Mystic Caravan 11 - Freaky Mage

by Amanda M. Lee

  “He seems perfectly content with you.”

  “He is. Are you saying Kade isn’t perfectly content with you?”

  “No.” I was feeling defensive and I didn’t like it. “I know he loves me. I just ... .”

  “It’s not my looks he cares about, or even that I’m a female. He only cares that I’m like him ... and that’s okay. He doesn’t understand this world, and my guess is that he’s desperately been trying to keep up with you since he became a part of what you guys have going on with that circus. He just wants the chance to be your equal in this world. That’s all he cares about.”

  “He is my equal,” I protested. “I don’t think of him as anything less than me.”

  “Of course not, but you’re the strong one in your relationship. I know a little something about that, because I’m the strong one in my relationship. At least when it comes to magic. Aric is the strong one emotionally. The thing is, he offers you more than he realizes just by loving you. He can’t see beyond the magic, but he will with time.”

  “It’s the same way for you and Aric.”

  “Not the same. Aric doesn’t have the same sort of magic. He’s fine standing with me even knowing that I might have to do the heavy lifting in a fight. He’s egoless that way ... and an egomaniac in other ways.” A small smile played at the corner of her lips.

  “As for Kade, you needn’t worry about him,” she continued. “Your love is strong, pure. It will last a lifetime. He’s watched you lead your people into battle. He’s stood behind you. Now he wants to stand next to you.”

  “He always has.”

  “Perhaps not in his head. You need to make him believe that you already believe in him.”

  “I do already believe,” I protested.

  “Then keep believing.” She started toward the sound of the water. “You have strength of character and a good heart. You’re mildly jealous, which is completely unnecessary. It proves you’re not a perfect person.”

  “Definitely not,” I agreed.

  “Perfect people aren’t to be trusted.”

  I shook my head. “Why are you giving me relationship advice in my dream?”

  Her smile was enigmatic. “Who says it’s a dream?”

  I WOKE WITH A START, MY EYES SNAPPING wide. The first thing I saw was Kade’s furrowed brow and sleepy eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” He stroked his hand down the back of my head, concern lining his handsome features. “Did you have a bad dream?”

  “A strange dream,” I corrected. “Your girlfriend was there.”

  “Since it was your dream, I hope you were there.”

  “Your other girlfriend.”

  “Oh, geez.” Kade’s expression was pained. “Is this going to turn into a thing?”

  I cracked a smile. “I like her.”

  “See, this feels like a trap. I’m not going to say I like her too.”

  “It’s not a trap. You’re allowed to like her. You love me. She was right. I’ve known that since ... well ... since practically the first moment we met. It was stupid to be jealous.”

  “I’ll say.”

  “Just for the record, I didn’t think you were attracted to her ... at least not sexually.”

  “No,” Kade agreed. “Definitely not.”

  “It’s the magic.”

  “It is the magic, but not in the way you think. You’re all I’m ever going to want. Forever. It bothers me that you might think otherwise.”

  “I don’t.” For some reason, the dream had chewed up all my worries and spit them back out. I felt lighter. “I want you to learn from her.”

  He looked suspicious. “Why?”

  “Such a trusting soul.” I brushed my lips against his chin. “Because you’re always going to be at my side when the fight comes. Once you’re comfortable with your magic, nobody will be able to stop us.”

  He smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

  “So do I.”

  “I would feel better if I could heal people like they do.” The naked emotion in his eyes shredded my heart. “If I knew I could fix anything I might inadvertently hurt ... .”

  I gripped his hand. “You can’t think that way. You also can’t use the healing magic as a crutch if you do have the ability. There’s no getting around that. You need to have faith in yourself either way. Healing magic or no healing magic, you’re a total badass. You need to believe it.”

  “I believe in you.” He rolled so we were facing each other, our mouths inches apart. “What do you think of the kid?”

  The conversational shift threw me. “She’s mouthy like her mother and looks like her father.”

  “Not that. I mean the fact that they have her, and they’ve kept her safe, and they’ve taught her to embrace who she is.”

  Understanding dawned. “They’re good parents. I would like to think I would be a parent like that one day.”

  “I think you will.”

  “We will,” I corrected. “I don’t plan on doing it alone.”

  He grinned. “Aric seems to have infinite patience.”

  “He’s been at it a long time. I’m sure there was a learning curve.”

  He heaved out a breath. “I’m feeling kind of frisky after last night. My adrenaline is still pumping. I don’t want you to think it’s because of Zoe.”

  I laughed so hard I almost choked. “Do you want to play a game before breakfast??”

  “Only if you want to play with me.”

  “I think I can muster the energy.”

  “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

  9

  Nine

  My irrational bout of anger behind me, I headed out to help with breakfast preparations. To my surprise, Aric, Sami and Pemberley were already at the table chatting with Dolph, Nixie and Naida.

  “This is a surprise,” I said as I smiled at the girl.

  “Mom and Dad woke me up because they were giggling,” Sami said as she cast a dark look toward her father. “Trust me, I would rather be sleeping right now.”

  “Oh, don’t be a gloomy gal,” Aric teased as he poked her side. “One day you’ll be a morning person just like your mother.”

  “Mom isn’t a morning person. I’m not either.”

  “I believe that’s what I said.” Aric winked at me and then glanced around. “Where is Kade? I was hoping to talk to him about a few things.”

  “He’s in the shower,” I replied. “We’re getting a late start. I had weird dreams.”

  “Zoe did too.”

  I stilled. Could he know what I dreamed about? When I met his gaze, I found nothing to cause alarm. In fact, he looked relaxed and happy. Still, the statement felt pointed. “Yeah, well, I tend to be a heavy sleeper. Last night was different.”

  “Mom drools in her sleep,” Sami volunteered. “Dad thinks it’s cute, but it’s gross.”

  “It is cute,” Aric agreed, nodding his head as Luke and Cole exited the trailer next to mine and started in our direction. “Look, Sami, it’s your boyfriends.”

  Sami’s eye roll was pronounced. “Don’t be annoying,” Sami warned. “If you embarrass me in front of Cole, I really will never forgive you.”

  “See, when you say things like that it makes me want to embarrass you.”

  I smirked as I moved behind the counter, grinning in greeting as Naida and Nixie arrived with the food.

  “Did anything happen last night?” Cole asked, taking the seat next to Sami and giving her hair a light tug. He obviously understood about making the dreams of a teenager come true, because Sami positively swooned.

  “Nothing that I know of,” I replied. “I don’t think Kade has checked with his men yet. I expect him to be out here in a few minutes.”

  “Who is that guy?” Sami asked, drawing my attention as she pointed down trailer row.

  I followed her finger until I found Raven exiting her trailer with our resident British clown (who isn’t really a British clown, but that’s a long story).

  �
��That’s Percival,” I said, debating how I should explain him. “He’s a clown.”

  “This whole place is full of clowns,” Sami said sagely.

  I laughed because it was true. “He’s a real clown,” I supplied when I recovered. “He’s Raven’s boyfriend.”

  Sami was so silent I was worried. I didn’t know her well, but as far as I could tell she didn’t believe in keeping her mouth shut. When I glanced back at her, I found her face had gone absolutely white.

  “A clown?” Sami repeated.

  I nodded. “We have a lot of them. They stay over there.” I pointed toward a row of trailers that was only partially visible on the other side of the fairgrounds. “The clowns are an odd bunch and kind of keep to themselves.”

  “They’re freaks,” Luke agreed. “Every bad dream you’ve ever had? Yeah, that’s the freaking clowns.”

  Rather than laugh, Sami slid her eyes to her father. “You didn’t say there would be clowns.”

  “I believe we talked about it,” Aric countered. “I’m almost positive your mother teased you mercilessly for two days straight and put that ugly doll with the clown face in your room to mess with you.”

  Sami’s lips curved down. “I forgot about that.”

  “I somehow doubt that.”

  “You made her stop,” Sami reminded him. “You told her to knock it off or the next family visit you planned was going to be in Canada in the middle of January.”

  Aric smirked. “She hates snow,” he explained to me. “There’s been talk of a winter trip to a warm climate once Sami is off on her own. I’ve been thinking someplace tropical.”

  “I love how you guys are going to live someplace cool but only after I’m out of the house,” Sami groused.

  “That’s by design,” Aric said. “We don’t want you to be happy so we’re purposely torturing you.”

  “Oh, I know.” Sami slid her eyes to Cole. “Can you believe this?”

  He grinned at the girl. Despite Sami’s attitude — which always seemed to be on display — she’d charmed just about everyone in our group. She was mouthy, opinionated and powerful ... and yet she was also ridiculously lovable.

  “I’ve always wanted to live in Hawaii,” Luke offered. “I love Polynesian food.”

  Sami made a face. “Poi tastes like crap.”

  Aric rubbed his cheek as he regarded her. “You really need to learn to form an opinion, Sami. Otherwise people will walk all over you.”

  “What?” Suddenly Sami was all innocence and light. “You don’t like it either.”

  “I like it better than you,” Aric countered. “If I remember correctly, though, your mother took one bite of poi, declared it the worst thing she’d ever eaten, and then demanded we find a coney dog to round out her dinner.”

  I laughed, but Aric didn’t join in.

  “I’m serious,” he insisted. “She demanded a coney dog in Hawaii. Do you have any idea how hard that is to find?”

  “He found one,” Sami offered. “Mom was so excited they locked their bedroom door and made barking noises all night. I was ten, and I thought I would die.”

  Aric was blasé. “Obviously you didn’t die. And we wouldn’t have to lock the door if you didn’t have a penchant for letting yourself in without knocking. There’s protocol, but you refuse to follow it.”

  Sami’s eye roll was pronounced. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She turned her expectant eyes to me. “What are you going to do today? Are you going to find those cult people?”

  “That’s the plan. As for how I’m going to do it, I haven’t decided yet.” I looked up as Raven joined us. “We’re pretty much all here now. Did anybody notice ghosts on the river last night?”

  The table fell silent.

  “No,” Cole said finally. “I forgot there were ghosts out there the night before.”

  “How did you even see the ghosts?” Raven challenged. “You weren’t there.”

  “No, but Poet told Luke, and I was curious to take a look. I don’t have the same magic as you two, but I did manage to see some faint outlines. They were definitely out there.”

  “I didn’t see them last night,” I noted. “That has to mean something.”

  Kade looked genuinely curious. “Are the ghosts tied to the cult?”

  “I don’t know.” I looked toward Raven. “What do you think?”

  She held out her hands before accepting a mug of coffee from Naida. “I’ve never heard of a cult that anchors ghosts like that, and they did appear to be anchored. The thing is, they could be anchored to the place because something traumatic happened to them. It might not be that they’re anchored to the cult.”

  That was an interesting thought. “When we were in Michigan, one of the witches in Hemlock Cove was a necromancer,” I started.

  Raven nodded over the rim of her cup. “Bay, the blonde who didn’t bother me nearly as much as that whiny brunette.”

  I ignored the dig. I’d liked all of the Winchesters, although there was no doubt they were dramatic and prone to juvenile outbursts. We were the same at Mystic Caravan — honestly, what’s the point of foregoing fun when you live on the road and fight monsters? — so I thought everybody fit well together. “She could control ghosts,” I pointed out. “She could call them to her, make them do her bidding, and even help them cross over when the time came.”

  Raven’s face was blank. “Do you want us to call her?”

  “No. I’m just saying that the ghosts were acting odd the night before. I’ve never seen ghosts act like that. What if that’s because they’d been called to the riverbank to bear witness?”

  “Bear witness to what?” Sami asked, making a face as she watched Cole drink his coffee. She seemed completely enamored with him, and yet drinking coffee was apparently a crime in her world.

  “The ritual,” Aric supplied, cocking his head as he considered what I was saying. “You think the ghosts are part of it, like perhaps they were sacrificed by the group and then forced back to witness future sacrifices.”

  “I think it’s entirely possible,” I agreed. “We’re not certain what they were trying to accomplish with the ritual, but we need to find out.” That’s when it hit me that Aric’s group was one member short. “Where is Zoe?”

  Aric remained calm, but I realized the question made him twitchy. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to answer me. It was because he didn’t want Sami to start suddenly grilling him.

  “She had a few errands to run,” Aric replied easily. “She should catch up with us in a few hours.”

  I wanted to question him further but knew better. As amusing as I found Sami — the kid could have her own comedy show and make a million bucks — she was still a child. Aric and Zoe had gone out of their way to make sure she could survive in an adult world if something happened to them, but they were careful to keep what was left of her childhood from becoming one continuous monster fight. Some things were better left unsaid.

  “Well, I hope to see her this afternoon.” I genuinely meant it. “Kade has some questions about her mage powers. I was hoping she would make the time to talk to him.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” Sami offered brightly. “He’s totally hot too.”

  “That’s Sami’s deciding factor on everything these days,” Aric said dryly. “She says she’s allergic to ugly people.”

  “Who isn’t?” Luke asked dryly, earning a giggle from Sami as he winked at her.

  Aric shook his head. “I’m not a mage but I’ve been in love with one since I was twenty years old. Maybe I can answer his questions.”

  “Maybe. He’s still getting used to his magic, though. He only recently discovered he was magical.”

  “How is that possible?” Sami asked. “Didn’t his parents tell him? My mom claims my grandparents didn’t tell her, but I think she’s exaggerating because that’s what she does.”

  “Another trait she also passed on to you,” Aric said.

  “Kade was raised by his mother in California,” I explai
ned. “He grew up thinking Max was a family friend.”

  “And Max is who?” Aric prodded.

  “Oh, the owner. You haven’t met him yet. He loves visits to Savannah because he has a lot of friends here. He was out with them last night, which means he’s probably sleeping in this morning.”

  Aric nodded. “Can’t he tell Kade about being a mage?”

  “They’ve been doing lessons. Kade is still a little bitter about Max not telling him the truth about who his father was. Max is a little nervous because he feels as if he dropped the ball on the whole parenting thing. Basically, they kind of walk on eggshells around one another.”

  “Ah. I get it. They’ll probably get over that eventually.”

  “Probably,” I agreed. “The thing is, he feels something deep when he’s around your wife.”

  Aric’s expression remained neutral, but I didn’t miss the flash in his eyes. “You don’t say.”

  He’d obviously noticed Kade’s fascination with Zoe. He didn’t like it either. “Not in a bad way or anything,” I offered hurriedly. “It’s just ... I saw her at the police station yesterday and the power radiating off her almost knocked me on my ass. Then, when we went to the grocery store later, Kade admitted he was feeling something he couldn’t explain.

  “He was feeling magic, but I’m not entirely certain he understands how that works,” I continued. “He was upset, kept worrying that something bad was going to happen, and refused to settle.

  “Then you guys came here and that feeling intensified. This time he recognized what he was feeling because Zoe was here. He was feeling her, sensing her. It has to be a mage thing. They recognize one another. I’m out of my depth when it comes to helping him. Your wife can help.”

  Aric clenched his jaw.

  “It’s not a sexual thing,” I repeated, hoping this time it would sink in. “I get you love your wife. I love Kade. You seem to be forgetting that Zoe loves you and Kade loves me. It’s not as if sharing a magical thread will rock the foundation of your marriage. I’m pretty sure nothing could do that.”

  Aric sighed. “I know. I just ... I’m very territorial. It’s a wolf thing.”