Amanda M. Lee [Lee - Luke on the Loose

One

O hio is the worst.

Nelson Nellie Adler leaned back in his chair and glared at the raging bonfire as the other workers at Mystic Caravan Circus buzzed about.

He had a large stick in his hand and looked as if he was ready to smack somebody over the head with it. Because he usually carried an ax, that was a mild relief.

Ohio is the worst, I agreed, stretching out my long legs and giving the crowd of milling bodies a cursory look. I didnt see my best friend Poet Parker. That was unusual. There was nothing she loved more than a good bonfire. Of course, since hooking up with her love volcano Kade Denton, who just happened to be the bosss son and a growing mage, shed been more interested in him than me.

Im not bitter or anything. Im just putting it out there. I, Luke Bishop, am not jealous of a guy with no stage presence. Thats simply not my style. Theres nothing to be jealous about.

Where is Poet? Nixie, one of the pixie twins who shared magic booth duties, moved closer to me as she asked the question, her eyes scanning the darkness. Pixies arent normal on this plane. She and her sister Naida also a Mystic Caravan employee crossed over years ago (decades really) and settled with our magical circus before I was even out of high school. Of course, I didnt finish high school. I had big dreams and they didnt revolve around education.

As a wolf shifter yes, you heard that right, I turn into a wolf at will and it doesnt matter if the moon is full I wanted to get away from the pack rules my father so rigidly demanded I follow. Im not a rule follower. I wanted to make my own way and I love being the center of attention. Plus, well, I knew at a young age that I was different. Being gay in the wolf world doesnt exactly earn you accolades. If you cant procreate and add to the furry ranks youre considered a dead loss. I didnt want to hang around and listen to the snide remarks that I was certain would follow my eventual outing.

That meant getting away ... and even though I often wondered what my parents were doing (my father essentially shunned me when he found out I preferred men to women), I made a clean break when I joined the circus. Numerous other paranormal creatures were talking lamia, shifters, mages, cross-dressing dwarves from other realms and pixies, just to name a few were part of our entourage, so I always felt as if I belonged. That feeling only increased when Poet joined the group two years later. She got caught picking the bosss pocket, but Max Anderson was a man who believed in second chances. Instead of turning her over to the police, he offered her a job. Ten years later, Poet is the second in command and basically runs the whole show.

That doesnt mean Im not annoyed she isnt around for me to play with. Im not needy or anything Im not! I simply prefer spending time with my friend when our schedules allow. Thats basically set-up days with the circus. Wed just arrived in Ohio during the afternoon rush hour, which meant we had several days to organize before guests started visiting. I was looking forward to the downtime after leaving Michigan, where we had two stressful stops in a row, but if I didnt have a friend to play with I wouldnt be happy.

I dont know where she is. I tried to keep the irritation from my voice. Shes probably in her trailer with Captain Killjoy.

Nixie had been alive for more than a century, but looked eternally young. Pixies have long lifespans. She furrowed her brow as she looked toward the trailer in question, making herself look years older. Who is Captain Killjoy? Did we get another new worker and nobody told me? I hate that.

I frowned. I loved her, but Nixie was often slow. I liked to blame it on coming from a different plane, but I wasnt always certain that was true. Im talking about Kade.

Oh. She pursed her lips. When did he change his name?

I couldnt deal with this. Not tonight when I wanted to relax. Its an ongoing process, I said blandly, doing my best to ignore the way Nellie grinned like a loon behind her back. He was dressed in one of his more laid-back gowns no chiffon on moving days because it tends to rip during unpacking and the beer in his hand told me he planned to make it a late night. I was fine with that. I liked a late night around the bonfire as much as the next person.

I like Kade better than Captain Killjoy, but I guess I dont get a vote in it. Nixie waved before taking off in the direction of her sister. There was no body of water near this campsite which was enough to drive Naida batty because she needed to swim if she wanted to maintain her sanity but theyd discovered a retention pond a few hours ago and they planned to head there for a late-night swim. I heard them talking during dinner preparations.

Do you ever wonder how shes survived as long as she has? Nellie asked as he sipped his beer and watched the exuberant pixie disappear into the night. Im serious. Shes the type who doesnt remember to look both ways before crossing the road. The fact that she hasnt been hit by a semi is miraculous.

I snickered as I reached over to the cooler hed placed between us and grabbed a beer from the slushy ice. The mood of the group was surprisingly buoyant considering the heaviness of the last few weeks. It was possible I didnt know how likely, but certainly possible that everyone was simply feeling the joy of leaving Detroit behind us. It felt like something more, though I couldnt put my finger on it.

Im just glad were away from the reapers and witches for a bit, Dolph Smirnov, our resident strongman, said as he lowered his bulk into the open chair on the other side of me. Hed obviously been listening to our conversation but somehow Id missed him ... which was impressive because he was six and a half feet tall and built like a brick wall.

I liked the witches. Nellie took on a dreamy expression. I couldve done without the reapers. He scowled at the memory. Those reapers were mouthy.

The witches were mouthy, too, I reminded him.

Yeah, but they were fun mouthy.

If you say so.

We lapsed into silence, our eyes busy as we watched our co-workers cavort. To the far right, Raven Marko, our lamia, flirted with her boyfriend Percival. He was a clown and, no, thats not a euphemism, because he really does dress up like a clown and perform and apparently he enjoys wearing leather chaps when playing private games with Raven. I hadnt seen that up close and personal, but Poet had and she was still traumatized by the sight.

Behind us, I heard Nixie and Naida chattering away. They were making plans for the retention pond. There was talk of swimming nude. A few of the shifters to the left were listening hard to the discussion, but the pixie twins were either purposely ignoring them or too caught up in their own conversation to notice.