Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Part 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Part 2
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
The End
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Red Circus
A NOVEL
MICHELLE Al BITAR
Copyright © 2019 by Michelle Al Bitar
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781090288110
to my parents—the strongest fighters.
to my favorite soldier of God
Greyish rotten walls, licked by moth and strange crawling air-breathing arthropods and arachnids, extended in great heights, where kings used to walk, soldiers used to march, and tricksters used to sneak their way into nobility. The faces of painted nobles melted into disfigured creatures weeping for the loss of their Alpha. There was nothing left of the old heritage. A new era was being born.
Part 1
Chapter 1
“Relate yourself to nature and nature will respond. Call out to the forces of the wilderness and connect to them. There is only one way to do so, and it is through the dance of the graceful, the marvellous, the double beauty of the twins. Let me hear your applause for Marilyn and Flore!” Rufus’s voice resonated through the walls of the gigantic tent.
The audience applauded wildly. The echo of their screams made the hearts of the twins beat louder with anticipation. They walked to the centre of the stage with graceful steps.
Riley watched them behind the curtains and smiled. For two thirteen-year-old twins, they were attention grabbers without trying. The soft classic piano music started leading their steps on the sandy floor. With one harmonious move of their leg to the right, five pigeons fluttered from under the seats of the audience to move around them. A woman and her little girl were taken aback at first, but the wonder on her daughter’s face was evident enough to know that they adored it. Another man frowned then smiled as the bird made its way between his feet and soared into the sky.
The twins looked at each other and winked. They span to the back of the dance floor and then mastered three back-flips. With each flip, a rose gracefully fell onto the lap of another part of the audience. The cheers doubled and the spectators wanted more. Music kept playing in the background in harmony with the girls’ careful moves.
“Rye,” a rough voice spoke behind Riley. She turned around to see the man who had been her best friend since his first day at the circus.
Ever since he came back from war, a broken soldier struggling to forget, he packed his bags, left his country and moved to Regitum where he met Riley in one of the circus’s shows.
“I’m quite busy,” Riley replied dryly.
“Your performance is in ten minutes. You have time to speak to me.” He caught her hand and pulled her away from the curtains.
Everybody was busy and did not have the time to notice what was happening backstage. Riley rolled her eyes and folded her arms.
“What do you want?”
“I want the truth. I saw a man walking out of your room all dazed and shit. When he was still inside, I heard him moaning your name and screaming things as if you were with him.
“So what? Many men scream my name.” She smirked at her own obscene wit.
“He walked out of that room satisfied and obviously proud of the pleasure you’d given him. I thought you could have been with an outsider for a one-night stand, but the thing is, you weren’t even inside that room. I saw you walking around in the gardens.” Mathew frowned. It was as if the man was under a charm or a spell that didn’t even require the woman’s presence to feel her hands roaming his body.
“Maybe he was doing it by himself,” she suggested impatiently.
“I know when a man does that. And he sure as hell seemed to be gloating about your time together when I asked him.”
Riley rolled her eyes in annoyance.
“Don’t get too involved newbie. He must have lied.”
“He went into your private room. He can’t access that without your permission. You’re the only one with the keys.”
“Red, you’re up!”
Riley turned around at the sound of Marilyn’s voice. She was too engrossed in the conversation with Mathew that she didn’t notice the girls had already finished.
“You have all feared death. You have all dreaded danger. But there is one woman, one fearless woman, who can overcome the dreadful face of death and laugh at it. I want to hear you cheer for the Undead Red!”
“Sorry, duty calls.” She winked leaving him in utter disbelief. Rufus’s call was her only way out of Mathew’s endless investigation.
She slipped into her red high heels. After adjusting the buttons of her black and red corset, she passed her hands through her lace leggings. Closing her eyes, she was capable of materializing the image of the bulls trapped outside the tent. Slowly, she was dispersing them with her mind and making them appear inside the cages that surrounded the stage.
She took a deep breath.
Let the show begin.
When she strode to the centre of the stage, people were surrounding her with applause and appreciation. They loved her. Her eyes sparkled with the images of flashing cameras and screaming fans. She even felt her body grow excited with every kind word thrown at her.
The sound of the drums and electric guitar were merging into a beautiful and thrilling harmony. Her eyes scanned the crowd as she clicked her high heels towards the edges. Bringing her inner goddess to the surface, she began to walk around the perimeter of the stage and shake hands with the crowd. Some of them were hyperventilating and others only asked for a picture.
She was the main face of the circus in the market. Perfecting her performance was a must.
A man in the crowd was sitting in the first seat and watching her intently. His eyes were drifting over her different body parts, devouring her with his gaze. He had to be wealthy because the tickets to Cirque Et Feu were costly.
She fixated her eyes on him and licked her lips slowly, then she bit her bottom one. Lazily, she batted her eyelids at him letting a playful smirk plaster on her lips. The man’s breaths were becoming shallow as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Examining his clothes, she made sure that he was a wealthy fellow who looked for pleasure rather than entertainment.
She did not linger there though. She continued walking and greeting the others, until she was at the centre of the arena again.
“You shall observe a woman on the verge of death, a woman exposed to the atrocity of the animal kingdom. And for that I demand your attention, for I may not survive this,” her voice echoed through the walls of the gigantic tent.
A deadly silence fell upon the spectators. Everyone was contemplating her attentively, waiting to capture the right moment with their cameras.
“Release!” Riley ordered in a str
ong tone.
At once, the gates underneath the seats of the crowd opened. Dust crawled out of the iron doors revealing behind them an army of angry oxen. The men who opened the gates were immediately pulled upwards and out of the danger zone.
Riley did not move. The horror on the audience’s faces was priceless. The oxen were dashing towards her at an inhuman speed, blinded by the red colour of her outfit.
She did not move.
Her heart was beating louder and louder with every sound their hooves made against the dusty ground. She almost heard it drumming in her ears. That was the kind of adrenaline that always soothed her.
The oxen were mere inches away from her. Riley collapsed to the ground and welcomed the shadows of the imaginary savage animals bent over her. Tickling sensations filled her body as she focused on her figure. Slowly she stood up from where she was crouching. The oxen were visible to the crowd but only their shadows were the evidence of their unreal presence to Riley.
She stepped away from the crime scene and looked around. No one was looking at her. They were all gasping at the scene where a young girl in red was probably torn to pieces by an army of oxen.
She was invisible to them. That was good. Her mind illusions were working. Stepping away from the scene, she entered backstage. Everybody was watching the show with shock and terror. Passing by them unnoticed, she climbed the damp stairs to the iron balcony on the very top of the tent.
A man was standing between the ropes and behind the voice mixer. He was also observing the show from afar and with the incredulous look on his face; he was tricked as well. Sed tried to focus again on fixing the lighting and sound effect.
Riley closed her eyes then reopened them. She was visible again, only out of sight from the audience.
“Sed, did you prepare the swing?” she asked him and walked to the middle.
“Good Lord,” Sed muttered taken aback by her sudden presence. “I didn’t see you coming.”
“Where’s the swing?” she asked him hurriedly.
The old man guided her to the very middle and helped her sit down on a black leather swing that she had made when she first joined the circus.
“Here you go,” he told her and adjusted her position on the swing. Pulling the iron ropes down, the swing started moving upwards and to the centre of the tent. Her feet weren’t touching the floor anymore. Riley’s legs were loose in the air as she held on.
People still hadn’t seen her. She gave a thumbs up as a signal for Sed, who nodded and started pulling her downwards.
Riley was carefully peering at the bulls until their transparent shapes started moving away from their victim. Children, women, and men were rising from their seats and struggling to see her fleshless remains.
She smiled.
The animals retrieved back to their cages leaving behind them a pile of... nothing.
The crowd gasped. They were expecting a performance gone wrong. They did not even perceive Undead Red’s body move away from the enraged animals. But the rush of relief after noticing that she did not perish under the attack was what made the show legendary and internationally recognised.
Suddenly, everybody turned to a girl who pointed to where Riley was and shouted.
“Red! She’s up there! Mummy!”
Everyone tore their eyes from the centre and focused on Riley swinging down with a few hellos here and there. She ordered the mantled oxen to go back to their cages and they immediately obeyed.
The swing kept descending down slowly, careful not to make the star of the show fall. When it reached a certain distance from the ground, Riley hopped down and looked around her, taking in her surroundings. Everyone was already on their feet. They were cheering and taking pictures to a point where camera flashes almost blinded her.
“Thank you! You have been amazing tonight!” She waved around and started walking backwards. “Make sure you stay safe and do not try this at home... or anywhere!”
Once Riley turned around, she was already backstage. The crew was congratulating her on her part, but she just wanted to get to her room and rest. They had been preparing for that show for almost a month. Her body was exhausted and whenever she used a huge amount of her mind tricks, it drew the energy out of her.
“Red, tu étais incroyable.” Rufus patted her on the back.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” She gave him one of her best alluring smiles.
Rufus bent down a little bit. His grey hair tickled her right cheek as he whispered.
“Your mind did a meticulous job.”
Riley turned around to face him as if an alarm bell clangoured. She pressed her hand against his chest and gave him a deadly glare.
“Don’t dare talk about it in public.”
“I’m sorry.” He swallowed and raised his hands in surrender. He was aware of her extracurricular activities, but as far as he knew, they were being done in the purpose of enriching the circus.
“Aced the boss as well?” Mathew’s voice interrupted them and Riley rolled her eyes.
“She aced everyone out there,” Rufus tried to change the subject, but failed when Mathew eyed her suspiciously.
“Yeah, I bet she did.”
“I’m going to my room,” she snapped and turned around.
The circus tent was divided into three parts: stage, backstage, and private rooms. Whenever a crew was to make a show there, it was able to spend nights for several performances that extended throughout several days. Riley was thankful for the big arena Rufus had chosen this time. Anything was better than the low-cost motel rooms.
When she opened the door to her room, she slipped out of her shoes and locked herself inside.
She loved her job. But she hated living in an unfair world where she had to relinquish her morals to survive. As she sat down on her bed, she grabbed a copy of Noteram Today.
Noteram Today
Almost a hundred and twenty years ago, World War III finally erupted. Humans had slaughtered each other for the dominance of the majority of countries. Most of them had fallen for the deceit and treachery of the governments and ended up ruined by anarchy. To join forces was the single technique of survival. The main two fighting forces were Central West and Regitum in the East. Other countries joined according to previous alliances and personal interests.
Death and disappearance off the face of the planet was the destiny of some countries. Several nations were gone as collateral damage even after claiming that they were going to wait on the sidelines.
Poverty was aggravated to the point where more nations had been admitted into the Third World chart. Kids were dying on the sides of the roads from hunger. The percentage of pregnant women having a miscarriage as a result of bombing and depression was increasing.
“Why the hell are they retelling history, now?” Riley scoffed. “Have they no interesting news?”
Through that tough period of time, divided churches had united into one and presented a prayer against the war. The number of novices in the Buddhist Order was rising. Even every other religion that spread peace met in a single place at the same time to join their prayers, despite the attempts to bomb them.
Finally, after two years of suffering, 2130 was a year of relief to the world. Central West granted Regitum victory in most of the battles and finally the war. It announced a peaceful solution in the Battle of the Creek and let General Edward Freedian raise the sword of victory as per traditions. Twenty years later, he was assigned the king of Regitum, colouring the Freedian bloodline with a royal glow.
Allowed?! Riley thought bitterly. He crushed The West’s ass. They didn’t grant him anything.
The world rejoiced and celebrated that occasion for 36 years. It witnessed the ruling of Democrats who in fact practised democracy right, unlike the rulers before WWIII who were nothing more than hypocrites promising the world false hope.
At least, that part’s true.
That was until the year 2166. The West saw the decline in the East’s government a
nd offered its help with technology and political guidance.
Wrong. The West had been quiet and pretending that it was acceptable for the East, particularly Regitum, to rule itself. Secret laboratories were built and several experiments were tested. World War IV had exploded and announced the end of the Glory Days as the elders called it. Soldiers were trained and the power of probation had been developed. That’s when those bastards started using us.
The West discovered a bloodline of a special offspring called trickster. Tricksters are human creatures with an increased ability to probe the mind of normal humans into believing things that are not real. They are capable of creating an alternate universe and cause the person to secrete an increased amount of endorphins. Those tricksters have been hunted throughout the four years of the fourth World War. The West invites you, from now on, to report to your prince, king, or any patrol officer about the presence of a trickster, for they should be banned from interacting with humans.
Riley’s heartbeats started racing. When World War IV had extended for four years, tricksters in the East had been brutally murdered. They had been brought to death trials under absurd accusations. The world never knew about their existence and the ability to control… except for the West.
Riley closed her eyes and sighed. There was still hope. Even if she lived on the losing side of the world, there was hope that she would be able to change at least something. Riley went to her purse and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and stared.
A loud knocking sounded a few feet away from her. Riley immediately pushed down the paper to the bottom of the bag and stood up.
“Who is it now?” she said annoyed and opened the door.
The man with the wealthy clothes, who looked more fond of her breasts than her performance during the show, stood at the door smirking mischievously. She was not surprised at his visit and waited for him for that matter.
“You were incredible tonight.” He licked his lips and laid his shoulder on the doorframe.
Red Circus Page 1