Mystic Caravan 11 - Freaky Mage

by Amanda M. Lee

“I can vouch for that,” Luke offered.

  “Mom says he likes to pee on things with his mouth to mark his territory,” Sami explained. “I thought it meant something different when I was seven.”

  Aric grinned at her. “Your mother has a way with words. And, while she’s beautiful and wise, you shouldn’t always listen to her because she gets worked up over things and occasionally spews a bunch of crap.”

  “Like the time she told me that we should create a bee-free utopia in the backyard and nothing bad could happen by moving that hive.”

  Aric bobbed his head. “Exactly. What happened when you listened to your mother even though she was spouting nonsense?”

  “I was stung.”

  “You were.”

  “Seventy-five times.”

  I was horrified. “She was stung seventy-five times.”

  Aric’s expression shifted to something grave. “A normal person would’ve died. Zoe healed Sami, and then herself. What happened after that, Sami?”

  “We left the bees alone.” Sami was solemn. “Also, you called Mom a crazy woman for three weeks straight.”

  “Your mother is a crazy woman. That doesn’t mean I don’t love her.”

  Sami rubbed her cheek and for a moment I thought she was taking it all in, becoming an adult in front of my eyes. Then she spoke again. “Can I go see the animals? I’m really bored and I hate talking about Mom because she’s old.”

  Aric made a sound of exasperation. “No. The animals are dangerous.”

  “There are no animals,” I volunteered. “We only pretend there are animals. They’re actually shifters.”

  “Oh.” Aric wrinkled his nose. “That is ... freaking genius.”

  I grinned. “She can help them set up the big tent if she wants. That’s harmless and safe.”

  “Then I don’t want to do it,” Sami said, jutting out her lower lip. “Harmless and safe is code for boring.”

  Of course she would think that. I changed tactics. “Cole and Luke will be there. It gets really hot even when they get the fans going. They often take off their shirts.”

  Sami brightened considerably. “You should’ve led with that.”

  AFTER BREAKFAST, I PULLED RAVEN away so we could talk.

  “I need you to keep an eye on everybody.”

  She was instantly suspicious. “Where are you going?”

  “When we were at the grocery store yesterday, one of the people there mentioned rumors about ritual antics going down at cemeteries. I’m going to try and find out which one.”

  “Why?”

  “We need help with the runes,” I replied. “We can’t figure out what the cult’s end game is if we don’t identify the runes. The cemeteries in Savannah are famous ... and a lot of the mausoleums have runes carved into them. If we can find the right runes, we’ll have a name.”

  Raven nodded as she caught up. “And, if we have a name, we’ll be that much closer to answers.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Maybe I should go with you,” she offered. “I’m not sure it’s wise for you to be running around on your own. The magic they threw at us last night was minor, but it may not stay that way.”

  “I’m fine on my own for today. I don’t think they’ll expect us to head straight to the cemeteries. I need you to stay here. You’ll be able to take charge if there’s some form of attack.”

  Intrigue flashed in the depths of Raven’s eyes. “You don’t think they’d be stupid enough to come here?”

  “It’s doubtful, but we did interrupt their ritual last night. They might not be thinking clearly. I just want everybody to be mindful.”

  “Do you plan to tell Kade what you’re doing?”

  “I do. He won’t be happy that I’m going off on my own, but I think it’s the best way to fly under the radar.”

  “Pair him with the kid,” Raven suggested. “She sucks all the oxygen out of a room and she might actually be able to help him.”

  That’s exactly what I’d been thinking. “I’ll broach the subject with him. I just need you to promise to keep your eyes open here.”

  “Don’t I always?”

  “Yes, but this feels ... unfinished. I think those people are going to show up at some point, and I’m guessing they won’t be happy.”

  “You don’t have to worry about our people,” Raven promised. “I have everything under control.”

  That would be a nice change of pace.

  10

  Ten

  Kade wasn’t happy when I said I was taking off. He said he understood, but preferred I take backup.

  “Raven needs to be here,” I explained. “Just in case.”

  “Take somebody else with you.” He was stubborn when he wanted to be. “I can go with you.”

  “Do you really think that’s wise in case the cops come back?”

  He hesitated and then nodded. “It’s fine.”

  “Oh, you’re cute.” I rolled my eyes. “I can take care of myself. The cemeteries are tourist traps. Nobody would dare move on me in a cemetery.”

  He didn’t look convinced. “Take Luke?”

  He had to be joking. “Luke doesn’t like cemeteries.”

  “He loves you.”

  “Yes, but he’s often a hindrance when it comes to research.”

  “Then take Cole.” Kade was nowhere near backing down. “He’s great at research.”

  “He’s part of the contingent keeping Sami busy in the main tent. Ever since she saw him with his shirt off last night, she’s obsessed.”

  “Seth is in there. Luke will be setting up. I can pay her a visit.”

  I couldn’t contain my smile. “That’s kind of egotistical,” I teased. “How do you know that she’ll find you attractive?”

  “Because she’s a fourteen-year-old girl and I have muscles.”

  “Do you plan to take your shirt off too?”

  “Don’t.” He extended a warning finger. “You were injured last night. It’s not unreasonable for me to be worried.”

  “I was hurt for, like, thirty seconds.”

  “Then take Sami with you.” His eyes brightened at the suggestion. “She can heal you. I’m totally okay with that.”

  That made one of us. “I can’t take a kid and you know it. Stop being a worrywart.”

  “Fine.” He threw up his hands. He clearly knew it was a losing battle. I wasn’t going to concede on this one. “Just be careful ... and text me a couple of times so I don’t lose my mind.”

  “Do you want them to be dirty texts?” I sidled closer, hoping to coax a smile out of him.

  He finally gave in and wrapped his arms around me. “Dirty texts would be great.” He gave me a kiss. “You don’t think Sami will terrorize us all morning, do you?”

  I chuckled. “It’s a distinct possibility. Thankfully, she somehow manages to be adorable and obnoxious at the same time.”

  “She probably gets it from her mother.”

  I frowned. “Really? You just had to throw that in there, didn’t you?”

  Now he was the one full of mirth. “You kind of had that coming.”

  I couldn’t disagree.

  AFTER CONDUCTING A BIT OF RESEARCH ON MY PHONE, I settled on Colonial Park Cemetery. I scanned a few tidbits on the location, found out it was a historical cemetery that was turned into a park in 1896. No new bodies were being interred, but it was full of old souls, which meant that it could be bursting to the brim with ghosts who knew a lot about the area.

  It was located several miles from the fairgrounds. The photos I’d found online suggested it was one of the older cemeteries that was decked out with fanciful points of interest.

  I opted to walk. It took me about thirty minutes, but Savannah was so picturesque that it didn’t bother me. I found a coffee shop, indulged in something fancy, and then wound my way through the streets until I reached my destination. The sign outside the cemetery said it was open from eight until five, which meant I had plenty of time to look around.

/>   I stood to the side to allow a tour to enter ahead of me and then started meandering. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for other than runes. I sipped my coffee, turning corners and stopping at tombstones.

  Savannah’s legacy had always been interesting. Many of the locations in the South had an unfortunate history when it came to slavery, and Savannah was no exception. One of my favorite spots to visit was New Orleans — a place I was eager to show Kade after our break as it was one of the first stops in the new season — but Savannah was high on my favorite places list.

  A second before an amused voice broke into my reverie, I felt a buzz. I didn’t have to turn to know it was Zoe.

  “Great minds think alike, huh?” She grinned at me, a cup of coffee clutched in her hand.

  “What are you doing here?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.

  “Probably the same thing you are.” She moved closer to me and stared at the tombstones. “They’re old.”

  “Nothing in this cemetery is new.”

  “Which is why I selected it. Well, actually, my friend Paris selected it. She’s the one who is good at research. I called her last night and she suggested I come here this morning. I figured it was best to send Sami and Aric your way. Sami doesn’t like cemeteries.”

  I smirked. “She doesn’t like to think about death.”

  Zoe hesitated and then shrugged. “She’s seen her fair share of it. A couple of years ago she watched me die. She’s still a bit traumatized.”

  I stilled, dumbfounded. “She saw you die?”

  She laughed at my expression. “Or I came as close to death as humanly possible before she managed to tap into her healing magic and pull me back.”

  “Yeah, I’m going to need more than that.”

  Zoe shrugged. “We were at this place, not that it matters to you. It was the college where Aric and I met. It had been a problem more than once. It was a problem again. We were taking down the Academy, which in a nutshell consisted of a bunch of jerks who wanted to eradicate paranormals they couldn’t control. A girl I went to school with shot me. She was involved up to her neck in the Academy.

  “I’d just killed her husband because he had it coming, and she was enraged,” she continued. “I wasn’t expecting to be shot. Of all the outcomes I thought I might have to deal with, that wasn’t one of them.

  “I can heal myself under most circumstances, but I was too weak. Aric was flipping out. I felt myself going. And then, suddenly, I was coming back. When I opened my eyes, Sami was healing me.”

  I didn’t know what to say. “Do you think you really died?”

  “I tell them I didn’t because it’s easier, but ... I think I did. Now, looking back, I’m almost positive I did.”

  “Did you see anything?”

  She shook her head. “No.” Her laugh was hollow. “That’s always the first thing people ask. All I heard was Aric howling, and I kept thinking, ‘God, I hope he doesn’t spend his entire life mourning for me.’ That’s a weird thing to think, right?”

  I shook my head. “You were worried about your family going on without you.”

  “We always joked about the other being bereft forever if something happened, that we wanted that. But in that moment, I felt his pain and it was worse than mine. I needed him not to be alone and unhappy for the rest of his life.”

  “It’s okay.” I felt the need to console her. “You’re here now. He’s clearly happy.”

  “That’s true,” she said. “They’re both okay, but Sami still has the occasional bad dream. Thankfully she has a thirty-second rebound rate and goes right back to being a teenager.”

  “She’s a good girl.” I meant it. “She was amazing in the fight last night. It must be difficult for you to involve her.”

  “It is, but I don’t see that we have many options. What she can do, who she is, has become public knowledge. Not long after she was born, a group tried to kidnap her. I laid down the law and slaughtered all but one of them. I wanted to send a message.”

  “Did it work?”

  “Yes and no. People came after her still, but they were idiots who didn’t acknowledge what I could do to them.”

  “Was it hard raising a magical child?”

  “I don’t know that it was any harder than raising a normal child. Sure, Sami’s tantrums sometimes came with fire, but she didn’t manifest much when she was little. We were grateful for that.”

  “When did she start manifesting?”

  Zoe sat on a bench, indicating she was prepared for a long conversation. “She was twelve. In hindsight, we should’ve realized that’s when it would happen. Her magic is different from mine. She’s powerful, but her two sides are tied together.

  “Wolves mature at the age of twelve, and that’s when things started happening for her,” she continued. “She shifted for the first time and healed me within weeks of each other. She was ready to go Firestarter at the college with me because I wanted it gone.”

  “Firestarter? Like the Stephen King book?”

  “I showed her the Drew Barrymore movie. She really liked it, even though she made fun of the fashion and hairstyles.”

  I barked out a laugh. “That sounds ... really weird. It also sounds motivating.”

  “She was ready, but it didn’t turn out to be necessary. There was another faction there, a god no less, and he guided Sami when it came time to heal me. He also razed the school.”

  “How did he guide her?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. He’s always been a coy pain in the ass. I met him when I was on a mission to save my parents. He helped me, but he was weird about it. When he showed up again, I expected the worst.

  “The thing is, I think he knew what was going to happen,” she continued, her laser gaze landing on me. “He knew that Sami would need that extra nudge, and he provided it. She told me after that it was love that had her reacting, and that’s what helped her push away the fear.

  “It’s easier to destroy than build. I’ve learned that myself. She needed to stop being fearful of the good stuff, and when that happened, when she had nothing left to lose, she finally embraced who she was always meant to be.”

  I realized I’d been holding my breath. “That’s fairly profound,” I said.

  She laughed. “Even I can be profound.”

  “Do you think Kade can heal? He’s really interested in it now that he knows you guys can. He’s afraid of his magic.”

  “I think Kade’s issues stem from the fact that he was older when he realized he was magical. He’s got a lot to overcome because he didn’t grow up in a house where magic was embraced. We didn’t want that for Sami, so we’ve always been honest with her. If she set something on fire after a tantrum, we didn’t tell her it was bad. We didn’t want her to be ashamed. We just told her she had to get control of her emotions. Kade will have to work harder than Sami ever did.”

  “But ... do you think it’s possible?”

  She held out her hands and shrugged. “Anything is possible. Sami is growing by leaps and bounds. When it’s time for her to go off to college — hopefully one that’s nothing like the one I attended — she’ll be prepared.”

  “Are you worried she’ll be fighting her entire life?”

  “Yes.”

  It was a simple answer. Perhaps I was expecting a different one. “And you’re okay with that?”

  “It is what it is. I wouldn’t trade her for anything, despite the mouth. Still, Aric and I knew going in we would only be able to keep one child safe. We fought hard for her and will continue to fight for the rest of our lives. She knows that.

  “I like to think she’s pretty well-rounded, the boy-crazy stuff notwithstanding,” she continued. “I think she’s going to be a fabulous adult when she finally gets there.”

  “Like you.”

  “Like her father.”

  I snorted. “Oh, that kid is a mixture of both of you. She has your attitude, and she’s going to need it.”

  “Probably.” She w
as serious as she regarded me. “May I ask why you’re so curious about Sami?”

  “It’s the mage stuff. I want to help Kade.”

  “You love him.”

  “More than I ever thought possible.”

  “He’ll be fine.” She smiled. “He has all of you. The family you’ve built, it reminds me of the family I’ve built. You guys make fun of each other, keep each other humble, but you’re always there for each other. It’s a good thing.”

  “Sometimes it doesn’t feel good. Raven is ... difficult. Luke is a lot to deal with.”

  “Luke is awesome. He reads people well and always goes for the humor. You need someone like that in every group.”

  “I love him. I wouldn’t trade him for anything either.”

  “As for Raven ... she’s old. She doesn’t have the patience for nonsense. That’s not necessarily bad.”

  “There was a time when I didn’t think Raven and I would ever find common ground. Other than the dreamcatcher, we had nothing that drew us together. She’s loosened up a bit of late. I think it has something to do with Percival.”

  “Who is Percival?”

  “He’s a recent clown addition. We thought he was British, but he just talks with a British accent for some reason. He also wears leather chaps when they’re feeling frisky, but I don’t like to think about that too much.”

  Zoe chuckled. “I don’t even want to know how you’re aware of his chaps fetish.”

  “It’s a horrible story.”

  “Maybe over drinks one night.” She got to her feet. “Well, we’re here looking for runes, so let’s get to it. I’ll see if I can help Kade. I’m not sure I can, but he seems like a good guy.”

  “He is. I think he has a bit of a crush on you.”

  “That’s just the mage thing. Finding someone like you always feels like a revelation.”

  “I guess. It’s still irritating.”

  “You’ll learn to deal with it. He can’t help it if he finds me stimulating. I’m a goddess among men.”

  “And humble.”

  “Not even a little.”

  WE SPENT TWO HOURS SEARCHING THE cemetery. I was about to suggest we call it a day when I found Zoe standing in front of a brick wall, tombstones embedded into staggered brick risers.