Circus of the Dead: Book 3 Read online

  I look up at him. “Practice what?”

  “Seeing if you can get me to do something.”

  He’s right. I’m better off practicing than running around the circus, looking for her. She might not even have any answers.

  “Okay. Let’s do this. You sit over there.” I point to the chair across from me. He sits. I concentrate hard and think. Go lock the door.

  He doesn’t move. I remember how I blocked all the voices. It took a lot of mental power. I visualize him getting up and locking the door.

  Nope.

  Benny stares at me, his eyebrow cocked.

  “Any idea what I’m thinking?” I ask.

  “All the things you’d like to do with my body.” He winks at me.

  I blush furiously, and he chuckles.

  “No.”

  “Your blush tells a different story. Maybe you should speak out loud first. Like tell me to do something, and see if I can resist.”

  “Okay. Go lock the door.”

  He doesn’t move. “Sorry. I have no desire to get up and lock the door. Then again, neither do you. Tell me to do something you really want me to do.”

  He has a point. The problem is, if I tell him what I really want, there will be no way to know if it is really me commanding him or just him doing what he wants.

  We spend the next hour with me giving him various commands and him refusing. Nothing I tell him is something I really want him to do. It’s all pointless. I rub my hand over my eyes. This is impossible.

  He sits next to me, laying his hand over mine. “Maybe you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. It’s the first night. Tonight, someone is going to die, and there is nothing you can do about it. You need to accept that.”

  “I can’t. If someone dies because of something I did, I’ll never forgive myself.” I glance down at my watch. We only have an hour until sunrise. Time moves so much faster on circus nights.

  “It’s not your fault just because you can’t stop someone from doing what they were going to do anyway.”

  “What the hell did I kill Samuel for? Can I even do anything?” I pace and resist the urge to punch something. This is ridiculous. I want to scream.

  I hold my hand out and think about fire, and it roars to life. Benny jumps. “I forgot you could do that.”

  I look at Lorena’s bookshelf. I concentrate, and some books fly across the room and hover in front of me.

  “Whoa,” Benny says.

  I send them back, and they float away, putting themselves where they belong. Huh. This could be fun. But it’s not useful. Not right now anyway.

  I need to control the damn ghosts.

  I sink down next to Benny and rest my head on his shoulder, relaxing for the first time that night. The whispers return, but I force them away. Then another thought occurs to me. I let Benny in but just Benny.

  She’s going to give herself a heart attack. She’s putting too much pressure on herself. I wish I could help her. But in less than an hour, I’ll be gone, and she’ll be on her own.

  I’d give anything for us to be spending this time with my lips on hers and holding her body tight against mine…

  I swallow and try to interrupt those thoughts.

  Benny, can you hear me?

  His eyes widen. Did you hear me?

  I grin, and he blushes.

  Go lock the door.

  Still not getting any desire to do it.

  I extract myself from his head again and slump against the couch. Someone is going to die, and I don’t even know what to do. The sky is already starting to lighten.

  Benny shifts next to me, puts a finger on my chin, and forces me to look at him.

  “I don’t know what you heard, but I love you, Calliope June.”

  Before I can even process what he’s doing, he brings his face close and presses his lips on mine. It’s what I’ve wanted all night. It’s what I’ve wanted for weeks.

  It’s so different from the kisses with Samuel. It’s sweet and tentative. His lips are soft and move slowly against mine. My insides explode with desire even though it’s just a sweet kiss.

  He pulls away and searches my eyes, probably trying to figure out if it was okay that he kissed me. I want him to know that it was absolutely okay. I crawl into his lap and straddle him.

  “Kiss me again,” I demand. His fingers weave into my hair, and our lips collide. I can’t get enough of him. His chest is hard and firm against mine, and I push closer to him.

  “What the hell is going on?”

  I practically fall out of Benny’s lap. Lorena stands in the doorway, looking murderous.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, not meeting her eyes.

  “I’m not,” Benny says with a lazy grin.

  Lorena glares at both of us. Behind her, the sun crests over the trees. I look down at Benny, and he disappears.

  Someone died, and it’s all my fault.

  Chapter Two

  On my table are several spell books of Samuel’s. I thumb through them, not sure what I’m looking for, but I want anything that might jog an idea or memory. I have exactly a month to learn how to control the ghosts so no one else dies. I can accept that someone died already, but no more on my account.

  Obviously, concentrating on forcing them to do things didn’t work.

  A lot of the spell pages have scribbles next to them. Perhaps that is where I should start. There has to be something in here that talks about making ghosts do an Obeah’s bidding. That’s their purpose, right?

  Raptor nudges my leg, and I pull a grape out of a bowl on the table and feed it to him. The smell of whiskey and gunpowder floats around me, and I blush, thinking about the kiss last night. I can’t wait for the full moon where I have zero responsibilities and Benny can be mine all night long.

  I squeeze my eyes shut. I can’t think about that. Lorena kicked me out right after she got back and refused to listen to my questions. She went off about Samuel not being around and how she had to start the circus for him.

  I guess that’s my job now.

  I didn’t tell her that though, not yet at least, but I’ll have to come clean about that at some point. I did manage to get a few hours of sleep, but I can’t forget my purpose now.

  I step tentatively out of my boat. I don’t want to see or talk to anyone. Raptor squeezes out in front of me and pecks at the boards, looking for invisible bugs. The air is hot and humid, the sun baking the island.

  “Morning,” Elias calls.

  I give him a tight smile and walk away. He’s used to me ignoring him by now. As always, I watch my feet. I may be a powerful Obeah woman, but I’m still scared of the alligators and snakes.

  I should check to see if there’s a spell I can use to keep them away.

  Right after I solve all the other mysteries that plague me.

  I meet no one else on the path, which is good but also a little strange. I wonder if people can tell things have changed.

  Samuel’s boat comes into view, and I take a deep breath. I’m about to sneak around a dead man’s house. This shouldn’t be weird, but it is.

  His tall, two-story Victorian boat looks like it should be on land but instead manages to float on a dock in the swamp. It doesn’t belong here, and yet it does.

  The door is locked. Dammit.

  I check under the mat, but there is no key. Surely he kept a key hidden somewhere. Or maybe he only kept one on his body, and it disintegrated with him. I check the windows in the front, but they are closed and locked. The whir of the air conditioner hums from the side of the boat, and I eye the roof. I can’t climb over the top, but I need to check the slider at the back.

  A small boat is tied up next to the dock. I could row to the back, but there are zombies in that water, and I’m not sure I want to risk it.

  I’m a freaking Obeah woman. I can hack this.

  But first, I’ll make sure the windows really are locked. I push up on the one next to the door, but it doesn’t budge.

  “Calli
e, what are you doing?”

  I spin.

  Luke stands there with a bucket in one hand and a fishing pole in the other. I should just tell him what’s going on, but I’m not ready to reveal my cards yet.

  “Samuel took some books out of my boat, and I want them back.”

  “So you’re breaking into his place?” He scratches his head and frowns at me.

  I cross my arms. “You know he’s an ass, right? He thinks I belong to him, and I don’t. I thought I would get them back while he’s out.”

  “How do you know he’s out?”

  “Because I saw him down by the circus, and he didn’t look like he was in any hurry to get back.”

  Luke opens and closes his mouth. “You’ve grown up a lot since you’ve been here.”

  “Yeah. I had to.”

  “Do you want help?” He sets down his fishing gear.

  I give him a small smile. “No. I’ve got this. I think I’m going to take the rowboat around back.”

  Luke looks like he wants to argue. “Well. Good luck.”

  He shuffles on down the path. Whew. That was close.

  I hop into the rowboat and try not to think of what lurks underneath. I quickly row to the back. I don’t even bother tying it up since I’ll just walk out the front door. I hop out onto the deck and freeze.

  Snoozing right in front of the door is a six-foot gator.

  Crap.

  The gator opens his eyes and stares. Then he gets up and meanders toward me. I glance down behind me. The rowboat has drifted away. I didn’t think this through very well.

  I skirt the edge. The gator moves past me into the water, and I let out a breath of relief. The glass slider is locked too. Visions of my magic from last night float through my head.

  I am an idiot.

  I concentrate on the lock, and it pops open. It’ll take some time to get used to these weird powers. I step inside quickly and shut the door behind me. I don’t want any more gator visitors.

  The slider opens into the kitchen. It’s modern with all stainless steel appliances and is absolutely spotless. Samuel definitely liked living the good life. I glance around the kitchen. Nothing in here is going to help me. I need to snoop through the more personal parts of his home.

  In the living room is a desk. I open the drawer with the contracts and thumb through them all. Are they tied to me now? Or was that just Samuel?

  I pick up the one on the top. It’s Amy’s contract. I read through the whole thing, but nowhere, except the signature, does it say that she’s bound to Samuel. It definitely says she has to allow her kids to serve him, but that’s it. It’s almost as if the contract is between her and the island. Which is strange. I wonder if that means the contracts are still in force now that he’s dead. I hope so because otherwise, everyone will be in danger on the new moon.

  I look over the next one, some random acrobat, and it reads the same. That means they are still all protected. At least I don’t have to worry about the islanders dying on my watch.

  I open another drawer and find pens and pencils, and a quick glance at the rest of the drawers doesn’t reveal much more. Damn.

  I creep up the stairs. It feels weird being in his house. Like he’s about to jump out from around any corner. I stop at the library. At least I can use it all I want now.

  Actually.

  I have unrestricted access to his whole boat. Maybe I should move in here. It’s much bigger than mine, and if I’m going to find answers about the island and how to control the ghosts, this is the best place. I glance around at all the books. I don’t have enough time. People will start getting suspicious. I doubt I’ll even find answers today.

  Before I move in, I have to tell everyone what happened.

  I push that thought away, step into the library, and caress the spines of the books. They may give me answers eventually, but at the moment, I’ll continue my search elsewhere because I’m hoping that he kept the most important books closer to him.

  I slip out of the library and into Samuel’s bedroom. This is one place I never wanted to go again, but if he left any hint of how he did things, it’ll be in here. The room is just as I remember, bright and airy. A small table with a journal on it is set up next to the window.

  Bingo.

  I sit and open the journal. Only it’s not a journal. It’s a ledger of some kind.

  It’s for his books. Everyone who borrowed a book is listed, along with the date they took the book out and returned it and the titles.

  I peruse the list. Nearly everyone on the island has borrowed books, but one name comes up more than anyone else.

  Lorena.

  All the books look like they are about light magic or something equally harmless. I chew on my bottom lip. Do I tell her everything and risk her freaking out, or do I beat around the bush and make her suspicious?

  Nah. Lorena is too smart. I have to trust someone, and she’s as good as anyone. I think back to all of our interactions for any reason not to trust her. She was weird about Samuel, but that’s probably because she was in love with him once.

  She might get upset that I killed him.

  Then again, she just as well might be happy he’s gone. She was the one who wanted me to kill him in the first place. He was a tyrant.

  I close the ledger and bounce back down the stairs to the living room. A set of keys hangs by the door. I lock the door behind me, choking on the humid air once again, pocket the keys, and head to her boat. Maybe she’ll even help me move into Samuel’s place.

  The walk to Lorena’s place is short. Raptor hops onto one of her squishy chairs, and I knock on her door, but she doesn’t answer.

  Of course, she’s not home.

  Raptor lays his head over his body and falls asleep. I eye the hammock on the other side of the porch. That’s not a bad idea. I probably won’t sleep, but it will provide good thinking time.

  I slide into the hammock and stare at the light blue ceiling, which is supposed to keep away the wasps. All along the edges, words are painted in loopy cursive writing that’s impossible to read. It’s not Creole, but I can’t tell what language it is. It’s probably a protection spell of some kind. I’ll have to ask her to do the same on my new digs.

  Raptor flaps over and lands on my stomach, his beak spearing my chest.

  “Buddy, you gotta be more graceful.” He ignores me and hangs his head over the side of the hammock.

  I stroke his feathers. What if I never figure out how to control the ghosts? Will I be bound to this curse forever, watching the ghosts kill and not knowing how to prevent it?

  Footsteps pound on the dock. I poke my head over the edge of the hammock and find Lorena glaring at me.

  “What are you doing here?” she asks.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  She rolls her eyes. “You always need to talk to me. You and Benny, though, were doing a lot more than talking last night in my boat.”

  I falter for a second. I forgot she found me and Benny, but that’s not why I’m here.

  “I killed Samuel.”

  She drops the basket she’s holding, and vials go rolling everywhere. I hop out of the hammock and chase after them. I catch a few before they go into the water. Lorena gathers others, and once we’ve got them all, she leaves the basket on the floor and sinks onto a chair.

  “You cannot just spring information like that on me. Now, explain please.” Her face has gone white.

  “I was sick of him killing all these people, so I found a spell that would allow me to take his place. I didn’t know he would die, but he did.”

  She won’t look at me, so I keep my eyes down and fiddle with one of the vials I picked up. The liquid inside shimmers in the sunlight. I wonder what it is, but I don’t want to ask while she’s thinking about Samuel. Obviously, I have a gazillion questions for her, but I need to wait until she’s ready.

  After what feels like forever, she shuffles her feet and leans over so she’s looking me in the eyes. There is
a tiny smile on her face. I guess I can’t blame her. Samuel made everyone’s lives miserable.

  “How did you kill him?”

  “I found a spell in a book.”

  Her smile widens. “But surely it was insanely complex. How did you do it?”

  “The birds helped.”

  She stares at me, and I can tell she’s trying to process everything.

  “So you are the Obeah woman in charge of the island now?” She leans back and cackles. “I knew you’d go dark. What are you going to do?”

  “I need to learn how to control the ghosts. I can’t do it. I tried last night, but nothing worked.”

  She grunts as she stands. “Come on, child. I have work to do, and you can help. We’ll think better if our hands are busy.”

  I put the last vial in the basket and follow her into her kitchen where a large pot is already boiling. It’s something other than water, but I can’t tell what it is. It must be some kind of spell.

  “What are you making?”

  “Soap.”

  I almost laugh out loud. It’s simple. Soap. Not some freaky magic spell. I’ve gotten so used to being knee-deep in magic that soap seems almost ridiculous. “What kind?”

  “Bar soap, but those oils all have different scents. There’s plenty here. You can make your own if you want. Just pick the oil you want to put in it.”

  I open a few bottles. The first is lemon. No thank you. Smells like cleaning supplies. Then rose. I don’t like that either. It smells like old lady. After four more vials, I find one that smells softly floral. I hand it to her. “This one.”

  She gives me a bowl with some of her concoction in it. “Just put two drops in there.”

  “Do you have any ideas of what I can do about the ghosts?”

  “I don’t. Controlling ghosts is not my thing. I never asked Samuel or tried to figure it out. I’m a light witch. Remember?”

  I sigh. “Yeah.”

  Lorena works on her own bowl, adding not just oil but dyes as well. Her soap is a swirl of green and blue. “Who else knows he’s dead?”

  “Just you. I’ve been scared to talk to anyone else. I have no idea who to trust.”