Samhain (Matilda Kavanagh Book 2) (8 page)

“Oh, how he loves you and you him, but here”—she pointed at a card, but I didn’t bother to look at it, keeping my eyes on her face—“here is another. He stands nearer to you, a strong possibility, and a strong heart this one has. You know him, but not well. He is brave and giving and full of life still, unlike this other, who is slowly fading away.”

I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat. Owen wasn’t a young vampire anymore, having been
turned
a few hundred years ago, and the longer he spent away from the living, the dimmer the spark of life became inside him. But this other man, he was still full of life. A shape was forming in my mind, but I tried to ignore it. I didn’t want to give it shape, even if I had a pretty good idea about whom she was speaking.

The woman closed her eyes again and lifted a hand, waving it around as if trying to shift invisible things out of her way. “Yes,” she hissed, making a fist and grabbing something invisible. “F, I see an F.”

Fletcher.
My mouth went dry, and the vague shape in my mind formed against my will. I hadn’t even wanted to think his name. He was tall and lean with brown hair and fair skin, all wrapped up in black leather and silver buckles, with an easy smile. He’d helped me at great personal risk, and all because he was just a good guy. Those were hard to come by. But I had promised myself no more vampires. I had also promised myself that one day I would stake Theo for the hell she’d put me through.

“F,” I whispered. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.” She nodded, opening her eyes to look at me. “This man is F.” She pointed at the card from before, and I nodded. “He is good for you. This one”—she pointed at a different card—“is all heart-break and blood. Pain and suffering. And this one”—she pointed at a third card—“will never let you have him. You face much heartache if you follow that road. But if you follow the other?” She shrugged and leaned back in her chair, picking up her pipe and puffing on it. “Down this other road is the possibility of love and joy. It is an easier, perhaps safer, road. And, I must say, that would be quite the change for a tricky witch like you, Matilda Kavanagh.”

***

The bright sunlight was a shock of pain when I opened the tiny door and stumbled out of the psychic’s caravan. I held up my hand to shield my eyes once I’d caught my balance, stopping just short of the fire ring in the center of that cluster of vehicles. A wave of noise rushed at me, a cacophony of squealing cheers and laughter surrounding me on all sides. I felt tiny hands reaching for me, grabbing and pulling on my clothing. I grabbed my bag and held it close to my chest to protect it as I blinked the white spots out of my vision.

“Easy!” I yelled. “Calm down, jeez!”

When I could see clearly again, I realized I was surrounded by children. They were a mix of human and Were pups, only their golden eyes making them discernible.

“Witch, witch, show us a trick,” they chanted over and over until they drew the attention of a few curious adults. But the adults stood back, hiding in the shade provided by RV campers and wooden wagons. “Witch, witch, show us a trick!”

They weren’t going to let me pass if I didn’t comply. Two Were pups, one girl and one boy, were on all fours, scuttling around me and sniffing my feet, nearly making me trip. I had the vicious thought of digging out my knockout powder and sending them all off to La La Land as the trick they were so anxious to see.

“Witch, witch, show us a trick!”

I wondered, briefly, how they knew I was a witch, but these were gypsy children. Their intuition and spiritual gifts would be very strong so early in life, promising things to come as they got older.

“All right, all right,” I said, holding my hands up in surrender.

I snatched my bag up again when one of the young human boys got a little too close to it for my comfort. I shook my head at him, and something in my eye made him scurry away to hide behind the skirt of a slightly older girl. They all had smudges of dirt and mud on their hands and arms, and even faces in some cases. Their clothing was bright and colorful, if a little tattered and worn, speaking of possible hand-me-downs for more than one generation. But they all looked up at me with bright, hopeful eyes, excitement for adventure that I hadn’t known for a long time. I realized I wanted to show them that trick they were all so hungry for.

When the chanting stopped, they all backed up a little, standing around me. I racked my brain for a trick they would enjoy that would promise me safe passage through the encampment so I could find the elusive Tollis.

“Okay,” I said, clearing my throat and dropping my bag to hang at my side.

Nothing in my bag would work, not for what they wanted. I wiggled my fingers, trying to think of something, when a spark of power ignited at my fingertips. I heard a gasp from the closest pups and turned toward them. Their eyes were wide, staring at my fingers. A slow smile curled over my lips. I held up my hands and snapped my fingers. Flashes of bright light sparked in the air.

“Oh,” the gasp went through the gathered children, and I knew what to do.

I clapped my hands. A small boom of power exploded from the impact, and a puff of smoke rose into the air. The smoke transformed into a fluttering butterfly before dissipating. The girls cheered, but the boys looked as if they had sucked on something sour.

“Right,” I said, “how about this?” I threw another flash of power into the air and watched as the smoke transformed into a bird, flapping its wings and trying to get away. I made a finger gun and fired a bolt of blue electric light through the belly of the bird. It turned, dove to the ground, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The boys cheered and hollered with approval.

“Okay? Good? Can I go now?”

The assembled children laughed and cheered until I couldn’t understand anything they were saying. The two pups that had been sniffing at my feet were in front of me, quiet and clear-eyed.

“Can you take me to Tollis?” I asked.

The boy reached for my hand, and I gave it to him. Together they turned and led me through the children, the boy tugging me as he followed the girl. The rest of the children seemed to part before her like water, and none of the other children tried to stop or harass me further.

I caught the eyes of a few of the adults who’d hid in the shadows of their vehicles. There was still a lot of distrust in their eyes, but there was something else, a caution of fear. They had seen the tricks but knew what else those bolts of power could do. But I had the children on my side, and that gave me a sense of security as we passed the eyes that tracked my movements.

The boy’s hand was tight around mine, his fingers blessedly dry and clean. He and the girl walked with a purpose but were eerily silent. I had to quicken my pace to keep up with them if I didn’t want to be dragged along. The boy was small, probably eight or nine, but he was surprisingly strong. We passed through parts of camp that were quiet and almost dark, and I wondered if everyone in that area was asleep for the day. After a few more yards, we broke through a line of tents and found a clearing filled with lively music and a group of people singing songs, playing games, and feasting.

The little girl leading us stopped, and the boy pulling me stopped beside her. He pulled his hand out of mine and pointed into the clearing. Across the way, I saw a group of men on the ground, playing a dicing game. When the one with the dice threw the dice, half the men whooped in a cheer while the other half groaned as if in pain.

“He’s over there?” I asked, and the boy nodded.

The two pups stepped backward, slowly moving behind me until they were between two tents, almost hidden in the shadows.

“Thanks,” I said with a small wave.

The girl looked at me with her bright amber eyes for a moment, and I thought I saw a hint of fear cross her face. Before I could say anything, she turned and ran, the boy following quickly.

“Well that makes me feel safe and secure,” I muttered. Tugging at hem of my jacket, I straightened up, tucked my hair behind my ears, and turned back to the clearing.

Chapter 6

Though my mood had shifted to something cautious and a little anxious, nothing had changed in the clearing. The song one group was singing was lively and happy, the dicing game continued with cheers and groans coming in waves, and the smell of something savory wafted toward me. It was very welcoming, really, and not what I was expecting at all. I held on to the image of the little Were girl’s face, remembering her fear and caution. She was part of the pack. If everything was all peachy keen, she shouldn’t have looked like that.

I stepped into the clearing, expecting everyone to stop what they were doing and face me, ready to pounce. But no one did. As I moved forward, I saw a mix of werewolves and humans, intermingling easily. It was very strange. Weres, while acclimated to a mixed society, usually kept their dens human-free. No other creatures ever lived with Weres because they were so private and territorial. To see them eating together, talking, singing, even playing, was completely unexpected.

The humans seemed so at peace, so happy to be among the Weres. They smiled and laughed, not a care in the world. But they were all very young. I felt a little old among this crowd, and at only twenty-four, that was saying something. Maybe Jameson was right. Maybe Tollis was the cause of the rising numbers of missing humans. But no one looked unhappy, or even scared. Their smiles were a little too big and their eyes a little too wide though. It was creepy.

I stopped a few feet back from the dicing game. The same guy was still throwing, but I had no idea what game they were playing. Each player had a pile of coins in front of them, so it was clear they were betting. When the large, multi-sided die came to a stop and only two men cheered, I couldn’t figure out why that was so good for them.

“Looks like we have a visitor, boys,” the man with the die said, looking at me. His eyes took the long route up my body before resting on my face.

All the men around him froze as if someone had hit pause. Their eyes followed the same path up my body, following his lead.

“And what a pretty little visitor she is.” His voice was slow like molasses with a faint southern drawl. He dusted off his hands and got to his feet.

He wasn’t tall by Were standards, but he had at least four inches on me, making me lift my chin to look at him. He had wavy, shoulder-length hair that was brown with golden highlights. His green eyes were striking with their elongated pupils, telling me he spent a little too much time as a wolf and not enough time as a human. Across his forehead was a healing gash, and his bottom lip had a thick scab in the middle. When he smiled, it pulled, threatening to break open. I tried not to grimace at the sight of it. He was lean, but I had no doubt under his loose white T-shirt and straight-leg jeans was a well-muscled frame from countless nights of running in the moonlight. When he held out his hand, I saw the calluses on his palm and the dirt under his nails.

“Tollis,” he said, waiting for me to take his hand.

After a moment, I placed my hand in his, feeling the steel bands of his fingers wrap around my hand. “Matilda Kavanagh.” I knew there was no point in trying to give him an alias. Much like vampires, Weres could smell deceit, and I didn’t want to start off on the wrong foot.

He pulled on my arm, forcing me to take a step forward and close the distance between us. He took a deep breath close to my hair. His eyes were closed, but when he opened them, he said, “I see Harry caught you on the way in.”

“Harry?” I asked, trying in vain to lean back.

“Harrietta, our resident Seer,” he said, earning a round of snickers from the men who’d continued the dicing game.

“Oh,” I said, remembering the old woman and her disturbing card reading. “Right, yeah, I met her.”

“And came away with lighter pockets, I bet,” Tollis said with a sly smile. Another moment passed before he released my hand, letting me take a step back and breathe a little easier.

“A bit lighter, yes.” I nodded.

“To what do we owe this pleasure, Matilda Kavanagh?” Tollis stepped back and tucked his fingers into the pockets of his jeans, rocking back on his heels.

I saw he was barefoot. The sight of his toes threw me for a moment and I realized he was waiting for me to answer him. “Oh, uh…” I coughed, clearing my throat, trying to clear my head. “I was hoping to talk to you, if you have a moment.”

“Sure.” He shrugged, waiting for me to go on.

I looked past him at the group of men on the ground. They were still throwing their dice and placing their bets, but they were quieter, their eyes wider, as they tried to watch us without looking like they were watching. Tollis glanced over his shoulder to see what I was looking at.

“Why don’t we go over here?” he said, placing one hand on my shoulder and holding out the other to guide me.

I turned in the direction he indicated, and we walked side-by-side toward a large fire in the center of the clearing. An old woman was tending the large pot set over the coals. Tollis gave her a light kiss on the cheek before he took two bowls and filled them with the bubbling liquid inside. He handed me one. The ceramic was hot, and if my fingers hadn’t been so cold, it would have been too hot to hold.

I followed Tollis to a bench on the other side of the fire, and we sat. I watched him take a sip of the soup and swallow before I would try mine. I sniffed it; the broth was golden brown. I took a sip and found it salty and savory and completely soothing.

“Good, huh?” Tollis asked with another easy smile.

It was becoming easier to ignore the injuries on his face. I nodded in answer.

“So how can I help you? Are you looking to join the pack? Don’t have any witches around here.”

“How did you know I was a witch?”

“The nose knows,” he said, touching his slightly crooked nose.

“The pups knew too,” I said, glancing toward the tents I’d come through.

“Aye, yeah,” he said with a bob of his head, “they’re quick ones.”

“But no.” I turned to face him, sipping the broth. “I didn’t come to join your pack. I actually wanted to ask you about the size of your pack. You seem to have quite a few humans around here.”