by Chloe Adler
“Do you want to end it because you think you should or because you really don’t want to be with more than one partner?”
Iphi lets out a hollow laugh, devoid of any humor. “Both.”
“So pick one, go all in, and see how it feels.”
She nods but it’s more to herself than to Sadie. “Sounds simple enough . . . but right now, we’ve got more important things to try. Shall we?”
Sadie’s mouth twists, like she wants to say more. Her and me both. But Iphi has closed up shop on this topic and her sister knows it. “Okay.” And she turns the key in the ignition and puts us on the road again.
Iphigenia
After two days of experiments at Sadie’s, if I catch even a whiff of mandrake again, I’ll lose it. Nothing we tried worked, even once we brought Chrys in to help. I feel like a failure and I smell like a bomb went off in the spice aisle at the local supermarket and I rolled around in the resulting debris. At least it gave me plenty of excuses to avoid Caspian. I still have no idea what to do. I miss him. I miss Rhys. I miss Dominic. The only one I don’t miss is Thorn, who’s been glued to my side.
The several attempts I made to call Mom and start mending fences were unsuccessful, but now it’s time for my performance and I have to push all of the distractions right out of my head. A practiced skill and one I’m quite adept at.
I pull air into my lungs, expel and enter the tent.
“Hey, Iphi,” one of the other performers calls out when I enter backstage. She throws me a smile while holding a side split, stretching out flat over her front leg while her back leg sticks out straight behind her.
“You’re always here at least four hours early. What happened?” Alexis, the ringmaster, pulls the drapes back from the arena to enter. Tonight she’s decked out in black sequins and an elaborate peacock feather headdress. We’ve switched from our underwater theme to an aviary theme. Serlon likes to mix up themes throughout the season to keep the same guests coming back.
“I must have lost track of time.” I’ve been spending far too much of it in my head these past few days.
“When you weren’t here three hours ago and didn’t respond to our texts, Serlon drove to your mom’s house,” Alexis continues.
“Oh no, please tell me he didn’t.”
“I’m sure he wishes he hadn’t. Aurelia threatened to turn him into a pigeon. She was casting the spell when he peeled out of the drive.”
Dammit. I peek at my phone; it’s turned off. I plaster a smile on my face, covering the anger welling up hot and fast. How dare she threaten my livelihood. Making up with her just moved to number one on my long list of to-dos. She had no qualms destroying Thorn’s life. She could easily destroy Serlon’s too, leaving mine burning in the wake.
“I’m so sorry. I apologize for my mother’s behavior. She’s under a lot of stress.”
“Is that what you call it?”
“I don’t know what else to call it.”
“Maybe it’s time you called a spade a spade, Iphi. You’re so freaking nice, you’re like a dishrag sometimes. Who looks out for you?”
She’s not the first to try tough love on me. My sisters have been saying the same thing for years. But they don’t understand. None of them understand. I can see directly into my mother’s heart. She’s not a bad person. Everything she does comes from fear, and who wouldn’t have sympathy for that? I should go talk to Serlon. “I can’t do this right now. Why didn’t he send the house manager to my mom’s?”
“Rodrigo called in sick tonight.”
“Huh.” I don’t think that guy’s been sick once since I’ve known him. “Is Serlon in his office?”
“He is but . . .” She glances up at the clock on the wall. “You have two hours to stretch and get into costume. Talk to him later.”
She’s right, I’ll barely have enough time to do my preshow routine. I tip my head at her and scamper to the dressing room, where I spend almost no time applying makeup or doing my hair. Instead, I throw on white tights and the new white leotard Serlon had made for me. Rushing back out to the warm-up room, I begin my stretching routine. The gold swirls and sequins running down the sides of my leotard dance and shimmer in the dull overhead lighting, momentarily distracting me. Not good. I can’t afford to be distracted right now. Or ever, not during a performance, anyway. That can be the difference between life and death. I’ve almost died once already, through no fault of my own. Some Trackers messed with my rigging during a show and I plunged several stories. I allow myself one full minute of gratitude for the anti-Tracker ward that’s been put back in place over the Edge. The spell repels the group of religious zealots bent on the destruction of all Signum.
I settle into my middle splits and reach to one side, marveling at the matching golden pattern encircling both wrists. Serlon went all out for this costume. He always treats me like the star of the show when in reality, it’s a team effort.
And right on cue he enters the room. “There’s our star! You had us worried about you, Iphigenia.”
Without letting go of my stretch, I turn my head. The red-and-white-striped fabric of his pants blurs for a moment before clearing. From the floor, he looks like a giant and for good reason. The man is well over six feet tall.
“The last thing I want to do right now is lecture you.” His top hat slides forward on his head as he peers down at me.
“I’m so sorry for being late.” I move out of my center splits and into cobra pose, stretching my chest and chin skyward.
“Should I be worried?” He taps his cane on the floor, where it bounces atop the high-density, interlocking foam.
“No. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” I look down to hide my heated face.
“I see.” His playful tone turns serious. “And if it does, you’ll answer your phone or text us in advance?”
I jump up and drop into a backbend. “Of course.”
“I’ve never given you ‘the talk’ because you’ve never given me a reason to. If anything, you’re the one performer who arrives hours before we open. This has me concerned. Your mother absolutely terrifies me, but this behavior is so out of ordinary for you. Did something happen that you need to talk about? Please, how can I help?” Tap, tap, tap goes his cane.
I stand from the backbend and rise to my tiptoes. “There is one thing.”
He stops tapping and cocks his head.
“Well, you know about the ghouls running around, yes?”
“Indeed I do. If the news wasn’t enough, the police insisted on adding a couple uniforms to stroll the pier before and after shows. They don’t want anyone snatched or attacked in big public venues. Here’s hoping they don’t institute a curfew and close the pier next.”
“Right.” I stop stretching and fill him in on what happened in the Grove the other night. I tell him about the white devil hand that appeared from the spinning portal.
“Mother of Circus Gods. It’s like the Scrim all over again.”
The demon that plagued town a couple years ago. He, too, snatched humans off the street to build an enchanted army. My chest tightens at the memory. It took my sister Sadie at full power, plus my own father’s self-sacrifice, to send him from the Edge for good. Tension has been simmering here between humans and Signum ever since, to the council’s consternation. And now there’s someone else targeting the vulnerable humans who call the Edge home. Here’s hoping Sheriff Sheldon has learned his lesson and will move to combat this threat quickly.
Serlon stops pacing, pinning me with his stare. “Are you sure you’re up for performing tonight? You really don’t have to.”
“I was trained by the best, you know that.” I offer him my most beatific smile. But my insides are churning. “It’ll help take my mind off of everything. I need that.”
“That logic I understand but if you change your mind . . .”
I shake my head. “The show must go on.”
“In-deedy!” He taps his cane three times. “Still, if you need to talk, i
f you need moral support, if you need a break . . . you know where to find me.”
“I do. Thank you, boss.”
He throws me a smile before walking away.
Chapter Twelve
Dominic
The long shower after work did a universe of good but it almost became a black hole, one I wanted to lose myself in. After spending several hours helping Sheldon write up evals on several new missing-person reports—most of whom are probably ghouls we can’t seem to find anywhere, no matter how hard we look—he had me profile the demon.
I was almost too tired to see my own two patients. I’m grateful that the police chief lets me see a couple of people a week, using my own office in the station, but I wonder if it’s a good idea. I may be flat-out overextending myself, trying to build up my own practice again here in the Edge, and I should know better than to do that.
“I’m glad Sheldon is taking this thing seriously.” Caspian perches on a barstool, drinking a beer.
“Oh yeah, they’ve dealt with more than a few nightmares here before. Seems like Signum enclaves are also a big draw for all the baddies who want to mess with us.” I finish buttoning up my jeans and grab a button-down from my closet.
“Makes sense. We’re all exposed here. Nowhere to run.” Caspian takes a swig and puts the glass bottle down.
Thorn stands on the bar top, dipping his snout in and out of his water bowl.
“Anyone reported missing today that we know?” Caspian asks.
“Yeah, the stage manager from the circus, Rodrigo.”
“Shit, dude. Iphi’s gonna take that one hard.” Caspian shakes his head.
“Let’s hope she doesn’t find out before tonight’s performance. Hey, you heard from Rhys?” My question draws Caspian’s attention away from his beer. Thorn tries to tip it into his water bowl.
“Not a word.” Without looking at our dragon brother, Caspian grabs the bottle on its way down. That kid’s got great reflexes. Studying with Rhys all of these years has really paid off for him. “You worried?”
“A little.”
“He’s retreated into himself before. I’m sure he’s just off somewhere licking his wounds.”
Like you? I want to ask but don’t. It’s not like Rhys is the only one Iphi’s abandoned these past few days. May as well go there. I am the one trained in matters of the mind, after all. “So what’s going on with you and Iphi?”
Caspian takes a long pull of beer, holding on to the bottle after he’s done. “She needs some space. She wants to move back in with her mom. Didn’t she tell you the same thing?”
She did and she didn’t. I know she wants to move in with her mom but she didn’t tell me she needed space. If anything, I’ve seen more of her these past two days than when she was glued to my brothers. We went for walks and she even let me make her lunch. “We’re not together, so . . .”
“She’s concerned about Thorn and the Edge. Seems to think she’s the one who has to save the world.” Cas shifts forward on the stool. “I’m not saying she can’t, I have complete faith in her ability to do whatever she sets her mind to, but I don’t want her going at it alone. That’s what we’re all here for. I wish she’d let us help her. I wish she’d let us in.”
I have to bite my tongue because she has let me in. Not all the way, but more now than ever before.
“She also insists that Aurelia is actually a good person.” Caspian turns to glare at Thorn just as he taps the bottle again with his snout.
The dragon turns his head, something that’s supposed to be an innocent whistle coming out of his snout. The puffs of smoke really sell it. Not. “Maybe she can see something in her mother that no one else can.”
Caspian turns back to me. “Maybe she can see something in everyone that no one else can.”
Thorn grabs the beer bottle with one foot and tips it into his water bowl.
Caspian turns back around because there’s no hiding the glugging sound, but instead of getting angry, he laughs. “Hey, if you’re going to go through all this trouble, buddy, help yourself.”
Thorn tosses his head and rights the bottle, then dips his mouth down to drink. I’m not sure beer is such a good idea, but who can fault him? He’s been stuck for too long. He may as well have a little enjoyment.
“Does she have a plan?” She didn’t share one with me but maybe she did with Cas.
“Not that I know of.” Caspian wears a sad smile and takes another glug of his beer. Then he tips the rest of its contents into Thorn’s bottle. “Drink up, we’ve got a show to catch.”
Caspian
I make my way to our seats in the front and put my coat down to cover the three to my left. Dom asked me to save them but didn’t tell me who would be joining us. Does he have a date? Or two? My brother isn’t usually mysterious, so either it’s someone who’s going to piss me off or a surprise.
“Hey, sexy.” Burgundy’s kitten purr rings out from my blind side.
“Burgundy. I bet you say that to all the lookers.” I smile and turn to kiss her cheek.
“You know it.” She waggles her Frida Kahlo–thick brows at me.
“Ah, there’s my girl, flirting as soon as I turn my back on her.” Her girlfriend Tiyah puts a hand on Burgundy’s shoulder, pulling her in. The woman is flawless, and seeing them both together could drop a man to his knees. Burgundy is Latina, from Nicaragua, and Tiyah is Jamaican. But their third is a blond surfer boy like me. Not that I’d give up Iphi for anything or anyone. Even two hot, experienced women.
Elijah, their third, comes up behind both of them and slips an arm around each woman’s waist. They giggle and press into him. “Leave you alone for a minute and you’re hitting on the hottest guy here.” He beams a smile at me. “Good to see you, Caspian. You gonna come out on a dive again soon?”
“Yeah man, I’d love to. Wish I could get my girl to go too.”
“Maybe if you convince her that it’s still flying, she’ll try it,” says Burgundy.
The lights dim and Alexis, the ringmistress, comes on stage in full regalia. “Ladies and gents, time to take your seats for tonight’s sensational performance.”
“Please, join me,” I say to the thruple and motion to the three empty seats on my right. We all sit and I look around for Dom. Where the hell is he? I know the last thing he’d want is to miss Iphi’s opening. The lights lower again as a spotlight hits the stage and Alexis strides around it in a semicircle, the spot following her.
“Welcome to the Distant Edge Circus.” Alexis tosses the cordless mic high into the air, where it somersaults several times above her head. While it’s soaring up, up, up, she does a standing flip, jumping straight up as though her legs are springs and tumbling forward in the air.
Upon landing, without looking up, she reaches a hand into the air and the mic falls directly into it as though attached by a string.
The audience applauds.
Alexis keeps walking around the stage. “As all of you know by now, Serlon loves to shake things up by changing the theme according to his fancy. And tonight’s your lucky night!” She pauses for everyone to quiet and looks across the audience. “For some of our shows, we’ve dived deep underwater . . .”
Dom is still not seated, but they do require people who arrive late to wait until each act is over before they can sit. This is so unlike him though. I shift around to look for him at each of the entrances but he’s not there.
“But tonight, ladies and gents, we rise to a new level and we’re taking all of you with us.” Alexis tosses the microphone behind her back and when it makes a full circle around her body it’s been replaced by three black sticks roughly the same size and shape. While continuing her walk, she throws one into the air and then begins to juggle all three of them.
“Come soar with us as we take to the air.”
When one of the sticks comes down, she lights it on fire and throws it back up in one flawless motion, then catches the next one and does the same. Within seconds she’s juggling
three fire sticks to the crowd’s gasping and clapping.
“We have an amazing show for you tonight, more spectacular, more death-defying, more astounding than anything you’ve ever seen,” Alexis continues while juggling fire and striding around the stage. “Put your hands and feet together for our first aerial performance of the night, the woman who defies gravity, the acrobat who lives in the clouds, the breathtaking contortionist who performs feats of magic on the silks that we, mere earth walkers, can only dream of . . . please welcome the Flying Seraphim!”
More applause as Alexis walks off backward, still throwing those fire sticks. Before she exits she dips each stick into her mouth one at a time to snuff them out while still juggling. She catches them all and bows before backing all the way out.
Just as the curtains open on Iphigenia, Dominic slides in to the seat next to me, handing me a hot dog and a beer.
“You barely made it, dude. Where’ve you been?”
He points to the seat on the other side of him. I practically spill my beer when I see Iphi’s mother, Aurelia, and her boyfriend, Alistair, sitting down.
“What the hell?” I growl at Dom. Aurelia leans forward and throws daggers at me with her eyes.
Dom waves me off and bites into his own hot dog. It’s weird enough that the health-food nut is actually eating one but now that Iphigenia’s nightmare of a mother is sitting with us, I start looking around for the pink elephant that’s going to stampede through the tent at any moment. Either I’m dreaming or we’ve entered an alternate reality because none of this computes. Or maybe, just maybe, he’s trying to win Iphi’s favor? I cast my own daggers, as long as a 1300mm lens, at Dom.
Chapter Thirteen
Dominic
It was my only chance but did I interpret the situation correctly, using what Iphi told me and Cas to show her how much I care? If I’m wrong, I could find myself out of her good graces forever. Still, I had to take the chance. Leaning over, I whisper into Ms. Holt’s ear. “I know your daughter will be thrilled to see you here.”