[Mystic Caravan Mystery 05.0] Freaky Places

by Amanda M. Lee

“Do something for her right now!”

  Kade was not messing around once we hit the area outside the cave. The look he shot Raven was one of pure desperation. I barely clung to consciousness – in fact, I couldn’t be sure that my subconscious wasn’t watching the entire exchange from several feet above the spot where Kade held me – but I did my best to soothe him.

  “It’s okay.”

  “Shh.” Kade pressed his lips to my forehead. “Do something, Raven!”

  Raven moved to me, her fingers gentle as they prodded my side. “It’s deep. We need to get her back to the circus.”

  “Then let’s go,” Kade barked, swiveling.

  “What about them?” Nellie asked, glancing back at the cave. Melissa and the blond woman who attacked Raven stood on the other side of the opening Naida made, as if a barrier we couldn’t see kept them trapped.

  “We’ll come back,” Kade said. “We need help … and a new plan.”

  “We need Max,” I murmured. “He’ll know what to do.”

  “Then we’ll get Max.”

  KADE PUT ME ON Luke’s lap for the drive back to the circus. He didn’t bother to make sure the others followed, instead tearing away from the cave and accelerating to well beyond the speed limit as he hit the pavement. He was a mess by the time we returned to the circus parking lot, slamming his truck into park and leaving the keys in the ignition as he raced to the other side and gathered me from Luke’s arms.

  “Get Max now!”

  Luke didn’t put up an argument and raced into the darkness.

  I drifted in and out, the pain in my side enough to cause me to whimper when I felt a set of hands on me. I flicked my eyes to the side, forcing myself to focus, and found a grave-looking Naida and Raven poised to help.

  “I think the blade was cursed,” I muttered, unsure whether I was making sense. “It’s hot.”

  “Hot?” Raven’s eyebrows drew together. “We need that tonic you guys make, Nixie. Grab a lot of it … and more pixie dust.”

  Nixie didn’t offer an argument before disappearing into the night.

  Kade set me on the picnic table and ran his hand over my forehead, refusing to leave my side. He did his best to keep a tense smile on his face for my benefit, but I knew he was abysmally close to falling apart. “It’ll be okay,” he murmured.

  “Of course it will.” Raven wasn’t the sympathetic sort. However, she hated to lose, and there was no way she’d allow that to happen. I had faith in her for that. “She’ll be fine.”

  The group lapsed into silence as we waited for Nixie’s return, the pain in my side growing with each labored breath.

  “It’s definitely poison,” I gritted out, fiery lashes of torture shooting through me. “It’s getting worse.”

  “Do something now!” Kade was at the point of no return. I wanted to offer him soothing words, promise everything would be okay and allow him to relax. I couldn’t, because I wasn’t sure that was true. Luckily for us, that’s when Max appeared.

  “Tell me exactly what happened,” Max ordered, his hand moving to my forehead before he focused on the gaping wound at my side.

  Luke opened his mouth to tell the tale, but Raven cut him off. “He needs the information quickly, Luke. Let me.”

  Raven told the story in measured tones. She didn’t utilize any unnecessary words, covering everything in sixty seconds. When she was done, Max’s face remained immovable.

  “Well, that sounds terrifying.” Max lowered his face to examine the wound. “She’s right. It’s poison.”

  “What kind of poison?” Kade asked, his voice cracking. “You have to do something for her!”

  “We’re doing something for her. I promise.” Max shot Kade a kind look. “I know this is hard for you, but you need to let us do our jobs. We have no intention of letting anything bad happen to Poet. We love her, too.”

  “I don’t,” Raven volunteered. “She annoys me most of the time. But we still need her, so she’s not going to die.”

  “Oh, well, that makes me feel so much better,” Kade said dryly.

  Max chuckled, taking some of the edge off the conversation. “I should be able to heal her once we remove the poison. We need the tonic to do that.”

  “Nixie is getting it,” Naida supplied. “She’ll be back any second.”

  “Good.”

  “You can heal people?” With nothing to do but fret, Kade latched onto a topic that interested him as he clutched my hand. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “I’m a mage. It goes with the territory.” Max licked his lips as he snagged my gaze. “We’ll figure out a way to save Melissa just as soon as we get you back on your feet.”

  I gritted my teeth and nodded. I believed him. Max was powerful. Whatever we were up against was powerful, too, but I had to believe Max would outlast our new enemy. I was incapable of believing anything else.

  “I’ve got it!” Nixie raced back to the table, pulling up short when she caught sight of Max. “Oh. I didn’t know you were here. Can’t you just heal her?”

  Max kept his emotions in check. “As soon as we draw out the poison. The bottle, please.” He extended his hand and Nixie dropped the tonic into his palm. “Hold still, Poet.”

  That wasn’t a problem, because my muscles burned whenever I tried to move. I pressed my eyes shut as Max removed the stopper and upended the bottle, dumping the entire contents into the wound.

  “Holy crap,” Raven intoned, widening her eyes. “You used the whole bottle!”

  “The poison spread fast.”

  “What does that mean?” Kade’s knowledge of magical remedies lagged behind everyone else’s. “Please tell me she’ll be okay.”

  “She will.” Luke rested his hand on Kade’s shoulder in a show of solidarity, and even though the pain coursing through my veins was intensifying, the gesture warmed my heart. They were acting as a unit. Heck, they weren’t even fighting.

  “You guys look cute together,” I forced out. “I sense a bromance in the making.”

  Luke made a face. “I’ll have you know the second you’re better I’m going back to making fun of him. This is a temporary truce.”

  “Whatever.” I let loose with a strangled gasp when I felt the tonic course through me to intercept the poison.

  “What’s that?” Kade hunkered down. “Look at me. Poet, look at me!”

  I obliged, although it was work.

  “Don’t leave me.” Kade’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Stay!”

  “He’s right,” Luke said. “If you see a light, don’t go into it.”

  I blinked rapidly, certain my blood was about to boil. “Oh, my … .”

  “Poet, focus on me,” Max instructed, resting his hand on my forehead and positioning me so I had no choice but to look at him. “Look into my eyes. That’s a girl. I want you to relax. I know it’s hard, but try.”

  The burning sensation that threatened to overtake my body retreated a bit.

  “Good girl.” Max smiled. “The tonic is working. I can feel it. We’re almost there. Just a bit longer.”

  “And then you’ll heal her?” Kade asked.

  “I will,” Max confirmed without removing his gaze from my eyes. “I’ll heal her and it will be like this never happened.”

  “I’ll remember,” Kade grumbled.

  “Probably, but the most important thing is that Poet will be okay. We also know to be ready next time we face off against these … living dolls.”

  I pursed my lips. “Dolls?”

  “That’s what they sound like to me.”

  “That’s the first word that popped into my head,” I admitted. “They were dressed like dolls. They acted like dolls being controlled by a force we didn’t see. Their minds were still intact, buried deep.”

  “Then we’ll find a way to unbury them.” Max grinned as he lifted his hand, which was glowing blue. “Now it’s time for the final step. Don’t worry. This won’t take long.”

  TRUE TO HIS WORD, Max had
me back on my feet within minutes. I rolled to a standing position, doing my best to ignore Kade’s mother hen impression as he shadowed me as I tested my limbs. When I was sure I was better, all traces of the poison gone from my system, I turned grim.

  “We have to get Melissa.”

  Kade didn’t immediately respond, instead dragging me in for a hug. He seemed relieved when he pressed his cheek against my forehead. “Your fever is gone.”

  “I’m still hot.” I offered a soothing pat on the arm. “I’m okay. I’m sorry you were frightened.”

  “We’ll talk about it later.” Kade gave me a quick kiss before separating.

  I had no idea what he planned to talk about, but I couldn’t focus on that now. “Melissa was inside – so were the other girls – but they were dampened somehow.”

  “Did you get a chance to look at them closely?” Max asked, taking a seat at the table and smiling when Nixie handed him a mug of tea. “Were there other wounds?”

  I searched my memory. “No. I didn’t see anything on the girls in the cave. Not like what we saw on Katie’s body when she was pulled from the water.”

  “What does that mean?” Luke asked, dragging a hand through his hair as he got comfortable. “Why would the dead girls be different? Is there a chance that we have more than one person responsible for this?”

  “There’s always a chance for just about anything,” Max replied, his lips curving when he saw Kade absently massaging my shoulders. “Nothing is out of the realm of possibility. What we’re dealing with here, though, sounds like a woman.”

  Raven balked. “You don’t know that. Men are as sick as women.”

  “I won’t argue with that, but the scene you described makes me think of a child dressing up dolls,” Max argued. “You said all the girls were made up, right?”

  “Gothic makeup in some instances,” I supplied. “Lots of black eyeliner and colorful eyeshadows. White foundation making them paler than they should be, and bright blush and lipstick. It was an odd sight.”

  “And yet you also described outdated clothing,” Max noted. “I can’t remember the last time I saw anyone wearing bloomers.”

  “I can remember the last time someone wore chaps,” Luke volunteered.

  Raven scowled. “And I can remember the last time someone did a keg stand to fit in with his filthy wolf friends.”

  “Enough of that,” Max ordered. “I don’t care how hard you go after each other once this is over. We don’t have time for it now. You said there were about fifty girls there, Poet. What happened to the other missing girls?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I never believed all those girls were taken. Some of them had to be runaways.”

  “And more probably died than washed to shore,” Luke added. “We probably will never know how many girls died and were dumped at sea.”

  “You’re right, of course.” Max rubbed the back of his neck, conflicted. “We only have about six hours before dawn. I suggest everyone get some sleep. I’ll head to the cave once daylight hits to check out the situation. If I can solve it on my own, I will. If I can’t, I’ll return and we’ll come up with a different plan.”

  His suggestion rankled. “You want us to leave Melissa out there all night?”

  “Do you have another idea?”

  “I … .” As much as I hated to admit it, I didn’t. “I don’t like the idea of leaving her there. It doesn’t seem right.”

  “And yet we can only do what we can do,” Max said. “We’ll meet again over breakfast and discuss our plans for the day. Until then, I expect everyone to get some rest.” He leaned closer to me. “That goes double for you.”

  “I’ll make sure she rests,” Kade promised, earning a half smile from Max as the older man stood.

  “I have no doubt that’s true,” Max said, widening his eyes when Kade threw a heartfelt hug around his father. “I … well … huh.”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing at the disconcerted – and yet delighted – look on Max’s face.

  “Thank you for saving her,” Kade said. “I … just … thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Max awkwardly patted his son’s back. “I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her. Take her to bed and force her to sleep. She needs rest for the day to come.”

  “I will.”

  Kade linked his fingers with mine before lightly tugging and directing me toward my trailer. I shared a rueful but amused look with Luke before turning my full attention to Kade.

  “I really am sorry I frightened you,” I offered. “I had no idea that was going to happen. I didn’t realize there was a legitimate risk until it was too late. I hope you know that I would never purposely put myself in danger like that, so there’s no need to be upset.”

  Kade said, “You always put yourself in danger to save others. That’s what you do.”

  “I wouldn’t phrase it like that.”

  “How would you phrase it?”

  “Well … I try to do what’s best for people,” I volunteered after a bit. “I try to be safe while I’m doing it. That’s the best I can do.”

  “Do you hear me arguing with you about that?”

  “No, but … I could feel your fear. You did your best to hide it – and I did my best to shield my mind from being invasive – but I could still feel your fear. It was … profound.”

  “Perhaps you inspire me.”

  “Or perhaps you think I’m a detriment to your mental wellbeing,” I countered, my eyes serious as they locked with Kade’s at the foot of the stairs that led to my trailer. “Are you thinking about taking a step back from all this? Before you answer, know that I won’t blame you if that were the case.”

  Kade’s expression was unreadable as he locked gazes with me. “Is that what you think?”

  “I don’t know. You said you wanted to talk and … I’m afraid I don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

  “Ah.” Kade grinned, taking me by surprise. “I mean that we need to talk about safety procedures. There has to be a better way to approach things than the way we did today. That’s all I wanted to talk about.”

  “Oh.” I felt foolish. “So you don’t want to take a step back?”

  “No. We’re getting a new trailer together, aren’t we?”

  “But … you were so upset it hurt my heart,” I argued. “I thought that meant you were keen to make sure that didn’t happen again.”

  “If I could find a way to guarantee that you’re never in danger I would do it. But that’s not a possibility. I was attracted to you because of who you are. I don’t suddenly want to change that.”

  “And who am I?”

  Kade shrugged. “A hero. Now, come on. You need rest and I feel as if I’m asleep on my feet. I swear to you, we’ll find a way to get Melissa back tomorrow. Until then, you need to recuperate.”

  “I feel normal. I’m great, in fact.”

  “Fine. I need to recuperate.”

  I followed him up the stairs. “You always manage to take me by surprise. I don’t know how you do it, but you’re a master.”

  “Thank you.” Kade slipped his key into the lock and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of my mouth. “You manage to surprise me, too. If you could not get so close to dying next time you want to surprise me, though, that would be great.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “You do that.”

  25

  Twenty-Five

  Kade was warm against my back when I woke and shifted my eyes to the window. It seemed earlier than it should be. My internal clock told me otherwise, and when I flicked my eyes to the clock on the nightstand I realized it was almost time for breakfast.

  I hated the idea of waking Kade, his reassuring, even breath serving to lull me, but we had a busy day in front of us. I opened my mouth to cajole him to wakefulness, but he spoke before I could.

  “Five more minutes.”

  I grinned. “How long have you been awake?”

&nb
sp; “Not long. I think I was kind of awake a few minutes ago, but I didn’t realize it was morning until you shifted to look out the window.”

  “It’s overcast,” I noted.

  “It’s Washington. I think rain is the norm in Washington.” Kade rolled to his back and rubbed his forehead. Most of the time I took longer to wake than he did. He seemed reticent to get out of bed this morning, which meant he had something on his mind.

  “Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

  “How do you know something’s bothering me?”

  “When you answer a question with a question I know I’m right. Just a tip, by the way.”

  Kade chuckled. “Good to know.” He lowered his hand and linked his fingers with mine. “I’m worried.”

  “I never would’ve figured that out myself,” I said dryly. “Do you want to tell me what you’re worried about?”

  “Melissa.”

  The simple response was like an arrow to the heart. “We’ll get her back.” I meant it. “We’ll get her back today.”

  “I hope so.”

  “We will.”

  “If we don’t, I’ll always know this was my fault.” Kade wasn’t one for melodrama, but I understood he felt a tremendous sense of guilt for what had happened. “I ordered my man to watch her and he lost her. She wouldn’t be in danger if that didn’t happen.”

  “You don’t know that’s true.”

  “But I do.”

  “But you don’t.” I was firm as I rolled to face him. “We have no idea if Melissa decided to run or if whoever took her cast a spell to more easily abduct her. Either way, your guy isn’t to blame … and you’re certainly not at fault.”

  “It doesn’t feel that way. I was hard on her over her attitude. I can’t help but wonder if I pushed her too far. If she ran … .”

  “If she ran it’s on her. We’ll swoop in, save the day, and make her feel like an idiot. Then we’ll coddle her for a few days and it will be right back to business as usual. You can’t blame yourself. Melissa is powerful. She very likely confounded your guard so she could escape. She’ll blame herself for that when we get her back.”