by Trudi Jaye
“I don’t think he’ll make it,” said Milton. “It was a deep knife wound.”
“We can’t leave him up here on his own,” Maddy said, her eyes skittish as she avoided looking at Hugo. She smoothed Simon’s hair back out of his eyes, and the boy blinked wide eyes at Garth and Milton.
“I’ll stay with him.” Milton crouched down next to Hugo, putting one hand on the magician’s prone body.
Garth shook his head. “You’re the Ringmaster.” He gestured below them to where the audience was waiting to be led. “You can’t just stay up here.”
Milton opened his mouth to argue, but a voice from below made him pause.
“Ladies and gentlemen, give a round of applause to our daredevil high-wire walkers, Missy and Lucietta!” Rilla’s voice was strong and clear, the charisma that emanated from her small body enough to drag the audience’s attention away from the high wire and back to the ring.
Garth let out a breath; Rilla was safe, and she was back in control of the Carnival. Some of the tightness eased around his shoulders.
“There,” said Milton. “Rilla’s controlling it now. You and Maddy can go down.” Milton glanced at Simon where he was sitting next to Maddy. “Simon and I will stay up here with Hugo. As soon as you can, send someone up to us.”
Maddy looked at Simon for confirmation, and the boy nodded shakily. “We’ll be fine. Look at Dad. He’s out of it.”
“Maddy, you’re going to have to trust me.” Garth wanted to her to say that of course she believed in him. “We need to go down on the rope.”
She shook her head. “You only just survived on the rope; it’s half frayed away. Why on Earth would we get back on?”
Her fear and resistance were coursing through their bond, and Garth let out a breath. “We have to make this look like it was planned. Like we’re extending our act to performance art or something. Otherwise, it’s going to scare people off. It’s the worst kind of publicity for a Carnival like this. You and I need to show there isn’t really a problem. Which means we have to go down the rope.”
“I don’t think I can.” Maddy was frozen, her eyes wide like a rabbit in headlights.
Her churning emotions made Garth ache to take her in his arms. “I’ll be there to help you through it. I know you’re scared, but you can do it.”
“There’s no net.” She shook her head, biting her lip. Now that they were safe, she didn’t want to risk the ropes.
Garth nodded, never taking his eyes from hers. “They’ll fix it for us. Rilla will figure out what we’re going to do.”
Maddy looked at him, her eyes serious as she contemplated his words. Garth felt her confusion and then, as she caught and held his eyes, the sudden stillness as she made her decision. She nodded. “Okay.”
He leaned over and hugged her. “We’ll be fine.”
Unhooking the lever next to them, Garth let the rope hang back down over the broken net below.
He did a small tight roll over the edge of the beam and came to a stop on the rope, his hands secure over his head, his legs curling around the line. When a spotlight appeared over his body, he hooked his feet in and waved down at the audience. The crowd started muttering and pointing.
“Turn and put your legs over the edge,” he said softly to Maddy. His heart was beating a mile a minute, a frantic pace that matched Maddy’s own heartbeat. The future of the Carnival was in their hands. This had to work.
Maddy edged down backward, her legs dangling over his head. He let go with one hand and grabbed her, pulling her into the gap between his body and the rope. She clung on with her hands, her whole body trembling violently. “It’s okay. This will work,” he whispered in her ear. “Now turn and hold on to my body.”
She stilled a moment, then turned slowly, putting her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “Will you be able to hold us both?” she said.
“I trust in the Carnival, Maddy. Everything I need, it provides.” The words came out of his mouth without any thought. Garth felt a moment of surprise. It wasn’t often the Carnival spoke through him like that.
Slowly, he started the descent, using the rope in different patterns, taking a moment to stop and turn them around. At one point, he used a complicated knot to drop them upside down, making the audience and Maddy gasp as one. He carried Maddy carefully, whispering what he needed from her at each stage. She slowly climbed onto his back when he asked, and they did a complex trick that pushed both their bodies out into the air, his arms straining. The audience gasped again, and he rotated back in.
It seemed to take forever, but he knew it was only minutes until they neared the end of the rope. Garth looked down. They still had a ways to go to the net, and even farther if they were to get to the section that was actually working. There were hands working frantically on it to one side, but it didn’t look like they’d finished.
“We have to drop the last little bit, Maddy. I’m going to start swinging the rope, and when I say, you have to let go and move with the swing onto the part of the net that’s not broken.”
“We’re too far away,” said Maddy, her eyes wide.
“No, we’re not. It’s fine. I wouldn’t do this if you weren’t going to be okay.” Garth pushed calming thoughts along their bond, hoping it would help.
She nodded against his chest, and a feeling of safety and home returned to him. He struggled against the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him for a moment, but it wasn’t the time to fall apart. Taking a deep breath, he started swinging their bodies back and forth until he had the right amount of motion. Just as he was about to tell Maddy to jump, something above them snapped and the rope dropped half a meter. Garth’s head snapped back. He only just managed to cling onto his position on the rope, and they lost some of their momentum. Desperately, he tried to build up the swing again, but he could feel the weakening tension in the rope. If she didn’t leap now, they were both going to drop onto the hard ice below.
“Go, Maddy. Go now,” he said as they headed toward the top of the arc that would land her into the section of net that was still in place. She glanced up at him and then leaped out, toward the net, her arms wide and her hair flowing out around her head.
The strain of her jump was the final straw for the rope, and as he swung back toward the other end, he felt it break above his head. In that split second, he caught Maddy’s eyes from where she’d landed on the net. He felt her relief at being down and then her fear for him as she realized what had happened.
He blew her a kiss and curved his body toward the broken net, hoping it was enough to save his life. He tried to see if the net below him was fixed but couldn’t tell. The smell of sea salt confused his senses before he closed his eyes and hoped for the best.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Maddy watched Garth fall with her heart in her mouth. The netting clung to her body and made it difficult to move, but she struggled anyway, reaching out her arm as if she could pull him toward her just by wishing it.
He couldn’t die. He was everything to her. He had shown her that there was another way to live and be loved that didn’t involve burying herself in research and trying to be good enough to be noticed by her family.
He even liked her origami.
She swallowed over the terrible lump in her throat and prayed to whatever gods protected the Carnival. He couldn’t die. If the net would only hold together, bind itself to the pole, bend around Garth—anything to slow his fall—he would survive. She would make sure he survived.
A low fog rose up out of nowhere, and the salty scent of a sea storm surrounded Maddy. The same feeling of power she’d had on the Carousel swirled up around her, and in that moment, Maddy put everything inside her into ensuring Garth was safe. A cold storm wind burned its way past Maddy and curled around Garth’s body, pushing him closer to the secure section of the net.
Instead of falling limply to the ground and cracking his head open on the ice below, he hit the net. It rose to catch him like a wave, crad
led him, and then carried him down, before bouncing him back up into the air, a bit closer to where she was lying.
Maddy inched forward, her eyes locked on Garth’s movement.
He came down again and this time the net held him securely, the waves of his landing making the net harder to negotiate for Maddy. But at least he was safe.
She remembered to breathe, and a sob caught in her throat as she rolled, pulling herself closer to where he lay. Moving awkwardly over the net, the unfamiliar surface hampering her movement, she forced herself closer and closer. If she could just get to him, everything would be okay. The terrifying storm inside her would ease.
His head lifted and he saw her as she moved in his direction. He rolled over and crawled far more elegantly than she could across the net, his eyes dark with an intense emotion she couldn’t quite name.
When he was within touching distance, she lifted her hand and put it on his cheek. He smiled and kissed her palm. “You’re the bravest woman I know,” he said softly.
Maddy shook her head, surprised. “No, I’m not. Rilla and Missy do much more amazing things than I could ever do.”
Garth shook his head. “They’ve been doing those things since they could walk. You’ve never done anything like that before in your life, and you did it like you were born to it. You are amazing.” He went onto his knees and drew her up beside him. He took her face in his hands and kissed her thoroughly, his lips moving over hers, claiming her, demanding she return his kiss.
She gave him everything and more. Her arms went around his body, and she let the emotions swirl like storm currents around them.
“How did you survive?” she asked him. “That section of the net was down. I thought you were going to hit the ice.”
Garth paused. “I felt… storm magic. I think it was you. And you’ve been using my power through the Giftmaster bond for a while now. Together, it was enough to pull me onto the net.”
Maddy swallowed over the sudden dry feeling in her mouth. She found she couldn’t deny what he was saying. She’d felt the raw energy surrounding her while Garth was falling.
He grinned at her expression. “For now, I’m just happy to be alive and to have you here with me.”
Maddy smiled, determined not to think about it. “I’ve never been so happy as I am right now,” she said shakily.
Garth grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “Me either. But for now, we need to get off this stage.”
Glancing up, Maddy realized the entire audience was on their feet around them, clapping like maniacs.
“The show must go on,” whispered Garth in her ear. He lifted their arms in a salute and then gestured to Maddy. The crowd roared louder, if possible. Then he lifted his arm and gestured to where the spotlight was on Missy, standing overhead on the trapeze platform, with Lucietta sitting beside her, holding her head.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, you have been the first to witness a new show by the Jolly-Knight Carnival.” Rilla’s voice sounded sultry and sexy from the ring on the other side of the tent. “Put your hands together for our talented performers. Garth and Maddy! Missy and Lucietta! Milton, Simon, and Hugo!” As Rilla said each of the names, the spotlight switched to each group. They all knew enough to put their hands in the air and accept the applause.
Just before the spotlight disappeared from Missy and Lucietta, a flash of light on metal caught Maddy’s eye. It happened so fast she thought maybe she imagined it. “Garth,” she whispered in his ear. “I think Missy’s in trouble.”
He jerked his head toward the platform, and his eyes narrowed. Another flash of metal, this time muted in the darkness. “Lucietta has a knife.” He turned back to Maddy. “Come on, we have to get off the net. Someone needs to get up there to help her.”
Maddy looked to the netting cautiously.
“Like this.” He showed her how to move over the net, and she was soon curling over the edge.
While Rilla kept the audience mesmerized, they climbed down. Garth grabbed her hand, and with one final wave at the crowd, they ran to the exit. Behind them, the next act started, this time solidly on the ice. When they reached the edge of the tent, Garth saw Henry and grabbed his arm. “Missy’s in trouble. If you stay with Maddy I can go up again.”
Henry frowned down at him. “Don’t be stupid Garth. I’ll go.” The big man turned without hesitation to run to Missy’s aid. Other backstage crew clustered around them, wrapping them both in blankets and pushing drinks into their hands.
“What about Milton and Simon?” asked Maddy, trying to see behind them to where they were hidden high in the tent.
Garth nodded to another of the crew. “Do we have someone organized to get the others down?”
The man nodded. “All under control, Garth. As soon as Milton realized what was happening and he’d have to go up the ladder, he got everyone prepared for the fallout. We can take it from here. You take your lady backstage and take care of her.” He winked at Maddy, his moustache crinkling.
Garth let out a breath and Maddy squeezed his hand. She leaned into his arms and let him lead her down the carpeted alleyway toward the room they’d first entered. She took a few deep breaths, expecting to feel relief and happiness.
But instead, the emotions she’d been pushing away while high in the air came crashing down around her. As they neared the darkened entrance, she began taking big gasping breaths. She was exhausted and tears lurked near the backs of her eyes. She simply couldn’t control the emotions that were storming around inside her head. Fear and anger combined with terror, guilt, and despair in an overwhelming reaction to the events of the last few hours. She clung to Garth as they stepped through the tented doorway.
In the room, people rushed around, but no one thought to stop and talk. The show was still running, and everything seemed to be continuing as normal. Maddy took another deep breath, and a small sob hitched in her throat.
Garth looked down and immediately curled her into his arms, murmuring softly and rubbing one hand down her hair. “It’s okay, Maddy. You’re okay. It’s just a reaction to what you did up there. You’re coming down off the rush of adrenaline.” He held her tight, and it was everything she needed.
***
Garth breathed out as he felt the love in his heart reflected back through the bond with Maddy. For the first time, he knew what it was like to be loved thoroughly and unconditionally—and he loved her right back. He was full to the brim with happiness, despite everything they’d just gone through.
Finally, he realized what he should have a long time ago. The Carnival had always been his life, but he could make a new life if he had to. The important thing was that he had Maddy, this strong, brave woman who had chased down Hugo and come to his rescue, despite the danger.
“I don’t care,” he said against her lips.
“What?” Maddy moved back to look into his eyes, her expression confused.
“I don’t care if being with you means I have to give up the Carnival. I love you more than anything else. I will be happy wherever you are.”
“You don’t have to give up the Carnival for me.” Maddy frowned.
“You don’t understand.”
Maddy cupped one hand to his cheek. “Then why don’t you explain it to me?” she said softly.
Garth blinked. It seemed so simple when she said it. “Something happened after you visited the Compound the first time. The Carnival chose you as its Mark, just like Hugo said.”
“And what does that mean, exactly?”
“We’ve been trying to grant your wish ever since. You wished for someone to love you heart and soul, and I didn’t think I could do that because it meant giving up the Carnival. But I want to be the man who loves you. From now until I die. The Carnival be damned.”
Maddy threw her arms around him. “I want that too. I love you, Garth. But you don’t have to give up the Carnival for me. We can work something out.”
He couldn’t help smiling at her declaration as he put hi
s arms around her again. But he shook his head. “I might not have a choice.”
“Why not?”
“There are rules, Maddy. We follow them for the sake of the Carnival and everyone in it. If we break the rules, the Carnival throws us out. That’s what happened to Lucietta. That’s why she’s so angry with us. And Hugo’s family, for that matter.”
Maddy thought over this for a moment. “So the Carnival chooses who you fall in love with? That doesn’t sound like a very good deal.”
Garth shook his head sadly. “It’s not about that. It’s about stopping the Gift. Because I fell in love with you, it means I’ve influenced the Gift, interrupted its course. The one rule we all have to follow is that we can’t stop the Gift.”
A throat cleared behind them, and Maddy jumped. They both turned their heads to see Blago standing at the entrance to the tent, leaning heavily against a cane. His white hair floated out in the air around his head. “That’s not entirely accurate, Garth,” he said.
“What do you mean?” said Garth carefully, still holding tight to Maddy.
“You didn’t stop the Gift. You simply fell in love and matched the Gift. That’s a whole different kettle of fish.”
Garth’s heart beat a little faster. “But you fell in love, and you were thrown out.”
“I fell in love, but Deirdre wasn’t in love with me yet. I stole her away from the Gift before she’d decided because I knew she might not choose me, and I couldn’t live with that. I broke the Gift by not giving her a chance to choose.”
For a moment, Blago’s words hung in midair, and then everything around them seemed to soften and swirl with heat. All the colors and shapes surrounding Garth flared brighter and bolder than they had a moment ago. The communal shockwave that marked the end of a Gift went through his body. Maddy’s wish was completed, and the Carnival accepted the way it had been settled. A moment passed, and then Garth’s eyes widened. A soft presence had been left behind inside his head and he realized it was familiar.