Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel (8 page)

“You already know I’m a Runner,”
Delia said.

“And I shift to sub in for
anyone that needs it, provided I can do the act. Otherwise, I help backstage
and lift a lot of stuff with my guns,” Finley chimed in. He flexed an arm to
show off his muscle and gave me an exaggerated wink.

“You should know as well as
anyone though,” Nikolas said. “You know what it’s like being around the
grounds. We have our own stuff going on, but we always help each other out.
There’s no one person; we’re all a team with an end goal in mind.”

“To make some money!” Finley
yelled. His voice echoed into the field and the rest of the group howled with
him.

“What should I expect tomorrow?”
I asked, after the last cry faded. The mood shifted.

“You definitely need to stay out
of everyone’s way,” Nikolas said. “People are gonna run wild on the first day
in a new city. The layout of the camp is different and we plan fresh acts. Give
it a day or two for everyone to get into a groove again, then you can ask
questions.”

“I hate to agree, but he is
right,” Delia said. “Most of the artists feel rushed on day one; they will be
impatient and feel a bit frantic. They will not want to answer questions. They
will want things done within minutes of their asking.”

“What should I do when I get
totally lost?” I asked.

“Ask us,” Bianca answered. “I
usually have enough time between things where I can pop in and check up to make
sure you’re okay. I don’t mind doing it.”

“I don’t want to be a bother to
anyone though. I shouldn’t need a babysitter.”

“You’ll learn,” Bianca said.
“But we’ve all been there and we all stuck by one another. Don’t wanna sound
arrogant, but we’re the closest group in this place.”

Finley and Brooklyn nodded their
agreement.

“Stick with the artists right
now. Don’t mess with the animals and definitely don’t go near the workers,”
Delia said.

“You should hang around with me
and Nikolas when you get comfortable,” Keegan spoke up. “That way you can see
exactly what your role will be later as a Firestarter. You can see what we do,
how we help everyone out and how it might be different from what you did in the
past.”

I remembered I needed to start
training sessions and nodded. “Okay, that sounds reasonable.”

“You’ll be fine. Just don’t go
setting anything on fire,” Bianca advised.

“Who do I look like, Pyro? I’ve
got the emotions thing down!” I laughed.

The boys all froze.

“Did you…did you say Pyro?”
Finley asked me.

I quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, I
said Pyro. Like from X-Men?”

The girls all groaned.

“Oh my god, you’re totally in
now,” Bianca said.

“What? What’d I say?”

“Dude, we
live
for X-Men,” Finley replied.

“I don’t understand the big deal
with comic books,” Bianca said as she took a drag off her smoke.

“It’s not all comic books for
me. I mean, I love Iron Man and others, but X-Men…I don’t see how you can’t
like them. It’s like a better version of our own lives!” I said.

Nikolas was the first to jump
in. “She’s right. I mean, I basically
am
Pyro, you know, minus the bad guy thing. He can’t generate fire, but he can
control it. He has a flamethrower; I have a lighter!”

“So did Pyro in the movies,”
Finley added.

“Oh my god, please give me three
more beers,” Brooklyn demanded.

The rest of the night consisted
of the girls trying to ignore our enthusiastic discussion about comic books.

Chapter
5

My first day at the circus could
only be described as a total blur. From the moment I woke up I heard chaos. I took
the quickest shower of my life, pulled my hair back and put on jeans and a
t-shirt. The morning started with breakfast at the cookhouse, a large white
tent that held a buffet line inside with picnic tables outside under a shaded
area. I concentrated on eating my cereal rather than stare at my coworkers.
Knotted up as my stomach already was, I didn’t need to faint from
lightheadedness. For the rest of the morning, I followed Delia around but
forgot to ask questions when I became distracted by my surroundings.

I suppose I thought everything
would look as I remembered from my childhood. Instead, the modern updates
surprised me. The Big Top was filled with plastic molded seats like in an
arena. Electronics were faster and nearly everyone had a prepay cell phone.
When I thought about it, even our campers were larger than I remembered. When I
commented on this to Delia, she merely shrugged.

“We do not necessarily live
richer than other groups. Sheffield always has many people owing him favors, so
we can afford to eat well and sleep in bigger campers. Very gifted circuses are
well cared for; it is our only home for many of us. Either way, it is bound to
be a little more advanced if you have not been here for a few years. The whole
world has advanced in ten years, no?” she replied.

The general atmosphere had
changed, too. Thanks to more machinery with better lighting that brought in
bigger crowds, noise thundered throughout the grounds. Even the colors seemed
brighter, as though my memories had faded over the years.

Right before lunchtime, Delia
reminded me to grab my suit. I ran to Sasha’s camper and managed to find her
amidst the performers who needed changes made to their costumes. Thankfully, no
one seemed surprised that I’d been given a suit. I tried it on at Sasha’s
command; she gave a curt nod of approval and whisked me out the door, still
dressed in it, before I could take a good look.

Two more performers, a man and a
woman, made their way to the camper as I left. They both nodded their approval
as I clutched my street clothes to my chest.

“Looking good, Firestarter,” the
woman said.

“Yeah, that suit looks good on a
woman,” the man said with a wink.

I blushed and hurried back to my
camper to put my things away. I stepped in, tossed my clothes on the bed and went
to look in the full-length bathroom mirror that hung on the door.

“Wow,” I breathed.

The full-length suit clung to me
as Sasha had adjusted it for my chest and hips. Long-sleeved so no outsider
would see my skin on fire, the black fabric covered my shoulders; the back
created a collar at the nape of my neck and sides of my throat. Sasha had taken
the liberty of cutting out a circular pattern on the front so my collarbone
showed. It also included flexible, flat black shoes that matched the thick
black material. Quite the change from my normal uniform of jeans and t-shirts,
I thought I looked rather like a superhero.

I stepped outside my camper and
walked to the middle of the pathway, away from anyone’s possessions. I caught
my arms on fire and felt heat on my skin as usual but when I let the flames go,
I looked at the suit: all in one piece like nothing happened. No wonder Sasha
owned that job. I couldn’t believe she put this together in only a few hours.

I rushed back into the chaos to
search for Delia. So many strange faces passed me and I wondered if I’d ever
learn them all. I couldn’t let it get to me on my second day, though. I headed
back to the meal area and Delia sat at one of the tables waiting for me. Her
eyebrows shot into her hairline when she saw me.

“Wow, you look great!”

“Yeah?” I ran my hands
self-consciously over my hips.

“Sasha did a great job as usual.
Do you not like it?”

I sat down next to her,
pretended not to notice some of the looks the guys gave me from nearby tables.
“I do, but I’ve never worn anything quite like it. I’m not used to seeing my
boobs up to my chin for one.”

Delia laughed. “Do not worry,
you look fantastic. Plus, it is your uniform; it will be like your second skin
before long.”

“Certainly snug enough for a
second skin,” I mumbled.

She shook her head with another
laugh. “Do not be upset. It suits you; you will have many admirers, I think!
Oh, Sheffield gave me this on his way around the grounds.”

She handed me a small note. On
the inside, Sheffield had written that he recommended I stay outside the Big
Top tonight and help those prepping for their acts.

“So what does this mean again?”

“Only to stay out of the way,
really, at least for now. You will not see any acts and for that I am sorry,
but it is better to get you adjusted first. Help gather props or open the tent
flaps for those who carry items. It is not hard, but it will be helpful to
everyone, trust me. He wants to ease you back into our ways; it’s been a while,
so it makes sense.”

I nodded and began to eat my
sandwich. I could handle low pressure for a while. After we finished, we walked
around so I could begin to get comfortable with the grounds. On the way to the
Big Top, I accidentally bumped into a large, solid guy. I looked up to
apologize to him but he stopped me before I could open my mouth.

“Hello, Lucy. Do you remember
me?” the man asked me. I shook my head and he gave me a gentle smile. “I
suppose not, it’s been a long time since I saw you last, at your dad’s funeral
I guess. I’m Marty; your pop was one of my very good friends.”

“Oh, he talked about you a lot!
I certainly remember your name. It’s very nice to meet you again. I’m sorry I
don’t remember you from the funeral,” I said.

“Not at all; you were pretty preoccupied.
You’re probably having quite a time as it is being back here now.”

He rocked on his heels, spit on
the ground. His right cheek puffed up like a squirrel and I gathered he had
chew in his mouth. Round with a potbelly, Marty was a bit overweight but still
managed to look as though he maintained a lot of muscle. His nose was squashed
into his round face and his thinning hair made him look older than I’d guess
him to be. A foot taller than me, I didn’t doubt he could pick me up with one
arm without missing a step.

“You’re an Unbreakable, right?”
I asked him.

He nodded, spit again onto the
dirt. “Yes, ma’am, I am. You need any heavy lifting, come and find me.”

“Thank you. I’m glad to know a
face around here.”

“I’m always around, so holler if
you need anything at all. I’m happy to help. I better get back to it,” he said.
He clapped a hand on my shoulder and I felt organs rattle inside my body. “It’s
good to see you back with us, girl.”

“Thanks, Marty.” I looked up at
him and gave him a smile. He had lots of lines around his eyes but he sure
looked sweet, like a big, muscular teddy bear. He patted my shoulder once more
before wandering off to a tent. Several people greeted him on his path.

“He is so nice,” Delia said.
“Everyone here loves him.”

“My dad always had nice things
to say about him,” I agreed. “Now, can you show me where exactly I need to be
tonight?”

We walked around more as I
continued to meet people and gawk at performers who practiced their act
beforehand. Beautiful girls stretched and bent backwards, prepared to do
gymnastics and dancing with each other or their horses. Clowns ran around to
find their props and makeup, or in some cases, their flasks, which I found
quite amusing. The afternoon flew as we got closer to show time. An hour before
the gates opened, Brooklyn and Bianca walked over to us.

“Hi ladies,” they called out.

“Have you seen Austin? He asked
me to grab his paint kit from his trailer. He needs it like ten minutes ago, he
has to get ready for the kids who want their faces done,” Brooklyn said. She
lifted up a battered toolbox smeared with colors.

“Sure, I can run this over to
him; we passed him earlier. Meet you over at the Big Top in a couple minutes.
He likes to talk,” Delia said, rolling her eyes. She took the paint kit and
disappeared in an instant.

“Doing okay, First of May?”
Bianca teased me. “That sure is a hot uniform on you.”

“Ha, thanks.” I resisted the
urge to cross my arms over my chest. “There’s a lot going on, but I’ll get the
hang of it.”

“No doubt, give it more than a
few hours,” Bianca said. “Let’s head towards the tent.”

“We should go out tonight to
celebrate,” Brooklyn said as we walked over.

“Good plan, we’ve had a pretty
smooth day. I could drink a beer or four,” Bianca replied. “Lucy, will you
remember to tell Dee?”

I nodded. “Who else would you
invite?”

“It’s usually the same group
from like last night. Anyone’s welcome to join, but we’re together a lot,”
Brooklyn explained.

“Let’s tell Jade. I know she usually
declines, but I still want to ask. Renata will probably join us,” Bianca mused.

“And what about that new guy?
Think he’d want to go? ‘Course, I’d have to find him. I didn’t get a good look
last night,” I asked.

“Oh, honey, don’t look too far.
That’s Gabriel over there,” Bianca said, motioning across the grounds.

I looked over to see a
good-looking—okay, no, a really hot guy maybe a few years older than me.
Tall and lean, he wore jeans and a white t-shirt, covered in dirt and oil from
machinery. His longish blonde hair was slicked back and taut muscle rippled
underneath his shirt. He spoke with an older man and pointed to the machine in
the games booth.

I caught myself staring and
looked over to see Bianca and Brooklyn with their mouths slightly open. I would
never tell Gabriel this, but he might be the prettiest person I’d ever seen in
real life.

“It’s like a romance novel cover
over there,” I said. They snapped out of it. I rolled my eyes. “We look
ridiculous.”

“Even I think he’s hot and I
want nothing to do with penises,” Brooklyn said. She took another peek at him
before turning back to us. “Bet he’s popular with the ladies.”

“Yeah, that’ll be fun to watch,”
Bianca said. “I can’t wait to see who goes for him. There are quite a few
ladies who wouldn’t mind seeing him out of costume.”