Howler's Night

by Marie Hall

  Shoving me roughly on my shoulder until I stumbled, she stuck a finger in her mouth and pretended to gag. I laughed.

  “That is so revolting you make me want to smack you.”

  Finally able to relax some, I rested my weight against Ash’s chest, waiting for the live bait to come to us. The loudspeakers throughout the carnival were cranked up, blasting hard, crunchy rock through the fairgrounds.

  Night had fully descended, neon lights were all aglow, and the rush of the crowd was like a soothing lullaby to me. It would be hard to leave here, where everything was so familiar, almost comforting.

  For so many years, this life had been all I’d known, but there was no way Luc and I could ever work the same carnival again.

  Walking into her narrow booth, which held racks of stuffed dolls hanging from the rafters above, Vyxyn made quick work of rearranging the prizes into whatever order she deemed appropriate.

  Tonight she’d dressed in a cream-colored dress that fell to mid-thigh, with turquoise cowboy boots and a small, blue jean jacket. Her pink hair was pulled back into a soft ponytail that revealed antique silver stallion-shaped earrings in her ears.

  I think I finally figured out why she’d changed her look so drastically.

  The Tilt-A-Whirl ride she’d once run had rarely seen much action, something which Envy would have had a hard time swallowing, because, of course, she wanted everything.

  It seemed my psychotic little friend had realized that the key to getting what she wanted was to appeal to the masses. In no time, her booth was surrounded by a hoard of strapping rodeo hotties, leaning through her window and cat calling at her to guess their weight.

  Her lips tilted up into a sensual smirk, and then, giving me a small but meaningful glance, she turned back to them, played with the collars of their shirts and whispered all sorts of naughty little words in their ears.

  “You see how she keeps filching off them.” Asher’s voice was warm and filled with a reluctant thread of admiration.

  I shivered under his touch, hating to admit that the girl was flat-out amazing at what she did. She had every male around her booth so enthralled by her laughter and her coquettish, flirty glances that every last one of them failed to realize that as she teased and toyed with them she was reaching into their shirts and pulling out whatever she could find. At one point a man had leaned so far over that she’d held onto his shoulder and lightly brushed one hand down his neck while her other slipped the gold timepiece off his wrist.

  “She’s pretty badass, no doubt.” I grinned.

  Ash brushed his nose along the side of my neck. “She’s all right. I’ve seen much better though.”

  I elbowed him in the sternum. Lust was being entirely too perky, and if I didn’t squash her now I’d have a helluva time focusing when it was my turn.

  An hour passed, giving me ample time to study her movements, her mannerisms. Vyxyn was really just a master at the art of distraction, a lot like a talented magician, keeping their eyes where she wanted them while her hands busily plucked away elsewhere.

  What I found most intriguing though was that she held not just one or two men thralled, but dozens. Every one of the men crowded in front of her booth looked equally dazed and confused.

  It was mighty impressive, to say the least.

  With a wave and a glint in her bold green eyes, she slammed a closed sign down onto her countertop.

  “Come back in about ten minutes, boys.” She blew the roving band of men a kiss before sashaying out of the booth toward us. They left reluctantly, most of them several Benjamins lighter.

  “And that”—she crossed her arms, which were currently loaded down with stolen goods, and winked at me—“is how it’s done.”

  I smirked as the first wave of jealousy snaked through my bones. Finally Envy was getting into the game. “Easy.” I planted my hands on my hips. “I bet you anything I can top that.”

  Her nostrils flared, and I felt my eyes glowing just as hers were.

  “You wish, wench. Hundreds of years to one day, no contest.”

  Twirling in Ash’s arms, I gave him a punishing kiss. But he didn’t complain. He pinched my bottom then swatted me as I laughed and began to walk away.

  “Oh, little girl, you watch how a master plays this game,” I called over my shoulder.

  Vyxyn merely snorted.

  Tumbling fingers through my hair, I was suddenly glad I’d let Asher continue to dress me. The man had an eye for showcasing the goods.

  Dressed in tight leather pants, a very feminine frilly white top that highlighted my toned arms while also making my perky little size B’s look more like C’s, and crazy-high spiked black heels with golden pitchforks decorating the heels, I was pretty much a walking fantasy.

  Never looking back at them, I walked into the booth, snatched up the sign, and gave Envy the green light.

  The men descended like vultures. They grabbed at my hair and ran their fingers across the smooth satin of my flesh—I’d camo’d the scars in glamour. I gave them my prettiest, most vacant smile. The kind men, who weren’t serious about anything other than scoring, simply wanted.

  Envy listed in great detail the men she found most alluring, the ones she wanted most.

  Wide chest.

  Firm body.

  Red hair.

  Green eyes.

  Black hair.

  Blue eyes.

  Great smile.

  I could sense the moment she’d tagged the one she’d been searching for.

  He was dark skinned with an incredible smile and wide set, naturally green eyes. I crooked a finger toward him and nodded.

  “Come here, big boy,” I crooned.

  The other guys around him chuckled, but also seemed put out by my dismissal of them. Still, none of them went anywhere.

  The black cowboy, dressed in jeans, leather chaps, and a blue-and-white checkered shirt with pearl snaps, sidled up to me.

  My skin tingled as Envy pumped a chemical concoction through my pores. Not pheromones exactly—no scent or color accompanied it. But I recognized the moment the man inhaled it because his eyes grew a little hooded, his smile a little soft, and his body a little lax.

  It was like being hypnotized while completely awake, and there was just enough juice in it to keep him high as a kite. Pearl Snaps got the bulk of it, but I made sure to lean closer to the other men, trying to keep them enthralled the way Vyxyn had with hers.

  My heart fluttered as the moment of truth finally was upon me.

  Want his hands. Look at the rings.

  “So—he leaned on his elbow, resting his chin on his fist—“you want to guess my weight, little lady?”

  He wet his full lips, and my body thrummed like someone had just sent raw volts of electricity through me. The fine hairs on his forearms lifted up as power flowed from me. Had that been Lust or Envy?

  “Oh, I can guess.” I traced the flat knuckles of his left hand.

  Fighter.

  Trains at least an hour every night, during the day he rides broncos, occasionally steers.

  A flood of information poured through my mind.

  My smile wavered, unprepared for the violent wave of stats.

  Height: six foot one.

  Weight: one hundred ninty nine pounds and three quarters.

  Favorite food: sausage links.

  Favorite color: blue.

  Likes to read ancient literature and war games.

  Stash of porn hidden beneath his mattress.

  Married three times.

  Four kids.

  Different women.

  Take the rings…

  “You okay?” I heard him ask, but I could hardly blink, could hardly move.

  I was the computer and Envy was downloading too much information, cramming me so full my brain was going to burst.

  Born January 4th twenty-seven years ago.

  Small hospital.

  Waco, Texas.

  Mother: Pauline Brown.

  Fat
her: Reginald Brown.

  Six siblings.

  TAKE THE RINGS!

  A hand clamped onto my shoulder.

  I screamed, hissed, and jumped back, knocking into the wall behind me so hard stuffed toys rained down around my head. My body shook from adrenaline and information overload.

  It took me a second to realize that the hand had belonged to Vyxyn and that now she had her back to me. No one was looking at me weird; she held them all in thrall, all of them smiling and laughing at her and forgetting about the freak who’d spaced out so badly she’d gone comatose. With a growl, I shoved Envy into the black box.

  Asher came into the booth then, gently pulling me out and hugging me close, keeping us veiled in his shadow as the world around us grew loud once more with the cacophonous pitch of carnival revelers.

  “You okay?”

  “Did I drool?” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Cause I’m pretty sure I did.”

  His smile grew wide.

  I shivered. That had been one of the most singularly intense experiences of my life. How in the world did Vyxyn control that? It seemed impossible.

  “I don’t think I can do that again.”

  “You know you have to.” He touched my cheek. “This doesn’t work unless you learn how to control them.”

  “I hate you,” I grumped, swatting his fingers away.

  “No, you think I’m sexy.”

  His eyes twinkled, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

  I laid my head on his shoulder. “Is it okay to say that I’m really so over this already?”

  Turning me around so that I could stare at the crowd that still clamored for her attention, he nodded. “Yup. But I’m not going to let you stop until you figure it out. You’re smart, Pandora. Do you realize that after tonight you will have learned to control four of the seven sins? That’s over half.”

  I opened my mouth, ready to deny it, and then quickly snapped it shut. “Wow.”

  “My badass woman.” He nipped at my earlobe.

  I thrilled at the pride evident in his tone.

  “Fine.” I gave him a teasing shove back and stuck my finger up in his face. “But so help me, if I drool on myself, you’d better not laugh.”

  He mimed zipping his lips.

  “That’s not a promise.”

  “I can’t help it if I chuckle. Even Zombie Pandora is hot, though.”

  “Gawd, you’re useless.”

  Then, with a pat on my bum, he nudged me back toward the booth.

  “Oh, and Pandora?”

  “Hm?”

  “You keep those fingers above your neckline or I’ll be snapping some humans in two.”

  “You greedy bastard.”

  And for just a second I could have sworn I saw his eyes glow.

  “Better believe it, little demon.”

  Chuckling to myself and shaking my head, I closed the door behind me. Without even a backward glance at those around her, Vyxyn turned, and with green eyes still glimmering, she gave me a cocky smirk.

  “Wasn’t so easy, was it, Lust?”

  “Shut your fat mouth.”

  Snorting, she pocketed several bills and jewels into her jacket. “Your problem? You’re relying on Lust too heavily. Sexing it up, showing the goods.”

  I snapped my teeth at her. Which scared her not at all. She’d clearly read my thoughts when I’d been preparing myself for a battle of wills with Envy. Oh, what a silly, vain woman I sometimes was.

  Laughing, she shrugged. “It’s true. You’re not here to learn how to control Lust, you’re here to learn how to control Envy. You see how I’ve got those boys salivating over me, hanging on my every word?”

  I glanced over her shoulder. She was right. They were still as enraptured by her backside as they’d been by her front. A posse of mindless man meat.

  Lust shivered inside me.

  I planted a hand on my hip. “Yes. So I shut off Lust. Got it.”

  “No. You don’t just shut her off, you trap her. Get rid of her. Only you and Envy can remain. And when the stream of data comes, you control the flow. Don’t let her shove it down your throat the way she did. Because she wants and wants and wants, she’ll learn every nuance, every facet of him, and she’ll drive you mad with it. The way to fix it is to focus on just one part of your victim. The eyes. The face. The jaw. The package.” She fluttered her fingers between her legs. “Or, maybe in your case, keep everything north of that.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not that sex crazed, Vyx. I’m pretty sure I can keep things PG.”

  Her red lips parted into a sultry little smile. “So you think you got this now, or do we need another lesson in Humility 101?”

  With the teeniest of growls, I shoulder bumped her out of the way and, taking a very deep breath, released the green-eyed she-witch.

  Making certain this time to stuff Lust away.

  She did not like that at all.

  Taking a metaphysical claw, she scraped it down my heart, making me gasp in response and clutch at my chest.

  The bitch. I might starve her out the next week for that one.

  Her whimpers were the last thing I heard as I padlocked the box tight.

  Envy bristled inside me. I could tell she wasn’t happy at all with the way I’d handled her last time.

  Demons could be so annoying.

  You slow your roll, Envy, or I swear I’ll make you disappear again.

  I felt her shiver and knew she’d gotten the message loud and clear. I was in charge here. Period.

  Turning my face toward the not-so-thralled crowd, I put on a big smile. Thankfully I didn’t recognize a face in the bunch. It would have been awkward trying to keep Pearl Snaps under again after my last humiliating showing.

  Tall.

  Skinny.

  Built.

  Short.

  Average.

  Him.

  I could do average, sometimes average made it easier to focus. With a crook of my finger and a tinkling bell of laughter, I greeted him.

  “Hey there, cowboy, ready to play?”

  He had nice blue eyes, a friendly smile, and a dimple in his left cheek. He was also clearly light. Not one I could kill. But that wasn’t the point of tonight’s lesson. Relaxing, I leaned toward him and gave him a cheeky smirk.

  Already I could feel Envy trying to pump me full of information, but I snapped a proverbial gag into her mouth. I would not be drowned this time.

  Releasing my chemical concoction, I could see his muscles relax as he began to fall prey to my thrall. I wasn’t nearly as strong as Vyxyn; I couldn’t keep them all thralled at once, which may have been my problem last time. I’d tried to do too much.

  Men slowly began to move away, and I let them. My focus was solely for my prey.

  “So.” I leaned forward just a bit and tugged at his bolo tie, one of those really cheesy ones with a tiny scorpion trapped inside it. This was what I would pilfer. “You ready to play a game of chance?”

  His thin lips tipped into a huge smile as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

  “You know I am. But I don’t think you can guess my weight.”

  The pressure of Envy pushing at my mind was almost more than I could withstand. But I was more prepared this time. I remembered the bloated feeling too much, and so I stemmed the tide as best I could.

  Okay, Envy, you want to play, you play by my rules. One thought at a time.

  He’s five foot seven. I felt the burst of her voice fill me with a rush of relief. The pressure also waned. Realizing I could play this game if I just made sure to set strict rules, I shook my head.

  “You think I can’t? You might just be surprised.” I allowed a Texas twang to creep into my voice.

  I could feel the man’s surrender then. With one word, I could make him mine, make him want me, but I wasn’t here for Lust, so I turned down my charms a little bit.

  Give me something else, I told her.

  He’s forty-nine, never been married.


  He was holding himself rigid, but I could see the twitching of his fingers; he wanted to touch me. Wanted me to touch him.

  With a flick of my finger on the tip of his round nose, I laughed. “If you win, and I lose, you get a prize. Got a special girl waiting for you back home?”

  I really didn’t care about his answer; I was giving Envy more time.

  Find me his weight, damn you!

  At a guess I’d say a buck eighty, maybe a buck eighty-five. But that wasn’t a definitive weight and the carnival would lose a prize. Which was no big deal, but then that also meant I’d fail my test, and that was a big deal.

  I could feel her skimming through the information. Doing a checklist of build, body type, what he wore, what he ate. She didn’t flood me with the thoughts though. It was more of an impression I got, and then finally…

  One hundred and seventy-nine pounds. Grab his tie! She practically screamed the command.

  Leaning forward until my lips grazed the side of his blond stubbled jaw, I clamped hold of his earlobe with my teeth, and while he was panting from the full-on porn session, I slipped a dagger beneath the black leather strap at his neck and claimed my prize.

  Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

  Envy gave a euphoric cry and very happily settled back into her little black box.

  “One hundred and seventy-nine.”

  Then yanking back and giving him a chipper wave, I turned around and opened my palm to Vyxyn.

  “Well, well, well, the bitch has skills.” That might as well have been a giant pat on the back coming from Vyxyn.

  Laughing, I tossed her the severed bolo tie and walked out of that booth with my head held high.

  ~*~

  Dark.

  Chaos.

  Madness.

  Trees.

  Lights.

  Grave stones.

  Two blackened and twisted tree stumps.

  Leaving.

  Five months…

  Five months…

  FIVE MONTHS.

  “Gonna kill them all…”

  Gasping, I sat up in bed and clutched at my chest. Asher rolled up with me.

  “I know where it is.”

  “What?” He shook his head.

  “Ash!” I jumped to my knees and hugged his neck. “I know where it is! Creatus, I know!”