Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel

by Liz Long

  “Then why did she pick on me so much back there?” I asked.

  “Brooklyn has been with Donovan Circus for a long time, longer than me, probably since right after your family left. She has been through a lot which is why she acts the way she does. She did do you a favor, you know,” she added.

  “How is her harassment doing me a favor?”

  “Not only did you finally show off your gift, but you did it in a big way thanks to her obnoxious pushing. You proved that you belong here and you managed to impress everyone, even Nikolas, who is easily the most talented Firestarter here.”

  “It might take me a while to thank her. I find it a little hard to feel grateful this second,” I grumbled. My ears burned at the memory of the heat wave. If I wanted to start out small, that did not go well.

  We arrived to the Big Top, where we would all convene at the end of the day for the big show. Red and white striped, it was a monstrous structure, a huge canvas beast offering spectacular feats inside. We walked through the enormous entryway and found ourselves near the back of the group. Despite most of the show’s people gathered inside, it still looked empty; we barely covered the performance section of the floor.

  I took a moment to drink everything in. Like a large round basketball court, the dirt floor had lots of room for animals and gifted alike. A white barrier guarded the dirt-covered floor, but behind it were rows upon rows of seating for the crowds. Props like hula-hoops, unicycles, the ringmaster’s box stand, and giant water hose lay piled by the artists’ entrance. My mouth nearly watered at the smell the peanut shells, caramel apples and funnel cakes. Maybe it was ingrained in the tent after so many years. It felt like both heaven and home to me.

  I looked at the people surrounding me. Everyone looked the same at that moment: a stranger. We all looked up to the center of the ring where Sheffield stood on a stool to be easily seen, ready to start. I scanned to the right and saw Keegan and Nikolas sneak in from the side. They stood next to a group of people that immediately greeted them. I thought I spotted a lighter in one person’s hand.

  “Do we have these meetings every night?” I whispered to Delia.

  “No,” she whispered back. “It is only when we get to a new city or after a short break, so maybe once a month.”

  “We get breaks?”

  “Well, when people want to take holidays to visit other family or need to get away for a bit, we work around it. This is our full time job; we get vacation days, too.”

  “So these meetings are like a recap?”

  “He enforces the importance of what needs to get done, any news, stuff like that. We’re used to it. This might take ten minutes and then we can go get dinner.”

  “What comes after this?”

  “Everything should be set up by now, so meal and free time. Some people visit the town, others go to bed early to prepare for tomorrow, some practice. It’s an early night off so we can entertain ourselves. Mondays and Tuesdays there are no shows because they are slow nights; I usually do laundry and go into town or relax, but all the performers do run-throughs together and practice new things.”

  “Are we hanging out with your friends later?”

  “Only if you want to,” Delia whispered.

  Sheffield cleared his throat and I nodded at her.

  “Think everyone’s here,” Sheffield started. Even without a microphone, he had the deep and commanding tone of a ringmaster.

  “Mostly the usual stuff: we want smooth shows with little error, so let’s try not to switch it up too much for the sake of continuity. I think we had too much on our shoulders in Winchester and that caused us to veer off course, both in timing and creativity. Don’t go switching it up unless I ask.”

  I gave a questioning look at Delia. “Don’t switch it up?” I mouthed.

  “Yes,” she whispered quietly, “we change the acts a lot to keep the audience on their toes; we are known to keep people coming back even if they were here the night before. Even if it is a changed act, people still need to stay within their responsibilities so we do not trip over one another. Changing the shows is great for business. It is how we get to stay so long in one place and travel year-round. Did he not explain that to you?”

  I shook my head. I had no idea. That seemed complicated to me, but I suppose if it kept us from too much travel, it would be worth it. Sheffield cleared his throat again.

  “News from outside the show: Layton and Robin had their baby last night, a healthy girl. They’ll be back with us in a few weeks, in the next city, after they stop and see family in Chicago.” Applause. “As most of you know, we lost the triplets after their mother died; after much consideration, they decided to go home to look after the rest of the family.” Sympathetic sighs, including my own.

  I scanned the crowd again while Sheffield continued to talk. My attention momentarily rested on a trio of gorgeous women. Their bronze hair shone through the crowd, their beautiful, inquisitive faces attentive to Sheffield. I wondered what their gifts were as I also spotted a large, threatening-looking man sporting large black wings on his back. The moment my eyes went to his feathered limbs, he looked up and caught me staring; he narrowed his black eyes and his thick eyebrows furrowed together while I quickly looked down at my feet, embarrassed.

  After a few beats, I peeked up again to see his focus back on Sheffield. I continued to search the audience and saw all types of people. There were lithe acrobats in costume for practice later; a couple of men who stood three to four feet over the crowd; several sweaty men who looked like workers, and others who looked human but were probably anything but. I snapped back to attention just in time to hear Sheffield sound as though he was about to wrap things up.

  “And finally, we have two new people joining our troupe from here,” Sheffield said. My ears perked up. Two new troupe members? He never said anything about another person in our meeting. I thought this was incredibly exclusive, that I was lucky to get in. I looked around and then realized how silly that was—everyone here was new to me.

  “I guess she’s technically not new, but it’s been a few years. Lucy Sullivan—her pop, if you don’t know, was Lenny Sullivan, a great man and former Donovan circus member. She’s also a Firestarter.” Sheffield looked around the room and immediately zeroed in on me.

  Oh, no. Please don’t ask me to wave or something, I thought. I lowered my head in hopes he’d get the hint. I could hear a few murmurs throughout the crowd and specifically heard my father’s name mentioned in the whispers. I avoided looking where Keegan and Nikolas stood, afraid to see how the rest of the Firestarters reacted to the news.

  “She’s over there somewhere,” he said, waving in my general direction. “And we also have Gabriel Knight, Rick’s nephew, finally rejoining us!” A round of applause and I could make out the back of a blonde guy’s head while getting patted on the back in congratulations. He looked about as happy to be in the spotlight as I did.

  “Please welcome them and don’t give ‘em too hard a time. I’d like to keep them around. They’ll both be running errands for people until they get more comfortable, so if you need help, they’re happy to do so, right guys?

  “That should cover it. Anyone have anything they want to add?” Sheffield asked. The room remained silent. “All right then. Rest up tonight. No stupid stunts. Don’t haze the new kids. I’ll come by tents to check on routines and changes to make sure it’s what we need to be doing. Need anything, come find me.”

  Groups dispersed from the tent in search of food and relaxation.

  Chapter 4

  I managed to get through dinner without too many stares. Afterwards, Delia encouraged me to grab a sweatshirt from the trailer and follow her back to the large practice field.

  “What are we doing?” I asked. I pulled on my sweatshirt and stumbled as I tried to stay with her quick pace.

  “You will see. We do it before every opening day as long as we have the space for it.”

  “You’re speaking in riddles!”
<
br />   She merely smiled at me before we rounded the campers to the edge of the field. I squinted to see several dark figures moving around. As I struggled to keep up with Delia, whom I knew impatiently held back her desire to run, her group of friends came into focus. The girls had grabbed a bunch of camping chairs and were now making themselves comfortable in a semi-circle. Keegan, Nikolas, and Finley, I saw, were gathered around something on the ground. As we got closer, I saw the large brush pile and realized we were about to start a bonfire.

  “Good timing,” Finley said to us, “we just got the wood together. Only need a light.”

  “I think Lucy can help with that,” Nikolas said.

  “It is not a big deal,” Delia assured me as I opened my mouth to question it. “So before you say no because you think there is a tradition or something, save yourself the time and do it. They will respect you for jumping right in.”

  “Okay. But before I do, should I keep it low or light to impress?” I asked her.

  “You really have to ask me that question around this group? The bigger, the better,” she whispered with a smile. She started to walk over where the other girls sat in their chairs.

  “All right, I’ll do it. Stand back for a sec,” I announced to the guys.

  “Show us what you got, lady!” Bianca yelled from her chair. Finley and Brooklyn both crowed their approval.

  My father and I had practiced for weeks before I mastered this trick. I learned to control fire outside of my own creation, as well as control flames in the air without physically touching them. My father told me it was a rare talent; I practiced everyday since then to beat the challenge, even after his new rules and his death. It had only been small flames then, like from lighters or my father’s own hand. I could always be better at it, so I pushed myself.

  “Nikolas, throw a fireball at Delia,” I said.

  Delia stopped in mid-stride and squeaked. “I beg your pardon?”

  Nikolas gave me a weird look. “Uh, are you sure about that? I mean, I know you can take the hit for her, but you’re about ten feet away. Maybe you should get closer before I do that.”

  “I’m not taking the hit. Just do it.”

  “Are you sure about this?” Delia whispered frantically at me. I nodded.

  “Trust me,” I whispered.

  I warmed my palms as Nikolas flicked his lighter and formed a large fireball. He gave me one last look, took a deep breath, and threw it as hard as he could straight at her.

  I waited a heartbeat, long enough to have Delia feel the heat off it and hear her yelp, before I threw my hands out towards her and upwards: a fireball of my own slammed into Nik’s, forming a larger one. It flew up sixty feet and lit the night sky like a small orbit of sun before I moved my hands to split it into three smaller pieces. Then I made them dance—loops and swirls, flames flying off the edges like firework sparks. I even pretended to juggle for a moment and heard laughter from the group. I gritted my teeth in concentration, bringing my hands back together and flinging the fire down directly onto the brush pile. Without hesitation, the brush pile exploded into large flames and coated everyone in a warm yellow light. Everyone cheered.

  Delia, meanwhile, touched her hair and clothes as though checking for singes. She looked surprised when she found none.

  “Holy fu—I would prefer never to do that again, Lucy. I nearly wet myself,” Delia grumbled. She smoothed her hair and cleared her throat.

  I walked over to where everyone now grouped. Keegan and Nikolas waited for me to meet with them while Finley opened a cooler and passed out beers to everyone.

  “How did you do that? Move fire that wasn’t yours, I mean?” Keegan asked.

  “Yeah it’s one thing to do something like juggle with Keegan; I can touch his fire and hand it back to him, but to control it on the air like that? You weren’t even close to it!” Nikolas added.

  “My father presented me a challenge. It’s taken me almost ten years to perfect that move. I only truly got the hang of it right before he died.” I neglected to mention that it’d been even longer than that, since my dad put his foot down about fire. No need to frighten Delia more or make them think I was bragging.

  “I’ve never seen anything like that from a Firestarter,” Nikolas said. “You’ve practiced that for ten years?”

  “Well, he told me that it’s one of the hardest things to learn. It’s an extremely rare talent that might prove useful. Though he had me convinced to learn it when he said it was difficult to master. There’s a trick to it, but I’m constantly working to improve. It takes a lot of concentration and tires me out kinda quick,” I answered.

  “That was amazing,” Keegan said. “What’s the trick?”

  “Maybe someday I’ll show you,” I teased.

  A broad grin crossed his face to show dimples and my insides melted a little. “I hope so,” he said.

  “Thanks,” I answered. “I’m not really that great at it; I’ve seen my father do incredible things with fire. But I hope I can get better.”

  “You’ve got real talent as it is,” Keegan replied.

  “Yeah,” Nikolas agreed. “You might be the best one here.”

  For a second, I thought I detected a hint of jealousy. Before I could confirm it, the moment was gone and Nikolas gave me a high-five and a beer.

  “This means we have a referee for our matches, Keegan,” Nikolas said. “Lucy can control the fireballs that get out of our reach so we can focus more on each other.”

  “Good idea. Now we need to get her to agree to a match with us once in a while,” Keegan said with a grin in my direction.

  Finley sat down next to Bianca and motioned to the seats next to him. “C’mon Lucy, sit. It’s the last night we can really relax ‘til the next city.”

  I took a seat next to Delia. Keegan sat down on the other side of me, our arms almost touching. We sat close to hear one another; a warm glow from the bonfire doused everyone. I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that I had impressed everyone there and proved my worth. My hard work and all those years of practice were finally showing. I could belong here all on my own.

  “We meeting Angel tonight?” Finley asked.

  “We can visit the G-Top another night,” Nikolas said. I gave him a puzzled look and he added, “It’s where some of us hang out. Beer, cards, cigars, you know?”

  “Good idea. I think Lucy needs to get introduced in increments instead of all at once,” Delia said. “We do not want any of those malakas scaring her.”

  “Any who?” I asked.

  “Malaka!” the group replied together with gusto.

  I cocked an eyebrow. They were a little cheesy, but I liked silly. Finley spoke up first.

  “It’s basically Delia’s Greek word for idiots. She says it a lot, so get used to it.”

  “It’ll become your favorite word before long,” Bianca chimed in.

  “It simply means that one is an asshole,” Delia explained. “But sometimes we use it with each other and it is just a term of affection. Like, um, “dude” or “buddy” or something, but it may only be used with good friends. It is rude with outsiders.”

  I nodded and took a sip of beer. Malaka. I liked the way it rolled off the tongue. Bianca and Delia spoke softly to one another; Brooklyn and Nikolas lit cigarettes and discussed new tattoos. I stared at the fire and became mesmerized; I hadn’t felt this calm in a while, especially not in the last week.

  I let myself think about my mother for only a second and my heart ached. I already missed her laugh. I wasn’t ready; perhaps I never would be. I tore my gaze away from the flames to look at the others.

  “So what now, we sit and tell ghost stories around the campfire?” I asked.

  “Why, is that what humans do?” Delia asked.

  “Not all of them, but some. Especially when they go camping. Scary stories in the woods creep people out.”

  “There are plenty of true scary stories. We don’t have to make up ghost stories,” Brooklyn said. She st
ared daggers at the bonfire and the shadows on her face made her comment sound sinister.

  “What do you mean?” I said.

  “None of them are here, but plenty of gifted aren’t what you’d call friendly,” Nikolas said. “There was the Transporter who tried to take one of our acrobats because he grew obsessed with her. He fucking stalked her.”

  “And the one who tried to spread disease through our group to get to Sheffield after he couldn’t join us,” Keegan said. “Lots of flu that week.”

  “Or there’s…” Finley shot a quick look at Brooklyn. “…Dr. Hardy.”

  “We don’t talk about him,” Bianca jumped in. She laid a hand on Brooklyn’s arm.

  “Lucy can know who he is. It’s not Hardy’s fault she’s crazy. It just didn’t work on her is all,” Brooklyn said with a shrug. Even I could see she was trying to sound nonchalant.

  “You don’t have to…” I said.

  “I’ll tell you. My mother’s in a mental ward of the gifted hospital.”

  I paused mid-sip of my beer. Tucked away from human eyes somewhere in the Midwest, there was a small, special hospital specifically for the gifted community. It held things like the mental hospital, where those who’d lost control or gone mad from their gift stayed; the rehab center had two sections, ones for those recovering from injuries and one for those recovering mentally; and of course several floors that mimicked a regular hospital.

  “My mom, she’s a Telepath, too. She didn’t want her gift, though, never did. After years of saying so, a scientist, Dr. Felix Hardy, told her he could cure her. He said he’d been working on a cure for years and thought he finally had it. All she had to do was let him inject her; she signed up on the spot.”

  Brooklyn shifted in her chair slightly and lit a cigarette before speaking again. Her dark eyes shone at me like marbles and I fought off a twinge of anxiety. I probably didn’t care to hear the end of this story.

  “I wasn’t there for the experiment, but whatever he’d done, it didn’t take. She can hear everyone even louder and from further away. She can’t escape. All she did was hide in her bed with music or earplugs and cry; after she tried to kill herself, she checked into the institute. They can help with the noise. She hasn’t left there in almost five years.”