by Kat Cotton
Duke pointed at the sliding door. Just where I’d expected it to be but it’d seemed rude to just walk straight in there.
I went through to a room with kitchen space to one side and another door going through to the bathroom. A moment later, I heard sounds in the kitchen. The troupe had come in.
Someone ran a tap, filling a kettle judging from the sound of water hitting metal. I kept quiet, hoping I’d overhear something of interest.
“Jeez, what a bunch of losers,” a female voice said. Obviously Lilly. “We’re scratching the bottom of the barrel.”
She knew I was in the bathroom but obviously didn’t care if I overheard her.
“We need to pick one of them,” Duke replied. “We need someone for this performance. We can’t call off a show this prestigious. Unless you’re going to be my target girl.”
Lilly sucked in her breathe. “No way. I’ll quit before I let you throw knives at me again.”
“I don’t throw knives at you. I throw them around you. Big difference.”
Sounded like that was a huge issue between them.
Wait, target girl? No one had told me that was part of the job. Having knives thrown at me or around me or anywhere in my vicinity didn’t sound like fun. Then I remembered it wouldn’t be an option. I’d be out of here before that became a possibility
“Quitting’s not an option,” Duke said. “Not in the contract. You know that. Maybe one of the remaining ones will be adequate.”
The kettle whistled and I didn’t quite hear the next bit. I wanted to know more about this contract. Did they mean the contract for the next performance or something else?
Then...
“That butch looking one with the short hair isn’t going to cut it, that’s for sure,” Lilly said.
Me? I was the only one auditioning with short hair. She had to mean me. Was I butch looking? I never thought about how I looked. Sure, I didn’t have the makeup piled on and I wasn’t wearing sequins and glitter but that didn’t make me butch.
I bet she said it because I didn’t have much in the way of boobs. I glanced down at my flattish chest. Boobs were all well and good but mostly they just got in your way especially in my line of work.
Anyway, compared to Lilly with her curves and hootchie cootchie, most women would look butch. I pushed the comment out of my head.
“She’s not so much butch looking as plain.” Duke laughed. “I’m not even sure she’s worth auditioning. You could fix that face with makeup but the way she sits there, so stiff and proper, it’s like she’s going for a job interview with a bank. Not our type at all. Maybe she did a burlesque class once at a community ed center and thinks that’s all it takes.”
Heat flooded me. Is that what he thought? Stiff and proper be damned.
No. It was good he thought that. I wanted them to think I sucked. That’d been the plan. Hearing them actually say it was a whole other thing. They judged me without even seeing me perform.
“She looks like Gretchen,” Lilly said.
Gretchen, the dead girl? I looked like her?
“What does that mean?” Duke’s voice became harsh. “It means nothing.”
“It might mean something.”
What might it mean? I wanted to call out and ask them but I couldn’t exactly do that without revealing that I’d been eavesdropping.
If I could get Lilly alone, I could ask her. She seemed snotty but she was the most likely to talk. I had no idea how I could get her alone though.
“Do we only have plain tea?” Duke asked. “What happened to the organic tea I bought? That was for me only. Who’s been drinking it?”
Damn, he’d changed the subject just when things were getting interesting. I’d seen photos of Gretchen but only from the crime scene and there’d definitely been no similarity then.
“We could just call back the hula hooper and be done with it.” Lilly said. “She’s not great but she’ll do.”
“We’ll give these last three a go then get them out of here. Who knows? One of them might surprise us.”
Both he and Lilly laughed like that was the greatest joke ever.
My blood boiled. They laughed at me. Just because they had fancy mustaches and hootchie curves. I’d been doing this shit when they were still in nappies. I’d been doing it when I was still in nappies. I’d tried to reject everything I’d learned from back then but, damn my pride, I knew I could be better than anyone.
I waited for them to leave. Darn right, one of us might surprise them. I’d knock his socks off and put an extra curl in his mustache before I was done. Who the hell did he think he was to judge me, anyway?
Chapter 3
“JAYNE MADISON,” DUKE called.
Fake surname but that was me. I took a deep breath and walked out onto the mat.
Lilly had stopped even making the cursory effort of looking interested. She had her phone out, fooling with it. Duke at least made a token effort but Nuno picked at the nail on his big toe.
True, the two girls before me had been mediocre, at best. One of them did a dance routine but hadn’t seemed to move with the beat of the music. The second was a decent juggler until she dropped all her balls.
“Music?” Duke asked.
I handed him a CD. I’d planned to do a dance act. Dance wasn’t my forte. I’d definitely fail with dance. I glanced up at the aerial hoop then made myself look away.
Fail, I told myself. Who cared what some stupid hipster guy thought anyway? He sat with his fingers tented in front of his face. Like a total wanker.
“You can begin,” he said and the music started.
I nodded.
I got on the mat and started grinding. Oh God, I was awful. When I said dance wasn’t my forte, I meant that I was really, really bad at it.
Then I saw the smug, self-satisfied grin on Duke’s face. The way his mouth twitched under the mustache. I’d show that bastard.
That hoop was a long way up but, from there, I could see their office. I wasn’t sure if that would prove anything but they seemed to guard those stairs. I needed to get a glimpse of that space so I could give a full description of the place to Larry.
I raced down the mat and did a somersault but used the rebound to throw myself up into the air, aiming for that silver hoop. I grabbed it firmly with my left hand and then swung around to grip it with my right hand, anchoring myself.
What I’d done was technically impossible. The hoop hung too high and would normally have been lowered for use. I remembered a few circus tricks though, and making the impossible possible was one of them.
Below me, the troupe stared up at me, open mouthed. Lilly put her phone on the floor. Nuno left his toe nail alone.
Oh yeah, I showed them. I wasn’t so stiff and proper now. Their attention was on me and I’d keep it there.
I swung on the hoop, not sure what to do next but muscle memory kicked in. My body just did what it did. I twirled around that hoop, twisting and snaking my body. Then I grabbed the top of it, swinging it wildly as I jumped into a standing position.
I had a few other moves to make but a sharp pain stabbed into my temples. I struggled to keep my grip on the hoop but pain drilled into my temples, sharp and strong.
Mats covered the floor but it was a long way down. No matter how much pain I was in, I couldn’t let go. Broken bones wouldn’t make me feel any better. I hooked my arms through the hoop, balancing myself, as I closed my eyes.
I knew the signs. This had happened before. Right before the visions. And I knew how to stop it, the things Buzz had taught me. I hadn’t needed to use them in quite a while.
Taking a deep breath, I visualized a white light surrounding me. That light formed a barrier. While I held it, I’d be safe.
I’d never wanted those lousy visions at the best of times and up here, on this hoop high above the solid floor was the worst possible place.
Instead of relaxing, I pushed and pushed until that vision left me alone. I took a deep breath then flipped my b
ody so I hung from the bottom of the hoop.
The floor was still a long way below me but a controlled drop was a completely different thing to an uncontrolled fall.
I swung the hoop then jumped, arcing through the air and landed on the mat. Perfect landing, thank you very much.
Lilly turned to Duke. There seemed to be some wordless conversation going on between them. Eventually, the silence got really awkward.
I walked over to the sofa and picked up my bag.
“Well, I’ll head off then,” I said. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed to the door.
“Wait,” Duke said. He rustled some papers. “Jayne, wait a minute.”
I turned to face him, as he walked closer to me. Way too close. He’d been much better at distance. The intensity of his eyes wasn’t so noticeable from across the room. His shoulders hadn’t seemed too wide and his arms hadn’t seemed so strong. He was altogether less threatening from a distance.
I gulped. Feelings rose up in my belly. Was I going to go all freaky powerful again?
Nope.
These were different feelings. Feelings I’d pushed away except for that one time in high school. And I pushed them away again. Feelings. Who needs them?
“You’ve got the job,” he said.
“I haven’t said I want it.”
We glared at each other until Lilly slinked over. “You forgot an important part of the audition, Duke.”
If Duke’s voice was like a whip cracking, then Lilly’s was like a kitten’s purr. A honey-coated purr. She stood with her body twisted and one hand on her hip. A perfect pin up pose.
“We don’t need to worry about that,” Duke said. “I think Jayne’s proved she’s got the chops.”
Lilly pouted. “The wheel is a whole other thing. And if we’re going to perform it, you need someone who isn’t me. You may as well tell her now. If she finds out at the last minute, she might have a fit and run off and I’ll be back doing the stupid thing again.”
Nuno pulled back a curtain at the end of the room revealing a rotating board.
“Know what that is?” Duke asked me.
I nodded. I’d seen acts like that before. The Wheel of Death. Much safer than it looked but still an act that could go very horribly wrong if the knife thrower wasn’t skilled.
Was Duke skilled? I didn’t want to find that out the hard way.
I turned back to Duke to protest. He’d pulled out a silver case from somewhere and opened it to reveal a blood red satin lining with a row of shining silver knives.
“I haven’t even agreed to join you yet,” I said.
“I knew she’d be chicken,” Lilly said.
“I’m not chicken, I just think it’s a waste of time if I don’t agree to the job.”
Duke held up one of the knives so it gleamed in the light. The gleam of that knife was nothing compared to the gleam in his eyes. That was not the gleam of a rational person. That was the gleam of someone who loved knives way too much, but was it a killer’s gleam?
A tiny voice at the back of my mind said there was an easy way to find out. I had the shortcut if I chose to use it. If I could almost get a vision, I could reactivate my power to judge good and evil. But that shortcut was packed away in a locked box with the rest of my secrets.
I’d become Jayne Hudson, regular suburban girl, not the person I used to be. That box in my head was like Pandora’s. Opening it would unleash things that shouldn’t be in this world. I couldn’t just unpack the things I needed. It was an all-in deal.
Nuno stood by the wheel with an expression that seemed to dare me.
“What do you want me to do?” I said.
I had questions that needed answering and I needed to earn the troupe’s trust. The fastest way to do that was to let them throw knives at me. Larry had better appreciate this.
Lilly led me to the wheel and I stood on a step while she shackled me in.
“You don’t get dizzy, do you?” she asked.
“Not that I know of but then I’ve never done this before.”
“I get dizzy,” she said. “I threw up one time. That made for a spectacular performance, let me tell you. Chunks flying everywhere.”
The snootiness I’d felt in her earlier had dissolved a little. I guess if someone’s going to take over a job you hate then you warm to them.
“God, I hope that doesn’t happen.”
“At least you’re wearing yoga pants. Easily washed. You try getting that mess out of sequins.”
I laughed. “Sorry for laughing but it’s not something I ever want to try.”
“Speaking of yoga pants, you might want to put something on that emphasizes your outline a bit more. Those pants don’t stand out against the board. Duke’s good but he’s not that good.”
She disappeared into the store room and returned with a sparkly scarf, then she squeezed her arm through the space between my back and the wheel. That was way more human contact than I was used to and I sucked in my breath.
“Ready,” Duke said after Lilly tied the scarf on me.
It was then I noticed the rips in the fabric of the scarf. Holes like it’d been pierced.
“Hey, are those holes...”
But Nuno gave the wheel a spin before anyone could answer.
I shut my eyes. I didn’t want to see the room rotate around me. The spinning wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. The wheel moved slowly. I could get used to this. Then I felt a sharp swish of air near my leg and heard the dull thud. That knife almost grazed my thigh muscle. I tensed, waiting for the next knife, trying to make myself as small as possible. Less surface area to hit.
One hit near my arm, then another against my other leg.
The spinning seemed to become faster. I could see why Lilly had thrown up. It churned your insides enough being spun like a load of laundry without the threat of knives added into the mix.
Duke really was good at this but it only took one mistake. Another knife swished into the board near my arm. Surely, he didn’t have many more knives left. This was just a trial after all.
As one slammed into the board near my ear, the thud sounded sickeningly close. That’d been five. I waited for the next one. I did a complete rotation. Then the wheel turned faster. Faster and faster, as though I’d take off into orbit. There was no way Duke could aim right with the wheel moving this fast. I wanted out of here but no way would I open my mouth.
The final knife slammed into the board between my legs. I felt it as it landed right next to my... next to parts I didn’t want sliced and diced, that’s for sure.
“Hey,” I yelled out, opening my eyes.
As the rotation of the wheel died down, I could see the smirk on Duke’s face.
When the wheel slowed to a stop, Lilly moved the stool back into position and she and Nuno unbuckled the straps. I tried to move away but heard a rip. One of the knives had impaled itself through the scarf Lilly had tied on me.
“You’re in,” Duke said. He walked to the wheel and removed his knives. “You didn’t shit yourself. That’s enough for me. Didn’t vomit either.”
Lilly pulled a face behind his back and I smiled at her.
“I haven’t said I’ll take it,” I said. I put my hand on my hip, staring him down.
He didn’t even look at me, not until those knives were packed away safely in the case. He locked it up and slipped the key into an inside pocket of his jacket, then he walked over to me.
“Oh, you’ll take it,” he said, running his finger along my cheek.
I scoffed. Even though my insides quivered, it took more than a caressing touch to make me lose it. That quivering was probably just from all the spinning I’d done. But I reddened and that stupid blush spread over my body.
“You haven’t even discussed payment yet,” I said.
He named a figure. Much more than I’d expected to be offered. That added weight to my theory that this troupe had money behind it.
I shrugged. “Double it,” I said.
His mouth twitched and I got ready to walk off.
“Okay,” he said. “If that’s what it takes.”
Shit. I didn’t want to commit to this. “I need some time to decide.”
He moved even closer, close enough that our bodies almost touched.
“We don’t have time,” he said. He reached out and put his hand on my arm. “We need someone urgently. That’s why I’m willing to pay you an obscene amount of money. You’ll agree to take the job.”
I shook my head. “I said I need time to think about it.”
He took a step back, seemingly shocked by my refusal. What an egotistical bastard, thinking he only needed to touch me to have me quivering at his feet. If anything, the touching made me more likely to refuse.
“By the end of tomorrow, then. But you want the job or you wouldn’t have bothered to audition so I’m not sure why you’re pussyfooting around now.”
“What can I say?” I smiled. “I’m mercurial.”
Chapter 4
I PULLED INTO MY DRIVEWAY. From the outside, my house looked like every other house on the street. Single fronted brick with white trim. A tidy strip of lawn out in front. Not a leaf or stray blade of grass mucking up the crisp whiteness of the path to the front door. Not one grubby fingerprint on the windows. No one would give this house a second glance. Even I had to double check sometimes to make sure it was the right place. But I worked real hard to make sure nothing about my home stood out.
As I walked from the garage to the house, I noticed a few things out of place. The watering can had been knocked over and one of the plants in the garden had been trampled. Weird but maybe the neighbor’s cat had got in the yard again.
Once I got inside, I gave my security a double check, just to be on the safe side.