by Trudi Jaye
Taking a deep breath, Hugo rubbed his hands along the hard surface of the car seat. Once they were at the Compound, he was confident he could make contact with Simon. The Carnival would be unable to protect itself if Rilla was dead. If she survived a bullet to the chest, they’d still be in a shambles, worrying about where she was and what was happening. It made him smile just to think of it. It had been a pleasure to take out her smug father Abacus, and Rilla had been just as satisfying.
He blinked and looked out the window, squinting a little at the bright light reflecting off the desert sand. His eyes were sore; they felt like they were full of grime and grit. But he refused to sleep and leave Lucietta alone with her brother, no matter that they argued like a pair of school children. They were too similar, like peas in a pod, for him to feel comfortable. He’d never really noticed the resemblance before. Blago had always seemed like a crusty sailor compared to Lucietta’s well-kept black widow look. But something around the eyes, the way they flashed, and the aquiline noses they both used to look down at him emphasized their similarities. It made him want to punch one of them, and he couldn’t decide which of them deserved it more.
Perhaps it had been a bad idea to bring Luci. He’d had cold feet at the last minute about killing her, deciding he might need her after all. But now he was wondering if he should just call time at a gas station and get it over with. He watched her pale-blond hair floating about in the breeze from the air-conditioning and then considered her profile. There would be something satisfying about pushing in that face, stomping out that condescending expression.
He sighed. Perhaps not right now. He didn’t want a repeat of their sloppy departure from Las Vegas.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The murmur went across the waiting crowds on the hill like a fire over extra-dry kindling. “A storm… just like in the beginning.”
Garth didn’t know what to make of it. He’d never seen or heard of such a thing on the Carousel, and the connection to the original storm was disturbing. He’d felt the heavy beat of emotion on the Carousel as she rode the storm—much stronger than any Gift he’d been part of for a long time. He felt chilled, unsure, and off balance. Up until now, being around Maddy had seemed calming, but now it was just confusing and difficult. He clenched his hand at his side.
He glanced back at the Carousel ride that had been created for her. A storm? What did that even mean? He watched the sea fog that coated the floor of the Carousel, its eerie silvery glow both beautiful and distressing.
Was it the same storm depicted on the outside of the Carousel? It was hard to know. His mind was reeling with the possibilities, good and bad. Did it mean a strong connection to the Carnival? That she was going to bring good luck and prosperity? Or was it a bad omen? Was it a message about a storm coming in their future? That she would ravage them as the original storm ravaged the ship their families had sailed in on?
He felt the usual punch to his guts as the connection to the Mark was cemented through her wish, but it felt worse, more intense, like he was experiencing an entire season’s worth of Gifts in one hit. He felt dizzy, and not just from the circling motion of the old Carousel. He leaned against a mermaid and rubbed one hand over his face, the rough stubble grating against his palm.
If he’d been asked what animal to expect, he might have suggested a bird, maybe an elegant sea petrel with long legs and a beak made for delicately picking food out of the rocks. Or perhaps a seal, able to dart through the water, all speed and agility. But a storm? Possibly even the storm, the one that started the Carnival? He just couldn’t focus on what that might mean for them all.
Rilla might have known more, but that wasn’t going to help them right now. He looked around for Viktor, but he was hiding out somewhere in the back. Garth was convinced the crafty old Thrillmaster knew exactly what had just happened. He sighed.
How was he going to survive this? The whispers, the little fears, the anxieties going around inside her were already starting to flow stronger and stronger into his head. Maddy was just the same as anyone else. She wondered if she was really good enough and did people really like her. Garth closed his eyes and blocked out the worst of it, the everyday anxiousness that meant nothing in the greater scheme of things.
And then there was her wish.
I want to be loved, hard and strong, by someone who will never give up on me.
He couldn’t imagine that kind of love. At least not without the pain it would bring with it. He thought of his father, drinking his way through a bottle every night to blank out the horror of losing the love of his life. If Garth’s father hadn’t loved his mother like that, hard and strong, it wouldn’t have ruined his life. He might have spent the years left to him doing normal things, like taking care of his son and becoming one of the greats in the big top. His father had certainly had the potential to do all of that.
Whatever Garth had with Maddy, whatever their relationship might have been heading toward, it certainly wasn’t the kind of love Maddy was looking for. He knew the pitfalls of that kind of love and wasn’t about to go there.
But it didn’t matter because he wasn’t even an option for Maddy to choose anymore. He couldn’t break the Gift, not like Blago had.
Blago had interrupted a Gift, their most sacred tradition, for love. That hadn’t exactly worked out well for the old man. Garth had seen the sad look in his eyes on more than one occasion, knew the years away from the Carnival hadn’t been the best of times.
Garth’s heart felt small and pinched together, but he knew he couldn’t fight the Gift. He was too much a creature of the Carnival. He would help them find someone who would fall head over heels in love with Maddy. It wouldn’t be hard; there would be any number of men who would want to be with her. He was certain of it. He would search her feelings and sift through her emotions for the man who would bring her happiness and complete the Gift for the sake of the Carnival and everyone in it.
Even if it made him crazy just thinking about it.
Something moved beneath him, and he felt a wooden arm tuck more closely into his side. He smiled at the mermaid he was sitting with, knowing the Carnival was offering him the only support it could.
***
“They’ve found Rilla. She’s alive. Jack and Frankie are with her in a hospital in Vegas.” Tilly’s voice crackled along the phone line.
Garth felt relief pour through him. “What the hell happened to them?” He sank into the large leather chair in his lounge, rubbing his hand across his eyes.
“Don’t know the full story, but I think the police found them after someone reported the gunshot. I’ve got Frankie’s number.” Tilly read out the number while Garth wrote it down and repeated it.
“Thanks for your help, Tilly. I appreciate it.”
“I might need a return favor one of these days. Bartending isn’t what it used to be.”
“You’re welcome here anytime, Tilly. You know that.”
There was a pause at the other end of the line. “Thanks, Garth. I appreciate it. I really do.” The line went dead, and Garth sighed.
Tilly’s mother had been friends with his mother. She’d left the Carnival when they were both teenagers, but they’d always kept in contact. Garth had always tried to visit Tilly and her mother when the Carnival traveled close to where they were living because it was a connection to his mother that he couldn’t bear to lose. She was a lost soul, someone who would thrive in the community of the Carnival. He’d been encouraging her to come back for years.
He looked down at the number he’d written on the notepad in his shaking hand. The vision of Rilla being shot flashed through his head, but now that he knew she was in the hospital, he was much calmer.
It would be all right.
Jack and Rilla were the center of the Carnival. If something happened to them, he wasn’t sure if the rest of them could survive. He hadn’t wanted to think about that when there was a possibility of it happening.
He dialed the number and held
his breath, waiting for Frankie to answer.
“Hey.” The voice was tense but so clearly Frankie’s that Garth smiled.
“Hey, Frankie. It’s Garth.”
“Garth. How’d you get this number?” Frankie’s voice sounded strange, and Garth frowned into the phone.
“Tilly gave it to me.”
“I stole this phone from the men who grabbed us. She shouldn’t have known this number.”
Garth took a breath. He would talk to Tilly about that later. “What the hell’s been happening, Frankie? Where are you now?”
“We’re in the hospital. Rilla’s been shot.”
Garth saw the vision in his head again, the flash of light, Rilla’s chest stained with blood. “Is she okay?”
“They said she was lucky. It wasn’t as bad as it looked.” Frankie’s voice cracked in the middle.
“What happened, Frankie?” Garth wanted to hear the words, to know he’d seen it right.
“Hugo Blue is what happened,” said Frankie, his voice taking on an edge that Garth hadn’t heard before. “He went nuts and shot Rilla and then disappeared.” There was a pause. “He took Blago with him. Jack’s pretty upset.”
Garth’s heart leaped into his mouth. “What does he want with Blago?”
“He wants Simon. He plans to find the Compound, and he intends to use Blago to do it.”
A chill sprinted down Garth’s spine. Blago knew exactly where the Compound was. “How long ago did Hugo leave?”
“About a day, maybe. He hit us fast and hard. We didn’t see it coming.” Frankie paused, his voice hitching with emotion. “As they were leaving, Blago told Jack to stay with Rilla, to look after her. I don’t know if Jack will obey that forever, but he has so far because Rilla was touch and go for a while. But wherever he goes, I go.”
Garth took a breath, thinking quickly. “Can you guys handle it out there on your own for now? We need everyone on board here to prepare for Hugo.”
There was a short silence. “We still need the money for the show, Garth. We’re ruined if we don’t get it.”
“I know. But we can’t worry about it now. Just stay with Rilla and make sure she’s okay. That’s the most important thing. Tell Jack we’ll get Blago back from Hugo. And Blago’s smart. He’ll be fine.” Garth’s brain hummed a mile a minute as he tried to figure out how they were going to deal with Hugo’s impending arrival.
“I’ll do my best.” Frankie cleared his throat. “Is everything else okay? How’s the winter show coming?”
“It’s all good at this end. You just look after yourself, Frankie. Don’t take any more risks.”
Frankie snorted. “It’s these other two you should be worried about. Rilla practically asked Hugo to shoot her, telling him what a loser he was.”
Garth smiled. “I don’t know why you’re surprised.”
“For some reason, I thought Jack was a steadying influence on Rilla. But it just turns out she’s a bad influence on him.”
Garth couldn’t help it; he laughed out loud. “Was there any doubt? Look, I’ll ring back later. I need to tell the others what’s happening.”
“Take care, Garth. Don’t underestimate him. He’s gone nutty, but he’s a very smart nut.”
“Thanks, Frankie. You take care, too.”
Garth hung up the phone slowly, his brain working overtime. If they were in a car, then it would probably be another day or two before Hugo would be at the Compound, depending on what Blago told him.
Hopefully Blago didn’t have to tell him too much too soon.
They could take care of intruders from here. It was different from being out on the road. This was their home, their sanctuary, and they knew how to protect it.
For one thing, they had a state-of-the-art surveillance system that beeped if so much as a mouse tripped over their boundaries.
Garth dialed Viktor’s mobile.
“I’m in the middle of testing the generators on the lake with Davos and his boys.” Garth could hear the whine of the machines in the background. “We’ll be about another hour or so. Round up the others and we’ll meet in the office in an hour and a half.”
Reluctantly, Garth agreed and called the others. The meeting was set. He walked to the kitchen, frantically thinking through their options.
“Garth! Hey, Garth!” Simon’s voice came from his bedroom, where he’d been playing video games for most of the morning. Garth’s heart thumped at double-time. What was he going to tell Simon? He couldn’t imagine having a discussion with the boy about his father. He hoped Maddy’s work with him would pay off soon. As he thought of her, the buzz of his connection to Maddy flared, and he found her at home, focused and alert. She’d left the Carnival earlier on a high from her experience, and it seemed to be lasting.
Garth poked his head around Simon’s door. “What’s up?”
Simon grimaced. “Can I get up? Maybe go farther than your lounge? I’m so bored. I’m ready to gnaw my arm off.”
Garth glanced back at his phone and then at Simon. It wasn’t great timing, but he understood the boy’s need to get out of the house. And there wasn’t much he could do for a while, not until the Nine met. “Do you want to go watch Missy practice? She’s usually up at this time of day.”
Simon grinned. “Sure.”
Quarter of an hour later, they were watching as Missy put the finishing touches on her latest act. Simon was in his wheelchair, his plaster casts keeping him immobile.
“She’s pretty amazing, huh?” Simon kept his eyes on Missy as she flipped and swung around the trapeze.
Garth nodded. “She’s been amazing since she was little. She’s just one of those people.”
“She’s got a big personality, right?”
“Sure.”
“My dad’s got one of those, too. Takes over a room when he enters it.”
Garth tried not to react to Simon’s words. It was the first time the boy had volunteered information about his father. “Some people are lucky. It comes naturally to them.”
“I don’t think it’s that natural for Dad.” Simon paused, glancing around, then up. “There’s magic here as well, isn’t there?”
Pausing, Garth peeked over at Simon. The boy was looking steadfastly up at Missy. “Yes, there’s magic here. It’s helping you heal faster.”
Simon nodded. “I can feel it working. And it’s the same when Dad’s around. A kind of tingling. On one level, you don’t know it’s happening. But on another, you know.”
Garth nodded. He understood. Before he’d come into his power, that was how he experienced his father’s talent. “My dad was the same.”
“What happened to your dad?” Simon glanced over at Garth curiously.
“He got Alzheimer’s, a disease that makes you forget. He doesn’t really remember much anymore, which is why he’s in the home.”
“You couldn’t leave him here, at your house?”
A familiar pang hit his chest. “I did, for a long time. But he got too hard to deal with, had mood swings and irrational bouts of anger. If I wasn’t around, he would take a swing at people who were just trying to help him. After the fire, I had no choice.”
“He started a fire?”
Garth nodded. “It’s bad enough because he could have burned down the entire forest, taken everyone’s houses with him. But what makes it worse is that our house has a bad history with fires. My grandad did the same thing.”
“That’s kinda bad.”
He grinned. “We’re not exactly a reputable family, us clowns.”
Simon grinned. “Don’t worry. I don’t think I come from a reputable family either. My dad always says my grandad was an asshole.”
Garth felt a chill crawl down his spine. What had Hugo’s dad done to him? “Did you ever meet your grandad?”
“No. He died before I was born. Dad always says he would’ve never had kids if Grandad were alive. He must have been pretty bad for Dad to say that.”
Garth raised his eyebrows. “Did y
our dad ever tell you what he did?”
“Nah. But I think he hurt him. Dad has a few scars. He doesn’t like me to see them, but sometimes it’s hard to miss.” He paused a moment.
Garth took the opportunity to press the subject. “Did your dad ever do anything to you?”
Simon raised shocked eyes to Garth’s face. “Of course not. My dad’s not like that.” He swallowed. “Did your dad ever hit you?”
Garth closed his eyes a moment, wondering what to tell the young boy. He decided honesty wouldn’t hurt. “Once. When he was so drunk he couldn’t see straight. I don’t even think he knew who I was. He was just hitting out at the world.”
“What happened?” Simon’s eyes widened.
“Abacus, Rilla’s dad, noticed the bruises. He took me to live with them for a while. Not long after that, my dad was diagnosed with the Alzheimer’s. He never did it again. But he was never quite the same again either.”
Simon looked back up at Missy. “Does he remember who you are now?”
“No. He thinks I’m this weird stranger who keeps coming by to annoy him.” He chuckled dryly.
“I’m sorry,” Simon whispered.
Garth shook his head. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”
“Nah, but it’s still hard.”
Garth just nodded. It was hard.
“I miss my dad, Garth. When do you think he’s coming back to get me?” There was a lost note in Simon’s voice. He was just a kid who didn’t understand what was happening around him.
It made Garth realize again just how strong Simon had been all this time. He knew something was up, that his father’s supposed trip was weird. But he just kept going.
“I’m not sure, Simon. Soon, I think.” The words tasted like sawdust in his mouth, and Garth knew he was going to have to have a talk with Simon very soon. Time was running away from him, and Hugo was pushing the sand even faster through the hourglass. He would be here before the week was out, and who knew what move he would make?