Freakshow (30 page)

I groaned in faux agony as Alexi and Orion set me down on the table and removed the hooks and clips, one by one.

It was a strange sensation, being back on earth, feeling the full force of gravity. There was something freeing about being suspended, if only for a few moments.

Orion tore off my blindfold and lifted me up off the table as if I were too injured to walk on my own two feet.

I tried to get a glimpse of the audience over his shoulder, but the stage lights were blazing and the crowd was hidden in darkness.

“That was horrific,” Cairo’s voice penetrated the shadows at the back of the stage, “What the fuck were you thinking?” He drew me close and wrapped a thick robe around me.

“I was thinking we need to whet the appetites of our wealthiest clientele,” Orion sneered. He dropped me onto my feet and waved his hand dismissively at Cairo. “I don’t have time to argue about this, After Dark is a hit and the only thing keeping us afloat these days. Case closed.”

He whirled around and stalked back out onto the stage. Alexi was dragging a girl behind him, she appeared to be drugged or unconscious.

“Is she okay?” I asked, pointing at the table where the girl was being strapped down.

“She is,” Cairo said, “that’s Kendra, she’s been working with my father on and off for some time now. She’s quite all right.”

I watched for a moment longer and saw her open her eyes and give the smallest nod towards Orion as he bent over her.

It seemed she was a skilled actor and fully participating in the show.

Then what had happened to the missing girls? Had Orion taken things too far? Or was there something more sinister going on?

I decided to get some rest and go over the facts when my head was clear.

If that was ever possible around Cairo.

*****

“N
ow don’t be angry,” Cairo said as we approached my trailer.

“Uh oh,” I replied, suspicion creeping into my voice.

“It’s not bad,” he said, “it’s just a strange situation.”

“Okay, shoot,” I replied.

He held the door open for me and followed me to my bedroom.

“Mila is here,” he said in a slow, even tone and sat on my bed to watch me dress.

I froze in mid bra removal. My arms were splayed out like chicken wings and my body tensed like a bow about to release.

“What?” I asked in an evenly matched tone. I didn’t want to react badly until I heard him out. I supposed this was part of growing up.

Although let’s face it, I wanted to fucking flip my shit and start screaming at him for bringing his fucking fiancée to the Cirque.

“She’s here because she might be able to help us,” he said, “her family lineage is ancient, and she’s a practicing witch. She’s very in tune with magic and the lore of our people.”

“So you brought your fiancée, the werewolf witch, to help me out?” I asked. I slid the bra off over my head, turned and threw it in the corner. I didn’t bother covering myself as I continued my little rant. “You mean she’s just totally fine with the marriage not going through, and she’s not going to gobble me down the moment she meets me? Come on, she’s got to be a little pissed.”

He was staring at my breasts with a hungry look. I glared and crossed my arms in front of them, making him look up to my face. As if breaking a spell, he shook his head and grinned. “Sorry,” he said, “you’re very distracting. And no, she’s not pissed. She’d not into men, she has a girlfriend apparently. I mean, it was obvious from her Facebook page the moment I checked her out. She was going to go through with the marriage to honour the ancient customs, but she’s thrilled to not be tied to some hairy dude for the rest of her life.”

“Humph,” I said, not satisfied with this new information. I wanted Cairo to be more apologetic for bringing her into my domain.

“Come here,” he said, reaching for me. I reluctantly walked to him and let him pull me onto his lap. I was pouting now, really putting on a show, but we both enjoyed it. “Listen, there’s nothing I would do to harm our relationship or you. I would fucking die for you, Liv. I would kill for you. I would do anything for you. Mila isn’t dangerous and she is powerful and knowledgeable. We need her.”

“Fine,” I said petulantly, but both of us knew I was over my snit. His hardening cock pressing into my thigh was slowly pushing all negative feelings out of me, leaving only lust and love for Cai in its place.

“We’ll meet her tomorrow,” he said and pulled me down, kissed my naked flesh and sent a shiver coursing through my body. His arms tightened around me, his beard tickled me, and he whispered, “Besides, we have other things to do tonight, let’s not talk about her.”

I was silent as he took my breast in his mouth and moved his hands between my legs, pushing my panties aside and slipping a finger into my wet heat.

I couldn’t hold out for long though, between his mouth and his fingers, I was sobbing his name in no time flat.

We spent the rest of the night like that, loving and fucking, talking and eventually sleeping.

By morning I was prepared to meet the woman I’d always vowed to hate.

The woman who was going to help me.

“I
’m so happy to meet you,” Mila announced in the cutest accent. It was difficult to place, something like German and French mixed together with a dash of Russian.

“Me too,” I said, and genuinely meant it. From the moment I saw her, I had a good feeling about Mila. Her energy was bright and warm, I felt kindness and openness flowing from her.

She looked like a little bird, her movements were quick and her features sharp and pretty. Her hair was dyed bright orange and cut pixie style, short around her face.

I wanted her to like me, I wanted her to help me.

“Can I get you ladies anything?” Cairo asked, not sitting next to me. We were in the cafeteria tent getting breakfast and breaking the ice with Mila.

“Two poached eggs on toast and a coffee so thick and black you can stand a spoon in it,” I smiled at him.

“I’ll have exactly the same,” Mila said, glancing at me, “but bring me cream for mine. I don’t know if I can stomach straight circus brew this early in the morning.”

Cairo walked off and we were left alone. I was worried at first thinking we’d sit in awkward silence, making nonsensical small talk until Cairo returned, but I was wrong.

Mila was a little firecracker and dove right in to begin our conversation.

“I can feel it” she said, “it’s incredible, like nothing I’ve ever encountered.”

“Sorry, feel what?” I asked.

“Your power, it’s coursing through you like a pulse, like the flow of blood through your veins.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, don’t look so shocked, I’m sure you’ve sensed it before.”

“I’ve sensed the earth’s power, I can reach that when I need to.”

“That’s your power, Olivia. You are tied to the earth. Cairo and my kind, we’re at the mercy of the moon, our magic is directly tied to it and we are unable to control our shifting when it comes to moon time. But you, I can see what Cai meant in his emails...you give me control over myself. It’s incredible. Seriously, I can’t stop gushing about it.”

“So do you know what the hell that means?” I asked slowly. I wasn’t as enthusiastic as she was since I had no idea what kind of creature I really was.

“It means you need to learn more about your magic and your ancestors,” she said. “Are your parents alive?”

“Sadly, no.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, “any aunts or siblings?”

“I do have an older sister, my mother was an only child and my father was an orphan.”

“Did you know your mother’s mother?”

“I did, my Grandma.”

“Did she ever teach you anything?” she asked, leaning close.

“Couldn’t this come from my father’s people?”

“No, power is always transmitted mother to child. It’s almost one hundred percent when it’s mother to daughter, and about fifty-fifty mother to son.”

“I don’t remember her actually teaching me anything about what I
am
, but she was the one who taught me to touch the earth to heal myself.”

“I’ve done some asking around, and looked up some things in my old books. I have an idea of where you come from, but not the full extent of your powers,” she said leaning closer.

“And?” I asked, holding my breath.

“I believe you are from a long line of women who were descended from the goddess Brigid, as she’s known in Gaelic. I would have to research her names in other lore,” Mila told me. The name meant nothing to me though, I wasn’t familiar with deities of other countries, let alone my own.

“What does that mean?” I asked, intrigued but not convinced.

“It means your ancestress was crafted to offer support to the shifter people. She was drawn together from the energy of the goddess and placed in human form. From everything I’ve read, there were originally three sisters, each representing different aspects of the goddess, your powers seem to be concentrated on controlling beasts. You are able to help people take their powers back from the moon.”

“This is all a little much,” I said, laughing. I couldn’t help myself, it sounded so airy fairy. Like I should be dancing in a ring of mushrooms with gossamer wings on my back.

“You seem skeptical, which is good. The less you believe, the more you will learn.”

“And what do I need to learn?”

Mila moved even closer until our noses were just inches away from each other. I fought my usual urge to jump back, I hated people invading my personal space, but she seemed so sincere in her intensity that I stayed put.

“You have so much to learn, Olivia. I am just scratching the surface with my research. This is ancient shit here, it runs deep and there’s a common thread through most cultures. This lore is universal, and you seem to be a living embodiment of mother earth. You are able to balance the pull of the moon and give freedom to my people. I don’t think you understand how fucking epic that is.”

She grinned and her teeth suddenly seemed much sharper than before. I wondered if she was a wolf, or if her particular animal was something different.

“I’m back,” Cairo said, breaking the strange contact Mila and I had going on. “I bring you sustenance and caffeine. Two of my favourite things.”

I sat up and pulled back, let Cai slide my food towards me on the table. He did the same with Mila, but didn’t take his eyes off me.

“Thank you,” I said and tucked into my eggs. I was starving. I didn’t know if it was from the abundant sex with Cai, or the fact that people seemed to be using me as some sort of buffer against moon magic. As crazy as it sounded, I did feel as though there were some sort of connection between myself and the shifters in the Cirque.

“Is everything okay?” Cai asked, putting his hand on my back and rested it there in the hollow. It felt good, an intimate act.

“It’s good,” I said, “I’m apparently a descendent of the goddess Brigid. How crazy is that?”

“Brigid?” Cai asked and he furrowed his brows. “Are you sure?”

“I’m not really sure of anything,” Mila said, “This is all just conjecture, but it’s the best lead we’ve got at this point.”

“True,” Cairo said, “but where do we go from here? What does it mean?”

“That’s where I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. I can continue to research her background with the resources I have. There are some people I can contact as well, but I wanted to come here to meet her in person to find out exactly what I was dealing with, what kind of power she radiated,” Mila told him.

“I told you she was incredible,” Cairo beamed and reached over to take my hand.

“You two have...mated?” she asked suddenly, leaning in again.

I blushed, red heat creeping up my cheeks. I glanced at Cairo and caught him eyeing me up intently.

“Yes,” Cai said, “we have, and we have bonded.”

“Fully bonded?” Mila asked, her eyebrows raising questioningly.

“Not fully,” Cai replied, “but we are almost there.”

“Bonded? Mated? What’s the difference?” I asked.

“I’ll explain it to you another time,” Cai said, looking a little embarrassed himself.

I stammered my protest, but shut my mouth when Mila looked at me. “I believe you are close,” she said, “and it’s between you and Cairo, not anyone else. He is following the way of the old folks by not discussing it in front of me, he’s not being deliberately obtuse, I promise.”

“Okay,” I said, “I guess I’ll wait.” I felt vulgar all of a sudden. It was strange, being part of this new culture with their own prescribed sets of behaviour and manners.

We finished our breakfast and decided to go back to Mila’s guest trailer to pour over the texts that she’d brought with her. Some of them were nothing more than unreadable symbols scratched on parchment, and others were books bound in leather and obviously extremely ancient.

Cairo was called away so I was alone with Mila for the afternoon, reading and discussing things I found needed clarification in the books.

We didn’t find much pertaining to me in particular, but I did manage to find out that I was apparently weakened by silver of all things, which made sense. I’d always hated the way silver jewelry felt on my skin, often giving me a rash or turning my skin a greyish tinge.