And then the mood of the crowd shifted.
“Look at that,” a woman in the row directly in front of us said as she leaned in close to the man next to her. “Those people in the back row are wearing the same robes as the people we saw in town the other day. How weird is that?”
It took a moment for her words to sink in, and when I craned my neck to look in the direction she indicated, I froze. “Holy ... !”
Zoe was already moving. “I see them.” She wove through the bleachers and was at the edge of the ring in seconds.
The number of individuals wearing robes at the back of the tent doubled. There had to be at least twenty of them. How they’d gotten inside was a mystery. “Where are your men?” I asked Kade. “How did they get in here?”
Kade stood stock still. “I don’t know.”
“That doesn’t matter now,” Zoe argued. “They’re inside and we have to deal with them.” I couldn’t help but wonder what sort of debate was raging between her ears. “We need to keep them from making a spectacle,” she said. “There’s no way we can explain what is about to happen, which means we need to get them outside. At least the darkness will provide some cover once we get them away from these lights.”
“Let’s get their attention. I ... .” I didn’t get a chance to finish because one of the robed figures detached from the group and moved toward the center of the ring. I watched in dumbfounded curiosity as the individual stood next to Luke and lifted two well-manicured hands to the robe hood.
Slowly, the hood was pulled back to reveal a set of pale and delicate features. The woman looked to be in her sixties, with one of those faces that hide age better than most. She was so well preserved I thought it possible she was in her seventies. Either way, it didn’t matter. She was now front and center in my circus, and whatever she had planned wasn’t good.
“This circus is full of abominations,” she called out, sending a nervous twitter through the crowd. The guests sensed the show had taken a turn.
“We’re a circus,” Luke deadpanned, refusing to cede control. “We have plenty of attractions. The Abominable Snowman is not one of them.”
The look the woman shot Luke made my blood run cold, and I changed course quickly. She was a threat to him. Whether he realized it or not, she would hurt him ... and in spectacular fashion.
“They’re abominations,” she repeated. “They’re creatures who were never meant to walk this earth. God gave His kingdom to mankind. These creatures are foul and taint what he’s given us.”
She sounded like a whack job. Unfortunately, she was a whack job who could cause chaos with a snap of her fingers. If the crowd panicked, some of them would be injured ... maybe even worse.
“This is kind of a weird show,” a woman said.
“Give them a second,” her male companion said. “It’s probably some bit.”
Oh, if only that were true. I had to get control of this situation. “We’re going to take a brief intermission,” I boomed as I started for the ring. “It seems there’s been an unannounced script rewrite.”
The crowd laughed nervously at the comment.
“It will just take us a few minutes,” I reassured the crowd, my eyes never leaving the woman’s face.
She didn’t look frightened. In fact, when she regarded me, she looked intrigued. I didn’t take that as a good sign.
“Everybody remain in your seats,” the woman intoned, her voice authoritative. “I command it.”
“The only one giving commands here is me,” Luke countered. “I’m the ringmaster.” He pointed to his hat. “This means I’m in charge.”
Another laugh rose from the crowd, but I didn’t have to look toward the tent flap to know that people were already crowding the exit. The pall of uneasiness hanging over the tent was heavy.
“I said to stay here!” the woman demanded, shrill.
That made people flee toward the exits faster.
“This is your fault,” she hissed as her eyes moved to me. “You caused this death and destruction. Remember that.”
What death and destruction? Even as I asked the question of myself, I recognized that the robed figures from the back were moving. Magic arced out from their fingers, hitting Dolph square in the chest. Sami, who had been gripped in his arms, started to tumble toward the ground, but Cole swooped in, sliding across the floor on his knees, to catch her.
The crowd erupted in screams and panicked as people tried to escape. Their haste to get out created a bottleneck, which made them easy pickings for the cult members as they continued to spew magic haphazardly. It didn’t seem as if they aimed, but randomly attacked without focus.
“Son of a ... .” Zoe viciously swore as she leaped into the ring, her eyes blue slits of disgust as she regarded the cult leader. “I’ve had just about enough of you guys.”
“I could say the same about you,” the woman replied evenly. “You killed our brothers and sisters last night. Did you think that would go unpunished?”
Magic zinged over my head and I ducked, patting the top of my head to make sure my hair hadn’t caught fire before reacting to a shrill scream.
I didn’t talk to Charlotte long enough to be able to recognize her voice and yet I knew the scream came from her. Near one of the side entrances, two of the robed figures had Charlotte locked between them, struggling to take her out of the tent.
As I started toward them, Kade joined me.
“We can’t let them get her outside,” I said.
His hands ignited as he shook them. “How are we going to explain this to the guests?”
That was the least of my worries now. “Just ... hold on.” I broke into a run, hopping on a bleacher before twisting my body to land directly next to one of the figures.
He didn’t see me coming. Before he could react, I slapped both hands against the sides of his head and shoved inside.
“Fear,” I commanded, plunging him into a nightmare. Rather than look around and search for something specific to frighten him, I left him to start slapping at the air as he fought off some invisible foe. I moved on to the other man. “Let her go,” I warned, extending a finger.
The bravado he’d boasted only seconds before evaporated. This time when he grabbed Charlotte, it was to use her as a human shield. “Don’t come near me, you heathen.”
“Was that supposed to be an insult?” I challenged. “Let her go.”
“No.”
“Let her go or I’ll make you think you’re a flamingo for the rest of your life. You’ll walk around naked, trying to stand on one leg. You’ll never think again. You’ll never reason again. That will be your life.”
Under the hood, I saw a glimpse of a face. He was doughy, likely in his thirties, and the fear coursing through him was real. “I ... .”
“I’ve had enough of this.” Kade slipped past me. He extended his hands, his fingertips glowing red, and slapped his palms against the man’s chest. The second he made contact, the man went straight and stared at the ceiling lights. He was frozen, not a muscle moving, and I was almost positive I picked up the distinct scent of something catching fire.
“Okay, Tiger.” I flashed Kade a tight smile as Charlotte let loose a terrified scream and bolted past us. “That was ... impressive.”
As if remembering he wasn’t alone, Kade pulled back his hands and stared at them. “I ... .”
“It’s okay.” I reassured him, risking a glance at the man. He hadn’t moved. “That’s a pretty neat trick, but we can’t worry about it right now. In fact ... .” I swiveled back to the ring to see where Zoe was in her fight. The mage had been surrounded by robe-clad followers. The woman exerting control over the other faction remained exactly where she’d been two minutes before ... and she looked haughty.
“This is my show,” she offered, grinning.
“Not any longer.” I started in her direction. I had every intention of using my magic to look inside her mind. As if sensing that my intention had changed, she took an involunt
ary step back ... and ran straight into Luke.
“You messed up my show,” Luke complained. “Do you know how rarely I get to be the center of attention? I’m so distraught.”
Only Luke would use the word “distraught” to describe his feelings during a battle to the death. I was about to remind him that there were worse things in the world when the woman changed the game.
She hadn’t used overt magic to this point, but now her hands glowed with orange menace and she aimed them directly at Luke. I was already raising my hands to offer a protection spell, but I was too late.
“Luke!” I screamed to alert him, but he showed no signs of registering what was about to happen.
In slow motion, the woman’s hands made contact with Luke’s chest and a jolt of magic shifted from her to him. She hit him with enough force that he was propelled backward four feet before hitting the ground.
He lay still. All I could think was that I’d lost him. I raised my hands and fired a furious barrage of magic at her ... which she proceeded to deflect with a simple hand wave. Whatever shield magic they were using was effective, to the point fear grabbed me by the throat as I considered my next option.
And then Zoe joined the fray.
She lashed out against the three cult members surrounding her, shredding them to dust in an instant. Her eyes blazed when she turned to the cult leader, and for a moment I wondered if this was what her enemies saw when she decided to send a message.
The woman, smug only moments earlier, faltered when she saw the look in Zoe’s eyes. The air in the tent caught fire as Cole’s magic took control somewhere behind us. He’d seen what happened to Luke and wanted vengeance.
Sami appeared out of the melee in the back. She dropped to her knees next Luke, blue fire moving from her to him, and hope rolled through me as the fierce little wolf-mage tried to save my best friend.
A breathless second felt like an agonizing five minutes, before he began to rouse. Before she finished healing him, he struggled to a sitting position. He was safe, whole ... and still angry.
“That was low,” Luke snapped.
The robed woman’s eyes went wide, but her attention was solely on Sami now. “Another abomination.”
Aric, who had been helping the guests escape, must’ve sensed his child was in trouble. He abandoned that task and raced toward Sami.
Zoe made sure neither of them would be targets. She began firing magic at the woman. It was an assault equal to a Fourth of July fireworks grand finale, and yet the shield covering the woman didn’t falter.
“You’re all abominations,” the woman muttered. “Each and every one of you.”
“That’s rich coming from the woman who hides behind magic and kills young girls for their blood,” I shot back.
“Magic is might.”
Was she kidding? “Why don’t you stand toe-to-toe with us and see who is mighty.”
“Not tonight.” The woman moved her hand, as if throwing something to the ground, and an explosion of smoke momentarily swallowed her. By the time the smoke cleared, the spot she’d been standing in was empty. All that was left were faint screams and endless tears.
She was gone, the siege over, but the battle had just begun.
20
Twenty
“Luke.”
I knew we needed to check on the fleeing guests, but my first concern was for my best friend. Cole was already next to him, pressed tight.
“Are you okay?” I pushed Luke’s hair from his face and stared into his furious eyes.
“Am I okay?” Luke was incredulous. “Of course I’m not okay. That horrible wench stole my moment in the spotlight. That’s the only time I get to be ringmaster while we’re here.”
Of course that’s what he focused on. “How do you feel?”.
“Great. Awesome. Better than ever.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m mad.”
I looked at Cole and found a smile waiting for me. “You think this is funny?” I demanded.
“I would much rather have him worked up than injured,” he replied, shooting a tight smile toward Sami. “Thank you.”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal. I just saw him and did it.”
“It was very brave,” Cole countered. “Now you’re at the top of my list.”
Sami preened. “We should go on a date or something as a reward.”
“Don’t even.” Aric flicked Sami’s ear, causing her to yelp. “You’re going back to the hotel and reading a children’s book. You and your hormones are driving me insane. Do you see this?” He pointed toward his hairline. “You’re giving me gray hair, Sami. I don’t want gray hair.”
“It makes you look distinguished,” Sami shot back.
Aric huffed. “You get that cutesy response thing from your mother.”
“And she’s better for it,” Zoe said as she moved toward the main exit. “All your guests are fleeing toward the parking lot.”
“Did you expect them to do anything else?” Cole asked. “That wasn’t exactly on the playbill.”
“Yeah, well ... .” Zoe flicked her eyes to Raven as the lamia barreled through the main tent opening. “Thank you for joining us, but you’re late.”
Raven stuck out her tongue. “I didn’t know anything was happening until I felt it.” Her gaze sought — and found — mine. “Was anybody hurt?”
“Just Luke.”
“He looks fine.”
“Sami healed him.”
“Pity.” Raven shot a grim smirk toward Luke. “You would’ve died a martyr if you’d played it correctly.”
“Ha, ha, ha.” Luke rubbed his forehead. “Where are they getting the magic? She hit me. Hard. Should she have that much magic at her disposal?”
That was a very good question. “I don’t know. That’s only one of a hundred questions I have.”
“The questions have to wait,” Kade said. “We need to catch as many guests as possible and smooth things over.”
“I have vouchers in the office trailer,” I said. “I’ll get them.” I looked to Zoe. “What are you going to do?”
“We’re heading back to the hotel,” she said. “It’s been a long day and nothing will be decided tonight. Paris might have more for me. I asked her to do some research. I say we regroup and talk things over in the morning.”
It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I understood why she was saying it. She wanted her family away from this place so she could calm down and think. “Okay. Be careful going back to the hotel.”
“They won’t attack again,” she said as she moved toward Sami and Aric. “They’re testing us. Every time they fight us, they throw more at us. They’re hoping to find our limits.”
“Then they’re going to have a rude awakening. We don’t have limits.”
She looked as if she felt otherwise. “Everyone has limits.”
IT TOOK US ALMOST TWO HOURS TO CALM the guests, disperse the vouchers, and reassure everybody who hadn’t fled that it was all part of an ill-conceived show. Despite our efforts, I knew our Yelp rating was going to take a hit because not everybody stuck around long enough to get the freebies.
I was exhausted by the time Kade and I climbed into bed. I had just enough energy to rest my head on his shoulder before my eyes closed. He turned off the lamp on the nightstand, plunging the room into darkness.
“Everybody came out okay,” he reminded me.
“Only because Sami thought fast and healed Luke. If she hadn’t been there ... .” The thought was too horrible to dwell on.
“She was there, though,” he said. “He’s fine. I bet he’s making Cole treat him like a hero even as we speak.”
I nodded.
“We’ve faced worse,” he said.
“But Zoe is right. They’re increasing in strength with every attack. I don’t understand how.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you’re the smartest woman I know and you always figure ever
ything out. You’re like Wonder Woman ... without the sexy and yet also sexist outfit, of course.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “You always know exactly what to say.”
“Perhaps it’s my superpower.”
“Or perhaps it’s just you.”
That was my last coherent thought before sleep dragged me under.
I NEEDED REST. I WANTED OBLIVION. I didn’t get it. Instead, I woke in a dream.
I heard the water rushing past and knew I was near the riverbank. I took small steps in the dark to avoid tripping.
“I knew you would come,” a haughty voice said in the darkness.
When I whipped around, I found the woman who’d led the attack against us only hours before standing and watching me.
“Perhaps you’re some sort of magical genius,” I suggested, wrinkling my nose. Due to the way the previous dream played out, I expected Zoe. Apparently I wasn’t that lucky. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to talk.”
“Great. Let’s start with your name.”
“You may call me Celeste.”
Was that her real name? My gut told me it was a moniker she’d adopted rather than the one she was born with. It hardly mattered. “Well, Celeste, what is it you want?”
“I want you to leave.”
“This dream or Savannah?”
“Both.”
“Well, you’re doomed to disappointment.” I flashed her a tight-lipped smile. “I have no intention of going anywhere.”
“Then you’ll die.”
I chuckled. “You’re hardly the first person to make that threat.”
“I will be the first to follow up if you don’t take your merry band of misfits and leave this place. You don’t belong here.”
“And you do?”
“It is my ... destiny.”
Oh, that was a load of hogwash. “So ... you’re a local.”
“Your birthplace doesn’t equate to your destiny.”
“So, that’s a no,” I mused, glancing up when I heard footsteps. I felt the now-familiar presence before I saw Zoe emerge from the darkness. “You’re late.”
Mystic Caravan 11 - Freaky Mage Page 19
