Night of the Tiger(77)

She knew she was in shock. It was a strange feeling. Like being separate from her body somehow. Roric’s arms came around her and, for the first time, she couldn’t feel his heat. She was cold, so very cold.

This was very different from killing the demon in her yard. Sandra had been her friend for almost a year. She’d known her personally. Even though Aimee knew that none of their friendship had been real, it didn’t change the fact that she’d thought it had been.

She began to shake. She clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering.

Forcing herself to concentrate, Aimee pried her fingers open one by one until Roric was able to take the sword from her hand.

“I’m covered in blood.” She sounded bewildered, rather than matter of fact. She shook herself. Instead of clearing her head, she only succeeding in making herself dizzy. The inside of the tent seemed to swirl around her.

She blinked and realized the tent was moving. “Roric?” She hoped he knew what was happening. She had no idea.

The black hole was getting bigger with each swirl it made. Dust kicked up from the floor, and the tent walls began to flutter. Roric was staring at the hole and the Lady just beyond. She lifted her hand, and the one word she said reverberated around them.

Go!

“We have to get out of here.” Aimee tugged on his arm. In the next second, the Lady was gone and thick, inky black filled the hole.

Roric turned from the portal, grabbed her arm and tugged her toward the slit he’d cut in the canvas wall. “Hurry.”

It was getting harder to walk as the wind picked up around them. They were both bent over at the waist, arms extended, reaching for the wall. The hole was trying to suck them in.

Metal creaked and groaned. Aimee shot a glance over her shoulder and watched as the carousel began to spin, the animals a blur. It was too much like the night she’d freed Roric.

“Move.” He picked up her and practically threw her through the opening. He quickly followed, grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the woods. “Run!”

Her legs felt like jelly, but she managed to put one foot in front of the other. A whirring sound grew louder with each passing second, like a locomotive was bearing down on them. Aimee had heard that sound once before in her life, and it struck terror in her heart.

Tornado.

She tried to yell at Roric, but the wind ripped her words from her mouth, carrying them away. His arms locked around her like a vise, until it was hard for her to breath. Even with all his preternatural strength, the wind drove them both to their knees.

Roric fell to the ground and rolled them toward the trees. Not that there was much safety to be found there. His large body covered hers, protecting her from flying debris. Aimee buried her face against his hard chest and held on for dear life.

She had no idea how long the tempest raged around them. Eventually, the wind began to die down, but Roric didn’t move, sheltering her from the dust and branches and leaves that skittered by.

Finally, the wind retreated. It was only when a crow flew by, squawking with displeasure, that Roric stirred at last. He rolled to one side with Aimee still cradled in his embrace.

The devastation should have been massive. Yet no trees were uprooted. The forest still stood the same as before. The wind had only blown around what was already on the forest floor. The only thing missing was the carnival itself. The tents were gone, the rides nothing but a memory. There wasn’t even a stray piece of garbage on the ground to acknowledge the carnival had been here. Only the smell of grease and spun sugar from the concession stands lingered in the air. And within seconds, the breeze had even dispersed even that.

Aimee blinked, unable to believe her eyes. “That’s impossible.”

Roric pushed himself into a sitting position, lifting her into his lap as he did so. “Nothing is impossible.”

Yeah, after everything she’d seen in the past day, this was just one more crazy thing. “It’s gone.” Her mind seemed to be having a hard time grasping the fact the entire carnival had vanished, and with it, the carousel. “I’m so sorry.”

He shrugged, but she could see the pain in his eyes. “There is nothing to be done about it now.” He shifted her off his lap, stood and helped her to her feet.

Aimee bit her bottom lip. Was he mad at her for stopping him from going after his goddess? “I had no choice,” she blurted out. If this was going to be an issue between them, it was better to get it out in the open.

Roric turned to her, his expression unreadable. “I know.” He raked his fingers through the tangle of his hair and changed the subject. “We’d better go back to your place.” He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and tugged her through an opening in the trees.