I shook my head. “I almost tripped when I realized she was following us, but held it together.”
“You held it together?” Raven arched a challenging eyebrow. “Where was I when this happened? Wait, was this when you looked over your shoulder and almost fell on your face, but I saved you from a fate worse than death?”
I scowled. “Fine. Raven caught me.” I glared at her. “You didn’t have to bring it up. I felt stupid enough without you ratting me out.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Raven sneered before flicking her eyes back to the woman. “I don’t understand why she followed us. More than that, I don’t understand why she didn’t raise the alarm when she realized we were watching their ritual.”
I didn’t understand that either. “I guess we could ask her.” I moved closer to the dreamcatcher boundary and focused on the woman. “Who are you?”
She shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“It might,” I replied. “Do you need help? I mean … are you trying to get away from them? If you do need help, we might be able to offer some.”
“As long as you’re not eating people or offering human sacrifices,” Luke called out.
“You can’t help me.” The woman was matter of fact. “I’ve been here since the beginning of time. It’s far too late to help me.”
I squinted as she moved a bit closer, the illumination Max tossed over the area so we could see the ghosts allowing me a better look at her face. When I did, things clicked into place and I gasped.
“What is it?” Kade wrapped his arm around my waist. “Do you feel sick? Do you need to lie down? I’ll take you back to the trailer.”
“Now is not the time for sex,” Luke chided. “We have a crisis on our hands.”
I thought Kade might lunge for him, actually try to wrap his hands around my best friend’s neck, but he was too worried about keeping me on my feet. That was unnecessary.
“I’m not going to fall down,” I said, finding my voice. “I’m fine.”
“Then what happened?” Kade pressed. “Why did you make that noise?”
“Because … Luke, what was the name on that driver’s license we found in the woods? The one next to the blood?”
“Oh, that?” Luke furrowed his brow as he concentrated. “Amanda Stevens. Twenty-four. Blonde. Blue eyes. License says she weighs a hundred and ten pounds, so she’s probably actually ten to fifteen pounds heavier than that.”
I stared pointedly at the woman. “Really.”
Luke followed my gaze, realization dawning. “Oh, geez. That’s her!”
“That’s who?” Raven asked, pulling away from Percival long enough to infiltrate our conversation. “What are you talking about?”
“The license we found in the woods next to the blood,” I answered. “It belonged to Amanda Stevens. I’m pretty sure this is Amanda Stevens.”
“What?” Raven couldn’t hide her surprise. “She just said she’s been here a long time. That blood was fresh days ago.”
“We don’t know the blood belonged to her,” Max reminded us. “We only know that her license was there, and blood was on the ground.” He tilted his head as he moved closer to the dreamcatcher, waving his hand imperiously to make several of the ghosts move to the side so he could have a better view. “What are you doing here, young lady?” He adopted his stern voice, so I knew he meant business. But Amanda didn’t so much as lower her shoulders as she regarded him.
“This is my home,” Amanda said breezily. “You’re the outsiders here.”
“We’re visitors,” Max corrected carefully. “We’re not trying to infiltrate your group or destroy your home. We’re merely trying to understand what’s going on here.”
“Perhaps you’re limited in what you can understand.”
“And perhaps you’re not as dedicated to the cause as you would like us to think,” Max shot back. “There’s a reason you fled whatever was going on in Falk this evening. What was that again?”
“A pagan dancing ritual,” Raven replied without hesitation. “They had a fire going. There had to be at least thirty of them of all ages – it wasn’t just young women – dancing in dresses. They sang.”
“And then a wendigo howled again,” I added. “They reacted to the wendigo howling, as if they were doing something in tandem.”
“Really?” Max was intrigued. “What are your ties to the wendigo, Amanda? Do you serve it?”
I’d never heard of anyone serving a wendigo, but Max was smarter than me, so I thought there was a decent chance he might know better.
“We serve the night.” Amanda was almost blasé as she regarded our fearless leader. “We serve the night and the night will swallow you whole.”
“Is that what happened to you?” I asked. “Did the night swallow you?”
“I’ve always been part of the night.”
Hmm. That was interesting. I filed her response away to ponder later and focused on our more immediate issues. “Why are you working with a wendigo? I don’t know what’s going on with you guys, but it’s clear you’re connected to the monster that’s roaming around out there.”
“I think they’re also connected to the zombie men who keep popping up,” Raven added. “It’s all women out there dancing. I get that pagan rituals were often performed by women, but it doesn’t make much sense for there to be absolutely no men.”
“That’s a good point.” Max nodded, something unsaid passing through his eyes before he obviously decided to change course. “What do you guys hope to accomplish with this little game that you’re playing? I mean … do you think you can just lock us away and carry on as if nothing is happening?”
“You don’t understand.” Amanda was clearly losing interest in the conversation because she kept turning to look back in the direction of Falk, as if something was calling her away from us. “You are not of the night. You can’t understand this.”
“Do you want us to help you?” I called out as she turned. “Is there something we can do to help you?”
“There is no helping me.” The woman’s voice grew faint as she disappeared into the fog. “Stay out of the night. The full moon is tomorrow. That’s when we will be at our strongest.”
I was gobsmacked by the warning, but not enough to give chase for more information. Instinctively I knew she was already gone.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Seth lamented, his expression hangdog. “I thought she might stay so we could have a party.”
“You heard her,” Luke challenged. “She’s of the night. You can’t handle something that cliché-ridden and annoying. It’s out of your wheelhouse.”
Seth snorted. “Good point. Still, she was hot.”
“She was also lost,” I added, causing Seth to turn sheepish. “We need to find out what happened to her. There’s always a chance we can reverse it.”
Max nodded as he stroked his chin. “Yes. I want to make a few calls. I might have an idea or two about this, but I want to be sure before I set everyone off.”
I wanted to press him but knew it would be wasted effort. “We should all go to bed. We’ll regroup in the morning and compare notes.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
KADE WAS LARGELY SILENT for the walk back to our trailer. Once we were inside, safely locked away, he remained quiet as he brushed his teeth and stripped down to his boxer shorts. I was surprised when he climbed into bed next to me and didn’t immediately snuggle close.
Apparently he was still angry.
I cleared my throat, anxious to get the argument behind us so I could sleep. There was no imminent rest for me if he refused to make nice. “I know you’re upset,” I started. “I’m sorry about what happened – mostly because I know it wasn’t easy for you – but that was the only way we could get things done.”
Kade stared at the ceiling as he laced his fingers and rested them on his flat abdomen. “And what are you sorry about?”
“Upsetting you.”
“Not risking your life?”
>
Oh, geez. He really was turning this into a thing. “I didn’t see where we had a choice.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“So, you’re angry?” I was beyond frustrated … and exhausted.
“I told you from the start that I was going to be angry when you got back.”
“I know, but … I thought you’d get over it.”
“Because you’re so cute?”
“Because fear of what might happen is worse than recognizing that there was real danger we managed to avoid.”
“Ah.”
Crudsticks. I hated the detached tone of his voice. “I’m sorry. Can’t you just let it go?” I rolled and rested my chin on his shoulder. “I didn’t want to leave you behind, but I wasn’t sure what to expect out there. It’s not a crime to want to keep the person you care about safe.”
“It’s not,” Kade agreed. “That’s what I wanted to do for you.”
“Oh, well … .”
“But you wouldn’t allow me to do it.”
“I couldn’t,” I clarified. “There’s a difference. We had to opt for the best plan of attack we had available at the time. And, look, everything worked out. I’m perfectly safe. Heck, I’m safe and we’re in bed together. I think you should forgive me on principle.”
Kade’s eyes glinted under the limited light allotted by the nearly-full moon through the unshaded window. He didn’t look at the ghosts dancing outside, even though I was certain one was the guy in the hat who so tormented him. “I should forgive you, huh? No payback or sexual favors, just forgiveness and nothing more.”
It took a moment, but I realized relatively quickly that he was messing with me. “Oh, you suck.” I poked his side. “I thought you were really upset.”
Kade slid his arm under my waist and pulled me against him before I could escape. “I was upset while you were gone,” he said. “I kept thinking about all the terrible things that could’ve happened to you, things I couldn’t stop or fight. I didn’t like the feeling.”
I felt helpless. “That’s what we do. We fight monsters.”
“I know. You’re unbelievably brave. That doesn’t mean I can simply turn off the fear.”
I’d lost track of the conversation. “Does that mean you’re going to stay angry all night? I really need to get some sleep and I can’t if you’re pretending to be angry at me.”
“Who said I was pretending?”
“Kade.”
“Poet.” Kade mimicked my voice and kissed my forehead. “We’re not arguing. I simply need to wind down. That probably won’t happen until halfway through the night, so you’ll have to make do with half a makeup.”
“Fine.”
“We’ll make up the right way in the morning,” he added, causing me to smile.
“Fine.” I kissed his cheek as I got comfortable. “This is starting to come together. Whatever big thing they’re planning, it’s going to happen tomorrow. That’s why Amanda warned me about the full moon.”
“Then we’ll make sure we have everything together to fight it tomorrow.” Kade tightened his arm around my back. “We’ll work it all out. I have faith.”
That made one of us. I had no idea how to untangle the mess we found ourselves mired in. It was too convoluted, and we were running out of time.
24
Twenty-Four
Kade definitely wanted to officially make up in the morning, so we were late to breakfast. Preparations were well underway when we arrived, and I didn’t miss the look of derision on Raven’s face when she caught sight of me.
“How did it go with lover boy last night?” she asked when I grabbed a bowl and container of eggs so I could begin scrambling them.
“He’s fine.” He was. After a good night’s sleep he was much better and seemingly more settled. I knew he wouldn’t be completely back to his normal self until we left this place in the rearview mirror. It was more than the prospect of him manifesting magic – although that clearly bothered him – it was also the worry of the unknown.
Everything we’d faced before had been something that we either already knew how to fight or could research. This was entirely new.
“He’s fine?” Raven arched a dubious eyebrow. “He seemed upset last night.”
“He was upset because he couldn’t go with us.” Something occurred to me. “Speaking of that, how do you handle things with Percival when stuff like this pops up? Does he get worked up because you run off without him?”
“Percival is a coward.”
I waited for her to expound. When she didn’t, I was even more confused. “But … are you saying that he would let you die to save himself?”
“I’m saying that he cares about appearances more than bravery. You saw him the first night we got here, right?”
I nodded.
“Percival volunteered to hang around the fire with Nellie, Dolph and Luke in case something appeared out of the fog,” Raven said. “He didn’t do that to be brave. He knew those guys didn’t want him hanging around, but he thought people would assume he’s brave simply for offering.”
“But what would he have done if they said yes?”
“He would’ve stayed with them, although he wouldn’t have been happy.”
“What would he have done if something attacked?”
“Probably screamed like a woman and pissed himself.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at her matter-of-fact response. “Okay, I can actually see that. I guess my next question is, doesn’t it bother you that he’s not brave? I mean, especially here. Cowards don’t last long in this company.”
“I don’t know that I believe that,” Raven hedged. “As for bravery, I’m not sure it’s necessary. I’ve been around a long time – centuries – and I’ve seen all kinds of men. I don’t necessarily need a brave one. I think I’m beyond that.”
“You went after Kade when he first arrived,” I pointed out. “It was clear he was brave from the start. You only backed off because we got together.”
“I didn’t back off because you got together,” Raven countered. “I backed off because it became clear that he only had eyes for you. If I thought there was a chance to drive a wedge between you, I would still be in it.”
She was a walking riddle sometimes. Whenever I thought I understood what she was, how she responded to life, I always got knocked back a step or two because Raven defied categorization. “But I thought you really liked Percival,” I said. “You told me that yourself a few weeks ago.”
“I do like him.”
“But … .” I was confused.
“You need to put things in order to be able to live with them,” Raven supplied. “Each life item has a special box. You have a box for Kade … and one for Luke … and another for Max. Sometimes those boxes seep into each other, but you’re happiest when you can deal with one box at a time.
“I don’t look at life the same way,” she continued. “I don’t need separate boxes. Everything is an experience that can be enjoyed on its own or with others. I don’t even need good experiences. I simply enjoy the adventure.”
It was an interesting point of view. It made me uneasy just thinking about it, however. “I think I’ll stick to my boxes. Chaos lies your way. I’m never comfortable with chaos.”
Raven chuckled. “I think you’re best sticking with your way, too. The thing is, Kade and Percival aren’t the same types of men, so my approach to Percival is different from your approach to Kade.
“You and Kade are suited for each other, even though things sometimes get uncomfortable,” she continued. “You’re both worriers. You’re both brave. Percival and I are something else. We don’t operate on the same wavelength as the two of you.”
Part of me thought that was an insult but I couldn’t quite figure out how. “Well, as long as it’s working for you.”
“It is.”
“Well, good.”
“The question is, will this work out over the long haul for you?�
� Raven queried. “When Kade manifests – and mark my words, it’ll happen – he’ll hop from one box to another. You must be ready for that.”
I was already prepared for that occurrence. “He’ll be okay when that happens. He’s strong.”
“I agree.”
“It’s harder waiting for it,” I added. “Once it becomes a reality he can look forward instead of in every direction to see where the attack will come from. He’s waiting to trip. He won’t.”
“That’s a healthy attitude. But it still won’t be all roses and kisses when it does happen,” Raven pointed out. “There will be an adjustment period.”
“I’m fine with that. I’m pretty attached to him.”
“Oh, really? I never noticed,” she drawled. “I can’t believe you’ve hidden it so well.”
“Is that a dig?”
“Yes.”
“Well, okay then.”
MAX APPEARED BEFORE THE breakfast dishes were cleared. He carried a notebook and folder. He looked as though he hadn’t slept much. I didn’t know what to make of that – he was almost always calm and together, after all – but he didn’t give me a chance to ask him how he was. He was all business as he grabbed a mug of coffee and settled at the end of the table.
“I think I know at least some of what is going on.”
No one reacted with shock. There were no audible gasps or applause. Instead, several sets of eyes settled on Max and waited for him to explain.
“First, we’re going to be attacked tonight.” There was no easing us into the bad news. He preferred ripping off the bandage and diving right in. “It’s a full moon. In addition to that, it’s a blood moon. In addition to that, it’s a full thunder moon.”
“We only have one moon,” Kade argued. “How can one moon be so many things?”
“It’s simply something that happens.” Max rubbed the back of his neck and sipped more coffee before continuing. “A full thunder moon is generally one of the lesser moons. We don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it because it garnered its name due to the time of the year. It’s summer. It storms more in summer, hence the name.
Freaky Rites (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 6) Page 22
