Things clicked into place. “You’re the person she worried was playing a trick on her. She thought you sent me when I stopped in her store earlier.”
The woman snorted. “I wouldn’t send you if I was plotting against her. I’ve got my own arsenal of sarcastic youngsters to employ. Although ... .” She broke off, thoughtful. “I’m guessing you have some hidden talents.”
The way she said it set my teeth on edge. “I was just about to say the same about you.”
“I want to go back to this acrobat thing,” Luke argued. “Have you been trained as an acrobat?”
The woman waved her hand dismissively. “Please. I could be an acrobat professionally if I wanted.”
“Aunt Tillie!”
The new screech came from behind us, and when I swiveled I saw a blonde exiting the newspaper office, bellowing.
“Uh-oh,” the woman muttered, shaking her head. “That’s not good.”
I arched an eyebrow as I turned back to her. “Are you Aunt Tillie?”
“Tillie Winchester.” She extended her hand, which I had no choice but to shake. The second our fingers touched I felt a rush of power that almost knocked me backward. “And you are?”
Did she feel that? I couldn’t be sure. She remained calm, as if this were a completely normal conversation. She was either the best actress in the world or oblivious. “Poet Parker. I’m the fortune teller.”
Tillie brightened. “We’re definitely going to have things to discuss.”
“Aunt Tillie!” The blonde screeched again.
“Whatever happens, you haven’t seen me,” Tillie hissed, moving back toward the woods. “When she comes over here, play ignorant. She just wants to boss me around. I’m sure her mother put her up to it.”
I opened my mouth to ask who the blonde was, but Tillie was already gone.
“Who was that?” Nelson “Nellie” Adler, our cross-dressing bearded lady who was really a dwarf from another dimension, hurried to my side. “Was she a threat?”
I searched my heart. “I don’t think so. She was definitely something, though.”
“Yeah, she was.” Nellie’s grin was so broad it threatened to swallow his entire face. “She was awesome. We need to find her again.”
Nellie was something of a headache — and I had a feeling Tillie was as well — so I wanted to prevent that meeting of the minds. I wasn’t sure it was a possibility. “Don’t worry. I think she’ll find us when she’s ready.”
“Awesome! I think I’m in love.”
That was a frightening thought.
3
Three
The blonde didn’t head to the grounds, instead standing in front of the newspaper office and staring for a long time. She didn’t look particularly suspicious, but she gave us a wide berth, which I found interesting. Most people are drawn to the circus because they have questions or are naturally curious about the animals they thought we had tucked away in the tents at the back of the grounds.
The blonde was different. She stared directly at me before offering a wave and disappearing inside the newspaper building.
I found her intriguing.
“What happened over here?” Kade asked as he moved toward us, curiosity etched across his handsome face. “Did something happen? Nixie said there was a strange woman over here.”
“She wasn’t strange,” Nellie argued, his gaze still on the woods. “She was ... awesome.”
“I’ll need more information than that.”
“She had a combat helmet and a gun,” Nellie volunteered.
“It was the woman we saw entering the woods when we were driving into town,” I explained. “Her name is Tillie Winchester.” And she’s powerful, I silently added. The power I felt soaring through her was impressive. The last thing Kade needed to hear about was a powerful being. He was in the best mood I could remember in the past two weeks. I didn’t want to eradicate that mood.
“And she’s a goddess,” Nellie said. “I’m telling you right now, I think we should ask her to join us. She’d be a big draw.”
“Because she has a shotgun?” Luke asked dubiously.
“Because she’s ... awesome. Did you see those leggings? I’m dying to see what that dragon is protecting.”
I made a face. “She was, like, eighty.”
“So what? Dwarves like older women. That’s a known fact.”
I didn’t know that. “If you want to romance her, go nuts.”
“Thanks for your permission, Mom,” he said dryly.
I ignored the dig. “Let’s finish setting up and then make dinner. We have more than enough food to get through tonight. Tomorrow, we might have to make some decisions regarding the food situation. Margaret said we could eat at the area restaurants for free, but that might become cumbersome at some point.”
“We’ll worry about that tomorrow.” Kade stroked his hand down the back of my dark hair. “Are you okay? You look ... off.”
“I’m fine.” I plastered a smile on my face. “I’m thinking about the dragons for a different reason, that’s all, and it’s giving me waking nightmares.”
He matched my smile. “I’m sorry I missed it.” He gave me a quick kiss, which made Luke and Nellie groan in unison as they pushed past us to return to work. “I kind of like this place,” he admitted. “It’s quiet. You have no idea how much I need the quiet.”
I did know. That’s what worried me. “Hopefully it will stay quiet.”
“Yeah. Come on.” He tugged on my hand. “Let’s get the food area set up and then we can start talking about dinner. We have steaks and corn, right?”
“Your favorite.”
“You’re my favorite.” He winked at me, his playful personality back in place. “The steak and corn are definitely a close second, though.”
DINNER WAS A FESTIVE affair. We had a good time cooking and enjoying the various glimpses of Hemlock Cove’s resident fake witches. Raven pointed out a woman with short green hair as she crossed from a store named Hypnotic toward the stables.
“She’s definitely a fake witch,” she said as she munched on a piece of cake. “No real witch would have green hair.”
“That’s true,” I said, dusting off my hands. “It will be dark soon. As soon as we’re relatively sure the town is clear, we’ll put up the dreamcatcher and then go to bed early. It’s been a long trip, and we’re going to have even more work to do tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Kade slid his arm around my back as we sat at one of the communal picnic tables. “I’ve been watching the town. Most of the stores are already closed. I took a walk down Main Street earlier. Most of them close early on Mondays and Tuesdays, and then stay open later as the week progresses. We need to do the dreamcatcher tonight.”
“We will.” I briefly rested my head against his shoulder. “We’ll set up sentries to be certain. In some ways, being this close to the downtown area is a detriment because they’ll be able to see everything we do. In other ways, that might benefit us. Most creatures won’t want to attack when we’re this exposed.”
“We’ll figure it out. We always do.” He brushed his lips against my forehead. “I’ll serve as one of the sentries while you guys erect the dreamcatcher. I’ll take Luke, Nellie, Seth and Dolph with me.”
I nodded, thoughtful. “We’ll work as fast as possible. This space isn’t tricky. We should be fine.”
“We will be fine. You don’t need to worry.”
That was rich coming from him. He’d done nothing but worry about inadvertently hurting me in his sleep for the past two weeks. “The same goes for you.”
He shook his head. “It’ll be okay. I probably should’ve said something earlier.”
“You definitely should have,” I agreed. “We’ll fix it. In fact, I already have the potion we need. You’ll sleep well tonight.”
He sighed. “I can’t wait.”
THE MEN LEFT the fairgrounds under the guise of looking around, which was our cue to erect the dreamcatcher. It was
quick work. The fairgrounds were in the shape of a square. There were heavy woods on two sides, but everything else was open.
Nixie, Naida, Raven and I had erected so many dreamcatchers we knew exactly what we were doing. We each picked a direction — I took the side closest to the nearest interlopers — and began chanting under our breath as we weaved the magical tapestry.
The dreamcatcher was a device of my making. I came up with the idea in a dream – nice, eh? It took us four tries to get it to work, and then we spent years perfecting it. Now it was a weapon in and of itself. In fact, the dreamcatcher was one of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal.
I lost myself to the process, forgetting to scan the area around me as the dreamcatcher weave tightened. We were close, almost finished, and I felt the power pulsing through me.
The Latin words escaped in a rush. I no longer had to think about them. Protection. Strength. Power. All those things were channeled into the dreamcatcher. The final ingredient was one most people wouldn’t consider. It was love, and that was the thing I channeled hardest.
Then, just as soon as it started, the chanting finished. The dreamcatcher was up and ready to be tested. That’s what I did, sending a boost of magic to a nearby thread. The dreamcatcher contracted and held, just as it was designed to.
“That wasn’t so bad,” I said to myself as I dusted off my hands. “All done.”
Slowly, I lifted my eyes and met the steady gaze of the blonde from the newspaper. She was exiting the building — I’d forgotten she was still there — and stopped in front of her car. She didn’t look upset or even accusatory. She was obviously curious, but she didn’t say a word. She simply stared.
Crap! I had to say something, come up with an excuse. I opened my mouth to make up a story, but she broke eye contact and reached for her door handle. She didn’t as much as look over her shoulder as she climbed in and started the engine.
I remained rooted to my spot as I watched her leave, confusion and worry washing over me in continuous waves.
“All done?” Kade asked as he materialized out of the growing darkness.
I nodded woodenly. “All done.”
“Are you okay?”
He could read me better than most, so I didn’t bother making up a lie. “She saw us putting up the dreamcatcher.”
“Who?” Kade glanced around. “Who saw you?”
“The woman at the newspaper. She came out and stared directly at me.”
“That doesn’t mean she saw you,” Kade said pragmatically. “She might’ve assumed you were simply walking around talking to yourself. She probably thinks you’re odd, not magical.”
I thought back to the expression on the woman’s face. “Maybe. I guess.” I didn’t believe it, but there was nothing I could do. “Come on.” I linked my fingers with his and led him toward our trailer. “I have your potion and then we can get some sleep.”
“I can’t wait.”
I smiled. “You should’ve told me you weren’t sleeping.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t sleeping.”
“No, but I can tell. You’re stretched. You need to give in to this potion and get as much sleep as possible. It’s important that you’re healthy.”
“I’m healthy.” He thumped his chest with his free hand and grinned. “I’m like an ox.”
“You’re starting to sound like Luke.”
“Okay, there’s no reason to get nasty.”
“I wasn’t trying to be nasty.”
“That’s what’s really nasty about it.”
I smiled. “Come on, Sleeping Beauty. It’s time for some rest.”
I WOKE BEFORE KADE the next morning, grinning into his shoulder for the first time in weeks. Now that I knew it was fear driving him rather than the irrational need to distance himself from other magical beings I could relax and get a solid night of sleep myself.
I gave him the potion upon entering the trailer. We went through our usual evening ritual, brushing our teeth and checking the doors, and then he downed the vial of purple liquid before climbing into bed. He snuggled close, which is how we used to sleep before he unleashed his powers for the first time. He was out within seconds.
I followed soon after.
The fact that he was still asleep when I woke to the dawn told me he’d slept hard, which was exactly what he needed.
“I hear your mind working,” he murmured, kissing my forehead before slowly opening his eyes. They were clear and full of light, which is exactly how I liked them. “What’s wrong? Are you still thinking about the woman who saw you working last night?”
I’d almost forgotten about her. “If she saw something, there’s nothing I can do. This is a town full of fake witches anyway. She probably thinks it was part of the show. If she thought we were really doing something she would’ve called out to me.”
“You’re probably right.” His hand was warm on my back as he rubbed it up and down. “I feel like a million bucks.”
I lifted my eyebrows and smirked. “Because of me?”
“Always because of you. But this time it’s because I slept. I didn’t wake once. I don’t think people realize what a miracle that is.”
“I’m glad you’re well rested.” I meant it.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
The simple declaration made me want to squirm. “I think you had a part in it, too.”
“Yes. I slept. You gave me the potion so I could sleep. You saved the day.”
His earnest nature made me uncomfortable. “Kade ... .”
“Don’t.” He silenced me with a kiss. “I hate it when you don’t want to take your props. You did an amazing thing for me last night. I expect you to do it again tonight. I don’t want to argue over it.”
That made two of us. “Fine. What do you want to do?”
As if on cue, his stomach growled. “I’m thinking breakfast is in order. There’s something about a good night’s sleep that makes me hungry.”
“I believe I can help you there.”
MOST OF THE CAMP was already stirring when I finished showering and made my way to the grill at the center of the kitchen area, my hair damp. Kade left to check the perimeter, whistling as he went, and I started in on the eggs, hash browns, bacon and toast with Nixie, Naida and Raven.
“He’s in a good mood,” Raven noted as she watched him go. “I take it you guys played a rousing game of farmer in the dell last night. It’s about time. He was looking a little waxy there for a bit.”
I scowled. “That’s none of your business.”
“Since you walked in without knocking and interrupted Percival and me in the middle of our business, I think I’m entitled.”
In addition to being Raven’s boyfriend, Percival Prentiss was one of our clowns. He had a fake British accent that he refused to explain and apparently liked dressing in chaps and full-on clown makeup when playing private games with Raven. I was still scarred from witnessing one of those games.
“Whatever.” I focused on whisking eggs. “Was everything quiet around the camp last night? I mean ... I’m not expecting things to get loud, but you never know.”
“To my knowledge, everything was quiet,” Raven replied. “The pixie twins took off in the middle of the night when they thought no one was watching and didn’t return until shortly before dawn, but that’s hardly news.”
Naida, the stronger of the two fairies, openly glared. “Why can’t you ever mind your own business?”
“What fun would that be?” Raven replied, blasé.
“We weren’t doing anything,” Nixie offered. She was the peppier of the sisters. “We found a lake that was deserted and some slow-running creek that was completely shrouded by trees for swimming. You know how Naida gets if she can’t get in the water.”
She essentially turned into a mermaid when wet, so I was well aware of Naida’s water antics. “I’m glad you found a place to swim.”
“It’s not big, but it will do,” Naida said. “I prefer the lake e
ven though it’s more open. The other place — it’s called Hollow Creek — has the remnants of magic hanging over it.”
I jerked my head in her direction, surprised. “What kind of magic?”
Naida shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’m guessing witch — a powerful witch at that — but there are multiple shards hanging from the stars in that area.”
Occasionally Naida slipped into talk from her dimension and it didn’t make much sense. This was one of those times. “Can you give me a little something extra to go on?”
Naida merely tilted her head. “Someone brought a tempest down on a man out there and killed him. But it’s okay; he was evil.”
“And you can feel that?”
“I can.”
“How long ago?”
“At least a year. He’s gone. That’s all that matters.”
“And the witch who cast the spell?”
“She remains. I don’t know what to tell you.”
Oh, well, great. The witches in the area were constantly casting spells, so many that one little creek was inundated with memory sparkles. That couldn’t be good. “We’ll have to be careful,” I said after a beat. “Make sure you don’t let anyone see you doing your thing in that lake.”
“I’ve got it under control.”
I didn’t want to play mother hen, but I was about to do just that when a sharp cry from the far side of the fairgrounds caught my attention. I exchanged a quick look with Raven, and it was obvious she’d heard the same shout.
“What do you think that is?” I asked.
“I think it’s best we find out.”
We left breakfast preparations with Naida and Nixie and hurried toward the sound of voices. I was practically running when I caught sight of Luke and Kade. They were staring at something on the ground, something beyond the dreamcatcher, and I was worried a fight was about to break out.
“What is it?”
Kade caught me by the waist before I could blow past him. “Careful, Poet,” he said, tugging me to his chest so I couldn’t trample the grotesque tableau taking shape. I recognized right away that the body on the ground had already lost some sort of fight. “You don’t want to contaminate the scene.”
Freaky Witches (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 7) Page 3