Freaky Rites (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 6)

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I’m sure that was a wendigo,” Raven acknowledged as she rubbed the back of her neck. “I can’t be sure it was a real wendigo, though, or something cooked up by whatever faction is haunting us. Until we know if people have been going missing, I don’t feel comfortable settling on the wendigo as a culprit.”

  “Besides that, I’ve never heard of a wendigo managing to pull off something on this grand of a scale,” I added. “I think the most important thing for us to do is focus on the dreamcatcher. We need to be able to keep out whatever is haunting us.”

  “I have charms and potions ready,” Raven offered. “I think we should make that our priority. We’ll conduct research like we normally do, but the dreamcatcher charms are our biggest priority.”

  “Okay.” I forced a smile before looking over the assembled faces, something occurring to me. “Where is Luke?”

  “Oh, he’s pouting because he missed out on the action last night,” Raven explained with an evil smile. “He’s angry no one told him until after the fact. He’s gearing up to be a big baby for the rest of the day.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “I’ll talk to him. He can be part of my team for the charms.”

  “That team includes me,” Kade reminded me.

  “Yes, well, I happen to enjoy threesomes.”

  Kade fought the urge to return my grin … and failed. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

  “I thank my lucky stars every day … and night.”

  “Finish your breakfast.” Kade tapped the side of my plate. “I want these charm things done right away. I don’t want to risk a repeat of last night ever again.”

  He wasn’t the only one.

  “I’M NOT BLAMING YOU.”

  Luke was a complaining mess for the duration of the dreamcatcher charms. They didn’t take long – fifteen minutes tops – but he didn’t shut up the entire time.

  “Did I say I blamed you?” Luke continued. “I mean … why would I blame you? That’s ridiculous. You were injured and upset. I can hardly blame you.”

  “That’s never stopped you before,” I pointed out, staring at the woods. I had an idea and it was something that Kade wasn’t going to like. He’d remained largely silent while I worked – mostly because Luke wouldn’t shut up long enough to allow him to speak – but I could feel the underlying tension rolling off him.

  “I blame Kade,” Luke blurted out. “He’s at fault for this.”

  Kade finally found his voice. “Excuse me? How is this my fault?”

  “You should’ve told me she was hurt,” Luke replied without hesitation. “You should’ve called for me so I could have taken care of her.”

  “I took care of her.”

  “I didn’t need taking care of,” I reminded both of them. “I was fine. There’s no reason to get your panties in a bunch, girls. I’m standing right here and clearly fine.”

  Kade scowled. “It’s sexist for you to compare us to girls simply because we care about you.”

  “Totally sexist,” Luke agreed. “And hurtful.”

  I didn’t bother to hide my eye roll. “Oh, geez. You guys are a lot of work.”

  “And don’t you forget it.” Luke poked my side and smiled before sobering. “You still should’ve found a way for me to be with you. You’re my sidekick. That means it’s my job to fret when you’re injured or ill.”

  “She’s my girlfriend,” Kade argued. “It’s my job to take care of her now. Not yours.”

  “Oh, whatever.”

  “How am I your sidekick?” I questioned, irritation bubbling up despite my determination not to be dragged into one of Luke’s wacky side conversations. “If anything, you’re my sidekick.”

  Luke’s eyes flared with annoyance. “You take that back. Everyone knows I’m the Batman to your Robin.”

  Now it was my turn to scoff. “Please. You’re the Chewbacca to my Han Solo.”

  “Ugh!”

  “And because you’re my sidekick, you have to be at my side for our next little adventure.” I grabbed Luke by the wrist before he could protest. “I insist in case I need you to protect me.”

  “And what adventure is that?” Kade asked, suspicion evident as it crawled across his handsome features. “You’re not going on an adventure without me.”

  “That’s a given.” I beamed. “You’re the Princess Leia in our little group.”

  “Oh, good grief.” Kade flexed his arms and glowered. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  My answer was simple. “Falk.”

  Kade’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “The ghost town?”

  “All legends start somewhere. It can’t hurt to look.”

  “But … what if the wendigo is out there?”

  “We can handle one little wendigo.”

  “What if those shadow hunter things Caroline was talking about are out there?” Luke asked.

  “Then at least we’ll know what we’re dealing with.” I remained determined as I glanced between them. “I have to see. I’ll go by myself if you force me, but I’m going.”

  Kade was resigned as he sighed. “There’s no way that’s happening. We’ll go with you.”

  “Yes, we’re looking forward to it,” Luke drawled.

  “Great.” I stepped over the dreamcatcher line and headed for the trees. “Let’s see if this place lives up to the hype, shall we?”

  “THERE’S NOTHING HERE.”

  I couldn’t help being disappointed when we finally arrived at our destination. There was very little to look at. The promised gardens were beautiful, but wild and overgrown. There were no buildings to speak of other than a rundown hovel that was basically devoid of walls and a roof.

  “I thought you said that all the buildings were razed because of squatters,” Kade pointed out. He’d been initially nervous to visit the town, but his agitation dissipated when we arrived. There was nothing to fear, so it was hard to get worked up about pretty flowers and the absence of buildings. “Did you think the information you pulled was inaccurate?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought I would be able to find something, a landmark or … anything.”

  “There’s something over here,” Luke called out. He’d wandered about a hundred feet to our right and was busy kicking at something on the ground. “I think this is a brick foundation.”

  That was hardly something to get excited about, but I trudged over all the same. It took me a moment to see what he was pointing at, but when I recognized the square outline I dropped to my knee so I could touch the brick. “There was definitely a building here.”

  “Is it something you recognize?” Kade asked. “I mean … from the dream. Did you see this in your dream?”

  “Did I see a foundation overgrown with several decades of foliage? Um, no.”

  Kade’s expression turned rueful. “I didn’t mean that. I just … I guess I don’t know what I meant.” He ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. “I was hoping you’d be able to tell if this was the spot from your dream.”

  “I couldn’t see much in the dream,” I explained. “It was fog. Just a lot of fog.”

  “There’s still a lot of fog,” Luke pointed out, shifting so he could look over the pretty expanse. “It’s almost noon and this place is rolling in it. It’s not as thick as it is at night, but it’s still pretty thick for this time of day.”

  I lifted my eyes to stare at the tree canopy. “It’s because the sun can’t get through. I mean … it gets through in places … but it never gets warm enough in here to burn off the fog. I’ll bet this place always felt haunted for that reason alone.”

  “How lovely,” Kade deadpanned, linking his fingers with mine. “Okay. You’ve seen it. Let’s turn around and head back to the circus.”

  I immediately started shaking my head. “We’re out here and there’s nothing threatening us. I would know if something or someone dangerous was approaching. There’s no reason to get worked up.”

  Kade’s lips turned down. “You’r
e still recovering from last night.”

  “I’m fine. If you keep making a big deal out of it I’m going to get angry.”

  “You wouldn’t like her when she’s angry,” Luke offered, flexing his muscles for effect. “Hulk angry.”

  Even though Luke often went out of his way to irritate him, Kade grinned. “Fine. We’ll look around. But I don’t want anyone wandering off.”

  “You’re not the boss of me,” Luke shot back.

  “Technically I am,” Kade argued.

  “I’m the boss of both of you,” I pointed out. “That means you have to follow my orders. We need to look around and see if there’s anything worth investigating. It won’t take long if you guys stop being pains in my behind.”

  Instead of responding with words, Luke gave me a loud slap on the butt.

  “Hey!”

  “I just want to make sure I get my money’s worth if I’m going to be a pain in your behind,” Luke said. “Come on. I want to see what’s over there. Those flowers are pretty, and I’ll bet that was the center of all the activity around here.”

  That was the location I wanted to investigate, so I opted to capitulate. “Fine.”

  We fell into step together, Kade and Luke taking up protective positions on either side of me. If they thought they were fooling anybody they were sadly mistaken. It wasn’t worth getting into a fight about, though.

  “What else do you know about Falk?” Kade asked to break the silence. “What about the ghosts people claim to see?”

  I shrugged, noncommittal. “I’m not sure. Ghost stories in a place like this are normal. That doesn’t mean they’re real.”

  “You obviously believe they’re real after last night.”

  He wasn’t wrong. “Yeah, well, I don’t know. I … .” I broke off when I caught a hint of something on the wind. “Is something burning?”

  “Not right now,” Luke answered, striding forward when his keen eyes fell on something of interest. “Something was definitely burning last night, though.”

  I followed him to what looked like the remnants of a bonfire. It was a big one, the fire probably going for at least a good ten hours, and looked to have been doused roughly around dawn if the smoldering remnants were any indication.

  “I wonder who left this,” I mused, my mind kicking into overdrive “This doesn’t seem like a good place for teenagers to have a bonfire if they’re in the mood to drink.” I searched the immediate area for confirmation. “This is the only spot where a fire was built, at least recently.”

  “There are a lot of footprints,” Kade mused, kneeling for a closer look at what appeared to be a well-defined print. “No markings on the bottom of the shoes to tell me the brand.”

  “Why is that important?” Luke asked, legitimately curious.

  “Because if we were dealing with a bunch of Converse or Nike logos I’d bet we were dealing with kids,” Kade replied. “It’s not an exact science, but usually a fair bet.”

  “Good point.” Luke rolled his neck until it cracked. “What do these footprints tell you?”

  “I have no idea.” Kade shifted his eyes to me. “I don’t like it, though. It feels off. I don’t think we should stay here when it’s just the three of us. If you want to look around further, then we need to collect some backup.”

  I wanted to argue – I wasn’t a wuss, after all – but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was right. “Okay. Let’s head back. But first I want to take a few photographs to show the others. They might have some ideas.”

  “Make it quick. This place gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  He wasn’t the only one.

  11

  Eleven

  Kade volunteered to take Nellie, Dolph and Raven back to Falk. He was convinced the fire and footprints meant something. I agreed, but figured my time would be better spent conducting research.

  Even though he wasn’t keen on me taking off on my own after the previous evening, Kade put up only minimal opposition when I said I wanted to hit up a local library. He tried to get Luke to go with me, but someone had to handle circus tasks, and that fell to Luke. I knew Luke hated visiting libraries, so I figured he was secretly relieved that I was fully capable of heading out on my own without melting down or screaming for a dashing hero to come to my rescue.

  Finding the library wasn’t easy – I had to check my GPS three times to make sure I was at the correct location – and when I entered I found a building that felt somehow older than it should be. Computer terminals were available in cubbies along the back wall, although they looked ancient, and the periodicals section actually looked dusty.

  I was taken aback enough that I stood in the doorway for what felt like forever, wondering if stopping here was a waste of time. I had just about made up my mind to head back to the circus when a young woman exited the office behind the front desk and fixed me with a tepid smile.

  “Hello.”

  I awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other. “Um … hello.”

  The woman waited for a beat and when I didn’t blurt out my intentions she filled the conversational gap. “Do you need something?”

  “Oh, well … I was actually hoping you might have some books on the history of the area.”

  “We have history books.”

  “I’m most interested in Falk.”

  “Oh, the ghost rumors.” The woman smiled as she moved from behind the counter, allowing me to see her full outfit for the first time. She wore polyester pants that looked as if they originated in the seventies, a cardigan boasting what I assumed to be moth holes in the elbows, and shoes that seemed a little too orthopedic to entice a young twentysomething. “I’m guessing you’re with the circus, right? You guys are staying close to Falk.”

  “Near enough to visit,” I confirmed, frowning as I stared at her shoes. “Have you lived here your entire life?”

  “Yes.”

  I was hoping she would expand on that, but apparently I was going to have to drag out the information another way. “My name is Poet. I’m the fortune teller for Mystic Caravan Circus.”

  “Oh, that sounds like a delightful job.”

  Still nothing. Either she was being purposely obtuse or playing a game. I was leaning toward the former. “And you are?”

  “Oh, forgive my rudeness.” The girl pushed her blond hair away from her face and grinned. “Everyone in this area knows everyone else. I sometimes forget my manners with visitors. I’m Remy Langstrom.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” I extended my hand but Remy ignored it as she turned and pointed toward the back of the library. “The information you want is probably back here. I wish I could say all of our material is on the computers, but it’s not. Most of it’s still on microfiche. Sorry about that.”

  I shouldn’t have been surprised – the library was old, after all – but I was mildly disheartened. “Well, I’ve researched on microfiche before. It’s hardly the first time.”

  “It’s dead around here, so I can help you a bit.” Remy directed me toward two microfiche machines. They were located in the very back of the building, as if whoever put them there was ashamed to have them out in the open in case people pointed and laughed. “It must be exciting to travel with the circus.”

  “What? Oh, it has its moments.” I took the chair on the left and immediately started the machine. “I like visiting different places, and this is a fun way to do it.”

  “Don’t you miss your family?” Remy’s face was full of innocence and excitement as she stared at me. “I know I would miss my family if I was traveling all over the place. I would probably cry so much the other circus folk would send me back.”

  “Oh, well … I don’t have a family.” I opted for honesty. There was no reason to lie. “My parents died when I was a teenager.”

  “Is that why you joined the circus?”

  “I joined the circus because I was looking for a new life. I haven’t regretted my decision even once, so I think it worked out well for me.
It’s definitely not the life for everyone, though.”

  “No. Probably not.” Remy made a clucking sound with her tongue before turning serious. “So, what do you want to know about Falk?”

  “What do you have?”

  “I have a lot of nothing or a little of something. Which do you prefer?”

  She was an interesting woman, her face almost youthfully angelic. Her clothing was dated and ratty. Of course, she probably didn’t have a choice in how she dressed. If she was struggling for money – and I couldn’t imagine she was pulling down a full-time wage for running an empty library in this area – then it didn’t seem fair to judge her by appearances. I hated it when people did that to me. I should know better than to do it to others.

  “Well, let’s start with the history,” I suggested. “I don’t know much about the city other than it boomed about the time lumber was a big commodity.”

  “That’s a simple deduction really,” Remy countered, her hands busy zooming through newspaper files. “Falk did start as a lumber camp. It was hardly the only one in this area, though. You have to remember, back when the camps were popping up the only way to travel between destinations was by horseback or wagon.”

  “I understand that. But Falk somehow went from a camp to a town. At least that’s my understanding.”

  “Only some of the camps survived. There was no way of telling which ones would,” Remy explained. “At the height of its existence, Falk boasted hundreds of workers from the Elk River Lumber Company. The population was actually higher than that, because many of those workers had wives and children.

  “It was founded as a company mill town in 1884 by Noah Falk,” she continued. “He was an East Coaster who headed west due with the gold rush but ended up working in the lumber field instead. He worked at various lumber mills for thirty years before Falk came into being.

  “Because of the travel limitations, Eureka was too far away for a commute, so Falk realized he had no choice but to build a fully-functioning town,” she said. “He built the mill in 1884, and a cookhouse, post office, general store, dance hall and houses soon followed.”