Twisted Dreams (18 page)

“I always liked your writing, Beth. The offer to join my staff had nothing to do with what’s happening now. As for spying on you, well, I had to do what I had to do.”

Anger roiled within me. “By sending your little spies after me? And what about Flynn? I assume he’s in on this, too?”

“Flynn is the guardian of the pools. Of course he knows.”

I thought back to how a wind seemed to have frightened him away from the very place he was supposed to be guarding. “For a guardian, he’s not doing a very good job.”

“This is harder for Flynn. He feels the water so much more intensely. The position of the planets has already created a change in the depth of the pools, the divide between the two worlds has grown thin, the water more shallow, even if it looks the same as it always has. He can tell a change is coming, and it’s unnerved him. He’s not himself.”

“If he can control the water, can’t he just make it deeper again?”

“He’s tried, but something is working against him. Another force.”

“From below?”

“We don’t think so. Until the Convergence, the other world’s magic can’t affect us. We think it’s someone else with great power.”

“Maybe someone from the carnival?” I suggested.

Dana nodded, seeming to appreciate the suggestion. “Yes, perhaps. It would explain why they’ve stayed in town.”

“But what would they achieve by doing this?”

“Maybe power. Perhaps they have a way of harnessing the darkness for themselves.”

Something occurred to me. “Did Flynn take me to the pools for a reason? Did he want to check if they had a reaction to me?”

“I don’t know. Did he?”

I thought of the reaction the pools had. They definitely responded, though I didn’t think it was to me, and as far as I was aware, neither did Flynn. Besides, when I’d gone later with Riley, even considering what we’d been there to do, they’d not reacted in the same way. Something else had been responsible.

I couldn’t worry about that now.

“Let me go back to the carnival, see what I can find out.”

“One of us should go with you.”

So you can keep an eye on me,
I thought. “No, it’s too dangerous. It’s easier for me to go unseen, and my friend won’t talk to me unless I’m alone.”

Dana exchanged a glance with Laurel.

“I trust her,” Laurel said, giving an apologetic shrug.

I could have hugged her.

“Okay, fine. Go alone,” said Dana. “Meet us back here in two hours. The Convergence is almost upon us, and time is running out.”

Chapter

20

I
found Riley riding his bike inside the huge metal cage I’d seen him in the first night I’d come to the carnival. I stood back and watched him for a while, appreciating the air of danger combined with skill that his performance displayed.

I’d sneaked in the back route Riley had shown me, avoiding the midway and the people milling around. Riley had told me the carny folk were night owls, but there seemed to be more activity tonight than I’d seen since the place had been shut down.  The air was filled with the clang of metal on metal, of the roar of machinery being used, of men shouting instructions to one another. I didn’t like it. They were up to something.

Riley rode one final, dizzying loop and brought the bike to a skidding halt at the bottom of the cage. He must have sensed me standing there, hiding beside one of the trailers, for he turned and looked directly at me. I lifted a hand to wave, but he didn’t respond, not even with a smile.

My heart sank.
What now?

He opened the door in the cage and climbed out, dragging his bike with him. He left his bike beside the cage and ran over to me with a slow, easy lollop. “Icy, what are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I need to talk to you, too.” He grabbed my hand. “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To my trailer. There’s a lot of people around tonight. It’s too easy for you to be seen.”

I looked again toward the midway, where people worked on the rides, unscrewing bolts and taking things apart. “What’s going on, Riley?”

“Just come with me.”

He led me to his trailer, drawing me inside its now familiar warmth and atmosphere. But instead of pulling me into his arms, as I had hoped, he stood in front of me, his arms folded across his chest, his lips pressed together, a line between his deep blue eyes.

“What is it, Riley? You’re scaring me.”

“We got the okay from the police department that no foul play was involved in the accident on the Waltzer. We’re allowed to move on.”

The ground shifted under my feet, dropping away, together with my stomach, leaving me weak and empty. My head spun. “You’re leaving?”

“We missed the slot for our next pitch a couple of towns along, so we don’t have anywhere to go until tomorrow night, but yeah, we’re leaving.”

“You’re leaving?” I repeated, unable to make the words feel true. My voice sounded tiny, disbelieving, even to my own ears. “No, you can’t leave me. Not now.”

“I’m sorry, Icy. You must have realized I’d move on at some point. The carnival is my home. These are my people.”

No,
I wanted to cry.
I’m your people now.

But I couldn’t get the words to come out.

“How could you?” I said instead. “How could you be with me, knowing you were going to leave?” My heart was surely breaking, fracturing into tiny pieces. I felt it would shatter through me, slicing me into so many parts no one would ever be able to put me back together again. How stupid I had been. Of course he was always going to leave me.

“Baby, please …” He reached out to me.

I slapped his hand away. “Don’t ‘baby’ me.”

“I’ll stay in touch. I’ll call you. I’ll come back and visit when I can.”

I shook my head, staring at his face and wondering how something so beautiful could cause so much pain. Tears built inside me, swelling like a balloon inside my chest, rising to create a painful lump in my throat and making the backs of my eyes burn. “It won’t be the same.”

He stepped toward me, moving into my personal space, his arms slipping around my waist. He pulled me to him, and I couldn’t resist. Though I was furious at him, I was also hurt, and he was the only one who could make the hurt go away. I pressed my face against his chest, the familiar sensation of leather against my skin. I inhaled the scent of him, the warmth of his body heating my cheek, trying to commit the moment to memory. I didn’t know how many more times I’d be able to do this.

Riley pressed his nose and mouth against the top of my head, kissing my hair. “I don’t want to leave you.” His breath heated my scalp.

I moved away from him slightly so I could look into his face. “So don’t. Stay here, with me.”

He gave a laugh, but it didn’t contain any humor. “What, in your dorm room? That’s hardly going to go down well.”

“I could hide you under the bed.”

He quickly kissed me on the lips. “Tempting,” he said with a sad smile.

I knew I was being ridiculous. He was right. It wasn’t as if I had my own place. He lived in a trailer. He was a dare-devil motorbike rider in a carnival. Who was I to try and tie him to one place, to make him give up his adventurous life and get a regular job down at the local store?

I was torturing myself being here with him. If he really cared for me, wouldn’t he figure out some way to stay?

You could always go with him
, a little voice suggested in my head.

No, I couldn’t. My parents would freak if I told them I’d run off with a traveling carnival. And yet that little voice persisted.
You expect him to change his life for you, but you’re not willing to do the same.

“I really care about you, Icy,” he said, brushing my cheek with the back of his thumb.

“You care about me?” I spat. For some reason the words tasted bitter in my mouth.
Care
about me? Had I wanted more? Did I feel more for him? Had I hoped for the word ‘love’ to come from his lips?

“Of course I do.” He seemed surprised, completely unaware of the reason for my anger.

“Well, that just makes everything okay again, doesn’t it? So good to know that by sleeping with me, it means you care about me. You care so much, you can just take off and leave me here alone.”

I couldn’t stop the tears now. They spilled from my eyes, wetting my cheeks. My nose grew stuffy. I probably looked like a snotty child throwing a temper tantrum, but I didn’t care. He’d done this. He’d hurt me. I wanted him to experience my pain.

“Icy, I didn’t plan this! It’s my life!”

I pushed past him to get out of the trailer. I had to get out of there. “Well, enjoy living it, especially now you won’t have the complication of having me around.”

Shoving open the door, I burst out into the warm night and stumbled down the steps to get away. I’d never experienced this kind of pain before. I wanted him to chase after me and tell me that he didn’t mean it, that he would stay here for me, but the rational part of my mind knew that wouldn’t happen. I couldn’t ask him, or expect him to give up his whole life because of a girl he’d known for less than a week. Even though I knew that, it didn’t stop the pain. How could I get through each day knowing I wouldn’t feel the touch of his skin on mine, taste his mouth, just be with him?

I ran away from the carnival, heading across the fields, toward the forest and the darkness of the trees. Tears streamed down my face, I could barely see for crying.

Suddenly, I realized I’d completely forgotten the reason I’d gone to see Riley in the first place. Here was I worrying about not being with him, when our worlds could be about to alter forever tonight anyway.

I wasn’t far from the trees now.

Was that his voice calling to me? I wanted him to come after me more than anything. I turned my head, to see if I could spot him, slowing my run. Riley wasn’t there. His voice had been in my head.

As I turned back around, I slammed into a massive body. Arms wrapped around me, but they weren’t gentle or affectionate.

I opened my mouth to scream, but as soon as I did, a strong hand grabbed my face and shoved something into my mouth—earthy and gritty. The effect was immediate. The inside of my mouth began to burn. The fingers tightened on my cheeks, squeezing against my teeth, and forcing my lips to open. Water was poured down my throat, forcing me to either choke or swallow.

I swallowed.

The strong arms let me go.

I screamed and staggered away, falling to the ground. I scrabbled backward, gagging and spitting. My insides felt like they were on fire, as if flames licked and crept up through my stomach, spreading into my heart, for my blood to transfer the fire to my veins. All the strength I had burned away in the flames, leaving me weak and helpless. Through my pain, I got the briefest of moments to take in the people who now stood, towering over me.

The man was built like a body-builder, with an almost non-existent neck, massive shoulders, and a bald head. He had a pug nose and small eyes from which he stared down at me. I caught a glimpse of tattoos on his knuckles.

I knew this man. It was Bulldog Mackenzie, the guy I’d only caught a glimpse of from a distance before, the guy people referred to as ‘The Bull.’ I could see why.

Two other men stood either side of The Bull. I recognized them as Russ and Mitch, the two men who’d been with Jordy the night I’d killed him for almost raping me.

“See,” said Russ, the smaller of the two. “I knew what she was!”

“A vampire, huh?” The Bull mused. “A real life vampire.”

I wanted to correct him, but what the hell was the point?

“Told you the aconite root would work,” Russ continued, clearly pleased with himself. “I looked it up on the internet.”

“Yes, very interesting. Who would have thought a simple herb could have such an effect? Now that she’s weak, I suggest we kill her.”

From his belt, The Bull produced a huge knife, the glint of the blade catching in the moonlight. He bent to me and hauled me up backward, the knife placed against my throat. I wanted to writhe in pain, but I daren’t move because of the proximity of the blade to my jugular.

“No!”

The shout came from a distance away, but all three men looked toward it. Through the haze of agony that held me in its grip, I caught sight of Riley running toward us.

“No! Wait!” he yelled. “You don’t want to kill her.”

“And why’s that, Riley?” Bull said. “Because you’ve gotten yourself a crush on the little lady?” He snorted. “If you can call her a lady.”

Riley’s eyes flicked to me. I could see the agony within their deep depths. He was going to save me, surely. I didn’t know how, but I was sure Riley wouldn’t want me dead.

“If she’s what you say she is—” he started, only to be interrupted by a shout from the other guy, Mitch.

“She is! She bit out Jordy’s throat. Right in front of us!”

Riley gave him a cold glare, and continued. “If she’s what you say she is, you should use her tonight. Screw the other girl. This one will give you more.”

The Bull’s grip relaxed just a fraction of an inch. “I thought the other one was who we needed to sacrifice. You’ve been working all that magic on her. You said we needed her because her parents own the land the pools are on, that it makes her tied to the land, that her death will have special consequences.”

Riley wouldn’t look at me, but my heart pounded so hard I thought it might explode. Riley had been the one conducting the magic on Brooke? Please don’t let it be true.

“It’s true,” he said, as if answering my silent plea, and a part of my soul cried out. “Brooke’s death during the Disruptive Convergence will give you great power. But
her
death will give you more.”

The Bull’s eyes gleamed with greedy hunger. “More? What could be more?”

“Because of what she is, if you take her life in the pool during the Convergence, the other side will give you immortality.”