Page 43 of You Can Make Me (Carnival of Mysteries #28)

Evans’ eyes shook in their sockets with terror, and I saw movement to my right.

“Walter, no!” Dane called out to him as he approached from the house. Walter had his weapon trained on Evans, but I held up a hand.

“At school, your siblings let the other kids in on the game, and they ignored you, too. You tried to make a name for yourself with your teachers, tried to impress them with your above-average intelligence, but they didn’t pay attention.

And you couldn’t impress your parents because neither of them wanted anything to do with you, either. ”

His ears vanished, and he shook his head, bringing his lone hand up to what was left of his mouth. His skin began to crack like ash before our eyes.

The truths continued to pour out of my mouth in a matter-of-fact tone devoid of empathy or warmth. I didn’t sound like myself, but then, this person hadn’t earned compassion or sympathy from me.

“You made it through graduation with mediocre grades, probably because you spent all of your time torturing small animals and dreaming about blood. You were obsessed with it, and pictures and movies weren’t enough.

You’d gained no knowledge of any trades, you didn’t earn any scholarships, so college was out of the question, leaving manual labor as your only option.

But in the mid-sixties in California, that didn’t pay enough for you to live on, and your parents kicked you out with nothing but your clothes and twenty bucks. ”

The lower half of his legs disappeared and he thumped to his knees, shaking his head and pleading wordlessly with his arms and one hand.

I couldn’t have stopped if I’d chosen. A force within urged me on.

Witness it all. Tell the truth.

“The last straw for you was when you showed up for your military draft appointment and, after the exam, they wouldn’t take you. You’d been so eager to join because you knew you’d have the freedom to kill. You’d seen all the news clips about Vietnam. But they said no.”

The skeleton fell forward onto his hand as the thigh bones disintegrated, a fine dust blowing in the breeze.

“You found Caltrans, and started to make enough money to live on, made some friends—or so you thought. But they only tolerated you because you paid for the drugs and booze.

“And then you met Tess Miller.”

The skeleton shook its head again and crawled forward. I stepped back to avoid it touching me…and the final blow fell from my lips.

“But she wanted nothing to do with you, either. She sensed the evil in you, and she was terrified when you came around. Try as you might, you couldn’t get close to her…

until you attempted to murder Dane. You were stopped, thwarted by the carnival that had always rejected you all.

You assumed with Dane out of the way, you could finally get Tess to agree to see you.

She still refused. So you ended her life.

But it was bittersweet, wasn’t it, Virgil?

Because your feelings for her were your last remnants of humanity.

“You may have thought you’d become powerful when you learned to control minds, but you could never make the people you loved most in your life love you back.

Your existence was empty from then on, and despite all the slaughter, despite your manipulation, you made it to the carnival… only to be stopped. Permanently.”

The torso was all that was left. A strangled cry erupted from the maw where its mouth once was, before the ribs collapsed into a pile with the broken skull on top.

“And now it’s time for you to pay the enormous debt you owe. With your death, all of those you’ve controlled will be released to make amends—but you will be given no quarter. You are doomed to an eternity of nothingness. No power, no love, only an awareness that you…are…nothing.”

A strong breeze blew through the yard, and the remaining bones crumbled to dust.

I exhaled and stepped back, holding on to my chest to calm my racing heart.

“You did it.” Dane put a hand on my shoulder and moved beside me.

Kal joined us and shook his head. “You truthed him to death.”

I sputtered out a laugh, but there was no time to question what had just happened.

“Denny.”

I ran into the house, tripping on the step and bouncing off the doorjamb before stumbling into the sitting room.

Denny lay motionless on the gurney hooked up to an IV. A monitor beeped along with his heartbeat, which was erratic and sluggish. His blood pressure was low, his oxygen dropping.

“I’ve done all I can, son,” Charlene said, approaching. “He’ll either wake up or he won’t. There’s nothing else a hospital can do for him. I know that’s your next question. We can only wait and see.”

The other men filed in behind me, and I felt them at my back, willing their strength into me. Patience was not one of my virtues, and despair threatened to overtake my dwindling hope.

“You did what was necessary, and you know that’s the truth. You were the only one who could’ve stopped Evans from hurting any more people.”

I nodded. “But Denny’s the one paying the price.” I swallowed hard and waited for the tears to start up, but I had nothing left. “I feel him slipping away from me right before my eyes.” I put my hand on his chest, and though he had warming blankets on him, all I felt was cold.

Sniffles and whispered words behind me let me know that the others knew what I said was true.

I cannot lose this man. We cannot lose him. He’s too important.

Charlene pegged me with a look. “You willing to put up?”

I started to ask what she meant when there was a knock on the door. We all turned at the same time.

A strange man stood in the open doorway, wearing denim overalls with a dirty white button-up shirt underneath. He held a crushed hat between his hands and shifted his weight as his gaze darted between us. “Ma’am?”

Charlene stepped back from the table and shot me a look.

“Pokey.” Dane spoke to the man with surprise in his voice.

“You know who this is?” I asked.

Kal spoke, his piercing blue eyes boring into me.”He’s here for Denny.”

I held on to Denny’s unbandaged hand and squeezed. I wanted to scream and fight every one of these people. I wanted to rage at the heavens, unleash my wrath upon every being who’d been responsible for getting us to this place. My beloved was…

I was losing him. And these people expected me to make a decision.

“You should let Pokey take him,” Dane said gently.

“To the carnival? But…”

“They’ll help him like they did us.”

“But…you were gone forty years. And you?” I looked to Kal.

“Eighty years.”

A sob escaped my chest. I’d lost so much. I’d only just gotten Denny back, and now I was being asked to let him go?

“It’s that or forever, News Boy. Take it or leave it.”

I whirled around and pegged Charlene with a look that had been known to send people cowering from me when I was in a mood, but she just lifted her chin.

“Your choice. Let them care for him, or take the chance you lose him forever.”

“Because I can’t go with him.” That truth cracked something open in my chest, flooding me with sorrow. It was so powerful, it devastated me. I could not go with him, because as a truthseeker, I could cause harm to an entity that needed to be protected above all.

I didn’t understand its power or magic, but I knew this to be the case.

“I could lose him forever, either way,” I protested, my voice weak.

Denny’d had to make tough choices for me. He’d had to decide whether to take me from the rehab facility. He admitted he’d been afraid it would harm me, but he did what I wanted.

What would he want?

“Walter,” I cried, looking around for him. “What would he want me to do?”

Walter wiped tears from his eyes. “The thing he’s wanted the most is you . If this is the only way for that to happen…”

I turned to Dane and Kal. “You…do you promise they’ll keep him safe? He won’t be hurt? His body has been through so much.”

“No harm will come to him. Mr. Ame will see to it. He’ll be cared for.”

I knew what Kal said was true. Whatever this truthseeker bullshit was all about, I knew it would be selfish to deny this truth.

I looked at the stranger and immediately felt kindness and warmth emanating from him.

You have to let him go.

“Please. Look after him. He’s my everything.”

Everyone moved away from the gurney as the man stepped forward.

I bent to kiss Denny’s forehead.”I love you with all that I am. Please be safe. I’m sending my heart with you.”

Pokey unhooked Denny from his IV, the monitors, everything, and slid his hands under Denny’s damaged body. He lifted him like he weighed nothing and carried him toward the gate, with me hot on his heels. I touched Denny’s hair as the man reached the threshold of the carnival.

Be well, my love. Until we meet again…

Pokey carried Denny through the gate and under the banner.

Welcome, Traveler.

All the air left my lungs, and I collapsed in a sobbing heap.

The man with the hat stood under the banner.

“There are times when my responsibility weighs heavily upon my soul. It pains me to separate two who are as bonded as you. But some things in this universe are beyond the control of any being. Trust us to care for your beloved. Your sacrifice is the most powerful of all. Take solace in knowing that tonight, you have learned the ultimate truth—that love and sacrifice are the most important things, even more than the truth. You will never walk alone as long as you continue to seek out truths. You are loved by those who walk beside you. Go in peace, Truthseeker.”

I was speechless. How was I supposed to answer any of that when my greatest love had just been ripped from my being?

The man took off his hat and bowed to me, and for a brief moment, I saw swirling colors in his eyes.

Then, just as in my dream, the vision of the carnival was yanked away like the snap of a rubber band.

And I screamed his name until my throat was raw and my rage permeated the air around us. Lightning cracked in the sky, so bright it made the others cry out. Thunder shook the ground beneath me, sending rocks and dirt scattering, and a relentless downpour began.

It wasn’t enough. Nature could never match the maelstrom in my soul.

He was taken from me, and no matter what I grasped at to place blame, the truth was right there in front of me.

He was gone.