Circus of the Dead: Book 3

by Kimberly Loth

  I turn around, and Benny gives me a half-smile. “What’s up with her?”

  I sit back on the bed but a little ways from him. I don’t meet his eyes, suddenly nervous. “She wanted to give us some time alone.”

  He chuckles. “Sorry. That might have been my fault.”

  I jerk my head up. “Why?”

  “Well. We’ve had two weeks to do nothing but talk. I learned a lot about her, and she learned a lot about me.”

  I scoot a little bit closer. “I’m not following.”

  He plays with my fingers. “I spend ninety-nine percent of my time watching you. And Maddie was with me for most of that, and I spent the time talking about how much I missed touching you.”

  I force myself to look him in the eye. “I didn’t know that.”

  He swallows. “I ache for you.”

  His words hit me right in the chest. I move even closer to him. I’ve felt that way, obviously, but I didn’t know he did. I would give just about anything to have him with me every night.

  “So what are you waiting for?” I ask.

  He runs his fingers through my hair and brings my face to his. I expect him to kiss me, but he hesitates. He moves his face up and kisses my forehead, then my nose, then each of my eyelids. My heart races, and my skin tingles. I slide my hands up his chest and grip his shirt. He lets out a gasp but continues his trail of kisses. I’m glad he wasn’t distracted. He moves on to my cheeks, then my chin. He skips my lips and moves to my earlobe, then that spot between my ear and chin. He feathers his lips along my jaw and then lightly kisses my neck. I squeak and pull him even closer.

  We tumble back, and he chuckles. He hovers over me and brings his lips to my ear again.

  “A little eager, aren’t you?”

  “I just want to kiss you.” If we get our timing wrong, he’ll disappear before those lips hit mine.

  “Patience, doll.”

  He kisses my hand, every one of my fingers, then my palm. I shiver. As much as I love this, it’s excruciating. He moves his lips down my arms and finds my neck once again. Every nerve on my body buzzes as he focuses on that spot below my jaw. I know the kiss is coming, but I don’t know when, and I feel a little like I’m about to explode with anticipation.

  I push him away, and he falls to the side. I don’t let him talk or hesitate. I straddle him. “I’m sick of waiting,” I say and press my lips against his.

  He wraps his arms around me. Our time is coming to a close, but I’m going to enjoy every second until then. I slide my hand up his shirt, and he hisses and then presses harder into the kiss.

  For the first time in two weeks, I forget about everything except how Benny makes me feel. Because I need this. I need him. I’ve lost every good thing in my life except Benny. The reality of it all hits me so hard I nearly cry. No matter what happens, he is my destiny—my happily ever after.

  I love him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sitting on the boat, waiting for the zombies to bring me back the contracts, I revel in the memories of the night before. Benny’s lips, his hands, and the way he felt pressed up against me. An hour was not long enough. I want to spend all my days and nights with him. This ghost business is ridiculous.

  I take the rowboat out on the other side of the island near where Samuel’s boat went down so I don’t have to wait that long, but the zombies still move at an agonizingly slow pace. I hope that only one will bring the box back. I don’t have to look at all their creepy faces, but chances are they will pop up and scare the living daylights out of me.

  Again.

  I don’t bother with the protection spell this time since they aren’t supposed to bring back a person, and now I’m chilling in my boat, slapping at mosquitos. I gotta find a spell to keep them away from me.

  The water roils, and I sit up. All 117 zombies raise their gross heads, and Zombie Benny comes with a collection of papers in his hands.

  The real Benny is right. The papers appear unscathed in spite of being in the middle of a fire and buried in water. I take the papers from his creepy body.

  “Thank you. You may go.”

  He nods once and descends into the water with the rest of them. I row the boat back to Samuel’s empty dock and turn on my flashlight. Too many creepy crawlies in the dark.

  Halfway down the path, I hear two people arguing. I pause, not wanting to get caught up in their mess. It’s Luke and Lorena.

  “I want to tell her,” Luke says.

  “No way in hell.” Lorena’s voice is low and angry.

  “Why not?”

  “Because she’ll likely lose her head, and she’s too unstable for that.”

  “She’s not unstable.”

  “She kind of is. She has no idea how to work her powers, and a revelation like that could push her over the edge. Let’s wait until things have calmed down.”

  Their voices move away, and as much as I want to follow them, that’s probably a bad idea. They are hiding something from me. Maybe they know who the person controlling the island is and don’t want to tell me because it will make me upset.

  Well, too late for that, folks. I’m about to find out anyway. I try not to think of all the things that could rock my world. If Benny turns out to be evil, then I would lose it, but aside from that, nothing would surprise me at this point.

  I turn, nearly colliding with Elias and almost drop the contracts. But I manage to keep them in my hands.

  “What the hell are you doing out tonight?” I ask.

  He chuckles. “I was just going for a walk and heard the lovers quarrel. Din wanna interrupt. Whatcha got there?”

  “None of your business. What do you mean lovers quarrel? That was Luke and Lorena.”

  He raises his eyebrows at me.

  I shake my head and push past him. He falls in step with me. As much as I want to ignore him, I can’t. He breathes too loud. Plus, he’s wrong. “No way they are lovers. Lorena was with Samuel, not Luke.”

  Elias chuckles. “Samuel’s not the only one she wrapped around her finger. Luke and she had a thing. She and I did too once upon a time.” He shakes his head. “I’ve been on this island too long. One of these days, I’m going to die, and when I do, I want you to promise me something.”

  “Sure,” I say, a little uncomfortable with the turn in conversation. I am still trying to process him being lovers with anyone, let alone Lorena. Now Elias dying. Too much.

  He points out to a patch of solid ground. We’re halfway between the big boats and our boats. “See that spot, just under the tree?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Bury me there.”

  I give a quick nod, not daring to ask him why. He gives me one of his creepy grins, and we walk the rest of the way home in silence. Luke and Lorena were arguing about something that had to do with me, I think, and Elias is a creeper who thinks about his death and where he wants to be buried.

  There is no way in hades he was ever lovers with Lorena.

  I slam the door behind me. Finally alone, I can look through the contracts without worrying about anyone interrupting me.

  No sleeping tonight. I thumb through the contracts. Most are pretty basic. Though I’m surprised by what people traded their lives for. The contracts are very specific. Like Amy’s for example. It specifies that she is trapped on this island, and in exchange, she can have kids. Ruth is promised immortality. I wonder how old she is. But she has a contract, so she can’t be the other Obeah. Besides, her magic isn’t voodoo. At least I don’t think it is. I’ll have to ask her what her magic is now that I no longer consider her a suspect.

  I need that list we made. Pretty sure it’s still at Lorena’s. She’s awake—this I know because she was arguing with Luke—even though it’s nearly two a.m. Time to go back out in the creepy dark. I click on my flashlight and make my way over to her boat. As I expected, all the lights are on.

  I knock lightly.

  Lorena flings open the door, her face promising murder. Then she smiles.


  “I was expecting someone else. What are you doing out at this hour? You should be in bed.”

  “I can’t sleep, and I was thinking about our predicament. Can I have the list of people on the island?”

  “Sure. Come on in. What are you thinking?”

  I’m not sure if I should tell her about the contracts. I mean, I trust her, but she has a tendency to take over, and I want to do this on my own. “I’m not sure exactly. If I find something, I’ll let you know.”

  She goes to her desk, pulls out the paper, and hands it to me.

  “Thank you.”

  “You sure you don’t want help?”

  “I’m sure.”

  She frowns. “You should get some sleep.”

  I let out a sigh. “Sleep is hard to come by these days.”

  She rests a hand on my shoulder. “I know. You’ll get through this.”

  I put my hand over hers. I don’t know what I would do without her. “Thank you.”

  I take the paper and rush out. I want to see who doesn’t have a contract.

  I settle on my bed, and Raptor curls up next to me. I dig through all the contracts to find the first few names on the list but realize that will take too long. Instead, I find the name on the contract and put a checkmark next to their names.

  It takes forever. It doesn’t help that I get distracted by some of the details in the contracts. They are fascinating and bizarre. Lee, the sick cook, traded his life on the island for the ability to cook well, which seems so odd to me. I would never trade my life for that. One of the clowns traded her life for her cat’s immortality.

  Technically, I can make deals myself. I can even redo the contracts of those already here. I might do that, but if someone comes to me, willing to trade their life in exchange for something like a new face, I wouldn’t do it. I don’t want to trap anyone on the island, no matter what they need.

  Then again, I’m not Samuel. He just needed to fill his island. Or maybe he was compelled to do it in some way. Maybe I’ll be forced to create contracts if I don’t find out who is in charge.

  But what if someone comes to me and asks me to take away cancer or depression from a loved one? How can I say no to that? Maybe that’s how it begins.

  Finally, there are only a few contracts left, but all the names are crossed out on my list. Ruth is on the top of the small pile. Oh. Duh. These are the people who helped form the list.

  Underneath Ruth’s contract is Amy’s. Then Luke’s. I can’t help my curiosity. I skim it.

  In exchange for Luke’s life on the island, Samuel will make sure his daughter is sent off the island and be raised by a family who will protect her and keep her hidden.

  Holy crap.

  Luke has a kid!

  That means I have a cousin I didn’t know about. We didn’t have any cousins. Dad is an only child, and Luke is Mom’s only sibling. I can see why he would want to get his daughter off the island.

  But why would she need protection or to be kept hidden? I don’t think I can keep this a secret. I have to ask him about this. He’ll probably be pretty angry that I snooped though.

  I set down the contracts. Every single person on the island has a contract. This solidifies the idea that whoever is in charge is off the island. Luke’s contract actually is the most telling. If he sent his daughter away to protect her, what was he protecting her from?

  I look up at the clock. It’s only three-thirty. I should probably try to get some sleep. Luke won’t be up before nine anyway. I may not have found out who is in charge, but I have a clue. It’s weak, I’ll admit that, but at this point, I’ll take what I can get.

  I gather the contracts and move them to the table. I pick up Luke’s and look at it once again.

  Luke has a daughter. I try to think how long Luke has been on the island. It was a few years before I was born, I think. He was so cryptic about why he stayed even though he could’ve escaped when he first arrived. I set his contract down away from the rest, and the one on top catches my eye.

  It’s mine.

  I read over it. That stupid contract made it possible for Juliette to die and made my life a living hell.

  I change and climb into bed. Raptor sticks his beak into my hair. I lie awake for a long time thinking. Something’s not adding up.

  I stroke Raptor’s feathers, my brain racing. What the hell am I missing?

  I bolt upright and send Raptor flying.

  There is a contract missing.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I fling the covers back and flip on the lights. Everyone who was on the list is accounted for. But that night, I had Amy, Ruth, Luke, and Lorena help me out. I have four contracts in my hand leftover, but one of them is mine, which means one is missing. I can’t believe I missed that before.

  I pick up the three underneath mine. Amy, Ruth, and Luke.

  Lorena doesn’t have a contract.

  I sink onto a chair. I trusted her with everything. Is it possible she’s in charge? My brain is too sleep-deprived to work through this. There could be another explanation. Or maybe there isn’t.

  Maybe she’s the one who has been trying to kill me all along.

  But why?

  What did I ever do to her?

  This makes zero sense.

  She’s helped me with everything. Besides, the zombies didn’t bring her back. I chew on my bottom lip. But maybe she’s different, like Ruth. She’s always talked about how her magic was different from mine, but I thought that she meant not voodoo.

  That would explain a lot. Or maybe she’s working for the actual Obeah. She’s the feet on the ground for someone off-island.

  I squeeze my eyes shut. This will make more sense in the morning. But how can I sleep when I’m so close to having all the answers I need? I look at my bed. Sleep will not happen tonight. I have to talk to Luke. He’ll help me.

  Oh, but he’ll be grumpy when I wake him.

  I pick up my flashlight once more and grab Luke’s contract. Raptor doesn’t even bother to get out of bed.

  I slide on my flip-flops and trudge down the boardwalk. I keep a close eye on the ground when I walk through the woods, but aside from the mosquitos, there are no creepy crawlies.

  Luke’s boat is dark, but this is too important. He woke me up for Shrek, so I can wake him up for this.

  I pound on the door. After what seems like forever, he opens it, blinking at me, dressed in nothing but boxers. Ew.

  “Callie, what’s wrong?”

  “We need to talk.”

  He glances at a clock on the wall. “And it can’t wait?”

  “Nope. Can I come in?”

  He steps back and waves me inside. The stench is still pretty bad, but the couch actually has room for me to sit. I perch on the edge of it. Luke puts on a shirt and a pair of pants and collapses in the chair across from me.

  “What’s that?” he asks.

  “It’s your contract.”

  He pales. “Where did you get that?”

  “I’m the Obeah. The contracts belong to me. Where is your daughter?” I should be asking him about Lorena, but I want this answer too. It feels connected, but I can’t put my finger on how.

  He creases his eyebrows. “You mean you haven’t figured it out?”

  “Um. What?”

  Luke rubs his face. “I need a beer. You might have one as well.”

  He grabs two beers out of the fridge and opens them, but I don’t pick mine up. I don’t like beer. He takes a long swig.

  “Callie, I’m your dad.”

  “What?” My jaw drops, and my eyes grow a million sizes. I’m not sure I heard him correctly.

  “Before you start asking questions, yes, it’s true, and no, I’m not pulling your leg. You’re my daughter, and you turned out better than I could’ve ever hoped.”

  I shrink down into the couch. This can’t be true. Luke is not my dad. My dad is Jacob Spruce. He’s a fashion designer in Hollywood. Not a big cat tamer on an island in the Louisi
ana swamps.

  I swallow. “But why did you send me away?” Why would any parent send their kids away? Even if they lived on a creepy island.

  “I sent you to my sister because I did not want you growing up on the island.” His voice cracks a little.

  Luke is my dad, and my mom is not my mother.

  I let his words sink in. My parents aren’t my parents. I still can’t believe it. I think I’m going to be sick.

  “Who is my mother?”

  He sets down his beer, and my brain races over the information I know about Luke. The fight tonight. His argument about me. “Wait. It’s Lorena, isn’t it?”

  He nods.

  Holy. Crap.

  I really am going to be sick.

  “Why did you need to hide me?” But I should already know why.

  “Lorena isn’t what you think. She’s a wicked powerful witch. She wanted to raise you on the island, but I didn’t. I’d also seen her around little kids. She wasn’t nice, and I worried about how she would treat you.”

  The blood drains out of my face, and suddenly I see Lorena, my mother, in a whole new light.

  “She doesn’t have a contract.” It comes out as a whisper.

  “What?” Luke asks. My father.

  “Lorena doesn’t have a contract. But I tried a revealing spell. Remember the zombies? I asked them to bring me the other Obeah, but they didn’t touch her.”

  Luke shakes his head. “She’s not Obeah. She’s a different kind of magic altogether. She’s very powerful, but not more than Samuel. She was just as scared of him as everyone else.”

  “But what if it was all an act?” I ask, putting the pieces together and hating myself for not realizing it sooner. “What if she had control of Samuel? What if she is the puppeteer?”

  Luke rubs his face. “This is too much for four in the morning.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

  “I wanted to. But as soon as Lorena got wind of you, she forbade me from saying anything.”

  “And you didn’t think she was the big, bad guy?”

  He frowns. “Look, I don’t like to ruffle feathers. Lorena wanted to get to know you without that baggage hanging over your head, and I kinda understood that. She was spitting nails when she found out I sent you away, but I couldn’t have you raised here. It was too dangerous. I didn’t have the same deal with Samuel that Amy had that protects her children, and I didn’t want to make another one because I didn’t know what I would have to give up. You were much happier in California than you ever would’ve been here.”