.N. Hoxa

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork herein is prohibited.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Also by D.N. Hoxa

  ———————————

  Morta Fox Trilogy

  Heartbeat

  Reclaimed

  Unchanged

  Starlight Saga

  Assassin

  Villain

  Sinner

  Savior

  Chronicles of the Demon Hunter

  A Soul's Worth

  Book Two (Coming Soon)

  Book Three (Coming Soon)

  Water Wielders

  Trapped

  Book Two (Coming Soon)

  Book Three (Coming Soon)

  Table of Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-one

  One

  Here’s the thing about vampires: they’re assholes. The biggest out there, and there are some pretty nasty creatures roaming the streets. I don’t just mean James, the vampire standing right next to me in the alley, about to piss his pants, or the other three in front of me, looking at me like they wanted to rip me apart already. I mean the whole species. Not for the first time, I wondered who even came up with them.

  “Don’t move,” one of the vampires in front of me said. His head was big, his face square, and he was wearing one of those long black coats that fell all the way to his ankles.

  I took a step to the side and pointed at James. “I’m not with him or anything. I was just leaving.”

  “Are you deaf, witch?” the vampire hissed through gritted teeth. “Don’t. Move!”

  Shit. I so didn’t need this.

  Clamping my mouth shut wasn’t easy, but if I said anything else, they were going to deal with me first and James later. I might have been a fool for putting myself in that situation, but I’ll tell you this: I was not about to die at the hands of a vampire.

  Reluctantly, I took a step back. Those vampires were there to kill, and they wouldn’t stop at James. I might as well stop them while I still had the chance.

  But first, let me take you back a few minutes:

  I was at Dirty Joe’s—my favorite bar in Manhattan—sipping my drink, minding my own damn business, when this vampire came out of nowhere and cornered me. He said his name was James, though he looked more like a Mark to me. He wanted me to deliver a package to the other part of the city and he was serious about it, too. I had no idea I was up for hire, just like that, for anybody that wanted something done, but James sure seemed to think I was.

  “I’ve got two gold coins and an enchanted ring right here,” he said as if he really thought that I was going to help him.

  Not going to lie, two gold coins did sound nice. They’d pay the rent with enough left over for that cute coat I saw at the store the other day.

  “What does it do?”

  The ring he was talking about looked old, worn, and barely worth a penny. If I were to guess, I’d say some young witch put a spell on it to make it look enchanted. Unlike a real enchanted item, its magic would be spent after a use or two, and it definitely wouldn’t work properly.

  “I don’t know, but a lot of people were after it. It’s worth a lot,” the vampire said. “So, are you in?”

  A dry laugh escaped my lips. “Of course not.”

  I mean, I did have lots of free time on my hands, especially lately, but that didn’t mean I was going to agree to go and deliver packages for people I didn’t even know.

  “C’mon, Winter. You do nothing but sit at the bar all day. I’ve been watching you. You literally have nothing better to do,” he said.

  In my defense, I was at the bar for the past four days only—and I was there for work.

  “That doesn’t mean I want to work with you.”

  The vampire raised a thin brow. “Who else is going to want to work with you?”

  See what I mean about vampires equals assholes? With a roll of my eyes, I stood up from the booth. I’d listened to him because I was a curious little cat and I loved to know what went on around my part of the city, but now I was done.

  “Fuck you, Mark.”

  The only two people in Dirty Joe’s bar watched me because they had nothing better to do. It would take two more hours for the crowd to appear. The fact that I knew that was very concerning, but I didn’t give it too much thought.

  “My name is James,” he called behind me as I made for the door, ignoring the customers as well as Alvin the bartender, the smallest werewolf I’d ever met. They were usually pretty big.

  “Not to me,” I called back and slammed the old door shut.

  The city of Manhattan buzzed with life around me. I loved the smell of cold and dirt and the occasional expensive perfume that caught my nostrils as I walked back home. Home was a studio apartment, but it did have a walled bathroom so I wasn’t complaining. The rent was cheap, too. Gone were the days when I’d had my two-bedroom apartment—one to sleep in, and one to put everything else in. I didn’t like to sleep with stuff around me—not even my own clothes. Except my weapons. My weapons never left my side, and the four titanium beads floating around the fingers of my left hand were my testimony.

  “Hey, wait a second! Winter, hold on.”

  To my surprise, the vampire had followed me. They were pretty stubborn creatures by nature, but I’d been sure he wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore. Guess I could be wrong at times, too.

  “Please, Winter. You’re the only chance I’ve got.” He was right next to me now, walking beside me as if we were friends. I’d hate to be seen with a vampire. He’d completely ruin the already bloodied reputation I had left.

  “Don’t care.” Go away, go away, go away…

  “Three gold coins,” he said. “Three cold coins and the ring.” Ah, temptation, you bitch.

  “What’s in the package?” I asked. That had been my first question. It was bad enough that I was laid off work. Now people were starting to think I was for hire. Anger wasn’t a nice feeling, but it seemed to follow me everywhere lately. At times, I was willing to do anything it took to just catch a break from it, even listen to a vampire who cornered me on my free time at the bar. But if somebody asked me to deliver something to the other side of the city, I was going to want to know what it was first.

  “I’d tell you if I knew, but I don’t. You don’t need to know what’s in the package. What you need is the money,” he said. “C’mon, Winter. It doesn’t get much easier than this.”

  I knew bullshit when I heard it, and this vampire was full of it. “So why don’t you do it yourself?”

  “Because I can’t. I’m not even supposed to be out of my house. People are trying to kill me.” James sounded terrified, almost like he was telling the truth.

  “Why? Because you’re such a good guy and go to church every Sunday?” Nobody wante
d to kill anybody without reason. If people were looking for him, chances were he’d done something he wasn’t supposed to do.

  “Look, I’m risking my life coming out here to talk to you.” He sounded desperate. It almost made me feel sorry for the vamp.

  “Then why don’t you leave?”

  It would be better for the both of us. The streets were crowded like always, and though humans weren’t going to give us a second thought, others would. I was trying to get my job back, and being seen with this stranger who apparently had a target on his back wouldn’t look good in Finn’s eyes. But instead of listening to me and leaving, the vampire grabbed me by the arm and stopped me.

  “Because you’re my only chance. I’m begging you, please!”

  Fucking hell, I wasn’t about to fall for that, was I?

  I turned around and disappeared into the dark alley behind us, knowing he’d follow me. I seriously didn’t want to be seen in public with a vampire who had a huge red dot on the back of his head. An alley was better than the main street.

  “Tell me what’s in the package and I’ll consider it.” Holy hell, I couldn’t even believe my own words. Had boredom really gotten to me that bad?

  The vampire looked even paler than normal. If he’d been able to sweat, he’d be dripping by now. His greasy hair stuck to his forehead, and he kept scratching his cheeks with his bitten fingernails.

  “If you want to know so badly, just take a look, okay?” Maybe he really didn’t know.

  “How much are you getting paid for this?”

  Delivering packages was pretty standard—for a rookie. I’d been what they call a freelancer for years. This was so beyond me, it was pathetic that I was still even talking to the vamp.

  He pressed his lips and squeezed his eyes tightly shut for a second. “Four golds.”

  “I don’t believe you.” I’d be crazy if I did.

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ll give you three—that’s all you’re going to get. Just…please.” I’d seen a vampire beg before. Not a pretty sight, but something about James here was tugging at my stomach. It was almost as if I felt bad for him, which was stupid. Vampires were not creatures you pitied. Chances were they were going to latch onto your neck the second you looked away.

  I looked down at my black Martins for a second. My apartment sounded mighty good at the moment, but it would all change the second I was there. I’d hate it and want to get out within the first five minutes. I wasn’t used to not having stuff to do, people or things to chase. Maybe it was time I stopped waiting and took matters into my own hands. Make my life mine again. The beads that swirled around my fingers seemed to agree, too. They were moving so fast, I could barely see them.

  “If I do this, you’re going to pay me upfront.” The words left my mouth before I even realized it. Shit. I couldn’t believe I was doing this.

  James didn’t waste a second. He reached into his pocket and put three gold coins and the old ring in my hand. “I’ll have the package delivered to your apartment by midnight. It has to be in Inwood by noon tomorrow.”

  I put the coins and the ring in the pocket of my leather jacket. The pizza I was going to get on my way home smelled awesome. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth in it.

  And while we were at sinking teeth…the smell of deadness filled my nostrils. I froze for a second. My nostrils weren’t those of a werewolf, but I could guess a smell pretty easily. More vampires were close by, I was sure of it. Nothing else smelled like rot. It must have been my unlucky day.

  “What?” James asked, his brows raised when he caught the look on my face.

  I put my finger in front of his face. Hush.

  My hearing was nowhere near that of a vampire, either. Nature—or whatever had made them—was generous to the bastards. That’s how I knew James was pretty new at this. Three other vampires were just about to turn the corner, and I could hear them. He could, too, far better than me, if he’d just paid attention.

  James figured out what was going on when he saw me looking back at the main street. He jumped, completely terrified all of a sudden.

  “They found me,” he whispered and I’d never seen a grown man more scared. That moment, I really believed in everything he said. Nobody was that good an actor.

  But by then, it was already too late to disappear.

  Now, it was them or me.

  The possibility that I’d lost it crossed my mind while I drew out my knives. I had them custom-made. The blades, no longer than my fingers and slightly curved, were made of carbonated iron, strong enough to break bones, the handles covered with rubber to make sure they wouldn’t slip from my fingers. They were extensions to my hands, and with them, I was always prepared.

  Subject: vampire.

  Weakest points: brain.

  Favorite killing method: knife to brain through back of neck.

  So, you see, my gun would have to wait. Bullets cost money, anyway.

  I must have looked pretty innocent to them because none of the three vampires paid any attention to me as they circled James, who would be drowning in tears if vampires could cry. They definitely didn’t think I’d be stupid enough to get in front of them with only two knives in my hands.

  They were right. I didn’t get in front of them. I went behind their back.

  The smallest one was closest to me, on James’s left. With a deep breath, I cursed myself in my mind over and over again for doing this, and I jumped forward. This one was easy. He already had his back turned to me and my small knife slid easily through the soft skin on the back of his neck and right to his brain. Vampires were very hard to kill. Decapitating them did the job, but taking a head off a vampire? Not very likely. They’d be dead—well, deader—just the same with a knife in their brains, which was the only part of their bodies still living. Technically.

  The vampire fell to the ground with a loud thump. The two others turned to me, confused as fuck, then looked down at their fallen comrade.

  “James, run,” I said, my eyes stuck on the biggest vampire. His fangs came into view. If he opened his mouth, his other teeth would be sharp as hell, too. But before he could even show them to me, his friend hit me straight on the face with his huge fist.

  I flew back, literally. Damn it.

  But there was no point in regretting my stupid actions now. I’d hardly even made it to my feet when the same vampire who’d hit me the first time was in front of me. He made for my braid, which had fallen onto my shoulder, but I pushed his arm away, then buried my knife in his gut. Completely useless for long-term damage, but it did hurt him enough to give me a second to get my shit together. He came around just as I straightened, and my fist, fingers gripped tightly around the steel handle of my knife, connected with his face. I unleashed my four titanium beads upon him. They hit him everywhere, all at once, and though they looked like nothing but beads taken off a necklace, they hurt like hell. He fell back a step, and I charged forward again. The vampire saw me coming, and he dodged my knives and fists lightning fast. No matter. I had yet to start sweating.

  I kept expecting the other one to join the party while his friend and I danced, hurting each other like our lives depended on it. And they did. He had James by the arm as he watched us. I couldn’t see the expression on his face because I was too busy fighting. Adrenaline made the vampire’s hits seem like nothing. I’d feel each blow and cut soon, but for now, I kept fighting—the only thing I was good at.

  Is it too terrible to admit that I was enjoying the fight? Because, damn it, I’d missed doing something.

  When the vampire came at me with his mouth open, his razor-sharp teeth and fangs in clear view, I saw my chance. I dropped to my knees a split second before he reached me, and I hit him with my fist in his groin—it worked every time. My beads focused on his face, moving forward and back so fast you could barely see them while I, with the other hand, caught him with my knife right under his chin. He froze for a split second. If I took the knife out of him, he would heal before I could
think to blink. That’s why I kept it right where it was, and I rose to my feet, swinging my free arm as wide as it would reach. My other knife sank in his skin, but it was too low. I hadn’t caught his brain.

  Finally, his friend decided to join us. I was sure I’d have no time, but I somehow managed to get the knife out of his back, then drive it through the back of his neck fast enough.

  He fell. The third and biggest vampire materialized in front of me. My beads were on him just like I wanted them to be, but he pushed them away like they were annoying flies. Much stronger than his dead friends, he pushed me with both hands on my chest so hard, I hit the wall behind me. Or it might have been a dumpster. Too distracted to tell.

  When I opened my eyes, he was already above me. One of my knives had slipped through my fingers, and the vampire was smart enough to grab the wrist of my other hand before he hissed right at my face. Not the best of smells, but I forgot all about it when his teeth sank into the side of my neck. My titanium beads froze with me. As long as I wasn’t able to direct them, they wouldn’t know what to do, so they just hung there on air, above the vampire’s head.

  Agony. I’d been bitted by a vampire once before, and nothing hurt quite like it. The venom that leaked from their fangs served to shut the brain of their prey completely down. Lucky for me, I wasn’t your usual prey. But the problem was, my one weak hand around his big throat didn’t do much to stop him from sucking the blood out of me.

  Only then did it occur to me that I was deep in shit. There was no way I could push him off me with just one hand. What the hell was I thinking, attacking three vampires by myself?

  When I realized I was going to die, my life did not flash by in front of my eyes like some said it did. Only panic fried my nerves as I struggled to free myself from his sharp teeth and to keep my eyes from closing.

  Hope was almost completely lost when somehow, by some miracle, the vampire was no longer sucking at my neck. His grip around my wrist had loosened, too. Weakness fell on me like a blanket when I tried to move. I’d been through worse, so that’s what convinced me to try and push him away in the first place. It worked.