Witches and Whatnots: An Izzy Cooper Novel (6 page)

It was our turn to ride. The operator opened the little door to a cart that had been fashioned to look like an open carriage.

“Ladies first.” Zane motioned to the cart.

I hesitated, not sure if I wanted Zane to be the one who was next to the side that opened, especially since I’d just had a Mister Grim sighting.

Leaning into me, he whispered, “Come on Izzy. Have I given you any reason not to trust me?”

He had a point. So far he hadn’t done anything wrong, that we knew of anyway.

Without a legitimate reason not to trust him, I couldn’t come up with the justification to argue about something as small as who would sit next to the door.

As soon as we were seated, the cart moved forward, nearly crashing into a set of double doors, but they opened at the last minute. Suddenly it was pitch black, and I could hear screams in the darkness. Some of them were sound effects, while others were real.

I felt his hand clasp mine. “Are you afraid of these rides?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, pulling my hand away.

Dark rides did tend to make me a little jittery, but no way was I going to admit that. What kind of fallen angel demon was afraid of a dark ride?

The cart took us through a torture chamber, complete with bloody bodies and executioners. After going through another set of doors, we were in some kind of coffin room, with the shadow of Dracula looming over us.

So far we hadn’t come across anything too frightening. I was just thinking that maybe I’d over-reacted a little when we crashed through another set of doors and the cart stopped.

This wasn’t so unusual. Carnival rides had a way of breaking down several times a day, at least that had been my experience.

The weird part was the room we were in, and the fact that we were completely alone. I couldn’t even hear the usual annoyed shouts from other riders, which was common when a ride stopped unexpectedly.

Our cart appeared to be floating on water. It even bobbed as if we were being hit with small waves, but it was too foggy to make out much.

Something wasn’t right. The special effects seemed pretty sophisticated for a simple carnival ride.

“What’s going on?” I asked Zane, not bothering to hide my suspicion.

“Beautiful … isn’t it?” His voice had a deep - husky sound to it.

That’s when it dawned on me that I was stuck in the middle of this really weird ride, and sitting next to an actual real vampire. Suddenly I had to question my own sanity.

What the heck had I been thinking?

Zane Dupree was a real – honest to goodness vampire! When I was sent back from death, I had to have brought a little bit of crazy with me.

“Excuse me … I think I want to walk out of here,” I said in a tight voice that let him know I wasn’t going to be dealing with any argument over it.

“Oh come on Izzy. You know how dangerous that could be. Didn’t you hear the announcement to keep your arms and legs in the cart at all times? I think that includes the rest of your body as well.”

“Whatever! You are up to something and I don’t’ intend to stick around here and find out what that something is.”

I went to stand up, but he gently pushed be back to my seat.

“I’m not up to anything … too much. I just wanted us to spend some time alone.”

His voice was as soft as a caress, sending shivers over every nerve ending in my body.

“If you bite me, I’ll zap you into Hell,” I warned.

That’s when he pulled me close, and I felt his lips against my neck.

“I have no intention of feeding on you, but I have to admit the thought is enticing.”

“Then why don’t you back off?” I tried to pull away. If I didn’t put some distance between us, before long I would be letting him do anything he wanted with me.

I was beginning to think I’d have to get a boyfriend, just so Zane wouldn’t be able to use sexual frustration against me.

It was useless. I didn’t have the strength to push him away. His lips covered mine and before I knew it, his tongue was invading my mouth.

I quickly fell under his spell. The last thing on my mind was getting away from him. Kissing Zane was like falling into a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream, but much hotter.

When he finally pulled away there was an unnatural light in his eyes that should have prompted a scream, but all I could do was stare into those eyes.

Bringing a hand up, he caressed my cheek with the back of his fingers. “As long as I exist, I’ll never let anyone hurt you … including myself.”

I opened my mouth to ask him why, but he smothered my question with another kiss. My eyes closed, and when I opened them again, the cart was moving. We were in a crazy clown room.

“How did you do that?” I gasped.

Draping an arm around my shoulder, he pulled me close enough that I could lean against him. “There’s more to me than my curse of immortality.”

I was relieved when Zane left to attend to some business at the resort, but I was also a little disappointed. It was becoming apparent that I was an addict, and Zane Dupree was my addiction.

Part of me felt as if I were betraying Elias, but if he really cared about me, why didn’t he say so? Why wouldn’t he defy his chosen destiny and be with me?

I found Tim exactly where he said he’d be. He was sitting at a little makeshift dining area next to the Corndog Palace booth, munching on an extra large corndog. Being the sweetheart he is, Tim even bought me a corndog and a root beer.

“Thanks,” I said, collapsing on the wooden bench next to the little picnic table.

“That difficult was it?” he smirked.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t ever do that again. If I wanted to spend time with Dupree, I’d do it on my own. That reminds me … do you have a date for the ball tomorrow night?”

Tim shook his head and swallowed another bite of his corndog. “I figured we’d be working, so it doesn’t make much sense to take anyone with me.”

“We might as well go together.”

He shrugged. “Okay by me.”

After drinking down half my root beer, I asked, “How much do you actually know about vampires? Is it possible for a vampire to alter reality?”

Tim drew his brows together. “I don’t think so.”

I took several bites of my corndog and then proceeded to tell Tim about what had just transpired with Zane, minus the intimate details.

“What I think is that there is more to Zane Dupree than his vampirism,” Tim echoed Zane’s own words.

That didn’t help much. What good was it being an angel if you didn’t know everything?

When we were done eating, it was decided that another walk through the carnival was in order. Things had been going too smoothly. Something was bound to happen soon.

I spotted a tent with a colorful sign that read:
Discover Your Future With Madame Corina.

“Let’s check that out.” I pointed to the tent.

Tim studied the tent for a few seconds and then gave me a lopsided grin. “Might as well. There isn’t anything else going on.”

Tim sounded almost disappointed, which was surprising. I began to wonder if my partner wasn’t hoping for some action, just so he could show off for Annabelle.

The crush he had on my sister was kind of cute, though I was a little worried about him. Tim was so sweet and gentle, while Annabelle was a man killer. She’d swallow him whole, without a second thought.

We entered the tent and found ourselves in a dark - makeshift room with a round table in the middle. Of course, there were candles burning and a crystal ball in the center of the table, but Madame Corina was absent.

“Hello!” I called out.

A moment later someone poked their head through the red velvet curtain that separated the front of the tent from the back.

“Do you come for a reading?”

“Yes,” I nodded.

The rest of her appeared from behind the curtain. Madame Corina wore a bright blue dress and had her graying black hair pulled into a bun.

“You’ve come to the right place.” She smiled, her dark eyes glittering at the prospect of collecting the twenty-dollar reading fee.

As I studied her in the dim light, it dawned on me that Madame Corina was really Keri Santos from Roseland. She was the lady who ran the roadside souvenir shop near
Shipwreck point. Keri was also one of Elias’s people, which meant she was a Romanian werewolf.

I wondered how she’d gotten away with getting onto the vampire estate. It appeared as if Zane wasn’t holding half the grudge Elias believed he was.

Suddenly I wasn’t so sure I wanted my fortune told. “I think I made a mistake.”

When she put her hand up to stop me, I caught sight of her long nails and the many rings on her fingers.

“Don’t be difficult. You can’t leave here without getting read. With that dark aura you have around you … it would be foolish not to get your fortune told.”

“What dark aura?” I scowled, not sure I believed her. Neither Uncle Aaron nor Annabelle had ever mentioned a dark aura, and I knew they could both see auras.

Maybe she was referring to the black wings I saw whenever I looked in a mirror, but as far as I knew, I was the only one who could see those, other than maybe Julius and Mister Grim.

“You wait outside,” she said, pointing to Tim.

Tim looked as if he’d been slapped in the face. “Why … is there something wrong with my aura?”

When Madame Corina shook her head, her large, golden earrings swayed. “That’s why you should wait outside.”

“Oh, I see.” Tim looked at me and waved. “I’ll meet you outside then.”

“Thanks. I shouldn’t be long.” I tossed Madame Corina a sour look.

When Tim was gone, I sat in the chair opposite Corina. “Was that really necessary?”

“You should mind how close you get to others. The darkness that clings to you may bleed into their spirit.”

I already didn’t like Madam Corina. She was just plain rude, though I couldn’t dismiss what she was saying. It was possible that whatever demon juice I had hanging around me, could have some kind of consequence on others.

“Put your hands flat on the table,” she instructed.

Though I hesitated, I finally decided to do as she asked, mainly so I could get the reading done and over with.

I placed my palms flat on the table and Corina did the same as she focused her dark eyes on the crystal ball.

It seemed like forever before she said anything, and when she did I wished she’d shut her mouth again.

“There is a lot of darkness around you … a lot of death. People are dropping like flies.”

Damn! This lady really
was
rude. What she said was true, but the way she said it made it seem like it was my fault.

“Mystique Island attracts bad people.” I shrugged.

“Shh … I am trying to see what it is about you that feeds the darkness.”

I would have told her what it was, but she wouldn’t let me talk.

Finally, she looked up and glared at me, as if I were the devil himself. “You are a creature of the underworld.”

“I’m not!” I glared at her. “At least it isn’t really my fault.”

“Hmm.” She didn’t seem too convinced.

“What else do you see?” I was getting impatient. So far she hadn’t told me anything that I didn’t already know, even if I didn’t necessarily agree with it.

“I see two men, but only one is your destiny.”

Could she get any less specific? If I had to make a guess, I would say she were talking about Elias and Zane, but there was always the possibility that one of the men she was referring to was Jasper. The thought brought bile to my throat.

“Who are they? How do I know which one that is?”

“Why are you asking me that? You already know who he is?” she snapped.

Sighing, I made a move to stand, but she reached across the table and knocked me back into the chair.

Now she’d gone too far. The anger that had been simmering, now threatened to boil over. “That was uncalled for! Who do you think you are?”

Ignoring my outburst, she went on as if nothing had happened. “There is a witch on this island … she is deadly. This witch is very old, but you won’t know it by looking at her. She sucks the youth from victims who cannot resist her.”

Again she wasn’t telling me anything that I didn’t already know, or at least suspected.

“Beware! This witch is going to target those who are dear to you.”

Now that was something new. “Can you tell me who?”

She shook her head. “I cannot see his face clearly, but it is someone who means something to you.”

“Can you see anything about my grandmother?” I asked, thinking that if she could see this witch, she might also be able to tell me where Granny Stella was.

Corina grew silent, seeming to lose herself in whatever she was seeing in the crystal. Sighing, she finally looked up. “I don’t see her on the other side, so she is still alive, but her face is foggy, I am seeing her from a great distance, or maybe another realm.”

“How do I find her?”

I wasn’t sure why I was asking the fortuneteller. She wasn’t likely to give me any information that my sister and uncle couldn’t give me.

“To find her … you will have to find the doorway to that realm.”

It wasn’t until I’d paid the reading fee and left that I realized that Madame Corina really hadn’t told me anything that I didn’t already know, or guessed. I’d gotten a little affirmation, but that was about it. Even then it only mattered if one believed in the fortuneteller’s abilities, and I was still on the fence with that one.

Tim was throwing tennis balls at milk jugs. I stood back and watched him for a few minutes. With he toss of the ball, it became more apparent that he had no talent for hitting milk jugs. I hoped his aim with a gun was a little better.

After throwing the last ball, he stepped back from the booth, ready to call it quits. The little midget guy running the game booth had other ideas.

“Come on now! You can get it. Give it another try!” he called to Tim, who ignored him.

“How did your reading go?” he asked.

I lifted my shoulders. “She didn’t tell me much of anything new. Have you won anything yet?” I asked, hoping to take his attention away from my reading.

“Nope … but look what I found.” He pointed to a booth that was painted a fluorescent purple.

Against the purple background were the words, Black Moon Sisterhood, in bright yellow letters.

So they were still calling themselves a sisterhood, instead of a coven. I wondered if it was a matter of public relations, or if they were just being downright deceitful.

That wasn’t the only thing bothering me. There was also the fact that my sister was talking to one of the three women in the booth.

“Let’s check it out.” I started walking in that direction.

“Hello,” I butted into the conversation that Annabelle was having with a curvy blond woman in a witch’s costume.

“Hey … you two ready for your Jack and Coke yet?” Annabelle asked.

“Maybe,” I replied, keeping my eyes fixed on the blond.

“I’m Annabelle’s sister, Izzy,” I introduced myself, not bothering to hide my suspicion.

After what the fortuneteller had told me, I wasn’t real happy to see my sister fraternizing with a person of interest.

“I’m Rayanne.” She held her hand out.

I took it, expecting to feel some kind of jolt, but there was nothing. “I’ve been meaning to come and talk to you, but you are a difficult person to track down. I take it you make a lot of trips to the mainland?”

Rayanne nodded, a spark of mischief in her blue eyes. “Yes, I have to make frequent trips to the mainland for supplies. We are still rebuilding at the Dell.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly it was that they were rebuilding, the town or themselves? The three women in the booth looked too perfect to be real.

Seeing my interest in the others, Rayanne pointed to the other girls. “This is Shelly and Allison.”

“Hello.” I forced a smile. “And this is my partner and friend, Tim.”

Tim greeted them with a wave of his hand.

They all smiled at him, but said nothing, not even hello.

I turned my attention to Annabelle. “How about that drink now?”

As soon as we were out of earshot of the Black Moon witches, as I’d already started thinking of them, I asked, “What are you doing? Don’t you know they are suspects in our investigation?”

Annabelle waved away my words. “I was just curious … that’s all. If you ask me, they seem nice. I don’t know why you all are persecuting them. Just because there was that trouble a long time ago, doesn’t mean they should be held responsible.
Let’s not forget, it was actually concluded that those witches didn’t have anything to do with the deaths of the babies.”

Stopping, I stared at my sister, wondering if someone had sucked out half her brain in the last hour. “Still … we don’t know for sure what’s going on yet. They could be responsible for what’s happening now.”

Turning away, Annabelle continued walking. “When you show me some real evidence that they are involved, then maybe I’ll take it under consideration.”

I glanced over at Tim to see if he perceived the situation the same as I did. He seemed completely unconcerned and clueless.

Was that due to his crush on Annabelle, or had those witches managed to pull some hocus pocus on him while we were standing around their booth?

It appeared I was the only one concerned about the new witches. “Just be careful,” I warned.