by Debra Kristi
Zeke ran a nail across the metal tabletop, extracting an awful screech. All eyes were suddenly alert and directed at him. “I believe the young lady wanted our help finding something or someone.”
How does he know? Kyra cleared her throat. “Um, yeah. If you can.” Kyra’s words fumbled, tripped over her tongue in their attempt to get out. She was in the presence of men far more experienced than herself, and her confidence slipped. The last thing she wanted was to be judged. They may’ve looked old, but what were they? In their seventies? Just because she looked around twenty-two didn’t make it so. They probably only had about ten years on her. That was her guess, anyway.
Zeke chuckled. Kyra pushed her lower lip out, the corners of her mouth curving down. She didn’t see anything funny. He reached over and patted the top of her hand. “Please continue.”
A gentle breeze moved through, kissing her skin as it passed. It was the sign she needed. The tiny hint of reassurance she walked the correct path. It was followed by one lone shadow flickering across the moon. Brief, but there nonetheless. And in that moment, she knew she shared company with giants. Centurions. Guardians of the gates, or carnival, or whatever the place truly was.
Her backbone straightened, every molecule racing through her body stood at attention. The dragon within her scratched at the surface, eager to play. It could be her imagination running wild, but she didn’t think so. No. She had the tendency to trust her gut, and her gut was telling her these were no ordinary men. She had definitely come to the right place.
Confidence coursed through her blood like a vicious race to some unseen finish line. “I’m in need of magic of an extremely serious nature. Being that you’ve been here as long as you have, I thought you might know where I could find someone to help me in this endeavor.”
Kyra couldn’t read Higgins’s face, but she thought Zeke looked thoughtful in response to her words.
“What kind of magic are you in need of, exactly?” he asked.
Her hands wrung tight around her fingers, a nervous habit she attempted to hide by placing them beneath the table. “I need a deflection spell. Something that will work with a soul. You know, confusing one soul for another.”
Higgins coughed, sputtering coffee in an explosion from his lips. Zeke’s mouth hinted at mild amusement, whether in regards to Higgins’s reaction or to what she’d said, Kyra was unsure.
“I am only looking to confuse a process. Divert Death so he can’t collect. I know there has to be a way.” Her words spilled out in a rush. It was horrifyingly embarrassing. Leaning back, she bowed her head. Based on her tablemates’ reactions, she was sure she’d blown it. They thought she was crazy. They weren’t going to help.
Zeke cleared his throat. “I think you should attend to that.” A finger flicked, and he gestured to Higgins.
The little man looked tired and troubled. His gaze traveled the trailer and porch, apparently finding nothing. “What are you talking about?”
A bang erupted from inside the camper. Higgins shot Zeke a dark scowl, then hurried inside to see what was amiss.
Another blast broke from inside the cabin walls, followed by Higgins’s howl.
It was curious how Zeke always mentioned things before they actually happened. Kyra knew that meant something big. And here he sat, listening to her problem without batting an eye—so to speak. Higgins, too. Yet her best friend, while begging her to trust him, had tried to talk her out of this course of action. He didn’t understand and that spawned sorrow deep within her chest. Such emotion didn’t belong sitting at the table with Zeke. Kyra scooped it up and tossed it over her shoulder, out of sight.
Zeke sat gazing forward. It placed him looking toward the Roulette Wheel. Kyra had no doubt he heard every creak and groan the mechanism made, along with each squeal and whimper the riders delighted in, even if he couldn’t see the spin of the monstrous mechanism or the peoples’ bright faces and wide, ecstatic grins. His skin shimmered with a thin layer of sweat, despite the comfortable weather. As the pops and clangs and cracks continued to emanate from Higgins’s abode, Kyra wondered if Zeke gave himself a workout by somehow causing the chaos within.
Zeke reached over and squeezed Kyra’s hand, capturing it perfectly in his first attempt. “Would you mind seeing to him, Kyra? I believe he could use some help.”
She didn’t like being toyed with, and that’s how the situation felt. Like a game. One in which she was clueless, her least favorite emotion of all. With pursed lips and a traveling gaze, she looked for Zeke’s hidden deception. Failing to find anything, she walked toward the trailer.
Kyra didn’t know what she had expected to find when she stepped through the door. Maybe pots boiling over on the stovetop, spaghetti and pasta sauce exploding everywhere. Something to that nature. Instead, it was swirls, mystical beads of light twisting and twining around themselves. Spirals in various shades of color vined through the tiny kitchen. Each trail gave off its own distinct hum or sound frequency. Together they created a melody. One that called to her very core, made her want to walk straight into the center of the magical light show.
She took an anxious step forward. “What can I do?”
Higgins tossed his head to the side. “Have a seat.” He motioned to a freestanding armchair pulled into the aisle way behind her. It blocked passage to the front of the trailer and barely fit in the camper. She started to protest, not wanting to rest, but filled with the urge to do something. “You came here for magic, didn’t you? That’s what you’re going to get. Now sit.”
The power of his voice disarmed her. Kyra backed into the chair, her gaze remaining on Higgins, wide with wonder. “Is Zeke doing this?”
Higgins huffed. “He wishes he were this groovy. But no, the task falls to me.”
His hand moved over bowls and jars, mixing and conjuring things Kyra didn’t understand. She leaned forward and peered out the door to Zeke, but he was no longer anywhere to be seen. In fact, the carnival was strangely silent. Lights beyond the Shasta Sleeper twinkled, dimmed, and then went out. With it, the sounds of people and rides vanished.
Kyra began to stand. “What happened to the carnival?”
“Stay seated, please.” Higgins spoke without looking in her direction.
She paused, watched him intently, then sat back down. “I don’t understand.”
“It simply shut down for the night. Nothing to worry about.”
“But the carnival never closes.” Kyra’s voice hitched. The display of magic had startled her more than she’d realized. Higgins was the last one she expected the magic to come from. She was only looking to be pointed in the right direction, not to actually find it. In him.
He turned to face her, his expression an unrevealing mask of emotions. “Tonight it has. I thought we could use the quiet for what we are about to do.”
The wood of the chair gave as her nails dug deep into the arm, her clutch tightening. “What have you done with everyone?”
His lip curved up a tad at the corners, causing a small grin to cut into his weathered mug. “Everyone is fine, Kyra. I doubt they even sense a change.”
“What are you? All these years I thought you were a talker or a prat boy. Now I find out you’re …” She made a motion with her hand. “…you. Something full of power.”
Higgins turned from his work, his eyes giving a sad tinge to the slanted grin on his face. “I’d prefer you see me as the friend I’ve always tried to be, rather than anything else. I’ve only ever wanted the best for you, and anyone else who has ended up here.” The smile won control, if only for a moment. It looked less like a smile and more like an effort to placate. “Each of you is like family to me. There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for any of you.”
Kyra stood and wrapped her arms around him. “You’re a good man, Higgins.” His body, stiff at first with rigid arms at his side, relaxed and encircled her with a gentle pat to her back. She found his initial reaction baffling.
“Thank you,” he said.
/> What was it she smelled rolling off him? She took a step back. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head like he was dismissing the question. “This is no small thing you’re asking for here, Kyra. It goes against nature. Not only is it dangerous, but it could have long-lasting ramifications. Are you sure this man is worth it?”
Her vision blurred as thought took over and she fell back into the chair. She remembered the Queen of Wands, and weighed risk against Marcus’s safety. “Yes.” Even as the word slipped from her lips, she was unsure if it was spoken by free will.
With the look of a man half asleep, Higgins extended his hand. “Then I believe you have something I need.”
Her forehead wrinkled and her eyes dimmed. “Sorry?”
“I need something of his to bind the two of you together. Otherwise, this won’t work.”
Her eyes wandered off to the side window, stared out without really seeing. Something of Marcus’s? She’d only just met him. How could she possibly have anything?
Kyra caught her breath and slowly looked down.
She pulled the tooth pendant from her pocket. It dangled in the air between them. Even now, she was stunned to have found Marcus the way she had. The tooth had to be magical. Must have called to her when Marcus fell from the bridge and hit the water. It was the only thing that made sense.
Higgins twisted the rope of the pendant around her arm in a simple infinity curl. “Are you ready?” he asked, and tied her down to the arms of the chair using twine he produced from the magic show behind him. The twine glowed and shimmered in magic, tickling where it touched her skin. The pendant infinity curl swiveled, conforming to the ties, melding with the one on her right arm. She didn’t have a chance to change her mind.
“Yes,” she said. The word slipped from her lips as if in slow motion.
One blink and the trailer was gone. Trampled grass surrounded them. Her chair sat on a small patch within the well-lit, yet empty, carnival. Higgins stood at her side. Still sitting, she moved at the speed of light without physically moving at all. Zipping forward, she twisted and turned as if she sat at the controls of her own invisible aircraft. She was on a roller coaster, but not. She spun, fell through water, zipped through fire, unable to breathe. Water clogged her lungs. She choked on smoke and coughed up blood.
The wings of her dragon flapped at her side. They created a funny whooshing sound. Am I in dragon form? She didn’t know. She was flustered, disoriented. Droplets of blood splayed out before her, expanding as they would in water. Everything whirled. Lightheadedness and nausea fought for control. She looked down. Blood seeped from her skin. It bled out everywhere. Made her weak, and so very…human.
She spun in the midst of a bright light while her dragon struggled with another, larger beast. Marcus’s dragon? Her dragon sparkled, exploded into dust, and swirled down into a bottle held in Higgins’s hands.
“It is done,” he said.
Too much time had been wasted figuring everything out, and Kyra was gone most of the day. Daylight had checked out several hours before she managed to return to Philly and Marcus, only to find Chelsea gone. At least she’d managed to bind the wounds on his arms before disappearing. Kyra huffed and took a swig of her tonic water.
So many things were going awry and the solutions evaded her. Sebastian, Marcus…where did she want to be? If she were honest with herself, the kiss she’d laid on Sebastian told all. She’d fallen for her best friend—hard. The new discovery played chaos with her resolve as protector to Marcus. Maybe the fact Marcus was a dragon and Sebastian wasn’t held little to no meaning for her now.
Therapeutic, her fingers caressed the dragon tooth now laced around her neck. As the liquid washed down her throat, she wished it were something stronger.
After the night’s rain, the lights of the city glistened off every surface. The morning’s sun barely peeked its head over the horizon. Kyra set her drink on the table beside her, ran her hands along the railing, and gazed out at the changing colors of the sky. Her emotions had been in a constant state of flux since her time with Higgins. She wasn’t sure if she was satisfied or extremely anxious with her decision. Spitballs of fire bounced around her innards like a dragonling’s party game. Nothing Marcus had done had distracted her thoughts from Higgins and the unbreakable promise she’d made. Not meeting his friends. Not even this place. Had she made a mistake, bounding her dragon to protect Marcus?
Live music danced and swayed out onto the terrace through the open doors behind her. She smelled Marcus’s approach moments before he leaned against the rail beside her. He dangled his beer bottle precariously over the sidewalk below. She didn’t have to glance down to know there weren’t many pedestrians at this hour of the morning, but she looked past his bandaged arms to the street anyway. In fact, there weren’t many establishments open, or showing any signs of life anywhere. It was odd to her. She’d become used to the carnival never sleeping.
This favorite club of Marcus’s broke all kinds of codes by continuing to serve past the legal hour. Kyra thought it absurd. Humans and their rules, she didn’t understand them. It wasn’t like the place was located in the heart of a residential area where the noise would disturb the sleeping. They were in the center of a big city, the sound of motoring cars only a block away.
“How you doing?” His voice was low and husky.
“I’m all right,” she lied, and glanced back at him. His black eye was a reminder something wasn’t right at the carnival. She averted her gaze. Three buttons of his silk shirt, a black-on-black, were unbuttoned, exposing the well-defined lines of his chest. Desire ignited with a spark. Vibrating low, it worked its way up her center core, moving slow, warming along the way. She recognized it for what it was. Serpicose swept around them, strong and sweet. As long as he had the power of the male dragon’s mating incense, she didn’t trust him.
“You’re still upset.” He inched closer. She shook her head. “Sure you are. Don’t try to lie to me. It’s not the girl’s fault, though. She did say it might happen. You keep interesting friends, Kyra.”
“Chelsea was supposed to watch over you,” Kyra mumbled and clenched the railing tighter. When she’d asked the girl to come she had considered her expendable, for the most part. It was one reason she’d asked. Now she worried for the girl’s safety. Great. Another drop in the bucket of dragon dung that was her life. What if pushing Chelsea at Sebastian had forced them to bond on some level? What would he think of her if she were to cause the girl harm?
“It’s fine. I’m fine. Besides, from what she said, it didn’t sound like she could help it. What was it she said? Something about if she woke up, she would disappear. Sounded like nonsense, but it happened right before my eyes. She simply vanished. That’s the kind of stuff that will drive a person bat shit crazy.”
The warmth of Marcus’s hand dropped over hers on the railing. Nerves raked through her, stiffening her shoulders. She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. It was nothing, she told herself. Or maybe everything. He inched closer still. This is it, she thought, he’s going to kiss me.
“Thanks for coming. The guys like you,” he said, and tilted his head. His face lit up and took on a sexy, eat-you-alive smirk.
As much as she tried not to return the gesture, she couldn’t help herself. It spread a warm, tingly sensation to her cheeks. That’s when she realized how much power he had over her. She would let him have this one, and for now she would let Chelsea’s disappearing act go.
Spending the last few hours with Marcus had been a notable change of pace. It was strange just hanging out, doing things like humans. She liked his friends. They were nice and played a mean game of pool. Upon their arrival at the club, they’d made her work to prove her ability. She sank the balls so fast they stopped giving her a hard time and started treating her like one of the guys. But hanging with them required her to hold back her authentic self. She wasn’t sure how long she would be able to play the role or hold her dragon dormant.
>
Marcus notched his finger under her chin and lifter her face to meet his. “You’ve been quiet tonight. Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?”
That was just it. How was she supposed to tell him he was the thing bothering her? Before she could formulate her thoughts, something from the corner of her eye caught her attention.
It moved in a quick glide, swooping from high to low, and looked like a raven.
She leaned forward, studied it closer, more intently. Not only was the bird circling in the sky as if waiting for something below to die, but when it flew low, it flew to the arm of a man down on the sidewalk.
The same man she’d seen in the mist. The same man she’d seen on the bridge.
Kyra’s heart accelerated and a trickle of sweat ran down her back. The decision to drink water instead of a martini suddenly seemed a profoundly wise choice.
The gentleman in the dark gray suit looked up at her, removed his hat, letting his midnight hair drop over his brow, and cracked a frightful grin. His face stretched so thin it looked as if it might shatter, break to bits. Kyra’s chest squeezed so tight it felt like her ribs were collapsing. A shudder rippled through her soul. This is it, she thought. Death.
She spun around, took in every inch of the club visible from their vantage point. Marcus pressed up against her side, the warmth of his arm radiating straight through the bare skin of her tricep. Emotions ripped through her, but she knew what she needed to do. She wasn’t going to take a chance with Marcus’s life. She shimmied a step away, needing to keep a clear head and a clear lookout for whatever Death was sending at them next. Serpicose couldn’t be allowed to muddle her thought process.
Marcus’s shoulders hunched and his eyes clouded over. The line of his lips followed with a downward tip. “What’s wrong?”