Page 30 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

The non-spitting escort nodded, looking impatient.

“Old mine that was repurposed for this,” he paused, playing with a cigarette tucked behind his ear. “For this display.”

Kelli sat up straight and feigned interest, but in reality, she was in shock about what was about to happen. She was an intelligent woman who was spotting all of the clues of an incredibly illegal, nasty tale of events.

She gazed around at the crowd, trying to see if she recognized anyone. They all looked similar to Archie, and Kelli wasn’t exactly sure what she was expecting when it came to a paying audience. In any other context, what she was seeing before her would have been a hilarious joke.

But it wasn’t a joke at all. She looked around the mine, genuinely fascinated by how someone like Archie could have managed to use an old mine for his sinister purposes. She noticed the small bulbs of the lights strung along a dangerous-looking entryway she must have been guided through.

Above, sounds of wetness creaked and cracked. She tried to see if there were any bats present but to no avail. Bat droppings were dangerous when humans came into contact with them, and it wasn’t likely that anyone who had repurposed the mine knew that.

Kelli tried to assess a method of escape, should she be satisfied with the information obtained. The entrance looked rickety, like an old, abandoned carnival ride. It looked somewhat steep as well, with rocks and trails of uneven ground that even the steadiest of people could trip over.

She was in relatively good shape, but the men sitting on both sides of her were probably in better condition. They could easily chase her up the entryway and, hell, even give her another soggy sandwich to punish her for her defiance.

The crowd roused when two people began rolling something incredibly heavy onto what looked like an ancient wooden platform. Kelli narrowed her eyes, continuously wearing the mask of a curious onlooker.

“What are they bringing on stage?” she asked.

“Just watch,” the cigarette man growled.

Kelli turned back, listening to the pathetic calls of excitement from the crowd as Archie, their tall, yokel god, walked on stage wearing pants decorated in pale stars, attached to suspenders that yanked up the cuff of the pants lamely over his ankles.

He held a microphone in his hand and brought it to his heavy, enthralled breathing. His sideburns were sticking out the sides of a ridiculous-looking top hat, an orangutan with style.

“Hello, my good friends!” His voice echoed in the cave, as did the shouts from the electric crowd, who were all on their feet. Kelli had an ominous feeling rising in her chest, like oil spilling into the ocean.

“We have something very special for all of you today,” he bellowed, spit flying from his gob. “Something we feel is just going to drive the lot of youwild!” He emphasized the final word like he was the first one to ever create a double meaning. The crowd adored it, of course, clapping and screaming for more.

Archie stepped aside from the center of the stage, and whatever they had rolled was moved forward. Kelli couldn’t hold in her gasp when she suddenly realized that it was a cage.

Lights suddenly blazed on in an unflattering blast, and Kelli’s heart leaped into her throat at the horrible sight before her.

Inside the cage were two humans sitting in the fetal position, looking terrified, cold, and starved. The sounds of the crowd’s excitement muted in her ears as she saw that one of the prisoners was a woman, the other a man who looked exceedingly familiar to her.

The man had his hand wrapped around the woman, comforting her from the wretched roar of the crowd. Slowly, he raised his eyes as if searching for her.

They were that dazzling shade of emerald that could cut through the deepest, darkest of nights, moving like spotlights over the terror unfolding before them.

A beat of silence overtook Kelli’s consciousness as it all clicked into place.

The humans sitting in the cage were Nevel and Elise, Nox’s brother and sister-in-law.

TWENTY-ONE

KELLI

Kelli sat in the audience, astonished by what she was seeing in front of her. The two people they had been looking for all had been taken as circus freaks to perform for some other freaks. She tried to keep her shock to herself as Archie barked orders at the two naked humans.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen,” he bellowed, “watch these simple humans change before your eyes!”

The entire crowd, including Kelli, held their breath. When nothing happened, Archie used a spear-like device he had been holding to poke into the cage, making Nevel grimace. They then quickly shifted, their larger forms bashing into the sides of the bars.

The crowd gasped, then clapped with glee. Kelli felt her heart wring out inside of her, looking into the humiliated eyes of the family of the man she loved.

Archie held his arms in the air, a strange-looking, distorted glare of victory making his dead eyes shine.

“There you have it. Real magic!”

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