by Trudi Jaye
“How could it be Christoph? Surely the Carnival would have known?” Rilla was struggling to make sense of it.
Jack shrugged. “Everyone keeps telling me how weak the Carnival has become. Maybe it can’t detect something like that anymore.”
Rilla reached for the connection to the Carnival that she’d had inside her since she turned sixteen. It was weak, almost non-existent. “It’s possible.”
“Are you okay, Rilla? Do you want me to come back to Barb’s with you?”
“No, thanks. It’ll be better if it’s just me.” Rilla glanced toward the big top in the distance. “Have you told Missy?” Her friend was going to be devastated.
“I’m just going to the practice ring now. Then I’ll go see Fordham.”
“I better go.” Without a glance backward, Rilla strode off toward Barb and Christoph’s caravan. Her mind was bouncing around inside her skull, bruised and battered. She tried to think what she was going to say to Barb, but she arrived at the doorstep too quickly.
She knocked softly on the door. “Barb,” she called out.
“Come in.” Barb’s voice wavered and cracked in the middle.
Rilla poked her head around the door. Barb was sitting on the dining bench, her face red and blotchy. Rilla went over and put her arms around the older woman.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” said Barb. “He’s not like this.”
“They’re out looking for him now. They’ll find him.”
Barb looked up at Rilla, her bright-blue eyes welling with tears. “Do you think he’s in trouble?” she asked.
Rilla paused, thinking over her options. But Barb deserved to know. “I think he might be,” she said, laying a hand on Barb’s arm. “But nothing is certain. We have to wait and see.”
“He wouldn’t hurt anyone, not Christoph. Gentle as a lamb, you know that, Rilla. What can he possibly have done?”
Rilla put an arm around Barb’s shoulders, the action sparking memories of Christoph doing the same thing to her at Abba’s funeral. None of this made sense; there had to be some piece of information they were overlooking. “Barb… when did you meet Christoph?”
“I’ve known him my whole life. Born and bred, you know that.”
Rilla smiled and nodded. She did know it. “Is there anything you can tell us about where he might go?”
Barb shook her head. “He lived for the Carnival, like everyone else.”
“Old friends anywhere? Someone who might help him out?”
Again, Barb shook her head, tears welling.
“Has he been acting strange lately? Did you notice anything?”
Barb hesitated, and Rilla felt her stomach sink. Until that hesitation, she had felt some small sense of hope, some optimism that maybe all this was some kind of terrible mistake. But Barb knew something. “Tell me, Barb. Whatever it is, we need to know.”
“He’s been… anxious. Nervous, even. When I got sick, he was beside himself. He flipped out.”
“After the food was poisoned?”
Barb nodded. “I wondered then… if he knew something.” Barbarina’s face crumpled up, tears pressing down her face. She leaned into Rilla’s shoulder and started sobbing.
With Barb’s shaking body crushed against her, Rilla tried to stay focused. It was too much, asking Barb these terrible questions. What had happened to make Christoph turn on them?
Gradually, Barb calmed down, pulling back and wiping at her face.
“When did Christoph start acting strangely, Barb?”
Barb shook her head, not answering at first. Rilla just held her tight and let her take as long as she needed.
“I only noticed properly a few months ago that he was more anxious than usual. I thought he was having a mid-life crisis and he’d just snap out of it.” She wiped at her face. “I realize now it was going on for a lot longer than that, I just wasn’t paying enough attention to him.” Fresh tears trailed down Barb’s face. “I should have known something was wrong. I should have asked him.”
“It’s not your fault,” said Rilla softly.
“I’m part of this marriage, too. I should have talked to him instead of just waiting for him to snap out of it.”
A thought occurred to Rilla. “Did he…?” she hesitated, reluctant to go on. “Could there be someone else?”
Barbarina’s eyes darkened. “You think this is something to do with her?”
Rilla frowned. “He was having an affair?” Indignation rose.
Barb shook her head, putting her hands on Rilla’s arm. “No, no, not like that. Not since we were kids.”
“But you think someone was influencing him?”
Barb sighed. “When we were young, he was in love with someone else. I always loved him, but he didn’t see me properly until years later.”
“What happened to her?”
“She broke his heart. She left and never came back. But it affected him. He was never the same. I did what I could; I loved him and understood his pain. I thought he’d healed. All these years, I thought he’d forgotten her.” Barb started sobbing into her hands.
Rilla rubbed Barb’s arms and had to force herself to ask the next question. “What makes you think he didn’t?”
Barb’s shoulders stiffened. She stood and walked to a drawer. Pulling out a carefully folding newspaper clipping, she handed it to Rilla. “I found this in one of his pockets when I was doing the washing. It’s the woman he was in love with. He’d found her again.”
Rilla carefully opened the newspaper, looking down at the black-and-white photo. It was two smiling faces, a man and a woman, both dressed up for a performance in full makeup and sequined costumes. They both seemed familiar. She frowned and skimmed the text. “A Las Vegas magician’s assistant?”
Barb nodded. “She used to help out with the games team when she was at the Carnival, but I guess she always wanted to be part of the show.”
Rilla looked at the photo again, focusing on the woman. Her breath stopped in her throat. She recognized the face in the picture. “How long ago was this?”
Barb shook her head. “It doesn’t say. He’s cut it out without the date.”
“What’s her name?” Rilla had to be sure.
Barb glanced at the photo. “Lucietta Knight. Blago’s sister.”
***
“You think Lucietta’s involved?” Jack sat at the small table in Rilla’s caravan and watched her face carefully. He wanted to deny it for the sake of his father. But it made sense.
“It’s too big a coincidence that Christoph’s disappeared and now she’s suddenly reappeared.” Rilla sipped on her tea. She was leaning against the kitchenette bench, hugging her mug to her with both hands. She looked just as uncomfortable as he felt.
Images kept popping into Jack’s head of the two of them on Rilla’s bed, naked and wrapped in each other’s arms. He put one hand through his hair trying to dislodge the memories. “And Barb said she thought he could be swayed by her?”
Rilla nodded. “Barb said he was obsessively in love with her when they were teenagers. Lucietta never felt the same way but wasn’t above taking advantage of him, and they once even dated for a while. She said he felt guilty when she was kicked out, and used to say that he should have left with her to protect her. Instead, he stayed with the Carnival, calmed down, found a new girlfriend, and married and had a child. Lucietta was left out in the cold.”
“The woman we met yesterday wouldn’t think twice about manipulating someone.” Jack thought of Lucietta’s cold blue eyes and her smirk as she talked about the blocking talent.
“You think she was being truthful about your blocking talent?” asked Rilla carefully.
The question caught him by surprise. He blinked, trying to think through his answer. “I don’t know. I guess I did, until just now.”
Rilla’s intense blue eyes bored into him. “My father was looking into the blocking talent, as well. He had an old diary hidden away, written by someone in the Carnival in the earl
y 1800s, talking about a young girl who had just come into her blocking talent. I’ve been reading it.”
Goose bumps raised on his arms. “What does it say?”
Rilla looked away, then back. “It’s not great, Jack. It’s a difficult talent to have.”
He surged to his feet, his anxiety forcing him into movement. Jack paced up and down in the small space, his footsteps rocking the caravan’s walls. “What I don’t understand is why have it? Why is there a talent that blocks everyone else? It doesn’t make sense.”
Rilla shook her head, her frustration just as obvious. “There must be a reason. That’s how the Carnival works, one thing to balance out the next. Even the magic we do, the blessings we rely on, are only one half of the coin. There are those who use curse magic to get their power.”
“Curse magic? Like the magician who was thrown out?” Jack said.
Rilla nodded. “Curses are about hurting people—the closer to you by blood, the better—and getting power from that act.”
Jack felt a chill. “Do you know people who use it?”
“I don’t know anyone personally. But it’s out there.”
Jack tried to understand what she was telling him, but his head was spinning. He focused on something practical. “What do we do about Lucietta?”
Rilla bit her lip. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just trying to blame her because I don’t want it to be Christoph.”
“We don’t know definitely that she’s involved,” said Jack. “Or even if Christoph is part of this. I think we need to wait and see what Lucietta does. We need proof.”
Rilla nodded and took a sip of her tea.
Jack rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. He tried to remember a time when he didn’t have magical currents swirling around him. His old life seemed far away, another reality. “First things first. We have to find Christoph,” he said. “He might be in trouble. Lucietta didn’t strike me as the forgiving type.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Lucietta’s back?” Alfie’s expression was comical in his dismay.
Rilla nodded. “She was visiting Blago this morning. He didn’t look pleased, either. Did no one except Christoph like her?” she asked curiously.
It was late, the Carnival was shut down for the night, and the Nine were meeting in the food tent, hot tea or coffee sitting in front of each of them.
Rilla took a sip from her mug and sighed. It almost felt like old times. No tension or anger directed toward her. Jack was letting everyone talk as they wanted and didn’t try to control the meeting, despite his hand tapping quietly on his leg to some rhythm only he could hear.
“That woman is a curse.” Viktor was blunt, as usual.
Alfie grunted in agreement.
Rilla frowned. “Because she’s a blocker?”
“No, although that didn’t help.” Alfie glanced at Jack. “Sorry, Jack, but you gotta know the truth, now we know you’re a blocker.”
Jack nodded, his expression drawn. He’d left after their discussion in the caravan and sent a couple of Viktor’s sons to search for Christoph. He’d also set Joey to watch Lucietta. So far, she hadn’t moved from her hotel room.
“That girl, she’s crazy. One of them sociopaths,” said Alfie. “Gorgeous, but she used to get everyone stirred up just for the fun of it. And Christoph, he was the worst.”
Rilla shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like the Christoph I know. He’s always so calm.” She couldn’t understand how Christoph could have fallen for someone like Lucietta—especially when he had Barb.
“Yeah, he settled down as soon as she left,” replied Alfie. “It was like she got him all agitated, and after she was gone, it suddenly didn’t matter so much.” He rubbed his hand over his stubbled chin.
“Barb’s been a good influence on him, too,” Tami added.
“Lucietta seemed…” Rilla glanced at Jack. “Not the nicest person.”
“No, she’s not a nice person,” agreed Viktor. “She was spoiled, and thought she could do whatever she liked. But Abacus didn’t fall for her charms; he refused to let her get on the high wire until she’d done the proper training with Barb.”
“She refused?”
Viktor nodded. “Said she didn’t need to do it, that she’d been doing it all her life. She didn’t want to admit that Barbarina might know more than she did when Barb was younger by a good few years. Tried to use her feminine wiles on him.”
“He still wouldn’t?” Rilla smiled at the thought of someone trying to con her bull of a father.
“I think she was shocked when he said no. From then on, she made it her mission to try to get Abba to fall in love with her.” Viktor’s face showed what he thought of that idea.
Rilla felt the hairs on her arms stand on end. Her father and Lucietta? “Did he…?”
Viktor shook his head. “Not that I ever saw. But she was sneaky, that one. If she’s back, we need to keep a close eye on her. Where’s she staying?”
“Hotel in town,” said Rilla. “But she asked Jack for a bunk here when Blago comes home tomorrow. To keep him company, she said.”
“Ha. Not likely. Those two were like oil and water.” Viktor frowned toward Alfie, who nodded in agreement.
“She helped him break the Gift.” Rilla reminded them.
“I always wondered about that. It didn’t fit.” Viktor scrutinized Jack for a second. “There’s a chance Blago did it on purpose, involving her. He knew he would be thrown out, and he took her with him so she couldn’t cause any more trouble for his buddy Abba.”
Jack sat up straighter and stared at Viktor. “Do you really think he would have? Was she really so bad?”
Viktor nodded. “Your father, he told some tall stories, but he was a good lad. He knew his sister had designs on Abba, and he wouldn’t have wanted her to get her claws into him. Those boys were like brothers back then.” Viktor’s wiry brows sat low over his eyes, and he seemed worried.
“What do we do with her now?” Alfie leaned forward, watching Jack, who was frowning down at his cup of coffee.
Jack looked up. “We keep her close, and we watch her like a hawk. Just because we don’t trust her doesn’t mean we have any proof she’s involved with the sabotage. If it was Christoph, he might have been acting on his own. We just don’t know.”
“We’re letting that woman back in here?” Viktor glared at Jack. He opened his mouth to say more, but Jack lifted one hand.
“We let her in, under a very tight leash. We’ll arrange a roster, with Joey and some of the younger boys watching and reporting on what she’s doing. Then we wait for her to trip up.”
“What if she doesn’t?” asked Tami.
“From what you’ve all told me here today, she will.” Jack gestured at Viktor. “Now, give me some good news, Viktor. Do we have a prosthetic to give Kara?”
“‘Course we do,” said Viktor with some annoyance. “Me and my boys always deliver.” He looked over at Rilla. “But the question is how we get it on her. Usually, we’d fake a hospital appointment or something. But she knows all of us now.” His tone was accusing and Rilla scowled back at him. The blame would fall on her if this all went wrong.
“I’ll talk to her,” she said. “I’ll tell her you’re a mad inventor in your spare time and that you’ve asked for a favor. You want her to try on your new design. You can ask her to trial it for you and then say you want a longitudinal study. Easy as that.”
Viktor frowned, then nodded. “Nothing is ever as easy as that. But you get me to her and I’ll fit it on. And I’ll try to act all crazy inventor for you.”
Rilla smiled at Viktor. “You do that.”
The rest of the meeting went quickly, and Rilla paid only half her attention to what they were saying. Her thoughts were on Christoph. Was there a chance he wasn’t involved in this? It was looking less and less likely.
The thought made her heart feel like it was breaking all over again. Her father would have been devastated to learn Christoph wa
s the person he had been searching for. And then there was Abba’s accident—did that mean Christoph…? Hands clenched, she couldn’t even finish the thought in her head.
When the meeting broke up, she stood immediately and left through the front tent flap, heading back to her caravan. She needed some space to think.
“Rilla, wait up.” Jack called out from behind her.
Rilla sighed then turned, watching as Jack loped up to her. It was getting to be a familiar event after these meetings.
Stones crunched underfoot and the moonlight played dangerous tricks. She saw shadows in his eyes and knew he was hurting. Rilla straightened her back and put her hands in her jeans pockets. So was she.
He stopped close to where she stood. “Thanks for not telling them everything Lucietta told us.” He glanced away and then back into her eyes. “But what if I start blocking the entire Carnival, like Lucietta said?”
Rilla shook her head. “She’s not telling us the full story. You heard what they said. She’s trouble. We just need to uncover the truth before you get any stronger.” She couldn’t believe she was standing here reassuring him, after everything that had happened. But they needed to know for all their sakes, not just his.
“How do we do that?”
“For a start, I’m going to finish reading the diary my father found. And I think we need to get Frankie going on the research. It’s amazing what you can find on the Internet if you know how.”
“Maybe I should be doing the research.”
Rilla shook her head. “No, you need to go home and rest. You’re going to have a full plate, learning your routines and dealing with your father and Lucietta when they arrive tomorrow.” She put her hand on his arm, trying to let him know it was all going to be okay. His skin felt hot under his shirt, and when he glanced down at her hand, she pulled it away quickly.
“Rilla.” Jack paused.
Rilla waited, barely breathing.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to help me. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d told them everything.”