We approach my boat. Samuel is normally so dark and evil I find it hard to believe that he loves anything that is bright and fun.
“And now you trap people here.”
His shoulders tense. “No, they trap themselves.”
“Will you give them their contracts back?” I ask.
He raises an eyebrow. “Who?”
“Everyone. I don’t want to attend another funeral.”
“Why would I do that? I have no incentive to be bound to the contracts anymore.”
I think over what Amy told me about her contract, and something occurs to me.
“Actually you do have an incentive.”
We sit on my porch swing, and thankfully he leaves a space between us.
“What’s that?”
“I’m trapped because I drew the eight of swords. Pretty sure everyone else is trapped only because of the contracts that are now void.”
He purses his lips. “Clever of you to figure that out. Tell you what. You keep that secret for me, and I’ll have everyone sign new contracts tomorrow. That way, none of them will be in danger on the new moon.”
I think for a moment. I could just tell everyone they can leave, but that could backfire on me as well. Samuel could tell them it’s my fault Juliette’s dead, or he might somehow manage to kill them before they leave the island. He’s always got a loophole of some kind.
His deal is the best that I can hope for.
“Fine. But by tomorrow night, everyone must be safe.”
He nods. “Dinner to celebrate tomorrow. Be there at seven.”
I almost tell him where he can go shove his dinner plans but then remember that I’m supposed to be his friend.
I give him my best fake smile. “I’ll be there.”
I show up at Samuel’s door just after seven, and my hair is blowing in all kinds of different directions even though there isn’t a breeze in the air. Obviously, Benny doesn’t want me here.
Dinner, to Samuel, means something different than it does to me. He would expect me to wear a nice dress and stay for hours, but I’m wearing jean shorts, and as soon as I see an opportunity to, I’ll bail.
I knock on the door and wait. Jeffery answers it, wearing a cute suit.
“Come in, miss,” he says, tugging at his collar.
I cock my head and don’t move. “What are you doing here?”
He pulls on his collar again. “I’m Master Samuel’s new servant.”
He’s only six. Amy would not make him come here and work. I storm past him and into the dining room.
Samuel grins. “Ah, you made it.” He looks past me. “Jeffery, please get Miss Callie’s chair.”
Jeffery struggles to pull the big chair out for me. I sit and pull it close to the table myself. “What’s he doing here?” I ask.
“You noticed my newest acquisition, have you? He’s a little young and will take some training, but I think he’ll make a fine butler. Don’t you?”
“You haven’t answered my question. Why is he here?”
Samuel looks at Jeffery. “Please go tell Lizette we need wine. And let Ruth know we’ll expect the first course in ten minutes.”
Jeffery gives a small nod and races to the kitchen.
“Why do you have Ruth in your kitchen?”
“You ask an awful lot of questions.” He’s so nonchalant it makes me see red.
“Yet you’ve answered none of them.”
He lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Very well. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and make my life on the island easier. The new contracts all had additional clauses in them.”
I grip the edge of my chair. This was not what I had in mind. “Like?”
“Ruth, for example, is my new full-time cook in addition to her healing duties. My dinner comes first, though.”
“Even if someone is sick?” I ask. What a pig.
“Yes. She understands my priorities. Let’s see… Luke will now assist me in making sure the islanders do what I want. Elias will take care of my plumbing, and the female acrobats and clowns will join me in my bed whenever I ask.”
My heart nearly stops. I’ve made life worse for everyone. I take a sip of my water to slow my thoughts. “And the male acrobats and clowns?”
Samuel’s smile widens. “I’m constantly trying new spells and experimenting with magic. They will assist me.”
Now, I might throw up. He’s going to torture them. “Assist you how?”
“As my guinea pigs. I expect some of the experiments might be quite painful. Shame Ruth will be tied up making my dinner.”
Lizette walks into the room carrying a wine bottle and wearing a very tight bodice and short skirt, and she looks much older than her fourteen years. She pours Samuel’s wine with shaky hands and then mine. Samuel watches her appreciatively. As she turns to go, he reaches over and pinches her butt. Her cheeks turn red, and she disappears into the kitchen.
I can’t believe he has such nerve. “You can’t do this.”
“Of course I can, and you made it all possible.” He raises his wine glass to me. “I think Amy probably got the worst deal of all.”
I grab the wine glass that Lizette just filled and down it all in one gulp. I don’t want to know the worst of it, but I have to.
“How so?” I ask.
“All of her children now work for me. At sixteen, they will be required to sign their own contracts, and I will be allowed to dictate the terms. Lizette and Collette are such lovely girls, wouldn’t you agree?”
“They are twelve and fourteen.”
He lets out a sigh. “Shame, too. But I can wait a few more years to bring them to my bed. For now, I’ll settle for Lizette serving my dinner and Colette helping me dress.”
I grip my glass and resist the urge to throw the wine in his face. “Why would Amy sign such a horrible contract?”
“Because she was so scared of them dying that she would’ve signed just about anything. All thanks to you.” He pats my hand lovingly, and I cringe inside. “And to think, you could’ve warned them and told them they could flee, but you didn’t. If they were to ever find out that Juliette’s death was your fault or that you knew they didn’t have to sign new contracts, I expect you wouldn’t last very long.”
I’ve gone and made things worse. Anger rises in my chest. If I stay much longer, I’ll do something dumb. I speak through clenched teeth. “I’m not feeling well. I will see you tomorrow.”
He frowns. “Very well. I’ll send Jeffery to get you in the morning for breakfast.”
I swallow, knowing I can’t say no, but the prospect makes me sick.
“Jeffery,” Samuel calls.
He runs out of the kitchen, his new shiny shoes squeaking on the floor.
“Yes, master,” he asks.
“You will see Miss Callie to the door and go to the acrobat boats and ask Jane to join me for dinner. Let her know that she will not be returning home before morning.”
Jeffery takes me to the door and then runs down the docks in front of me.
“Callie, wait,” Samuel says.
I turn, not quite to the end of Samuel’s dock. “What?” I ask, not bothering to hide my impatience.
Samuel jogs out, grips my hands, and looks at me with pleading eyes. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve made you angry. I…I…do value your friendship. Please, come back, and we’ll speak of anything else but the contracts.”
“Not tonight.” I extract my hands from his and walk away. I have to be his friend, but I have to put some space between us. I can’t believe he would be so cruel to all those on the island.
On the way home, his story runs through my head.
I wonder if it’s possible to strip him of his power. Then, he’ll just be normal like the rest of us, and we would all be free, and we wouldn’t have to worry about the ghosts because he’d still be alive.
I lay in bed for a long time, thinking about exactly what it is I plan to do. First, figure out how to take away his power. T
hen I need to figure out how to make sure the islanders are protected if I do. Then I’ll act.
It’s a long shot, but it’s the best plan I’ve got at the moment.
Chapter Twenty
“You know you’re just whining.” Luke slaps a steak on the table.
I sit on the floor of Luke’s tent, playing with a tiger cub while he mixes food together for his animals. The food smells horrible, but the cub’s nose twitches.
“Yeah, I know. But I can’t find a solution. Luke, I have to stop him.” He doesn't get it. He knows what’s going on, but he doesn’t seem to think I should do anything to stop Samuel.
“You’re going to get yourself killed.”
Maybe he’s just worried about me. I don’t want to think that he’s a coward, but the more I get to know him, the more I wonder.
“I can’t stand by and watch while he destroys peoples’ lives.”
Luke frowns. “So, you’ll just let him destroy your life? I agree that he has to be stopped, but that’s not your responsibility.”
“He’s already destroyed my life.”
Luke sighs and digs his hands into a gross looking concoction of meat and eggs. “I know, and I wish he hadn’t. But it can always get worse.”
“Don’t say that.” I don’t want to think of how things could get worse. Dark visions already play out in my dreams. Samuel taking me as his mistress. Benny disappearing. Juliette trying to kill me.
“It’s true. Look what happened with the new contracts. You should stay away from him. People are getting suspicious.”
I jerk my head up. “What do you mean?”
“They think you are on his side because you are with him all the time.”
“Not because I choose to be.” My voice rises a few notches.
Luke stares at me. “I should’ve known. He’s got you cornered, too. What are your terms with him?”
I squirm. If I tell Luke, he’ll know what I’ve done. “I don’t want to say. He’s a monster. We have to stop him.” One of the cubs tries to gnaw on my knee. Luke scoops some of the gross stuff into a small dish and sets it on the ground in front of me, and the cubs run for it.
“He’s been a monster for hundreds of years. Anyone who has ever tried to stop him ended up worse for the wear. I just don’t want to see the same thing happen to you.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
He leans down and scratches one of the cubs behind the ear as she eats. “Just keep your nose down. Find something to occupy you. I’ve got my tigers, Lorena has her magic, Ruth has her medicine. Maybe fire dancing isn’t enough. But find something. Samuel will forget about you and move on to the next girl.”
“I don’t think so. He’s in love with me. As long as I’m on the island, he’s going to come after me. And if I keep rejecting him, he’ll make my life a living hell.”
Luke doesn’t say anything for a long moment. One of the cubs jumps into his lap and curls up and closes her eyes. He pets her absentmindedly.
“He’s been in love before, and he moved on.”
“Really? Who?” If he’s moved on before, he can move on from me.
He narrows his eyes at me. “This stays between you and me.”
“Of course.”
“Lorena.”
I’m floored. Lorena seems too old for him even though I know he’s not as young as he looks. It just seems strange for them to have been together. Lorena is way too…I dunno…motherly or something. I don’t want to think of her being lovers with anyone.
“And what did she do to stave off his advances?”
“As far as I could tell, she didn’t. They were lovers for many years. But then again, others think you aren’t doing anything to discourage him either, but you and I both know that’s not true.”
I wonder what Samuel had over her and how she got out of it.
“What changed?” I ask.
“You, I think.”
That is not the answer I want. “So I just have to hold off until someone better comes along?”
“Maybe. Maybe you’ll find a way to get away, otherwise.”
“No wonder Lorena likes me. I took her place and let her have some peace.”
Luke’s lips twitch. “Yeah. Something like that.”
“So, the only way to get the monster away from me is to put someone else in his path. That’s not right. He has to be stopped.”
“You have to stop thinking about this, or yours is the next funeral we’ll be attending.”
“There has to be another way to get rid of Samuel. Why won’t you help me?” I clutch my cup of coffee on the side of the dock.
Lorena stands knee deep in the water, catching crawfish. “I don’t know what you expect. If you’d just killed him in the first place, this wouldn’t be an issue.” She stares up at me pointedly. “And Juliette would still be alive.”
Maybe Juliette would be here, but then again, maybe she would have died anyway when the ghosts were released and killed everyone.
I cross my arms and stomp my foot. “Can’t you just help me look for another way?”
“Dear, there is only one way around Samuel, and that’s to kill him.” She pulls up a net full of crawfish and dumps them in a bucket on the dock. Sweat forms on her forehead.
“Can I just see if you’ve got something in a book that might help?” I’ve read through all the books I have a hundred times, but she has others I haven’t seen.
“Sure. But don’t make a mess.”
I slide into Lorena’s house, and Raptor follows me. He finds a pillow and curls up on it and closes his eyes.
I look up at the huge bookshelf and peruse the titles. I’ve gone through her library before, of course, but never on my own. Usually, Lorena’s here pointing me in the right direction. A desk sits off to the side, piled high with papers and books perched precariously.
I can’t read half the titles. I pull out any books that are in English, but they are all light magic, and not a single one deals with an evil Obeah man who is intent on forcing people to be his slaves.
After an hour, I’m convinced she doesn’t have a single thing that can help me.
Lorena tromps in, and I jump.
“You find anything?” she asks, taking off her galoshes and rubbing her toes. Blisters have formed on the bottoms of her feet. I thought only heels and new tennis shoes did that.
“No.”
“You could just go through with the spell to kill him.” She shakes off her red jacket.
“Would you stop on that already? He won’t fall for it again, anyway. Plus, he said that will release the ghosts, and we still don’t know for sure if that is a lie or not. Can I have the book with that spell? Maybe that will help me.” I don’t know what I’ll find in there, but it’s better than what I’ve been dealing with here.
Lorena plucks a book off the shelf and narrows her eyes at me. “You’ve got him wrapped around your little finger. You could trap him in a circle again. Easy.”
She’s right, although I want to deny it. My whole plan hinges on Samuel trusting me, and for that, I have to be his friend.
“Here.” She hands me the book, and I flip through the pages. The whole book is dedicated to taking out dark magic, but every spell involves killing the witch, and that backfired last time. I need a spell to take away his magic and leave him alive so the ghosts are not released. I give the book back to Lorena.
“This is useless.”
“My library isn’t the only one on the island.”
I sit up straight. “What do you mean?”
She’s going to say Samuel. I know it. I don’t want to have to butter up to that man more than I already have.
“Ruth. Though, I think most of hers have to do with healing.”
“Ruth is a witch?”
“How do you think she’s so good at healing? Of course she’s a witch.”
Well, I’ll be. I stand up and dust off my shorts. “Thanks, Lorena. I'm going to see what I can find at Ruth’s.�
�
I find Ruth’s healer tent and duck inside. I’ve never been to her house, and I hope she keeps her books here instead of there because I’m sick of the runaround.
She pokes her head up from stitching up Elias. He sneers at me, and I swallow. He’s always given me the creeps.
“What do you need, dear?”
“I just have some questions. I’ll wait.”
“I’m almost done here.”
I sit and look anywhere but at Ruth and Elias. She fusses over him, and he curses frequently. On the side table sits a tray with muffins, and I help myself, but they are stale.
Finally, it’s over, and he leaves in a whiff of bad cologne and sweat. I look up at Ruth.
“How can I help you?” she asks.
“I’m practicing magic, and I was told you have a decent library.”
“I wouldn’t say decent,” she says. “Follow me.”
She ducks under a doorway, and we go into a tiny room filled with bottles and potions of all kinds. She leads me to a small bookshelf that has all of ten books.
“They’re all about healing magic.” She points to the books. “It would be nice to have someone help me out here.”
No, thanks. Not what I’m looking for.
“Do you have more at home? Any that cover other types of magic?”
Ruth shakes her head. “No, I decided a long time ago to only deal with healing magic, so I don’t mess with the rest of the stuff. This is all I need, but you can help yourself to whatever. I have to go. Time to make Samuel dinner.” She scowls, but I don’t respond.
It takes me all of thirty minutes to peruse the books. Nothing. This isn’t getting me anywhere, which means the next best thing will be Samuel’s.
I make my way over and knock softly at his door.
Samuel answers it wearing pants that hang low on his hips, a button down shirt that isn’t buttoned, and a look like a tiger about to pounce. On some men it would look creepy, but with his abs, it just makes him look hot.
I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again, forcing myself to look him in the eyes.
Circus of the Dead: Book 2 Page 9
