Free The Cursed (The Unearthly) by Laura Thalassa

loveliness into something disturbing. The snow that came to rest on her forehead, nose and mouth didn’t help. No living person would lay in the same position long enough to collect that much snow.
    A gust of wind blew through the trees. I bit the inside of my cheek as I watched a few strands of the victim’s hair stir in the breeze. She’d never again be able to brush that hair from her face.
    I closed my eyes. Now was not the time to think of her as a human. Not if I wanted to keep it together.
    I breathed in and out in an effort to calm myself. Instead, my back went ramrod straight as a smell caught my attention. It was the same smell I noticed back in the morgue. The smell of ash and something else, something floral.
    I almost jumped out of my skin when a hand landed on my arm. “What is it?” Caleb asked.
    I’d been so hyper focused on the crime that I’d forgotten about the people around me.
    My eyes moved to his. “I think I know our killer’s scent.”
    Caleb’s eyes widened . “Could you follow the scent to its source?”
    I chewed the side of my lip. “I could try.”
    Caleb nodded, and I heard the excited thump of his heart. “Do it.”
    I closed my eyes and breathed in, cringing when I smelled a healthy dose of desire wafting off of Caleb — that was so inappropriate right now — until I found the scent I was looking for. It came from two different directions. The strongest was near the victim’s head, but a fainter scent drifted in from the forest beyond.
    I turned, keeping my eyes closed, and began walking towards the source of the scent. Next to me I could hear Caleb’s footfalls shadowing mine. “Will you let me know if I’m about to run into a tree?” I asked, eyes still shut.
    “And ruin all the fun?”
    I whacked Caleb in the shoulder.
    “Ow, Dracula,” he said, “how did you know where I was?”
    “I followed the scent of stupid right to you.”
    “Low, Gabrielle,” Caleb said, but I could hear the smile in his voice.
    I grinned as well. I missed the easy teasing between the two of us. A wave of desire hit my nostrils, and my grin slipped. “Caleb …”
    He groaned. “It’s not like I can help the way I smell. I’ll just … try staring at a tree while I follow you,” he said, “… hopefully the one you run into,” he added under his breath.
    “Hardy-har-har,” I said.
    The scent recaptured my attention and I moved towards it, letting my nose guide me. The smell got stronger, and then it ended. I stopped and opened my eyes, glancing down at the object in front of me.
    Nestled in the dead leaves was a glossy black business card. Caleb crouched down and picked it up.
    “It’s an advertisement for Thirst, a nightclub in Cluj,” Caleb said. He flipped over the card and his eyes widened. “Looks like you have a murderous admirer.”
    “What?”
    He handed the card over to me. “See for yourself.”
    Careful to only touch the edges of the card, I read the message: Be here tonight at midnight. I look forward to meeting you, Gabrielle.
    I chewed on the nub of my pen as I went over the case with Caleb. “So far we know that the victims died in the same manner, that more than one person has to be involved — ”
    “And at least one of them smells like flame broiled roses,” Caleb added with a smirk.
    I narrowed my eyes. “Are you mocking me?”
    He raised his hands. “Those were your words, not mine.”
    Damn him, I had used those words when he’d asked about the smell on the drive back. I leaned forward in my chair, looking over the papers spread in front of us. We sat in my room, huddled around the desk next to my bed.
    “Oh, by the way, the forensics team pulled a partial fingerprint,” Caleb said.
    My eyebrows shot up. “They did?”
    “Yep,” he said, reaching across the desk and taking a swig of his coffee. “I overheard that when we bagged and tagged the business card.”
    Ugh. The business card. I rubbed my eyes. It was proof that once again I’d