Halfway Drowned (Halfway Witchy Book 4) Read online

  Gran began to cry openly in the growing day. “Yes, child. You’re whole.”

  I sobbed into the sand, from shame, or relief, or maybe both. “Good.”

  Epilogue

  “I guess this is the only part that really matters,” Eli said. He touched the Skraelingsdottir’s prow with a possessive hand, checking the cables that held it in place once again. The carved dragon was wrapped in a protective layer of treated fabric, bound to a frame, and headed for Eli’s offices where it would be preserved to share with the world. I’d extracted a promise from him that the prow wouldn’t be squirreled away in some dusty lab, gone for eternity.

  “It’s the only thing that should matter. Let Dafneh be forgotten by the world.” I felt a twinge at the memory of her talons, but forced a smile. I was healing, but it would be some time before life returned to normal.

  Or as normal as my life could be, anyway.

  “Wulfric is. . .okay?” Eli asked for the tenth time. He’d seen Wulfric in our bed, weak but whole. He’d suffered at the hands of Dafneh, both from the powerful herbs she’d drugged him with in the mead as well as being submerged. His breathing had been stopped by magical means, but that left him in a tortured state of suspension; it would be some days before his pulse returned to normal. As for dreams, I didn’t know. I’d do everything in my power to protect him from the memories, but even my magic has limits.

  “He will be.”

  “When will you tell him?” Eli’s question was knowing, but his smile was hesitant. He was asking a question that had been in the back of our minds as we totaled Dafneh’s victims. The numbers were. . .interesting.

  I wanted to avoid answering, but secrets had brought too much trouble into my life as it was. I went with the truth as I knew it. “I will, when we’re both whole. I think he’d like to know that he has family in Maine, even if they are distant cousins.” A thousand years of change had come to the survivors of Dafneh’s reign of terror, but Vikings were notoriously good at keeping their family history alive. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to know that they understood their origins. And, perhaps, Wulfric’s.

  Eli’s answer was almost dreamy as he sifted the memory of a history other than his own. “They certainly are connected to the past. I think he might like to know his people again.”

  “What about you? What’s next?” I asked him, curious to see where his brilliant mind would focus. He’d shown remarkable steel in dismissing Domari and Mella from their department by calling in favors. After a quiet word from Gran, I was assured that Mella would never lift a weapon in anger again. Domari went home to Maine, presumably to a family that missed her. Their days as avenging agents of justice were over.

  Eli rubbed his face with a hand, and I saw that he was less frantic; even measured in his response. The last few days had changed him, hopefully for the better. He was smart and honest, both qualities that went a long way toward keeping people safe from things that wait in the shadows. And the depths.

  He finally smiled, and some of his earlier self shone through. “I’ll backtrack the wrecks and see what I’ve missed. There are so many things waiting for me, now that I understand your world a little better. Thank you, Carlie. I think you and Gran are doing the work I should have pursued all these years,” he confessed.

  “You’re doing things we never could, Eli. Now you know what to look for, and maybe that will help you save people, too.” I reached out to hug him when I noticed his truck keys jingling in his hand. He was anxious to go. To see more, and do more.

  “I think I might be back someday.” He smiled, taking in Halfway in her summer glory.

  “Can’t stay away from our waffles?” I asked with a laugh. I’d be shocked if there was any food left in town after watching him eat. And eat.

  He grinned, and it was a young face looking at me again. “Okay, maybe that’s a little of it, but I don’t just work under the water, you know. Our department answers all manner of calls for, ahh, specialized issues.” He reached into his pocket and took out a small clear envelope, the kind jewelers use. Inside was a scrap of linen, stained and brittle with age. “Open it.”

  I did, and the powerful scent of age and death assaulted my nose. Underneath it was something like pine resin, and spices from another time. “Where did you get this?”

  “Sent to us from someone near here. It was last year, and I’d forgotten about it until now,” he admitted. I imagined his office was a treasure trove of all things weird and wonderful.

  “Hmph,” was all I could say when I recognized the material. “This is from a--mummy?” I looked around at Halfway to confirm there were no pyramids in sight.

  Eli’s smile told me he read my thoughts. He waggled a long finger at me, doubting my conclusion. “Not all mummies are Egyptian, Carlie.”

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  Reviews and feedback are extremely important to Terry Maggert, as well as other potential readers, and would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

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  About the Author

  Left-handed. Father of an apparent nudist. Husband to a half-Norwegian. Herder of cats and dogs. Lover of pie, and fan of giraffes. I write books. I’ve had an unhealthy fascination with dragons since the age of-- well, for a while. Native Floridian. Current Tennessean. Location subject to change based on insurrection, upheaval, or availability of coffee. Ten books and counting, with no end in sight. You’ve been warned.

  Currently, I live near Nashville, Tennessee, with the aforementioned wife, son, and herd, and, when I’m not writing, I teach history, grow wildly enthusiastic tomato plants, and restore my 1967 Mustang.

  Author’s Blog: terrymaggert.com

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  Books by Terry Maggert

  The Forest Bull

  Three lovers. Two demons. One mystery.

  When a shadowy Baron asks three fearless demon hunters to find a lost collection of jewelry, little do they know that the gems might be owned by the daughter of Satan himself.

  Their hunt leads into the distant past for clues about a lost woman who leaves a trail of destruction wherever she goes. Beautiful, deadly, and immortal, she moves through the world making chaos and converting humans to the ranks of evil.

  But not all of her converts are happy, and an ancient succubus will side with the hunters, making the search for Elizabeth a race against time as the bodies pile up under the Florida sun.

  If they lose, they’ll serve Elizabeth for eternity. If the hunters are smart, they might live, and if they’re lucky, they might even win.

  Come stalk the night with the fearless.

  Mask of the Swan

  Killing immortals is easy. Becoming one is hard.

  Three demon hunters continue their search for the archdemon Elizabeth, following her path as she turns people to the ranks of evil through twisted magic.

  Brutal, elegant, and cruel, the target leaves hints, bodies, and broken souls called Archangels, who recruit for the forces of darkness. Broken and dangerous, they spread among humans to feed and kill without mercy.

  For this fight, the hunters have help. An ancient succubus will switch sides to join an honorable priest as they chase Elizabeth to a deadly conclusion. But first, they must find the strength to resist the call of darkness.

  Their mission: k
ill the ultimate evil. But this time, she knows they’re coming.

  The Waking Serpent

  No rest for the wicked.

  An ancient vendetta will bring a demon to life—and he wants blood. His awakening alerts old enemies who will fight to send him back into the eternal darkness. If they can.

  With a succubus ally, a brave priest, and new friends who seem a little less human than most, The Fearless will meet the greatest challenge of their lives.

  There are new players among the immortals, and some are more comfortable in water. Between the sea and their home lies a mystery that has drawn the attention of a goddess, who has motives that are beyond the understanding of most humans.

  But The Fearless are not most humans. Join the hunters as they stalk the night for the greatest reason of all.

  Justice.

  A Bride of Salt and Stars

  From a secret tomb beneath a Mexican volcano, something has broken free.

  Known simply as The Bride, she’s luminous, deadly, and on the move. Only a special weapon can kill The Bride—one that rests in the hands of an immortal killer who wants revenge at any cost.

  A seasoned hunter of the undead, Aurelia will bring her spear to bear-- but only after she leads Ring and his family against warlocks, demons, and an angry Canadian gamer named Todd.

  With the help of a secretive deity, The Fearless will chase The Bride in hopes of ending her reign of terror. But only after dark. That’s when the hunting is best.

  Stalk the night with The Fearless as they prepare for the most dangerous hunt of all.

  Banshee

  Cities Fall. Dragons Rise. War Begins.

  The war for earth began in Hell. After earthquakes, plague and floods, the creatures of our nightmares boiled forth to sweep across the planet in a wave of death.

  On the run and unprepared, mankind is not alone. We have dragon allies, awakened by the attacks and ready to fight.

  Emerging from ancient hiding places, the dragons strike back at legions of demons that attack on the night of every new moon. The Killing Moon is the proving ground for warriors of skill and heart, but there are too few left with each passing battle.

  Among the riders is Saavin, a brave young woman from the shattered remains of Texas. Her dragon, Banshee, is swift and fearless, but they’ll need help to defend the last human city.

  With the skills of a warrior named French, Banshee and Saavin will launch a desperate defense against the legions of hell.

  They have demons. We have dragons.

  Join the fight, and fly to victory with Banshee.

  Heartborn

  Her guardian angel was pushed.

  Keiron was made to be a hero. Born high above in a place of war and deception, he is Heartborn, a being of purity and goodness in a world where violence and deceit are just around every corner.

  His disappearance will spark a war he cannot see, for Keiron has bent time to save a girl he has never met.

  Livvy Foster is seventeen, brave, and broken. With half a heart, she bears the scars of a lifetime of pain and little hope of survival.

  Until Keiron arrives.

  In the middle of a brewing war and Livvy’s failing heart, Keiron will risk everything for Livvy, because a Heartborn’s life can only end in one way: Sacrifice.

  Fall with Livvy and Keiron as they seek the truth about her heart, and his power, and what it means to love someone who will give their very life to save you.

  Moonborn

  Livvy Foster has a new heart, home, and place in sky of her new world. The fall of Sliver was only the beginning of a civil war. Angels from across the sky challenge each other to lead a world where time and magic are tools for war.

  When House Selinus attempts to bend time to become the supreme power in a distant future, they confront a goddess who is older than time itself-- and she’ll stop at nothing to get the one soul who escaped her deadly grasp: Livvy.

  With deceit, war and love swirling in the clouds above a shattered world that was once Livvy’s home, she’ll be asked to do something a girl with a broken heart never thought possible.

  Fight for Windhook. Fight for her world.

  Take wing with Livvy, one heartbeat at a time.

  Halfway Dead

  Come for the waffles. Stay for the magic.

  Carlie McEwan loves many things.

  She loves being a witch. She loves her town of Halfway, and her Gran, and her familiar, Gus, who is twenty-five pounds of judgmental cat. Carlie spends her days cooking at only real diner in town when she isn’t perfecting her family magic, and life is good.

  When a blonde stranger sits at the diner counter and asks her to lead him into the deepest shadows of the forest, her life will change forever. She must find a mythical grove of ancient trees, but there are ghosts in the forest, and one of them cries out to Carlie across the years: Come find me.

  With the help of a rugged cop who really does want to save the world, she’ll fight to bring a ghost home, and deliver justice to a murderer who hides in the cool, mysterious green of a forest gone mad with magic.

  Halfway Bitten

  The circus came to Halfway, and they brought the weird.

  When the body of a young woman washes up in the lake, it unleashes a spiral of mystery that will bring Carlie, Gran, and Wulfric into a storm of magical warfare. Spells will fly. Curses will rain. Amidst it all, Carlie will make waffles, protect her town, and find out if a man from the distant past can join her in happy ever after.

  There will be clowns. There will be vampires. There will be waffles.

  With love and honor at stake, Carlie has no peer.

  Halfway Hunted

  Some Prey Bites Back.

  Welcome to Halfway; where the waffles are golden, the moon is silver, and magic is just around every corner.

  A century old curse is broken, releasing Exit Wainwright, an innocent man trapped alone in time.

  Lost and in danger, he enlists Carlie, Gran, and their magic to find the warlock who sentenced him to a hundred years of darkness.

  The hunter becomes the hunted when Carlie’s spells awaken a cold-blooded killer intent on adding another pelt to their gruesome collection: hers.

  But the killer has never been to Halfway before, where there are three unbreakable rules:

  1. Don’t complain about the diner’s waffles.

  2. Don’t break the laws of magic.

  3. Never threaten a witch on her home turf.

  Can Carlie solve an ancient crime, defeat a ruthless killer and save the love of her life from a vampire’s curse without burning the waffles?

  Come hunt with Carlie, and answer the call of the wild.

  Halfway Drowned

  Something is wrong with Carlie.

  A magical storm. A hidden shipwreck. An ancient evil. All three are tied together as Carlie must defend Wulfric against his past, which emerges after a raging storm tears across Halfway Lake. When government agents descend on Halfway to investigate the mysterious shipwreck, Carlie discovers that all is not as it seems.

  A thousand years old, the Viking ship holds bones. And secrets.

  Not everyone went down with the ship. There were survivors, but they might be less than human. They cross paths with Carlie in a showdown that will bring her own secrets to light, for saving Wulfric came with a cost. Now, it’s time for her to pay.

  Dive in with Carlie as she fights to save the one person she can’t lose.

  Herself.

 

 

 
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