Curse Workers: Books 1-3: Curse Workers

CURSE WORKERS 1-3

ERZABET BISHOP

CONTENTS

Sanguine Shadows

Sanguine Shadows

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Map Of Bones

Map Of Bones

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Preview

Prologue

Chapter 4

Malediction

Malediction

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Arcane

Arcane

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Preview

Quote

Prologue

Chapter 7

Connect With Erzabet Bishop

Also By Erzabet Bishop

About the Author

Curse Workers Series

Books 1-3

First Edition June 2019

ISBN: 978-1-77357-117-1,

978-1-77357-116-4

Copyright © 2016-2019

Erzabet Bishop

Naughty Nights Press LLC

Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

Legal File Usage – Your Rights

Payment of the download fee for this book grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file, and to maintain private backup copies of the file for the purchaser’s personal use only.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this, or any copyrighted work is illegal.

Authors are paid on a per-purchase basis. Any use of this file beyond the rights stated above constitutes theft of the author’s earnings.

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Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by seizure of computers, up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 per reported occurrence.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

SANGUINE SHADOWS

MONTELIER SUPERNATURAL ACADEMY

Sanguine Shadows

Curse Workers, Book One

Copyright © 2016 Erzabet Bishop

Published by Naughty Nights Press LLC

fourth Digital Edition 2020

ISBN: 978-1-77357-203-1,

978-1-926514-66-6

Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

No part of this book may be adapted, stored, copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Legal File Usage – Your Rights

Payment of the download fee for this book grants the purchaser the right to download and read this file, and to maintain private backup copies of the file for the purchaser’s personal use only.

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this, or any copyrighted work is illegal.

Authors are paid on a per-purchase basis. Any use of this file beyond the rights stated above constitutes theft of the author’s earnings.

If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the publisher and purchase your own copy.

File sharing is an international crime, prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice Division of Cyber Crimes, in partnership with Interpol.

Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by seizure of computers, up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 per reported occurrence.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

SANGUINE SHADOWS

Ball gowns and bite marks…

Mari Di Bartolo is a witch coming back to her roots in Salem. Juggling work and school at the Montelier Supernatural Academy, she's a woman on a mission until she's attacked one night after work and left for dead. When Mari is about to step through the veil, she's given a choice-become a vampire or fade away. She chooses life. Nevertheless, it’s not her new Sire that holds Mari’s attention, but the strange and enigmatic Fae with the golden green eyes. Full of mischief and mayhem, the night of the Vampire Ball is upon her and all that glitters may just be her teeth in the moonlight.

Darkness lurks in the shadows…

Fenris is the Captain of the Guard for the Queen of the Dark Court. For centuries he’s secured the barrier between the human world and Faery, part of a Protectorate that keeps humans blissfully ignorant of the beings hidden in their midst. But when another rogue wolf attack brings him to a crime scene, he remembers another girl with long dark hair and eyes that spoke to his soul. On a night filled with wild magic, there will be blood and some of it might just be given willingly.

To my husband and fur babies for grounding me in reality, even when I get lost in the catacombs that comprise my wandering mind. The laundry will get done. Really.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of Gina and the NNP team, without whom the Curse Worker series would not be. Thank you Lady G. for all your belief and support. It means the world.

To my readers- I hope you enjoy this series. It is one that has been brewing for a long while now and oh, the places it will go.

CHAPTER 1

You have to marry, Mari Di Bartolo. It is our way. Our Houses must be strengthened by those of noble blood. You are my child and as such will marry accordingly. Roark, her Sire gave her a stern look and left her standing in the middle of her room, a stinging retort on her lips.

She wanted to laugh at his resemblance to the Gary Oldman Dracula, complete with the long hair, old fashioned clothes and glasses perched on his nose but she didn’t dare. Especially when she took in the dress she was about to have to wiggle into.

You’re not getting out of it so don’t try. Gibbs, her resident ghost lounged against the four-poster bed, his gaze locked on the dress draped over the edge of the bed.

Ugh. Can’t you even leave me alone so I can change? She reached for the top of her robe and scowled.

Get over it. You’re not my brand of fruit basket. Come on. You don’t have all night. Wait too long and that battle axe housekeeper is going to come up here and lace you in tighter than…

Okay. I don’t need a visual. Mari shuddered, sliding out of her robe and dropping it on the bed.

Just trying to help.

Well don’t.

Mari twisted her lips and winced as a sharp stab of her fangs cut into her lip. The annual vampire version of a meat market was about to happen downstairs in their ballroom. How many times would Roark try to pawn her off on a desiccated old windbag or one of his weird pervy social rejects just so he could further his political ambitions?

She just wasn’t interested.

She had only one goal. To find the bastards who put her here and shove a silver plated blade right between their furry eyeballs. Her gaze traveled down the smooth expanse of her chest and arm, still marveling at the way her new body healed itself. It was a miracle really, and one she should be grateful for. And she would be, after she’d taken care of business.

So why did her thoughts keep swaying toward one particular Fae Captain of the Guard? Fenris was one of the Protectorate and the only one other than her Sire who had seen the girl before she’d been changed into a lycanthrope assassin in a skirt. He’d looked in her eyes and despite what had been done to her…just when she had been determined not to feel, she looked into his eyes and saw their light shining back at her.

He gave her the strength to take what Roark gave her without spinning into madness. A human girl with no knowledge of the supernatural world one moment and the next laying in a pool of her own blood, the corpse of a werewolf lying next to her on the sidewalk and a vampire offering her a second shot bending down and offering a kiss that could render her immortal.

Mari took it. But all the while wishing it was Fenris’s teeth sinking into her neck and his blood passing through her lips.

She absently slipped into the dress and sucked in her stomach as Gibbs helped her fasten all of her bindings.

Thank you.

No problem, Pigeon. Now just help me find Bertrand and we’re good. And watch what you do with that arsenal under your dress. You don’t want to put someone’s eye out with that thing.

I just want to find Fenris or get out of here so I can do something other than schmooze with the other walking dead.

Don’t diss your fellow vamps, girlie. Roark saved your sorry butt.

I realize that. But right now being saved feels a lot like being a moth in a jar. I just want some flame to fly up next to.

And a chance to become the witch she was here in Salem to become.

What? So you can die again? Gibbs raised an eyebrow and twisted his lips into a frown, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

No. But it sounded defensive, even to her own ears. I just want to find him.

He looks for you. Every time he comes here.

Mari looked at him, incredulous. And you’re telling me this why?

I shouldn’t. You don’t understand the Fae like I do.

I know him.

No you don’t Pigeon. Gibbs shuddered. You haven’t seen…

She brushed on some powder and swiped on some cranberry red lipstick. Don’t you dare.

I dare a lot of things these days.

Well not now.

True enough. We have to get you downstairs before that woman comes up here searching for you.

She turned he gave her the once over.

You’re good.

Okay. She stepped into her shoes and was out the door, making her way toward the stairs.

Every time she saw him here at Essex House for a meeting or some dealings with her Sire, her body flamed, thinking about how tenderly he touched her.

But how could he possibly feel the same having seen her at her lowest point?

Bah. She was better off focusing her energy on staking the hairy fuckers who caused this in the first place.

She’d heard Roark talking with the Protectorate council. A reckless band of rogue wolves were attacking humans and fellow paranormals and she had to put a stop to it. Nothing else mattered. No one else should have to go through what she did. If it weren’t for Roark and Fenris…

It had to be the same wolves. It just had to.

And she would make it right.

The sting of tears in the corners of her eyes brought Mari up short. She couldn’t afford to be seen with bloody red streaks running down her face. She was the royal heir. No one had ever been turned by her Sire and it had apparently caused quite the stir.

No. No crying. Not now. She had to make an appearance and get out there. With the annual Salem Halloween events happening all around the city, it stood to reason the wolves would find more victims to attack.

Hell, if Roark hadn’t turned her, she’d be either long since buried or sprouting fur once a month herself. With a frown she mentally counted down the endless amount of training sessions she’d undertaken so she was able to handle herself around the wolves if she ever came across them again.

Did they do it just because they were assholes or did they have something else in mind? Not that it mattered. She was going to skin their sorry asses either way.

There was a reason she let herself be stuffed into a dress with enough voluminous folds to hide an arsenal underneath it; because she was. Strapped to one thigh was a silver tipped knife and the other, her favorite spell casting wand. Not that she really needed it anymore but it was nice having it along for the ride.

Crossing over into death had brought out more than just a set of fangs and lust for lycanthrope blood. It had also given the natural witch inside of her room to blossom and change into something none of the House residents would ever suspect. The ability to talk to the dead. She heard them. In the halls. Everywhere and it took a good deal of concentration to shut them out. Especially now they discerned she heard them. Like Gibbs. God the guy never gave her a moment’s peace.

As if on que one of the resident specters drifted by, bobbing her head in greeting. Her skirts trailed behind her along the marble floors and she vanished into a wall.

Huh.

A mystery for another time.

Mari stared down at the cleavage billowing over the top of the corset style gown and wanted to crawl back up the stairs and bolt the door. One false move would be all it would take for the little pervert she was supposed to dance with tonight to get an eyeful. She tugged at the top of the dress, gasping as the corset seemed to grow smaller.

Shit. How was that even possible? It was a good thing she didn’t need to breathe.

A couple passed her on the landing and she gave a regal nod.

Good evening, Mari.

Hi. Thank you for coming. She gave them her brightest smile, a flush creeping up the back of her neck and over her cheeks at being caught wrestling with her dress.

What else could she say?

Excuse me, but my boobs are about to pop out. I’ll be right back.

Sure, Mari muttered under her breath, carefully taking a step at a time until she reached the bottom of the steps. That wouldn’t be any more awkward. Not at all.

Talking to yourself again, Pigeon? Gibb’s spectral form leaned against the bottom stair banister, his eyebrow raised and a sardonic grin plastered on his face. The twenty something ghost stood straight up and gave her a mock salute. His Bauhaus tee shirt and skinny jeans matched his nineties style hairstyle, his lanky form and pasty white complexion giving him a Goth appearance completely suitable for his snarky disposition.

Despite that, she was glad to see him.

Shut up.

He cupped his hand to his ear in mock deafness and leaned forward. What’s that love? I didn’t hear you.

She started to retort, then smiled as another couple paraded down the hallway.

God she hated dog and pony shows.

Her dress was too tight. Mari realized it tonight when she tried it on in her room but after avoiding the subject of the Vampire Ball for weeks, she didn’t have time to do anything about it.

Nell, the housekeeper had placed it in her closet with a tart but knowing glance. Make sure you try that on so I can make alterations. Her hawk like expression never failed to quail Mari’s already frayed nerves and she’d just as soon not deal with the woman.

Mari forgot. The endless meet and greets and rotations around Salem made sticking around the house for a dress fitting nearly impossible. She was a simple girl that went to school, practiced her spells and worked in a bar before this happened. Now she had to be all Princess Morticia. It never failed to make her laugh.

You’re about to fall out of that thing. Gibbs narrowed his eyes. Can you bend over? I want to test the laws of gravity.

Mari snorted and rolled her eyes. You’re horrible.

I know. But you love me. He grinned, his gaze traveling toward the ballroom where more guests had started to congregate.

Is he here?

No. Gibbs sighed. What about your boy wonder?

Um. I don’t… Mari walked ahead, trying to pretend she didn’t hear him. It was bad enough she thought about the Fae lord at all. She saw him during meetings and occasionally around town and every time he winked at her.

Don’t play coy with me. You like him.

She stopped short and pressed back against a wall. What if I do, she hissed. It’s not like he sees me as anything more than some poor kid his friend changed into a vamp to save her pathetic life.

Gibbs gave her a stinky look. You’re stupid. You know that? The man stares at you like a dog with a bone.

The visual didn’t help and she winced.

Oops. Sorry.

Yeah. I few seconds later and I’d be right there with you hanging out in ghost land.

But you weren’t. Gibbs sighed and lowered his eyes. I wish someone had found me before…

I know.

He’d been killed by the same rogue wolves and was just as eager to see them caught. His lover Bertrand was in the next room. He’d been trying to connect with him for months and Mari had agreed to try and reunite them tonight.

Before her new life, she’d been a student, ignorant of anything except her work, a stack of spell books she thought were a nice diversion, and her school, work and school again schedule. Nothing was serious.

Until it was.

One night after her shift at The Copper Kettle was over, she trudged down the sidewalk, her mind already on the shit ton of formulas she was going to have to wade through.

Why did English majors even have to do algebra? It wasn’t like she was even going to use it. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t perceive them until one of the boys stepped out in front of her. Plaid button down shirts, worn jeans and sneakers that had seen better days. They were clean cut and had been nice enough to her inside when she served them a pint or two.

But now there was an edgy quality that set her teeth on edge.

They’d waited at the opening of the alley right next to the bar, leers plastered across their boy next door faces. Hey pretty girl. You looking for some action?

Nope. She kept on walking, thankful she lived only a few blocks away. God why was it always the ones who looked normal that ended up being assholes?

It just figured.

She gave a mental eye roll and proceeded down the sidewalk, her mind already shifting gears back to the exam looming over her the next day.

Then she heard it. A scuff of a sneaker that was way too close. Mari paused in her footsteps and someone yanked her backwards by her hair, making her yelp and getting her off balance.

What the? Hey!

One of the