I made a face. Raven was haughty. I guess I didn’t blame her. “I’m sorry to intrude,” I said stiffly. “I wanted to see if Kade was okay after the dinner from hell. I see he’s fine.”
“He’s better than fine,” Raven supplied.
“I guess that means I’ll be going,” I said, turning back to the dark path that led back to my trailer. “Have a nice … life.”
“This is not what you think,” Kade protested. “Raven wanted to plead her case. She claims lying about Luke was an accident.”
“It’s none of my business.” I put one foot in front of the other, focusing on the ground to the exclusion of everything else. The area behind the trailers was full of hidden dangers, including jutting roots and hidden indentations. I didn’t want to fall when I had an audience. I’d had just about as much humiliation as I could take for one night.
“Poet, hold on a second,” Kade said. “I want to talk to you.”
“I’m talking with you,” Raven said.
“I’m done talking with you,” Kade shot back. “You can let yourself out.”
“But … .”
“Out!”
I tried to ignore the exchange and focused on putting distance between Kade and myself. He was following me. I knew it without turning around. I could feel his mind. I couldn’t see into it, mind you, but I could feel the warmth closing in as he hurried behind me.
“Poet, I’m not letting you walk away,” Kade called to my back. “I want to talk to you.”
“I think you should go back and talk to Raven.”
“Don’t even go there,” Kade snapped. “She came to talk to me. I was waiting for it to get dark so I could slip down and talk to you. You beat me to it.”
“I didn’t beat you to anything,” I said. “Although, to be fair, if I had a baseball bat right now I might beat something.”
Kade chuckled. “You’re full of piss and vinegar, let me tell you. Your moods swing faster than Luke’s one-liners.”
I’m pretty sure that wasn’t a compliment. “I don’t have mood swings.”
“You’re the queen of mood swings.”
“Whatever,” I said, turning to face him. At that exact moment, I saw a shadow of movement from the corner of my eye. Something was heading in my direction – and it was moving fast.
That’s when the dreamcatcher alarm sounded. Whatever was coming was paranormal … and it was big.
“Poet?” Kade was confused. He didn’t see the figure moving in my direction.
“Get inside!” I broke into a run. I was closer to my trailer than Kade’s, so that’s the direction I ran. The dark figure was too fast, though, and as it closed the distance between us I made out ghoulish features – a white face with red-tinged lips and eyes to match, topped by long, black hair. I was almost at my trailer when the figure hit me, slamming me into the metal wall so hard I couldn’t decide whether the ringing was in my head or still reverberating through the trailer.
I fought to regain my footing, but either the ground was rising or I was sinking. I had a feeling it was the latter.
The creature grabbed onto my neck, sharp talons digging into the soft flesh and causing me to cry out. It fought to pull me to it and I slapped its claws away as I struggled to regain my senses.
That’s when Kade arrived. He didn’t pause – not even for a split-second – and launched himself onto the creature. Fists flew in every direction. Both Kade and the creature made contact with one another because they both groaned and grunted as they grappled.
Think! My mind was foggy. Kade was strong, but whatever he was fighting had superhuman strength. He couldn’t survive without a weapon, and on the back of trailer row we were out of options.
That’s when I realized we did have a weapon: my mind.
Despite the pain, I reached out and prodded at the creature’s brain. It was a dark pit with only a few glimpses of color. It had a soul at one time but it was mostly gone now. That didn’t mean I couldn’t hurt it.
Stop!
The creature reared up, shaking its head to dislodge the command. Its hand was wrapped around Kade’s throat – not tight enough to kill him, but close – and it appeared confused.
“What are you doing?” Kade rasped.
I didn’t answer him. Instead, I increased the net I cast so it encompassed the creature’s entire brain.
I’m not sure you can understand me. If you can’t, this won’t come as much of a comfort. If you can, though, you should know I’m prepared to squeeze your brain until it pops if you don’t get off that man.
The creature tilted its head back and brayed loudly, as if calling to the moon for help. It didn’t climb off Kade, though. In fact, if anything, it tightened its grip.
“If you’re going to do something, now would be the time,” Kade wheezed, struggling against the powerful hands. “I can’t get it off of me.”
I knew he was right. I wanted answers from the creature. I wanted to know whether it was responsible for the owl, but I wasn’t willing to risk Kade’s life for answers.
I’m sorry. I did warn you, though.
I squeezed with my mind. I’ve obviously never been on the other end of this parlor trick, but if the creature’s reaction was any indication ... well … it hurts. The beast released its grip on Kade, listing to one side, clawing at its head as it tried to get inside and stop the invader.
Nellie jumped between the two trailers and arrived at my side, ax in hand, and watched the spectacle. “What is that?”
“Kill it,” Kade ordered.
“Are you doing that brain-squeezing thing you do?” Nellie asked, his gaze shifting between the creature and me as he shuffled back and forth in his green dress.
I nodded, continuing my concentration.
“Well, you need to stop playing with it,” Nellie said, wrinkling his nose as the creature began smacking its head against the ground. “You’re just being mean now.”
That was rich coming from the dwarf who came to a paranormal fight armed with an ax. Still, I did as he asked and tightened the net completely.
The creature writhed once more and collapsed on the ground, limp. The red eyes were sightless as they faced the stars.
“Is it dead?” I asked.
Kade knelt over it and nodded grimly. “Yeah.”
“Good. I think I need to pass out.”
Nellie caught me before I hit the ground.
“I’VE got her!”
“I’ve got her!”
“Don’t make me beat you, dude,” Luke said.
It took me a moment to get my bearings as the real world swam into view. Luke and Kade stood beside the couch where I was stretched out. Nellie relaxed under my feet, winking at me as I glanced around the room. “What happened?”
“You fainted like a little girl,” Nellie replied. “Don’t worry. I caught you.”
“Did you carry me in here?”
“I wanted to, but I kept tripping over my dress,” Nellie replied. “Big, tall and handsome carried you inside. He cradled you to his chest and cooed sweet nothings into your ear.”
I can never tell when Nellie is lying. “You don’t have to make fun of me.”
“I’m not,” Nellie insisted. “You have a huge bump on the back of your head. That thing hit you hard.”
“It did.” My memory returned and I focused on the altercation. “I saw it before the dreamcatcher alarm went off. It was already running.”
“Do you think it knew about the dreamcatcher?”
“I don’t know.” I turned my attention to Luke and Kade. They appeared to be mired in a macho standoff.
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of her,” Kade argued.
“She’s my best friend!”
“So what?”
“Dude, you’ve been kissing my girlfriend when I wasn’t looking,” Luke said. “I’m taking care of her now.”
“She wasn’t your girlfriend,” Kade shot back.
“You didn’t know that,
though,” Luke said. “For all you knew you were moving in on my turf every time you planted your lips on my woman. For that matter, why would you be interested in a woman as faithless as that?”
“Hey!”
Luke glanced at me. “I’ll be with you in a second,” he said. “You have a huge bump on your head. Nixie went to get some dust.”
“I am not letting Nixie put dust on my head,” I argued. “She shrinks dead people down to voodoo dolls with that stuff.”
“And she’s going to use it to shrink the bump on your head.”
“Not while I’m still breathing,” I said, grimacing as my head jostled against the arm of the couch.
“I’m with the Romani on this one,” Nellie said. “I’d put up with the painful bump rather than trusting the pixie with emotional issues to put shrinking dust on my head. That has disaster written all over it.”
“You’re not helping,” Luke snapped.
“How are you feeling?” Kade asked, his expression serious. “Do you think we need to take you to a doctor?”
Luke and Nellie burst into laughter, causing Kade to frown.
“What did I say?” he asked.
“We don’t go to doctors,” I said. “We generally trust the pixie twins to do their magic. They’re good on most things.”
“You don’t think they can help you here,” Kade pointed out.
“I’m willing to suffer with the bump,” I replied. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
“If you’re fine we need to talk about what that thing was outside,” Nellie said. “I’ve never seen anything that looks like that. I kind of want to chop its head off to see what its blood looks like.”
“You want to chop its head off because you like chopping off heads,” Luke said. “Just admit it.”
“I am feeling a bit left out,” Nellie conceded. “Poet squeezed its brain until it popped like a zit. What did you see in there?”
“It had a soul at one time,” I said, rubbing my neck. “There were tiny fragments left, but nothing was cohesive.”
“What makes something like that happen?” Kade asked.
“I … .” I tugged on my bottom lip as I considered how to answer. “I know this is going to sound odd, but I think it was a changeling.”
“What’s a changeling?” Kade asked.
“You’re such a noob,” Nellie muttered.
“It’s a beast that can change its appearance and look like anything it wants,” I explained.
“You said you can do that,” Kade pointed out. “Is it Romani, too?”
I didn’t want to pile on the “noob” wagon with Nellie, but Kade needed a crash course in the paranormal. “I can’t really change my appearance,” I answered. “I can make others see what I want them to see. That’s quite different from a changeling.”
“Changelings can make themselves appear to be anything,” Luke said. “They can look like humans – any kind of human, male or female – or they can make themselves look like animals.”
“Like you?”
“I can only shift into a wolf,” Luke said. “Seth can only shift into a tiger. We’re limited. Changelings are not limited. They can appear to be furniture if they want.”
“Are you sure that thing was a changeling?” Nellie asked. “It seemed feral. Changelings are generally smooth and debonair.”
“I can only tell you what I felt,” I said. “If we want to be sure we need to … you know.”
Luke made a face as Nellie visibility brightened.
“Things are looking up,” Nellie said.
“Do I want to know what you’re going to do?” Kade asked.
“We need to look at its spine,” Luke replied. “Changelings have soft bones. They’re … moldable, for lack of a better word. We need to see this creature’s bones to be sure.”
“I’m guessing you have to cut it open to do that,” Kade said.
“Yup.”
Now Kade made a face. “I think I’m going to leave that to the two of you,” he said. “I’ll stay here and take care of Poet.”
“I’m going to take care of Poet,” Luke snapped. “She’s my best friend.”
Kade wasn’t about to back down. “Nellie needs help and I have nothing to offer him,” he said. “Like he said, I’m a noob.”
Luke wrinkled his nose and glanced at me. “I think he wants to talk to you and get out of gross work at the same time. Since you’ve been injured, I’ll allow it.”
I pursed my lips to keep from laughing as Luke leaned over and kissed my forehead.
“I’m glad you’re not seriously hurt,” he said. “If this … guy … gives you any problems, call for me. I’ll thump him good.”
Luke paused near the door to wait for Nellie and then cast one more look in my direction. “Don’t do anything really gross tonight with your head injury,” he said. “Rattling headboards in your condition could cause permanent brain damage.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied, tamping down my irritation.
“You still owe me breakfast in the morning, too.”
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“I want … .”
“Sausage and bacon,” I grumbled. “I’ve got it, Luke.”
“Goodnight, my lovelies.”
Twenty-Six
“You don’t have to hover,” I said, hoping my cheeks weren’t flushing as Kade’s proximity caused me to sweat. Wait, women don’t sweat, right? I wasn’t sweating. I was perspiring. What was I talking about again? Oh, right. “My head hurts a little bit, but otherwise I’m fine.”
After Nellie and Luke left, Kade switched into overprotective mode. He filled a baggie with ice and pressed it to the back of my head as he studied the raised flesh. Every time I tried to get up he pulled me back down. Every time I groaned or sighed he asked whether I was dying. It was cute but oppressive.
“I’m not hovering,” Kade said, shifting on the couch next to me and rearranging the ice bag. “You hit your head pretty hard. Are you seeing double?”
“I think one of you is more than enough.”
“You have no idea,” Kade muttered. “One of you is definitely too much.”
“No one said you had to stay,” I snapped.
“Shut up.”
Did he just … ? “You shut up.”
“I’m not playing with you,” Kade warned. “You’re injured. Do you know what that means?”
I had no idea. “Um … is my head going to fall off?”
Kade made a face. “When you’re sick there are rules you have to follow.”
Oh, I couldn’t wait to hear this. “And what are the rules?”
“You have to rest and let someone else take care of you,” Kade replied. “You can’t pretend nothing happened. You could’ve been killed. I don’t make the rules. I do follow them, though.”
He was so cute I couldn’t stand it. “Fine,” I said, leaning back on the couch. “You don’t have to hover, though. This isn’t even the worst thing that has happened to me this month.”
“That makes me want to lock you in the bedroom and never let you out.” Kade realized what he said, but it was too late to haul the words back. “I mean … um … crud. There’s no way out of that one.”
“No,” I agreed. “I’m enjoying watching you try, though.”
Kade blew out a sigh and then leaned back, our shoulders touching. “Can I ask you a question?”
“You jumped on a changeling to save my life without giving it a second thought. I think you’ve earned it.”
“Why did you come to my trailer tonight?”
Oh, right, I should have realized that was going to come up. “I wanted to speak with you,” I said. “You seemed shaken at dinner. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Fair enough,” Kade said. “Why did you leave without saying something?”
“You know why.”
“Yes,” Kade said, nodding. “I want you to say it, though.”
That “cute” thing he ha
s comes and goes. It was definitely missing in action now. “I would rather not.”
“I’m going to bug you until you say it.”
“I can hold out longer than most people,” I shot back.
“That’s a whole other argument for another time,” Kade flirted, his eyes twinkling. “I want to hear you say it.”
He wasn’t going to let it go … and my head wound was weakening my resolve. Hey, it’s my only excuse. I’m going to use it as long as I can. “I don’t like seeing you with Raven,” I said. “I have no idea why it irks me. She’s slept with every man this side of the equator. She flaunts it and she doesn’t care. It has never bothered me before.”
Kade’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure I expected you to be that honest. I … .”
“I’m not done,” I said. “I have no idea why seeing Raven with you bothers me. I do know why seeing you with Raven bothers me.”
“Is there a distinction there I’m missing?”
“You kissed me and then you hung around with her,” I said. “I don’t expect anything where she is concerned. Sadly, I expect more from you. And, if you feel the need to hang out with Raven after kissing me, apparently that means I’m a bad kisser. That’s why I’m upset.”
Kade chuckled, his shoulders shaking. “You’re a piece of work. For the record, you’re not a bad kisser. I especially liked that one you planted on me this morning.”
“What about the one last night?”
“That wasn’t one kiss,” Kade replied. “That was one hundred kisses mixed together.”
“Whatever.”
“There was tongue, too.”
“I can’t even look at you right now,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “You’re as bad as Luke.”
“Has he ever slipped you the tongue?”
“Stop that right now!”
Kade grinned for a few moments and then the expression slipped. “Why didn’t you tell me that Luke was gay? That might have cut down on a few misunderstandings.”
“Yeah, if I was easy to figure out I wouldn’t be me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kade pressed.
“At first I didn’t want to tell you because I was sure you weren’t going to hang around and I thought it would be easier if I didn’t get attached to you,” I admitted.
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