Circus of the Dead: Book 2 Read online

  “What do you want?” I cross my arms and glare at him.

  “I want you.”

  “Pass.”

  “Patience, love. I’m not finished yet. I understand you have firm boundaries, and I will respect those. For the next year, I only want your companionship. We will eat dinner together every night and perform the fire dance together. You will be under no other obligation.”

  I smell something fishy. “And why would I agree to that?”

  “Because I will guarantee your safety as long as you adhere to the agreement.”

  I chew on my lip. That’s actually not that bad. If I don’t have to worry about Benny killing me, then our time together becomes much less stressful.

  “And after the year?”

  “We will reevaluate. If you don’t like the new terms, you don’t have to agree to them, but my promise of safety will be revoked.”

  I’m going to have to spend a lot of time with him, and I don’t want that. He’s attacked me before. My mind races through the possible loopholes.

  “What about Benny?”

  Samuel’s face darkens. “What about him?”

  “Can I continue to see him?” I want to know what Samuel is really looking for.

  “No. Absolutely not. Our relationship may be purely platonic, but that is not how it will appear to the outside world. Everyone must believe you and I are a couple or this will not work.”

  I knew there was a catch.

  “Yep, sorry. I’ll take my chances with Benny.” If he wants it to look like we are a couple, then he’ll expect more than just companionship.

  I move to stand up, but Samuel is out of his chair in a flash. He hovers over me, his face three shades of red. His lips tremble.

  “I don’t think you understand. I own Benny just like I will someday own you. I allow my ghosts an illusion of freedom, but I can take it away in an instant. Benny will kill you on the next new moon. He will not have a choice, and then you, my beautiful little fire dancer, will not have the same freedom as my other ghosts. You will spend your full and new moons tied to my bed naked, fulfilling my every need.”

  My breath comes in rasps. Visions of the future play in my head. He’s not joking. “Well, you sure know how to convince a girl. I’ll take your deal.”

  He shakes his head. “Too late. I like my new version much, much better.”

  And then, he is gone.

  Chapter Thirteen

  There has to be a way out of this. I can’t think of anyone who can help. Juliette is useless. Luke would have helped already if he could. Lorena is my only option. I can’t waste any time.

  I cautiously make my way to her boat. Samuel is nowhere in sight. But I spot the oddest thing as I walk through the circus. It’s a clown in her full get up, lots of makeup and big shoes, but she wears a wedding dress. It’s torn to smithereens of course, but still. I want to go ask what she’s doing, but I have more important things on my mind right now.

  Lorena will see me coming thanks to the birds. She’s sitting on her porch, and I take the chair across from her, which is about as comfortable as a church pew.

  “How are you doing?” she asks, her voice full of irritation. This isn’t good. Lorena can be helpful when she’s in a good mood and flat useless when in a bad one, but I don’t have time to come back later.

  “Not good. I have a problem.”

  “We all got problems.” She’s got a basket of large white swan feathers and flowers next to her. She’s making a fan of some kind.

  I tell her exactly what happened with Samuel, and she purses her lips. “You might want to just get used to the idea. At least, it’s only twice a month.”

  My mouth drops open. “You really expect me to believe there is nothing I can do? You need to help me. If I can conjure effing fire, I can do something that will protect me from him.”

  She rubs her head. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve had a very bad day. Let me think a moment.” She pauses and continues to put feathers into her fan. “There might be a way to send you home.” Her voice trembles.

  “You mean there is a way off this island? Why didn’t you tell me until now?” I can’t believe she hasn’t told me before.

  “Because, you’re just as likely to get yourself killed as you are waiting it out. But with a threat like that from Samuel, it could be worth the risk.”

  I bounce in my seat. I’m about as happy as Juliette when she turns on her dance music. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “There’s a spell that will kill an Obeah man. It’s dark and difficult. If you succeed, you will carry dark magic on you for the rest of your life, and you won’t be able to rid yourself of it. But you’ll be free of this place.”

  Dark magic sounds a hell of a lot better than strapped to Samuel’s bed for eternity.

  “Tell me. Whatever it is, I’m willing to do it.”

  She digs around in her basket. “Not yet, child. Patience. Come back tomorrow. I have to do some research.”

  “What kind of research?”

  “I’ve never attempted this spell before, and I can’t remember all the details from when I last looked it up. You aren’t the only one who’s wanted to kill Samuel. You’re lucky it’s between the full and the new moon. If it were the other way around, he’d be too strong.”

  Finally, I have some hope that I can get out of here. I just know this will work. I shift back and forth in my seat. “What time can I come back?”

  “Around noon. We’ll figure out what to do, and it’ll take some serious prep work. Plus, I’ll need to train you in using dark voodoo. I don’t like doing it, but desperate times.” Her face is grim, and she’s clutching the fan, crushing a few feathers.

  I tell myself using dark magic won’t be that bad, but it probably will be. Regardless, it’s worth it. Samuel has to be taken out. Not just for my sake but for all those trapped on the island. If I think about the good it will do, then maybe, just maybe, it will make this easier.

  No one will be trapped anymore.

  But I will be different.

  It’s a price I’m willing to pay.

  “This is a spell you should be able to conquer,” Lorena says, glaring at me. She’s right. It’s an active spell like the fire, but it’s not coming easily. She wipes away the chalk on her floor. “Try again.”

  The smell of spiced chicken wafts through the air from her kitchen, distracting me. At least, that’s what distracts me now. Thirty minutes ago it was that my shoes were uncomfortable. Before that, it was people chattering outside. I’m just making excuses.

  I look back at the spell book and make sure I’m doing it right. This is just the spell to trap someone. After this, Lorena will tell me the other spell. The one that will kill Samuel. First, I draw the circle clockwise and then do a smaller one counterclockwise. I put a star in the middle of them and a teardrop at each point. Then it’s the tricky part. I place sage in the center of the circle, set it on fire, and blow on the ashes with the intention of trapping someone. I think that’s where I'm stuck.

  I’ve thought of all kinds of ways to create that intention, but so far, none of them have worked.

  The sage burns down, and I lean over it and take a deep breath.

  Stuck, whoever steps in this circle is stuck.

  I blow on the ashes and step back. Lorena looks at the circle skeptically. She steps inside and then right back out.

  “Go practice with Juliette for a while. I’m tired of this.” She throws her hands up in the air.

  I flop back onto her couch and sniff. It smells like old lady’s perfume. “Can you at least tell me the rest of the spell?”

  “It won’t do you any good until you master the circle. If Samuel isn’t trapped, it won’t work. Besides, it’s not like you can practice the rest of the spell. You’re just going to have to hope it works.”

  If the other spell is anything like the circle, I’m screwed. But I have zero other options. I grab a bag, shove in chalk, sage, and a bottle of tears, a
nd stomp out. I trudge over to Juliette’s house.

  She pushes aside her book and sets down her cupcake. “Figure out how to trap someone yet?”

  “No.” I can’t believe I’m so inept at it.

  “Have you ever just envisioned a prison cell or a bear trap or something?”

  I look up at her dumbfounded. This is how Lorena should be helping me, letting me know how to envision things. But she’s mostly just throwing me in and making me figure it out myself.

  If this works, I’m gonna owe Juliette for life.

  I hurry and draw the circle, light the sage, and wait for it to burn out. I hover over the ashes and picture a tiny prison cell with foot-thick walls and a steel door. Then I blow the ashes away.

  The whole circle buzzes with energy.

  Juliette hops off her chair and into the circle, and I hold my breath. She puts one foot in front of the other but can’t get out. She grins at me.

  “You did it!”

  I nearly cry out in relief. “I did. I have to go show Lorena.” I hop off her boat onto the dock.

  “Wait! Let me out first.”

  I jog back to her. “Sorry.” I brush away the chalk, and she steps out.

  “Samuel’s a dead man,” she says. “He won’t know what hit him.”

  For the first time in a long time, I finally feel calm. I’m going to be okay.

  The spell to kill an Obeah man seems easy enough. Four candles, light them clockwise starting from the north. Sprinkle my blood around the circle and on his head. This is how I’ll stop Samuel and free everybody.

  “Is that it?” I ask Lorena.

  She frowns. “No. You have to sacrifice one life for his.”

  What? She never said anything about that. “I refuse to kill anyone.”

  “I didn’t say a person. It has to be an animal, but it can only be one you care for.”

  I glance down at Raptor, who is spread out across my lap.

  “I have to kill Raptor?” My voice shakes. I can’t kill him. He hasn’t left my side since Samuel attacked me. I won’t kill him.

  She nods.

  Tears prick my eyes. I don’t have a choice. Either I kill my bird and live, or I die and spend eternity as a sex slave.

  Raptor looks up at me with his sad brown eyes. I can’t kill him.

  “I can use one of the other birds.” There’s an obnoxious pelican who poops on my deck every day. Or there are hundreds of sparrows or ducks. Any of them. Just, not Raptor. I squeeze my eyes shut, thinking.

  “It has to be a pet. Raptor is the closest it gets. If you use a different bird, it might not work.”

  I get up and race from her boat with Raptor chasing after me. Samuel leans on the rails next to my dock. Exactly what I needed at the moment. I wish he’d just leave me alone.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask. My birds crowd in.

  “Maybe I just wanted to gaze upon my prize. I can’t wait to see what you look like once we get rid of all those clothes.” He grins at me and crosses his arms.

  I swallow and push past him. I slam the door to my boat and collapse onto my bed. Raptor curls up next to me and lays his head across my stomach. I stroke his feathers, and a few tears fall. I have no choice.

  I have to kill him.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I spend the days leading up to the new moon cozying up to Samuel. It makes my skin crawl, but I have to or he’ll get suspicious. I need him to be back at his boat on the new moon, and the best way to do that is letting him think I’m coming to negotiate.

  “Trying to get on my good side isn’t going to work,” he says one night at dinner. It’s cold on his boat, but I’m sweating like I’m wearing a winter coat and gloves.

  “I know. Though, I am hoping maybe we can renegotiate the terms of the deal you offered.”

  “Unless the terms involve you strapped to my bed night after night, I’m afraid not.” He chuckles.

  I gag but try to hide it. “I am willing to sleep with you, just not the way you are imagining.” It’s all a lie, of course, but I’m hoping he’ll take the bait. It will make sure he’s back at his boat at the right time on the new moon.

  His eyebrows rise. “You have intrigued me. What are your terms?”

  “I stay with you and have sex once a week, but nothing kinky.” If something happens, and I do have to sleep with him, it’ll take a lot of alcohol. Good thing he’ll be dead before that’s possible.

  “Twice a week and kink but no violence, and you’ve earned the right to live.”

  I hesitate because if I agree too hastily, he might think something is up. “Can I think about it?”

  He reaches out and takes my hand. “Of course, but the new moon is only two nights away. Don’t think too long.”

  “Meet me at your house on the night of the new moon, and I’ll have my answer. You’ll either get me willingly or forcefully.”

  His eyes light up. He thinks he’s won. He has no idea.

  The night of the new moon, everything is going as planned. Lorena calls Samuel away from his house at six, giving me two hours to get set up. It takes time to draw the circle and get the symbols correct. I really wanted it to be in my boat, but the floor simply didn’t have enough space.

  From the docks, I can smell the circus foods—hot dogs, nachos, and popcorn. My stomach growls. I’ve been too nervous to eat all day.

  I enter Samuel’s boat cautiously, unsure of what I’m going to find. In my bag I have all the supplies I need, and in my hands, I carry Raptor in a cage, the metal bars cold against my skin. Tears fill my eyes. He’s been such a good companion, and I’ll miss him. I silently thank Benny for providing him.

  The circle takes forever to set up, Raptor’s squawking in his cage most of that time. The candles at the four corners don’t have to be lit until after Samuel is trapped, and he won’t be able to get out of the circle once he steps into it.

  I get my supplies and cringe when I set out the knife that will slice the poor bird’s throat. The sky outside changes from blue to pink and purple as I wait. I used to love the sunset and watched it every night on the beach. Now, the sunset means something so very different.

  The sun dips below the tree line, and it’s time. Benny will be out now. Surely, he knows about the spell if he’s been watching me. I hope he doesn’t try to stop me. He has to know it’s the best thing. Plus, if Samuel has increased Benny’s need to kill me, then he’ll try to stay away. Raptor has gone quiet. Maybe he knows his future.

  The door handle jiggles, and I jump. Samuel steps over the threshold wearing his circus uniform and freezes.

  He looks down at the circle on the floor and bursts into laughter. “What exactly do you think you’ll do to me?”

  I hold his gaze. “I’m going to kill you.”

  He rolls his eyes. “I am untouchable.”

  “Apparently not. I have you trapped.” Inside I silently cheer. Step one is successful.

  “Only temporarily. Once the sun rises, I’ll be free again.”

  “Once the sun rises, you’ll be dead.” My hands shake at my sides.

  He sneers at me. “Right, with a chicken and the amateur supplies you have there. Even if you did have the right spell, which you don’t, you aren’t strong enough to perform it. Spells like that require years of practice, plus a little bit of darkness, and you’re as light as they come.”

  “Turns out, magic is in my blood, and darkness will come. I’m willing to do whatever it takes. You ensured that.”

  His lips twitch for a moment, but he doesn’t say anything. He watches me mix ingredients, including my own blood, and recite the foreign words of the spell. The temperature in the room drops so much that snow could fall.

  “That makes zero sense, love.” He sinks to the floor and leans his head against the purple door. “Ah well, I’ll at least get to watch Benny murder you when he shows up.”

  I continue with the spell. The time has come, and I take Raptor from his cage. I would have loved
to have Fiona here instead of him.

  “I still don’t get the chicken.”

  I spin around and face him. He looks at the bird and then back up at me, and real fear hits him. He searches my face. “Your eyes. I should’ve known.”

  My confidence soars. This will work.

  I set Raptor down, and he looks up at me, his face sad like he knows what I’m about to do. I grip the knife, my hands slick with sweat, and take a deep breath. I’m sorry, Raptor. So, so sorry.

  I grab hold of his head, and, still, he doesn’t move. I bring the knife down slowly. Maybe I should’ve done it fast.

  “Wait,” Samuel says.

  I pause. My actions will introduce the darkness into my soul and allow me to kill Samuel, but I don’t want to do this. I’m not sure I can kill Raptor.

  “What?” I ask.

  “You do understand what will happen if you kill me?” He seems so unfazed like I won’t actually go through with it.

  “Yeah. We’ll all be free.”

  He gives me a sly grin. “Sure you will. But so will the ghosts.”

  “I’m not following.”

  “They can only kill one person each new moon because I control them. If I die, they can kill at will. That’s one hundred seventeen killer ghosts on the loose. They will kill Juliette, Amy, Luke, Lorena, and many other innocent people. Their blood will be on your head. Is that what you want?” He says with a smirk.

  He could be bluffing, or he could be telling the truth. “What would you have me do? You threatened to kill me and tie me to your bedpost for eternity.”

  “True. But now you have me in a rather precarious position. I’m willing to make a deal with you.”

  “What kind of deal?” My heart thumps like a thousand people running down the docks. I don’t know if he’ll deal with me honestly or not. Well, he certainly won’t, but it might be worth it.

  “I have contracts. Every living soul on the island has signed one.”