“Oh, but I do.” I let loose a grating smile of my own. “You killed Barney because he was on you to gift him the same way you gifted yourself. You’ve been stringing him along for years, but he’d finally had enough. You knew that he was no longer of use, so you killed him.”
“You have a marvelous imagination,” Paige drawled. “You really should write books rather than tell fortunes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I stretched my long legs out in front of me as I leaned back in the chair. “You didn’t worry about killing Barney because you had another friend to help you. In fact, that friend dumped Barney’s body in the water because you were in hiding at the time.”
Paige’s eyes turned dark. “Excuse me?”
“I’m talking about Bates. He was your other partner. He traveled with you to festivals. You didn’t have to promise him eternal life to join you either. You only needed to let him play with your dolls.”
I felt sick to my stomach. I knew something was off about Bates, but I had no idea it was this bad.
“I see. And how do you know that?” For the first time, Paige looked uneasy. It was obvious she realized she’d overplayed her hand and was no longer in charge. She thought she might still be able to escape, but she was feeling me out to see exactly what I knew.
It was time to drop the hammer.
“I know that because my friends have captured Bates,” I supplied, grinning. “He got knocked down by a dwarf in a dress and then locked in the tiger cage by our strongman – who is definitely not happy, by the way. He was poisoned by one of your dolls, but he’s already on the mend thanks to our pixies.”
“Pixies?” Paige cocked a haughty eyebrow. “Melissa used that word, too. It makes me laugh.”
“That’s because Melissa didn’t understand what it truly meant, so you’re incapable of wrapping your mind around it.” I readied myself to move, hoping Kade would jump into the action when he realized what I was about to do. “Your dolls are down and out. The human ones are trapped until we can free them. The cloth ones are … thankfully … being burned in a fire bin.”
Paige made a face. “Burned?”
“That’s right. Our resident dwarf doesn’t like dolls any more than I do.”
Paige tilted her head to the side, and I could feel her desperately sending out mental search beacons. She had no idea how bad off she was, which made me chuckle.
“You’ve been cut off from them for some time,” I supplied. “Raven put a dampening field over the tent and reflected your thoughts back to you so it would seem things were carrying on outside as they were before.”
Paige’s face drained of color. “I don’t believe you.”
“Sadly, you do. That’s why you’re so terrified. You realize you overplayed your hand.”
Paige shakily got to her feet. “I am still in control here.”
“That’s important to you, isn’t it? Being in control, I mean. You desperately want to be in control, but now that you’re not things are about to fall apart.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Paige gritted out. “I can still kill Melissa.”
“You probably can,” I conceded, my heart twisting. “But I’m going to do my very best to stop it.”
“And how will you do that?”
“With a little help from her friends,” Naida announced, striding through the tent opening and fixing Paige with a look straight out of a horror movie. Her aquamarine hair was wild, her eyes filled with fire, and she boasted a gash on her cheek that looked angry and painful. “I’ve had enough of your mouth.”
Paige swallowed hard, the truth finally overwhelming her. “What are you?”
“She’s a pixie.” I smiled as I got to my feet. “And we’re going to show you a few of the horrors you’ve graced your dolls with.” I didn’t look at Kade as I moved across the tent, instead joining my magic with Naida’s as we descended on a quaking Paige.
The crone knew the game was over, yet she tried to scamper away all the same. “What are you doing? I’ll kill Melissa if you don’t let me go. I’ll do it right now.”
“I don’t think so,” Kade countered, grabbing Melissa around the waist and pinning the hand that held the dangerous knife above her head. “Hurry up, Poet. I’m not sure how long I can hold her.”
I flashed him a grateful look. “Turn away. You don’t want to see this.”
“You’re wrong. I’m not afraid of what you’re about to do … and I want to see it. I promise it won’t change anything.”
I couldn’t give thought to the promise because it was time to end Paige. She’d earned it, and the danger wouldn’t be completely past until we’d removed her from the life to which she so desperately clung. I moved to the right, Naida to the left, and we pressed our hands to her head at the same time. We started in English.
“I am the bringer of death,” we intoned. “Pass over. Pass on. Let go.”
Raven joined us from outside, her voice smoothly intermixing with ours as we continued in English another two times.
Then we switched to Latin and the chanting intensified.
“Mortem ferens venio. Transite. Discede. Concede.”
Over and over, we repeated the words. Even when Paige started screaming, our busy fingers drawing the light out of her and letting it loose into the night air, we didn’t stop chanting. Our united powers continued to build, growing to a point of overwhelming completion when Nixie joined the fray.
At some point Kade stopped struggling with Melissa, going from holding her back to propping her up.
The chanting built to a crescendo, and with one final cry the last bit of Paige’s light dimmed and the husk she left behind crumpled to the floor.
We were one.
We had won.
We were done.
30
Thirty
Cleanup wasn’t easy.
In addition to Paige’s body we had almost sixty lost girls to deliver to worried parents and loved ones, and a weeping and remorseful Charles Bates to deal with. Faced with Paige’s death and no hope of escape, he spun a yarn that was so ridiculous I could do nothing but laugh … and fight the urge to rip his head from his shoulders.
“And you think we should let you go after knowing what you were getting out of this little arrangement?” I challenged.
Bates adopted a look of absolute contrition. “I didn’t mean to do anything wrong. I was afraid of Paige.”
I saw glimpses of what he did while the girls could do nothing but take it, so I didn’t buy that for a second. “Shut your mouth!” I turned to Max, running a restless hand through my unruly hair as I studied the bonfire Nellie tended. The rain died soon after Paige did, which was a welcome turn because we had evidence to burn. “We can’t just set him free.”
“No, we can’t,” Max agreed, his distaste for Bates coming out to play. “Let Nixie do what she likes to do.”
“What does that mean?” Bates’ face turned ashen. “What does Nixie like to do?”
“Nothing you will enjoy,” Max replied, making a clucking sound with his tongue. “Hold him until Nixie gets back, Dolph. She’s tending to Seth, who was grazed by a blade. She’ll be back shortly. She’ll know exactly what to do with Mr. Bates.”
“What is she going to do?” Bates was on the verge of panicking. If he knew what was really coming, he’d risk his life to escape. Instead he remained where he was, pathetic and sobbing. “I want to go home.”
“I’m sure the girls felt the same way.” Max directed me to a spot away from the fire, smirking when he saw Nellie approach with a squirming doll in his hand. “Is that the last of them?”
“The last I can find,” Nellie replied, tossing the squawking doll into the fire and grinning when it screeched and attempted to claw its way out. “They’re vicious little things. Once Seth is back on his feet, I’m taking him for another tour. They seem to be attracted to him for some reason.”
“It’s probably because he looks like a model
,” Raven offered, standing in front of one of the confused girls and holding up several fingers. “How many fingers do you see?”
“I want to go home,” the girl sniffed, tears streaming down her face. Like the others, she woke in a state of confusion. Several were bad enough that they needed to be transported to a hospital. Luke and Naida were handling that, mostly because memories needed to be modified and the dropoff had to be done in absolute secrecy.
“You’re going home soon,” Raven promised. She wasn’t exactly sympathetic, but she wasn’t mean. “It will be soon. Then you’ll be able to put all of this behind you.”
I caught her gaze. “Someone should tell Desdemona before she hears it on the news.”
Raven was grim. “I was thinking the same thing. I’ll do it. I’ll … say goodbye for all of us.” She looked satisfied at the prospect. “I agree that she should find out from us rather than the news.”
I smiled. “Good. I think that’s good.”
I followed Max, who didn’t stop until he was sure we were out of earshot.
“You did well.” Max graced me with a heartfelt smile. “You kept her busy so we could get in position. I figured you would understand the plan if I sent the right images.”
“You were right.” I moved my eyes to the front of Melissa’s trailer. She sat on the front step, dazed and let Nixie treat her head wound. “Do you think we should modify her memory?”
Max was surprised by the question. “Do you?”
“Part of me wants to shield her from this.”
“And if you were subverted by evil, would you want to be shielded?”
“I … .” In truth, I had no idea how to answer. “She’ll struggle with this. It will weigh her down.”
“It will,” Max agreed, his gaze lingering on Melissa. “She’s a strong girl. She will come out the other side. I don’t think stripping her memory will do her any good.”
“Why?”
“We learn from our mistakes,” Max replied without hesitation. “She is not innocent in this. She was taken in by Paige. Yes, she was a victim, but I’ll bet she saw warning signs in Paige’s behavior and didn’t follow her head when it came time to address them. She won’t do that again.”
“This was an awful hard punishment for doing something we all did as teenagers.”
“It was,” Max agreed. “Luckily she was not one of the girls Paige experimented on.”
Experimented? I lifted my eyes. “The dead girls. Paige tried something different with them?”
“She did,” Max confirmed. “She tried enchanting rope to make them magical marionettes of sorts, thinking that she could tie the other end of the rope to her and bolster her power through artificial means, a new process she’d yet to master. That’s the way Bates explained it anyway.”
That explained why the wounds reminded me of what happened under the bridge so long ago. “We still don’t have all the missing girls,” I pointed out.
“No, but we will probably never know what happened to those other girls.” Max flashed a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure Paige killed some and dumped them in the ocean. Not all the bodies would’ve washed to shore. That is a tragedy, but there’s nothing we can do about it.
“You need to look at this as what it truly is, Poet,” he continued. “It’s a victory. Because of you … because of what we can do when we’re together … we’re sending quite a few girls home. That wouldn’t have happened without our intervention.”
“I get that, but I can’t help thinking about the parents who will hear about these girls coming home tomorrow. They’ll become hopeful and think their daughters are coming home … but it’s not going to happen for all of them.”
“Not for all,” Max agreed. “For many, though, it will. You can’t let this weigh you down. You did your very best. You won. That’s the most important thing.”
I knew he was right. Being morose wasn’t going to help anyone. Still, I couldn’t quite force myself to be happy. “I’ll be glad when we leave here,” I said after a beat. “It was a nice experiment, but I haven’t slept well since we hit.”
Max turned his eyes to the fire, where Nellie poked a burning doll with a stick. “Something tells me you’ll sleep better tonight. The doll nightmares won’t return. That was your subconscious trying to tip you off to what was happening.”
“I hope you’re right.” I rolled my neck. “I should probably check on Melissa and then get back to work. The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow, which means big crowds.”
“Ah, yes. The show must go on.” Max patted my shoulder. “Put Melissa to bed. Have Nixie give her a sleeping draught. Make her stay there until we leave this place. She’ll be better for it in the long haul.”
“Okay. That sounds good.” It honestly did, and this time the smile I mustered was legitimate. “So, when does our new trailer arrive?”
Max chuckled, genuinely amused. “It will be delivered the day we arrive at our next location.”
“Really?” That was fast. “How did you manage that?”
“I haven’t been able to give my son much, so when he actually made a request did you really think I wouldn’t exert a little effort to give him what he wanted?”
I shook my head. “He thanked you, right?”
“He did. He’s warming up to me.”
“Well, you bought him a hugely expensive trailer so he could live with his girlfriend. Who wouldn’t warm up after that? You’re like … the best dad ever.”
“You are funny.” Max flicked my ear. “I’m looking forward to seeing this trailer. The saleswoman I talked to over the phone couldn’t stop gushing. It’s supposed to be totally rad.”
I snorted. “Well, I guess we all have something to look forward to.”
“We do indeed.” Max nodded. “Onward and upward, Poet. It’s always best to look forward. You can’t change the past, but you can better understand the future.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do that. And … oh.” Max stilled before he walked too far away. “Luke plans to dress like a doll and scare you in the middle of the night. You might want to talk him out of that if you want a good night’s sleep.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from swearing. “I’ll make him cry if he tries. In fact … I think it’s time to break out the keg stand video.”
Max’s grin was so wide it almost swallowed his entire face. “That sounds like a plan to me. Make sure you send me a copy.”
“You’ll be on top of the list.” I squared my shoulders as I turned back to the fairgrounds. “Luke!”
“He’s not back from the hospital yet,” Nellie barked. “He can’t hear you.”
“Oh, he can hear me … and he’d better start running now.”
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About the Author
I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.
If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some people don’t like that.
Special thanks go out to Heidi Bitsoli and Phil VanHulle for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Books
by Amanda M. Lee
An Avery Shaw Mystery
Who, What, Where, When, Die
If it Bleeds, it Leads
Buried Leads
Shot Off The Presses
The Preditorial Page
Misquoted & Demoted
Headlines & Deadlines
Misprints & Mistakes
Bylines & Skylines
Off the Record
Unwritten & Underwater
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Mystery
Any Witch Way You Can
Every Witch Way But Wicked
Witching You Were Here
Witching on a Star
Something to Witch About
Witch Me Luck
Life’s a Witch
Charms & Witchdemeanors
The Trouble With Witches
Murder Most Witchy
A Witch Before Dying
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Short
Careful What You Witch For
Wicked Brew
On a Witch and a Prayer
You Only Witch Once
The Christmas Witch
Bewitched
A Solstice Celebration
Witchdependence Day
Happy Witchgiving
Merry Witchmas
Four-Leaf Clover
Thistle While You Work
Landon Calling
I Dream of Twila
How Aunt Tillie Stole Christmas
A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Fantasy
Witchy Tales
A Witch In Time
Make A Witch
A Witchmas Carol
All My Witches
An Aisling Grimlock Mystery
Grim Tidings
Grim Offerings
Grim Discovery
Grim Reunion
Grim Expectations
Grim Holiday
Grim Rising
Grimlock Family Shorts
Grim Like Me
A Mystic Caravan Mystery
Freaky Days
[Mystic Caravan Mystery 05.0] Freaky Places Page 27
