by Trudi Jaye
Almost as if it wasn’t part of his body, Jack eyed his hand. He held his breath. He could feel it. His hand was a conduit for the power around him. He was tapping into the Carnival’s power for the first time, and it was far more than he had expected. It pulled on him, slipped inside and became part of his every breath. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever experienced.
After a while, his hand slowed down and the power flowed out from his center, drifting back out into the air around him. Slowly, he again became conscious of where he was and stopped. Dropping the pen, Jack shook out his hand. “I felt it. I really felt it,” he said softly into the silence.
A knock on the caravan door made them all jump.
“Who is it?” said Frankie.
“It’s Joey. Viktor says to come quick. Garth’s just woken up.”
***
High above the rows of seats, Kara was attached to the silk ribbon, her body moving slowly through her routine. To keep her safe, they’d created loops in the material to hold her as she performed. Her amputated leg gave her performance an unusual angle, a different weighting than when Barb did the same moves.
Down below, Rilla sat in the bleachers, her face turned upward to the high center of the big top. It was only days from the big debut, but Rilla knew Kara was determined to do the best she could.
Rilla smiled as Kara completed a complicated turn. She was going to be amazing; Kara’s hard work and the Carnival’s magic would make sure of it. The act was mesmerizing, and Kara’s missing leg added to the dynamics of the performance in a way Rilla couldn’t quite define.
After everything that had happened, it was soothing to sit and watch as someone simply worked hard at learning a new skill. It narrowed the world back down to something manageable.
Rilla had left Jack practicing in the caravan. Their first experiment with writing had worked, and he was determined to master it. Once Garth woke up, they’d realized they were on the right track. Garth was weak, and his connection with the Carnival kept coming and going, but it was a start.
She shivered, goose bumps running up her arms.
Maybe they should order Jack to leave. She’d told them off for talking about Vegas. But what if it was the best thing for them all? Now that Garth was awake again, Jack leaving just might be the right answer.
Just to complicate things even further, Blago was back at the Carnival. He’d arrived in a taxi when Jack hadn’t turned up at the hospital for him. As soon as Blago realized the problem, he’d demanded to go to Garth’s bedside. He was there now, probably driving Garth up the wall with stories from the good old days.
Holding her hand over her eyes to protect them from the bright lights, Rilla watched as Barb gave encouragement and advice in her soft voice. The older woman’s lithe body was encased in her signature red bodysuit, her long, grey hair down her back in a neat braid.
Christoph was still missing, and Barb was only just coping with his disappearance, but she was still here, working with Kara, helping to make the show a success. No matter what, Carnival folk stuck together.
And that was why they couldn’t throw Jack out. It would go against everything they believed, everything the Carnival stood for.
“It’s heartwarming, isn’t it?” The sharp voice implied it was nothing of the sort.
Lucietta.
The hairs on the back of Rilla’s neck rose as she turned her head. With Blago back, his sister had wormed her way in, as well. Just another problem to add to their long list.
Lucietta walked toward her, dressed simply in jeans and a white shirt, her makeup perfect, not a hair out of place. She looked harmless.
“They’ve worked hard,” Rilla replied, reminding herself that looks could be deceiving.
Lucietta sat down next to her, a red-lipped smile on her face. “It’s not so difficult. I did it when I was in the Carnival, all those years ago.”
“Kara’s only been doing the silks for about a week and a half. We were raised to it.”
Lucietta raised her eyebrows. “Ah, so you’ve done some silk work yourself?” Again, her tone managed to indicate she didn’t think much of Rilla’s potential skills.
Rilla felt her scowl forming, impatient with the not-so-subtle way this woman worked. “I’ve done some.” She paused. “But I’ve never done a magic show, like you have.” If Lucietta was going to force her company on Rilla, the woman could damn well give up some information.
“You’ve been checking up on me?” she said, her eyes narrowing.
Rilla shrugged, trying to keep her voice casual. “Someone told me you’d been a magician’s assistant.”
“I was more than an assistant. I was a partner in a big production in Las Vegas. They’re very particular out there.” There was a delicate pause while she let Rilla absorb the insult. “He was an amazing magician. It was the first time it ever occurred to me that there might be others out there like us.”
Others like us? The idea formed in Rilla’s head and stuck there. It was a tantalizing thought. “You found others?”
There was enough of a pause to make Rilla hold her breath.
But Lucietta shook her head. “No.”
“Aside from the Las Vegas magician?”
Lucietta laughed, a tinkling sound that grated on Rilla’s ears. “Oh, no, he wasn’t one of us. That’s just silly.”
Just as her other comments had meant the opposite of what she was saying, Rilla realized this one did, too, although the message was unintentional. Lucietta wanted to hide the fact that the magician was more than ordinary.
“Did your blocking talent help?”
Lucietta’s expression flashed with anger. “Blocking is a curse, a good-for-nothing ability that made everyone hate me. In the outside world, no one knows about magic, and no one wants to hurt me because of something I can’t control. It was a relief to be out there. Unlike here.” She glanced around, her eyes disdainful. “It’s more civilized in the outside world.”
“No one would have hurt you simply because of your talent,” Rilla said, shocked.
“You’re such a Pollyanna. If you weren’t the beloved Ringmaster’s daughter, do you think anyone would give you the time of day around here? This place is a jungle, just like anywhere else. Survival of the fittest.”
Rilla gritted her teeth and shifted position in her chair. She wanted to get up and leave, to get as far away as possible from this woman. But she stayed in her seat. If it turned out Lucietta was part of the sabotage, and her father’s murder, they couldn’t let her get away.
She took a breath. “How long did you work for the magician?”
“Five years. I learned about showmanship from him. Things we’d never even thought of around here.” She let her gaze wander around the big top. “Only the best equipment.” She stared up to where Barb and Kara were practicing, and her eyes glinted in the darkened tent.
Frowning, Rilla looked up at the high-wire platform, then back at Lucietta. “What do you mean?”
Lucietta seemed to remember where she was. She waved a hand. “There just never seemed to be enough money around the Carnival when we were young. Always having to do things on a shoestring, darn a costume, repair a ride. Working with my magician made me realize it didn’t have to be that way. He was positively swimming in money.”
“What was he like to work for?”
“He had his moments. Like anyone. He has a young son he loves dearly. Only the best for that boy.” She sniffed as if she didn’t quite understand but was desperate to admire him for it anyway. “He’s very good at what he does. Everyone says so.”
“Perhaps you can let us in on his secrets. We could do with a magician act.” Even though she’d been unable to stop the words spilling out, Rilla tried her best to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
Lucietta’s face closed up, and she looked back up at Barb. “I don’t think I’ll be staying long enough. I just wanted to see my brother and my nephew.” She stood and smiled down at Rilla. “I hear Jack’s fin
ally come into his talent. He’s blocking the Carnival?”
Rilla tried to think of a way to reply, but realized Lucietta already knew the answer. “You heard?”
“I heard the Giftmaster was knocked out.” Lucietta’s eyes sparkled with a perverse kind of pleasure. “You’re going to have to leave Jack behind. The Jolly Carnival won’t be able to survive in the real world without their magic.”
“We’ll see.” Rilla struggled to keep her mouth shut. She wanted to shout at Lucietta that they had almost figured it out, and Jack was practicing controlling his absorbing, even as they spoke. But if Lucietta thought they had no magic, she might attempt another act of sabotage; they had a chance to catch her red-handed. It was all that kept her quiet.
Lucietta smiled. “Well, don’t let me interrupt your contemplation of your troubles. I really must be getting back to Blago. He’ll be wondering where I am.” She sauntered away, her hair falling down her back in long, golden waves. Just before she left the tent, Lucietta glanced up at Barb and Kara one more time, then pulled aside the tent flap and stepped outside.
Rilla couldn’t understand it. What did Lucietta want? Why was she here? Her words indicated she had found bigger and better things on the outside. If that were the case, why was she bothering with the Carnival?
It didn’t make any sense.
She scrunched up her face, trying to see the connections. All she could think of was that Jack was in Frankie’s caravan, desperately trying to stop being a blocker, and the one person who could have helped them knew next to nothing about her talent because she was too shallow to attempt to understand it.
She stood up, ready to leave, stretching her arms over her head.
The sound of material ripping made her stop. It became louder until it was like thunder inside the tent. Her heart beat frantically in her chest. Something was very wrong.
She looked up.
A massive strip of the big top’s canvas roof was tearing open in a giant, jagged line. Somehow, one of the mammoth rigging poles had collapsed away from the main structure and pierced the canvas. Against the widening blue sky, she saw Kara’s body hurtling toward the ground as more of the rigging from that side of the high-wire platform broke apart, causing the silk ribbon to plummet downwards.
As suddenly as it started, the ripping stopped. The pole had hit a thickly sewn section of canvas and stuck fast. Kara bounced as the kickback threw her up and back down. She clung to the silks, swinging from the momentum, her foot stuck in the loop Barb had tied for her training, dangling halfway between the roof and the floor.
One side of the rigging was still holding, but the safety net was now resting uselessly on the ground.
Kara’s body writhed as she desperately tried to get a better grip on the ribbon. If she fell, it would be to the hard earth floor of the ring.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“Hold on, Kara. Hold on!” Rilla shouted, her voice hoarse with fear.
“I’m coming down.” Barb was clinging to the rigging still in place on the other side of the platform. She climbed slowly down the small performance ladder until she was close to where Kara dangled. “Kara, you need to swing yourself over to me. Get the ribbon moving back and forth. I’ll catch you when you come close.”
“I can’t! I’ll fall.” Kara’s voice wobbled, and she was shaking so hard it was visible to Rilla on the ground. She looked at Barb, then down to the packed ground beneath her.
Without thinking, Rilla raced to the base of the ladder and climbed, her sweating hands slipping on the metal rungs. Her foot skidded out from under her as the ladder shuddered and she slammed her face into the treads, fighting to hold on with her arms.
The whole platform shuddered, a loud creaking telling her it wouldn’t be long before the entire structure collapsed. “Barb, we have to get her down,” she said, trying to keep her voice low and calm.
“You have to swing, Kara. There’s no other way without the nets.” Barb’s voice was calm, her gaze steady as she held out her hand to Kara. “Just tuck your knees under, like we talked about. You’ll swing to me, and I’ll catch you.”
Climbing steadily, Rilla grabbed a safety rope from the safety kit halfway to the platform, wrapping it over one shoulder. She kept her eyes fastened on Kara, trying to see if she was going to faint or slip. She seemed okay. Barb was keeping her calm.
The pipe creaked over their heads. Rilla climbed faster. They had to get Kara down quick or she was going to end up on the floor under a heavy pile of rigging.
In fact, they all were.
Above her head, Kara started to swing, slowly at first and then with more confidence. The silk rope flashed across the wide-open space above the main ring. Kara’s eyes were huge, focused solely on Barb, not even daring to blink. Her body stayed twined around the red rope and her fingers were turning white under her death grip.
“That’s it, Kara. Just a little farther.” Barb had her arms out, ready to pull Kara toward her as soon as she came close.
Rilla reached the point of the ladder where Barb was leaning out. “I’ll hold you so you can lean farther,” she said urgently.
Barb nodded, not even looking down, eyes focused on Kara. “I’m going to need every extra little bit of help the Carnival can give me for this one,” she said to Rilla in a low voice.
Rilla’s heart skipped. They didn’t have anything. It was all going to Jack, in Frankie’s caravan on the other side of the field. Barb didn’t always feel the flow of the Carnival like Rilla did. She didn’t have the same level of attachment to the beating center, and she clearly hadn’t realized their usual abilities had been drained away.
“Be careful, Barb. We don’t have much extra to work with.” She mentally crossed her fingers for the white lie.
Kara was swinging closer and closer, and Barb leaned out, reaching for Kara’s leg. Her hand connected with skin but couldn’t get a proper grip, and Kara slid away.
Kara let out a sob, tears running down her face, but she kept her grip and pushed her body into the next swing.
“That’s it, Kara. Just keep swinging toward me. I’ll catch you.”
Rilla wrapped one arm around Barbarina’s tiny waist and the other around the closest rung of the ladder. Barb leaned out a few more inches, her whole body straining toward Kara.
Kara flew back to them, her full leg pushed out in front. Barb lunged forward and this time, her grip held. Kara stopped swinging, and the three of them rocked unsteadily. Rilla gasped for breath as she clutched Barb. She felt dizzy with fear, blood pulsing through her body.
But they had Kara and it was going to be okay.
Just then, the screaming sound of metal scraping along canvas filled the air again. The remaining rigging above their heads was collapsing. Their ladder swayed, and Rilla screamed with the last of her voice as they fell toward the earth.
The ladder plunged sideways, and Rilla frantically held on to both Barb and the metal rung. Her grip started to slide but Rilla tightened her hands, squeezing her eyes shut as they toppled toward the ground. Blood pounded its way through her body, and she ran out of breath to gasp.
They bounced to a halt, and something hard and metal hit her face. Pain burst across her forehead and she looked up woozily, trying to see where they’d landed.
Kara and Barb were clinging to each other and it was that connection that had halted their descent to the ground. Kara was clutching the ribbon, which was somehow still attached to a beam over their heads. Barb had Kara’s legs gripped tightly in her arms.
But as Rilla watched, Barb’s hands slid down Kara’s leg, despite her attempts to keep a hold.
“Jump, Kara. Barb, you have to just let her go. Kara, you have to jump onto the ladder and push to the left for all you’re worth. Barb, we have to push to the left, as well.”
“I can’t. We’ll fall!” said Kara, her whole body shaking.
“Look over there. If we push left, the ladder will land on the side of the tent. It’s not going to
stop, but it will slow it down. It’s our best option. Kara, jump! Now!”
Kara nodded down at Barb, who let her go, and Kara jumped onto the ladder, landing awkwardly on her leg but managing to push to the left. Rilla and Barb did the same, and Rilla could only watch as the ladder fell toward the side of the tent, unsure if the canvas would really stop their fall.
The metal tips of the ladder hit the canvas and slowed but didn’t stop. Rilla’s heart plummeted, even as they continued their descent toward the ground. She desperately held on to Barb, who in turn was holding Kara. The ladder scraped down the side of the canvas with a sound like chalk on a blackboard, coming to a sharp halt that knocked them against the steel of the ladder rungs.
Rilla only opened her eyes when Barb started trying to pull out of her hold.
“Barb,” she said. “What are you doing?”
“It’s Kara,” replied Barb. “I think she’s been knocked out. I can’t get a decent hold. She’s about to fall.” Barb’s voice was panicked.
Even as they both watched helplessly, Kara’s body rolled out of Barb’s grip and off the edge of the ladder.
But this time, instead of falling forty yards, Kara only fell three, landing on a patch of hay at the edge of the ring.
Without hesitating, Rilla curled around the edge of the ladder, dangling her body down by her arms. She dropped the final few inches to the ground. Beside her, Barb did the same.
They rushed over, kneeling on either side of Kara’s limp body. Rilla put her palm to Kara’s forehead and Barb lightly kneaded Kara’s hands. “Kara. Kara, wake up.”
“We need to move her,” said Barb, looking up at the unstable rigging over their heads.
Rilla nodded and they each secured a grip under her shoulder, gently dragging Kara out from under the shuddering metal framing still hanging over the center of the ring.
If she dies, it will be my fault. I got her into this.
Rilla’s breath was coming in rasping inhalations. She was feeling dizzy, and it was only when she put one hand up and touched the wet blood on her forehead that she remembered the bump she’d received.