Mark of the Bear (Hades' Carnival)

by N. J. Walters

  She nibbled on her lower lip as she studied the bear. He actually resembled a much bigger version of her tattoo. She was obviously meant to own him, or at least sit on him. He’d probably cost a fortune. Money she really didn’t have. But she knew she’d pay whatever they wanted in order to have him.

  “I’m going to sit on you now,” she told him. “You won’t mind. Heck, you probably won’t even notice. Not a big fella like yourself.”

  Kellsie slid off her coat and tossed it aside before stepping up onto the side of the carousel. She placed both hands on the bear’s shoulders, threw her right leg over his wide back and pulled herself on. It wasn’t as easy as she’d thought it would be. There were no stirrups to give her a foot up, no reins for her to hold.

  But she was in good shape. She was determined and, seconds later, she settled onto him. “This is cool. Too bad I don’t know how to start the carousel. I’d love a ride on you.” Was the carousel even wired for movement or was it simply a wooden structure? She had no idea.

  Enthralled, she leaned down and rested the side of her face against his neck. A sense of well-being, of belonging, melted through her entire body. For the first time in her life, she felt as though she was where she was meant to be.

  The old Native American guy had said her life was about to change. Was this part of what he’d meant?

  Slowly, the sound of music trickled into her consciousness. It was music with no name. She simply thought of it as carnival music. She straightened and peered into the gloom. “Who’s there?”

  “Are you certain you want to ride him?” Mordecai stepped out of the shadows, looking rather large and imposing.

  Kellsie swallowed hard. She was suddenly very aware of just how alone and isolated she was with this man. She didn’t know him at all. Not really. He was a fellow actor on the set, but that didn’t mean she could trust him. Quite the opposite really.

  “Well?” He stepped closer, the light shimmering on his black hair. He stopped beside the wolf and stroked his broad head. “Do you want a ride?”

  It had to be the atmosphere making her so jumpy, and she shook off her misgivings. Her fears suddenly seemed groundless and foolish. Mordecai wasn’t threatening her. He was offering her the chance of a lifetime.

  “Would anyone mind?” She really wanted to ride the carousel.

  He shook his head. His mouth firmed and his eyes darkened. He appeared almost angry, but it must have been a trick of the light because a moment later he smiled. “They won’t mind at all. In fact, they’d probably insist.”

  “Cool.” She was right about her having to be on the carousel for the movie. This could be seen as an equipment test. Excitement shoved aside the last of her doubts. She was going to really get the opportunity to ride the carousel. “Start it up.”

  He didn’t move, but the ride lurched forward. Kellsie had to grab onto the bear’s neck to keep from sliding off. There must have been someone else in the room with them, she figured. Probably the ride operator.

  Mordecai took a step back as the ride picked up speed. The music grew louder until it started to hurt her ears. She wanted to cover them but dared not release her hold on the bear. “Turn the music down!”

  Mordecai was a blur now. The carousel was moving dangerously fast. This was no leisurely ride, but a machine quickly spinning out of control. “Stop the carousel,” she pleaded. Sweat broke out on her brow as she clung to the bear.

  “It’s too late.” Mordecai’s voice seemed to surround her and echo off the tent walls. “You asked for this. You wanted to ride the bear. Remember that.”

  She was dizzy now and holding on for dear life. This had to stop eventually. All she had to do was hang on. The bear seemed to change beneath her, stiff wood softened and she dug her fingers into thick muscle. A low growl vibrated throughout the animal beneath her until it became a rumbling roar.

  Lights flashed on around the tent. Kellsie could barely make out the people who seemed to be seated on benches. Everyone she’d met so far seemed to be there. Brittany laughed as Kellsie screamed at them to stop the ride. Frank and Bessie simply smiled at her. Harold laughed and waved. The old guy who’d been at the ticket booth this afternoon spit a wad of tobacco toward the carousel. The demon she’d seen earlier threw back his head and howled with glee.

  Kellsie could barely breathe. The muscles in her thighs quivered where she had them clamped tight around the bear’s sides. The food she’d eaten this afternoon threatened to come back up. She was certainly going to fall.

  The wolf in front of her tilted back his head and howled. It was quickly followed by a lion’s roar. This was crazy. Impossible.

  The crew began to chant. Were they all nuts? She could be killed. This wasn’t a game or a prank. Or maybe it was. Some kind of weird initiation into the group. “Enough,” she yelled. “I’m going to fall.”

  “It’s not enough.” Mordecai’s voice seemed to be all around her even though he’d faded back into the shadows. “Not until it’s done.”

  “Until what’s done?” she yelled back even though she didn’t think her voice could be heard over the chanting and the music.

  Her eyes watered and all the people seemed to blur even more as they spun by her at a breakneck speed. She wasn’t going to be able to hang on for much longer. She was clenching the sides of the animal so tight that her fingers were cramping.

  This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. “Stop,” she pleaded, but nobody listened.

  They continued to chant, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. In any case, she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was get off this crazy ride.

  She closed her eyes as her stomach roiled. She was going to be sick or faint. Which one was going to happen first, she had no idea. It was going to be close. The carousel spun faster and Kellsie felt her grip slipping.

  As she felt her body fly through the air, she threw back her head and screamed.

  Chapter Six

  Kellsie jerked awake surrounded by darkness. She sat and sucked air into her starving lungs. “Oh my God.” Her clothing was stuck to her body with sweat and she shivered as cool night air surrounded her. Was she in her trailer? Had all of it been nothing but a dream?

  Strong hands rested on her shoulders and she jerked away, heart pounding heavily in her chest. Where was she and who the hell was this?

  She blinked hard but couldn’t see much beyond a large male shape. A quick inventory of her body assured her she wasn’t hurt and she was fully clothed, which was a very good sign.

  “Who the hell are you?” Maybe it wasn’t smart to antagonize this unknown man, but Kellsie didn’t care. She needed to find out what was going on. Her last memory was of riding the carousel, of it going way too fast. Spinning. Spinning. Spinning.

  She swallowed hard. It was making her sick simply thinking about it.

  “I’m Marko.” His voice was little more than a dark rumble that sent a shiver racing down her spine. And it wasn’t due to fear.

  Now that was totally stupid. How could she physically react to a man she didn’t know and couldn’t even see. “That doesn’t tell me much.”

  He shifted slightly and she scooted away, her back coming to rest against a cool surface. She put out her hand and touched it. Hard with sharp edges.

  Now that the shock of waking was wearing off, she was noticing other things as well. The ground was hard beneath her butt. The air was cool and fresh. As if on cue, an owl hooted. She was in a damn cave in the woods.

  “How did I get here? And where is here?” Damn it, she needed answers and she needed them now.

  “Don’t be afraid.” Again his sorcerer’s voice wrapped around her. She wanted to crawl closer to the source, which was a totally stupid idea given the situation, so she went on the offensive.

  “Is this someone’s idea of a joke? Did the crew put you up to this?” Had they slipped something into her food or drink to make her pass out? If they thought to frighten her with this little prank they were s
orely mistaken. All those years of working gruesome movie sets had made her immune. Heck, if that hadn’t done the trick, then living in L.A. all these years certainly would have. She knew how to defend herself if it came to that.

  Not that she thought it would. After all, she was supposed to star in the lead role of this movie. They needed her hale and hearty.

  Marko stilled. At first she didn’t think he was going to say anything, answer any of her questions. The silence spun out, making her nervous. This guy was good. She mentally slapped her hand against her forehead. Of course he was good. He was most likely an actor on the movie. One she hadn’t met yet.

  Her butt cheeks were going numb from sitting on the hard ground so she shifted position. She shivered again, this time with the cold. Her damp clothing wasn’t much help against the night air drifting in through the opening of the cave. She could see it easily now that her eyes had adjusted to the lack of light.

  She frowned. This situation reminded her of something. What was it? It took her a moment to pinpoint it. It reminded her of the nightmare she’d had while she was traveling here, the one of her being lost in a cave. That cave had been hot. This one was the exact opposite.

  “You are cold.” His observation of the obvious made her angry, as did his lack of communication.

  “No shit, Sherlock. How do you figure that? I’m being dragged around the woods in the middle of the night in damp clothes. If I get sick and end up missing some days of shooting you guys are going to pay for this little prank.”

  He moved so fast he was little more than a blur, and Kellsie suddenly found herself ensconced in his lap with his arms around her. She clutched at his forearm for balance and swallowed hard. It was huge and hard.

  Nerves jittered in her stomach. She was okay. She was fine. He wasn’t going to hurt her, or at least she certainly hoped not. He’d had plenty of time to do so if that was his plan.

  He nuzzled the side of her neck, his hair-roughened jaw lightly abrading her skin. She bit her bottom lip to keep from moaning aloud as heat flashed through her body, driving back the cold.

  What the heck was wrong with her? She should not be physically responding to a total stranger, at least not sexually. Defending herself was okay, but sensual touching was definitely out of the question.

  “I’m sorry you are cold. Let me warm you.”

  It was the most she’d gotten out of him so far and she could have told him she was no longer cold. If anything she was starting to sweat again. If she kept up this cycle of freezing and sweating she ran the risk of succumbing to hypothermia. She had no idea how far they were from the movie set or how cold it was going to get near the mountains at night. They couldn’t have gone too far. It wouldn’t make sense to drag her too far from the comfort of the trailers.

  Marko tugged her closer. She reached out a hand to steady herself and met bare skin. He wasn’t wearing a shirt.

  With barely any light available, her other senses were heightened. His breathing was even and deep while hers was rapid and thready. The muscles of his chest rippled as he shifted slightly, tugging her more into the curve of his body. She ignored the fact that she fit there as if the space had been made specifically for her.

  His skin was warm. No, that wasn’t right. It was almost hot, alive with strength and power. Her fingers took on a mind of their own and skimmed across the broad expanse, encountering a thick smattering of chest hair.

  She sucked in a breath and immediately wished she hadn’t as his earthy scent filled her nostrils—male and hot and tinged with the perfume of the rich earth and pine trees, a heady aroma that made her entire body clench.

  She could easily stay here forever.

  That thought jerked her back to reality in a hurry. “Okay, the joke is over. Take me back to my trailer.” She started to scoot away but he stopped her by simply closing his massive arms around her. She was good and shackled.

  “What is your name?”

  He couldn’t be serious. “Look, buddy, you know I’m Kellsie Morris and I’m the lead role on this film. This isn’t funny anymore. Let. Me. Go.” She spaced her words slowly to let him know she wasn’t joking.

  “I cannot do that, Kellsie Morris. You belong to me now. Are mine to protect.”

  That shot things to the creepy level fast. What if he had nothing to do with the movie? What if he’d abducted her? Maybe the entire carousel ride was nothing more than a dream brought on by something he’d drugged her with. Wouldn’t he have had to drug her to get her away from the set?

  “I don’t belong to anyone, buddy.” She channeled her anger rather than give into the fear nipping at her.

  He sighed so hard he ruffled the hair on the top of her head. “You may not admit it, but you are mine.” Lips, soft as silk, skated over the curve of her neck.

  Her nerve endings tingled and she struggled not to moan. She was angry with him, she reminded herself. But her body didn’t care, reacting to him with just barely a touch. She was suddenly thankful he was wearing pants. She didn’t want to think about what might happen if he wasn’t. Obviously, she couldn’t trust herself around this stranger.

  “Why would you even think such a thing?” If she could get him talking maybe she could figure out this crazy situation and get herself out of it.

  He dipped his fingers beneath the collar of her shirt. Before she could protest, he caught the leather thong around her neck and tugged the bear claw into view. “You are one with the bear.”

  “Great. Did that old guy put you up to this?” She knew she should never have accepted the necklace from the Native American guy at the restaurant. As life had taught her, nothing was free. There was always payment to be made for everything, even something that was supposed to be a gift.

  She almost snorted. Gift, her ass. This was what she got for listening with her heart and not her head. Trouble.

  “No one put me up to this.” She could almost hear the frown in his tone. “This is bigger than both of us. You have set me free from my imprisonment. It is now my job to protect you and keep us both safe until the turn of one day.” He paused as if considering something else. “I must also see if I can release my friends from captivity.”

  Kellsie was totally lost. Obviously, this guy was some kind of nut job. Free him. How in the name of God had she freed him? And from what?

  What to do? Keep him calm. Keep him talking.

  Right. Easier said than done when she was close to panicking. She was trapped in the woods with a crazy man who thought she’d freed him from…well, she wasn’t quite sure where. If she followed his logic, then he owed her. Maybe she could use that.

  Putting all her acting skills to the test, she patted his arm in what she hoped was a soothing manner. “How about you let me go and we talk about this? Whatever is wrong with your friends, I’m sure we can help them.”

  He eased his grip and she resisted the urge to shout in victory. She moved away from him, taking it slow and easy. In a seemingly casual maneuver, she seated herself closer to the entrance of the cave. She’d make a run for it if the opportunity presented itself. When the opportunity presented itself, she corrected. She had to think positive.

  “You know about the curse? The prophecy?” He moved closer to her, as if unwilling to have her too far away from him.

  Damn. She had no idea what to say or do. She didn’t want to set him off. “Why don’t you refresh my memory?”

  She saw him nod. A swath of the light from the moon cut across his body as it angled toward the cave opening. She could see his face from the nose down, as well as part of his magnificent chest. It was sculpted with bands of muscle stretched tight across it.

  Focus, she reminded herself.

  “There were seven of us,” he began. “All warriors, all in the service of the Lady of the Beasts. We lived simply. The Lady did not crave power as many of the gods do.”

  Kellsie’s brows snapped together as he began the familiar tale. It was from the damn script. “Stop right there.”
She glared at him. Not that it had much effect. After all, he probably couldn’t see much of her face.

  “You were imprisoned in your animal form and kept by Hades and I freed you.” That much she’d read. What happened next was a mystery.

  “Yes.” He raised his hand and cupped her jaw. Actually, he covered half of the side of her face. Man, his hands were big.

  She frowned. Why was that familiar? Why did it feel like she knew his touch?

  “Now Hades and his minions have twenty-four hours to either turn me to his side or kill me and steal my soul.” He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “The fact that you released me from captivity means that now he wants you as well.”

  Kellsie jumped to her feet as anger bubbled up inside her. This was obviously the actor playing the warrior in the film. He was probably some kind of crazy method actor who wanted to get into character. She didn’t mind how other actors got into a role. What she didn’t like was being dragged into his little fantasy without her permission.

  “Look, bud. I don’t care how you prepare for a movie. What I don’t like is being drugged and dragged into the damn wilderness. You need to be out here to prepare, that’s your business. I want to go back to my trailer and get a good night’s sleep before filming starts tomorrow.” Just think about the money, she reminded herself. She’d worked with crazy and difficult people before. She could do this.

  She spun on her heel and stomped to the cave opening. The moon was practically a spotlight, which was good considering she didn’t have a flashlight. The lights from the movie set sparkled in the distance. It was probably a mile hike. Maybe more. Distance was deceptive out here with no known landmarks to guide her. How the hell had Marko gotten her here? And that was the character’s name, not his.

  There was no sound behind her, no warning, but his arm suddenly banded around her midsection and he pulled her back against his much larger body. For a big man he moved soundlessly.