Rubbing One Out - Susan Mac Nicol Page 0,45

the entrance.

Dae wasn’t sure they were going the right way. He rather thought they might be heading into the bowels of the ride, where—ahem and alas—more visions awaited them.

Ben sprang out of the car and ran over to the fallen man. “Dae, give me a hand to get him back into the car. Hopefully, they’ll start moving again soon and we can get him out of here.”

They managed to get the unconscious man into the seat of his ride and clambered in beside him. Both behind and ahead of them, there were still sounds of terror and shrieks as people encountered more of Dae’s creations.

Horsefeathers. Perhaps I should retract the enchantments before they kill someone with a heart attack. Dae flexed his fingers and muttered the words to stop the carnage spreading through the funfair. The hellhound disappeared around the bend and Dae hoped it had gone for good. Sometimes these mischievous things had a mind of their own. He blinked his sudden fatigue away.

I have a headache. I need to lie down.

“Wait until I get out of here,” Ben said darkly. “The owner of this damned place is going to get a fucking mouthful. I’m all for a scary ghost ride, but this went too far.”

Dae squinted at him in confusion mixed with some apprehension. Ben sounded rather fierce. “I thought the whole idea of these things was to be scared?”

Ben scowled. “Yes, but there’s a difference between scared by a stupid fair show, where you know more or less what’s coming, and being terrified by slavering monsters that get up close and personal.”

Dae would never understand the way the human mind worked. Suddenly, the cart jerked and moved forward.

“At last,” Ben muttered. “We can get out of here and I can have words.”

Dae wasn’t sure how he was going to protect the unfortunate ride manager from Ben’s wrath without admitting his part in the unfortunate affair. That was something he wasn’t looking forward to explaining.

“Are you all right?” Ben asked. “That was some experience for your first haunted house ride.”

Dae nodded. “I’m fine, I’ve got a bit of a headache.” He looked over at the man slumped in the chair. “I’m sorry he collapsed. Is it serious, do you think?”

Ben shook his head. “No, his pulse is good. I think he fainted. He’ll be fine once we get out into the fresh air.”

The cart with its burden of three grown men rattled along the train line, and finally Dae saw flashing lights at the exit to the tunnel he’d caused chaos in. His stomach churned when he realised he would have to face the music outside. That was something he wasn’t looking forward to. At all.

As the cart wobbled out into the light-spangled night, he noticed with some discomfort a group of people gathering. They were all gesticulating wildly and pointing towards the tunnel.

“I tell you, it’s proper haunted,” one excited teenager in a hoodie proclaimed. “Mate, you wouldn’t believe what we saw in there.”

An older woman clinging to the arm of a man, probably her husband, nodded her head fervently. “I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life. My brother,” she waved to a man on the ground sitting with an asthma inhaler pressed to his mouth, “he should sue you for causing him an asthma attack. We all should. It was absolutely terrifying.”

Oh frinx and double frinx, Dae groaned silently. This was worse than he thought. A sudden perk of optimism took hold of him. Perhaps he could make everyone forget about the event? It was magic he hadn’t tried before, and it would no doubt leave him feeling even more nauseous and tired, but it might be worth the effort. Especially if he didn’t have to tell Ben about his part in the situation.

A fiercer headache may be worth it.

Before he could carry through with his plan, he became aware of Ben impatiently tugging his arm.

“Come on, Dae. Give me a hand to get this poor bloke over to the medical tent. It’s over there, not far.” Dae found himself lifting the now half-conscious man over to a waiting employee, who rushed forward to take the man off their hands.

“He fainted inside,” Ben offered as he looked around, eyes wide at the commotion. “Something went wrong in there and everyone got a bit more fright than they bargained for.”

Dae cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should go, leave them to sort it out. We don’t want to get in the way.” Instead of performing magic,