by Chele Cooke
“But…”
“That is not up for negotiation!” he said, so curt that Hadley could only stare at him. “Hope is a beautiful thing, Miss Tack. They may choose to believe you have a real talent, a foresight, but to know the truth of it would scare them. You are to mask it with just enough mystery to make them suspect.”
Hadley nodded slowly though she wasn’t sure she fully understood.
“I… yes?”
His smile was not comforting. It did not inspire safety or excitement the way Jack’s captured her. His smile was cold and cruel, a threat of everything that would happen if she did not obey him. With a twist of his lips, Hadley felt like she had been gutted, hollowed out. She shrank back in her seat.
“I went to great lengths to get you on this ship and I have taken your brother on at a high personal risk. Should you decide not to follow my instructions, I will have no choice but to renegotiate this arrangement. Are we understood?”
“Yes Sir,” she murmured, the words as hard to mold as ice in her mouth.
“Good. I’m glad we are in accord.”
Hadley lowered her gaze, staring at the worn knees of her jeans. He wanted her to be a fortune teller, to wrap her gift in a pleasant presentation. Something told her that her old jeans and oil-stained boots would not be the type of show he was after.
“My… my clothes,” she stammered.
“Take the clothes in your quarters to the triplets. They are skilled seamstresses. They will be able to take them in to your size.”
“Anna’s…”
“They are yours now,” he said with a cool dismissal. “Unless your new gift allows you to create fabric from your mind?”
Hadley gulped and lowered her gaze again.
“No Sir.”
“Then find the triplets.”
She nodded.
“If that is all?”
The words were sticking in her throat again, her stomach pulsing. She knew she had to ask, she had to know. Even as she’d busied herself with clearing Annalise’s old quarters, she couldn’t fully distract her mind from the question she had been longing to ask.
“I know you want to ask something, you might as well get it over with.”
Tucking her hair behind her ear, Hadley edged forwards in her seat.
“Sir, is Jack… Is he…”
“Mr. Western disobeyed his orders and put this entire ship at risk.”
“Please don’t kill him!” she begged, the words suddenly not coming fast enough. “Please, I’m begging you. He’s the only person I know here, I… I don’t think I can do this without…”
Mr. Hatliffe held up a hand and Hadley fell silent. She hunched herself down, wringing her hands in her lap.
“I will consider your plea for Mr. Western,” he said. “Depending on how hard you work to make yourself ready for our next show.”
Placing his hands flat on the desk, he got to his feet. Hadley jumped up after him. That was what Lachlan had done in the coalition, wasn’t it? It was a sign of respect to get to your feet whenever someone more important did. She staggered as the autograv rocked awkwardly through her body. She caught herself against the desk, knocking the beautiful ornate box off the side.
It hit the floor with a thud, the latch springing open. Metal clattered against metal as the contents leapt out and landed by her foot.
“God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean, I… thank you, I’ll do my best,” Hadley spluttered. “I’ll be ready, I swear.”
The fingertips brushed the cold metal before she even looked down. The vines from the box had twisted themselves around the dark barrel in gleaming bronze, so delicate that they were beautiful against the onyx metal, autumn at midnight. A perfect sphere balanced on the end of the hammer above a polished wooden grip.
Lachlan’s blood splattered across her vision. The crack of a gunshot echoed through every corner of her mind, breaking every hope she’d had into a thousand jagged pieces.
Hadley had no idea how she found her way back to her quarters without someone to guide her. She ran the entire way, jumping down the stairs two and three at a time. She sprinted along the long corridors, took turns she didn’t know she remembered. She flung the door open and slammed it behind her with a crash.
Everything she had done to protect her brother. Every move she had made since the cirque arrived had been to make sure that the vision she’d had of him would not come to pass. She had led him straight to the danger. If she had left him on Corapolvo he would have been safe, the gun a million miles away. Instead, she had begged him to come with her. She led him straight to the very weapon that would kill him. She didn’t know who had pulled the trigger when she’d seen him shot, but the weapon had been as clear as when she’d seen it in Mr. Hatliffe’s office.
Sitting up on the bed, Lachlan peered at her. His eyes narrowed and his pale lips pursed, his hands tightening into fists. Hadley kicked off her boots and flung herself onto the bed next to him.
“Hads,” he murmured groggily as she wriggled up against his side, enveloping herself in the uncomfortable warmth of his fever. “What’s wrong?”
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, leaning back against the wall and drawing her tighter in against him. Blinking back tears, Hadley stared at the line of metal studs travelling up the wall panels.
“Nothing. It’s nothing,” she whispered.
“Come on, tell me.”
Rubbing her hand across her eyes, erasing the evidence of what she had seen, Hadley sat up and shook her head.
“No, Lachlan, it’s okay,” she said. “You don’t need to protect me anymore.”
“Hadley…”
Hadley took her brother’s hand and clasped it tightly in both of her own. He’d always been so strong, so certain of everything. Lachlan always knew the right thing to do and she was his sister. Whatever was in him had to be inside of her too.
“I have a gift, Lach. I can see what’s coming. I can protect myself.”
Taking a deep breath, Hadley tried for a smile.
“I’ll protect both of us.”
Thank you for reading Le Cirque Navire, the first book in the series of the same name.
I really enjoyed writing this book, and I am excited to continue the series, I hope you are too. I fell in love with these characters, and I can't wait to tell you the rest of their stories, and maybe answer a few mysteries along the way.
I really enjoyed writing this book, and I am excited to continue the series, I hope you are too.
If you have enjoyed reading Le Cirque Navire, please take a moment to leave a review. Even a few words can let other readers know what you thought, and every review (no matter the star rating) helps an indie author like me build a career.
Thank you for reading.
Chele Cooke is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy independent author based in the UK.
Chele is an English-born writer from England. With a degree in Creative Writing from the University of Derby, Chele has been writing for over a decade, both original fiction and fan fiction. She has a number of other original works, which are available to read free online at her website and on wattpad.com
Le Cirque Navire is Chele's third series. She has “Out of Orbit”, a dystopian Science-Fiction series, and “Teeth”. a paranormal thriller series. Book One in each of these series is free to download from Amazon, so make sure you grab your copy.
For more information about Chele, “Le Cirque Navire” series, promotions, giveaways, and future releases, visit www.chelecooke.com
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