Beauty is the Beast: Beasts Among Us - Book 1

by Jennifer Zamboni

  Lacey quit twirling her parasol, closed it, and utilized it as a walking stick. She’d dressed rather impractically in a mini skirt, soft sweater, and stilettos. No one had ever accused her of practicality.

  We found Mem and her husband, George, seated halfway up the bleachers. They grinned and waved us over.

  It was a good view, not so far up that we wouldn’t be able to make out what was going on, and not so close we couldn’t view the whole thing. The smells were so overwhelming that I had to hold my breath for a moment to process.”

  “What a surprise seeing you here!” Mem hugged me as soon as I was seated at her side.

  “Haha, yeah, we decided we wanted a night out. I hope we’re not disturbing your date night.” I tried not to wrinkle my nose at all the smells.

  “Rubbish. Of course you’re not disturbing us.” She held her hand to her chest in mock surprise.

  “I agree,” said George, leaning around his wife with a palm on her knee. “I hate to break it to you, missy, but you’ve been around long enough to pretty much be family.”

  The happy couple didn’t have children of their own, so they were always gathering strays. Like me.

  “Good.” I leaned across Mem to give George a hug.

  Hades made his way up the row and sat next to his wife. The place was filling up as the brilliance of the lights hid the last moments of sundown.

  Lacey perked up. She was the opposite of a flower, which thrives on sunlight and is depressed at the onslaught of night. Lacey was a definite night person, despite the day job. She played her part well.

  “So, where did you go?” Percy asked her husband, taking his hand.

  “I’ll tell you after,” he promised, scooting so they were touching.

  “All right, but don’t you forget.” She leaned into him.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t.” He kissed her hair, and then turned his attention to the ring as the lights dimmed, then went black.

  A spotlight swirled around, settling on the middle of the ring, showcasing a man dressed in tails and a top hat. The ringmaster's theatrical presence was much better suited to this, rather than door to door advertising.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! I’m delighted—nay exhilarated—to present to you the Treats and Freaks Circus!” He stabbed a finger into the air.

  “But first a little history lesson. In 1923, when this circus was founded by my grandfather’s family, the show only consisted of a grizzly bear, a few acrobats, and a small sideshow of freaks. Now, about 90 years later, we’ve grown into a full-blown spectacle. We have animals of all shapes and sizes, which I promise are better treated than in the past.” He said this with a wink, as if to appease those who might know the truth about animals in circuses. “We have performers of both the death-defying and the side-splitting.”

  “We had to let go of the so-called freaks when they became politically incorrect. They had to go find themselves boring day jobs. I remember them, from when I was growing up, and miss those particular performers dearly. But let us push such sorrow aside. Because, ladies and gentlemen, we have a show that will leave you speechless and full of excitement!” He lay one hand on his heart and threw the other wide.

  “Let me draw your attention to our first act of the evening: Alastair the Lion Tamer and his mighty beasts!”

  The lights came up, and a man stood caged, accompanied by a large male lion and a Siberian tiger. He raised his arms above his head, then flourished them in an elaborate bow.

  Something tickled my nose, and I sneezed into my elbow. Around me Percy, Hades, and Lacey-Marie started sneezing as well. We looked at each other.

  Magic.

  Normally, I was the only one who smelled it. Lacey did occasionally, and Percy could sense it, but it had never made her sneeze before.

  Were the big cats magicked? Or were we just getting tickled by cat hair?

  Lacey gave me a questioning look, and I shrugged in reply. That was it, no more sneezing.

  The enormous cats were jumping through hoops like poodles, appearing for all the world as if they were enjoying it.

  The performer's tight cowboy jeans would have looked better on a man with an actual backside, and his long hair was in serious need of a trim. I pulled myself out of hairdresser mode and tried to watch his performance.

  The lion and the tiger were twining themselves around each other like lovestruck teens. Even their tails curled around each other’s bodies.

  Alastair cracked his whip, and they sprang apart, swiping at each other and roaring at a deafening volume. He stood between their pedestals as they took non-lethal swipes at each other. The whip was cracked again, and the cats obediently sat beside their trainer, rubbing their massive heads against him.

  The audience broke out in applause, in awe of the best show any of them had probably ever seen.

  I clapped half-heartedly. I was pretty much convinced that he was the magic user, which seemed like cheating.

  He exited the tent with a cat on either side of him, tails in the air and purring.

  A girl and her horses were next. The mixture of horses weren’t your garden variety white Lipizzans. It looked like she’d pied-pipered a horse auction. A very well groomed, good looking auction.

  She had minis, drafts, and everything in between. After making their entrance, they circled the edge of the ring, trotting with their necks arched and their legs lifting in time with the music coming over the loudspeaker. The girl was standing in the center, a huge smile gracing her face. She didn’t have a mike, but I could hear her calling commands and see her signaling with the fluorescent blue whip in her right hand.

  The horses moved into a pattern somewhat resembling a Celtic knot.

  Again, I suspected magic, though I wasn’t sneezing, and this was a much more sophisticated display. I only smelled the pleasing aroma of horse and hay.

  She called the horses to line up, then vaulted onto the center one. Other vaulters joined her, mounting every other horse. They worked as a drill team, each with a loose horse at their side.

  I was enthralled. I’d never seen such magic in my life. I wondered how the humans couldn’t sense something different. I watched closely and noticed a metallic bridle on the horse the girl was riding, and I understood.

  She wasn’t fae, the horse was. It appeared to be a black-as-night Friesian, but I knew better. The horse she was riding was a kelpie, a Scottish water fae. They lured humans onto their backs, then drowned them for fun. If, however, one could bridle them, the kelpie became the person’s obedient servant, until the time the bridle was removed.

  I wondered if the creature was forced to wear the bridle full time, or if it was caught fresh on a daily basis. There were other stories where kelpies appeared in human form. I distracted myself from the line of thinking to pay attention to the performance as the horses trotted out in a line.

  The spotlight moved, and acrobats became the new highlight. I watched them fly back and forth without a hint of magic. There wasn’t a net set out for them, which frightened me a bit.

  I was sucked into the show. It had probably been 20 years since I’d last been to a circus, and I hadn’t realized what I’d been missing.

  When it was over, I joined the others in a standing ovation. The ringmaster took a bow at center ring, where he was joined by most of the other performers.

  I clapped extra hard for the horse girl. You’ve gotta respect a girl that can trap a kelpie.

  I hugged Mem and George goodbye, then filed out to the parking lot with the rest of the crowd and climbed into the back seat with Lacey-Marie.

  “So, Hades,” I said.

  “So, Gretchen.” He started the car.

  “You said you were going to fill us in on why you left us earlier." I leaned towards the front seat instead of buckling in.

  “Ah, you remembered. All right, ladies. I made some inquiries about the circus when I first suggested we go. It turns out, there’s still a sort of side show. It’s exclusive,
and I’m guessing illegal. They hold a dinner for their more elite guests.” He snail crawled the car through the traffic.

  “How did you manage to get an invitation? There was no mention of it in the brochure,” Lacey-Marie pointed out.

  “I paid for it. They were very forthcoming with the invitation after I opened my wallet. Apparently the rich are perceived to be unscrupulous enough to keep the dinner a secret.” he said with a wicked grin.

  “Dinner?” Percy asked.

  “It’s a formal dinner, held in a tent behind the big top. We’re going out in style tonight. I’ll be calling a limo to bring us over.”

  “I don’t do formal wear.” I rolled my lip at the thought.

  “I’ve got something that will fit you,” Percy promised, with a smile that made me nervous.

  “Ah, you’re somewhat shorter in your human form,” I pointed out.

  “True, but I’m not always in my human form.” Her smile grew, along with the gleam in her eyes.

  “And you won’t be tonight m’dear. No need to hide where there won’t be clients.” Hades sounded absolutely certain.

  I wondered how he could be. Apparently, it had cost him quite a bit to get us in. Not that money meant anything to him. It's not like he’d ever run out.

  “All right, but just this once. Don’t think you’ll ever get me in a dress again,” I relented.

  “Of course, dear,” Percy said with a smug smile.

  When we got back to the house, Percy hurried me right up to her room and into her dressing room. Ancient artifacts, possibly as old as she was, were displayed like knick-knacks on her dresser. I kept my mitts behind my back to keep from touching them.

  She emerged from her clothing rack carrying a long, slinky red dress.

  “Uh-uh, no way am I wearing that.” I backed away with my hands up.

  “You’re wearing it if I have to strip you and force you into myself, and that’s final.” She thrust the dress into my unyielding hands.

  “I can’t wear a bra with this. I’m not wearing anything I can’t wear a bra with. I need a bra.” I tried to give the dress back.

  She refused to take it and instead went digging in her dresser. She came up with a couple boxes of sticky bras marked single use.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I took one of the boxes and opened it.

  “You’ll look great.” She took the other box for herself.

  I pulled out two separate cups, backed with peel away paper. All I had to do was position and presto, instant support.

  I didn’t trust it.

  “Come on, time to change, and I don’t want to see underwear lines, young lady.” She shooed me out of her closet and closed the door in my face.

  I took my armful to my room. I was on my own. No one was going to rescue me from this one. I selected my underwear carefully. Percy would make me change if I didn’t.

  Okay, I could do this. I peeled my clothes off and pulled on the fresh undies. The sticky bra proved to be difficult. I kept getting it crooked, but I managed not to kill it before getting it all into place. I climbed into the dress and fastened it at my shoulders.

  It was definitely a Persephone dress. The fabric hung like liquid around my body, with a neckline that draped in a low cowl. The back was non-existent and shaped the same way just above my rear.

  I went through my things and found some double-sided sticky tape that usually got reserved for performances, and applied it all around the edges. I was a little afraid it would fall off, but I wiggled a bit, and it stayed put. Good, hopefully that would be crisis averted. Now I just had to do my hair and makeup.

  I’m quick at braids, so I cornrowed it all around the edges and pinned my wild curls at my crown. The makeup I kept simple, though I may have gotten carried away with the black eyeliner. I applied my stage makeup with a light hand. What can I say? I liked the gold.

  When I made it downstairs, I found that Percy had indeed become Persephone, in a light blue dress in a similar style to my own, only higher in the back.

  No fair.

  Her butt-length blonde hair defied gravity piled atop her head. Red lips were the dominant feature on her face, though they barely outshone her violet eyes.

  Hades was in tails and combat boots. Full on god. Look out, circus freaks!

  Lacey-Marie took her time joining us, dressed in a little black dress, sky high heels, and flat ironed hair.

  Apparently I needed to stock up on formal wear so I wouldn’t end up in something quite so... backless.

  The limo pulled up, and we piled in and enjoyed some champagne.

  Percy pulled lavender oil from her purse and made me douse myself in it.

  Bah. Just once I’d like to smell natural.

  We were directed to park out back. I carefully climbed out of the car, not wanting to pull the dress loose from any of the millions of stickies.

  We were surrounded by cages, RVs, and tractor trailer trucks. I could make out their shapes in the dark, parked like a wagon train on the Oregon Trail.

  The black dinner tent was big enough to have fit our barn in. The flaps over the entrance were drawn closed. The ticket man, who introduced himself as Richard, appeared and pulled back the curtains.

  Long tables were arranged from end to end, surrounded by comfortable looking dining chairs with a dozen or so people mingling around.

  The smell of magic rolled through, staggering me. Now this was a freak show in the traditional sense. There were two cages and a glass aquarium arranged across one wall of the tent, each containing a humanoid creature.

  The first one we came to contained what looked like a girl, perhaps thirteen years old, glaring at her audience from the back of her cage. She attempted to use her misshapen black feathered wings to shield her body from view. Someone had dressed her in a white halter dress that managed to look innocent. She hissed, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, her too large eyes as alien as the rest of her. She scooted farther back, crossing her arms across her chest, a sullen expression on her face.

  The next cage I walked up to was similar to my kennel, but with bulletproof glass in front of the bars. He, unlike the girl, didn't hold himself back from his admirers, throwing himself against the bars, spitting tongues of fire.

  I stepped closer to inspect his green, scaled skin. His shorts had a hole in the back, showing off a stubby little tail. Poor kid. He gripped the bars in his hands and rattled them against the glass, showing off his clawed-tipped fingers much like my own. He wanted out, now, and he wasn’t getting his way.

  I didn’t like it at all. They were fae, but I could smell human on them as well. I deduced they were crossbreeds gone wrong. They belonged nowhere, so the circus had taken them in.

  The tank was my next stop. Its occupant swam right up and pressed his face to the glass. I put my hand up, and he did the same on his side. I smiled. He smiled. I counted two sets of gills lining his ribcage, and I guessed he wouldn’t be able to breath out of water. His skin had a purple tone to it, and he had inquisitive black eyes. The face he pressed against the glass lacked a nose, which I found even odder than the rest of it because it looked right.

  He swam away from me, using powerful strokes of his webbed hands and feet. I got a good look at his legs, which were fused together. He turned and came speeding back towards me. A few bubbles popped out of his mouth like he was laughing. At least he was happy to be cooped up. I would hate it myself.

  “He likes you,” said a voice to my right.

  I jumped, having not noticed the intruder approach. The young man was an albino dressed in black. He smiled, showing off teeth that had been filed to points. I could smell faint traces of coloring chemicals, revealing that black hair was not his natural color. If that didn’t give it away, his white eyebrows would have.

  “What’s his name?” I asked, putting my hand up to the glass again.

  “This is Caleb, The Simpleton Water-Boy. And I am Demothi the—”

  “Vampire?” I supplied,
knowing very well that he was just playing the part of one. He smelled very much alive, without a hint of magic or death on him.

  “Let me show you around. I’ll introduce you to the others.” He placed a hand on the small of my bare back.

  I stepped away.

  “Sure, why not?” I said stiffly, not appreciating his flirtation. He seemed like a man who was very sure of himself with women.

  He led me back to the winged girl. “This is our Angel, Tsarina. She’s kept in a cage for your safety, of course.”

  I doubted very much that she could hurt me, but I just nodded and led the way back to the fire breathing lizard spaz.

  “And this is Burn, the Demon Dragon Boy. The police were going to put him down before we intervened.” He’d found my soft spot for the caged critters.

  A low growl emanated from the other side of the tent.

  “Ah, Doug wants his introduction. Don’t worry, he’s housebroken. Let me introduce you to our resident werewolf-man.” He led me across the tent to where a hairy man-shaped creature was chained.

  He leapt easily to his feet, straining against his bonds, as we approached.

  I had to laugh.

  “What does the lady find so humorous?” Demothi asked, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion.

  “Well, I hate to break it to you, as you’re so into this, but he's not a werewolf.” I gained control as best I could, but a giggle or two escaped.

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Well, for one thing it’s not full moon, and wolves don’t stop halfway through the change. They become fully wolf. This poor guy just has hypertrichosis. Thanks for the introductions, but I can make my own now.” I separated myself from the Vampire wannabe.

  “Hi, I’m Gretchen. It’s nice to meet you, Doug.” I held out my hand in greeting.

  Doug straightened up and took my hand without a word. He bowed over it, kissing my knuckles.

  Puppy got manners.

  His loose, pirate-style shirt slid up his arms, revealing forearms that were slightly less hairy than his head. He might have been imposing if he stood straighter.

  “Ah, beauty and the beast,” Demothi murmured, stepping back.

  “Get lost, Demothi.” Doug spoke with just a hint of a French accent.