by Chant, Zoe
“Thanks a lot, wiseguys,” said Dali. “We’re auditioning Ransom here as a juggler, and we need some stuff for him to—”
A striped ball, a coffee mug, a donut with sprinkles, and a tennis shoe flew in his direction. Ransom caught them neatly and tossed them in the air, juggling them with impressive deftness. They were followed by a red clown nose, a fake flower that squirted water, and a giant clown shoe. Ransom incorporated them into his juggling routine without missing a beat.
“Very impressive,” said Janet. “Let’s see how you do with a partner. Hitoshi!”
A flying squirrel, a cat, and a poodle leaped off the back of a sleek black stallion. The horse became a muscular young man. A stark naked muscular young man. Dali averted her gaze for a moment. When she looked up, he’d pulled on a pair of pants and was tossing objects back and forth with Ransom. Donut sprinkles pattered to the floor, but nothing else hit the ground.
“Excellent!” Janet called. “Okay, enough. Ransom, you can stand in for Renu. Hitoshi, Steve, Nora, teach him the routine.”
Hitoshi and Ransom caught and put down the juggled objects, one by one. Ransom concluded by stooping down, picking up a discarded paper plate, and catching the last flying object—the donut—on it.
Merlin started the applause. Dali joined in, followed by the rest of his team and the watching circus members. Ransom took a bow. Dali, looking closely, saw something in his eyes that she’d never seen before: happiness, brief but genuine. It transformed him, making him look ten years younger.
He went off with Hitoshi. They both made a wide detour to avoid Pete, who was an immense mass of shaggy brown fur grimly trying to pedal a unicycle and growling to himself.
Janet turned to Roland. “And what do you do?”
There was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he said, “I can lift heavy objects.”
Janet gave an admiring glance to his muscles. “I bet you can! Excellent. That’ll kill two birds with one stone: you can do the strong man act, which will free up Leopold to stay a lion, and we get to see you take off your shirt.”
“Mom!” Merlin said. His ears were turning bright red. Dali couldn’t help snickering.
Kalpana’s eyes widened with excitement. “Oh! Speaking of his shirt coming off, maybe he can do that twice. We need all our big cats as big cats, so Tawny Lyon has to be a lion. And that means we’re missing a target girl. Maybe Roland could do that too.”
“What’s a target girl?” Roland asked.
Merlin reached out and gave the target wheel a spin. “You get tied to that, and flying squirrels throw knives at you.”
Roland shook his head. “Sorry. I feel sick just imagining that.”
“Isn’t there anyone here who doesn’t get motion sickness?” Janet said despairingly. “We can’t cut it—it’s one of the centerpieces of the entire show. Every review raves about it!”
Carter, who had been standing in awkward, appalled silence ever since he’d come in, cleared his throat. Looking like he was volunteering to test a new bulletproof vest, he said, “I’m a pilot. And once I paid for a seat on an aircraft that did parabolas to let the passengers experience weightlessness. They don’t call it the Vomit Comet for nothing. I was the only person on the flight who actually had a good time.”
“Excellent,” said Janet. “Congratulations, you’re a target boy. Tawny! Find him a sexy outfit and teach him to smile and wave.”
Dali wouldn’t have imagined that Carter could look any more pained, but he did. “I know how to smile and wave.”
“You don’t look it,” said Janet, and dismissed him and Tawny with a snap of her fingers. “Now how are we doing?”
“It’s looking a lot more do-able, thanks to Merlin’s team,” said Kalpana. “But if Hitoshi’s a juggler, then we’re short a horse.”
“If we cut him as a horse, then we’re also cutting his riders,” said Dali, studying their notes. “So that takes one poodle, one cat, and one flying squirrel out of the act, and it leaves Fausto Fratelli, Linda Liu, and Renard Richelieu as humans.”
“That works,” said Janet. “We need Fausto on trapeze anyway. And I’d hate to lose Linda as a tightrope walker. But Renard doesn’t do anything essential as a human.”
“You could keep him as a poodle and have him take Claudette’s place,” Dali suggested. “Then Claudette stays human, and you keep her as an acrobat.”
“Yes, good,” said Janet. “But we’re still short on stagehands. And clowns for the clown car.”
“Roland and Ransom could help with the scene changes,” said Kalpana. “Roland’s too big for the clown car, but Ransom and Carter could double as clowns.”
Carter, who was alternating between plastering on a smile when Tawny was watching him and looking like he was being held at gunpoint when she wasn’t, let out a yelp of horror.
“If Janet needs you to be a clown, then you’re a clown,” Roland said firmly.
With a muttered “Fine, fine,” Carter spread his arms and allowed Tawny to tie him to the wheel.
Bobby Duffy came pelting up to Janet, followed by four teenagers. “I brought help! They’re pigeon shifters, and they’re gonna save the circus!”
Then all five of them noticed Dali. The four strangers looked incredibly guilty and nervous, and Bobby shot her a pleading, “don’t tell” look.
Dali smiled at the necklace thieves who had started it all. Now that she saw them, it was obvious that they were kids who’d played a prank that had gotten out of hand, not hardened criminals. Besides, if they hadn’t stolen her necklace, she’d never have met Cloud. Or Merlin. “Pleased to meet you all. Thank you so much for coming. What can you do?”
In a relieved babble they explained that they had no special skills, but would be happy to be stagehands, clown car clowns, errand runners, and anything else that might be useful. Kalpana and Dali assigned them and sent them on their way.
A disgruntled-looking cave bear rode slowly and wobblingly by on a unicycle. Merlin let out a very sudden, very loud cheer of “YEAH, PETE!” causing Pete to almost fall over. He gave a growl that made Dali’s hair stand on end as he recovered his balance and rode on by.
“I can’t decide if that’s hilarious or strangely disturbing,” Merlin mused.
Janet cleared her throat. “Merlin, how do you feel about filling in every role we have left over that won’t need you to be in two places at once?”
He leaned over, rapidly scanning the clipboard. “Trapeze artist, clown car clown, acrobat, squirrel ring holder... No problem. In fact, I can’t wait!” He patted his mother’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, mom. The circus is as good as saved.”
The stage lights shone on Merlin’s hair, turning it to pure gold. He stood lightly on the balls of his feet, poised as if to leap or tumble or grab a trapeze bar and fly through the air. His expression, the light in his sky-blue eyes, every line of his athletic body spoke of hope and joy and freedom. Dali had never seen him happier, or more perfectly himself.
It’s the circus, she thought. This is where he belongs.
Then she thought, Could it be where I belong, too?
She’d experienced what the circus life would be like for her, helping Kalpana and Janet run things. And Dali couldn’t lie: she enjoyed it. Would it really be so bad to stay on, doing the sort of job she loved, with Merlin by her side?
Sure, it was a crime circus. But their crimes weren’t the bad sort of crimes. And sure, they never settled down, but they took their home with them. Sure, it was a life devoted to play and fun, but that was good and needed. She’d experienced a life without joy, and it had been no life at all. Sure, some of the members were prejudiced against non-shifters, but the majority of them weren’t. And it wasn’t like any society was free of bias. Sure, she wouldn’t see Grandma much, but that had also been true when she’d been in the Navy. Sure...
There were a lot of sures.
Visiting the circus was wonderful, like being at the best party in the world. Joining the circus would
be like never being able to leave the party. It was a good life for the people who loved it, but it wasn’t a life for her. She’d end up feeling as trapped and frustrated as the circus people would be if they joined the Navy.
But this is Merlin’s home, Dali thought. It’s not a trap for him, it’s the place where he feels most free.
I can’t be the person who keeps him from the place where he truly belongs.
If she really loved him, she’d have to let him go.
CHAPTER 19
Merlin was having the time of his life. As a Marine, as a bodyguard, and flying high on the trapeze, he’d experienced that same pure focus in the face of danger, knowing he was doing something important with his comrades beside him. Only this time he had Dali beside him, and that lifted him higher than he’d ever flown before.
She’d stepped into a scene of total chaos, and turned it into a complex but working machine. She was calm and competent and clever, even when confronted with a totally unfamiliar setting. She was selfless, and she was kind. No one had asked or expected her to volunteer to help out, but she’d done so instantly, without a second thought, because Merlin and his mother and his circus family had needed her.
Dali sent Bobby Duffy to make sure the clown car was running, then sent one of the pigeon teenagers to post a list of jobs backstage. Before she could start another task, he said, “Hey, Dali?”
She turned to him, and the beauty of her dark eyes overwhelmed him.
I love her, Merlin realized. I’m in love with her. I’d do anything for her. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. She’s—
His raptor interrupted his realization, speaking in a voice that Merlin almost didn’t recognize. It was deeper. More mature. It rang out like a church bell, shaking him to the core of his being. She’s our mate.
Merlin was stunned. And yet somehow, he wasn’t surprised. Of course she was his mate. Of course they were meant for each other. Of course they would love each other till the day they died.
My mate, he thought, savoring the words.
The wizard-scientists had managed to delay his recognition of her as his mate, but they hadn’t destroyed it. Nor had they severed his ability to bond. And now that he had met Dali, he understood why. They were bound together, soul-deep, heart-deep. No magic or science could ever keep them apart.
“Yes?” Dali said.
Merlin realized that he’d gotten her attention, then stood there silently, lost in his own thoughts. He opened his mouth to say, “I love you.”
A little girl rushed by, screaming over her shoulder, “You can’t catch me! Nyah-nyah-nyah!” at a pursuing tiger cub and a flying squirrel. Another young flying squirrel dropped down from above and plastered himself across her face like the face-hugger in Aliens.
The girl gave a shriek and veered to the side, putting her on a collision course with Pete, who was still grimly practicing his unicycle. He tried to stop, failed, and threw himself to the side, falling with a thud that shook the entire tent. The tightrope walkers fell off and landed in the net, cups of coffee fell off tables, and the little girl pitched face-first into a wall of shaggy brown fur.
“Whee!” she squealed. Then she picked herself up, pried the squirrel off her face and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Bear. Did I hurt you?”
Pete transformed back into a man to say, “No. Don’t worry about it.”
Then he gave the unicycle a look of utter loathing before becoming a bear again and climbing back on, grunting and growling in a low mutter.
“You were saying?” Dali asked Merlin, her eyebrows raised in that sardonic arch that he loved. But then, he loved everything about her.
“I—”
“NO I’m not oiling my chest!” Carter said, fending off Pia, who was waving an oil jar at him.
“You have to! All target boys do,” she insisted, shoving the jar into his hand. “If you don’t, you’ll look wrong.”
To the universe at large, Carter said, “I don’t even work here!”
Merlin tried again. “Dali, I wanted to tell you—”
Kalpana hurried up. “Dali, can you review the clowns for the clown car with me? I’m worried we don’t have enough.”
Merlin gave up. It was clearly not the time. And now that he thought about it, while “I love you” was at least a universally known concept, “We’re true mates” was not, and he needed more time to explain that than he’d have until this show was over.
“Break a leg,” said Merlin to them both. To Dali, he said, “It means ‘good luck.’ In the circus, it’s bad luck to wish someone good luck before a performance, so you wish them bad luck instead and that wishes them good luck.”
Dali blinked a few times. “Got it. I think.”
“And in case no one’s said so recently, you’re amazing and you’re doing an amazing job. It’s so great to see you getting to show your stuff. Especially here, my favorite place in the world!”
But she didn’t seem happy to hear that. Instead, such a sad expression crossed her face that it worried him. But before he could ask what was wrong, Ransom abruptly dropped the balls he’d been juggling. They went bouncing around the ring as he said, “The inspectors are coming.”
For a moment nobody moved. The Duffys had been dispatched to wait outside the fairgrounds to give early warning of the inspectors’ approach, but they hadn’t showed up yet.
“How do you know?” Hitoshi asked Ransom.
“He knows,” said Merlin. Raising his voice, he said, “If Ransom says so, it’s true!”
“The inspectors are coming!” Mom called, using her alpha voice. “From now on, obey Kalpana and Merlin as if they were me!”
Her clothes hit the floor as she turned into a parrot.
“Places, everyone!” Kalpana shouted. “Take your places, NOW!”
Clothes fell in piles as the smaller shifters transformed in a hurry. The big ones, who’d destroy their clothing if they did that, had all already shifted. Clowns and acrobats and lions and tigers and squirrels and pigeons rushed backstage, the humans scooping up discarded clothing and stray props on their way out.
Merlin and Dali made a circuit of the ring, picking up any stray items that were left behind while Kalpana paced around in their wake, ticking items off a checklist. They’d nearly finished when a pair of sparrows came flapping in. They landed on the floor and turned into a pair of hairy-backed middle-aged men. Naked. Of course.
“The inspectors are here,” said Larry Duffy.
“You’ve got ten minutes... Wow, you’re way ahead of us,” said Billy Duffy.
“Thank you so much for your help,” said Kalpana to Dali. “I know this isn’t your problem.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Dali clapped her on the shoulder. “We can do this.”
Kalpana chewed nervously on the end of a long black braid, realized what she was doing and hurled it back over her shoulder, took a deep breath, then glanced at Merlin. “Want to come with me to meet the inspectors? You’re much better at charming people than I am.”
“Sure,” Merlin began, then frowned. His goddamn useless, uncontrollable power might be on, and if it was—
It’s not on, said his raptor. Can’t you feel it?
Merlin realized that in fact, he could. He couldn’t have described how he knew, but he did, the same way he knew left from right.
I guess it just took practice, he thought. Thank God. No more frappuccinos to the face!
He turned to share his good news with Dali, but she’d vanished backstage. As he followed Kalpana, he decided to tell Dali afterward. She had a lot to do and a lot to remember, and he didn’t want to distract her.
Mom flew up and perched on Kalpana’s shoulder. In as soft a squawk as she could manage as a parrot, she said, “Break a leg.”
“I’ll go check on the animal car,” Dali said. “If they’re not ready, I’ll send someone out to stall for time.”
Dali headed for the train, and the rest of them went out to meet the inspectors.
They consisted of one very intense, no-nonsense white man, who introduced himself as Mr. Varnham of Animal Welfare, and one very intense, no-nonsense black woman, who introduced herself as Ms. Moore of the FBI.
Merlin put on his most charming smile. “Welcome to the Fabulous Flying Chameleons! I’m Merlin Merrick, trapeze artist and jack of all trades, and this is Kalpana Doubek, our stage manager. We’ll be the point people to show you around and get you settled in before the show. If you have any questions, just ask us.”
“Pieces of eight!” Mom squawked.
Merlin’s raptor burst out laughing. Merlin bit his lip.
Kalpana gulped, then said, “This is Goldie. Say hello to the inspectors, Goldie.”
“Hello inspectors!” squawked Mom. “I’m Goldie, the amazing talking parrot!”
Mr. Varnham looked very closely at Mom, then grudgingly said, “Seems like a healthy parrot. I notice her wings aren’t clipped.”
“Oh, no,” said Merlin. “That would be cruel. Goldie likes to fly.”
“It can be dangerous for a tame bird to be allowed to fly freely, though,” said Mr. Varnham. “They don’t know to avoid predators.”
“She’s very well-trained,” said Kalpana. “She knows to only fly inside.”
“Polly want a circus ticket?” squawked Mom, then imitated a toilet flushing.
Neither of the inspectors looked amused. In fact, neither of them looked capable of being amused.
“We’d like to see the animal cages,” said Ms. Moore. “Now, please.”
They headed for the animal car, with Merlin explaining their train system. The inspectors nodded, unsmiling.
“Surely you’re not taking the parrot near the large animal cages!” said Mr. Varnham.
“Er, no,” said Kalpana. “Of course not.” She handed off Mom to the first person she saw, one of the pigeon shifter teenagers, saying, “Please take Goldie backstage.”
Merlin was relieved to see Dali waiting for them outside of the animal car. That meant that all the shifters who’d be animals tonight were in place. She introduced herself as the assistant stage manager and their point person during the show, when Merlin and Kalpana would be busy, and then they all went in to see the animals.