“How did you figure that out?”
“Because Paige Tolliver is on Barney’s family tree as a great-grandmother and his daughter,” I replied. “He put his entire lineage out there on Legacy.com. You would almost think he was proud of it.”
“I don’t understand,” Kade said. “How could Paige be his great-grandmother?”
“Because she’s been doing this a long time. This isn’t the first harem of sorts she’s built. I tracked the cities Barney moved through – we’re talking Salem, New Orleans, Austin and now Seattle – and all of them were plagued by stories of missing girls.”
“They’re all supernatural hotbeds, too,” Raven noted. “They’re easy locations to hide paranormal activities.”
“They are,” I agreed. “In each city, human remains were found in bodies of water after Barney and Paige left. I also found a few photos – we’re talking images from fifteen, thirty and fifty years ago – and in each one Paige looks the same.”
“So Barney knew who she was.” Max stroked his chin. “He fell in with his great-grandmother, realized she had power, and then turned into her father when he was old enough to pass without drawing questions. That allowed him to play the game, too.”
“Why would he do that?” Luke asked. “He’d have to be a sociopath to participate.”
“He probably was, but I’m guessing Paige promised him a present or two if he helped her,” I said. “She’s been alive for a long time, and she’s still young. Barney probably wanted that, too, and that’s the carrot she dangled.”
“But he’s dead,” Dolph pointed out. “Why would she kill him if they were working together?”
“Maybe she thought he was a liability,” Raven suggested. “I watched her that first night. She rolled her eyes whenever he told a story. Also, Poet is right. She didn’t cross the dreamcatcher the second night. She and Melissa were on the other side of it, whispering and giggling. I have a clear vision from that evening. Paige never crossed. After that, we only saw her away from here. She never risked exposing herself.”
“I have no idea why she killed Barney,” I said. “He might have wanted to run. He might have been afraid. I do know that their story of constantly traveling is something of a lie. They do travel to fairs and whatnot, but only in this immediate area of late. I found a listing for a house … and it’s not far from the cave.”
“Well, that’s convenient.” Nellie made a face. “Are we going up there to take her out?”
“No, because she’s on her way here.”
Nellie cocked an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
“She practically told me. Of course, I was baiting her at the time. I told her we would go after her tonight, and she was so smug she couldn’t stop herself from tipping her hand.”
“That means she’ll want to attack us first,” Max said. “Poet is right; she’s on her way.”
“She’ll set off the dreamcatcher as soon as she crosses the boundaries,” Nixie said. “We’ll know when she’s here.”
“Probably. Do we know if the possessed girls will set off the dreamcatcher?” This was the part of the equation that troubled me most. “They’re not technically evil.”
“If Paige is sending them here, they’re going to do evil,” Nixie said.
“They’re empty shells. They only do what Paige wants them to do. They might not set off the dreamcatcher until they’re ordered to kill, if they set it off at all.”
Nixie straightened her shoulders. “Then they could already be here.”
“They certainly could.” I nodded. “Paige is strong. She’s a witch with enhanced abilities. She knows everything Melissa knows about us. She thinks it’s everything, but we know it’s not.”
“No, Melissa had no idea about a lot of things,” Raven said. “Especially Max. We kept his abilities fairly well hidden. She knows he’s magical, but she asked me if he was a magician about two weeks ago. I only laughed and didn’t answer.”
“Max is definitely our secret weapon, but we have a huge issue to deal with.” My palms were sweaty and I continuously rubbed them against my pants. “We have to decide what we’re going to do with the girls.”
Kade balked. “What do you mean? We’re going to protect them. We’re going to take out Paige and then find a way to fix them.”
“When we saw them in the cave they were docile until Paige ordered them to strike,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “Paige only ordered two of them to strike. They have poisoned blades. I’m not sure we’ll be able to save them all.”
Even though Kade refused to accept my words, Max understood what I was saying.
“We need to fashion traps,” Max said after a beat. “If we can trap them, it doesn’t matter how much damage they’re ordered to do. It also means we won’t have to destroy them to save ourselves.”
“Wait a second.” Kade was beside himself. “Are you really considering killing them?”
“I’m not sure we’ll have a choice in the thick of things.” Max kept his tone soft and even. “We want to save all of them, but … it might not be possible.”
“Well, then we’ll have to think of another way.” Kade was determined as he folded his arms across his chest. “If we lose one of them it’s too many.”
“You have a good heart and you’re brave and true,” Max told his son. “You’re also foolhardy on things like this. We can’t save the day if we’re dead.”
Kade opened his mouth to argue, but Max cut him off with a firm head shake.
“Think about it, son,” Max prodded. “Poet is one of our strongest fighters and she was almost killed by a poison blade. Our enemy is fifty strong, which means we’re already fighting five-to-one odds. Are you willing to give up Poet to save the other girls?”
Kade’s face drained of color. “There has to be something. They’re innocent.”
“They are, and I have a plan. I hope to save most of them. That doesn’t mean we can save all of them. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Kade squared his shoulders. “I understand what you’re saying. You’re right, I won’t sacrifice Poet.”
“What about me?” Luke asked, batting his eyelashes as he leaned closer to Kade. His joke was ill-timed, yet it elicited a few chuckles.
“I won’t sacrifice you either,” Kade replied, taking me by surprise when he planted a mock kiss on Luke’s forehead.
Luke sobered as he straightened. “Oh, I’m starting to like you. I didn’t think it would happen … but, well, there it is.”
“We’re all starting to like him,” Nellie said. “What’s the plan for capturing them?”
“Nixie, I believe you have a box of crystals in your tent,” Max noted. “I need them. If I charm them and then we put three together … .”
“We can build devil’s traps,” Raven finished. “That’s a really good idea.”
“I’ve been known to have them a time or two,” Max said dryly. “Get the crystals, girls. Poet is right. We don’t have much time. Once the crystals are charmed, we’ll split them up and go in groups of two. No one fights alone.”
“The key is to find Paige,” I reminded everyone. “She can die. I have no qualms about killing her. Once she’s gone, I think the girls will naturally break from the spell she has them under.”
“And if they don’t?” Raven asked.
I held my hands palms out. “We’ll have to deal with it then. For now, Paige is our main concern. I don’t look for her to cross the dreamcatcher right away. She’ll send the girls first.”
“I agree.” Max was grave. “Once she realizes we’re trapping her dolls, she’ll have no choice but to cross the dreamcatcher. That’s when we’ll make our move.”
“We’ll have to bait her across,” I said. “She seems the type to fall for the bait. That’s good for us.”
“That’s our biggest advantage,” Max agreed. “Okay, everyone knows what they’re doing. We’ll get the charms and go from there. This fight is going to be big, but I h
ave no doubt we’ll prevail.”
Luke cast Max a sidelong look. “I expected a better war speech.”
Max patted Luke’s shoulder. “I’ll work on it and get back to you.”
28
Twenty-Eight
“I dosed these extra strong.” Max was businesslike as he doled out the charmed crystals. “We can’t do the normal thing of planting three to trap an enemy. That was the original plan, but I’ve thought about it, and it opens us to attack. We have too many enemies and not enough bodies.”
“So what do we do?” Raven asked, her eyebrows knit as she studied the white crystal in her hand. “Do we throw them at them?”
“No, because I don’t trust your aim.” Despite the serious nature of the situation, Max’s eyes twinkled. “You have to touch one stone to a girl. It should freeze her, but only for an hour.”
My eyebrows winged up as I slid my stones in a pouch and affixed it to a belt loop. “An hour? Do you think that’s enough time?”
“It’ll have to be. It’s the best I could do.”
I licked my lips and nodded as I regarded him. It wasn’t often that I went into battle with Max. Usually he preferred sitting back and letting us fight our enemies, only swooping in to save the day at the last minute. I realized after a moment of contemplation that was probably exactly what he was doing.
“Are you saving the day?”
Max was amused. “What do you mean?”
“I was just thinking that you generally don’t show up until we need saving. I’m most likely captured or unconscious at this point. Is this what it’s like when you ride in on a stallion to save us?”
Max chuckled. “I love the way your mind works. Have I ever told you that?”
I shook my head. “No, but … if I don’t get a chance to thank you later I want to make sure you know how grateful I am that you’re helping Kade and me move in together. I didn’t know if you would agree to buy another trailer, thought he was foolish for asking, but you came through.”
Max’s expression turned serious. “Are you saying your goodbyes?”
“Of course not.”
“Then don’t thank me.” Max was grave. “You’ll be okay, Poet. I won’t let anything happen to you. More importantly, Kade won’t let anything happen to you.”
That was exactly the opening I’d been waiting for. “I think he should go with you.”
Max’s eyes lit with something I couldn’t quite identify. “Excuse me?”
I kept my voice low. “I think he should go with you,” I repeated, flicking a glance to Kade as he collected crystals from Nixie. “You’ll be able to keep him safe no matter what.”
“And you think you won’t?”
“I’m going to be her primary target,” I clarified. “I’m the one she’s dealt with the most. I’m not trying to be egotistical or anything … it’s just that she’s seen me and thinks I’m in charge. That will ultimately be good for us because she won’t see Raven, Naida, Nixie and you as genuine threats.”
“If I’m reading you correctly, you believe that Paige will move on you first.” Max chose his words carefully. “You think that she believes taking you out will strengthen her position.”
“I think it’s personal with me, even more personal than I realize,” I said. “She’ll come after me hard.”
“And you want me to separate Kade from you and keep him with me because of that?”
“I want him safe.”
Max met my steady gaze with a weighted one of his own. “We both want him safe. That doesn’t mean I’m separating him from you.”
“But … .”
“No.” Max shook his head, firm. “He would rather die than lose you.”
“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
“He won’t die either.” Max patted my shoulder. “You’re off your game because Melissa was taken from us. You didn’t see it coming and you blame yourself. I know you, Poet. You’re a master at taking guilt on those diminutive shoulders. It’s not necessary. None of us could’ve seen this coming.”
I wasn’t sure I believed that. “I should’ve seen it coming. I’m a fortune teller.”
“And Paige realized that from the start and distanced herself in such a way that it was impossible for you to read her. She knew what she was doing and played us. There’s no going back and fixing that now. We can only look forward.”
“And what do you see looking forward?”
“A battle … and her end.”
“I wish I had your faith.”
“You do. You’re merely keyed up.” Max swallowed hard before turning his full attention to the rest of our group. “Stay in teams. Watch your backs.” Lightning flashed ominously through the tent flap. “She’ll use the storm. Don’t let her. She thinks she’s smarter than us, stronger than us. We know that’s not true.”
“It’s definitely not true,” Raven said, her eyes turning yellow and reptilian as she lifted her nose to the air.
“What was that?” Kade was flabbergasted as he moved to my side.
“You haven’t seen the true breadth of her power.”
“I guess not, but … that’s creepy.”
I smiled, the weight on my shoulders lifting, if only marginally. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
KADE AND I TOOK THE area at the front of the circus grounds. We had to split into groups of two, and even though Max didn’t take Kade with him I was relieved to find Luke at his side as they disappeared into the storm. Max would never let anything happen to Luke. That was one less thing to worry about.
“What are you thinking?” Kade asked, dragging a hand through his soaked hair.
“That I don’t like being so spread out. It makes us more vulnerable.”
“And here I thought you were lamenting the fact that Max didn’t take me with him.”
I froze at the words. “What?” The question came out a bit squeaky.
“I know what you were talking to Max about.” Kade was calm, his tone free of recrimination.
“But how? He didn’t have time to tell you.”
“I knew before you cornered him that you would try to protect me. I worried he might agree for obvious reasons, so I talked to him before that became an issue.”
I was dumbfounded. “You knew I would try to protect you?”
Kade ran his finger over my damp cheek. “I knew that my biggest urge was to protect you. It only made sense that would be your biggest urge, too. You had to know I wouldn’t allow that to happen.”
“I did know that. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t still hopeful.”
“Yeah? Well, now we’re going to be hopeful together. This is a group fight. You’re my partner. Don’t even think about trying to leave me behind so you can be a hero. I won’t take that well.”
It was a serious moment, yet I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “We’ll do it together.”
“We definitely will.” Kade tilted his head to the side when the eerie sound of laughter filled his ears. It was high-pitched and in stereo, so to speak. It was also eerie enough to make the hair on my arms stand on end. “Good grief. Is that what you heard in your dreams?”
I nodded, my stomach twisting. “It is. They’re here.”
“Do you see Paige?” Kade scanned the outskirts of the circus grounds. Even though it wasn’t dark yet, the deluge of rain and heavy storm clouds gave the illusion that night was already upon us.
“No. She won’t show herself right away. We have to fight the underlings first. She wants to see how we perform.”
“Then we’d best get on that.”
I nodded and pointed to a spot between my tent and Nellie’s booth. “That’s as good a place as any. We can only be approached on two sides.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
THE WAITING GAME IS my least favorite. I much prefer long stretches of Monopoly, Clue, Scrabble and even Risk when the mood strikes, boredom prevails or the weather is bad. Waiting is torture.
T
oday was no different.
The first hint of movement came in the form of shuffling feet. I dug in the pouch on my hip and grabbed a crystal, keeping my eyes focused on the opening to my right, while Kade fixated on the left. It was by tacit agreement that we decided to split our focus. We couldn’t afford blind spots, which meant I had to trust Kade to handle magical crystals even though he’d never touched one before.
I could only hope that as the son of a mage Kade’s instincts would be sharper than most. Otherwise I worried he would be at risk … and that thought threatened to overwhelm me.
The sound of footsteps drew my attention to the aisle on the other side of the opening and I crept forward, a crystal clutched in my hand. I briefly closed my eyes, allowing my spatial awareness to kick in, and then lunged forward and slapped a crystal against the front of a pink dress.
The girl, a bright-eyed blond with over-plumped lips, made a face as she tried to move forward. The crystal kept her rooted to her spot, fusing to her dress and offering a reassuring purple glow. The girl struggled to move – probably listening to a command in her head only she could hear – but she was unable to break the trap.
“It’s working,” I announced, relieved.
“I know.” Kade looked smug when I spared him a glance. He’d trapped his own human doll and she looked positively murderous as she glared at him.
“Look at the knife in her hand.” I inclined my chin for emphasis. “Do you know what that is?”
“It looks wicked sharp,” Kade replied. “Does it matter what kind of knife it is?”
“This one has a similar knife. It’s an athame. There are runes carved into the handle. I think the handle is ivory.”
“Why is that important?”
“It means they’re old.”
“And, again, why is that important?”
“Because I think Paige is relying on old world magical rules,” I replied. “That means she believes certain things that might not be true. It also might explain why the girl at the library saw the shadow with multiple arms. That’s how Paige sees herself, with the power of many at her fingertips. If she’s bound by old world magical rules, we might be able to use that … if I can just figure out how.”
[Mystic Caravan Mystery 05.0] Freaky Places Page 25
