Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel (6 page)

I closed my eyes, took a deep
breath to center myself and felt the heat slowly melt from my body. My skin
tingled and I tried not to smile at my success. I opened my eyes to see
everyone picking themselves up off the ground. Keegan and Nikolas were the only
ones who weren’t sweaty and sunburned.

“You’re extremely patient for a
Firestarter. That took longer than I expected. Nice to see what you got,”
Brooklyn said. She dusted herself off and picked up her cigarettes.

I blinked, confused. “What?”

“Well, obviously Sheffield
wouldn’t let you be here if you weren’t worth it. But you were too shy to show
off, so Finley and I pushed you a little.” I heard Finley groan in agreement
and I turned to see him pick himself up clumsily from the ground.

“Not that I thought it would
have the repercussions of a concussion,” he grumbled. He examined his arms.
“Damn, I think I have second degree burns. That hurt.”

Nikolas rolled his eyes as he
brushed dirt off his jeans. “You deserve it, you idiot. You should both know
better than to push someone with an aggressive gift. And you wouldn’t be so
nice if she actually
had
caught your
hair on fire, Brooklyn.”

Brooklyn shrugged and walked to
me. “I was ready to move, but she wouldn’t actually hurt anyone. I knew her
thought process. Speaking of which, I do my best not to listen in, but it slips
once in a while. Remember that so you can keep your thoughts to yourself.”

“You don’t want me for your
punching bag?”

“Not really. I heard what you
were thinking and thought I’d mess with you a bit. You needed to get your
welcome in. Tough love and all, right?” She pulled out a cigarette, gestured
for me to light it. I flamed my palm, perhaps a touch higher than she wanted;
she bent long enough to light it. She grinned at me over the tall orange flame.

Delia huffed. “Maybe with the
next new person you can warn us, no? I wondered why you were being ruder than
usual.”

“Oh, c’mon, I didn’t mean it.
It’s like hazing the rookie. I wanted her to loosen up, show us her gift!”
Brooklyn exclaimed.

“Yeah, you’re kind of a bitch,”
Bianca said. She wandered up and nudged Brooklyn, but I caught a shadow of a
wink between them.

“I know, but I got what I wanted
to see outta the deal. She’ll forgive me eventually.”

“That’s a nice skill you’ve got
there, Lucy,” Keegan said. “I haven’t met someone who can generate heat waves
like that.”

“Yeah, I’ve never been knocked
down by one,” Nikolas added. “How did you learn to do that much?”

I ignored Brooklyn’s smug
expression. “I had some stress as a teenager. My mom convinced me to learn
yoga. It’s all about harnessing energy, then focusing it to a direct point.”

“Yoga, huh? Maybe you should
teach me some of that,” Keegan said.

“It’s not exactly a helpful
trick. But it prevents me from hurting anyone…too much, anyways,” I replied. I
shot another dirty look at Brooklyn and hoped she got the hint. She smirked at
me over her cigarette.

“Well, that was a nice move,”
Finley said.

“Uh, hate to break up the party,
fellas, but it’s about time to head to the Big Top,” Bianca said, tapping her
watch.

“I gotta swing by the camper to
change. Nikolas put a huge rip in my shirt,” Keegan complained.

“Better than on your face,”
Nikolas replied with a smirk.

“Good meeting you. Let’s hang
out tonight so we can throw all sorts of questions at you,” Finley said. The
three boys took off towards the tents.

“And I would walk with you
today, but I have to find Henry,” Bianca said. She waved goodbye and
disappeared.

I gave Delia a quizzical look
and she smiled. “Her dog. He is probably a little angry about being cooped up
inside this long. He goes with her everywhere except when we practice; he is
horrified of the fireballs.”

“Terrified,” I said. I blanched,
not wanting to sound like a snotty know-it-all, but she just waved her hand at
me in agreement.

“Right, that one.”

“See you,” Brooklyn said to us.
She crushed her cigarette butt on the ground and wandered off towards her
camper.

“We should head towards the Big
Top,” Delia said.

We walked for a minute before
Delia looked over at me.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, just thinking. I really
like everyone I’ve met so far. Though I think Brooklyn might be a little too
cool for me,” I added.

Delia laughed. “Do not mind her.
She is a bit tough on the outside, but she is loyal and a good friend when you
grow to know her.”

“Then why did she pick on me so
much back there?” I asked.

“Brooklyn has been with Donovan
Circus for a long time, longer than me, probably since right after your family
left. She has been through a lot which is why she acts the way she does. She
did do you a favor, you know,” she added.

“How is her harassment doing me
a favor?”

“Not only did you finally show
off your gift, but you did it in a big way thanks to her obnoxious pushing. You
proved that you belong here and you managed to impress everyone, even Nikolas,
who is easily the most talented Firestarter here.”

“It might take me a while to
thank her. I find it a little hard to feel grateful this second,” I grumbled.
My ears burned at the memory of the heat wave. If I wanted to start out small,
that did not go well.

We arrived to the Big Top, where
we would all convene at the end of the day for the big show. Red and white
striped, it was a monstrous structure, a huge canvas beast offering spectacular
feats inside. We walked through the enormous entryway and found ourselves near
the back of the group. Despite most of the show’s people gathered inside, it
still looked empty; we barely covered the performance section of the floor.

I took a moment to drink
everything in. Like a large round basketball court, the dirt floor had lots of
room for animals and gifted alike. A white barrier guarded the dirt-covered
floor, but behind it were rows upon rows of seating for the crowds. Props like
hula-hoops, unicycles, the ringmaster’s box stand, and giant water hose lay
piled by the artists’ entrance. My mouth nearly watered at the smell the peanut
shells, caramel apples and funnel cakes. Maybe it was ingrained in the tent
after so many years. It felt like both heaven and home to me.

I looked at the people
surrounding me. Everyone looked the same at that moment: a stranger. We all
looked up to the center of the ring where Sheffield stood on a stool to be
easily seen, ready to start. I scanned to the right and saw Keegan and Nikolas
sneak in from the side. They stood next to a group of people that immediately
greeted them. I thought I spotted a lighter in one person’s hand.

“Do we have these meetings every
night?” I whispered to Delia.

“No,” she whispered back. “It is
only when we get to a new city or after a short break, so maybe once a month.”

“We get breaks?”

“Well, when people want to take
holidays to visit other family or need to get away for a bit, we work around
it. This is our full time job; we get vacation days, too.”

“So these meetings are like a
recap?”

“He enforces the importance of
what needs to get done, any news, stuff like that. We’re used to it. This might
take ten minutes and then we can go get dinner.”

“What comes after this?”

“Everything should be set up by
now, so meal and free time. Some people visit the town, others go to bed early
to prepare for tomorrow, some practice. It’s an early night off so we can
entertain ourselves. Mondays and Tuesdays there are no shows because they are
slow nights; I usually do laundry and go into town or relax, but all the
performers do run-throughs together and practice new things.”

“Are we hanging out with your
friends later?”

“Only if you want to,” Delia whispered.

Sheffield cleared his throat and
I nodded at her.

“Think everyone’s here,”
Sheffield started. Even without a microphone, he had the deep and commanding
tone of a ringmaster.

“Mostly the usual stuff: we want
smooth shows with little error, so let’s try not to switch it up too much for
the sake of continuity. I think we had too much on our shoulders in Winchester
and that caused us to veer off course, both in timing and creativity. Don’t go
switching it up unless I ask.”

I gave a questioning look at
Delia. “Don’t switch it up?” I mouthed.

“Yes,” she whispered quietly,
“we change the acts a lot to keep the audience on their toes; we are known to
keep people coming back even if they were here the night before. Even if it is
a changed act, people still need to stay within their responsibilities so we do
not trip over one another. Changing the shows is great for business. It is how
we get to stay so long in one place and travel year-round. Did he not explain
that to you?”

I shook my head. I had no idea.
That seemed complicated to me, but I suppose if it kept us from too much
travel, it would be worth it. Sheffield cleared his throat again.

“News from outside the show:
Layton and Robin had their baby last night, a healthy girl. They’ll be back
with us in a few weeks, in the next city, after they stop and see family in
Chicago.” Applause. “As most of you know, we lost the triplets after their
mother died; after much consideration, they decided to go home to look after
the rest of the family.” Sympathetic sighs, including my own.

I scanned the crowd again while
Sheffield continued to talk. My attention momentarily rested on a trio of
gorgeous women. Their bronze hair shone through the crowd, their beautiful,
inquisitive faces attentive to Sheffield. I wondered what their gifts were as I
also spotted a large, threatening-looking man sporting large black wings on his
back. The moment my eyes went to his feathered limbs, he looked up and caught
me staring; he narrowed his black eyes and his thick eyebrows furrowed together
while I quickly looked down at my feet, embarrassed.

After a few beats, I peeked up
again to see his focus back on Sheffield. I continued to search the audience
and saw all types of people. There were lithe acrobats in costume for practice
later; a couple of men who stood three to four feet over the crowd; several
sweaty men who looked like workers, and others who looked human but were
probably anything but. I snapped back to attention just in time to hear
Sheffield sound as though he was about to wrap things up.

“And finally, we have two new
people joining our troupe from here,” Sheffield said. My ears perked up.
Two
new troupe members? He never said
anything about another person in our meeting. I thought this was incredibly
exclusive, that I was lucky to get in. I looked around and then realized how
silly that was—everyone here was new to me.

“I guess she’s technically not
new, but it’s been a few years. Lucy Sullivan—her pop, if you don’t know,
was Lenny Sullivan, a great man and former Donovan circus member. She’s also a
Firestarter.” Sheffield looked around the room and immediately zeroed in on me.

Oh, no. Please don’t ask me to
wave or something, I thought. I lowered my head in hopes he’d get the hint. I
could hear a few murmurs throughout the crowd and specifically heard my
father’s name mentioned in the whispers. I avoided looking where Keegan and
Nikolas stood, afraid to see how the rest of the Firestarters reacted to the
news.

“She’s over there somewhere,” he
said, waving in my general direction. “And we also have Gabriel Knight, Rick’s
nephew, finally rejoining us!” A round of applause and I could make out the
back of a blonde guy’s head while getting patted on the back in
congratulations. He looked about as happy to be in the spotlight as I did.

“Please welcome them and don’t
give ‘em too hard a time. I’d like to keep them around. They’ll both be running
errands for people until they get more comfortable, so if you need help,
they’re happy to do so, right guys?

“That should cover it. Anyone have
anything they want to add?” Sheffield asked. The room remained silent. “All
right then. Rest up tonight. No stupid stunts. Don’t haze the new kids. I’ll
come by tents to check on routines and changes to make sure it’s what we need
to be doing. Need anything, come find me.”

Groups dispersed from the tent
in search of food and relaxation.

Chapter
4

I managed to get through dinner
without too many stares. Afterwards, Delia encouraged me to grab a sweatshirt
from the trailer and follow her back to the large practice field.

“What are we doing?” I asked. I
pulled on my sweatshirt and stumbled as I tried to stay with her quick pace.

“You will see. We do it before
every opening day as long as we have the space for it.”

“You’re speaking in riddles!”

She merely smiled at me before
we rounded the campers to the edge of the field. I squinted to see several dark
figures moving around. As I struggled to keep up with Delia, whom I knew
impatiently held back her desire to run, her group of friends came into focus.
The girls had grabbed a bunch of camping chairs and were now making themselves
comfortable in a semi-circle. Keegan, Nikolas, and Finley, I saw, were gathered
around something on the ground. As we got closer, I saw the large brush pile
and realized we were about to start a bonfire.

“Good timing,” Finley said to
us, “we just got the wood together. Only need a light.”

“I think Lucy can help with
that,” Nikolas said.

“It is not a big deal,” Delia
assured me as I opened my mouth to question it. “So before you say no because
you think there is a tradition or something, save yourself the time and do it.
They will respect you for jumping right in.”