mystic caravan mystery 01 - freaky days

by Amanda M. Lee

  “How do you have changelings outside the House of Mirrors? You said you warded the trailer, but they’re running around free outside now.”

  I couldn’t see Sid, but I could feel his anticipation as he shifted in the direction of my voice. “Ah, you saw my children,” he said. “I was wondering whether you did. I couldn’t figure out why you didn’t race outside for help unless you knew. I guess that answers that question.”

  I had so many questions I didn’t know where to start. “Why did the first two changelings set off the dreamcatcher but the ones outside didn’t?”

  “The first two were … mistakes,” Sid replied. He wasn’t in the room with me yet, but he was getting closer. I quietly headed for the stairs at the nearest side of the room. “I knew what I wanted to do with them, but my technique was … let’s just say it wasn’t my best work and leave it at that, shall we?”

  Um, no. “You told Raven you were older than you looked,” I said, carefully backing up the stairs. “Have you figured out a way to suck the souls out of the changelings? Is that keeping you young?”

  “You’re a smart girl, Poet. I’ve always said so.”

  He also picked his nose in public. That wasn’t much of a compliment. “How many changelings do you have?”

  “Just the four … well, two now,” Sid said. His voice grew louder as he moved closer. He crept slowly in case I attacked him. He didn’t want to be caught off guard. That much was obvious. Of course, he could also be toying with me. “I’m not angry with you for killing my children, Poet. There’s no reason to be frightened.”

  “I only killed one of them,” I replied, reaching the top of the stairs and heading across the narrow walkway toward the far end of the room. “You killed the other one.”

  “I had to. You were going to probe his mind. There’s very little there, but you’re smart enough to follow threads.”

  “If it was a liability to you, why did you send it after Nixie?”

  “The changelings aren’t enough for me to feed on any longer,” Sid replied. “They’ve sustained me for the past year, but they’re not enough now.”

  That brought me back to one of my original questions. “You figured out how to leave the souls intact with the other changelings, didn’t you? That’s why they didn’t set off the dreamcatcher.”

  “Correct again,” he crowed.

  Things were slipping into place, and I didn’t like where they were going. “You sent the first changeling after me because you needed a power injection. You can control them with your mind because you’re part Romani. Feeding off the changelings isn’t giving you enough power to survive. You need something bigger. You’re dying, aren’t you?”

  “Give the girl a gold star!” Sid was clearly more deranged – and desperate – than I originally thought. Oh, crud. That meant Kade was right. He was going to have a field day with this … if I survived long enough to see his reaction. “Cancer is a funny beast. It can claim almost anyone, no matter how powerful.

  “For a long time I only fed off people because it kept me young,” he continued. “One measly soul a year was all I needed. When I found out I was sick, all of that changed.”

  “Too bad for you,” I muttered.

  “Once the doctor told me there was nothing that could be done I had to take care of myself,” Sid said. “I used the souls of humans at first, but they only sustained me for a few weeks at a time. They were okay for a snack, but I needed bigger, stronger meals to last longer.”

  Ugh. There was no way I was ever eating again. “Is that when you started going after changelings?”

  “I thought they would make me stronger because we shared a bloodline,” Sid answered. “I was wrong. The power boost lasted longer, but it will never be enough to sustain me. I’ve had to start … snacking … on humans in between meals. The cancer is raging now.”

  Something poked at the back of my mind. “You killed Johnny, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  If I didn’t hate him before … . “You lucked out that the Wendigo – and later the vampire – showed up and took the blame for that. It could’ve been either one of them, which let you off the hook.”

  “Yes, that was lucky,” Sid agreed. “I knew better than hunting so close to home, but I was struggling that night. I needed something to boost me. I figured no one would miss Johnny.”

  “You figured wrong.”

  “Perhaps,” Sid said. “It doesn’t really matter now, does it? He’s gone … and you’re next.”

  I wanted to hurt him. Instead of flying off the handle, though, I continued playing the game. “You wanted me because I’m Romani, didn’t you? You’re half changeling, but they didn’t sustain you. You were hoping a Romani would be a better choice.”

  “I thought it was rather poetic,” Sid admitted. “Now, see, that’s funny. It was poetic, Poet. I really do crack myself up.”

  Well, at least he was having a good time. “Did you really think the changeling would be able to take me?”

  “No. I hoped you’d be too distracted by your falling out with Denton to fall prey to it. I never thought it was a realistic goal. It was more of a … game. I wanted to see how you reacted in the face of danger. With my psychic link to the changelings, I saw it all. It was quite impressive.”

  “Why did you shift to Nixie?”

  “She never pays attention to her surroundings,” Sid replied. “I have no idea what pixie is going to taste like, but I’m looking forward to sampling her.”

  My stomach turned. “Why did you go after Raven tonight?”

  “Believe it or not, Poet, the women here are stronger than the men,” Sid answered. “While you all wrote me off as helpless, the rest of the men here are no pillars of strength. Even if I absorbed Seth or Luke, the power boost from a shifter would be negligible.

  “I needed something to give me a sustained boosted until I could go after my real target,” he continued. “My only options were you, Naida, Nixie, and Raven. Naida is frightening because of the lightning, although you’ve survived it three times now so odds are I could too if I was at full strength.”

  “You had to know we would put two and two together,” I pressed. “Once you killed the changeling under our noses it became apparent that our enemy was closer than we realized.”

  “You would’ve found out the truth once you probed the changeling,” Sid countered. “While the ideal situation would’ve been to move the changeling out and let you guys think it escaped, that wasn’t an option because I didn’t have enough time. I didn’t want to risk Nellie coming back. He makes me laugh. It would be a shame to kill him. So I had to gut it.”

  Something Sid touched on earlier pushed to the forefront of my brain. “You want Max, don’t you?”

  “You really are smarter than you look,” Sid said, breaking into chilly applause as he stepped into the room with me.

  I’d positioned myself in the far corner, knowing my harlequin reflection would hit every mirror in the room and confuse him – at least initially. When his gaze fell on my visual offering, Sid barked out a hoarse laugh.

  “You have always been a delight, Poet,” he said. “This gift you’re giving me now is … divine. I’ve never been a fan of the harlequin clowns, but you make blue hair look good.”

  I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to betray my position.

  “I don’t want to play this game any longer, Poet,” Sid said. “You’re only making things harder for yourself. We both know I’m stronger than you. I promise it won’t hurt.”

  And he had such a truthful face … if you like deranged, soul-sucking clowns with delusions of grandeur. I knew I shouldn’t open my mouth, but I couldn’t stop myself. “Did you tell your changelings that while you tortured them?”

  “I didn’t torture them,” Sid protested, his eyes bouncing from mirror to mirror. He wasn’t yet sure which reflection was really me, but he was zeroing in. “I gave them a purpose.”

  “No, you used and abused them,
and when they could no longer feed your survival you sacrificed them,” I countered, cringing when Sid’s eyes met mine across the expanse.

  “There you are, Poet,” Sid said, sighing. “I can’t decide whether I want to eat you in this form or your real one.”

  “I don’t think you’re going to get a chance to do either.” Raven appeared out of nowhere, a broom in her hand. She swung it against Sid’s head hard, making him cry out.

  I moved quickly, hopping over the second-floor railing and landing on the dilapidated couch below while Raven rushed down the stairs.

  “That was pretty solid,” I said, moving to Raven’s side. “How did you get out of the rope?”

  “I’m double jointed and his magic is weak because he’s sick,” Raven replied, looking me up and down. “You know, you could make a lot of money on the sex circuit looking like that.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Nice.”

  “I’m just saying … .”

  “You broke my nose,” Sid howled, his fingers splayed as he tried to staunch the blood seeping through the openings as he stumbled down the stairs. “I’m going to kill you!”

  “You don’t have the power to kill me,” Raven said. “You had the upper hand when it was just me and you attacked me from behind. Now there are two of us and we know you’re sick and crazy.

  “Prepare to have your brain ripped out of your head and set ablaze!”

  Raven was obviously feeling dramatic.

  “What, are you going to beat me to death with the broom?” Sid asked, pulling together his last shreds of bravado. “I’m in charge here!”

  “Yeah, you look it,” I said, lifting my foot and kicking Sid in the shin. I had no idea why I did it. The urge came over me and I gave in. Sid should have recognized the sentiment.

  “You, bitch!” Sid hissed, lunging for me. I sidestepped him easily. “I’m going to eat both of you for dinner and then pick my teeth with your bones!”

  “That was really overwrought … and stupid,” Raven taunted. “This isn’t a soap opera. Try underplaying your role a bit. Sometimes less is more.”

  “I thought bigger was always better,” I countered.

  “It depends on what area we’re talking about,” Raven shot back, never moving her eyes from Sid.

  “Stop talking!” Sid teetered on the edge of sanity. It wouldn’t take much to push him over. Unfortunately for us, we wouldn’t be the ones doing the pushing.

  The double doors at the front of the House of Mirrors flew open, a whipping wind rushing into the room. Raven and I instinctively stepped back, our hair intermingling as it flew about our heads. Vengeance was here – and he was really ticked off.

  “What is that?” Sid asked, his eyes flooding with fear. “Is that … ?”

  “You’ve been a very bad boy, Sid,” Max growled, sweeping into the room. His normally kind brown eyes were on fire as the wind circled him. “I think it’s time we had a little talk.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Sid whined, his face slackening. “I … it’s not my fault!”

  “That’s always been your problem, Sid,” Max replied, his tone ominous. “You’ve never taken responsibility for anything. That’s about to change.”

  Sid tried to run but Max was too quick and powerful. Instead of watching Sid’s demise, I turned away. I’d seen enough for one day.

  KADE swooped into the room once Sid’s screams subsided. He looked around, and when his gaze fell on me it paused for only a second before moving on.

  “Hey!”

  Kade shifted his attention back in my direction. “Poet?” He seemed uncertain.

  “You still look like a sexy clown,” Raven reminded me. “It’s distracting … and a little hot.”

  I made a face. “Don’t say that.”

  “I’m still mad at you,” Raven said, wagging her finger in my face. “You saved my life, though, so I’ll let it go.”

  “You know, you could’ve saved yourself and left me to fend off Sid myself,” I reminded her.

  “I owed him for smacking me,” Raven replied. “It was nothing more.”

  I wasn’t so sure. “Well, anyway, you were great.”

  “So were you.” Raven frowned as she moved past Kade, who was fixated on me – and not in a good way. “It’s a glamour, sport. Don’t worry. She’s not going to torture you with balloon animals.”

  “Don’t ever say that again,” Kade snapped.

  I snorted. “I take it you don’t like my new look.”

  “I really want to hug you, but I can’t when you look like that,” Kade said. “Change back.”

  “You said you wanted to see me glamour myself,” I countered.

  “Yes, that’s when I thought you were going to make yourself look sexy and naughty.”

  I scorched him with a look.

  “That came out wrong,” Kade clarified. “You always look sexy and naughty … except now. Now you make my skin crawl. I’m not going to lie. I’ll take the bedhead over this.”

  I sighed, dropping my face into my hands and reversing the spell. When I glanced up again my features were back to normal and Kade’s dread was gone.

  “There you are,” he said, reaching for me. “Don’t ever make yourself look like that again.”

  I slipped into his arms and let him hug me, my gaze falling on Max as he moved through the room. He was silent, and when I opened my mouth to thank him, he shook his head. His smile was small as he watched us for a moment, and then he kept right on walking out of the room.

  That was odd, right?

  Kade finally released his grip so he could study my face. I thought he was going to say something heartfelt. I didn’t expect a proclamation of love, but a nice “I’m so glad you’re alive” would have been enough to better my evening.

  That’s not what I got.

  “I told you it was the clown!” Kade said, shaking his head. “Maybe next time you’ll listen to me.”

  I would never live this down.

  Thirty-Four

  After another night sharing the same sleeping space but keeping our hands to ourselves, I realized things in my world were officially different.

  Kade showed no inclination to leave my bed and yet he wasn’t making any moves on me either. I had no idea whether that was good or bad. I was enjoying myself, so I decided to view it as progress and not force anything.

  Yeah, I don’t think waiting to see where things go will last long either. I’m impatient and he’s just … hot.

  “What are you thinking?” Kade asked, pushing a mug of coffee toward me as he settled at my kitchen table the next morning. Work was calling us both, but we were reluctant to leave our sanctuary.

  “I’m thinking that Sid was doing horrible things under our noses and we never knew it,” I said. “He was kidnapping people, torturing them and feeding off of them to prolong his life. How did I miss that?”

  “Everyone missed it,” Kade said. “You can’t blame yourself.”

  “I was head of security before you,” I reminded him. “Maybe I really was bad at my job.”

  “Or maybe you had plenty to do and you should leave that to me now,” Kade suggested.

  “You didn’t know he was feeding off changelings.”

  “I knew he was a clown and was, therefore, evil,” Kade shot back. “You didn’t know that.”

  Nope. I never will live that down. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  I sighed. It was like living with another version of Luke. Of course, I could never tell him that. “You were right and I was wrong.”

  “That’s a good girl,” Kade said, leaning over so he could brush a soft kiss against my cheek. It was innocent, yet it gave me chills. “We’re both going to be busy all day today, but I thought we could have a moonlit picnic in the field behind the big tent once everyone leaves tonight. How does that sound?”

  That sounded romantic … and schmaltzy … and amazing. “Seriously?”

  �
�I’ll make sandwiches,” Kade offered.

  “That sounds great,” I said. “I can’t tell you how nice that sounds after last night.”

  “As long as you don’t turn yourself into a clown again, I think we can both agree it sounds like a nice night,” Kade said.

  “You really have to let the clown stuff go.”

  “Promise me you’ll never make yourself look like a clown again.”

  “No way,” I said, evading Kade’s hand as he tried to snag me around the waist as I moved past him. “Now I know exactly what I’ll threaten you with when I want my own way.”

  “That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Kade growled.

  “And somehow I think you’ll survive.”

  Kade’s face softened. “Somehow I think we’ll both survive … and thrive.”

  Good grief. He really was too cute for words.

  AN HOUR LATER, I Let myself into Max’s trailer without knocking. He sat at his desk going over paperwork. He didn’t appear surprised to see me.

  “You left without letting me thank you last night,” I said.

  “You don’t owe me thanks.” Max shrugged off the suggestion.

  “I do. You took care of the threat … and you did it in a way that ensured we didn’t have to burn a body. Well, more than two bodies. We still had to burn the other changelings. You took care of the heavy lifting, though. All we had to do was clean up the aftermath.”

  “I aim to please.”

  Max was evasive. I was done playing that game, though. “I know what you’re hiding.”

  Max’s shoulders stiffened. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I couldn’t figure it out until last night,” I said. “Something Sid said stuck with me and I realized what all of this was about while I was sleeping. I actually dreamed the solution to the riddle.”

  “I … Poet … you have work to do, don’t you? Just because you were almost killed last night doesn’t mean you get out of work today, young lady.”