Smoke, Mirrors and Demons (The Carnival Society Book 1)

by Kat Cotton

  “You think this is a sigil to call a demon?”

  “That’s the obvious answer. It could mean that the troupe travel around, identifying victims and leaving the mark as an identifier for the demon. Like a big arrow pointing to the kill. Or it could’ve been used by someone else and the troupe copied it down because they wanted to investigate themselves. It’s hard to know.”

  Buzz sat his book down. “Is there any link between the victims?” he asked.

  “The boys back in the office are checking into that. They haven’t found anything. No connection between the murder methods either. Gretchen had her blood drained. The other victims didn’t.”

  “Could be two demons,” Buzz said. “One doing the killings and one taking revenge on the troupe.”

  “Could be,” I said.

  I went to the kitchen, returning with a tub of ice cream and two spoons.

  “Two spoons?” Buzz said. “What’s the second one for?” He grinned, thinking he was funny for saying that.

  I scowled at him. “I thought you might like some.”

  “Nice token effort.”

  He wasn’t wrong. When I got worried about a case like this, the chances of Buzz getting near my ice cream were minimal. All the thoughts spun around in my head until I was scraping the remnants from the side of the tub not even realizing I’d eaten the whole thing.

  We kept looking through the books but I’d put off my other reason for coming for long enough.

  “There’s one thing I need to tell you,” I said. “According to my sources, the demon isn’t just after random victims. He’s after me in particular.”

  “You?”

  “They mentioned something about my blood. It seems this killer, demon, whatever it is, doesn’t just drain the victims’ blood because he’s a sicko serial killer. The victims have something special about them. Gretchen was one, and I’m one.”

  “We can look for more protections,” Duke said. “I can ask people. What we’ve used so far has been strong enough to protect you but maybe not strong enough now this demon is on the lookout.”

  “I need more,” I blurted out. “I need to learn. I can’t bury my powers any more.”

  His head spun to me so fast. I guess I’d just dropped that on him with no warning. For the past ten years, I’d insisted on blocking these powers but blocking them did nothing to protect me.

  “What’s brought on this change?” he asked.

  “I got attacked by a demon the other day,” I told him. “I ended him but not before he gouged out a big chunk of my leg.”

  As I rolled up my sweats to show him, Buzz’s gaze went to my uninjured leg.

  “Doesn’t look too bad to me,” he said.

  “It was. My whole thigh was a mess. Then one of the troupe healed it. More magic juju. I wouldn’t be walking now if he hadn’t done his woo-woo thing. But it made me realize how vulnerable I am. I can’t rely on instinct any more and can’t rely on staying hidden. When I took on this case, you said maybe I’d need to fight. Okay. I’m ready. These things are after me. They’re coming after me whether I use my powers or not. I don’t know if it’s because I’m performing or if there’s something about that troupe or if it’s just coincidence but I’m a target. The power is oozing out of me whether I like it or not so I need to learn to control it rather than have it control me.”

  Buzz slowly nodded his head.

  “Once you start on that path, there’s no going back,” he said. “You know that.”

  “Well if I get killed by one of those bastards, there’s no going back from that either. That’s it. End of the line.”

  I didn’t want to think that maybe there were worse things than death, and those things were inside of me. Then I remembered Gretchen’s crime scene report. Being killed by a demon wasn’t exactly fun and games either.

  “If that’s what you want to do then we can do it,” Buzz said.

  I nodded. Then I sighed. “Damn it, I’d have loved to have lived a normal life.”

  “Jayne, you’ve never lived a normal life,” Buzz said. “You think you did but you’re repressed so much of yourself.”

  “And that’s not normal?” I asked.

  He shook his head and laughed.

  “The first thing we have to do is identify what powers you have.”

  “Well, for starters, I talk in weird voices and that kills demons,” I said, drawing my legs up and hugging them to me. “That’s pretty freaky.”

  “It’s also very rare,” Buzz said. He looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. “There are people who can fight demons but they don’t kill them. They banish them, sending them back to the hell dimension. Demons are immortal. But you can kill them.”

  That confused me. “How do you know? Maybe I just banish them too.”

  Banishing or killing, I didn’t really know the difference. So long as they were gone and not killing me, it was all good.

  “I saw you, remember? Before you decided to block your powers.”

  I’d been a runaway kid when I first met Buzz, living on the streets and not sure how I’d survive. There’d been an incident when I’d stupidly let a demon know my real name. He’d come for me and I’d destroyed him. End of story. Then Buzz had taken me in.

  “I killed that guy? I didn’t just banish him?”

  “You ended him. Good thing too. He knew your name and that gave him power. If you’d just banished him, he’d be back for you. Is there anything else you remember?”

  “I used to be able to touch people and know if they’re good or bad. It’s probably a good thing I repressed that one since the only people I touch nowadays are bad.”

  Buzz raised his eyebrows.

  “I mean, crims. When I cuff them. That kind of thing. Also, I had visions of the past and the future when I touched things. That’s the only things I remember. I hated those powers. They only caused trouble.”

  I didn’t want to go into the details of the trouble they caused. That was something we’d never discussed; the reasons I’d run away from my parents and the circus I’d grown up in. That whole world seemed like it hadn’t even existed and I was happy to keep it that way.

  “So, what do we do now?” I asked him.

  “Now we tread very lightly. We have to be careful. The thing is, before you become stronger, you need to go through a stage where you’ll be vulnerable.”

  “I can’t afford that right now,” I told him. “I don’t have time.”

  Buzz screwed up his mouth. I didn’t like the way he did that. He always did it just before he said something unpleasant.

  “There’s no way to speed this up. What exactly do you remember about your time before you came here?”

  “Bits and pieces. I keep remembering more lately.”

  “You have to open that side of you. You’ll remember everything. Every little part of your past.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t want that. Can’t I just filter some of the power without doing that?”

  “I’m afraid not. You need to deal with those things. You’re going to be vulnerable. More vulnerable than you are now. It’s not going to be easy. Before you can control what you are, you need to purge all those emotions and memories. You can’t cherry pick this stuff. There’s going to be a lot of bad with the good. It might help if you moved back here for a while.”

  “Not possible,” I told him. “Not while I’m working undercover. It’s risky enough just coming here.”

  I’d thought that might be the case but had been hoping for an easy solution. Then Buzz left the room. He returned with a necklace.

  “It’s an amulet,” he said. “Wear this and it’ll give you some protection.”

  I turned the necklace over in my hand before putting it on. It was a chunky thing with a red stone in a gold casing.

  Where had Buzz gotten this and how long had he been holding onto it? I didn’t ask, I just put the chain around my neck. As the stone nestled against my skin, a warm glow seemed to
radiate through my body.

  Chapter 23

  AT THE END OF THE WEEK, we had a technical rehearsal in the performance space.

  “The festival director and a couple of big wigs are going to sit in,” Duke said. “That means we have to be beyond perfect. This isn’t just a run through, it’s an audition. It’s going to determine the future of the troupe.”

  Lilly groaned. “There’s a limit to how perfect we can be.”

  “Only if you accept that limit,” Duke said.

  Duke had totally forgotten about the juggling trick. It was way too close to the actual performance date to add in anything new and he hadn’t mentioned it in ages. That just reconfirmed that he’d done it to test me.

  The four of us loaded all our gear into the van and headed for the tent. As we drove there, my stomach clenched at the thought of seeing Big Curly and him blabbing more about my former life.

  The whole time we loaded in, my gaze flittered round the site, looking for him. I needed to relax before the performance. I couldn’t do it with my muscles all tense and my insides messed up. We got everything set up then I wandered the site. There was no trace of the guy. I’d got all twisted up for nothing.

  I did a walk through, checking all my equipment.

  It seemed strange to check the floor for any obstacles or protrusions when the biggest risk to me was a demon attack but I had to make sure there was nothing that would cut me when I landed off that hoop with bare feet.

  I checked the carabiners were all closed, the strop holding my hoop was intact and that nothing had changed since I’d visited with Duke.

  Once I was sure everything was safe, I headed to the dressing room.

  “Your spot is down the end,” Lilly said, nodding her head in that direction.

  Both Lilly and Nuno sat on stools at the mirrors, their props behind them. I squeezed my way down to the end. The feathers of Lilly’s fans tickled my back as I brushed against them. Then I almost knocked down Nuno’s unicycle. I sidled down onto my stool with barely enough room to put on my makeup without bashing Nuno with my arm.

  “Is there somewhere else for us to change?” I asked. I meant somewhere with privacy.

  Lilly laughed. “Well, aren’t you la-di-dah? This is it.”

  I got out my leotard for the first act then glanced around.

  “Maybe there’s a bathroom...”

  Lilly looked at me and laughed. “Wow, you sure are coy. I’ve never seen someone bother being so modest in a dressing room.”

  Yeah well it was okay for her. She’d finished putting on her makeup and, as she spoke to me, peeled off her undies. Whoa, that was more of Lilly than I ever wanted to see. I turned away.

  If I stripped off facing the wall, I wouldn’t have to see any of her. But then I’d expose my naked butt to the two of them. But then if I faced the other way, I’d expose my front side.

  “No one’s looking, Jayne.”

  I spun around to answer her and had the sense to not actually look. Except then I got an eyeful of Nuno’s butt. Yikes, neither of them had any modesty.

  Maybe for the actual performance, I’d change beforehand. Put my street clothes over my outfit. I wasn’t sure how comfortable that would be but it’d be a whole lot less naked.

  I wiggled into my leotard, trying not to bash into Lilly or the flimsy wooden walls. Those walls looked like I only needed to bump them and I’d crash right through. And if being naked in front of Lilly and Nuno was bad, it’d be a million times worse in front of the street full of strangers outside

  The amulet Buzz gave me hung down my chest. I tucked it into my neckline out of the way. But just turning my head was enough to make it swing loose. I unclasped it and put it in my bag. The danger of getting it hooked on something while I performed far outweighed that of any demon.

  When I’d finally squirmed into my costume, Lilly gave me the once over.

  “You could pad that outfit, you know,” Lilly said. “It’d do wonders.”

  That did nothing for my confidence although some padding around my knees would help more than my boobs.

  “I’m not sure anyone’ll notice when I’m up on the hoop.”

  “True,” she said and grinned. “Just offering, you know.”

  I wrapped myself in my coat and grabbed an energy bar out of my bag then headed out of the dressing room. Lilly still sat at the mirror doing her makeup. I’d figured I didn’t need to get all made up just for the rehearsal.

  “Hey,” Lilly said as I walked out. “Want me to do your makeup on show night?”

  I hadn’t been that confident about doing it myself and I hadn’t wanted to ask her so I was super-happy she’d asked.

  “Sure thing,” I told her. “Thanks.”

  I walked into the arena, unwrapping my energy bar. That damn bar tasted like sawdust but it’d see me through the performance, otherwise I’d crash halfway through.

  I finished it off and thrust the wrapper in my pocket then began my stretches. It was hard to stay warm in here even wearing my big coat. With the place empty, it became a wind tunnel.

  Duke approached me, his footsteps echoing through the empty space.

  “All ready to go,” Duke asked, checking his watch. “I expected the director to be here by now.”

  Ever since I’d found those files, I’d been wary of Duke. Well, more wary. The guy did have weird powers after all.

  I nodded. I’d been through my routine so many times, I wanted to actually see how the show fit together.

  “Ah, there they are,” Duke said.

  A couple of men walked into the tent. They stood in the shadows. Duke approached them but I didn’t need to meet them so I kept on with my warmups and Nuno came out of the change room to join me. The two of us stretched in silence.

  “Time to start,” Duke called.

  I peeled off my coat and put it on a seat with my shoes, shivering in the cold room despite my warm ups.

  The four of us stood to the edge of the stage. Butterflies buzzed in my stomach but I ignored them. This was just a rehearsal. Even though the success of the troupe wasn’t really my concern, I didn’t want us looking like idiots in front of the director. Still, I’d been through my routine so many times now, I had nothing to worry about.

  Nuno ran over to the sound system then, as music blared into the room, ran back to join us.

  Duke started with his opening spiel, his voice booming out through the space.

  He welcomed everyone to the show and made a bunch of promises. Then Lilly shimmied her way out to the stage, lights reflecting off her sequined dress that rippled as she walked. She circled the stage, blowing two handed kisses into the non-existent crowd.

  I sighed when it was my turn to move. I didn’t like this part of the performance. It seemed a little too personal. I walked onto the stage and did a series of flips before landing on my feet, my arms in the air. Nothing too complex, just enough to give a teaser. Duke had wanted me to sit on the hoop as it raised up into the air but I needed Nuno to work the winch for that and he needed to be onstage for this intro section too.

  He came in after me, riding his unicycle. On the first circuit of the stage, he pretended to stumble and almost fall, the contraption rising up in the air only to be caught by him.

  When we’d finished our introduction, we left Lilly onstage while she went into her first number. I hurried to put my coat back on. I wouldn’t be back on stage until after Nuno’s act and that was about ten minutes of sitting in the cold.

  While I waited, I moved from side to side, stretching out my thigh muscles.

  A movement in the back near the booths caught my eye. The only people in here should’ve been us and the three guys Duke met up with. I glanced over. All three of them still sat on the other side of the tent.

  Then I turned back. Someone definitely moved. He was in darkness but I could see his form.

  The stage lights moved as Lilly left the center stage for the part of the song where she teased the audience.r />
  When the light hit the intruder, I reeled. Hooked nose, beady eyes. Shit, just like Big Curly had described.

  Chapter 24

  I SPRANG INTO ACTION. That damn demon planned to attack while we were onstage. That’s when we’d be most vulnerable. I had to stop him before he could do that.

  He rushed through the stalls and I closed the distance between us. I’d take him down.

  Onstage, Lilly kept singing, the slow beat of the song contrasting with the rapid thud of my heart.

  The demon spotted me running after him but didn’t change his pace or direction. He just kept moving in the direction of the stage.

  This was it. I’d destroy the bastard and this case would be closed, even if I could never tell Larry what had happened. I knocked over some wooden chairs in my rush to get to him. He strolled down the promenade separating the booths from the stall seats as though he had all the time in the world. I guess you do when you’re immortal but this guy’s immortality was about to come to an end.

  I jumped some of the chairs. The demon was so close, I could almost touch him now. I wanted to make sure he didn’t escape me before I attacked.

  I waited for my power to surge, the familiar tingle in my head and the buzz in my fingers. That was nowhere to be found though. Had those powers deserted me now when I really needed them?

  Even without them, I’d give this guy a good pummeling and stop his attack. And surely they’d kick in any minute now.

  I lunged out and grabbed him around the neck. He made a weird gurgling sound that was most undemonic. Huh? Was that just to cover up his unearthly nature?

  The gurgling continued as I threw him to the ground. My powers still didn’t appear but I straddled the demon, punching him hard in the face. He struggled but not enough. That lack of struggle made me pause. Surely any demon would be able to fight back just as strongly?

  Was anyone coming to help me? I glanced around. Onstage, Lilly strutted around, flicking down her shoulder strap and doing a shimmy. It’d take more than banishing a rogue demon to put her off her act. Nuno stood at the lighting desk playing with the controls.