Page 1 of Dancing with My Elf
Chapter 1
Zoe
Not again. My hands tightened on the steering wheel. Whenever we thought we’d gotten rid of them, we’d get another report.
“Got it,” I told Pandora, the witch I reported to at the Salem Supernatural Network where I worked as a detective. “We’re headed there now.”
After I ended the call, I glanced at Nova, the witch in my passenger seat. Salem was full of witches, but elves like me were scarce. “Change of plans.”
As I made a sharp turn to head to the address, the tires on my black Fiat squealed.
Nova held onto the door handle. “Must be something big.”
I ground my teeth. “Possible demon sighting.” Demons had been a P.I.T.A. of epic proportions since last fall when one started killing witches to steal their magic. After Nova had conquered that demon, we had a brief period of calm. It didn’t last long.
The call from Pandora changed the course for the night. Worse, it killed my hope that the demons were gone for good.
She blew out a rough breath. “Do we have any details?”
“Not much to go on. We had an anonymous call from a woman who said she encountered a demon, and he slipped into a club.”
“Yikes,” Nova replied. “That’s it? No description of the demon?”
“Nope.” I accelerated to pass a slow-moving car. “Since there are so many types, and they can take different forms, he might not be easy to find.”
That was a problem with reports to the Network. Some of them were legit as we’d find traces of dark magic at a scene, but many were bogus. We’d respond to a call only to find out it was nothing, only a teenage prank, zapping our already slim resources. If they knew the true dangers, they wouldn’t have thought it was funny. Even if we suspected a phony call, we had to take it seriously, just in case.
The call included a high trigger word—demon. That threat had left everyone on edge, especially me. With us short-staffed and working long hours, the intense workload was taking its toll. But I couldn’t stop until we’d rid Salem of demons. They’d already taken too much from my family. Too much from me.
Fortunately, Nova had been soaking up everything I taught her—from magical defenses to investigative techniques and had started going out on her own.
I took a turn. “We’re almost there.”
Nova glanced over at me. “Which club is it?”
“It’s called Ripped.”
Nova groaned and covered her forehead. “Oh, jeez.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s an—um—specialized kind of club.”
“Specialized how?”
“It’s one that caters to women. As in it has male exotic dancers.”
My brows drew closer. “You mean a strip club?”
“Yes.” She sighed. “My tenant Lucas works there.” She sagged in the passenger seat. “Hopefully, he’s not on the schedule tonight.”
I pulled into the parking lot of the building with a dark brick exterior and pink neon sign. “Never a dull moment.”
I found a spot in the back of the parking lot. One thing great about my Fiat was its small size—perfect for an elf like me at barely five feet tall. It was easy to squeeze into a tight parking spot but wasn’t great when trying to find it later as it was swallowed up from view by all the SUVs and pickup trucks.
Two women exited the club, and with them, the sound of loud music and cheers.
Nova stared ahead. “Do you think it could be an incubus?”
