by Trudi Jaye
“You can’t make me.” Missy felt like a petulant child standing before her elementary teacher.
“You’re confusing me with someone who doesn’t keep her promises,” said Veronica softly, leaning closer. “When I say I will harm your parents, I mean it. Neither of them is particularly useful to me.” Her voice never wavered.
Missy struggled to breathe, her thoughts whirring inside her head. She didn’t know what to say to this woman. “You’re absolutely crazy.”
“I’m the only sane person you know,” she replied.
“I won’t do it.”
“Then your parents are dead. And I will make you watch every last painful moment of their demise.”
Missy shuddered again. “What about Zeph?” she whispered.
“Ah, yes, dear boy. He will be in the ring as well but as Ringmaster. He has fallen rather sweetly under my spell and won’t require persuasion.” Veronica patted her hair. “My power does that with some of the more handsome younger men.”
“Forcing them to like you? That’s real classy.”
Veronica’s eyes hardened. “Don’t imagine you can escape. I can find your mother anywhere now that she’s used my curse magic. And she will never be the same now that she’s been part of my family.” Veronica paused. “But just in case, you will not see them until right before your performance. Do you hear me? You’re banned from visiting them.”
Missy clenched her hands, trying to think. “What do you want me to do?” she forced herself to ask.
“I simply want you to be the star of my show.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Missy struggled to breathe as she watched Veronica sweep out of the practice ring. She didn’t know how, but she had to get them all out of there before her performance in three days.
Before she would be expected to cut open her own mother.
She glanced over at Zeph, who was wearing part of a Ringmaster’s outfit—the white shirt and the tight black pants. He hadn’t donned the top hat and red tails. He was in the ring with Lorenzo, and they were watching the setup of the large circular metal cage. He didn’t seem to grasp what was going on around him. Veronica was right; he’d fallen so far under her spell it was hard to be around him. But she felt responsible for him, and the setup for that ball concerned her. She’d forgotten to ask Veronica if she’d healed Zeph and needed to make sure he was okay.
As she walked toward them, Zeph opened the side of the metal ball and climbed inside. It was high enough for him to stand and lift his arms. They seemed perfectly healed.
An older man who’d been helping with the gear called over to Zeph, and he nodded. Something was happening.
A grinding sound distracted Missy for a moment, until she realized it was the chain holding the cage in place. It was slowly moving higher, taking Zeph and his cage upward.
She hoped it wasn’t going to go too high. She recalled their tree climb—he’d panicked before getting much past the first branch. But he’d also had a bad leg, and Veronica had healed him since then. She put one hand over her eyes, trying to see Zeph through the lights. Hopefully the blanket of persuasion Veronica had around him would make sure he was okay.
She saw Lorenzo give some instructions to the equipment man, who nodded and then spoke into a walkie-talkie. Two more men arrived, both dressed in thick overalls and masks. One was wearing big leather gloves and holding some kind of long stick. He flicked a switch and gas-ignited flames burst out the far end.
He held it up to the bottom of the cage, and a line of fire raced around the main steel bar. Then others caught until the whole cage was alight with blue-red flames. Inside, Zeph called down to them, but his words were lost in the noise around him. He banged on the side of the cage, and it moved slightly.
“Stop doing that!” yelled the equipment guy.
Missy’s breath hitched. Then she ran, flat out, to Lorenzo and the man who’d been helping Zeph with his equipment.
“What the hell are you doing? Pull him down!”
Lorenzo looked down his nose at her. “Veronica gave us very specific instructions.” His eyes gleamed with reflected fire.
The equipment man next to Lorenzo nodded. “The boss thinks he’s ready, and she always knows what she’s talking about. Not some squirt who’s been here five minutes.”
His voice brooked no arguments, but Missy made a grab for the box that held the controls for the cage. A solid arm pushed her away, knocking her to the ground.
She scrambled to her feet again. “He’s just survived a horrific accident, has nightmares about falling from a great height and burning to death, and now you’re putting him in a fiery ball of death above our heads? He doesn’t even have a net!”
The guy shook his head. “There’s no net because he doesn’t need one. The cage is locked. No one can get in or out. It’s secured to a massive chain that’s as solid as a rock. And he’s fine. Veronica says it’s fine; it’s fine. It always is.”
Overhead, a loud creak interrupted the man’s speech. They both looked up and saw the burning cage swinging from side to side. Inside, they could see Zeph pushing at the door where he’d entered. His panicked actions were causing the ball to move.
“Is it supposed to do that?” asked Missy, her eyes wide.
But the man wasn’t listening. He’d sprinted over to the other two men. Together, the three consulted urgently for a moment before the equipment guy pressed the button to start lowering the cage.
The cage swung wildly over the structure designed to hold it, unable to land safely. Everyone in the suddenly hushed practice room could clearly hear the yells from inside.
“Help! It’s burning. Get me out of here!” Zeph’s voice was panicked, but Missy could only watch as the burning ball swung from side to side.
Now that it was lower, the motion of the ball was decreasing. They held it just over the ground, waiting for the swinging to stop before dropping it to the stand.
But Zeph’s voice didn’t stop. “Get me out! I need to get out of here!”
Missy stepped closer. “It’s okay, Zeph. You’ll be out soon.” Her voice croaked, and she cleared it. “Just hold on. It’s going to be fine.”
The flames had almost burned themselves out, and she could see Zeph’s hunched figure in the middle, crouched low with his arms around his legs. “Get me out, Missy. I have to get out of here!” His eyes searched for and found hers. “Make it stop,” he said so softly that Missy almost didn’t catch his words.
Her heart in her mouth, she took a step closer. “It’s already stopping, Zeph. Just hold on. They’ll get you out of there.” Looking into his terrified face, Missy vowed right then and there that she was going to get them all away from here.
Veronica had done enough to Zeph. No more. Missy was going to end this.
***
Eventually, his burning hell stopped moving. He felt it click into place on the stand. He hadn’t known it would move upward like that. He’d assumed the massive chain was to keep it steady.
And the fire. It had burned itself out now, but when it first started, he’d thought he was in one of his nightmares. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his heart rate to something more normal.
It had been terrifying, yes. But what had him more excited was that he was thinking clearly again. Being scared had knocked him out of Veronica’s magic, and Zeph knew he couldn’t waste these precious minutes. He had to tell Missy what he knew. She was in danger and she needed to be more careful.
The cage door opened and the large, bald head of the mechanic who’d helped him set up poked in. “You okay, man?”
Zeph glared him down and then over at Lorenzo who was watching from a small distance away. “Next time you intend to light my act and lift me up into the air, you damn well tell me about it.”
“Veronica said—”
“I don’t give a shit what Veronica says. It’s my life you’re putting on the line!” Zeph stormed past them both. He knew the poor guy wasn’t fully
in control of his actions and getting mad at him wouldn’t do anything. But it did make him feel better.
Lorenzo he wasn’t so sure about. He didn’t think the Ringmaster was actually under Veronica’s spell, or at least not the way everyone else was.
And the look in his eyes had been rage rather than fear or remorse.
A moment later, a small missile launched at him and attached herself to his side. Zeph looked down at Missy. As soon as her voice had filtered in to him, he’d known he would be okay. She’d lowered his panic levels to manageable and kept him focused on staying calm.
He hugged her tight. “I need to go somewhere quiet,” he said softly.
Missy nodded and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the torture chamber he’d just climbed out of. She glared at the mechanics and Lorenzo and then stormed off so fast he had trouble keeping up with her. She glowered at anyone who looked like they might approach them, and soon they were pounding the concrete outside, heading away from the practice ring toward an old building near the large perimeter fence.
She led him to a little area behind the building that looked like it was used occasionally. An old couch was pushed up against the wall of the building, its only view the painted white wood of the massive fence.
Sitting down, Missy pulled him down with her, curling up against him. “I heard one of the guys at the Big House talking about this place. The building’s empty, so whoever put the couch here doesn’t seem to use it much anymore. It’s a good spot to hide away.” She took a moment to check both his arms and then softly touch the nose she’d seen broken only a few hours before.
“Veronica healed me straightaway,” he said. “Although she wasn’t happy about diverting the power from Marco.” And she’d left a shiner over one eye, a reminder for Missy she’d said.
His heart was still beating faster than normal, and he was trying to clear the remnants of his experience from his head. He held tight to Missy, her solid form reminding him he was okay, that he’d landed safely and without the pain that had followed his accident.
“How are you feeling?” asked Missy softly.
“Getting there. Just give me a couple more minutes.”
Missy’s arms tightened around his body, and he breathed a little easier. She would make sure nothing happened to him while he was under Veronica’s spell. That was the worst of it. That some crazy woman could make him do things and he had no power to stop it. No free will.
“I’m out of her power again,” he said, keeping his voice low.
Missy’s arms tightened for a moment. Then she loosened them and leaned back. “Are you okay?”
“Not really. She has the ability to make me go gaga at her every whim. And I think she likes to test people’s boundaries.”
“I don’t know if I can get you to leave while you’re under her power, Zeph. You like it here,” Missy whispered.
Zeph stilled. He felt cold, his body like ice. “Then we just have to figure out a way to get me out of it. What’s happened the times I’ve become lucid?”
“One was the nightmare, and we have no control over those. The other is now. You freaked out.”
“So extreme emotion? Fear?” Zeph’s stomach lurched at what that might mean.
Missy nodded. “I guess so. We need to know if it works like that for other people. I need to see my Dad. I just have to figure a way around Veronica.”
“Why your father?”
“He’s not under the magic either. But he stays here because of my mother. And he said she sometimes comes out of it.”
“If it is fear, then we’re going to have to figure out a way to induce it in as many people as possible. Get them out of the magic. Even if it’s just for a little while.”
Missy’s eyes widened. “How do we do that?”
“We have to do something to scare them all.” Even as he said the words, Zeph had trouble imagining what that might be. What would cause fear in the most people without causing harm to any of them?
He didn’t know, but they needed to think of it quickly. He could feel the soft comforting edges of the magic curling its way into his body.
Missy frowned up at him. “We need to test our theory about extreme emotion. To see what pulls you out. Then maybe we can figure out a plan.”
“Fair enough.” Zeph looked down at their linked hands and felt a surge of another emotion. At some point, he knew it had become something more for both of them, not just her comforting him after his near miss. Her body was sexy, strong, and he wanted her naked against him. Her breasts heaved against his side, and he longed to touch them, to bring her into his lap and kiss her hungrily while his hands roamed her body.
But he couldn’t. Not yet anyway. Not while they were here, in this time warp that kept stealing his memories, his self.
But the look in his eyes must have gotten Missy thinking. She sat up and then slowly climbed onto his lap. He knew he should stop her, but he didn’t have the willpower to deny himself a few moments.
She put her hands up to his face and then slowly lowered her mouth to his, gently at first.
But then the kiss deepened, became more demanding. Zeph held tight to her, and they devoured each other, trying to say through touch everything they couldn’t say in words.
Missy started to undo the buttons on his shirt. Zeph put his hand up to hers and pulled back. “We can’t. I’m not right in the head,” he said.
“You’re out of it at the moment, aren’t you?” she whispered.
“She’s got me on a leash, and until we get out of here and I know she’s out of my head, we can’t do this.” Zeph leaned his forehead to rest on hers. “As much as I really, really want to, I can’t.”
Missy sighed. “Okay. You’re probably right.”
“There’s something I need to tell you. Before I go back under. Veronica is really angry with you. She asked me to follow you and report back to her on what you’re doing. So don’t tell me anything if I’m out of it, okay?” He paused. “Or even when I’m not.” Zeph felt sick at the very notion of betraying Missy, but he didn’t trust himself when he was under Veronica’s influence. She had him on a short leash. The fact he’d climbed into that cage was proof of that.
As if she could read his thoughts, Missy touched his face. “I won’t let her do anything to hurt you again,” she said. “I’ll keep a better eye on you from now on.”
Zeph closed his eyes. “Thanks, Missy. Just make sure you take care of yourself first, okay?” He could feel his mind starting to fog up. Thoughts were slipping away from him, no matter that he was desperately trying to clutch them to his mind.
“I will,” said Missy.
“Will what?” Zeph asked, smiling down at her. She was looking particularly nice today. He looked around. What were they doing here in some scruffy backyard?
Missy looked up at him, her beautiful dark eyes large and wide. “Nothing, Zeph,” she said.
***
Running quickly along the line of the fence, Missy checked over her shoulder yet again. She’d sneaked out of the house and was going the long way around to her parents’. It was still dark; sunrise was an hour or so away, but she was sweating like she was in the midday heat. She was expecting the heavy hand of one of Veronica’s minions at any moment, and she knew what the woman had promised to do to her parents if she attempted to contact them.
But she had no choice. She needed to talk to her father, and she needed to make sure they would come with her when she broke out.
The houses looked mostly the same from this view as well. But she’d been counting and had taken a guess how far along the street her parents were. She just had to hope Veronica had left them in the same location.
Missy stopped outside a house. She bent over to catch her breath, gasping in air, trying to calm her panting and her nerves. The anxiety was eating at her insides like a hungry pack of man-eating butterflies. How was she ever going to get them all out of here if she couldn’t even handle doing this much?
She tried the ranch slider door. It opened and Missy stepped inside, her heart hammering. She walked silently into the lounge and down the hallway toward the end. A familiar noise eased her fears—her father’s snoring, loud and off key. She smiled.
Following the noise, she found the bedroom door at the end of the hallway and carefully opened it. Her parents were in the bed, both asleep. She tiptoed around to her father’s side of the bed and crouched down. Reaching out her hand, she touched his arm and gently shook it. His snores stopped. He snuffled and then started again. She shook his arm a bit harder, her heart hammering. She hoped he wasn’t under Veronica’s magic. What would happen if she’d done something to him? Could she make him hand her in?
His snores stopped. “Wha’?” said Christoph blearily.
“Da, it’s me, Missy,” she whispered, leaning in.
He turned his head, dark eyes gleaming in the night. “What’s the matter? What’s happened?”
“I need to ask you some questions.”
“And you couldn’t come in the daylight?”
“Veronica told me she’d hurt you if I tried to talk to you. She knows you’re not under her magic.”
He took in a swift breath. He looked shocked.
“She didn’t tell you?”
Her father shook his head. “No. She said you’d agreed to do a big act this weekend and needed to practice. That we’d see you before the performance.” Her father glanced over to where her mother was still sleeping. “Come on. Let’s go out into another room.” He slowly climbed out of bed, careful not to wake Barb, then led Missy down the hall and into the kitchen. He turned on the kettle and sat at the kitchen table. “I thought you’d been pulled under the magic,” he eventually said.