Page 33 of You Can Make Me (Carnival of Mysteries #28)

Seventeen

D enny

At first I thought he’d fainted, and I panicked.

“He’s asleep,” Dane said. “Let’s get him out and dried off.”

“Yeah, and why don’t you guys stay here tonight? I’m sure he’s going to have more questions for Dane when he wakes.”

I carried him out of the water and Walter wrapped him in towels.

Once we got back to the bedroom where we’d changed, Walter helped me dry him as best we could and then he left the rest to me, saying he’d bring some dry clothes for both of us.

I pulled off Cooper’s shirt, lay him on the sheets, and tugged off the swim trunks.

My mind was racing with all we’d learned.

Cooper had told me he’d dreamed of the carnival, but it turned out he’d been spending quite a bit of time in that particular sector of dreamland. If what Dane said was true, if this bastard Evans had created some sort of link with Cooper, the nightmare we thought was over might be just beginning.

I covered him with blankets and listened to his chest to be sure he was still breathing. Then I sat on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands.

Walter tapped on the door. “You guys okay?”

I shook my head. “I really don’t know. Fucking woo-woo bullshit. How the hell?—”

“I know,” he murmured. “We gotta shut this guy down, D. Gene should know soon the results of the examination of the body, but I know it’s not him.”

“Yeah. It can’t be that easy, huh?”

Walter gave Cooper a sad look, then he crouched down in front of me.

“I’m having déjà vu,” he said. “Except it was the other way around, you and Gene coming in to save me .”

“I’m glad you found Dane, man, but this… Cooper’s just starting to get his life back. I don’t want this for him.”

“Then we gotta end this once and for all.”

“How, though? He’s getting to him in his sleep . How are we supposed to stop him, keep Cooper awake?”

“No, but look. Ryan and Kal are coming back down tomorrow for them to start rehearsals. Maybe Kal and Dane can help us find Evans by using the board. They’re strong together, some sort of residual effects from the carnival. They did it once, maybe they can do it again.”

“Until then? I can’t have Cooper upset, Walter. He’s been through so much,”

“I get it. Dane and I went through this too. However, now we know what we’re dealing with.”

Cooper stirred in his sleep. I bent down to kiss his forehead and gestured for Walter to follow me out of the room.

Dane was waiting for us in the kitchen.

With the board.

“Come with me,” he said.

My gaze darted towards the cracked bedroom door.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Walter said. “It’s put up or shut up time, D. Can you handle the woo-woo?”

“Fuck off,” I said, but I was too worried to give it the humor we usually spit at each other.

I approached Dane and set my hands on the counter next to the board. “How does this work?”

“We ask a question and set the parameters. I know more now than I did. It’ll be better. What do we need to know?”

I exhaled. “What is Cooper’s tie to this carnival? He mentioned his grandfather and these people from Circus Circus that he met… Why is he so obsessed?”

Walter chewed on his thumb. “What’s up with his grandfather? Do you know anything about him?”

“Frank Harris, do you remember? He was a big-time national news correspondent.”

“Holy shit,” Walter said. “I do?—”

“He was on 60 Minutes , right? I used to watch with Tess.”

“Cooper idolized him,” I said. “He said that in his dream, his grandfather is at the carnival, but can’t it be just that? A dream? How do we even know Evans is involved? How do we know he’s linked with Cooper at all?”

“We have to assume that Evans still had a link with Holland, which means he experienced Cooper’s attack vicariously. If he was fixated on me because I got away, you can bet he feels the same about Cooper.”

“And he’s going to use whatever he knows about Cooper to get his hooks into him, to make him do his bidding,” I assumed.

“We can’t let that happen.”

We exchanged looks, and I cleared my throat. “Junior, watch Cooper. Please. He’s…”

“I know, buddy. I’ll keep him safe.”

I locked eyes with Dane. “What do I do?”

He smiled weakly. I could tell he was reticent to dive back into this. He and Walter needed this mess to be over, too. None of us would be safe until Evans’ link was severed…or he was dead.

“Clear your mind. If you see anyone else, do not interact. Let me do the talking. Observe, gather what knowledge you discover, even if it seems meaningless. And don’t let go.”

“Got it.”

You need to do this. For Cooper. He’s counting on you.

Dane gave me a reassuring smile and held his hands over the planchette.”Ready?”

I gave him a curt nod. If I thought too much about it, I’d start making excuses and bail.

“When this is over, I’m kicking your ass, Junior.”

Walter laughed. “Can’t wait.”

I let out a breath and followed Dane’s movements. Our fingers touched at the same time—and I was instantly suspended in nothingness, as if I’d taken a dive off a cliff. There was no wind rushing at my face, no impending gravitational death, just…nothing.

Please. Let me help Cooper out of this mess. Make me what I need to be to protect him.

My feet hit the ground hard enough to send a jarring pain up my spine but I caught myself before I fell forward. I opened my mouth to call for Dane, but nothing happened. Including breathing. My lungs burned, as if I’d been under water too long, but I was dry as a bone.

An image appeared before me of circus tents, the backdrop of a sunset and rocky mountains.

A lanky young blond man stood at the gate, watching. He lifted his foot to step inside with a look of wonder, but he hesitated. His gaze was focused on a group of young people dressed as…acrobats? One of them smiled at the blond, crooked their finger, and the blond smiled back.

Cooper.

I’d recognize that smile anywhere or anytime.

He couldn’t have been much over eighteen, if that.

He lifted his foot again to step through the gate, but a man in a black coat and top hat blocked his path.

He put his arm around the young Cooper and turned him away from the beckoning beauties in their barely there costumes.

The man in the hat smiled, but it was sad.

His irises swirled, changing colors in a mesmerizing pattern.

“You may not enter, my young friend. Someday, you will understand. This place must be protected, even from the best intentions. Return home and worry not. You are meant for greater things.”

“But,” Cooper pleaded. I recognized that expression. Oftentimes when he asked for something, his eyes went wide, as if he feared being rejected on a much deeper level than what was being asked. “Those are my friends. My only friends.” A tear ran down his cheek. “I want to be with them.”

The man squeezed his shoulder and led him away.

I wanted to destroy him for making my Cooper cry.

I recalled Cooper telling me about getting bullied in school, and my heart broke.

The confident man I’d fallen in love with had been a lonely child who’d desperately wanted someone to let him in, and this man had turned him away.

What the fuck was this carnival bullshit anyway?

“All will be revealed in time. Apologies, my curious young friend. Know that you will find love and acceptance in great abundance when you need it most. You will require patience to endure the dark times ahead, but you have such a bright light inside you. Like attracts like, and you shall have all that you desire.”

“But not the carnival?”

The man shook his head, the light from his swirling eyes glinting off unshed tears.

“You are not a traveler. You are something far more important. Your innate gifts are needed. You are loved.” And with that, he reached into his pocket, brought out his hand in a fist, opened it, and blew powder in Cooper’s face.

“No!”

Cooper crumbled to the ground, Dane tugged on my hand, and we were sucked backward, the colors streaking past us. Pressure squeezed my chest and I gasped for air, my vision blacking out before the bright light of Walter’s kitchen seared my retinas.

“Lay him down. Denny, can you hear me? His pulse is racing. Grab my blood pressure cuff, would you, babe?”

Walter held a hand to my forehead, his brow tight with worry.

“Den? Buddy? Can you talk? Shit! Den, I’m gonna call the ambulance, man.”

I grabbed for his arm and squeezed hard. “Right…pocket.”

He reached into my jeans and pulled out the tiny bottle I’d been carrying every day since my angioplasty.

“What the… Nitroglycerin? Fuck! Okay.” He pulled out a pill, stuck it under my tongue and frowned even deeper. “We’re gonna have words. As soon as you’re upright, goddammit.”

“What’s going— Denny! ”

Cooper held my face in his hands, making me look at him.

“What happened? Den?” His gaze traveled away, and his eyes bugged out. “The Ouija board? Somebody better explain to me what’s happening!”

“You were there, baby.” The tightness in my chest had subsided, but it hurt to talk. “He made you leave. He…he drugged you. He took your memory away, but you were there.”

Cooper gasped, and his gaze shot to Dane.

“He’s telling the truth. Cooper, you were at the carnival. Mr. Ame, he can see far and wide. He knows things. He has to protect the carnival. Maybe…maybe he didn’t let you in because he knew Evans would try to use you?”

Cooper blinked, then he looked down at me. “Denny? What happened? Is it your heart?” His hand and voice shook as he ran his fingers through my hair.

“Let me up,” I said. “I’m fine.” I tried to smile at Cooper, but he kept touching me, rubbing my chest. He took my pulse with his fingers, looked at the blood pressure cuff. Then his eyes narrowed.

“Why did none of you call 9-1-1? He needs the hospital?—”

“I’m fine, baby. I swear. My heart just didn’t like that astral projection shit. I’m meant to stay put right here. I’m not made for woo-woo land.”