H. P. Mallory - Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

Other Titles by H.P. Mallory :

Toil And Trouble

The Underworld in civil war.
The cause? A witch who can reanimate the dead.
A sexy as sin vampire determined to claim her.
An infuriatingly handsome warlock torn between duty and love.
Who says blonds have more fun?

After defending herself against fairy magic, Jolie Wilkins wakes to find her world turned upside downthe creatures of the Underworld on the precipice of war.
The Underworld is polarized in a battle of witch against witch, creature against creature, led by the villainous Bella, who would be Queen.
While Jolie has one goal in mind, to stake the vampire, Ryder, who nearly killed her, she also must choose between the affections of her warlock employer, Rand, and the mysteriously sexy vampire, Sinjin.
And as if that werent enough to ruin a girls day, everything Jolie knows will be turned inside out when shes thrust into the shock of a lifetime.
Toil and Trouble is the second book in the Jolie Wilkins series, the follow up to Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

Other Titles by H.P. Mallory:

To Kill A Warlock

The murder of a dark arts warlock.
A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose.
A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate.
Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld
is a real bitch.
Dulcie ONeil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens.
Shes a Regulatora law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world.

When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before shes either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim.

Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcies got her hands full.

As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.

F IRE BURN AND CAULDRON BUBBLE

by

H.P. Mallory

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

Copyright 2010 by H.P. Mallory

Discover the other titles by H.P. Mallory:
Toil And Trouble

To Kill A Warlock

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Acknowledgements:

First, to my fantastic critique partner, Lori Brighton. Without you,
this book never would have been. Thanks for all your help.

To my mother, for all your support. Thank you.

To my husband for giving me the time and space to pursue my
writing ambitions.

To my baby son, Finn, just for being.

Fire Burn And

Cauldron Bubble

Book of the Jolie Wilkins series

ONE

Its not every day you see a ghost.

On this particular day, Id been minding my own business, tidying up the shop for the night while listening to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (guilty as charged). It was latemaybe nine p.m. A light bulb had burnt out in my tarot reading room a few days ago, and I still hadnt changed it. I have a tendency to overlook the menial details of life. Now, a small red bulb fought against the otherwise pitch darkness of the room, lending it a certain macabre feel.

In search of a replacement bulb, I attempted to sort through my if it doesnt have a home, put it in here box when I heard the front door open. OddI couldve sworn Id locked it.

Were closed, I yelled.

I didnt hear the door closing, so I put Cyndi Lauper on mute and strolled out to inquire. The stetlamps reflected through the shop windows, the glare so intense, I had to remind myself they were just lights and not some alien spacecraft come to whisk me away.

The room was empty.

Considering the possibility that someone might be hiding, I swallowed the dread climbing up my throat. Glancing around, I searched for something to protect myself with in case said breaker-and-enterer decided to attack. My eyes rested on a solitary broom standing in the corner of the Spartan room. The broom was maybe two steps from me. That might not sound like much, but my fear had me by the ankles and wouldnt let go.

Jolie, get the damned broom.

Thank God for that little internal voice of sensibility that always seems to visit at just the right time.

Freeing my feet from the fear tar, I grabbed the broom and neared my desk. It was a good place for someone to hidewell, really, the only place to hide. When it comes to furnishings, Im a minimalist.

I jammed the broom under the desk and swept vigorously.

Nothing. The hairs on my neck stood to attention as a shiver of unease coursed through me. I couldnt shake the feeling and after deciding no one was in the room, I persuaded myself it mustve been kids. But kids or not, I wouldve heard the door close.

I didnt discard the broom.

Like a breath from the arctic, a chill crept up the back of my neck.

I glanced up and there he was, floating a foot or so above me. Stunned, I took a step back, my heart beating like a frantic bird in a small cage.

Holy crap.

The ghost drifted toward me until he and I were eye level. My mind was such a muddle, I wasnt sure if I wanted to run or bat at him with the broom. Fear cemented me in place, and I did neither, just stood gaping at him.

Thinking the Mexican standoff couldnt last forever, I replayed every fact Id ever learned about ghosts: they have unfinished business, theyre stuck on a different plane of existence, theyre here to tell us something, and most importantly, theyre just energy.

Energy couldnt hurt me.

My heartbeat started regulating, and I returned my gaze to the ectoplasm before me. There was no emotion on his face; he just watched me as if waiting for me to come to my senses.

Hello, I said, thinking how stupid I soundedtreating him like every Tom, Dick or Harry who ventured through my door. Then I felt stupid that I felt stupidwhat was wrong with greeting a ghost? Even the dead deserve standard propriety.

He wavered a bit, as if someone had turned a blow dryer on him, but didnt say anything. He was young, maybe in his twenties. His double-breasted suit looked like it was right out of The Untouchables , from the 1930s if I had to guess. toght="0">

His hair was on the blond side, sort of an ash blond. It was hard to tell because he was standing, er floating, in front of a wooden door that showed through him. Wooden door or not, his face was broad, and he had a crooked nosemaybe itd been broken in a fight. He was a good-looking ghost as ghosts go.

Can you speak? I asked, still in disbelief that I was attempting to converse with the dead. Well, Id never thought I could, and I guess the day had come to prove me wrong. Still he said nothing, so I decided to continue my line of questioning.