by Trudi Jaye
“What happened?” said Missy, concern on her face.
Sam shook his head and then winced. “Nothing. I’m fine. Just a stray bit of timber falling. The blaze caught up quickly, and we were racing against the clock to get everyone out on that side.” He glanced back over his shoulder.
Alphonso raised his eyebrows. “It is important to note Sam was saving a young girl when the timber fell on his head. She might have been burned alive if he hadn’t gotten her out.”
“She probably would have gotten out on her own,” said Sam.
Missy glanced at Alphonso. “Why are you here?” she asked bluntly.
Zeph smothered a grin. If there was one thing he really appreciated about Missy, it was her ability to get to the point.
Alphonso looked around at each of them as if weighing what to say. His gaze settled on Kitten, and he heaved out a breath. “You were right. With what Missy suggested as we were practicing. I’m not used to people knowing about it, so my denial was self-preservation. But as I’ve been attempting to protect Tilly all her life, and she is part of this mission, I should be part of it, too.”
It felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room. Everyone just stared at him.
“I can’t believe you actually admitted it,” said Missy, her voice full of awe.
Alphonso sighed. “I shouldn’t have said anything to you before Tilly, but I believe none of you mean her harm, and I need you to understand my motivations and trust me in turn.”
“Trust you? About what?”
“I must go to Veronica and help her move Marco. And I would like to take Kitten with me.”
Missy immediately shook her head, and Zeph didn’t blame her. His negative reaction was bubbling on his lips. He took half a step closer to the young girl.
“No. Absolutely not,” said Missy. “There is no way you can take Kitten with you. Whatever you want to do, that’s fine. But leave Kitten out of it.”
“She’s the only one who can talk to Marco, to tell him what we’re doing.” Alphonso’s concern seemed genuine, but Zeph wasn’t sure. Despite Alphonso’s explanation, he still had a hard time reading the older man.
“Tilly would kill us if we let her go with you. Literally kill us,” said Sam.
“I promise I’ll let her come to no harm from Veronica.” He smiled at Kitten. “We’re old friends, Kitten and I. She knows I will protect her.”
Kitten smiled up at Alphonso and surprised Zeph by nodding and agreeing. “I need to go to Marco. That’s why I came back. He needs my help.”
“Kitten, it’s too dangerous. Veronica isn’t rational, and she’ll use you to hurt Tilly if she can,” said Missy, turning and crouching to talk directly to the young girl.
Kitten shook her head. “Marco won’t let her. He’s my friend.”
The sound of multiple people running in their direction made them all look up, and Zeph’s heart did a flip in his chest—until he saw Tilly at the front. With her were Jack and the two men he’d seen at The Experiment. Missy let out a ragged breath, and Zeph reached over and grabbed her hand. It would be hard on her to see Jack again.
As Tilly arrived, she saw her sister standing next to Alphonso. “What’s Kitten doing here?” she asked, glaring accusingly at them all.
“She escaped from Christoph and ran back. She wanted to help Marco,” said Missy quickly, a guilty expression on her face. Zeph tightened his hand around hers.
Tilly knelt beside Kitten and hugged her. Then she grabbed her arms. “Listen to me, Kitten. Marco would want you to leave this place, to get away while you can. He loves you and knows Veronica would hurt you if she could.”
Kitten shook her head. “We have to help him. He needs us.”
Alphonso stepped forward. “Tilly, I’m here to help you. I would never let anything happen to you or Kitten. But I need to save Marco as well, and I need Kitten’s help to do that.”
Tilly’s face paled, and she glanced over at one of the men she’d arrived with before looking back at Alphonso. “I don’t know what to say to you, Alphonso. I don’t know what to think.”
“I give you my word of honor. I will protect Kitten to the death. She will come to no harm.” He laid a hand over his heart and spoke directly to Tilly.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Alphonso. I can’t stop you going, but I won’t let Kitten go into that viper’s nest again. We’re so close to getting her out of here.”
Kitten took a step away from her older sister. “You can’t stop me, Tilly. I need to help Marco. He’s my friend.” Kitten had a mulish expression on her face, and Zeph would have laughed if the situation had been different. She was a child who knew her own mind.
Tilly was shaking her head, about to argue, when Kitten’s expression froze, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she started to shake. She flopped into Tilly’s arms. Sam leaped forward, and Tilly sat on the ground with a thump, Kitten’s shaking body cradled in her arms.
“What’s going on? What is it?” Tilly asked desperately.
Alphonso looked down at Kitten calmly. “It is Marco. He is communicating with her. It is difficult across a distance.”
“Tell him to stop!” said Tilly, tears in her eyes as she rocked Kitten.
“I’m sorry. I do not have that ability.”
As quickly as it started, the shaking stopped, and Kitten’s eyes rolled back into place. She closed them and lay silent for a moment, her breathing ragged.
“What did he say, little one?” asked Alphonso softly.
Kitten swallowed. “He said to tell you…” Kitten stopped. “He says he’s dying. Veronica’s using all her power to keep back the fire and isn’t concentrating on him. She hasn’t noticed what’s happening. But he doesn’t want us to save him. He wants us to let him go, to give him peace.”
Alphonso was shaking his head. “No, I cannot do that. I am going to get him out.”
“He said you’d say that. He says he’d like to cash in the favor you owe him. He wishes you to be still, to let him start his journey to the next world.” The words were obviously not Kitten’s, and they sounded eerie coming from her lips.
Alphonso swallowed hard and blinked his eyes a few times. “I do not know if I can do that,” he whispered.
“He asks as your friend. He wishes you a long life but begs you will allow him to leave this place where he has been caged for so long.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Alphonso’s dark eyes and the tears swimming in them accentuated his white face. Missy wanted to hug him, but she didn’t dare.
In the distance, sirens wailed. The firemen had arrived.
“Now that’s been decided; we need to get the hell out of here,” said Jack, who’d been standing in the background. He stepped forward, his features hard in the light from the fire. He seemed menacing to Missy, with the red from the fires flickering on his face. Viktor’s son Daggen and Tilly’s fiancé Cal, who’d come with Jack from the Carnival, stood next to him, their faces sombre.
Missy’s hands trembled. Jack was the reason she’d left the Carnival and seeing him again was difficult. He seemed familiar but alien at the same time. He’d not trusted her to be Showmaster, and that still hurt. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the flames devouring the building closest to them. He was right. They needed to leave.
Zeph put his arm around her shoulders, and she tucked herself into his side, glad for the warmth and protection. The hurt slipped away a bit, and she gave Zeph a small smile.
Tilly nodded at Jack. “You’re right,” she said. “We need to get out of here. When Marco dies, Veronica will be inconsolable. We’ll all be direct targets.”
“Can she use curse magic from Marco’s death?” asked Missy. She couldn’t imagine how powerful Veronica might become if she could.
Tilly shook her head. “She wouldn’t have been the cause of his death. And she loves him too obsessively to do anything like that to him. We’re safe from that at least.”
“So this is us? The
entire group?” Jack asked.
“My dad has Barb and Zeph’s mom with him.” Missy glanced at Alphonso. “What about you, Alphonso? Are you coming with us?”
He shrugged and glanced at Tilly, who was still crouched on the ground with Kitten. “I think I am.”
“Then let’s go. The others are waiting in the parking lot.”
They all started running, some faster than others. Tilly and Cal were taking care of Kitten. Alphonso was helping Sam, who, despite his protests, still seemed a little woozy. Zeph held her hand, and Missy clung to him like he was a lifeline as they ran past Veronica’s offices.
They made it past and were running alongside the practice ring when a fiery burst of pain erupted inside Missy’s chest. She screamed and tripped, only saved from falling by Zeph. Through the haze of pain, she looked up at him as his eyes glazed over. He let go of her hand, turned, and walked back toward Veronica’s office.
Missy stayed on the ground and watched him desert them, the same compulsion burning through her body. “We’re being pulled back in,” she turned and yelled at the others ahead of her. “Keep going. Get everyone out.”
Ahead of her, Jack shot a glance backward, halting abruptly when he saw what was happening. “We’ll take them to safety and then come back for you,” he said, running back to her and helping her up. His calm voice never changed. “We’re not leaving you here.”
“We’ll be fine,” she lied. Everyone else needed to stay away from Veronica.
“You’re part of the Jolly Knight Carnival, Missy,” said Jack sternly. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
Missy stared at Jack for a moment and nodded, not really believing him. Then she turned and took off at a run. She was following in Zeph’s footsteps, the compulsion inside her growing stronger until she could barely breathe with the urgency of it.
She arrived behind Zeph just as he opened the door to the office. A strong smell hit them as soon as they walked in. Fresh blood. Missy immediately saw Veronica, a knife in her hand. Next to her was Lorenzo’s hacked-up body, blood pooled about him on the wooden floor.
Missy gagged.
“Oh, good, you’re here,” Veronica said, her voice wild. “You didn’t think you could get away, did you?”
***
Zeph smiled at Veronica. She looked a little more ruffled than usual, but that didn’t matter. She was still wonderful in his eyes. “Do you need our help, Veronica?”
“Yes, Zeph, I do. I need to get my brother out of here and put out that fire.” She turned to Missy. “Did you start the fire, Missy? Were you part of it?”
Next to him, Missy shook her head violently and then gasped. She fell to the floor.
“That’s what you get for lying to me.” Veronica turned to Zeph. “I need more power, and I’ve discovered another way to access curse magic. Someone under my power simply needs to hurt someone they love. It’s not quite as powerful, but I have no choice. You’re going to help me, Zeph.”
Zeph nodded. Anything Veronica needed, he would do. Beside him, Missy groaned and curled into a ball on the ground.
Veronica held up a large hunting knife. “Take this, Zeph, and use it on Missy.”
For a moment, Zeph stood still, something holding him back. But then he smiled and went to Veronica, taking the knife. He would do whatever she wanted. She was a lovely woman, and he knew she would never hurt him.
He went over to Missy, who was still curled up on the floor. He crouched down beside her, trying to figure out the best place to start. Something was holding him back. “Do you want me to cut her anywhere in particular?” he asked Veronica.
She had come to stand right behind him. “No, wherever you choose to do it will be fine, Zeph,” she said softly.
Frowning, Zeph leaned closer and touched Missy’s arm. Her whole body jerked, and he jumped back. The knife became heavy in his hand, and Missy’s moans of pain pierced his ears, like they were cutting him with just their sound. “Can you make her stop making that noise?” he asked Veronica. “It’s distracting.”
“Very well.”
Suddenly, Missy’s body relaxed, and Zeph realized she’d been moaning because of the pain Veronica had been inflicting on her. He nodded. That made sense. He was glad she’d stopped; it had been quite annoying. He held the knife over Missy’s arm and grasped it firmly in his other hand.
At that moment, Missy raised her head and looked him in the eyes. “Don’t do it, Zeph. Please, don’t do it,” she whispered in a shaky voice.
Zeph paused. He couldn’t figure out why he was waiting. He wanted to help Veronica; he knew it was the right thing to do, yet his hand was frozen over Missy’s arm.
“Hurry up. Stop stalling,” snapped Veronica from directly behind him.
Missy gazed up at him. He could see little flecks of hazel in the brown depths of her eyes, and for a moment, he was lost in them. Tears lingered against her pupils, and their presence seemed to wash away the fog that surrounded him.
He shook his head and then looked down again. Missy’s familiar face was below him, her features screwed up into a strange combination of fear and hope. He gave her a slight nod and glanced at the massive knife in his hand. He almost dropped it when he remembered he’d been about to cut open Missy’s flesh using the blade. But then he remembered Veronica hovering behind him.
He half turned to face her, just as something crashed down on his head.
***
Missy watched as Zeph collapsed next to her. Veronica stood over him, the base of the white figurine she’d used to hit him still in one hand. The rest of the shards were scattered over Zeph and Missy.
“If nothing else, that felt good,” said Veronica. “I can use that little bit of power to ensure you provide me with everything I need, Missy.” She leaned over and picked up the knife that had dropped from Zeph’s hand. She glanced at Zeph’s face. “And to do this.” She touched his leg, and Zeph moaned in pain and clutched at his thigh.
“Why are you doing this? What did we ever do to you?” Missy whispered. She still felt confused in the aftermath of the excruciating pain that had been radiating through her entire body.
“You and your kind are all the same. You take and take and never want to give. I’ve been giving to my brother all my life. I’ve never stopped giving. And then I learned other people could give as well, and that made it even better.”
“Your brother wouldn’t want you to force people to help him like this,” said Missy, desperately looking around the room for something that might aid her.
“You don’t know my brother. Don’t tell me what he wants. You’re as bad as that brat.”
Brat? “Kitten? Isn’t she helping you with Marco?”
“Helping? She just tells me her version of what he says. I know it’s all lies.”
Missy shook her head slowly, trying to clear the cobwebs. “Shouldn’t you be trying to get him out of here? I don’t think you can stop the fire before it hits this building.”
Veronica took another step toward Missy, the knife held high. “I can only get us out of here with more curse magic. And I need it fast.” Her eyes were wild; she was high on some kind of energy only she could feel.
Missy stared at Veronica’s knife, and all of a sudden, she was high up in the rigging of the Winter Spectacular again, Lucietta standing before her with the same crazed expression, another knife held threateningly in front of her.
Her mind went blank. If it came to it, she couldn’t kill another person. The nightmares and the fear she’d felt after Lucietta’s death had destroyed a part of her. She wasn’t as brave as she’d once been. She wasn’t as focused or direct. She wasn’t the same person anymore, and it slashed to her very core.
It would be easier to just let Veronica do what she wanted. She closed her eyes and steeled herself for the knife strike.
A fraction of a second passed in darkness. Then she flicked her eyes open again.
Turned out she couldn’t be so docile after all.
&
nbsp; Her innate sense of survival kicked into gear, and Missy forced herself away from Veronica as she swept in with the knife. She wasn’t going to let her win, not when there was breath in her body.
“I have you wrapped up in my curse magic. I can force you to do whatever I like,” said Veronica, an amused smile on her face as she walked closer to Missy. “I learned much from experimenting on Tilly.”
She stepped delicately over Zeph’s body and took another step toward Missy. “It would be easier on you if you simply gave up now. I don’t want to have to access your block again. It will be so painful for you.” She made a sad face, as if she were actually concerned.
Missy’s heart lurched in her chest. Her body ached from the last bout of pain this woman had inflicted on her. She didn’t think she would be able to handle much more. Her hand clenched. There was no choice; the other option was to give in to Veronica, and that wasn’t going to happen.
Leaning on her hand, she tensed, ready to leap at the other woman. It was the only plan she had.
As Veronica took another step toward her, there was movement behind her. Zeph was waking up. Missy didn’t know if he’d wake up under Veronica’s power or if he would help her. She tried to keep her eyes from him, in case it was the latter, and focused on watching the knife Veronica was holding. It was smooth and silver, with splotches of blood that hadn’t quite been wiped clean after she gutted Lorenzo.
“Did Lorenzo scream when you killed him?” she asked softly. “He was one of your biggest supporters. He loved you.”
Veronica blinked. “He didn’t like that I was planning to replace him with Zeph. He’d become troublesome.” She twitched her shoulder. “And I needed the power for Marco.”
Veronica’s hand flittered about momentarily. She seemed distracted by the mention of Lorenzo.
Missy could use that; all she needed was a second of inattention. “Lorenzo was with you for a long time. He was your friend.” Missy looked over at Lorenzo’s body, hoping to make Veronica do the same. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and Missy poised to leap. She had agility and strength on her side. Surely that was enough.