Open All Hours (Carnival Magic 2) (8 page)

“I’ve been willing to help you this whole time, Leesa. That hasn’t changed. I -- I’m only sorry I blew up. That’s not like me.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll be making that up to you, be sure of it.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I was totally out of line with what I said and I never mean to hurt you, just --”

“Crikey,” Tip said. She’d been unusually quiet up until now, absorbing all of the information she could, but now she was ready to make her opinions known. “Enough of the Dr. Phil earbash, yeah? You two can do your horizontal twerking later.”

Leesa almost choked on her coffee. Vol’s eyes widened until they looked like jar lids.

“So Leesa has told me…everything,” Tip continued. “Sort of. She fiddled around in something that wasn’t her business -- Sorry, luv,” she added in a less than comforting tone.

“Hey, I was doing my job. It’s --”

“Right,” Tip cut her off. “So this woman said it wasn’t a curse, and it could be undone. But you need a powerful caster to reverse this spell.”

Ellie ran a fry through a puddle of Dijon mustard on her plate. “Yeah, so?”

Tip rolled the silver ring in her lip. Her black lipstick had faded, but she made no move to retouch it. “Yeah, so…I’m volunteering.”

Ellie sputtered while Arthur and Vol exchanged glances. “What?” came from all of them in unison.

Leesa nodded. “Tip is a w -- uh… the person for the job.”

“If I’d known this was what you guys have been scurrying around to find, I could have helped sooner.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I mean, why didn’t I know about…this earlier?” Ellie asked.

Tip’s face softened. “I hadn’t told anyone, luv.” Leesa noticed that “luv” sounded more sincere when Tip addressed her best friend. “I’m sorry, but I have my reasons.” She looked away.

“So why help now? You could have hidden it and we’d never know,” Vol said, a frown creasing his brow.

“Shape changing should be done because you want to or because it is in one’s nature. It shouldn’t be forced upon someone by magic. Tonight, I’m just doing my customer service at the magic returns department. But if any of you so much as breathes that I’ve done this, you’ll be a leopard slug in two minutes flat.” She took a slurp of her cookie-dough milkshake. “And you don’t want that. Those things have penises coming out of their heads.”

Both men cringed.

Ellie laughed. “That’s my girl. What do you need? We’ll all be there to support you, won’t we, guys? Isn’t that helpful to spells, the mental strength of friends and believers?”

“Yeah, if this was Dungeons and Dragons,” Tip said. “Just kidding. It would be great to have you all there.” She took a napkin from the metal dispenser on the table and scribbled on it, then shoved the note at Ellie. “Here. I need these things.”

* 3 white roses

* 1 live moth

* 4 pieces of lead

* cube of antimony

* kilogram of salt

* a cedar tree branch

Ellie pushed the list to Arthur, who slid it to Vol. “Why have I got to get these things?” he asked, squinting at the list. “Shouldn’t we split the list?”

“I’ve got to get back to the Show. I have to get things back on track after the code blue,” Arthur said. “That’ll take most of my day and early evening.”

“And I’m helping with that, then going home to finish up a report for work.” Ellie pushed her plate away.

Vol looked at Tip. “And I have a uterus,” she said. “Just get them. I need to rest up for tonight.” She raised a thin, pencil-black eyebrow at Arthur. “I assume I get the night off? With pay?”

“If you can do this, you’ve got a place in the Show, if you want it,” he said.

“Nope. Although a raise wouldn’t go amiss.”

“We’ll see,” Arthur replied. Tip was pushing it a bit, because he did pay her well. “When and where?”

“Soon as Gentle Ben gets the stuff. Where? Someplace quiet, but not too quiet. Large but not too large…”

“We get it, we get it. How about here at the diner?” Vol asked.

“Hate to say it, but we have to be prepared that the woman from earlier will show up. Too many humans here at the diner. If anything goes down, we risk exposing the shifters.” Ellie was the voice of reason.

After a pause, Arthur offered up the carnival. “If anyone gets suspicious, we can say it’s part of a new act. That will at least buy us some time to cover and give us a few other shifters to stand guard.”

Leesa took this new information surprisingly well. “There are more shifters working at the carnival?”

“Most of them are, actually,” Arthur replied. “It can be hard to find acceptance as a shifter and the Show has been a safe haven for a lot of runaways and changelings with no family.”

“So tonight, then?” Vol asked. “At midnight?”

“I’d say just before. Get set up and all. The moon isn’t full tonight but it’s waxing, so that’s in our favor. We can’t wait another two weeks until it’s full again. Let’s go.”

Leesa stayed in the booth as everyone else began to leave. Tip patted the back of her hand. “Don’t look so worried. Most of the time reversal spells are painless.”

“Most of the time?” Leesa asked, eyes wide. But Tip had slipped away, presumably to rest up for the night.

Leesa stirred her cold coffee, lost in thought until she heard a cough. Vol stood at the head of the table, list in hand. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah…I think so. This is just so surreal. I can’t process it.”

He shifted from foot to foot. “Ellie said you might feel that way. I’m sorry I had no right…I just never thought of it from your perspective. As a full human. It must be scary to suddenly have all of this shoved in your lap.”

“It is, but I’m managing. Look,” she said, turning to him and touching his arm. The touch sent a shock of awareness up through her fingertips and into her body at the heat he radiated. “I’m sorry too. I never should have said those things. You have been great.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “You’re an amazing man and I never thought I’d meet anyone like you. When I did and I found out about your bear, it freaked me out. But I…no matter what happens tonight --”

“No, don’t think the worst. It will work out.” He laced his fingers through hers. “C’mon. Let’s go and attack this list. That’ll keep your mind off tonight.”

Tone came over to wipe down their table.

“Can I see what we need?” Leesa asked.

“Sure.”

Leesa looked over the list. “Where do you get some of this stuff? What’s antimony?”

“No idea,” he said. “Guess we’re going to Google it.”

Tone had the answer. “Metal alloy. Used in making your own bullets and such. Gun store should have some.”

“How do you…” Leesa looked surprised that the little man had such knowledge of not only guns, but of bullet making?

“I wasn’t always a short-order cook, you know.” He smirked and Leesa thought she could see a hint of that sharp fox nose slyly peeking out. “Go get what you need. I can hold down the fort.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, old man,” Vol said, slapping the smaller man on the back.

“I do,” he replied. “Be broke.” Then he grabbed the empty coffee cups and headed back into the kitchen.

After a stunned moment, Vol’s laughter joined Leesa’s. “He’s right, you know,” he admitted as he tugged at her hand. “Ready to attack this list?”

She took a deep breath. “I may as well be.”

“Great, but first, let me change this shirt. I love Arthur, but I’m not wearing sparkly bronze out in public.” He grinned, and pulled at the T-shirt.

His humor was infectious and Leesa returned it, smiling up at him. She was still nervous… terrified, actually… but she wasn’t in this alone. She wasn’t the frightened lost kitten she was a week ago. She had friends, and support, and whatever this thing with Vol was now. Later, she’d find that out, but for now, they had a job to do.

Three hours later, Vol and Leesa returned to the diner worn and rushed, having purchased each item on the list. Except one. The roses and the salt had been easy; the local supermarket carried those in abundance. The lead and antimony as expected were harder, but they’d managed it. The gun shop owner, a portly pockmarked man, had been less than cooperative. He had a semi-automatic holstered at his hip. and Leesa thought he was going to ask them to leave, but once Vol mentioned Tone’s name as the person who’d referred him, the man’s demeanor changed to one that was almost welcoming. They’d left with the lead, antimony, and his business card: it seemed he offered shooting and gun-handling lessons, group or private. Leesa pocketed the card. That might come in handy some day.

The only thing missing from the list was a live moth. None of the pet stores had them, as moths weren’t a common food for their lizards and chameleons. “We’ll have to wait until the sun sets,” Leesa said. “Surely, there will be a few outside near those woods.”

“I’m sure. We’ve got everything else.” Vol looked at her, searching her face. “Are you okay?”

She was not okay. Leesa was about to participate in a strange ritual -- ritual was the only word she could think of -- that might or might not work. If it didn’t, she’d be stuck as a hybrid, part human and part animal. But at least she’d have someone to fall back on. The shifters she’d met so far, Vol included, had been kind and helpful. The thing that was eating at her and what she couldn’t confide in anyone else was what would happen if the spell worked?

Returned to her regular self, would she then return to her job? Her family wasn’t too much of a concern: a telephone call to her mother weekly and one to her sister once a month was hardly a hardship. She could forget all about this experience if she wanted to. But was that what she wanted? Sure, being cursed was something she could do with forgetting, but this was the most at home she’d felt in… possibly ever.

Could she convince Vol of that? Would he want her after the debacle in the woods? She bit her lip. Would she still want him? His strength was a fierce thing to behold and it initially frightened her. But her cat, now curled up inside of her and purring, felt safe with the big man. She also felt a little bad about the amount of time he was spending away from his business. Although Tone seemed pleased about the extra hours and pay. Even the way Vol touched her, with tender intensity, was something she never expected: passion with love and the confidence to let her make her own decisions.

Even about him. She knew he’d never force the issue; that was more her ex-husband’s territory. Shaun had always tried to convince her he was right. If she wasn’t swayed immediately, he’d go into attorney mode and present her with a stream of weighty “logic” -- really his own opinions dressed up with statistics. She saw through them each time and early on, she would have argued right back, stalling the decision and draining her of energy in the process. Later, she would save her energy for side projects at work and extra hours, putting more distance between them. Looking back now, she should have been stronger and faced the issue head-on. Or ignored her mother when she’d said it was about time she got married.

Thankfully, Shaun had initiated the divorce and didn’t want anything from her. He didn’t want to give her anything either, which was just fine with Leesa.

“Leesa?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry…I was a million miles away there.” She rubbed a hand over the back of her neck, kneading the muscles there.

“I could tell.” He shifted the bag of goods from one hand to the other, taking her trembling hand in his freed one. “Look, let’s head upstairs. You can get a little rest and maybe tell me what’s going on.”

She let him lead her up to his apartment above the diner, knowing that she didn’t want rest or time to reflect. What she wanted was to forget what was coming. Tip had been closed mouthed about what the spell reversal entailed, so she assumed it was something that could injure her or worse. The fear of the unknown could be crippling and she didn’t want to give into it. She wanted -- no, needed -- a distraction.

In Vol’s spacious apartment, he set down their bags of spell ingredients and turned to her. “What is it? You looked like a lost puppy.” At her frown, he corrected himself. “Lost kitty, I should say.”

“I was getting caught up in this thing tonight. But I don’t want to think about it anymore right now. It freaks me out and I’m scared if I think about it too much, I won’t want to do it.”

“Ellie trusts Tip and Arthur trusts Ellie. That’s good enough for me. I know you don’t really know any of us, but we wouldn’t put you in danger if we could help it. Especially not me.” His sincerity touched her.

“I know but she won’t tell me what she’s going to do with this juju or magic or whatever she does.” Leesa shook her head. “I can’t think about it.”

“Okay,” he said, turning to his wall high entertainment center. “I’ve got some new movies. Few games. Or I can set the alarm if you want a nap. What do you want to do?”

Now was not the time for sleep. Leesa wanted to feel alive, like everything had gone back to normal. When Vol turned back around, she’d stripped down to bra and panties.

His mouth fell open as he gaped at her body. The color of Dutch cocoa, her skin gleamed in the rainbow light from the setting sun as it filtered through the Roman blinds. The white bra and panties did nothing to hide her blackberry nipples and the fluffy tuft of inky hair. She was slender, but curvy with full upright breasts and wide, inviting hips. He stood rooted to the spot, his cock hardening.

Leesa strolled over to him, her nipples tightening into aching points. “I know what you’re thinking: she’s using me to forget. To distract her from her life. Her cat is coming out and taking over. Maybe a week ago, yes. But now, I know that I want this for the right reasons.”

“And those reasons are?” He swallowed as if his mouth was dry. His chiseled arms hung at his sides, but his hands were clenched into fists as though he was trying to stop himself from touching her.

“I’ve run from a lot in my life. Well, relationships, mostly. I’m a fighter when it comes to a story, but not when it comes to a man.” She smiled as she slid her hands over, then under, his shirt. “Or at least I wasn’t before. Now, I realize what is growing between us is worth fighting for. Whether I’m a cat or a person.”