Free Damned and Cursed (Book 2): Witch's Kurse by Glenn Bullion Page A

to die, right?   I'm taking it easy on you, compared to what you did to your girls."
    Martin struggled to talk.   Jack wasn't sure if it was the beating or the carbon monoxide doing its thing.   He didn't care.
    "You'll…die too."
    "Actually, I won't.   But thank you so much for the concern."
    "What are you?"
    "One could ask you the very same question."
    "The police…they'll never think…this is a suicide.   They'll find you."
    Jack laughed.   "This is just to throw them off, really.   But, to be honest, they won't break their necks looking for your killer when they see what you did in there.   Even if they did, I own half of them anyway, including the chief of police.   It's kind of sad, but it's the way of the world.   If you have enough money, you can pretty much do whatever you want.   And I happen to have a lot of money."
    "I…don't want to die."
    "I don't care.   You should consider this a favor I'm doing you.   A nice, clean death.   If I had more time, I'd put you through a fraction of the pain you did your victims.   Maybe even call an acquaintance of mine who happens to control demons.   But I have plans tonight."
    "I just wish…I could smell her…one last time…."
    He slipped off into a sleep he'd never wake from.   His head slumped to the side.
    Jack took a breath.   "And those were his final words."
    He climbed out of the car.   Everything went differently than he'd planned, but the result was the same.   The children of his town, more importantly Tiffany, were safe.

CHAPTER 5

    Jack looked over himself one last time in one of the many mirrors in the bathroom.   He'd always kept a spare set of clothes in his truck.   He ran his fingers through his hair, pleased with his appearance.   He looked like any other mortal.   His hands were the biggest concern, but he'd scrubbed the blood off and shoved his old clothes into a workout bag.
    "Hot damn," he told his reflection.   "You are one good-looking bastard."
    He left the bathroom and stopped as he set foot in the teacher's lounge.   It was empty when he first walked in, but now an older teacher sat at one of the small tables, reviewing notes.   She drank what looked like tea and munched on some chips.
    "Hello.   Can I help you?" she asked.
    "Well, you could have two minutes ago," he said, gesturing to the door.   "But I think I handled it okay."
    She wasn't amused.
    "I don't believe you work here.   You're not supposed to be in here."
    "Oh no.   You'd better call the teacher police.   Maybe I need a spanking with a ruler."
    She rose to her feet.   "Sir—"
    "Holy shit.   Sorry, I didn't mean to make you stand up.   Go ahead, sit back down.   Ease those bones.   I'm leaving.   Promise."
    He slung the bag over his shoulder as he left the lounge.   He cast one last look behind him as he walked down the hall, shaking his head at the teacher.   His heart went out to her students.
    The halls of the school were empty.   The lights were on, but there was no noise, no activity.   It almost could have been called eerie, if Jack believed in such a thing.   Every footstep left an echo.   Some of the lights flickered.
    Jack saw his first person as he rounded one of the corners.   A janitor mopped the floor outside the cafeteria.   He gave a Jack a friendly nod as he passed.
    "Hey, buddy," the janitor said.   "You okay?   You lost?"
    "Nah," he answered with a frown.   "I know exactly where I'm going."
    He navigated the halls until he found the room he was looking for.   He stood outside the closed double doors and took several deep breaths, trying to gather his strength and nerve.
    Jack had done it all over his long life.   He'd hunted evil, both mortal and supernatural, sometimes out of sheer boredom.   He even had a hand in saving the world a few times.   Vampires, packs of werewolves, demons, had all fallen before him at one time or another.   There were some things he'd done that pushed him to the limit, such as