by Candra Kylar
Ten
It was technically called Stubin Station, regardless of their being no train station active there anymore, and it had turned into a real dump. Tourist traps still dotted the map of Iverli for the bold travel looking for a thrill, but this one had seen better days. The gift shops were mostly closed and the décor aged poorly. Dusty looking gears adorning the manually lit lamp posts had started to rust in the dim light of the day. Where we walked on cobblestone sidewalks, pieces were worn and missing. About half the population had left two decades ago when the steampunk trend fizzled out. It was a shame. Seeing it in person, I could only imagine how wonderful and dazzling it once was. One day, when chrono magic wasn’t so tightly sanctioned, I wanted to travel back and see Stubin Station in its prime.
Nowhere in sight was there a looming circus tent that pointed us in the right direction. Eyes from citizens of the town followed Braeden and I as we walked from the public parking lot at the former train station down the main strip. Several stores were still open but none of them featured the laced corsets and monocles that used to be in style years ago. No more parasol stands or replica guns made up of a clockwork device. It was disappointing. Depressing. Even more sobering than why we had come in the first place. Maybe Ethan was wrong about the constellation being the key. Voldini could have also changed it up.
“I’m getting a bad feeling about this dive”, Braeden shrugged tightly in his jacket, “and I hate that you drive everywhere. Took us three hours and there’s no circus.”
“Online it said two but there was construction. You can’t blame me for that.”
“I just think this is pointless. We have no plan to expose Voldini and get him arrested, you won’t let me slash his jugular, and Dimples hates us now. What do you hope to accomplish with this quest?”, he asked.
Rynna made me a promise and she’s going to deliver. Knowing Voldini and how capitalism works, he’s out looking for more investors to help him build a more secure fixture. We showed him the holes in his security. That should leave only the performers behind and they won’t attack us”, I said,
“Yeah, that icy witch is a real trustworthy sort. Most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen but shady as all hell”, Braeden growled.
“You just don’t like how she effortlessly handled your attack”, I elbowed him, “and I thought that I was the most beautiful woman that you’d ever seen.”
“There’s something about Rynna that I can’t explain.”
I didn’t have a right to be jealous. After all, Braeden and I were only friends and we had both moved on. I felt something else when he confessed his attraction to the Seer, something that was akin to worry. A deep sadness. She was from a world that isolated herself so she could always be safe. I couldn’t imagine her settling down with anyone or staying in one place for long. If feelings ever did develop between them, somewhere down the line, nothing may come of it. I didn’t want to see Braeden hurt like that. He was already carrying on a lot on his shoulders as a pack alpha. My job as his close friend should have been to ease the burdens instead of encouraging more.
Words didn’t come and I failed that mission. Braeden and I walked along the nearly deserted streets looking for a tent that was nowhere in sight. I did, however, notice a poster that had recently been put up advertising the wonders of Voldini’s Great Circus. He needed a better advertising exec to mock up a new campaign for him. His style was dated. Even though crowds still filled in to gawk at what they secretly feared, over time his circus could become another Stubin Station. I didn’t want Dimples to hang around there that long. I had memorized the charm to remove her binding stone and planned to confront her head-on with magic if it would bring her home. I had enough of this nonsense.
As we turned a corner and smelled something too pungent to be appetizing coming from a small restaurant, we saw the outline of the circus tent. There weren’t as many lights and none of the other amusement attractions were with it. If we hadn’t walked around intentionally looking, we may not have even found it. Braeden exchanged a glance with me and then shifted into his dark wolf form. He was off. This was the only solid part of the plan that we had. I ripped the bandage off and fluidly turned into the white wolf that was my other identity. My paws hit the cobblestone and I was off following Braeden towards the circus. Two wolves working in the shadows quietly would be difficult to spot even for a vigilant guard.
My nose picked up what my heart had already known: there were strange and magical incantations inscribed everywhere. Magic had a scent that left a lasting impression on a wolf. It was difficult to purge from the nostrils. It almost had a stink to it depending on the type of magic used. I snorted it away as my paws softly moved me forward to the side of the tent I knew was residential. Everything looked shabbier up close. Less of a gleam and shine to it. More of the same depressing air that the town it was housed in gave off. Perhaps the stink wasn’t from the dark magic used but the aura surrounding the town itself. I didn’t plan to stick around long enough to find out.
As for what Braeden and I had hoped to achieve, it had become murky at best. We had a wild discussion earlier that morning about him breaking into Voldini’s dressing room, getting the other charm removals, and igniting the performers in a revolution. It included winning Rynna over with a passionate speech and allowing Max to come live with the Stedwell pack to learn a new way of being a werewolf. I would give the seamuck a home at a zoo that wouldn’t ask questions and even shut down the mechanical ring master so no one would tell. I could only guess what Voldini had installed the automaton with to spy on everyone. It could even be Voldini’s voice pre-recording coming out of it. He could be left in Stubin Station to be a relic to their steampunk era.
Braeden met me around the corner of the tent and we gave a gentle incline of our snouts. It was a sign that we were ready. He went in first, ever the protective one, and I followed. When we didn’t hit a wall of magic, I became concerned. That wasn’t part of the plan. We shifted back once inside and I let my caster-born senses do a scan. Considering this was the main entrance to the residential tent, there was nothing here protecting them. It was strange to think that Voldini felt only a mere location change would protect him. I reached out to feel the air around me with the tip of my fingers and felt no tingle confirming a hidden barrier. We were free to just walk in.
“I knew you’d come back and explained to Dimples that the creation of such a barrier was problematic”, Rynna said as she materialized out of a portal hewn in ice blue, “she can have quite a temper on her. I’m glad that she isn’t my enemy.”
“She’s not ours, either”, Braeden snarled.
“Down, boy. I didn’t say you were. I’m discouraged that you seem to constantly miss the point. Your friend belongs with us now and won’t come back to you. Sadly, I think you need to learn a different lesson. One that can only come from her mouth”, Rynna closed the portal and evenly met my eyes.
“I don’t know how things are done at your circus but, in my world, friends don’t just abandon each other. Are you going to make good on your promise and allow us to privately speak with her?”, I asked.
“Only because I presume you can hold your own in battle and I’m not of a mind to start one here. We’re simple performers living a humble life of safety”, Rynna replied.
Braeden snorted, “You’re only safe because you’re living in a cage. You deserve to be free, able to make choices on your own, not sitting on the lap of some greedy scumbag.”
“Are you that much freer?”, she inquired, “I can sense your own unique gift and know that’s not the status quo of a normal alpha wolf. You’ve made concessions and accommodated a territory’s rules to live a peaceful life. Your cage is just more expansive than mine.”
“I’m allowed to have a mate, my own home, ride my motorcycle where I want and flip off whoever gets in my way. Sure tastes like freedom from my vantage point. Everyone is limited in some way or other”, he said back to her.
She flinched for a
moment, as if his words had cut something deep within her. I wondered if she had ever known love, had ever experienced a social life at all outside of the maternal role she held for others here. She was young, beautiful, and entirely trapped for profit. Braeden was right about one thing: Rynna the Seer lived in a cage. She could create worlds buried long ago in the past and make them seem alive yet never experience the modern world outside of this tent. Her only interaction was when circus attendees wanted to meet her. There was no respect and admiration there, no friendly interest or conversation, just a curiosity based on fear. They were grateful that they could leave and she would remain behind safe from the rest of the world.
“You could have another life if you wanted. There’s so much to see out there, Iverli is vast and has changed in the past few years, you can make a new life. No one has to know about your lineage or the scope of your powers”, I promised.
“Do you think Vander would remain silent while one of his biggest acts exits the stage? He’d hunt me down”, she said.
“I’ll shred him to pieces in front of you and then there’ll be nothing to worry about”, Braeden asserted.
“Neither of you know me. You don’t know if my powers will take control of me, if I’ll be a danger to your precious little town and the people who live ignorantly there in bliss. I barely know myself”, she whispered, “or what happened to my family.”
“We can help you find them”, Braeden nodded, “give you a safe point to set up shop and figure shit out. Abbie and I will have your back.”
“There is no world I can run away to where I’ll always be safe. If Vander doesn’t squeal then the Council will put out a search on me. They can detain me, do experiments...give me a life that will make me wish for death. So excuse me if I’m not moved by the pipe dream you’ve conjured up for my future”, she swept up her skirt and took a step forward.
This was it. Rynna was going to duel it out with me. I knew Max was somewhere in his human form, hiding and waiting to give way to the wolf to fight Braeden. He wouldn’t let Rynna confront us unprotected. To add fuel to that fire of worry, I heard a low whisper behind me. I turned, wand pulled from the void, and held it like a shield in front of me. To my shock, it was the ringmaster who hobbled out of the partition. His joints creaked and he made less of an impressive sight not in the costume he generally wore. I saw him twirl a metallic whisker and awkwardly make his way over to us. His face was permanently plastered in a disarmingly friendly smile.
“You will not resort to such things here at our place of residence”, he stopped directly in front of me, “so put your wand away. Maximus is grumpy enough as it is and Rynna can hold her own against you. Just go to your little friend and listen to her side of the tale.”
“I assure you, no matter how well programmed you are, that you greatly underestimate us. I’m removing the stone and taking Dimples with me no matter what the lot of you says”, I kept my wand in position.
“How foolish you are to not hear reason and presume I am a programmed computer. I have sentience, my dear, plain and old fashioned sentience. The spirit of a human manipulated by a Fae caster into this mechanical body. An attempt at immortality in a way no human wants to spend eternity”, he said sadly, smile immovable.
“You were once human? You’re fucking with us”, Braeden said.
“I assure you that I would do no such thing as...what you so vilely said. I volunteered for the experiment because my human body was riddled with disease. I was going to die anyway. When I awoke, this was what had become of me. To the naked eye, I am merely a machine reciting lines programmed into the circuitry of my head. They should be so lucky to know so little of Elder Fae magic”, he described.
A mechanical ringmaster who had the soul of a human inside of him. Vampires faced their own version of mortality but they would have some kind of end at some point. Some became crazed and ran into the sun, others died to wars amongst one another, yet all of them came to resent the endless toil of immortal life. This ringmaster would have a solid mechanical body that may never ware down. The planet could be in pieces and he would just float away, sentient through it, loneliness setting in. I understood why he kept up the charade of being a pre-programmed machine. The truth was much more unsettling.
“My name is Alexei Denderhoff. Or rather it was. Here, they simply called me the ringmaster because that’s all I’m good for”, he introduced himself, hand outstretched.
I took it, the cold metal rough against my fingers, “Abigail Everlaine. I’m a bit amazed at how you came to be. Do you think they replicated the ritual done on you with others?”
“There’s no way to tell and I don’t recall another being quite like myself. When Vander found me, I was in an old antique shop spewing out stories. He gave me a home, recognized the human inside of me, and made me the narrator to his little play”, Alexei said proudly.
“Except some of the lines need fixing. Wasn’t too fond about the way you described our friend”, Braeden said coldly.
“I’m afraid those sensational adjectives are written for me”, he bowed a bit, “and I am but an actor on a stage. We do strange things to survive.”
Rynna came to his side, “And we each have a place here. It isn’t ideal but it’s a home. Vander isn’t a loving father, he can sometimes be a cruel tyrant who sees us as products, but it’s better than fending for ourselves out there.”
Alexei raised his smile up to her, “And so it is. Take them to the next room and let’s finish this. I tire of looking around for Vander to appear from thin air. He loves a surprise.”
Rynna was hesitant, “They should just leave and accept that life doesn’t always go their way. A spoiled notion.”
“Not until we get to talk to Dimples”, I said firmly.
Braeden stood proudly next to me, “And you can tell your werewolf buddy to stop stalking us. I can feel his presence and shifting won’t end well for him.”
“Max, go outside and make sure we don’t have any unexpected guests”, Rynna requested loudly, “they won’t hurt us.”
The patter of paws could be heard and Alexei hobbled forward. It was almost adorable how he moved around and I wondered if his body had sensations. Could he feel the ground as his feet touched it in their metal encasing? Did his fingers prickle as he shook my hand? He appeared to be fully aware of his surroundings yet I wasn’t sure what limitations his body gave him. I felt terrible about my previous idea to shut him down so he didn’t snitch on us. I had been prepared to treat him like a machine when he had identified himself as a human living in the body of one. Why was that such a hard concept for others to understand? He was a valid life living as he knew, better than anyone else could, was the truth. He would need a new home as well once this was over.
We went into the next tent and felt the cold breeze behind us. It was darker here and my senses started to scramble. I squinted my eyes to see where Dimples was waiting but found the room limited, small. It was barely big enough to be a walk-in closet. Braeden bumped into me and we turned around in a clumsy circle to face the opening. That’s when I felt it. A barrier came down in front of us and it looked like ice laden bars. I didn’t need my wolf senses to smell the magic coming off of it. This was a trap, set up to get us here because we couldn’t be stopped from saving Dimples. They had put on an act like true performers.
Braeden lunged against the bars and felt the sting of their force. He stumbled back and tried again. I took my wand out and started weaving runes to break it down. Try as hard as we did, we couldn’t make any headway on it. The bars remained solid as light started to filter in from above. I could tell it was artificial from the sickly yellow sheen it put on everything. Rynna and Alexei stood on the other side. That mechanical smile was as wide as ever yet there was a sadness in his eyes. So much humanity lived there in that expression. Rynna didn’t try to hide her discomfort at the change in plans. She looked apologetic.
“Vander knew you would return and did his research”, Rynna sai
d tonelessly, “he always does. He manages to always be one step ahead of everyone. You can’t outthink a man like him. Even in a hundred dreams, he always picks the past that I wouldn’t suspect.”
“And you can’t cross him without terrible punishment”, Alexei said in a defeated tone.
“We don’t have a choice here. Some of us volunteered but most of stay because he’d rather kill us than see us leave. If you think my power is so amazing, then pray you never see the dark path that Vander has taken”, Rynna ran her fingers over the bars, “even a Seer is terrified of the evil he can create.”
“The monsters summoned to fight Max in the ring. Stones that could bind someone as powerful as Dimples allegedly is”, I said aloud.
Braeden was furious, “Take these bars down now! If you want someone to kidnap and play in your fucked up circus, then keep me. Let Abbie go!”
Rynna shook her head, “We aren’t in control of any of it. Vander holds the key to our leashes and he will never let us see the light of day if we go against him. Siding with you? Letting you undo the charm on Dimples and unweaving the magic that keeps this all together? There’s no place I could run. He’d hunt me down like prey and destroy me.”
“I have a feeling you weren’t listening…”, Braeden started to say.
Alexei rubbed his mustache again, “Lad, I have a feeling you don’t understand. What Rynna refrains from telling you is that Mr. Vander Voldini is a caster of an older sect. Not full-blooded in a Fae lineage or from a family of casters. He took the magic on himself. The amount of power that would require is far too disturbing to calculate.”
“But Rynna is technically full-blooded and should be able to overwhelm him”, I argued.
