Sebastian (3 page)

“I'm going to tell your future,” she said. “Give me your hand.”

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow at her, but willingly, he offered her his left hand. She took it, but instead of looking at the lines on it, she looked straight into his eyes.

“You're going to get an offer to take a fortuneteller out for the evening. She will show you the ins and outs of the circus, and she may be open to dinner if you play your cards right. My suggestion is that you do everything that you can to play your cards right.”
 

Sebastian's smile was as slow as honey, and he tilted his head.

“What a good fortune to hear,” he murmured, and his fingers tightened gently around hers. “Do you want to change or will you go and hiss curses and ill-wishes at the other people on the thoroughfare?”

“That gets old in a very short amount of time. Just drop the tent flap and secure it for me.”

 
When he was busy securing the tent, she turned and stripped the heavy brocade robe over her head. It gave her a certain mystical presence, but it was the last thing that she wanted to wear when she was roaming among people. Underneath, she was wearing a pair of cutoff shorts and her tank top, which rode up with the robe. Though she lifted the robe away as quickly as she could, she knew her black bra had peeked out for a moment—and that Sebastian had seen.

She smiled in the dimness as she pulled the tank top down, and offered Karas a perch on her shoulder. Then she gestured to Sebastian.

“Come on this way,” she said. “We can get out without being seen at the back.”
 

The fortuneteller's tent backed right up to the larger structure that held the Zoo of Extraordinary Wonders, and to the casual observer, there was no way out. However, thanks to a cunningly-sewn flap, she could exit whenever she liked with no one the wiser, and that was the way she led Sebastian.
 

When they were out in the open air, she paused to run her fingers through her waist-length black hair and to throw it into a quick braid. Disturbed by her abrupt motions, Karas croaked in irritation and took wing, making Sebastian start.

“Is he going to come back?”
 

“He always does. He's a smart boy, and he's free. For the evening, so am I, so let's have some fun.”

THE CIRCUS WAS a strange place to find a witch, but the intelligence that Sebastian had received had been decisive. There was a witch operating within the bounds of the Carson & Chaplin Circus, and by all accounts, she was powerful. Stephan, the Magus Corps major who had briefed him, had been very clear on this fact.

“You're not dealing with a scared girl who can't keep body and soul together. From what we can tell, the Carson & Chaplin Circus has a real rogue traveling with them. Whoever she is, she's been strong enough and smart enough to stay away from both us and the Templars so far. Truth of the matter is that if we didn't think things were boiling to a head, we'd be inclined to just let her run where she likes.”

Sebastian had nodded grimly.

“But when it sounds like Templar activity is boiling up,” Stephan said, “and the things we've heard all tell us that they want to start another crusade...”

“... then the Commandant wants all of the stray chicks home to roost.”

“Exactly,” Stephan said nodding. “Just remember, soft touch, make contact, make sure that she trusts you. The charm I gave you will light up when she's around, but if she goes to ground, things are going to get a lot harder for you.”

Nicolette Erling might have been hiding from Magus Corps and Templars alike, but the last thing that she looked like she wanted to do was go to ground. Once she got clear of the tent where she had been plying her trade, she looked like nothing but a young woman who wanted to get away from her cares for a little while.
 

She was his job, he knew that, but for just a moment, Sebastian thought that there was nothing wrong with doing exactly what she was doing, which was playing just a little bit of hooky. There was nothing wrong with having some fun, or at least that's what he told himself.
 

The sway of her braid against her back was hypnotic, and Sebastian had to admit that was part of her charm. Out from under her brocade dress, she was tall and lean, narrow-hipped and with an athletic swagger to her step that told him he would have taken notice of her no matter who she was or what his mission was.
 

There were Templars out there. He had spent his entire long life aware of them and what they stood for. In fact, he knew that every moment he spent playing hooky with this beautiful woman was one that he was spending away from his duty.

Yet...and yet.

She turned to glance at him, mischief in her bright blue eyes, and he couldn't resist. Somehow, her small hand was in his, and they were walking down the thoroughfare, taking in the games, dodging the crowds, and seeing what there was to see.

“So what made you run away?”
 

The question popped out of his mouth before he could stop it, and her back stiffened.

“That's a funny thing to ask me,” she said.

Before she could pull away, he shook his head.

“I'm sorry. I think I'm funny, and as it turns out, I'm not. I figured since you joined the circus, well…”

Her frown eased a little, and she shook her head.

“People join the circus for a lot of reasons, but for me, it's just a job. I've done a lot of things here and there, and right now, being Madame Nicole suits me, you know? Does your job suit you?”
 

Sebastian opened his mouth to answer, and he found that he couldn't. When he hesitated, Nicolette smiled, and he was again struck by her beauty. He thought of Helen, whose face launched a thousand ships. He thought of Dante's Beatrice, who could soothe men in hell. This was a woman who could lead men into dark places, and the thought chilled him.

“Maybe you need to run away a little too,” she offered. “Why don't we make a deal?”

“And what kind of deal would that be?”

She hesitated, gnawing on her lower lip. She glanced around, at the balloon seller, the cotton candy vendor, the ring toss game, and finally she looked back at him. Her eyes were the same blue as the North Sea, stormy and tinged with gray, and there was a softness to her voice when she answered him.

“I want to be nothing but us today. No past, no future. Until, let's say, dawn tomorrow, let's just be ourselves.”

“Nothing more and nothing less?”

“Exactly. What do you think?”
 

Sebastian hesitated. He was a man whose duty lay heavily on his shoulders, and there was no more getting away from it than there was cutting off his shadow. He soothed his conscience by saying that she was his duty, that being close to her was his job.

Bullshit, your job is to bring her in,
his conscience snapped, but for once Sebastian pushed it aside. It was there, worrying at him, nipping and biting like a dog at his heels, but it was simply less than she was, less than those stormy blue eyes and less than the soft touch of her hand in his.
 

“I think that sounds amazing. Very well. No past, no future, only us.”

“Only us,” she repeated, and with a smile as sweet as sunlight, she led him into the crowd.

NICOLETTE WOVE HER way through the crowd, and if any of the other artists and carnies noticed that she was playing hooky from her booth, they gave no sign. The only exception was Mathilda, who ran the shooting booth.
 

“Well howdy and welcome stranger,” the big woman drawled. “Care to get your man to try his luck with the booths? Maybe he'll win you something fine.”
 

Nicolette would have demurred, but Sebastian brightened and turned to her.

“Would you like that?” he asked, and she raised her eyebrow.

“Are you some kind of William Tell or something?”
 

“We said no pasts and no futures today. I just want to know if you want a prize.”
 

“I do, I think.”
 

Nicolette turned to the display. She knew that some of the targets were harder to hit than others, and a part of her was feeling contrary and bold. It was a new feeling, and she glanced through the prizes. They were mostly cheap little things, toys and pop guns. There were a few high ticket items, but she knew that the game was set up so that it would take an incredible marksman to get them.

“What about that little locket?”
 

One of the prizes was a small gold-colored locket, and in the middle of all the junk, it gleamed. It was perhaps the prettiest item on the attraction, and she was already shaking her head.

“No, maybe…”

“Nah, why not let the gent try?” winked Mathilda. “We can see how he does. Step up, sir, and let's see if you can win your gal a prize.”

With a slight grin, Sebastian stepped up to the booth, checked the air rifle carefully, and then fired three times in quick succession. Nicolette thought that he had missed, but then both she and Mathilda stared as they realized that the target had been neatly knocked over.

“Well ain't that something,” Mathilda beamed, and she went to fetch the locket for them.

“It was,” Nicolette said, raising an eyebrow at Sebastian.
 

He smiled at her, a slight roguish gleam in his eye. In the light of the setting summer sun, she could now see that they were blue, but pale and icy where hers were dark.
 

“No past, remember?” he said gamely, and she could only nod.

When Mathilda came back with the locket, Sebastian offered it to her with a flourish, but she found herself shaking her head.

 
“No, put it on me,” she murmured.
 

She turned to give him access to the back of her neck.

Sebastian paused, and she was wondering if it was too intimate, when he stepped close. He set the necklace around her neck, and with a deft touch, he fastened it behind her head. His fingers lingered at her nape, and then he brushed his lips against the downy area at the base of her neck.
 

“Too much?” he whispered in her ear, and the low rumble of his voice sent shivers along her spine.
 

“Not at all,” she murmured, and she took his hand again.

The circus had been her home for more than a year now, and she knew it like she knew her Tarot cards. It wasn't in her to get too friendly with the people around her, but she knew them well enough and she liked them as people. She knew where the best food was, and where the best games were.

When evening shaded towards indigo, she took Sebastian into the main tent and sat next to him. They watched as the aerialists spun over the ring, and they both laughed when the clowns toppled and rolled through the sawdust.

“No lions and tigers?” asked Sebastian, and she shook her head.

“Nope, Mr. Carson got rid of them ages ago. He decided it was cruel, and that things like lions and tigers should be free. You'll see the horses soon, though, and they're just amazing.”
 

It was one of the things that had given her a good feeling about the circus when she joined up. Roy Carson was a short man with a ferocious temper, and even when things were going well, he was inclined to shout. It had startled her at first, but then she realized it was just his way and felt much more at home. He didn't want to see free things in cages, and that was fine by her.

The idea of cages sent a trickle of chilling memory down her spine, and she shivered, shaking it off.
Go away,
she thought to her memories.
You don't get me tonight. There are things I want to do tonight.

 
As if he read her mood, Sebastian threw his arm around her shoulders. Against his lean bulk, she felt calmer. If she was a different person, she would have said that she felt safe, but she knew what an illusion that was. Underneath his clothes, she could feel how muscular he was, and inquisitively, she ran her fingers along his ribs.

Sebastian made a sound that reminded her of Karas's irritated chuff, and he glanced down at her.

“Are you trying to tickle me?” he asked, amused.
 

She smiled up at him with innocence.

“Maybe,” she allowed. “What would you do if I said I was?”

“Tickle you right back,” he murmured. “Maybe hold you still and try to find all the places that were the most…sensitive.”

His words warmed her like good brandy, and at that moment, she was tired of being afraid of old ghosts and fears. She pressed against him, and when she saw that he was looking down at her, paying no attention at all to the trick riders, she knew that he felt the same way.

“Sebastian, do you want to kiss me?”
 

She said it so quietly that at first she wasn't sure that he had heard her. Then his mouth dropped to hers, and she forgot all about the people around them.

She had been kissed before, and she even guessed that she had been kissed by men who knew how, but this was something else. There was something so gentle about the way he touched his mouth to hers. But there was an undercurrent of sensuality to it as well. It was a tender kiss, but she could feel the restraint under which he held his body. She could tell how easily it could erupt into passion, and fury, and want.
 

Be very sure you want this,
the voice of reason said in her head.
Be oh so sure you can let this genie out of the bottle.

There's no past and no future tonight,
Nicolette reminded herself.
There's only us, only what we want, only what we are right now.

As the applause for the trick riders rose to a crescendo, she took his hand in hers and tugged.

“Come on, I want to show you something.”

AS NICOLETTE LED Sebastian away from the big top, he wondered for a moment what he thought he was doing. He knew what his duty was, and it was not this. He wanted to stop her, to tell her who he was and why he had come to see her, but his mind was fogged by her loveliness, by the way she moved and the way she looked at him. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her what he was and why he was there, but then she glanced back at him, and that soft, sweet smile wiped it from his head.