£6.19 Per Witching Hour Read online

  £6.19 per witching hour

  Paranormal Personnel Saga #1

  by

  Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Copyright © 2012 by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Joanna Mazurkiewicz. The right of Joanna Mazurkiewicz to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

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

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the author/publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine, journal, or blog.

  Smashwords Edition

  Table of contents

  Chapter One

  I have to backtrack that; yes, I was seeing right—he was holding a chain saw.

  Chapter Two

  Please, God, if you are really there, I promise I will go to church every Sunday from now on.

  Chapter Three

  Hmm, obviously she wasn’t too keen that Daddy married a human.

  Chapter Four

  Fucking Jasper! Will I ever get rid of him? Possessive prick!

  Chapter Five

  Well, if you must know, in the morning I had a shape shifter try to kill me with a chain saw, then I had to interview a tooth fairy and, at the end, my crazy wizard ex-boyfriend stalked me again.

  Chapter Six

  Gee, if she doesn’t get some blood soon, we might be in trouble.

  Chapter Seven

  This place gives me the creeps. What’s with all these flashy cars?

  Chapter Eight

  Why does he have to look at me as if he wants to bite me?

  Chapter Nine

  Over pretentious, cocky bastard!

  Chapter Ten

  Clever bitch. She was right but I was still denying that I felt anything.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dhampir–what’s that even mean? So if he can walk in the daytime, does that mean he is not a vampire at all?

  Chapter Twelve

  I wasn’t fourteen; I was twenty-two and I had a degree. This was just stupid.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Here we go, talking about my love life. Why does the conversation always have to lead to that?

  Chapter Fourteen

  He was unbelievable and incredibly sexy but until I knew what his intentions were, I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Listen to yourself, woman. He is a VAMPIRE!

  Chapter Sixteen

  Did he just ask me to be his fuck buddy?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Well, actually, Mum, I had a date with a half vampire yesterday. He wanted me to become his fuck buddy. Oh, and he wanted to drink from me.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Don’t be a wimp! You walked home all the time a few weeks ago. Get a grip!

  Chapter Nineteen

  I think I should shut up now.

  Chapter Twenty

  TELL ME ABOUT IT!

  Chapter Twenty-one

  You and alcohol just don’t go well together. It’s like me and your blood...we lose control too quickly.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Of course he undressed me. I was only in my knickers this morning. Oh no!

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Here we go. My first official date with Nathaniel La Caz.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Kiss me Mr. La Caz. I want you to kiss me.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  That’s it? Until next time? What’s that even mean? Is he going to see me again or not?

  Chapter Twenty-six

  When she hears what I have to say, she will flip!

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  It was just one kiss. She wouldn’t recognise a Dhampir through a scent, would she?

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  How would Grandma know about Magic Shot? La Caz Corporation only just began the production.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  No one can convince me that this is a coincidence.

  Chapter Thirty

  God, we are really busy here and she wants me to get to the other side of town just to pick up this stupid paperwork! She has no idea!

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Did I have a choice?

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Shit. She was here all that time. God, she is going to think that I am some kind of nymphomaniac.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Damn it! He is a bastard. We are not even together and he still gets on my nerves.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Like he cares whether I am fine or not.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Don’t let him intimidate you! Just get on with it and tell him to go fuck himself!

  Chapter Thirty-six

  This fucking vampire wants to come in, but it’s going to be over my dead body.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  At least he is still here. Maybe he hasn’t threatened to kill him yet.

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Which means that he threatened him, for sure.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  I don’t really want to be here, but I want to see these bastards behind bars.

  Chapter Forty

  This is not the way my father and my new boyfriend should interact.

  Chapter Forty-one

  Then let’s just have sex already!

  Chapter Forty-two

  Get your hands off him, you bitch! Otherwise, I will cast such a powerful spell, you will be sent flying across the room.

  Chapter Forty-three

  God, more—just give me more of yourself, Nathaniel.

  Chapter Forty-four

  Because I am an idiot who has hopelessly fallen for a man who can’t commit but he is happy to mark me like some kind of possession.

  Chapter Forty-five

  Of course there is a foe! Someone tried to kidnap you a few weeks ago!

  Chapter Forty-six

  This wasn’t good; he was a full grown vampire. I had no chance.

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Don’t be an idiot, Julia. Just get back upstairs and call your dad.

  Chapter Forty-eight

  So this is how I would feel if Nathaniel drank from me.

  Chapter Forty-nine

  He got what he wanted; now he will probably never call you back!

  Chapter Fifty

  Think, Julia, think! What you can do? You don’t want to die here with this bitch!

  Chapter Fifty-one

  I want to get out of here alive!

  Chapter Fifty-two

  It’s not a dream; he is here with me.

  Chapter One

  I have to backtrack that; yes, I was seeing right—he was holding a chain saw.

  ‘Paranormal Personnel, Julia speaking, how can I help you?’

  ‘Oh yes...is this the recruitment agency?’ asked the rough voice, I yawned, staring at my nails.

  ‘Yes, you are speaking to Paranormal Personnel. How can I help you?’ I repeated my question. There was silence on the other end of the phone. For weeks we’d been getting strange calls with no one on the other end of the line. This happened far less when I was out of the office.

  ‘I am looking for a job,’ continued the caller. ‘Have you got anything for a werewolf?’

  Oh, werewolf. I should have expected that. They are always so reluctant to exp
lain what they actually want. It’s like trying to talk to a five-Hundred-year-old mummy.

  ‘If you tell me what sort of work you are looking for, then I might be able to help you.’

  My colleague Jennifer winked at me while she photocopied some paperwork. More silence on the line. The caller was probably contemplating what to say next.

  ‘I have been out of work for two months, so I’ll take anything,’ he said uneasily.

  ‘Email me your CV and I will see if I can make you an appointment to come and register.’

  ‘Ok, I’ll do that,’ he said and then hang up. I stared at the phone for a few seconds, wondering whether I’d said something I shouldn’t have.

  ‘God—werewolves! They haven’t got manners at all,’ I muttered to myself. ‘Jen, do you want coffee?’

  ‘Yes, darling. I need a refill,’ shouted my colleague.

  Today was a relatively quiet day, although I hated working morning shifts because the day always dragged on. I glanced at my watch. It was only half past twelve and I hadn’t had lunch yet. I walked to our small kitchen and pulled a face. Our so-called kitchen smelled of rotten food and bleach. It was just a small storage that had been transformed into a place where we kept our food and drink. I put the kettle on and took a carton of milk from the fridge. I added two spoons of coffee to my favourite cup. Then I put one spoon of coffee in Jennifer’s cup and topped it up with six spoons of sugars. Jennifer was pure-born mermaid and she couldn’t live without sugar.

  ‘Here you go,’ I said, placing a fresh cup of coffee on her desk. She looked intently at the screen, reading someone’s CV.

  ‘Thanks, hun.’

  ‘We urgently need a tooth fairy,’ I said. ‘Have you got anyone from your special list?’

  I sipped my coffee, waiting for her reply. Lately, Jennifer had been drifting off into her own world, not paying attention. Almost distant, like she had been plotting how to catch another rich paranormal. This was one of those moments. She ran her hand through her short black hair and smiled, finally looking at me.

  ‘I just put an advert on the jobsite, but I wouldn’t expect a miracle, darling.’ She chuckled. ‘And I haven’t any tooth fairies on that list.’

  She fluttered her long dark eyelashes and I rolled my eyes. I went back to my own desk to check the rest of my emails. I knew that Jennifer was right. We just got the job spec this morning, so I didn’t expect any CVs until tomorrow at the latest.

  We are in central London, for God’s sake; there must be lots of jobless tooth fairies around.

  I looked at Jennifer again, wondering how she always managed to look so good. Even after hours of intense hard labour in the office, she looked amazing, wearing a pencil skirt and plain white shirt. She always had a perfect manicure. I looked down at my nails and frowned.

  I definitely need a visit to my favourite salon.

  Jennifer’s nails were long; she went for black nail polish that complemented her gold jewellery. We avoided silver because of the candidates. Some of them didn’t like silver whatsoever. Most of those clients were vampires.

  Jennifer was thin and had a body to die for; she worked out every day and then swam at least an hour. As a mermaid, she had to be in the water every day, otherwise her skin would go pale and slightly grey-ish. On the weekends, she swam in the lakes outside London with a few friends, far away from ordinary humans.

  I scanned my messy desk. The picture of my mum and dad on holiday in Spain was by the monitor. My mum had amber eyes and short, dirty blond hair. I inherited the rest of my appearance from my dad: long blond-white hair, large blue eyes, and a small nose. I hated my ears because they stuck out slightly, and I always covered them with my hair. This was the only thing I didn’t like about my body.

  A new email flashed on the screen. I started reading it and chewing up my pen at the same time.

  Hi Jennifer -

  I saw your advert on the jobsite about a tooth fairy position. I attached my CV for your consideration. I have just been laid off from my current job and I need to get back on to work as soon as possible. I worked as a tooth fairy five years ago but the pay wasn’t great so I quit.

  I know that you are only prepared to pay a minimum wage per witching hour but in this economic climate, I will take anything.

  Looking to hear from you!

  Marianne

  Reluctantly, I opened her CV and began scanning the document. In the last five years, she’d worked as a cleaner for Liquid Bar. As far as I knew, that bar was owned by a giant, and apparently they used to pay well. Only recently I read somewhere that the business had gone bust. I scanned the rest of her CV, and then I pulled the advert to check whether she had the skills needed.

  Experience of adhering to fairies’ procedures

  Understanding of the importance of teeth collection from children between the ages of three to seven

  Passion for the paranormal industry

  Able to manage employee relations issues that may arise and has proven experience of casting a spell

  Possess a good command of English and has excellent communication skills (written and verbal)

  Certified transportation

  ‘Hey Jen, I got a CV for that tooth fairy position,’ I said. ‘She worked as a tooth fairy previously.’

  ‘That was pretty quick,’ Jennifer said, and narrowed her green eyes.

  I was just about to hit the Reply button when I heard someone come in. A large, well-built man stormed inside the office holding a chain saw.

  I have to backtrack that; yes, I was seeing right—he was holding a chain saw.

  Jennifer dropped her coffee and I got up so quickly that my chair swirled. We both looked at each other with panic. My mind was still processing what I was seeing.

  The man looked purple; he was shaking his head furiously and breathing heavily.

  ‘Where the hell is he?’ he roared, waving the saw in his arms like a maniac. ‘Where the hell is that bastard?’

  Chapter Two

  Please, God, if you are really there, I promise I will go to church every Sunday from now on.

  I swallowed a giant lump in my throat and stared at this lunatic who was storming towards my desk, still holding a chain saw. I couldn’t move. My body was in shock and I was paralysed.

  ‘I asked you politely, where the hell is that fucking vampire?’ roared the stranger again.

  ‘What vampire?’ asked Jennifer shakily. The tall man didn’t like her response. He roared incoherently with rage and switched on the saw. The loud noise filled the office and my heart practically stopped. Fear shot through my body like an electric bolt.

  ‘The one who used to work here,’ shouted the man, holding the saw menacingly above his head. I started to imagine how he would slash us, cut our limbs off and then take our body parts for trophies. Jennifer and I would die here and no one would ever find us.

  Me and my huge imagination.

  ‘Mathew has left. He doesn’t work here anymore!’ I managed to shout over the noise of the saw, struggling to stand straight. My legs were like jelly and my heart was pounding in my chest.

  The colour drained from the man’s face, but at least he switched off the saw and placed it on the floor. His lips parted as if he didn’t believe what I had just told him. He shook his head.

  ‘I want to kill that little bastard,’ said the stranger, approaching us. I glanced at the phone and calculated whether I would have enough time to call 9-9-9. ‘He fucked me right off! I still didn’t get paid!’

  ‘I am sure we can help you here,’ I said, hearing a noise by the entrance. Someone else just entered the office.

  Great, now we will have a triple murder in the office. Rufus will have a lot of paperwork to fill out.

  Everyone’s eyes turned to look at the person who was standing in the doorway, staring at the saw in front of him. It was George, one of our best call centre wizards. I tried to wave to him to tell him to get out of the office but he just stood there, motionless and r
ooted to the spot.