I reluctantly released Kade’s hand so I could touch the restraints, but Kade stopped me before I could make a critical error.
“We’ll have to call the police and tell them about this place,” Kade said. “It’s best if you don’t leave your fingerprints on the evidence.”
He had a point. “What about that?” I pointed toward an odd-looking doll in the corner. It had dark hair and reminded me of the voodoo dolls we sold in Nixie’s tent. Because the majority of those voodoo dolls were formerly evil people we happened to shrink down to manageable size, I couldn’t hide the shudder as it coursed through me.
Kade absentmindedly ran his hand down the back of my head as he leaned closer to the doll. “Do you think that’s a clue you can use to find answers?”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“Then grab it,” Kade instructed, giving the shack one more glance before moving toward the door. “There’s nothing else for us to find in here. We need to give the cops a chance to give this place a solid search in case they can pull fingerprints.”
“What about your fingerprints on the door?” Luke asked.
“I’ll leave them there and tell them I went inside,” Kade answered. “If they want to look at me as a suspect, well, I guess that’s their prerogative. I have faith they’ll do the right thing.”
I grabbed the voodoo doll and looked it over, frowning as I studied the button eyes and pin sticking out of the neck. “This is a real voodoo doll. I mean … I think this is real hair.” I made a face. “This is so gross.”
“Study it back at the fairgrounds,” Kade instructed. “There’s nothing else for us here. We need to let the professionals handle this place, because we’re out of our depth.”
I didn’t bother to muster an argument. He was right. “Let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”
“That makes two of us,” Luke offered. “I think I’m going to have nightmares.”
“That makes three of us,” Kade corrected. “I might not be magic, but even I feel how dark this place is. It’s as if someone is watching us.”
That’s exactly how I felt the day at the lake, but I kept it to myself and forced a smile as we left the shack and headed toward the trees. “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. I definitely think you’re magic.”
Kade’s smile was momentarily flirty before regressing to friendly. “You’re laying it on thick today.”
“Do have a problem with that?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
That was better than anything he’d offered since the big fight, so I decided to consider it a win. I would take it … for now.
13
Thirteen
I sat at the picnic table and stared at the voodoo doll for what felt like forever. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something familiar about the poppet. I flipped it over in my hands a number of times, losing track of time even as my co-workers toiled to finish the setup without my watchful eye guiding them.
“I called Ashburn,” Kade announced, sitting across from me and fixing me with an odd look. “What is it with you and that doll?”
“Doesn’t it strike you as funny?” I asked, holding up the item in question so he could get a better look under the bright sun. “It’s weird, right?”
“I’m probably not your target audience. I didn’t play with dolls when I was a kid. They all seem weird to me. I’ve never understood the appeal.”
“This isn’t technically a doll,” I clarified. “I get what you’re saying, though. I never liked dolls either. This thing is … different. It feels alive, for lack of a better word.”
Kade’s eyebrows shot up. “Alive? I thought … doesn’t Nixie shrink evildoers into dolls and sell them in her tent? Do you think that’s what this is?”
“When Nixie does it she essentially kills the host,” I replied. “The soul is still there, trapped, but there’s nothing alive about the husks that remain. You want to trap the souls, because they’re evil and risking them being reborn into something new is the same as planting a bomb on some random unsuspecting community in the future.”
“That’s a convenient way of looking at it.” Kade chuckled. Even though it took him a bit of time to get used to our ways he accepted things relatively quickly, so he didn’t appear judgmental despite his mirth. “So you’re saying this doll is different. Why?”
“I don’t know. I’m not trying to be evasive or coy. I honestly don’t know. It makes me uneasy.”
“So why not destroy it?”
“I … don’t know.”
Kade sighed as he rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “Is there anyone else here who might have insight into this thing? What about Nixie? She likes her little dolls. I’ve seen her talking to them.”
“I think she does that because she feels guilty about trapping them forever,” I countered. “She knows they can’t hear her. She’s not crazy.”
“I wasn’t insinuating she was crazy,” Kade clarified. “I’m merely curious about whether anyone can help you. If you focus on that thing any harder I’m worried it’s going to burst into flames and burn your hands.”
“Then you won’t have anything to hold.”
Kade pursed his lips. “You’re in a mood today, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “I’m finding myself again,” I replied. “I lost my bearings there for a little bit.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of everything,” I answered. “I love Max. That won’t change no matter how angry I am. I can see that he did wrong by you. I’m not denying that. The thing is … I think he did his best.
“I’m not trying to make excuses for him,” I added hurriedly. “He handled the situation with you in the worst possible way. I can never hate him because of what he did for me, though. I don’t know how to give you what you need.”
“Poet, believe it or not, I’m not angry at you,” Kade said. “Well, I’m not angry with you any longer. I’m not happy with you, but the anger is gone. I’ve thought about what happened that day so many times I’ve lost count. I run it through my head over and over.”
The admission was unsettling. “Do you wish you didn’t know? Max didn’t want to tell you. I gave him an ultimatum. I’m starting to wonder if you would’ve been happier if I’d kept my nose out of your business.”
“I’ll answer that question in a minute,” Kade replied. “I want to ask you something first. Do you wish he’d never told me?”
“Given what I’ve lost, part of me would like to take it back,” I answered. “I wouldn’t do that to you, though. In your position, no matter how much it hurts, I would want to know. I was trying to do right by you. I went about it in a stupid way – I should’ve told you the moment I realized the truth, or at least suspected it – and let you deal with the consequences. I didn’t do that. And now … here we are.”
“Yeah, here we are.” Kade exhaled heavily as he rolled his neck. “I’m glad I know. It answers a lot of questions I had from childhood. I could never figure out why Max was always hanging around. I felt special because he took an interest in me. Now I know it was more than a connection to a father that never really existed.”
That hadn’t occurred to me. “You’re mourning,” I deduced. “You’re letting go of the father you believed in before Max blew up your life.”
“He wasn’t real.”
“He was real to you,” I countered. “You loved him. Your mother made sure of that. She told you pretty stories so you would have a normal childhood and something to cling to when you felt different from the other kids. Whatever her motivations, she knew that growing up with Max as a stable father figure was a dream that could never become reality.”
“I guess. I still wish she was around so I could talk to her. I have so many questions.”
“You’ll probably always have those questions. There is someone here who can answer them for you … if you’re interested, I mean.”
“M
ax.”
I bobbed my head. “Max. I know he’s the villain in your story, but he’s not evil. Give him a chance to answer the questions. Don’t do it for him, though. Do it for yourself.”
“I’ll consider it.” Kade licked his lips before returning his attention to the doll. “What are we going to do about that thing?”
“Well, there is one person who might be able to help,” I hedged. “I might need you to assist me in convincing her to do it, if you’re up to it, I mean.”
“Why?”
“Think about it,” I prodded.
Kade rolled the idea through his mind and I could see the exact moment things clicked into place. “Ah.”
“Yes. There it is.”
“And you want me to help you?”
“All paths seem to lead in that direction.”
Kade groaned as he pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “This is going to suck, isn’t it?”
“You have no idea.”
RAVEN’S back was to us when we walked into the House of Mirrors. She seemed distracted, her attention on the top corner of one of the distorted mirrors in the main room. I couldn’t decide if she knew we were there and opted to make us wait or didn’t sense our presence.
The confusion lasted only a few seconds.
“Can I help you?”
“I have something I need you to look at,” I said, boldly taking a step forward. I doubted she would make an ass of herself in front of Kade, because she was determined to win a game I refused to acknowledge we were playing. “We found a doll in a shack in the woods.”
Raven’s smile was firmly fixed in place when she swiveled and she graced Kade with a flirty wink before focusing on me. “You found a doll? How … intriguing.”
I kept my temper in check – probably for the same reason Raven insisted on doing the same – and extended the poppet. “It feels … off.”
“Yes, a lot about this situation feels off,” Raven muttered, grabbing the doll. She flipped it over, her eyes narrowing as she ran a finger over the button eyes. “Well, I hate to admit it, but this thing does feel somehow … different … from a regular doll.” She carried the doll toward her office, continuously flipping it over and over as she studied the quality of the white dress.
“This is hand sewn,” she said after a beat, sitting in her chair and opening the top drawer of her desk and pulling out a magnifying glass. She held it over the doll, moving it slowly from top to toe. “It looks to be made of some sort of canvas, the body at least. It’s an antique fabric.”
“Is that important?” Kade asked. “I have to admit, doll workmanship isn’t high on my list of specialties.”
“I don’t know if it is or isn’t important,” Raven replied. “Someone obviously spent time sewing this specific doll. Whether the doll was made specifically for the current situation or adopted for use is anybody’s guess. The fabric for the dress seems newer. I … almost recognize it. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was made of that white stuff from the clown closet.”
I stilled, surprised. “You think this fabric came from Mystic Caravan’s stash?” The notion hadn’t even occurred to me. “But how would someone get their hands on it?”
“I think you’re asking the wrong question,” Raven replied. “We’ve already ascertained that someone crossed our borders without us noticing. We didn’t see an intruder, which should be impossible given the number of people we have running around.
“The better question is, why would anyone want to steal fabric from us,” she continued. “People who make dolls like this generally do it for a very specific reason.”
“There’s a pin in the neck,” Kade pointed out. “It’s a voodoo doll, right? I thought people made voodoo dolls because they want to wield power over someone. They take items from that person, sew them into the doll and then chant spells and stuff to make the person suffer.”
“That’s certainly what movies and pop culture want you to believe,” Raven countered. “There are a number of different reasons to make dolls. In southern cultures, oh, about hundred years or so ago, women made dolls to steal power from witches. They made the dolls from fabric and hair – real hair, mind you, like this doll has – and then they spent weeks sucking the life out of the host and into the doll.”
“Sucking the life?” Kade leaned forward. “Like a vampire?”
“Vampires drink blood. They suck a person’s life essence in a different way. Their intent is to do harm immediately. Someone using a doll means they could be planning for something long term.”
“Could someone do both?”
“I guess it’s possible but I’ve never heard of it being done,” Raven replied, flipping the doll over so she could remove the dress. “You have to remember that people who believe certain legends don’t often cross lines with their beliefs. They believe one or two things specific to the legends of that area. They don’t absorb multiple legends, because that would dilute the stories’ strength.”
“Is that true?” I asked. “That sounds like a myth.”
“Myths have power because we allow them to,” Raven answered. “Lamias are believed to be myths, yet here I am. Romani are believed to be psychic by many and thieves by others, and here you are. Do we have power because we were born that way, or did time imbue us with abilities thanks to whispers and gossip?”
“I can see you’re feeling heady this afternoon,” I grumbled. “We’re looking for answers, not more questions.”
“I’m not sure I have answers to give.” Raven ran her hands over the naked doll, frowning as she traced a small mark on the poppet’s posterior. “Don’t you have a birthmark on your bottom that’s sort of shaped like a heart?”
Well, that was a personal question. “I … no.”
“You do, too,” Kade argued, shaking his head. “I saw it this morning.”
Raven narrowed her eyes. “You saw it this morning? I thought … .”
Kade cut her off before she could get a full head of steam. “I caught a glimpse when Poet was getting in the shower. I saw it before – and took a longer look – when she was hurt a few weeks ago. She was out cold, so I had nothing to do but stare at it.”
“You stared at my butt when I was passed out?” That was creepy … and mildly flattering.
“Yup.” Kade didn’t appear bothered by the realization that he’d been caught. “That birthmark on your rear end looks like a heart. Raven is right.”
“Speaking of that … .” I turned to Raven. “How do you know about my birthmark?”
“Apparently the majority of the camp has seen you naked at one time or another,” she replied dryly. “This is also your hair.”
My heart skipped a beat when she said the words, and I did a double take, staring at the ratty hair sewn into the doll’s head. “No … .”
“Are you sure?” Kade grabbed the doll and stared at it, holding it close to my head so he could compare the shades of black. “Son of a … she’s right. This is your hair.”
“It can’t be.” I snatched the doll and stared at it, my heart rolling when I realized the truth in the statement. “But … how?”
“You were out of it the other night,” Kade reminded me. “Something took a bite out of you and you didn’t wake up.”
“Apparently they took something else, too,” Raven mused. “It could’ve come from your hairbrush rather than your head, though, so there’s no reason to panic. It appears to me that someone is either trying to steal your power or essence … perhaps both.”
“But … why? Why focus on me?”
“You’re powerful,” Raven replied. “Someone clearly came for you and had to flee before they were ready. Either that or they planned a longer seduction and settled for the boy. You said you found a shack. Was the boy kept there?”
“We found shackles. It seems obvious that someone was kept there,” Kade replied.
“Did he escape or was he set free?”
“I … don’t know.”
“That’s important,” Raven said. “The boy was desperate to stay with Poet. There might’ve been a secondary reason – one more than terror, mind you – that propelled him to cling to her. The doll might be a clue.”
“Are you insinuating that Joshua wanted to hurt Poet?” Kade was dumbfounded.
“I’m insinuating that someone wants to steal something from Poet,” Raven answered, handing me the dress so I could keep it with the doll. “How the boy plays into it is uncertain. How Poet plays into it is a curiosity. Here’s hoping they succeed, though, right?”
I ignored the dig and stared at the doll. “Should we destroy this?”
“Hell, yes,” Kade answered immediately.
“That’s certainly an option,” Raven said. “It’s also possible that someone might come to claim the doll, and we can set a trap.”
“I don’t like that idea at all,” Kade intoned.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” I murmured, a sickening sensation washing over me. “I just … don’t know what to make of this.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Kade said, wrapping his fingers around my wrist. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I would figure it out soon,” Raven said, her disposition unnaturally sunny. She was clearly enjoying herself. “Whoever did this either set the boy on a mission, which has been thwarted, or screwed up and allowed him to escape. If it’s the latter, he’s going to be looking for another victim. He wanted you first. He might try for you again.”
“I dare him,” Kade spat. “I won’t just let some supernatural essence sucker walk through our barriers and claim what’s not his.”
“Careful, Kade,” Raven sang out. “You’re starting to sound a little … jealous.”
“I’m head of security,” Kade corrected. “It has nothing to do with jealousy. I’ll keep my people safe. I can promise you that.”
14
Fourteen
I carried the doll with me for most of the afternoon, winding my way through the fair to make sure everything was set for the big opening the following day. I paid special care when picking my way through the midway, double-checking that everything looked clean and that none of the game prizes could be deemed objectionable. No, that’s really happened. For an entire week we once had blow-up sex dolls and I didn’t notice. Rhonda Naughton, the woman who runs one of the dart games, thought they were simply fancy balloons. I had a feeling that the Brigham City crowd wouldn’t find balloon mix-ups amusing. The Las Vegas crowd was another story.
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