I nodded vigorously. He pushed past me and peered intently into the gloom. "Fuck, you're right! It must have just happened! I missed it because I checked that area just the other day!" He turned to face me. "Thank you Victoria," he said, and for once - the first time I had ever heard him speak in a tone like that to me - he was sincere and not sarcastic.
I couldn't voice my appreciation, so I licked the human side of his face instead.
"Ugh! Please don't do that again!"
Chapter Seventeen
Professor Abbacus fixed the connections without my help, and then the Ringmaster started the generator once more. The lights flickered on, and Prof. Abbacus turned the stages a couple of times. The mechanism moved smoothly, without any lurching stops or starts, or any high-pitched squealing of gears. The show could go on! Unfortunately, the black out had scared off most the locals, and it was decided the Circus Infinitus should move that very night to a new town where it could start afresh.
After the sun went down, and all locals were off the premises, everything was packed up, buttoned down and prepared for transport. It was my second shift, and once again I was the werewolf! Oh, the irony. But at least now I knew what to expect, and wasn't as frightened as I had been the first time. Professor Abbacus also didn't taunt me, either, and I wondered if he had finally gotten over his bad attitude with me.
We appeared in another part of France, this time in the south, where we could take advantage of the summer heat. After we'd set up, and the carnies had gone out to hand out flyers and drum up custom, Professor Abbacus designed a protective rubber shield to fit around the outside of the pool, so the next time I transformed into the Swamp Girl I could leap and splash to my heart's content.
When I next shifted back into Lady Frankenstein, I was pleased to find that Abbacus still wanted me to help him. He was planning a new attraction he called the Carnival of Freaks, and it would contain numerous weird and wonderful monsters to frighten the customers. Genuinely deformed creatures were very hard to come by, so he decided to make his own, from the carefully stitched-together bodies of dead things. I did as he asked, putting these creatures together, and although I did an excellent job with my Magick, closing seams so no-one would be able to see them, I wondered how on Earth these pallid corpses would fool anyone.
Then Professor Abbacus rolled out an enormous steel tank on heavy iron wheels with little portholes recessed into the sides, and started connecting it up to the main generator. As soon as it was ready, he pushed up a lever. The lights dimmed as power was transferred into a hidden capacitor. A low whine started. "What is that thing?" I exclaimed.
"This is how we're going to give those creatures life," he proclaimed. "It is my Immortality Machine." He seemed quite proud of the device, and explained in detail how it could actually bring dead things back to life, from rudimentary animation to full lucidity. A large dial on the machine controlled this. At the end of his tale he stopped and stared at me curiously, waiting for my response.
"It sounds fascinating," I declared. "I certainly would like to give it a try."
"Necromancy does not repulse you?"
"Look at me, Professor. I'm a dead thing myself!"
I'm sure he would have smiled if he could have. "The Ringmaster still doesn't like this machine. It's one of the reasons why he decided to stay in town tonight." He didn't elaborate on the other as he continued setting up the machine, and I wondered if this meant I could ask him about something other than work.
"Why do you call him 'Del'?" I asked.
Abbacus grunted. "It comes from his last name, Delfay," he answered without looking around. But his surly tone told me that I'd better not continue this more personal line of questioning. The soft hum was now rising towards a deafening screech. "Start bringing over those creatures! It's almost reached full power!"
I sighed and brought over the monsters to be animated, one by one. Abbacus brought out a console much like the one connected to the Omniportallis and linked it to the Immortality Machine. He started punching in keys, locking in settings. Then he turned a large dial. "I don't want these things coming out too smart or aggressive. But they need to move and make noises and at least look interesting." He climbed up onto a stool beside the machine and held out his hands for the first creature. He was able to stretch four of them out on an iron grille on top of the machine. Turning a lever, he lowered the grille into the belly of the device. Turning another, he brought down the contraption's lid, sealing it.
"You can do the honours and yank that lever down to release the charge!" Abbacus shouted over the screech of full power.
I moved over the lever and drew it down. It connected with two switches. With a deafening crackling noise energy surged into the machine. Through the tank's windows I watched electricity flicker and dance. A powerful smell of sulphur and ozone filled the air - a sure sign that some very nasty Magick was at work. I knew necromancy was a dark and powerful art, and only the highest level spells could animate dead to the degree Abbacus wanted. But his machine enabled him to make them routine. I was impressed.
The flickering stopped and Abbacus indicated to me to push the lever back up. The lights flickered and dimmed again, and the low hum slowly started to rise as a new charge built. Professor Abbacus raised the lid and then the iron grille inside. The dead, stitched-together creatures I had put together for him immediately darted out, shaking salty water from their bodies.
"Professor, it worked!" I clapped my hands, as delighted as a small child.
"Of course it worked! Did you doubt my ability?"
Together, we animated all the creatures we had prepared. My favourites were the owlbat, the catdog and the winged pig that could actually hover for short periods. We also animated the Fiji mermaids who would frolic with me when I was the Swamp Girl. The Owlbat had a feathery owl's body but a bat's wings. It also had a lizard's long tail. The catdog had two heads - and two tails. The pig was just an ordinary pink piglet with an eagle's wings. Normally it wouldn't have been able to fly, but Abbacus had "enhanced" it with Magick. The Fiji mermaids had female monkey torsos with salmon tails stitched on, and long flowing hair grafted to their skulls. They also had tusks and claws. They looked fearsome, but Abbacus's refinement had ensured they were playful and harmless, perfect companions for the Swamp Girl. I was actually looking forward to the time when I would change into that shape, now I had a new home and companions.
"They have turned out perfectly," I told Abbacus. "They almost look like real creatures."
"Yes, you've joined them seamlessly. You'll need to think up other beasts we can make, so I can source out a new collection of body parts." He turned to start disconnecting the machine.
"You used the Immortality Machine to create all the zombie carnies, didn't you?"
"Of course."
I whistled. "They are all in complete control of their faculties?"
"Pretty much, although X the strong man is mute and has the mind of a child. I wasn't able to bring him back to his former lucidity. I think it went to the clowns. They are symbiotically linked to him." As he worked he explained how the strong man and the clowns had all come to be linked together through the strongman's intestines. The clowns could exist quite happily outside X, but during that time the strongman couldn't move. The clowns ate so much because they needed to transfer nutrients to X when they were safely back inside his stomach.
I was amazed by how easily Professor Abbacus was talking to me in this form. Did this mean he was finally over his rancour with me? I had to ask. "Professor, why are you so jealous of the Vampiress and the Spider Queen whenever they appear? I mean the Ringmaster does not live like a monk when I am Amuna or the Wolf Woman or the Swamp Girl. He's always off with some woman - or man - or another. That's also why he's in town tonight, isn't it? He has found another lover."
Professor Abbacus stopped what he was doing and expelled a large, sooty cloud from his chimney. He always did that when he was upset, and I wished I hadn't spoken. But I wa
nted to understand.
"Those forms are selfish and controlling," he growled, "only interested in satisfying their sundry lusts. They don't care about him at all." Tucking the Immortality Machine's control board under one arm, he headed off towards the storeroom.
I sighed and turned to look at the new creatures we had created. The Owlbat and Winged Pig were fluttering around the room while the Catdog was playing tug o' war with itself over a strip of leather it had found. I scooped up one of the Fiji mermaids and headed from the room to pop it into the tank. Me and my big mouth, I thought.
I spent an enjoyable day in the Carnival of Freaks enclosure, introducing the locals to the Circus Infinitus's new exhibits. The place needed more work - in my mind's eye I could see shelves stacked with jars of deformed foetuses and tentacled monsters that wriggled and slapped at their glass prisons. I'd have to discuss the creation of an entire collection.
But Professor Abbacus didn't want to talk to me anymore. He spent the rest of the day hiding from me, and later, at midnight, I changed into the Vampiress. He took one look at me, expelled another nasty cloud, and holed himself up in his laboratory. So much for thinking he'd gotten over his anger.
Fortunately for me, the Ringmaster had returned from town just before the start of the first show of the day, and decided to not to go back after the last. When he saw who I'd changed into, he smiled in appreciation and said "I'm glad I stayed."
I slipped my arms around his neck. "So who did you spend last night with?" I purred into his ear.
"A local aristocrat who was most grateful for my attention. We should receive a free delivery of supplies tomorrow."
"Oooh, you are such a whore!" I teased.
"You should talk!"
I pretended to be offended. "I'm no whore, Adam. A whore does it for money. No-one has ever paid me. I do it because I like it." I took his hand, and he allowed himself to be led back to his room. I soon had him stretched out naked on his bed, trapped between my powerful thighs and gasping as I bounced up and down on him. He soon forgot all about the night he'd spent in town.
Later, I stretched out beside him and rested my head on his chest where his heart beat ... far too slowly for any human. Again I wondered who - what - he really was. But I knew better than to ask. Instead, I thoughtfully curled a lock of his chestnut hair around one finger and stared up at the ceiling. It was Adam who spoke.
"Did you have a fun time helping Icarus with the Immortality Machine?"
"Oh yes. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Did you see the creatures in the Carnival of Freaks?"
"Yes. Quite impressive. Do you have more planned?"
"Yes, if only Abbacus will talk to me again. We were communicating so well last night - and then I asked him why he was jealous of the Vampiress and the Spider Queen. He growled at me and then spent the rest of the day avoiding me."
Adam sighed. "It is true. He is extremely jealous of those forms."
"But why? He doesn't seem to mind whenever you wander off with an audience-member."
"That's different. He doesn't see me forming any emotional attachments to them. You, on the other hand, are always here. He thinks I will fall in love with you."
I stared at him. "Really? Is that what he's worried about? Why?"
He stared at me in surprise. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"
"Forgive me. I'm always a little slow after Lady Frankenstein. I think she wears my brain out."
"Icarus is in love with me!"
My jaw dropped. "What? How is that possible? He's - he's-" I couldn't finished.
"Part machine? That doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings. He's telepathic too. He can feel everything I can."
I remembered how our minds joined during sex. "Really? So if you're with someone else, you can transmit your ecstasy to Icarus, no matter where you are?"
"Yes." Adam gave a conspiratorial smile. "That's why he doesn't mind if sleep with customers. So long as I do it here, within his range. But I haven't transmitted our pleasure to him yet. I haven't tried to overcome the telepathic protection of your amulet."
The thought was intriguing. "If it'll improve his mood, I think you should try. I can lower my shields to make it easier." I trailed a finger down his smooth, hairless chest. "Perhaps, to make it even more exciting, you could tell him that you'll transmit our pleasure, pretending to do so without my knowledge. I'm sure he'd love thinking that he had some power over me."
He laughed. "I never realised you were so lascivious!"
"I am supposed to be the sin of lust." I rolled onto him, tangling my fingers in his hair, and touched my lips to his. I drew him into another bout of lovemaking, and he eagerly slid his delicious hardness into me. I wondered if he ever got tired.
Later that day, between the second and third shows, while I was sleeping in my room, he appeared and woke me with a kiss. "I'm sure you don't mind being disturbed for this," he whispered as he kicked off his boots and slipped into the bed beside me.
As the Vampiress, I needed almost as much sleep as my human form, but he was right. Who could resist that beautiful, angelic body, revealed as he pulled open his silk shirt? I trailed my fingers down that smooth stomach to the waistband of his trousers. And then, with my enhanced vampiric senses I detected a faint smell of smoke and ozone and sulphur. Professor Abbacus was here somewhere, watching. I knew he could creep around this circus without anyone seeing him. He was probably hiding in the crawlspace above, looking down through a vent.
I smiled at Adam. The thought of being watched excited me. Of course it wasn't me Abbacus was interested in, but I didn't care. The fact he was there meant he was within my control. And if this meant he was a bit more civil to me in the future, then it was well worth it.
Adam seemed to want to give him a bit of a show. Not that I minded as he crawled between my legs and tantalised my folds with his tongue. He gripped my hips tightly as I moaned and squirmed. In this form I was just as energetic as he, and one orgasm only whet my appetite for more. I raised my hips to him as he slid into me. He was flushed with excitement, but holding himself in check. He moved slowly within me at first, almost leisurely. I squeezed his firm buttocks and he groaned. He dropped his head, his long hair tickling my face, but continued those agonisingly slow thrusts. My pleasure rose with his, and then ripped through me again. I arched against him and cried out. The powerful contractions of my climax almost pushed him over the edge. Almost. He clenched his teeth, but continued to hold himself together. How did he do it? I took his face in my hands and kissed him as he continued to move in and out of me, sliding my tongue around his own.
Adam returned the kiss for a few seconds, then even his phenomenal will failed. He drew back with a gasp and shuddered against me. Once again I locked up around him as my own pleasure took control, and he cried out repeatedly. From somewhere above there was a crash as something - probably the voyeuristic Professor Abbacus - fell over.
"Oh God," I groaned as I continued to pull him into me. Finally he collapsed against me, still trembling and twitching inside me.
"I have never felt the like," he whispered.
"You did draw it out somewhat."
He rolled off me and lay gasping for breath for a minute. I could tell that finally he was done. I didn't think he'd have the energy in him for another romp any time soon.
I sat up and shook my long hair back over my shoulders. "Did you hear that bang before?" I asked loudly. "I think the Circus Infinitus may have a really bad case of rats."
Later, after the sun had set and I was returning from hunting in a nearby forest, I noticed Professor Abbacus in the Big Top, fixing a leaky steam pipe. I gave him a cheerful wave, expecting either a rude gesture or to be ignored completely, when he actually waved back.
I smiled in triumph; my plan had worked! He would probably continue to be cranky with me - he was bad-tempered with everyone - but at least he wouldn't hate me with such a passion anymore. As Mrs Frankenstein, I'd be able to continue my experiments.
A few days later, when I had changed into the werewolf once more, I was performing in my sideshow; "The Wolf Woman of Borneo". This consisted merely of a small circus tent, illuminated only by a single dim lantern to provide an ominous atmosphere. I crouched in a cage at the centre, and whenever a new customer came in, I would jump up with a frightful roar and furiously rattle the bars of my cage.
The day began like any other in the south of France; bright, sunny with numerous customers already lining up for the various sideshows, rides and the ticket box to purchase seats. I didn't mind pretending to be a wild animal. The carnies knew me and treated me like a human being, not a beast. I received respect and equal payment, and most had relaxed their guard around me enough to start revealing other secrets about the circus. I had already learned a lot as Lady Frankenstein, but it was nice to finally be a part of them.
However, in this body I had always been restless. Like the Vampiress and the Spider Queen, I had ravenous appetites. I was well fed at the circus, but I still enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. However, the Vampiress and Spider Queen had found happiness with the other carnies and the Ringmaster. In this form, I was still alone. I was sure, had I been able to properly articulate my desires, I could have found the occasional mate.
But in this body I didn't want one of the zombie carnies, or even the Ringmaster. I wanted a wild creature like myself, to run alongside through the woods, hunt with, and make love with in the undergrowth. I was a very powerful creature, and craved someone as strong and lusty as myself. But I had no idea where I would find such a being.
Towards lunch time a new customer stepped into my tent. A couple of other visitors were still inside, waiting against the walls to watch the newcomer's reaction. I was crouched low, ready to spring, but already I could sense something different about this person. Although I couldn't see it well, I could smell the distinctive musky odour of something wild.
The Circus Infinitus - Victoria 7 Page 14