Raven Investigation 04 - Electric Legend (5 page)

L
ights to the rides were doused, throwing them
in darkness, and Raven gave a startled glance around her, having completely
lost track of time. The family circus had changed in the matter of minutes,
taking with it the innocent laughter. The cheerful mood had turned sinister. It
crept over her like shadows, something she couldn’t brush off or shed.

Only adults remained, the majority of them men. They were
dressed in jeans and leather jackets, not the khakis and buttoned shirts the
suburban parents had donned. Their curiosity was invasive. Malevolence oozed in
the air. She wanted to grab Taggert and retreat, hide where they wouldn’t be spotted.

She half expected the people to be sporting weapons and give
chase if she dared move.

Like the last ten years of fragile peace between the races never
existed.

“What’s happening?” She edged closer to Taggert, unsure if
she was seeking comfort or satisfying the need to protect him.

Taggert’s face didn’t reveal any emotions. “The freak show
has started.”

Raven flinched as if she’d been slapped. She had expected
the show to be entertainment for shifters, just as the daytime show was for
humans. “Then why does it feel as if we’re about to be hunted down like animals
to the slaughter?”

“Because humans enjoy killing things they don’t understand.
They have to be seen as stronger and in charge. Out in the real world, they
have to bottle up what they feel. Here, the shifters pretend to be prey so the
humans feel safe.”

“It’s all an illusion.” When Taggert still didn’t react, a
chill iced over her heart. “Right?”

“To a certain extent. If humans had won the war, all
shifters would either be dead or behind bars. Most humans live in fear, and
their hatred festers. They don’t have to hide that here.”

Raven glanced at the lit tents, the very same tents that
were closed earlier. “Tell me what I should expect.”

“All shifters who join the circus are required to perform.
They are called freak shows because shifters can reveal their true selves
without fear. Sure, some humans born with deformities have joined over the
years, but the majority of the people are shifters who can hold partial transformations.”

Raven shivered as the ice spread deeper in her chest,
feeling like it penetrated her soul. “Isn’t that dangerous? If you leave your
animals too close to the surface, you risk losing your human side, not to
mention it’s extremely painful.”

Taggert shrugged it off as if it didn’t matter. “When it’s
either that or die, many find there is no choice.”

 “What else?” Raven braced herself, needing to know what to
expect. She needed to be able to keep her reactions in check. The last thing
she could afford was to reveal the truth. Females shifters were rare, an alpha
even less so.

She would cause a stir.

She would also be a great prize.

“Shifters can take a lot of damage. Swallowing fire or
swords isn’t a big deal when you can heal fast. Knife throwing is an art form,
our aim’s better, our throws quicker. We’re stronger and faster and can do
things that should be impossible.” He nudged her in the direction of one of the
tents, and it was all she could do not to drag her feet.

She did not want to go in there.

“What would you pay to see a talking bear, or a man lift a
car, or witness a man shift into a real live beast?”

Raven thought he was joking until he pointed to a sign
posted outside a crimson tent. There was an actual bear balanced on top of a
ball, underneath were the other acts, including something called a wolfman. “All
shifters?”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to see, but morbid curiosity
pulled her forward.

Whatever could scare her creature into hiding couldn’t be a
good thing.

She needed to find out what was happening before they left. She
couldn’t risk it following her. The last thing she could afford was to bring
more trouble down upon her pack.

The man at the entrance of the tent was human, standing
guard by checking wristbands. When he saw her white band next to Taggert’s
black, his attitude changed. A sneer curled his lips, revealing tobacco-stained
teeth, and she wanted to gag at the harsh stench emanating from the greasy hair
snarled like a rats nest around his head. Whipcord thin, he was comprised of layers
of clothing piled one over another in an attempt to make him appear more
imposing. He resembled nothing more than a scrawny hobo … with all the fleas and
dirt that went with not showering regularly.

When he noted them together, she was judged and found
guilty, treated like a criminal for just standing next to Taggert. His eyes
stripped her of all clothes, as if she were no better than a whore for the
taking.

She felt violated.

Taggert stepped between them and growled. The hairs on the back
of her neck rose, and the man leapt back, practically stumbling over his own
feet to get away.

Raven quickly shoved Taggert toward the tent. The last thing
they needed was to draw attention to themselves. When she glanced back to make
sure they weren’t being followed, hatred darken the man’s face seconds before the
tent curtain dropped shut, cutting him off from view. She shivered at his
deeply seated loathing for shifters.

Raven eyed Taggert’s broad shoulders, admiring the way his
body arrowed down to a slim waist. He’d won a dominance showdown and did it
without thought, willing to beat the crap out of the man, consequences for
touching a human be damned.

Raven flicked her fingernails, growing more and more
concerned by his rash actions. “We’re supposed to blend in with the crowd, not
draw attention to ourselves.”

Ignoring her hiss, he tucked her up against his side.
Muscles flexed wherever they touched, doing a damned good job of distracting
her.

“He was disrespecting you.” He said it as if that was all
that mattered. Like he had no choice.

“He’s a pig and doesn’t know better.”

Taggert just shrugged. “Now he does.”

Raven heaved a sigh at his logic and kept the rest of her
protests to herself. It wouldn’t do any good when his mind was made up.

They lingered at the back of the tent to avoid attracting
attention.

A couple of girls stood huddled together at the front,
laughing and obviously drunk off their asses. A few frat boys snickered,
watching the girls with lewd eyes. They came for the thrill of seeing a real-life
shifter. They wouldn’t recognize one on the street if one came up and bit them.
The rest of the room didn’t laugh, watching the shifters as if they were a
science project … or wild game to be hunted.

She wanted to protest the way they dissected the shifters, and
it was Taggert’s turn to grab her arm.

“The shifters can protect themselves. They won’t thank you
for your interference, more likely even resent you for making them appear weak.”

Raven bit her tongue against a protest.

Taggert was right.

Two people wheeled out a cage large enough to hold a man,
the bars so thick it would keep a shifter in … or humans out. She wasn’t sure
which. The man who stepped onto the stage was ginormous, close to seven feet
tall, and all muscle. His hair was cut brutally short, his clothes designed to
show off every inch of him. He walked to the kennel, his head down, back
hunched, his eyes focused on nothing but walking.

Everything about him shouted defeat as he marched toward his
doom.

Then she noticed his stooped shoulders, his ribs and hips
poking out, a shifter pushed to the breaking point. He looked old. Since
shifters took decades to age, his deterioration was shocking.

He entered the gate of his own free will, stood in the
center, shrinking the tight space into nothing. His bent head brushed the
ceiling, his elbows banging the sides of the cage as he settled himself.

Then he looked up.

Despite the crowd, their eyes connected and pure wolf stared
back at her. As she watched, fur sprouted along his skin in patches, the bones
of his shoulders cracked and hung forward awkwardly. His fingers stretched,
claws ripped through his fingertips, while his jaw crunched and a snout slowly
pushed forward. Fangs dropped down, cutting brutally into his lips, and blood
spattered his chest. A few girls in the front screamed. A couple more turned
away, unable to view more.

Ears elongated, his back hunched, his eyes growing wider
apart as he struggled to remain standing on two feet. The frat boys no longer
joked, pale and shaken at the slow change, unable to look away as the monster from
their nightmares emerged.

She’d never seen the process so drawn out, the pain had to
be excruciating, but no expression betrayed what he was feeling.

 In ten minutes, a full-grown wolf sat panting in the middle
of the cage. The two-hundred-fifty-pound man was now a monstrous grey timber
wolf. The shift left him weak as a mouse, but everyone leaned back in their
seats as if he were a vicious beast ready to launch an attack.

Then the process began in reverse.

At the ten-minute mark, he stood half-beast, half-man and
Raven knew something had gone horribly wrong. “He’s shifted too many times.
He’s stuck.”

Taggert tightened his grip on her, not in protest but in
horror.

Shifting was exhausting. Too many shifts could be damaging.
Not only did they risk getting caught mid-shift, but also going insane with a
wolf trapped in a human body or a human stuck in wolf form.

Panic brightened the wolfman’s eyes before slowly dimming in
defeat.

He knew his fate.

He would be given time to change, but the longer he remained
in half form, the more permanent it became.

It was a death sentence.

She waited for his alpha to step forward and lend his
strength, but no one moved. A small spark of anger in her gut burst into an
inferno that they’d let him suffered needlessly.

Even knowing that it could be traced back to her, Raven
couldn’t stand by and idly watch the poor man be caught between forms … possibly
forever.

It was worth the risk to try and save him.

She dipped into the pool of energy that rested just below
the surface of her skin, catching a single strand and swirling it between her
fingers. Taggert stiffened at her side, instantly alert, but he made no move to
stop her. He watched the crowd, ready to stand at her side and protect her.

She could’ve kissed him.

Instead, she released the energy, guiding it down to the
soles of her feet and forcing it into the earth. Foot by foot, it forked its
way forward. She fed it more and more until it reached the cage. Electricity instantly
arced into the metal cage, sparks snapping like static.

The beast shifted nervously as the energy soaked into him.

She twined it around his beast, then drew down hard.

The wolfman grunted as if kicked in the nads.

At first nothing happened, and she wondered if she’d done
more harm than good. Then their eyes connected.

The man knew.

Hope brightened his face.

As she watched, the wolf melted away, shrinking his features
down into his human form. It all happened fast, less than thirty seconds, and
it dropped the man to his knees.

He never once looked away, and the hope began to wither,
replaced by insurmountable fear … for her.

Gears clinked as the cage was unlocked, and the man emerged.
He gave her a nod, then threw his arms wide, and howled for the audience.

There was a smattering of applause, but most people were
left twitching uncomfortably in their seats. Morphing into a beast was a
private act, not something they willingly shared in public as it left them
vulnerable. Raven whirled, not wanting to see more. Taggert turned to follow,
but his larger form got lost when the crowd swelled toward the exit to escape
the monster.

She pushed open the tent flaps, gulping as the cool air
washed over her, but it did little to ease her hot temper.

She managed two steps when someone reached out of the
shadows and yanked her between the tents.

Raven brought up her fists, then dropped them when she
caught sight of the man. “You.”

The wolfman immediately released her as if he feared
retaliation, wiping his palms on the pants he’d hastily donned, a slight tremor
to his fingers.

“You can’t be here.” He glanced at the shadows, his fear
nearly suffocating. His words were rough and growly, too much animal left over
from so many shifts to speak normally. Even given time to heal, she doubted he
would ever be fully human again.

Sweat coated his chest, but she didn’t think it all had to
do with the hard transition. He reeked of fear, and Raven didn’t understand
what could terrify such a big man. “Are they forcing you to shift? I can help.”

He frantically shook his head. “There is nowhere else for us
to go.”

It wasn’t a no, and her concern for him spiked.

No one ever left a pack alive without permission from their
alpha, and no matter how unconventional, the circus was a pack.

“Cooper!” His name was a bellow. The big man blanched, his
body jolting as if he’d been struck by a whip.

“Don’t let them catch you.” The man backed away until he was
nothing more than shadows. “Run.”

His fanatical plea that she leave transferred to her, and
her legs twitched to get far away.

The circus wasn’t under attack as she’d thought.

The circus was the source of the danger she’d been sensing
all night.

And they were stuck in the middle of it.

T
aggert rounded the corner, carefully watching
the crowd bubble out of the tent as the people searched for the next thrill.
Two shifters alone would be an easy target. He grabbed her hand, dragging her
behind him.

They wound around three tents when she dug in her feet.
“Taggert—”

“We’re being followed. We have to go.” Taggert whirled,
pushing himself right into her personal space, staring at her so intently that
her protest became garbled.

“Someone figured out what I did.” Raven went lightheaded at
the possibility. “I was careful.”

“The wolf.” He said it like a swearword, a growl rumbling in
his chest.

“That’s impossible.” Raven hesitated, then blurted out the
truth. “He was with me.”

Taggert stopped dead, and it was her turn to prod him
forward. The ground was a combination of grass and gravel, the uneven surface
leaving her stumbling every other step. “He knew I’d helped him. He told me to
run.”

Taggert didn’t need any more prompting. They stayed within
the confines of the circus, for as soon as they left, they would be forced out
in the open and vulnerable. However, no matter how fast they moved, they
couldn’t lose the shadows chasing them

Conceding defeat, she tugged him to a stop and dipped inside
the nearest tent. Darkness immediately swallowed them. She reached forward and
encountered another curtain. Peering through the slit, she saw nothing but a
giant glass tank that resembled a full-sized pool. “It’s clear.”

“We have to keep moving.” Taggert’s voice never rose above a
whisper of breath.

His lips nearly brushed the tip of her ear when he spoke,
and she shivered, her stomach dipped as she waited for him to take advantage of
the situation. Seconds passed before his words registered. Mortified by her
reaction, she slowed her breathing and pushed away her inappropriate fantasy.

They needed a way out.

She couldn’t risk using her power while surrounded by
shifters, not when it could force them to shift into their beasts. Shifters
might be dangerous, but their animal sides were infinitely more trouble. So she
had to rely on her herself alone.

She hated feeling helpless and didn’t know how humans lived
that way every day. Knowing they couldn’t linger, Raven stepped into the small
space.

There were no seats, no place to stop or hide.

A path led around the edge of the tent.

Raven couldn’t help but look into the murky water. Algae
smeared the tank so thickly she couldn’t see through the other side.

Her steps slowed as the water began to ripple.

Raven instinctively took a step back despite being separated
by the thick glass.

“There’s something in the tank.”

Taggert narrowed his eyes, leaning closer for a better look.
Raven grabbed his shirt and jerked him back, not wanting him anywhere near it.
A face emerged out of the depths, pushing forward so slowly the features appeared
as if they were forming out of nothing but water.

The pale skin had a slight greenish tint, the delicate
features female and so beautiful they could lure sailors to their death. “A
siren.”

Fine, silvery hair floated around her when she shook her
head. She pushed closer. Small shoulders took shape, large breasts barely
covered by itty-bitty scraps of material, a tiny waist that merged into a … tail.
The scales were different shapes, changing from larger to smaller as it
traveled down the length, almost iridescent even in the dim light, and so
delicate it encouraged a person to reach out and touch.

But even in the murky water, Raven saw something wasn’t
right.

The algae floating in the tank wasn’t from the water, it
came from her, almost as if her very skin was sloughing off. Revulsion and pity
stirred through her at the abuse. Little pieces of slime clung to the tail, and
Raven suspected they weren’t feeding her properly or the PH of the water was
wrong.

“A mermaid.” Taggert whispered the words with reverence.

The woman smiled at Taggert and nodded, the change in her
appearance stunning as she floated closer. She couldn’t be older than
mid-twenties, but the water made it difficult to tell, not to mention that
shifters aged amazingly slow. Something about her eyes told Raven that she was
much older. Any man looking at her would see a princess, something to guard and
claim for their own.

“I didn’t even know mermaids existed.” It made her wonder
about unicorns and elves and all the other creatures from myths and legends.
But one thing picked at her relentlessly, bothered her worse than anything—the
way Taggert gazed at the woman—the same special look he reserved only for her.

Raw jealousy gnawed at her insides, and she curled her
fingers into fists to keep from reaching out and staking her claim. Swallowing
hard, Raven turned away before she did something stupid, like smashed the glass
and kill the bitch.

Claws sank into her chest, the action so unexpected that she
nearly gasped in pain as the beast swarmed up and threatened to take control.

Mine.

Desperate not to let Taggert know of her struggle, she tried
to pull back, but it was like holding back the tide.

Senses became sharper, tingling painfully as they came back
to life as the dragon woke with a vengeance.

A small noise, a brush of cloth only, sent her whirling
toward the opening.

They were about to be discovered. “We have to go.”

Taggert and the mermaid glanced toward the door. The woman’s
eyes widened, and she pointed toward the back of the tent, mouthing one word—

Hurry.

Raven grabbed Taggert’s hand and dragged him away from the
blasted tank. She ran her hand along the tent. They’d almost completed a half
circle, and she feared she might have missed the exit when her hand slipped
through a hidden opening.

The canvas rippled, and she knew whomever was stalking them
had entered from the opposite direction.

Taggert must have heard something as well. He shoved her
through the opening and followed quickly behind. When he pushed forward to take
the lead, Raven put a hand on his chest. He halted immediately, and she
couldn’t stop her fingers from tracing over the delicious muscles she knew the
shirt hid. Damned stupid dragon was messing with her emotions. She had so
little contact with others that each touch still threw her for a loop. She
cleared her throat twice before she could speak. “He’s too close. He knows the
layout. We’ll never get out by running.”

“I’ll distract him.” Taggert’s face darkened, and he stood
in front of her, seeming to bulk up as he faced down the threat. “You run.”

“No, we must stay together.” A stupidly dangerous idea took
hold of her mind. The memory of him flirting with the mermaid still burned,
which made the idea all the more appealing. “How about we do it my way and
improvise.”

She yanked him closer and heat immediately soaked into her
skin. Fighting her desire, feeling awkward, she cuddled up to his chest.

He didn’t move, didn’t react in any way.

Not encouraging.

“We need a reason for snooping around.” A fiery blush filled
her cheeks. “Kiss me.”

His eyes darkened with hunger, but it was the yearning there
that nearly dropped her to her knees. His gaze skimmed her lips, leaving them
tingling, and she struggled to remember how to breathe.

He still didn’t move.

“No time.”

She grabbed his face and pulled his head down, determined to
stake her claim so he wouldn’t forget. Going up on her toes, she met his lips.
The rest of the world dropped away. After the initial shock, Taggert took full
advantage of the situation and control of the kiss.

He tasted wild and forbidden and totally delicious. His
hands brushed her hips gently as if she were something precious. Raven sank her
fingers in his hair, wanting more, and bit his lip hard enough to sting. “You’re
holding back. Don’t.”

At the invitation, his hands clamped down possessively on
her hips, slid around to her back, then down to cup her ass. Taking it as an
invitation, Raven wrapped her legs around his waist, humming at the press of
his arousal.

She should’ve been intimidated. In the past, she’d always backed
away from anything intimate. Knowing her touch could kill put a damper on
getting close to anyone. But it was different now. She had more control. She
had a pack.

She ran her fingers down the back of his neck and brushed them
over his shoulders, cursing the clothes separating them. She’d worn gloves most
of her life to shield others from her deadly touch. With her pack, the
precaution wasn’t needed, and she relished touching skin to skin.

Then all thoughts vanished as Taggert pushed her against a
pole. She shivered at the friction. He twisted, moving his body in a way that
wasn’t possible for a human. Like he didn’t have any bones.

She felt surrounded.

Cherished.

“Get the hell out of here. This area is off limits.”

Raven tore her lips away from Taggert, completely dazed. A
flashlight beam locked on them, blinding her so she couldn’t see the person who
issued the demand. It took her a few seconds to realized they were being watched,
and another few seconds to unwrap herself from Taggert. She expected to feel
embarrassed for all but crawling up Taggert’s body, but she only felt
disgruntled at being interrupted.

“Sorry.” She ducked her head away from Taggert, brushing the
back of her hand against her lips as she fought to catch her breath and cool
her overheated cheeks. She grabbed the small stuffed animal that had dropped
from her nerveless fingers at the first taste of his kiss.

The man at the entrance stood a bit under six feet and
smelled of sweat and wet fur. She lifted an arm up to block the beam from the
flashlight he held in his ham-like fists. The man was dressed in a ringmaster
outfit, his bulk almost overflowing.

She’d never seen an overweight shifter before, their
metabolism usually burning through the calories too fast for fat cells to grow.
She must be looking at the alpha, but no matter how long she stared, she
couldn’t sense what type of beast he carried.

That meant he was incredibly strong—or weak but vicious
enough to keep the others in line.

From the look on his brutish face, she suspected the latter.
His features were too close together, his forehead a little too big, his jaw a
little too square. Hair covered nearly every inch of the man, springing up from
his knuckles, sticking out of his ears, even peeking from the collar of his
shirt.

Taggert grabbed her hand and tugged her after him as they
scooted past the man. The ringmaster eyed them suspiciously, but their act must
have convinced him as he allowed them to leave without a word of protest.

* * *

“We can’t stay here.” Taggert dragged her directly toward
the exit this time, the desire in his eyes banked as he glanced back at her. “I
won’t risk losing you.”

The edge of the fairground stood less than thirty feet away,
his determination to protect her instinctive. Not only was she female, she was
his alpha as well. Raven hadn’t grown up in a pack and didn’t realize how much
the need to protect her was built into their existence.

They would do anything for her—even kill.

She should find it barbaric, but she couldn’t help be drawn
to them all the more. Part of it was primal, years of evolution built in her
DNA, attracting her to the strongest protectors. The bigger part, though,
feared their lack of self-preservation when near her. Worry churned in her gut,
leaving her wondering how she was supposed to keep them safe.

Raven didn’t protest as Taggert practically picked her up,
the urge to leave like a tsunami. The threat built at her back, waiting to
ensnare them. As much as she wanted to remain and help the trapped shifters, it
was too dangerous.

She wouldn’t risk her people.

“Do you want to know your fortune?” A woman stepped in their
path. Short and lithe, she was dressed as a typical gypsy with a loose blouse
and a colorful layered skirt. She had a scarf wound through her long dark hair,
but it did little to tame the wild curls. Large, dangling earrings completed
the look. A string belt was looped about her waist, fake gold coins twinkling
even in the darkness, and chimed with her every movement.

“No.” Taggert easily sidestepped, herding Raven behind him,
but the woman persisted, grabbing his arm before he could pass.

Raven lurched forward to rip him away when Taggert stepped
between them, and she somehow ended up tangled in Taggert’s arm instead.

The gypsy reared back but didn’t loosen her hold. “It will
only take a minute. Free of charge for all those who paid for the freak show.”

Taggert shrugged off her hold, nearly pulling the poor woman
off her feet. As the gypsy staggered to remain upright, Raven instinctually
reached to steady her, not wishing to draw more attention. As soon as their
skin touched, color leeched from the gypsy’s face. A sickly-sweet smell
thickened the air, and things clicked into place.

A witch.

Desperation widened the gypsy’s eyes, and she clutched Raven’s
hand. “Please. I will be punished if I don’t read your rogue’s future.”

Stark terror filled her eyes with tears, and Raven found
herself nodding. Despite herself, a tinge of sympathy rose as she remembered
what it felt like to be trapped. “That’s fine, but he’s not—”

Taggert plucked her hand from the woman’s grasp, and brought
it to his lips, then nibbled on her fingertips. “They know I’m a shifter and
you’re human. There is no need to hide that I’m not human here.”

She had been going to say he wasn’t a rogue but followed
Taggert’s lead. Shifters were allowed to intermix with humans, take lovers, but
anything more was frowned upon.