“What about it?” Every year, Bluebonnet put on a big Halloween Festival that brought in tourists from several counties over. It was tradition, complete with hay rides, costumes, and everything else you could imagine. It was also still at least six weeks away.
He straightened his tie and proudly informed her, “I signed you up to be on the committee. With me.”
Beth Ann gritted her teeth. “You’re joking.”
“Why would I joke? You love committees!”
“That was before I started running my own business, Allan,” she said in exasperation. “Back when I had nothing to do except be social and wait on you. I have a job now, and it takes up a lot of my free time.”
He nodded sympathetically, and for a moment, she thought she’d finally gotten through to him and he understood. He touched her shoulder, scowled at her dress, and then said in a gentle voice, “We’ll discuss this later.”
She should have known better. Allan didn’t change. He just thought up more schemes to place them both in the same room again, in the hopes that she’d weaken and fall back into his arms. She flicked his hand off her shoulder. “There is no ‘later.’ I’m leaving.”
“But I just got here. I thought we’d do the rounds together.”
So everyone could continue to think they were a couple? Not a chance. She gestured at the kitchen. “Really, really have to go. Was nice seeing you, though—”
He grabbed her wrist when she turned. “Bethy-babe, I want you to know something.”
She sighed. Turned. Waited.
He leaned in close as if sharing a secret. “I didn’t bring a date to this party. Because I knew you would be here.”
That irritated her. He clearly thought that her presence still equaled fiancée. “You should have brought a date, Allan. We’re not together. You can do things like that. I could have brought a date, too.”
“But you didn’t,” he said smugly, and hope lit his handsome features. “Is it because you still care for me?”
She sighed and made a concerted effort not to pinch the bridge of her nose in irritation. “I will always love you as a friend, Allan,” she said, stressing the word friend so he wouldn’t get his hopes up. “But you and me are done. There is no ‘us.’ There is no doing the rounds together, because we aren’t together. Okay?”
He gave her a wounded look of pain. “I…see.”
Great. Now she was the bad guy. Allan had this way of turning everything around to where it seemed like she was the unreasonable one. In the past, she hadn’t realized this. When he’d been upset, she’d apologize all over herself, desperate to make him happy. Now, though, she just felt annoyed. He was clearly trying to manipulate her emotions. She hated that. So she pasted a bright smile on her face and patted his cheek. “Gotta go. Was nice seeing you!”
Then, she turned and swiftly headed for the swinging kitchen doors.
“Wait, Bethy-babe! Please. I just want to talk…”
She did not turn around.
She got into her car and drove out of the city and pulled onto the highway. Her parents had OnStar in their car but Beth Ann’s cute little Volkswagen Beetle didn’t have anything close to that. She didn’t even have GPS, and she couldn’t manage that on her phone while driving. So she did the next best thing—called her friend Miranda.
“Hey, girl. Where are you? It’s late.” Miranda sounded sleepy, and she could hear the sound of a movie being turned down in the background.
“Sorry. Did I interrupt something?”
“Nah. Dane and I are just watching a movie. Spending a little quality time together before he leaves me for the weekend for a bunch of businessmen.” She gave a mock sniff. “Stupid overnight campouts.”
She heard Dane mumble something in the background, and then heard Miranda’s squeal erupt into a giggle.
Beth Ann resisted the urge to toss the phone on the floor in a mixture of jealousy and annoyance. “I need you to do me a favor, Mir. If you have a sec. I’m driving back from the big fund-raiser in Houston and need you to Google something for me.”
Fat raindrops began to splash on her windshield as Miranda typed into the computer on the other side of the phone. “Okay, what am I looking for?”
“QuestMasters. It’s some costume group. They’re having a big campout this weekend and Lucy ran off to go to it. My mother had a fit.”
“Aren’t you a little too old to be Lucy’s watchdog?” Miranda said with amusement.
“Apparently not,” Beth Ann replied dryly. “As long as I live at home, I live to serve.” After she’d left Allan, she hadn’t been able to afford a place of her own and a salon. She’d chosen, and on nights like tonight, well, Jeanette made her regret her choice.
“Think you’ll move out soon?”
“Lord, I hope so.” She didn’t think she’d be able to stand another few months living under her parents’ roof. “Any luck with the search?”
She heard Miranda clicking around on the other side of the computer, and then a stifled giggle. “Does it involve guys that dress up like hobbits?”
“That’s probably it,” Beth Ann said with a sigh. The rain didn’t appear to be letting up. Just her luck. “Does it say anything about camping?”
“Ooo, there’s a Tournament of Knights this weekend in Arcane Forest.”
“Arcane Forest?”
“Apparently it’s some privately owned property not far from the Daughtry Ranch.”
Masculine murmuring rumbled in the background. Miranda laughed again. “Dane says to tell you that he’s run into them before on the ranch property. They get pissy if you don’t address them properly when they are in costume.” She paused, then chuckled. “He just told me he was berated by a man in a fur loincloth while scouting a trail.”
“A fur loincloth?” Man, she hoped his name was not Colossus. She steered toward the next exit. “Never mind about the loincloth, honey. I don’t think I want to know. What exit do I need to take?”
Miranda walked her through the directions until Beth Ann had them memorized. “Thanks for your help, Mir.”
“Call me back if you meet a handsome, dashing wizard.”
“Very funny.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, I’ve got this covered.” Surely it wouldn’t be too hard to find Lucy. She’d just look for the most normal girl there.
“It’s no trouble. Dane says we can send maybe Colt or Grant your way—”
Beth Ann groaned. Miranda frequently mentioned Grant in Beth Ann’s presence, and she was starting to wonder if it was because Grant was wealthy, good-looking, and single. It smelled of a hookup. And Colt? Miranda knew better. Colt was a jerk. “Do not even think about sending anyone my way. You are not setting me up with one of Dane’s friends.”
“It’s not a hookup! I promise. But it sounds like you could use a hero—”
“I don’t, I promise. Now, I’ve got to go. Talk to you later.” She clicked off the phone just as the rain began to pour down in torrents. She made a left at a colorful wooden sign stuck in the side of the road—almost missed it, actually—and started to go down a dirt road that was quickly turning to mud. Yuck. Not that she had a choice.
The woods were dark and, around these parts, there were no lights to see by. It was made all the more dark and creepy by the fact that she was driving down some deserted road late at night, and she had no clue where she was going.
Definitely time to move back out again, she thought to herself. Ever since she’d been forced to move back in, she’d been pulled between her headstrong mother and equally headstrong younger sister. An apartment next month, she decided. Didn’t matter how small it was. As it was, when things at home got a little hairy, she retreated to her salon. She had an air mattress on the floor in the back room, next to where she kept the tanning bed. It served as a getaway well enough, though it was time for something more permanent.
A line of cars appeared in the distance, and her little Volkswagen skidded in the mud as sh
e turned into an equally sludgy dirt parking lot. Stumps lined the edges of the parking lot, and a veritable fleet of vehicles of all makes and shapes were parked haphazardly. She noticed a row of Porta-Potties off to one side, and a small, lit cloth pavilion across from it. Well. This must be the place.
Beth Ann parked her car between two pickups that looked as if they’d seen better days. She searched vainly for an umbrella in the backseat. Finding none, she sighed and tucked her keys in her purse, then got out of the car.
Rain pounded on her head, immediately turning her elegant updo into a flat mess. The splatters hit her bare arms and she looked down at her sequined, strappy heels and winced. They were already starting to stick in the mud of the parking lot. Ugh. She picked her way carefully across the sea of cars, heading toward the tent. She could hear people laughing, and someone was playing a flute of some kind. Her shoe skidded in the mud once, and she nearly fell facefirst.
Lucy was getting an earful when she found her, Beth Ann decided. She approached the tent and two men in bright, colorful baggy pants appeared. One wore a fur hat that was getting soaked in the rain, and the other’s head was shaved bald.
They both looked to be much, much older than Lucy or her boyfriend. Surprised, Beth Ann crossed her arms, hugging her already-soaked formal dress to her body. “I’m sorry, is this the big QuestMaster shindig?”
The shaved man made a flourish with his hand and bowed to her. “Good eve, milady.”
Okay. “I’m guessing yes? I’m looking for Lucy. Lucy Williamson. She’s here tonight.”
The man in the fur hat peered at her through the rain and then drank a large gulp from the enormous beer mug in his hand. “Sounds like a mundane name to me.”
“Mundane? I’m not sure I follow—”
“Mundane, fair wench,” Baldy said with a leer at her wet form, “Is what you be, lass.”
A man laughed uproariously inside the tent.
Well, wasn’t this fun. “Look. I just want to find Lucy. Can you call her?”
“There be no mundane technology allowed on the Quest grounds for the duration of the Tourney, milady.”
“Super. I’ll just call her phone myself.” She dug through her purse and tugged out her phone.
The furred-hat one immediately put his hand over her own. “Ye’ll not be needing that, wench.”
All right, now. It was raining, and muddy, and she was starting to get a little irritated at this “wench” business. “That’s nice and all, but my sister is grounded, and I need to bring her home before she gets into even more trouble.” She jerked her hand away from his with a polite smile and held the phone up. No service.
Fiddlesticks.
She gestured at the path leading into the woods. A rickety wooden gate covered it and she could see a few cook fires and lights in the distance, and heard the sound of laughter. “Is that where all the campers are? I’ll just head over and look for her—”
The bald one stepped in front of the gate. “Milady, you must first pay the entry fee if you wish to join the Tourney.”
“I don’t want to join the Tourney. I’m just going to check for my sister—”
“I’m afraid we canna let ye do that, lass,” Fur-head said, now mimicking a bad Scottish accent. “Only those that pay the toll may enter the QuestMaster grounds for the weekend.”
These guys were going to drive her insane. “Fine. Whatever. How much is the toll?” She had a few bucks on her.
“Fifty dollars,” Baldy said proudly.
“Fifty…what? Fifty dollars? You’re kidding me.”
“Everyone must pay the toll,” he repeated stubbornly. “If ye don’t wish to pay, we shall have to escort ye from the king’s lands, milady.”
King’s lands, her patoot. “I don’t have that much cash on me.”
Baldy inclined his head ever so slightly. “We take checks, milady.”
“Naturally. Fine. I’ll write you a check.” She headed into the tent to write it. Even under the tent, the air was muggy and gross. Her hair was dripping into her eyes and she was pretty sure her makeup was running down her face. Lovely. Maybe she could be one of the hideous monsters they were hunting this weekend. Long live the swamp hag.
Beth Ann began to write out the check, and then began to shiver. She glanced up. “I don’t suppose you have a flashlight for sale while I’m at it? Or a jacket?”
“Such things are forbidden in QuestMasters,” Fur hat said in a stiff voice, as if outraged by the thought.
Okay, she’d go stomping around in the dark to find Lucy. Whatever. She eyed his cloak—it looked a lot warmer than her thin sequined dress that was even now sticking to her body. “Don’t suppose I could buy that cloak off of you?”
“Tis not for sale—”
“Fifty dollars,” she offered.
He took it off with a flourish. “All yours.”
She pulled out a new check, wrote it, and handed it over.
He smiled and handed her a clipboard. “Sign in, milady, with your QuestMaster name.”
“Oh, um, I don’t have one. How about I come back when I think of one, and then I’ll sign in, okay?” At his nod, she took the cloak he handed her and pitched it over her shoulders. To her surprise, they then handed her a grocery bag. “What’s this?”
“Party favors,” Baldy said with a wink. “Shall I escort you throughout the Tourney grounds in search of our fair maiden?”
She dug through the bag. To her surprise, she pulled out a box of condoms. There was also a roll of toilet paper in the bag, and a bottle of cheap rum.
This was the big party her sister had gone to? Where they passed out boxes of condoms as soon as you paid to get in? Beth Ann clutched the bag to her chest and smiled tightly. “Actually, I think I’ll go find her on my own, thanks.”
The fur-headed one stepped out in the rain with her to open the gate. “Luck to thee, fair lady. May ye steer clear of the dragons in the forest.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said dryly, and headed down the path.
The rain pelted her, the ground underneath her feet slushy and sucking at her strappy Louboutin sandals. She was pretty sure they were ruined, but she hadn’t brought a spare pair of shoes. That was fine—she hated these shoes anyhow, and they were far too pricey for a beautician to own, anyhow. They’d been a gift—an apology from Allan when he’d cheated on her. She didn’t regret ruining them. She wouldn’t have worn them if she’d have thought she’d be spending her Friday night in a muddy forest looking for Lucy, after all.
The two men didn’t follow her down the path, just went back into the tent at the front. She clutched the bag and stumbled down the dark, overgrown path, heading for the first campfire in the distance.
“Wait, milady,” called a voice behind her.
She turned, hopeful. Maybe she wouldn’t have to go searching in the woods after all. “My sister?”
But the man—Baldy—jogged out to her, and presented her with an apple.
Beth Ann stared at it for a moment, then back at him, confused. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“By QuestMaster rules, if a gentleman wishes to show a lady his favor, he presents her with an apple.”
How terribly awkward. “Oh, well, listen, honey. That’s nice, but—”
He leaned in. “It is all in how you receive the gift, milady. An apple from a potential lover can be a teasing token.” He leaned in as if sniffing the apple, and turned a hot gaze on her.
Beth Ann took a step backward. “That’s nice of you, but I’m not sure—”
As she watched, he turned over the apple and began to tongue the base. Over and over, stabbing it with the tip of his tongue and continuing to give her the same heated glance. As if he were making love to the thing.
Oh, mercy. This was rather horrifying.
He held the poor, violated apple out to her, then bowed.
She raised a hand in the air. “I really must pass.”
Baldy frowned. “That’s not how the g
ame is played. You must accept it and then demonstrate your decline of my favor by using the apple.”
She was doing no such thing. Beth Ann pulled out her phone and checked the time. “It’s getting late and I really have to go. Sorry. I’ll have to learn the rules next time.” She gave him a tight smile, and then disappeared down the path as quickly as she could.
Lord, to think that an apple could be used in such a graphic manner.
To her relief, he didn’t follow her. She did, however, run into three more girls a bit farther down the path. They were about Lucy’s age and dressed like wenches. Very loose wenches. They smiled as they sauntered past, ignoring the rain, and she noticed each one carried a beer mug and an apple. She continued on to the nearby campsite, and smiled at the people gathered there as she approached. More teenage girls were here, and she scanned the faces, looking for Lucy. No luck. These girls were scantily dressed and sat on the laps of men in tunics and capes. All were oblivious of the rain pouring down. One couple in the back of the group was making out as if they didn’t realize they were in public. Or in a rainstorm.
“Excuse me,” Beth Ann said, stepping forward and giving them a little wave.
“A fairy,” one of the girls said with a drunken giggle, raising a mug. “Behold her sparkle.”
“Yep, that’s me,” Beth Ann said cheerfully, determined to put a pleasant face on things. “Sparkly. Isn’t that nice of you. Listen, honey, I’m looking for Lucy Williamson. Have any of you seen her?”
One of the men stood and gave her a puzzled look. “I know not of a Lucy.”
“Sounds like a mundane name,” another wench piped up, then belched.
“There are no mundanes here this eve, milady,” said another.
This was going to be a long, long night.
TWO
Two hours later, she was no closer to finding Lucy. If her sister had been hiding at one of the campsites, her friends and fellow QuestMasters had done an excellent job of concealing her. Everyone she asked had never heard of a Lucy, and she didn’t know her sister’s QuestMaster name. Everyone, it seemed, had one. She’d met a Sparkle Blossom, a Megan the Fair, a Ragnar the Great (who didn’t seem so great), and three different Aragorns.