wasn’t just some random NOLA ghost. And he had gone for help when I’d been cornered in the mansion.
I took his hand, and he didn’t even complain as I stuffed him back into my hip bag. I double-checked that my two knives were in there, and that was about as ready as I could be.
“Let’s go, Skeletor. To the abandoned amusement park.” I clamped my legs around the horse’s barrel chest, and he took off, plunging forward into the dark of the night. I skidded a little to the left, but Robert helped straighten me out.
The sound of Skeletor’s unshod hooves were a dull thud on the pavement and paving stones we galloped across. The few people who looked up as we passed seemed surprised, but they quickly glanced away. That was interesting. They had to be part of the shadow world in order to see us, but they didn’t seem intrigued . . . they looked scared.
Maybe they had an inkling of what had been going on in this town.
Skeletor stretched out, his ears perked forward, and I leaned forward with him. With the wind whipping in our faces, I felt a surge of determination. Of hope. I wasn’t doing this alone. I was going in with friends at my back and by my side. We would save Charlotte, stop this coven from trapping Penny, and then we would find Gran, and somehow . . . somehow, I’d be cleared of the murder charges too.
All of that had to happen. There was no other option.
“We can do this, Robert!” I yelled out, my words torn from my mouth.
“Friend.” Robert growled back, tightening his fingers on me. Yes, we could do this.
Of course, I hadn’t counted on anyone else showing up to the party besides the coven.
22
The amusement park reared up in front of us, looming out of the night like a lumbering thug looking for trouble. Bits and pieces of the former rides still clung to the sky, which was currently rumbling like an old man with gas pains.
Gawd help us that we didn’t get shit on.
I slowed Skeletor to a walk, the rush of the nighttime gallop still singing in my veins. I patted his neck. “Good boy.” A quick check of the time told me the ride had lasted all of three minutes. We were probably here ahead of Penny.
The undead horse blew out a long, low snort and stopped in his tracks abruptly enough to unseat me. I yelped and clung to his neck.
Robert slid off the horse’s back and landed lightly on his feet, then looked up and held out a hand to me. Hand, not skeletal fingers. “He can’t go farther,” Robert said, pointing to a painted red line on the pavement. “The coven has put a protective line around the park, and the horse is a guardian of sorts.”
I took his hand, no longer surprised by his appearance as a solid man. Whatever magic held Robert to being a skeleton seemed to be . . . maybe fading was the right word? I wasn’t sure, but I appreciated his newfound ability to talk, however temporary. I needed all the help I could get.
“He can’t, but you can?” My legs wobbled as I slid off the sort-of-dead horse.
“I’m tied to you. Wherever you go, I go.” He gave me grin. “Basically you’re stuck with me.”
My hip bag rumbled, and when I flipped it open, Alan came tumbling out. “I am also stuck here,” he said.
Robert nodded. “Different ties. But, yes, you’re stuck with her for now.” For now. Damn, I really hoped that Marge could help me take care of that.
Skeletor blew out a long low snort, pawed once at the pavement, and then nudged me forward with his nose. I stepped up to the red line and looked down at it. I didn’t want to think about what had made it. Blood? It would have taken a lot of blood to go around the whole park.
Robert stepped up beside me and put his hands on his hips. “Probably not what you think. Paint mixed with herbs.”
I snorted. “Amateurs.”
Robert shot me a look and let out a chuckle. “Let’s hope so. Because it would make our lives much easier. But didn’t Penny say they’re strong? Strong but untried.”
Looking at the line, I glanced at Alan. “Can you go in and see if you can pinpoint Charlotte’s location? She has dark hair, big dark eyes, and is about ten years old,” I said. “Look for