by Sarah Noffke
“We’ve got to talk, but we don’t have long,” he said in a rush.
“Titus, what’s wrong?” Finley said, studying the man before him.
“What isn’t wrong, don’t you mean?”
“I mean, is there something new? Is Zuma okay?”
Titus nodded. “Yes, I’ve ordered her to stay in her trailer and call me or Oliver if she needs to leave for any reason. She isn’t safe by herself anymore.”
Finley clenched his fist until his nails bit into the skin. Sebastian shouldn’t have this type of rule, but he did and the circus was growing more powerless to stop it. Padmal’s death was proof of that.
Titus stared down, a deliberate speculation in his eyes. “I didn’t know you were Knight’s son,” he said, shaking his head like the news still hadn’t sunk in properly.
“Yeah, apparently Fanny held on to that secret alone.” Finley had questioned the healer at length since finding out the news. She kept her answers brief and strangely clinical.
“I had to know for myself and so I dream traveled into the past and followed the baby Fanny saved. She in fact took him to an orphanage,” Titus said, his eyes to the right of Finley like he couldn’t bear to look directly at the acrobat.
“Yes…” Finley said, daring to hope the story had a new ending.
“And I visited the child for the month he was at the orphanage and I can confirm that child was adopted by Knight,” Titus said.
“But did the child grow up to be me?”
Titus looked at Finley, his eyes overflowing with remorse. “I’m afraid you are his son.”
Finley gave a slow nod, one full of heavy emotion but already a growing acceptance.
“And when I confirmed that I couldn’t have been happier about the news,” Titus said, his voice growing with positive emotion.
Finley jerked his head up. “You what? Excuse me?”
Titus held up his hand to try to pause the series of confused thoughts streaming through Finley’s mind. “I’m truly sorry for what you’ve been put through. That your mother died. That you have a deeper connection with that wretched man.”
“But…?” Finley asked, realizing there had to be a but.
“Finley, I’ve been searching for a way to stop Knight. A way to get ahead of him. I’ll admit that at times I wanted to give up, firmly believing that we were already defeated. I have been at such a loss. And then Jasmine died and I almost thought it was time to make you all leave, but Fanny wouldn’t let me do it…because that brilliant woman knew we still had hope.” Titus’s eyes beamed with a pride he usually only showed when watching his circus.
“Hope?” Finley said, almost like that was a foreign word he used to know, but forgot its meaning.
“Yes, we have you,” Titus said, and he sounded light for the first time in months.
“And you think I offer hope because I’m Knight’s son? You may be disappointed then,” Finley said. “Knight won’t do anything I say. I’m more obligated to him than ever before.”
Titus shook his head. “It’s not about getting Knight to do anything. It’s about stopping him.”
Finley almost laughed at this. “And you think I can do that?”
“I know you can. Finley, you have his blood. You have Dave’s blood,” Titus said, and now there was pride in his tone. “It will still take work on our part. We will all have to work together and stealthily, but Zuma has a pretty good plan and so far it sounds like it could work. And now that we have you, we have the final ingredient. We have a chance.”
“Why does my relation to Knight make any difference? I’m still powerless. I’m still under his influence or otherwise he’ll punish you all,” the acrobat said.
“Finley, the ability to curse, it’s a craft, yes. It must be learned.” Titus spoke slowly, giving each of his words time to sink in. “But it can only be learned by a select few. There are only certain lineages who can produce curses. Lineages of Dream Travelers with pure blood. You see, there are only a few founder families left. And…” Titus left the word hanging in the air, knowing Finley was smart enough to piece this all together.
“Knight and Dave were from founder families?” Finley said.
“Yes, they had pure blood and more importantly they are from the family with the gift to curse.”
Finley’s eyes shifted back and forth on the carpet as he put it all together. “Which means…”
“Here,” Titus said, pulling a leather notebook from behind the waistband at his back. It had been covered by his shirt. He handed it to Finley. “This was Dave’s.” He smiled. “Your uncle. It’s his notes on his ancestry, but more importantly it has the laws on curses and how to produce them. It’s tricky and there’s much you need to understand first before you attempt one, so you must be really well versed on the subject. I don’t want you to even think about producing a curse until you’ve thoroughly studied this information.”
“Why? What’s the big deal?”
“Finley, a curse at the very least will steal years off your life as the caster, but if you don’t do it the right way it also has the power to kill you.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
For a whole week the Vagabond Circus members did something they had rarely done. They kept their heads down and their mouths shut. There were whispered conversations in private. Zuma spent a lot of time in other people’s heads, relaying information. And she was rarely allowed to be alone, especially since too often Sebastian could be found in the shadows watching her, waiting for his turn. Finley could usually be found somewhere in the distance watching the girl he couldn’t have, but could protect. And when he wasn’t protecting her, he was by Knight’s side doing an impeccable job of acting in the ringmaster’s prescribed manner. Finley was the model son, doing everything his father asked, and usually anticipating his requests.
Knight had finally done it, he thought, and in a shorter amount of time than he believed it would take. He had full control over the circus. The people followed him blindly. Maybe some even would grow to admire him like Gwendolyn and Sebastian did. And the shows they put on for the people of Oxnard were the best yet. They were creepy and dark enough to make kids scream. To send grown women running from the big top. And it left everyone who exited the tent with haunted expressions and a dark door opened up in their minds. One where their repressed demons could finally surface. One that opened pits of deception in the world around these patrons.
And even though the employees of Vagabond Circus were compliant, that didn’t mean there wasn’t still abuse. Knight thrived on drama. Even if he couldn’t instigate fights amongst the crew he found ways to create pain. A performer who did everything on cue would still be tortured with an awful headache just to create a problem in their reliability and then they’d be really punished. Belittled. Yelled at. Pay docked. And still everyone sucked in shallow breaths and took the punishment with their eyes low. No one left, abandoning the circus to seek peace. Everyone stayed and pretended that they were Knight’s soldiers. But behind closed doors people were planning. Plotting. Taking on extra duties to cover for those who had to practice.
Fanny took care of the kids full time to give Jack and Sunshine unending hours for him to practice, not just walking but also drawing out his other skill. Nabhi and Haady covered for Oliver when he was missing, busy resting up. Zuma spent her spare hours working with Benjamin, going over his part until he rambled about it in his sleep. Titus worked behind the scenes doing a job he’d never been good at. He led. He quietly encouraged people the way Dave had. He counseled people. He sat straight behind his desk, his chin held up high, hands relaxed on his table top. He looked everyone in the eye and confidently expressed his faith in them. And Finley never slept. He dream traveled every single night, spending those hours studying his uncle’s notes. Memorizing them.
There was more than Finley thought possible to the craft of cursing. Not only was it incredibly dangerous, but it was likened to producing a planetary law. It was elemental magic.
And the precision to pull from these elements had to be extremely accurate. If too much energy was pulled from one then it would overpower the others. The curse would crush the caster. Furthermore, the law had to work in accordance with the existing laws of the universe. If they defied a single universal law then the curse wouldn’t work. It would fail and as it did it would drain the power from the caster until he was no more. Literally only ashes.
The universe is energy, and mistakes to the fabric of the universe zap the commanding power in an effort to preserve the system. If someone tries to mess with a universal law then they are gunned down at once by the all-powerful universe. Dave’s notes spanned forty years. That’s how long it took the man to understand and master curses. And he had only cast one curse and it was the one that protected Vagabond Circus from Knight for all those years. Finley had less than a fortnight to do something it took the greatest man he ever knew to do in forty years. However, the acrobat never showed this doubt when Titus checked on his progress. Everyone was relying on him. Ian often caught Finley’s eye during meals and the look he gave him was clear. He was counting on Finley. Everyone was. If he failed then not only would they continue in their circus of doom, but they would be so severely punished most would not survive the wrath of Knight. Maybe only Finley. But he wouldn’t want to live after his failure and his punishment.
Chapter Sixty-Three
The Vagabond Circus caravanned to Thousand Oaks after a week of shows in Oxnard. Although the show frightened most, every performance was still sold out. The press continued to encourage those with strong hearts to patronize the circus. Winter was making promises to surrender to spring, and Los Angeles was gearing up to greet the circus with open arms and large wallets.
“We won’t make it to Los Angeles,” Titus said, tapping his ballpoint pen on a piece of paper, making several useless dots. The pen had been a gift from his best friend. On the silver pen were words Dave said to Titus constantly: “Do what you think you can’t.”
Titus stared at those words which lay vertically on the upright pen.
“So what are you saying?” Fanny asked from her place on the other side of the desk, her hands clasped in front of her, her eyes on the dots as they multiplied on the paper.
“I’m saying we need to proceed with the plan now,” Titus said, not like he dreaded the idea but rather with unstoppable conviction.
“What? Titus, we aren’t ready,” Fanny said, and then she brought her blue eyes up to his.
“We will be ready.”
“There’s so many risks though. I’m not sure that rushing things is wise. People’s lives are at stake here,” Fanny said in a rushed whisper, always afraid someone could be listening.
“All our lives are at stake, Fanny,” Titus said.
“Exactly.”
Titus stood from the desk. He walked around it and leaned on the surface, sitting on it slightly, much closer to Fanny. “Look, this is Dave’s circus. These people have done extraordinary things. They have done them because they are incredible, but that’s only part of the reason. You know what makes this circus what it is?”
Fanny nodded, looking almost nervous. “Belief. It was Dave’s belief in others that encouraged their true genius.”
“Yes,” Titus said. “And I’m not proud to say he was able to maintain that belief with me constantly barking doubts at him. I’m not proud to say I’ve been a coward not wanting to stake my livelihood and life on faith. But I am proud to say I’m ready to do that now.”
“You believe we can do this?” Fanny said.
“I know we can. I see it so clearly in my mind that the end result is tangible.”
“You sound like Dave,” Fanny said.
Titus laughed coldly. “Oh, minus the belly and shorter stature, I always wished I was that man.”
Fanny smiled at him. “I don’t think you should want such things. I like you for who you were, and even more so for who you’ve become,” she said and placed her hand on Titus’s, which lay beside him on the table.
Titus looked down at the embrace and didn’t pull away like he would have done before. He simply smiled back at her.
“Titus, it takes a good man to admit when he’s been wrong, but it takes a great man to become the person who would no longer make such mistakes,” she said and then patted his hand as she rose. At her full height she didn’t have to look up much to gaze into Titus’s eyes. There was a pause. A silent exchange. And then the healer turned and strolled for the door, her long skirt swishing back and forth. At the door to the miniature big top office she paused. “I’ll go prepare.”
“Thank you. And Fanny?” Titus said, a question in his voice.
And when the woman looked at him he was flashing her a half smile, a discerning look on his face. “Yes, Titus?”
“I can’t help but get the feeling that you’re still hiding something, like that major secret about Finley that you kept from me for all these years.”
She smiled back at him, no remorse on her face. “Yes, about that. I really hope you know I was trying to protect you by keeping that secret. Just like me, you wouldn’t have been able to reveal it, and I didn’t want you to have the burden on you.”
“I appreciate that you had altruistic reasons,” he said, his eyes lighting up, but only slightly, as they fell to the ground.
“And you’re right, Titus,” Fanny said. “I’m keeping two secrets from you.”
He jerked his gaze up at that admission. “Are you planning on sharing soon or do I have to wait another twenty years?”
She touched her hand to her chest. “Warms my heart to think of us still acquainted in another twenty years.”
“Me too,” he said, nodding.
“And yes, I’ll tell you sooner rather than later. But the timing for revealing these secrets has to be perfect.”
“Okay, I trust you,” Titus said, and it was a pure statement.
“As I do you,” Fanny said and offered him one last smile before leaving.
Chapter Sixty-Four
“I can’t do this,” Jack said, blowing out a frustrated breath. “What am I missing?” He looked straight at Sunshine, who sat on the couch next to him.
“Usually I hate the word ‘can’t’ but in this circumstance I kind of think it’s the right one. I don’t think you can do this,” she said.
Jack dropped the hand he had outstretched. “Wow…thanks for your vote of confidence.”
“Do you want me to help you or inflate your ego so you waste both our time and screw up this whole thing? I mean, an entire twenty-year venture that brings joy to thousands is resting on you, so your call.” Sunshine said this whole thing in an unaffected voice.
“Vagabond Circus isn’t resting on my shoulders,” Jack said, a bitter edge to his voice.
“It’s resting on all of our shoulders. One of us flops and this whole thing fails. This is our most important performance ever.” And again the girl’s tone betrayed her words. It was bored and matter-of-fact.
“Well, I don’t think I’m electrokinetic. Is it possible Dave was wrong?” For days the couple had been practicing, trying to help Jack draw out the skill the dead ringmaster once said he thought lay dormant in him.
“Of course it isn’t possible that Dave was wrong,” Sunshine said, sounding insulted by the idea. “But I think it is probable that things have changed. You’re still healing and that takes energy and what do you think electricity is?”
Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head at the girl. “I know what electricity is. It’s a type of energy. You know you don’t have to talk to me like I’m an idiot?”
“No, I definitely don’t have to, but it sure makes this whole thing more fun.”
Despite his frustration Jack found himself smiling at the girl.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said.
Jack complied by sticking his tongue out and mock grimacing at Sunshine.
“Much better,” she said and then she almost smiled but s
topped herself.
“So if I can’t use my electrokinesis then how am I going to complete my part of the plan?”
“Hmmm…” Sunshine said, lifting her eyes to the ceiling as she thought. “Maybe consider a more hands-on approach.”
“Uhh, what?” Jack said.
“You know? Instead of using boring old electricity, which could fail if things don’t go right, revert to just doing the job with your bare hands.”
Jack’s face went white as he gulped. “I’m not sure I can do that, Sunshine.”
“I’m not saying it will be easy, but Jack, she is the reason that you fell. She’s the reason that you were paralyzed.”
Jack stared off and released a nod with little conviction. “I’ll think about it.”
“I, for one, don’t think I’ll have any problem with my job,” she said and then rubbed her hands together, a look in her eye like she was imagining a decadent feast.