“I don’t feel safe here, Gideon,” Jackie admitted, and her shoulders sagged as she deflated. “I think we should leave.”
“I already told you, Jackie. You’re not a prisoner here. You and everyone else who wants to go is free to go.” He turned away from her and looked at the rest of us, sitting and watching. “But I cannot leave a paycheck behind here. I am staying until Sunday. The carnival is staying.”
With that, Gideon turned and walked back toward his trailer. There was nothing more to be said, so the crowd slowly broke up and went about their business.
My mom paused outside Gideon’s door, pulling her shawl more tightly around her shoulders, then she shook her head and walked to our Winnebago instead.
I promised Carrie I would help her gather anything she might need for herself or Seth later, then I left her with Roxie and hurried into my motorhome. Mom was sitting at the dinette, her worn tarot cards spread out before her.
Her brow was furrowed, and the creases around her dark eyes seemed to stand out more. She barely glanced up at me, but I saw that her eyes were the color of a stormy sky. Her long red nails tapped anxiously on the table, and I slid into the booth across from her.
“What do you see?” I asked, looking down at the spread of cards before her.
She gathered up the cards before I could get a good look at them, but I’d already spotted a few—The Devil, the Three of Swords, and the Moon. In their simplest terms, they could be read as bondage, pain, and fear.
“Nothing.” She shuffled the cards back into a deck. “They’re all nonsense. I haven’t been able to get a good read since we’ve arrived in Caudry.”
“Do you think we should leave?” I asked.
Mom sighed and stared down at the table. “Not yet. We only have a few more days, and if we do the things Gideon suggests, I believe we’ll be safe.”
“Jackie said that she thinks the creature is targeting us.”
“Creature?” Mom snorted. “You’re proposing a monster is hunting us?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t know what it is, but it didn’t look like any coyote I’ve ever seen.”
“This place is playing tricks on all our minds.” Mom gestured vaguely to the air, then she reached across the table and took my hand. “I’ve been alive for thirty-seven years, and I have seen all kinds of things that defy the laws of nature. But I’ve never seen a monster. Only those that are misunderstood and mistreated.”
My mom had grown up during a time when men and women with deformities and extra senses had been kept in cages like animals. She’d told me horror stories about the abuses and exploitation she’d seen in other circuses and sideshows, things that Gideon strived to protect us from.
“Do you think it’s an illusion, then?” I asked.
“I don’t know, qamari,” Mom admitted wearily. “But what I do know is that while we’re here, you must stay safe. Don’t go out alone at night. I want you in this trailer, sleeping in your bed, every night by midnight. And if you must see that boy in town, do so in the afternoon. So far, daylight seems to have kept our troubles at bay.”
I nodded but didn’t say anything. Gabe and I’d made plans to see each other Wednesday at seven, but as long as I’d be back in bed by midnight, I didn’t see the harm.
31. strength
Seth Holden looked too large for the hospital room. The bandages around his chest and arms bulked up his already thick frame, and he was nearly six and a half feet tall, so his feet were pressed against the wooden footboard.
Roxie and I stood in the doorway to his room, unsure of how to proceed since Seth was snoring softly. Carrie was still at the campsite, packing up Seth’s things, and Luka and Hutch would be bringing her later. Roxie and I decided to visit Seth on our own, so we wouldn’t crowd him too much, but now we were beginning to regret our decision.
“We have to wake him up,” Roxie said finally. “This is ridiculous.”
Carrying a vase of daises we’d picked up at the only floral shop in town, Roxie walked into Seth’s room. I followed a step behind her, so she’d be the one to wake him and not me.
“Seth?” Roxie asked quietly, setting the flowers on the bedside table. “Seth? Are you awake?”
Sunlight streamed in through his open blinds, onto the carnation-pink floor tiles and white sheets. In some places on his bandages, the white had turned a shade of pink, where he must be bleeding underneath.
But, other than that, Seth didn’t really look that terrible. The bandages were hiding the worst of his injuries, so the only real visible wound was a narrow scratch running along the bottom of his chin, and it didn’t even require stitches.
Slowly, Seth’s eyes opened and he blinked a few times. When he saw Roxie and me, his mouth spread out in a sleepy smile.
“Hey, guys. It’s so great to see you.”
“How are you feeling?” I asked, and Roxie sat down in a pale blue recliner next to the bed.
“Great.” He gestured to an IV dripping into his arm. “They have me hooked up to the good stuff. Tomorrow, if I’m released, I think they’ll be sending me home with some very nice pills.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re not in any pain.” I sat on the edge of Seth’s bed, since the room didn’t have any other chairs.
“How is the carnival going?” Seth asked. “How is everyone?”
I glanced over at Roxie before replying with, “Good. I think everyone’s doing really well.”
That was mostly true. Seth and Safēda had been the only two injuries, and I didn’t want to burden him with the suspicions and paranoia back at camp. He’d already been through enough.
“It’s been really busy at the carnival,” Roxie said cheerily. “I think we’re actually gonna make bank here.”
“That’ll be great, since I have these hospital bills to pay for now,” Seth said, but he didn’t sound that upset about it.
In part, because of morphine, and in part, because he’d probably never actually pay them. When we went to hospitals while traveling, we used fake names, and then we were gone. It wasn’t the best way to live, but it was the only way we could afford getting help when we needed it.
“Carrie called from the payphone outside the camp.” Seth’s blue eyes grew serious as he looked between Roxie and me. “She told me there’s been some strange things going on there.”
I shrugged, trying to downplay it. “There’s something weird about the town. There’s a bad energy.”
“My pyro hasn’t been working right at all,” Roxie added, and rubbed the palm of her hands where her fireballs usually sprouted from.
“That explains how I was overpowered by a big coyote,” Seth muttered to himself.
“A big coyote?” I asked. “You remember it attacking you?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t remember the attack at all. Carrie just told me that’s the theory going around, though. Some kind of big coyote.”
“That’s one theory,” Roxie said under her breath.
“You’ll be getting out of here tomorrow,” I said, quickly changing the subject. “That must be exciting.”
“Yeah.” Seth paused before adding, “Carrie and I are actually going over to Texas. We were thinking we could wait in Houston and meet up with you guys when you’re done here.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked in surprise.
“I can’t work.” Seth gestured to his bandages. “And I’m weak as hell. This place seems totally bugshit. So we thought, why not go someplace safe and quiet to recuperate?”
I forced a smile to hide my growing unease. “That makes total sense.”
“A campsite is no place to heal,” Roxie chimed in. “And I doubt there’s a good hotel anywhere in this town.”
Seth began talking about Carrie’s plan to pawn some of her jewelry and Seth’s videos and cassettes so they would be able to afford to stay in a decent place in Houston for a few days, and he wondered aloud if Gideon would be able to advance him some cash.
&nbs
p; While he spoke, Roxie cocked her head and eyed the daisies we’d brought with growing suspicion.
“You know what’s weird?” she asked when Seth finished talking. “There’s only one floral shop in this whole town.”
I shrugged. “So?”
“When we came in, the town sign said there were, like, thirteen thousand people or something,” Roxie elaborated. “And there’s only one flower shop and a small grocery. It’s not large enough to support that much business. Yet every day, the carnival is totally packed. Where are these people coming from? And why?”
“I think you answered your own question, Roxie,” I said. “It’s a small town. There’s nothing else to do.”
“Maybe,” Roxie said, but by the way she narrowed her eyes at the daisies, I knew she wasn’t convinced.
32. wicked
I awoke in my own bed with a dog-eared copy of Something Wicked This Way Comes lying beside me and my crossbow on the floor, in case I needed it. I sat up and peeled back the curtains, expecting to find the carnival in ruins, but instead, the campsite looked normal.
After Roxie and I visited Seth, we came back to the carnival and got to work. It was a full crowd again, but relatively uneventful. When nightfall came, I sat posted at the window, watching and waiting for the creature to come back again.
But it never had. There had been no strange noises. No monsters. No bad dreams.
So, I got up and got ready and went about my day helping where I was needed. The camp felt strange and silent without the tigers. Zeke had picked up Mahilā, and he was taking her and Safēda to Houston to see an exotic animal specialist.
The Phoenixes had done their afternoon show in the tent. Despite Jackie’s growing concerns about Caudry, it seemed that for now they were staying.
The rain started in the afternoon, and though it showed no signs of letting up, the lines of people kept getting longer. So far, the showers were light enough that the rides could stay open, but people flocked to the shows to stay dry.
To help expedite the lines because of the weather, I stood outside of the main tent with Hutch and took tickets. It was a large red-and-white-striped tent that looked exactly like it came out of an ad for Barnum & Bailey’s Circus.
Usually, Zeke would do a show with his tigers in the big tent on Wednesdays, but with them gone, Gideon had stepped up to do another magic act. Posters on the side of the tent and around the carnival depicted him in a sharp tuxedo replete with a red bow tie and top hat, under the banner of Gideon Davorin—Master of Illusions and Dark Arts.
Once in costume, Gideon smiled and dazzled as he performed. Under his working-class exterior, a real showman lurked. Sometimes I’d sit in the back of the tent, watching his act, and the audience always sat in rapt attention.
The length of the lines to his shows was evidence of his talent. Even when the weather wasn’t bad, repeat viewings weren’t uncommon.
Fortunately, the tent had a large overhang, so Hutch and I were able to stay dry as we collected tickets. The line was getting near the end when I heard someone squeal, “Mara!”
I looked over to see Selena standing a few feet away under an umbrella held by Logan, and she waved wildly at me. Her hot pink rainboots matched her lipstick perfectly, and her black hair was perfectly styled.
“I think I can handle these last few folks if you wanna go say hi to your friend,” Hutch said, gesturing to where Selena continued to grin broadly at me.
“Thanks,” I said, but I didn’t really know how grateful I felt. So far, Selena had been nothing but nice to me, but Logan had proved himself to be quite the jerk.
But since she was standing there, waiting for me, I couldn’t exactly ignore her, so I jogged over to them. Though her umbrella was large, it wasn’t quite big enough for me to stand under without squishing against them, so I stayed just outside, letting the rain dampen my clothes and hair.
“I was hoping I would see you here tonight,” Selena said, then she seemed to notice the drops of water splashing on me. “Oh gosh, I don’t want you getting soaked. Let’s move over here where it’s a bit drier.”
Selena stepped a few paces over toward the midway, with Logan dutifully following to keep the umbrella over her. A blue tent reached out past a ring toss with goldfish as the prize, so we stopped just under it, leaving room for customers to play the game.
“That’s better,” Selena said, turning her doe eyes to me. “So, how are you doing?”
“Fine, I guess.” I ran my hand through my damp hair, trying to smooth it, since I felt decidedly unglamorous in my hand-me-down dress compared to her. “It’s been busy out here, so I’ve been working a lot.”
“At least it looks like the dog didn’t get you,” Logan muttered. He wasn’t looking at me when he spoke, instead preferring to sneer at a little girl who was crying because she failed to win a fish.
Selena’s cheery demeanor instantly fell, replaced by a worried frown and frantic eyes. “What dog? What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you hear?” Logan chuckled and turned his attention back to his girlfriend. “They’re claiming that there was some kind of coyote attacking their tigers. Troy’s dad had to come and check it out.”
Her tawny skin paled, making the rouge on her cheeks stand out more. “There’s a coyote?”
“No,” Logan scoffed. “Troy’s dad thinks they’re just trying for insurance fraud.”
“It is not insurance fraud,” I snapped, and glared at Logan, not that it fazed him. Nothing seemed to faze him, except Gabe’s threats of violence. “Something really attacked the tigers.”
Logan held up his hands in a gesture of peace, but the arrogant smirk remained plastered on his face. “Whatever you say. You guys must be the only carnies out there not scheming or looking for a quick buck.”
“Logan!” Selena swatted him in the arm hard enough to make him actually flinch. “Be nice to her! She’s my brother’s girlfriend.”
My irritation with Logan momentarily disappeared when I heard the word girlfriend, and I felt my whole body flush. I’d kissed boys and gone out with them before, but I’d never hung around anywhere long enough for me to really be someone’s girlfriend.
Even now, seeing Gabe nearly every day since we’d gotten to town, I wouldn’t really consider myself his girlfriend. That was a title reserved for something more serious, something that lasted longer than a week.
Still, a warmth grew in my chest and butterflies filled my stomach at the thought of actually calling Gabe my boyfriend.
“Why don’t you go make yourself useful and get me a drink?” Selena suggested to Logan, who’d just stared sullenly at her since her outburst.
“Fine,” Logan agreed.
He tried to take the umbrella with him, but Selena snatched it from him, so he pulled his jacket over his well-manicured blond hair as he walked into the rain. He muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t hear, but it caused Selena to narrow her eyes at him.
“I’m sorry about Logan,” Selena said, still glaring after him. “He’s a grump sometimes.”
“Yeah, I figured that,” I said, since I didn’t know Selena well enough to ask her what she saw in Logan or why she was dating someone who was so obviously a massive jerk, when she seemed so nice.
She turned her attention back to me, giving me a sympathetic smile. “So everything is okay? I hadn’t heard anything about the animal attack.”
“I think everything’s okay now.”
“Good.” She nodded, then repeated it to herself again. “Good.” A bright smile returned to her face. “I just thought I’d say hi and see how you were doing. I wanted to get to know the girl that has so totally captured my brother’s attention and his affection.”
I smiled because I couldn’t help myself, and my cheeks warmed with embarrassment. Unsure of how else to respond, I lamely replied with, “I like your brother too.”
“He told me that you’re leaving on Sunday,” Selena said. “Have you thought about sta
ying?”
“I … um, I…” I stammered, unable to tell her what I was really thinking.
I’d love to have a home base somewhere, with a house that isn’t on wheels, and I’d love to see Gabe every day, not just for this week but the week after that and the week after that.
But there was no way that I could stay in a town like Caudry. It felt small and claustrophobic, with people like Logan, who knew everybody’s business and looked down on them for it.
And that was without even getting into the supernatural issues with the Nukoabok Swamp and purple fireflies and the creature that stalked our camp.
On Sunday, regardless of how I felt about Gabe, I would be leaving Caudry forever.
“Sorry, I’m being nosy,” Selena said quickly, apparently noticing the distress in my expression. “That’s something you should talk about with Gabe, not me.”
“It’s okay,” I told her, and forced a smile.
“Anyway, I should go find Logan before he gets himself into trouble.” Selena glanced around, looking for her boyfriend.
“It was nice seeing you again,” I said.
“You too.” She started walking away, but then she paused and turned back to me. “And, Mara, if you have any more problems with that animal, you should let Gabe know. I’m sure he’d love to help you, if he can.”
“Thanks,” I said, but something about her expression felt very strange.
In fact, the whole day had felt off and strange, like the uncomfortable stillness before a storm hits, and I realized that I didn’t want to be at the carnival a moment longer.
33. lusus naturae
I was soaked through by the time I reached Gabe’s. As I’d walked up the cobblestone driveway toward his house, the branches from the willow trees seemed to be reaching out for me.
Despite the warmth of the air, I felt a chill run through me as I walked up his steps. I took the heavy iron knocker in my hands and stared up at the white mansion that loomed over me.
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