The Circus Infinitus - Victoria 7

by Ethan Somerville

  "Oh, that was wonderful," she purred. "But what about you, Victoria? Don't expect me to slide beneath the surface!"

  "I can leave the water for short periods." I pulled myself up onto the side. "We'll have enough time."

  Felina looked over her shoulder, noticing the Fiji mermaids were all lined up against the far side of the pool, watching. They had big, toothy grins on their faces. "Look, we have an audience!" She reddened. "I'd forgotten all about them."

  I smiled. "They just think we're playing, Felina. I wouldn't worry about them." I sat on the side of the pool and spread my thighs in front of the cat girl. My own flower was perfectly human in shape and as Felina leaned in for a better look, her whiskers tickling my silvery thighs, just as sensitive. "I thought it would be different in this form, but it looks just like the Wolf Woman's!"

  "Just slightly less hairy!" I giggled.

  She laughed too. "You really are the same person, aren't you?"

  "Of course! Did you think otherwise?"

  She reddened again. "Some of your other forms don't seem like you at all. That Vampiress is so ... brash."

  "She is me without any insecurity."

  "And Arachnora ... ugh!" Felina shuddered.

  "She is still me," I reproved. "She can't help being a giant spider."

  "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just can't handle the way she eats." Felina began running her hands up and down the inside of my thighs. I sighed and leaned my head back.

  Felina began to explore me, slowly at first, teasing my folds. At first she licked around the outside, taking care not to touch my sensitive core in any way. Oh, the anticipation was killing me. I wanted to pull her head forward, trapping it between my legs.

  But then she ran her tongue, ever so gently, across my burning nub. I groaned and arched my back, but she didn't continue, resuming her teasing. Her fingers slid into the heart of my womanhood to fill the yawning sensation I was starting to experience.

  When her tongue touched me again I climaxed almost immediately, in a desperate rush that had me gasping for more. She continued to lick and explore, with firmer strokes, until I came again only a few seconds later. She lapped harder and harder, coaxing more climaxes from me until I was over stimulated, and the slightest touch could make me scream. I only stopped when my skin started to dry out and ache. I slipped into the water with a gasp.

  "Oh dear," I groaned. "That was wonderful, too wonderful," I whispered to her. "Give me a minute to regain my breath, and I'll do you again."

  She smiled and slid her hands down her body. "Oh, yes please."

  By the time Professor Abbacus came to tell us the next show was ready to start, we were both exhausted and Felina was looking decidedly pruny. As he marched off I did wonder if he had been watching our antics from one of his many hiding places, only emerging at the end to deliver his warning. This whole place smelled like him, so there was no way we would ever have noticed him.

  The part of me that was the Vampiress was tantalised by the thought of being watched, but as the Swamp Girl, I was more embarrassed. The Fiji mermaids looking on was one thing, but Professor Abbacus ... entirely another.

  I consoled myself with the thought that he would never have watched us because we were both female.

  Chapter Twenty

  The Circus Infinitus arrived in London for the first time. As Amuna, I visited the British Museum. I was wrapped in a concealing fur cloak so only my face was showing, and I had put on some make-up so I could appear in public without anyone realising there was anything different about me. Therefore few spared me a second glance as I glided through the Museum’s broad corridors.

  I was a woman on a mission.

  Despite my thick fur covering I was still cold. Deathly cold to my very bones. But over the years I had learned to deal with it, and it no longer incapacitated me like it had during the early days. I could now function normally.

  My wrapped feet making no sound against the wooden floorboards, I passed by exhibits of dinosaur skeletons, replicas of ancient humans, the stuffed extinct mammals and more recent human artefacts. I headed for the Egyptian Wing, where a new exhibit had just opened.

  I had read all about it in the newspaper.

  Lord Cawley, a famous explorer and adventurer, had been excavating the tomb of the great Pharaoh Neferkari when he found the door to a secret chamber, unnoticed by thieves after all this time. Hoping to discover another ancient king’s burial chamber, he broke through to find a truly enormous sarcophagus, twice the size of any he had uncovered previously. But inscriptions told him he had not unearthed another pharaoh, but the resting place of one of the ruler’s animals.

  Pharaoh Neferkari had been very eccentric. Ancient records revealed that the great king had had all his favourite pets mummified so they could keep him company in the afterlife. The carefully preserved cat, dog, horse and camel were all stolen by grave-robbers, but they had not found a giant ape called Goril-ho-tep. When Lord Cawley opened the huge coffin, he found the gorilla staring back at him, so well preserved he looked almost alive.

  Now Lord Cawley’s most famous discovery had been brought back to England for everyone to marvel over. The Proprietor of the British Museum hoped to bring customers back to his flagging institution, and Lord Cawley needed more money to fund his next expedition.

  Of course I had to see this ape for myself.

  I passed through a pair of giant plaster columns, painted with garish hieroglyphs that made no sense, but looked good to the general public. A crowd had gathered ahead as the actual show cost sixpence to enter. I had no money so I locked eyes with the sales clerk as I passed, momentarily hypnotizing him. A few people looked curiously in my direction, but decided against questioning when I turned my gaze on them.

  I quickly forgot about the nosy tourists as I started examining Lord Cawley’s treasures. Even the smallest jars and stelae fascinated. My curse may have only taken hold a hundred and fifty years earlier, but once again I remembered the heat, the shifting sands, and the Nile’s yearly flood. I even recalled colouring my face with kohl and carefully plucking every hair from my body.

  Eventually I made it into the gorilla’s chamber. A great crowd had collected her to whisper and stare, but the ape was so tall he towered head and shoulders over the audience. He wore the elaborate headdress of a pharaoh, and tattered bandages still hung from the massive wrists crossed over his chest. Using my ability to beguile, I wormed her way to the front. I stared up at the great beast in fascination. I had never seen a mummy so well preserved. The burial chamber had been so well sealed that nothing had penetrated it.

  But I could tell that the sudden exposure to fresh air – or rather London’s air – was already affecting Goril-ho-tep’s millennia-old skin. He wasn’t sealed within a glass cabinet – only ropes protected him from the general public. And as I watched, a small child ducked under the rope and rushed across to touch the mummy’s bandages.

  “Oy! Come away from there!” A guard rushed from a corner. The child poked his tongue out, scooted back across the floor and vanished into the crowd.

  Goril-Ho-Tep won’t last long under these conditions. The thought saddened me, but what could I do? He wasn’t animated like me. He was trapped at the mercy of the general public and their bad breath, pipes, cigars and grasping fingers.

  Suddenly I couldn’t bear it any longer. I spun and stalked out, making my way back to the Circus Infinitus, currently set up in Hyde Park. I couldn't bear the thought of taking my place in the mummy sideshow. Not that there were many people visiting today – the British Museum's new Egyptian show had stolen most of our customers. Even the Ringmaster was considering leaving London. I'd overheard him discussing our next move with Professor Abbacus.

  Suddenly I paused, remembering his Immortality machine.

  Could he use it to bring Goril-ho-tep to life?

  I found the Professor outside the Big Top, talking to the Ringmaster. I waited patiently until they had finished, and Abbacus
was heading for the tent's front doors.

  “Professor!” I called after him.

  “What do you want?” he growled without turning around.

  I hurried after him, grabbing his arm to stop him. “I need the Immortality Machine to resurrect Goril-ho-tep.”

  He turned to stare at me in confusion. “What? Who the Hell is Goril-ho-tep?”

  “The mummy gorilla in the Egyptian Wing of the British Museum.”

  “So he’s the one responsible for our losses. But why d’you want him?”

  “He will not last long in the museum, Professor – I can already see him degenerating. And I thought…” I lowered my gaze because my luminous beguiling stare had no affect on Abbacus, “… I thought he could be a friend for me.”

  The Professor snorted, expelling a cloud of sooty black smoke from his chimney. “A mummy gorilla, eh? Very well - I like a challenge. How d’you propose to get him out of the museum? Surely you don’t expect me to fetch him for you?”

  He was going to help me! I couldn't believe my luck. “I’m sure Bus Boy and Steam Saw will help me to break into the museum after closing time.”

  “I’ll leave the details to you because I trust your intelligence. But don’t get caught. The Circus has been coming under increasing scrutiny lately. I will power up the Machine and have it ready for when you return.” With that, he continued on his way to the Big Top.

  I found Steamsaw and Busboy down near the roller coaster. It was still running, but only half-full. They were keeping an eye on a group of young drunks who were waiting their turn. I beckoned the zombies over. As soon as I told them of my plan to break into the British Museum, their eyes lit up expectantly.

  “D’you think the Professor will let us borrow the Automotivator again?” Busboy asked eagerly. “I had so much fun driving it last time.”

  “We need to be stealthy, not show off to all of London!” I hissed. “We will take an unmarked carriage and two normal steeds! By now everyone knows our Carnivorses!”

  Busboy sighed theatrically, but Steamsaw just tipped his helmet in acknowledgement. Sometimes I wished he was the one who could talk, not Busboy.

  After dark, and using the noise of the last show as cover, we headed off the Circus’s grounds. The few people we passed did not spare our ordinary carriage a second glance. Even Busboy had altered his appearance so he looked more normal, removing his distinctive cat-mask and replacing it with a black scarf with eyeholes cut out of it. Unfortunately he still needed to hide his gaping empty eye-sockets. But in a high-collared coat, and with a broad-brimmed hat pulled low over his face, he looked like a rugged up fellow out for an evening ride.

  The far more distinctive Steamsaw and I sat inside. I welcomed my companion's silence as I went over the plan. I remembered the path through the museum to the Egyptian Wing and retraced my path, recalling every step of the journey. Although my memory wasn't eidetic like Lady Frankenstein's, it was still very good. This was definitely my second smartest form.

  When we reached our destination an hour later, Busboy parked the carriage down a side-street, and I hypnotised the horses so they wouldn’t wander away. Then we headed for the front doors, which were, of course, locked. No matter. I couldn’t become mist like the Vampiress, but I could melt into shadows and become two dimensional. I slid through the crack under the door. Appearing on the other side, I unlocked the door and let my zombie companions inside.

  Although we were quiet and careful, we did encounter one security guard on the way. I locked eyes with him and dominated his mind, telepathically ordering him to forget everything he had seen. He wandered off in a daze, and then it was an easy matter for us to slip into the Egyptian exhibit and steal Goril-Ho-Tep’s coffin. With their enhanced undead muscles, Steamsaw and Busboy were able to lift the sarcophagus and carry it between them. We slipped out of a side entrance closer to where we had left the carriage, and tied the coffin to the roof, concealing it beneath a heavy tarpaulin we had brought for the purpose.

  “Let’s hope the weight doesn’t cave the roof in,” muttered Busboy as he clambered back into the drivers’ seat.

  “Relax – it is meant to take a lot of luggage,” I soothed, but the thought worried me too. The trip back seemed to take a lot longer, and was accompanied by lots of creaks and groans from the overworked conveyance. By the time we returned our horses were sweating and exhausted. Felina scolded us for bringing them back in such a state.

  “Sometimes I think you undead creatures have no regard for the living,” she muttered under her breath as she stalked off to tend to the creatures.

  I would have gone to help her because normally I did respect my living companions as much as the undead ones, but right now my entire focus was on the sarcophagus that Steamsaw and Busboy were carrying between them through the labyrinthine back corridors of the Big Top. The last show had finished but the carnies were still cleaning up the seating area.

  Professor Abbacus was waiting for us in the Omniportallis chamber, beside the enormous tank of the Immortality Machine. The contraption was open, the grille locked into position above the brackish liquid inside. The circus's engines were already screaming and the lights flickering. The device required almost as much energy to operate as the Omniportallis itself. The Professor had made sure the fires were stoked and the boilers running at maximum power. Smoke and steam filled the air.

  “Blimey, it’s as hot as a Turkish Bath in ‘ere!” gasped Bus Boy as he and Steam Saw deposited the coffin on the floor. “Only there’s no naked ladies,” he added in disappointment.

  “Enough of that. Let’s get this open and see what we have to work with.” The Professor gripped the edges of the sarcophagus and raised the heavy wooden lid. The gorilla’s perfectly preserved face was revealed, eyes blazing, mouth open in a carefully structured scream. “Impressive preservation – I may not even need full power.” Abbacus mused. “Let’s get him prepared.”

  Bus Boy and Steam Saw helped him stretch the mummy gorilla out on the grille and lock his thick limbs into the steel manacles. Then Abbacus turned the crank-handle, lowering him into the salt water inside the tank. “Alright – bring the lid down,” he ordered me.

  As Lady Frankenstein, I had performed this operation many times before. I knew exactly what to do, and even began to feel a degree of my counterpart’s excitement at bringing a new creation to life. Soon Goril-Ho-Tep would walk the earth again. I made sure the lid was secure on the tank, locked in place with clamps so no energy could escape.

  The Professor adjusted the settings on the machine's control board, turning the dial up to "full lucidity". Then he reached for the two pronged lever. "Ready?" he shouted.

  "Yes!"

  He yanked down the lever. All the stored electricity flooded into the Immortality Machine. The distant engines began to whine in protest and the overhead lights flickered off. Through the metal coffin’s portholes, we could see snakes of power snarling through the water, coursing into the subject’s lifeless body. I may not have needed to breathe, but right now I felt like I was holding my breath in excitement.

  Then the clamps ripped open and the metal lid flew off with a mighty bang. The machine’s occupant rose with a dreadful roar, salty water pouring from his body. The shackles around his wrists and ankles held only a few seconds before snapping like cheap twine. Was this monster even stronger than X?

  The Professor darted backwards, slamming the lever back up to cut the power. “If he destroys anything in here I will kill you!” he shouted at me. Steamsaw and Busboy chose that moment to flee from the room.

  I knew Professor Abbacus meant it, but I could feel Goril-Ho-Tep’s rage. He had been so well preserved that he now thought he was alive. He was suffering his last, desperate memory before dying. I stepped forward despite my fear, convinced the giant ape would stomp me flat as he leapt from the tank. But I had to try and calm him down before he tore the place apart. From behind me came the whine of capacitors as the Professor powered up the portable
lightning-thrower in his arm. He wasn’t taking any chances.

  “Goril-Ho-Tep!” I shouted. My voice made it through the creature’s fury and he glared down at the scrawny being that dared to confront him. But then I caught him with my gaze, willing him to realize that a kindred spirit stood before him, someone who felt as he did, lost and alone in a strange new world. “It’s alright,” I soothed him in the ancient tongue. “There’s no need to fear – you’re in a safe place now.”

  The ape lowered his arms, still wearing the machine’s manacles as wristbands, and all the fury fled from his red-eyed gaze. He lumbered towards me to examine me more closely. I held out my hands and he leaned in to sniff me, pausing at the necklace around her throat. He grunted.

  “I am Amuna – I am like you,” I whispered, stroking the coarse black fur on the back of his neck. “But I am also Victoria-7. Please trust the rest of me as well.”

  “And you’d better include all the other circus folks here,” Professor Abbacus growled as he powered his lightning-thrower down. “I don’t fancy that brute trying to eat me as soon your back is turned.”

  “Within the Circus you are safe,” I told the gorilla. “We are all your friends.” I sent him images of the other carnies, and each new friend calmed him further. By the time the Ringmaster marched in, flanked by Busboy and Steamsaw, Goril-Ho-Tep was sitting on the floor allowing me to scratch him behind an ear. Abbacus stood by watching, his arms folded.

  “You picked a fine time to crank up the Immortality Machine, Icarus,” the Ringmaster declared. “You’ve woken the entire circus! I thought we agreed not to use it here because it would attract too much attention!”

  “Amuna came with an offer I couldn’t refuse.” The Professor gestured towards the great ape. “I had to see if it would work on him.”

  The Ringmaster’s blue eyes widened in amazement. “Wait a minute – is that the mummy gorilla from the British Museum?” He slapped his forehead in exasperation. “What have you done?”