by Trudi Jaye
For the moment, he was convinced Hugo was just putting on a performance, hoping to make him crack. Hugo couldn’t actually assume his powers. Hugo might believe it, but it had never been done before in the history of the Carnival—he would know about it otherwise.
Garth took a breath, trying to find the calm he would need to gain the upper hand. He hoped Rilla and Jack really were on the way and would think to alert the local sheriff’s office. They needed to have numbers on their side, or someone was going to get hurt.
Simon was standing next to Hugo, and he reluctantly held out his arm when his father murmured something to him. Hugo used the knife one more time and dripped some of Simon’s blood into the cup.
An expression of ecstasy washed over Hugo’s face.
Hugo swirled the mixed blood around in the silver container and then cut his own arm, dripping his blood into the now-full cup. “The blood that binds can take away. By the power of the blood, through my son to the Mark, through the Giftmaster’s eyes and to me, I claim it all.”
He took one swift swig of the mixture, and Garth felt his stomach lurch. The thick, red, blended blood slithered into Hugo’s mouth, leaving a small stain in one corner. He wiped his lips and sat back, his eyes closed and his smile wide.
For a few moments, nothing happened, and Garth felt relief. He’d not really believed it, but Hugo was such a charismatic performer it was hard to remain impassive. But, of course, it was just theatrics.
And then his body began to tingle all over.
He felt lighter, less substantial. A weight was being lifted from him and with it his connection to the Carnival, to everything he’d ever known. The strands were unravelling. His connection to Maddy was drifting away, as if down a long tunnel. He tried to reach out, to grab his connections back, but he couldn’t move, his body was frozen. For a minute or two, echoes of the links were still audible, like echoes of the real thing.
Then suddenly, snap! It was all gone.
Garth blinked. He felt empty. Flimsy and weak, like he wasn’t really a whole person anymore. He looked over at Hugo. His heart literally stopped. Instead of his usual light-blue irises, Hugo’s eyes were now entirely blood red.
Hugo had done it. Garth was no longer Giftmaster.
He leaned over and threw up.
***
Maddy shifted uncomfortably in the tiny sequinned outfit Hugo had insisted she wear. The van’s floor was rough, and sequins were sticking into her butt. She tried again to get Garth to look at her from where he was leaning on the other side of the van, but he had folded in on himself as soon as Hugo had stolen his powers. The terrible emptiness she was now feeling—like she had lost something she didn’t even know she had—frightened her, but Garth’s lack of reaction frightened her even more.
His body slouched over as if the life had been sucked out of him, and he hadn’t looked at anyone since he’d first seen Hugo’s creepy blood-red eyes. Maybe Hugo had sucked more than the color of his eyes out of Garth? Maddy shivered as she recalled the terrifying mania in Hugo’s expression. He no longer looked entirely human.
A bump in the road made her grunt in pain, but Garth didn’t make a sound. It was like he didn’t even feel it. She’d known he had a strong connection to the Carnival and that his all-black eyes were important, but she hadn’t known he would be so devastated to lose that ability. She leaned toward him, trying to gather some of the courage she always seemed to feel around him, but there was nothing there. He felt blank and bleak, where before he had always felt bright and brilliant. She shook her head and focused her attention to the others.
In the front of the van, Lucietta drove while Hugo sat by the door, Simon between them. The poor kid had been visibly shaken when they’d climbed into the van.
She hadn’t wanted to get in. Rilla knew where the shopping mall was, where they had been. There was a chance of rescue while they remained at the mall. Maddy didn’t know where Hugo was taking them, and she didn’t think Blago would either.
But Hugo was nothing if not persuasive with his threats, and she’d given in when he’d started whispering in her ear about breaking bones in Simon’s newly healed hands.
They turned a fast corner, bashing Maddy into the side of the vehicle, and then stopped.
“I just want you to see what happens to whomever we’ve got on our tail.” Hugo held up a small tablet screen. “Even though I’ve had to give up my lovely flame-proof container performance for my almost-as-excellent plan B, I can still use the space effectively.” He bared his teeth in a grin that seemed more like a grimace.
Maddy squinted and realized it was a black-and-white view of the outside of the shopping mall. As she watched, an old truck pulled up, and Rilla and Jack climbed out. Two sheriff’s vehicles pulled in behind them, and the Ringmasters turned to greet them. Maddy held her breath. They’d known to bring backup at least.
The sheriff’s deputies went in first, and Rilla and Jack followed.
“Oh dear. Was that both the Ringmasters?” Hugo’s voice was entirely too self-satisfied, and for the first time ever, Maddy wanted to punch someone in the face.
There was silence for a few moments and then a massive BOOM thundered through the air. Maddy jumped, trying to cover her ears and duck her head instinctively. Then she realized what she’d seen. The Ringmasters of the Jolly-Knight Carnival had just been blown to smithereens.
***
Garth heard the initial blast of the explosion and felt the reverberation that echoed over them. The noise and the movement managed to knock him out of the strange limbo that had encased him since his powers as Giftmaster had been yanked away.
He blinked and looked up. Across from him sat Maddy in a black-and-blue sequinned outfit, hands and legs tied with old rope. He stretched slightly and realized his hands and feet were also tied.
Hugo wasn’t as sure as he made out.
He poked a small internal stick at the place where his power usually resided, and suddenly a screeching pain burned through his body. He cried out and slumped forward, sinking back into that other place that cradled him gently. Gradually, his senses returned.
“I wouldn’t do that again if I were you,” said Hugo from the front seat.
The van had started moving again, and the rough ground made Garth’s body bang and twist painfully against the floor and sides of the vehicle.
Hugo had blown up the shopping mall. Although, it was hard to know what he’d hoped to achieve. “Why not?” Garth panted, trying to understand what was happening.
“Your wound is still fresh. In fact, there is a possibility it will never heal. You might get a blinding pain every time you go near it for the rest of your life.”
“Nice of you to show such concern for my welfare,” he deadpanned, desperately hoping Hugo was wrong.
“You have a part in my show, and I can’t have you all floppy and useless, now can I?” Hugo winked at him before turning away again. Hugo’s jocularity was out of step with his bloodstained eyes and twitchy expression.
Garth blinked. “You’re still doing a show? What about the containers? You just blew them up.”
“I decided to use them as a decoy, something to draw your lovely friend in my direction. My new show will be part of your Winter Spectacular. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier.”
“Pardon me?” Garth shook his head. He must have misheard.
“You and Maddy will help me with my act. We’re on the way to the Compound right now.”
His audacity took Garth’s breath away. “Rilla and Jack will never let you get away with it.” Pins and needles had started to work their way into his legs and arms where he was tied up, and he edged into a new position.
Hugo paused, his eyebrows raised. “Did you not see who was in the building when it exploded? Your good friends Rilla and Jack won’t be going to the Spectacular, or anything else for that matter.”
Garth frowned, confused for a moment. Was he saying they had been killed? If Rilla and Ja
ck were dead, he should have been able to feel it through his connection to the Carnival. Everyone who was part of the Carnival had the bond. Just because his Giftmaster powers were gone didn’t mean he couldn’t feel his Ringmasters. Didn’t it? Nothing inside him indicated they had died.
Unless the way his powers were taken from him made him blind?
A shiver went down his spine, and he tried not to show his reaction. If Rilla and Jack were dead, it was over. There was no one else who could be Ringmaster. No one else had the kind of innovative ideas for the generation of cash that Jack did, and no one could capture an audience like Rilla. Between the two of them, he’d allowed himself some hope for their future.
He blinked, forcing himself to calm down. He didn’t feel like the Carnival bond was missing. There was a gaping maw of emptiness, that was true, but he was convinced Rilla and Jack were still breathing. The possibility that Hugo had just made a huge miscalculation spurred him on. He pushed at his bindings, itching to get his fingers around Hugo’s neck.
Even if Rilla and Jack were fine, Hugo had just tried to kill them. Again.
It would be the last time.
***
The gun pushed sharply into Garth’s lower back and he took another step. In front of him, Lucietta was holding Maddy carefully, a small gun to her spine. The two women wore matching sequinned outfits that showed off their figures. Hugo had changed into another all-blue outfit, and he’d made Garth wear an all-black version.
“Just so they know who the villain is,” he’d said.
The big top in front of him was achingly familiar, the colorful stripes pulled tight with ropes that were attached to the frozen lake by thick steel posts.
The ground outside was trampled, a build-up of snow and ice at the entrance. A small bonfire was being tended off to one side, with freshly roasted chestnuts and s’mores for sale by one of Tami’s food operators. The sweet smell turned sour in Garth’s mouth as he thought about what was going to happen once they were inside.
On the other side, a stand displayed scarves, mittens, and hats, all decorated with the Winter Spectacular logo that had been especially designed for the show.
Garth tried not to give in to his mounting nausea and vomit right there and then. It was all so wrong. What should have been a triumphant moment was rapidly turning into a tragedy. He glanced over at Maddy. If nothing else, he was going to make sure she survived this unscathed.
Everywhere else was deserted. The pull of being part of such a unique show had obviously ensured everyone was inside, and the two vendors huddled up outside must have drawn the shortest straw to be stuck out here.
The show was just beginning; he could hear the cheers of the crowd as someone arrived in the main ring and he felt the familiar anticipation in the air. He wondered who could possibly have taken over as Ringmaster. Why had Rilla and Jack gone all that way to the shopping mall this close to the start of the show? It made no sense.
“If you want to survive this night, you will do everything I say.” Hugo’s voice was harsh. He gestured for Garth to follow Lucietta onto the ice and around to the side of the big top to where the backstage was hidden from view.
“I don’t believe my survival is part of your plan.” Garth shrugged. He was going to find a way to stop Hugo Blue and save Simon and Maddy—it didn’t matter what happened to him.
Hugo paused, his eyes reflecting a deadly red in the neon lights outside the tent. “Lucietta will have a gun trained on Maddy at all times, and Simon is locked in the van. If you try anything, I will press a button and the van will explode, just like the shopping mall. Just like Rilla and Jack.”
Garth swallowed over his suddenly dry throat. He had no doubt that Hugo had wired the van. For Hugo, convincing himself that killing his son was part of the plan would be easy at this point. His mind was lost in his fantasy world.
Garth glanced ahead to where Maddy was reluctantly preceding Lucietta into the backstage area. Inside, there was a rush of voices and then an eerie silence. They’d seen Lucietta and her gun. Garth poked his head through the tent flap and felt Hugo follow behind him.
Inside, the small space was crowded with people and furniture: chairs and tables, mirrors, clothes, and several people in various stages of undress. Missy was there, about to go onstage, and three of his clowns were all done up, ready to go after her. Viktor’s son Henry was preparing for his fire-eating performance in one corner. But for now, they all had their gazes trained on the four newcomers.
“If you would all move to the corner of the room, I would be very grateful,” Hugo said in a polite voice. “Luci, can you use your excellent knotting skills and tie up those four? Missy, you’ll need to continue with your act, so you’ll join our group.”
“Just leave Maddy and Missy here. You don’t need either of them.” Garth tried one last time.
“On the contrary. I need both of them very much.” Hugo smiled. “And if anyone does anything stupid, one of you will end up dead—and maybe I’ll kill the Mark as well, for good luck. As you can see, I am the new Giftmaster for your two-bit circus. I have the connection to the Mark, and if you want me to destroy the Carnival, I can do it easily.”
Garth’s head spun for a moment. What would happen if Hugo killed Maddy? Would he get the same kind of power kick from her death as he did from hurting Simon? In some strange way, it made sense. The link to the Mark was so close it was like family.
A bitter taste crawled up Garth’s throat. He needed to find a way out of this, and he couldn’t see it. His heart beat a frantic tattoo in his chest. Everywhere he looked there was some innocent who would get hurt or killed no matter what he did.
And the only person he could conceivably risk was himself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Hugo felt a rush of adrenaline, not all of which was due to the exhilarating feeling of holding a gun at someone’s chest—the power over life and death. Some of it was the expectation of going onstage. It had always been his first love, the place he felt most alive. He’d been missing it, and the opportunity to get out in front of a crowd had been too tempting to resist. The Giftmaster’s connection to the Carnival and the Mark, Maddy, was an unexpected rush. He’d imagined it would feel strange, perhaps give him abilities he hadn’t before considered. But to actually be inside another person’s head, to have their emotions running through his own veins, was something else. It was a high, his own personal drug that he would never be able to give up. No wonder Garth was so devastated when he lost it.
He’d been secretly afraid the emotions might affect him, make him lose his cool. But he was as calm as ever, even as he felt the fear and anger pulsing through Maddy. It charged him up, gave him the edge he needed to control everyone around him. What would happen when he killed her? A shiver of expectation went over his skin. He thought it would be very, very good.
***
“Missy, you’re going to go out there and do your performance,” Lucietta directed. “Don’t bother arguing. I’ll simply kill one of them if you don’t.” Lucietta gestured to where she’d tied up Henry, Eb, and the others. “We don’t need them for our act.”
Missy looked like she wanted to say a whole lot about Lucietta’s imperious commands, but she managed to hold it in.
“When you come off, we come on. It won’t be the same kind of transition you’re used to.” She continued. “We want it to be shocking, edgy, innovative. Everything you people are not. Just follow our lead.”
Garth listened with a growing sense of calm. They were going to take over the show and it was up to him to stop them.
A bell dinged in the wings and Missy glanced at Hugo. “That’s my cue,” she said.
“Go, go. We’ll be right behind you in the wings. Don’t try anything stupid. Their lives are in your hands.”
Hugo pushed Garth through the flap in the tent that led to the wings directly outside the massive big top. There were carpets down over the ice, and he had to step carefully as he followed close behin
d Missy. She moved silently into the tent and then to the hidden rope at the back. She glanced over at Garth before starting the climb, her lithe body effortlessly taking on the strenuous task.
A small body settled in beside Garth. He looked down, and Maddy put her hand into his. He squeezed her fingers, trying to let her know it would be fine, that she would survive this. A world without Maddy in it just wouldn’t be right.
Inside the big top, the atmosphere was exactly as Maddy had suggested: pitch black, with a single circular light shining down on the audience. Twinkling stars peeped out from the blackness above. The air was cold, and their breath fogged out in front of them. The ice floor made it extra cold, and they’d all had to practice on the ice for the performance. But they’d been playing on it during winter since they were kids, so it hadn’t taken much to get them all up to speed.
For the first time, Garth looked properly into the ring and his breath stilled in his body. Milton was standing in the center of the tent in a top hat and tails, whip at the ready. His booming voice held his audience captive.
Taking a few deep breaths, Garth realized it made sense; Milton was probably the next best person to be Ringmaster tonight, if Rilla and Jack hadn’t made it back in time. He glanced around the big top, trying to see who else was around.
They’d taken the winter theme one step further than he’d realized. There was ice everywhere, hanging in glittering icicles from the overhead cross bars, wound up around the central poles, ice sculptures depicting elegant ice fairies, a giant ice bear, small darting foxes, and of course, the thick ice of the lake underneath them. Everything seemed to shimmer in the light from overhead, creating a magical half-lit world where anything was possible.