Open All Hours (Carnival Magic 2) (7 page)

“Not me.” A wave of dizziness washed over her and she leaned over to put her hands on her knees. She really needed to get in shape. Just because you were thin didn’t mean you had any fitness level whatsoever. “Vol… Bear… Shift…Woods,” she managed.

With that, the woman’s face changed and she glanced at the person beside her, who shared her look of concern. “Tip,” the person said, the voice giving no better impression of gender.

“I know, I know.” She pulled a bottle of water from beneath the booth and cracked it open. “Drink this.” Then the woman called Tip clicked a walkie-talkie into life. “Code blue at the ticket booth. EA. Code blue.”

Leesa gratefully gulped down some of the cold water, her heartbeat and breathing returning slowly to normal. She still felt a bit lightheaded, though, but right now was not the time to sit down.

Moments later, Arthur and Ellie came running down the midway, Arthur in front. Leesa felt a stab of envy as Ellie, a larger woman, seemed to be able to keep up with her fiancé’s pace without too much effort.

“Where’s the code blue?” Arthur asked. “I don’t see anyone.”

Tip pointed to Leesa and all eyes turned to her. She took a deep breath. “I had a…disagreement with Vol and he stormed off. He went into the woods behind the diner and I followed him to the clearing. I saw him change.” She held out the shirt, torn into shreds. “Then he started clawing at trees, tearing them up…”

Ellie’s mouth fell open into a little O. Arthur’s face hardened. “When was this?”

“I saw it and ran right over here.”

“Let’s go,” he said. He rushed them over to a Jeep Wrangler printed with the logo of the carnival on the door and they all clambered in. When Tip crawled in next to Leesa, Arthur raised an eyebrow as he started the vehicle, which roared into life. “Who’s on tickets?”

“Terry’s got both stations until I get back. You might need an extra pair of hands.”

They pulled out of the carnival lot and headed over the road. Ellie’s forehead was creased in a worry line. “It’s not like Vol to do something like this. He loves those woods. What happened?”

Embarrassment made Leesa’s face heat, but she fessed up. “It was my fault. I was worried about the spell and being stuck like this. He got angry when I said that…that I didn’t want to be an animal.” Shame lay heavy on her at the confession to the people who’d helped her when she needed it most. The people who had let her into their world even when it was most dangerous. They’d helped her even though she could expose them.

Silence fell in the Jeep. Then Ellie, bless her, turned and gave her a gentle smile. “We will get it worked out. But it might be better if you stayed in the car for a while. Better yet, go to the diner. Get some coffee or a drink. We’ll meet you there afterwards.” They parked outside the woods, where sounds of splitting timber were just audible. Moving quickly but silently, the couple approached the entrance to the forest hand in hand, then slipped inside.

For a few moments, Leesa and Tip watched and listened, the latter rolling the silver ring in her lip around and around. Then Tip nudged Leesa toward the bright lights of the diner.

The sound of ripping bark got louder as Ellie and Arthur walked deeper into the dense woods. Carefully, they placed their steps so as not to alert Vol to their presence too soon. If he was in the state Leesa said he was, and Arthur suspected it was hurt and pain, not anger, then it would be best to approach his cousin with some care. He glanced at Ellie.

Her little determined chin stuck out and he felt a rush of love for her. She never backed down from doing the right thing, even if it was the hard thing and he respected her for that. But she had no idea what was going to happen and he was worried. Only in times of extreme stress or danger did Vol allow his bear to rage. And the last time had been almost more than he could handle. He felt a shift in the air. Ellie was looking at him with a quizzical expression he could see even behind her sunglasses. She squeezed his hand and nodded. Strengthened, he moved them to the edge of the clearing.

Vol in bear form ripped at the trunks of the old oak trees. His huge paws battered their stout trunks and they gave under his onslaught. Some of the younger trees were uprooted as he raged and he roared at full volume. For a fleeting moment, Arthur wished he were able to shift into animal form as well. But then, it would turn into a battle of who was the strongest. Vol would certainly win in that fight, but there were other ways to get the upper hand.

“I need your help, dove,” Arthur said to Ellie and she responded, as he knew she would.

“Of course. What can I do?”

“I need you to watch my body.”

She frowned. “This is not sexy time. We need to --”

“No, I mean watch my body while I take him over.” He sighed. “Or try to, anyway.”

“Oh,” she whispered and ran a hand through her riot of coily hair. While Arthur wasn’t able to shift into bear form like his larger cousin, he was able to inhabit and take control of any bear-shaped object. A statue, a carving… He’d even taken over a teddy bear and formed it to his will. It was how he had first shown her his amazing ability. Later he used his unusual shifting ability in more seductive ways. She bit her lip. But as she’d said to him earlier, this was not sexy time. “Okay, what do I need to do?”

Another tree crashed to the ground. “You’ve never seen me do this, so don’t be scared. But I need you to protect my body as best you can. I’m going to get inside Vol’s head. Try to calm him down. It might take me some time.” He blew out a deep breath. “Won’t be easy.”

He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply before pulling away. “I’ll be back, dove. Promise.” Arthur sat at the base of a tree facing the clearing and stared, trancelike, out at the destruction Vol was wreaking. Ellie sat next to him and he felt her take his hand. A few moments later, his shoulders slumped and his entire body relaxed, almost as if he were sleeping.

Pain slashed at Arthur as he tried to enter Vol’s mind. Damn. His cousin was enraged, but he’d been right: it was hurt and a sense of betrayal behind the anger. He pushed again, trying to gain entry without the large bear noticing. Thoughts and memories flooded Arthur as he circled, looking for an unguarded way in. He felt the wonder and kindness when Vol found the tiny black cat hiding behind the diner’s dumpsters. And the shock when he found the half-naked woman in his room who almost immediately shifted into the cat he’d so tenderly saved. An intimate moment between them flashed by and Arthur turned away to look elsewhere. Vol was entitled to his memories and secrets. He just needed a way in.

Between his high school locker code and the recipe for hollandaise, Arthur saw his opening and slipped inside Vol’s consciousness. He felt the bear’s body jerk then stiffen.

Fancy meeting you here
.

Get out of my head, Arthur
.

So you know it’s me, then. Good. Now what the hell’s going on
?

Vol reared up and shook his huge frame, ending with an ear-shattering roar. Arthur managed to hold on to his grasp of Vol despite the man’s efforts to dislodge him. The bear reared up again, crashing through the tender young trees surrounding the clearing and headed for the deeper forestry.

Arthur held on.
I’m asking you nicely here. Don’t force me
.

Vol ignored the warning and continued bounding toward the cover of the larger trees. Arthur didn’t know if he was going to try and scrape him off, but he knew Vol’s reasoning was at an all time low right now. Instead of looking at the memories in his cousin’s mind, Arthur looked up, through the bear’s eyes and saw Ellie. In focusing on keeping his foothold in Vol’s mind, he hadn’t noticed that the bear had made a circle.

Good God.

She’d let go of his hand and was pacing around a few feet away from where his body lay against a broad pine. She glanced up at the vibrations and her eyes widened as the huge grizzly headed toward her. Ellie glanced at his body and then back up at the massive creature.

Shit.

Don’t run, dove. Don’t run
.

Now he had no choice. Vol had to be shut down right now. Arthur shoved his mind fully into Vol’s, ending conversation and taking over his massive bulk. He forced his will into every muscle, every sinew, every cell of Vol’s body. He felt himself sink down, filling each space and pushing Vol out of the way. Arthur’s mind strained, pulling hard on Vol’s rogue conscience like a rider pulls a horse’s reins.

Enough
!

The bear halted and lay down, less than ten feet away from Ellie, who rushed back over to Arthur’s body and embraced him. How he wanted to be there for that embrace. But first…

Man, I’m sorry
.

Arthur tested his connection with his cousin and Vol now seemed to be in control of himself. Arthur pulled back, just a little.
You okay
?

Yeah. I’m…okay. I would never hurt Ellie. I just got a little
--

I know. But I also need to know what’s going on
.

Okay, but let me shift back first. You in my head is skeeving me out. I don’t want you looking at my brain
.

Why not? Nothing much in here
. Arthur laughed.

Out
!

A few minutes later, Vol was back in human form, dressed in his jeans, the only clothing that was intact from his prior rampage. He sat next to Arthur, who was recovering from his journey into Vol’s head.

“It just blindsided me and I got so -- I don’t know. When Leesa said she didn’t want to be an animal I lost it.” He roughly rubbed his palm over the growth of stubble on his cheeks. “But you brought me down. Not a lot of people can say that.” He paused. “Thanks.”

“Had to be done.”

“I know you hate the fact you can’t shift but --” When Arthur stiffened, Vol continued. “But what you
can
do is amazing. You’re probably stronger than any of us. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”

“Yeah, well…” He trailed off with a shrug.

“Yeah, well my ass. Believe it, cuz.”

“Look, I --” Arthur began.

Ellie interrupted. “Sorry guys, but I have to chime in here. Leesa is fully human like me and I know how I felt a year ago when I found out about shifters. I can understand her reaction.”

Both men looked at her, torn between shock and horror.

“Hear me out,” she continued. “To humans, shifters are something from mythology. Legends. To find out they’re real is huge. It opens up a new world that never existed before. Like if you told me you were from Mars.”

“Aliens don’t exist,” Vol growled.

“Exactly what I thought about shape shifters. But thankfully, I had some powerful stuff to take the edge off my concerns.” Ellie blushed and Arthur grinned.

“Aw come on, you two.”

Ellie cleared her throat. “All I’m saying is, Vol, don’t be too hard on her. She found out about witches, curses, and shifters -- by becoming one, I might add -- in one twenty-four hour period. I think she deserves credit for not going insane.” She picked up a twig and broke it into pieces. “Her fear got the better of her and she said something she regrets. But she nearly killed herself coming to get us to help you.”

“Help me? Or was she just making sure I didn’t destroy the forest?”

Arthur pressed his palms to his temples. “Oh yeah, that’s it. She’s not only a cat shifter; she also changes into a forest ranger. Don’t be dim.”

“He’s right, you know. Everyone deserves a right to explain and a second chance.” Ellie patted Vol’s hand and helped Arthur to his feet. “Just think about what I said. Let’s go to the diner. Having my life in danger makes me want fries.”

* * *

Leesa looked up as the trio walked carefully into the diner. The lunch rush was over and she and Tip had commandeered the largest table in the place. It sat along the back wall of the diner and was partially cut off from the rest of the building by a huge column of brick that used to be a working fireplace. Arthur looked tired, Ellie worried as she held his arm, and Vol… Vol looked… Leesa wasn’t sure.

There was fatigue and determination on his face, along with something else she couldn’t identify. And he was wearing a new white T-shirt that proclaimed, “Now, this is called a Show!” written in bronze glitter on the front. Obviously one Ellie thought to grab from the back of the carnival truck before they left. The trio came to the booth in the back of the diner and pressed in along the seats, Ellie and Arthur next to Leesa and Tip. Vol pulled a chair from another table and sat at the end.

“We’re back,” Ellie said, needlessly, but Leesa appreciated her attempt to add some normalcy to the day.

“How are you?” Leesa asked, to no one in particular, but hoping Vol would say something about his forest-rending outburst.

“Good, we’re all good,” Arthur said, adjusting his vest and casting an eye at Vol. A server came over and took their orders, then scurried away. Silence ruled the table until their orders arrived and Vol asked the server to make sure they had privacy.

Arthur took a sip of his latte. “Now might not be the time to mention this, but I think it’s best we’re upfront with you, Leesa.”

Leesa nodded. “Yes, please. I…I need that right now.”

“We don’t have any new information for you. I’ve spoken to everyone with any sort of magical, mystical background at the Show and we don’t know any more than we did a few days ago.” He stole one of Ellie’s fries and she glared at him. “What we need is a witch with the knowledge of shifting and control of appearance. There’s no one like that around here.”

“Then where?” Vol asked. “We can travel to wherever there’s someone who can help. Cars, plane, whatever it takes.”

Leesa was stunned. Even after her outburst, he was willing to help her find a way to reverse the spell. And she hadn’t even apologized to him… yet. But she would and she’d show him that she wasn’t ungrateful for his help. “You’re still willing to…” She trailed off, not sure how to finish her question.
Cure me? Fix me
? They both sounded wrong, like she still felt she had a sickness inside of her.