by Liz Long
“You should’ve kept it in your pants.” I sighed. “What do you want me to say? We both reacted inappropriately—I ran like a coward and you got a hooker. I want to move past this and hopefully never talk about either humiliation again.”
“I didn’t get—ugh, you know what, I agree. You can go back to bossy and indignant.”
“Yeah, it’s weird when you’re trying to be heartfelt. Try not to spread an STD, all right?”
His blue eyes glared into mine, but his mouth twitched a little from biting back a smile. I couldn’t stop it and laughed a little. He broke into a smile, took a deep breath and looked ahead for a second. Aggravated as I found him sometimes, he was my friend, maybe even the closest one I had right now.
“So explain to me this Felix problem. What did he tell you? What did Sheffield say about everything?” He shifted carefully and pulled out his smokes. He pulled two out and motioned for me to light them. Then he handed me one. I took it—it was a bit of a story. After I recapped the more essential parts, Gabriel shook his head.
“Also, Sheffield’s a Collector. Keep that on the down low, would ya?” I added.
He let out a low whistle. “Well, that explains a lot.”
“You don’t say?”
“Well, imagine if you’re one of Sheffield’s least favorite people. What do you think is gonna happen if you piss him off? He’ll take your gift and use it against you or get your group to doubt your leadership. He has the power to dethrone anyone with a handshake.”
“Right. So Sheffield has enemies, apparently quite a few around the country. I guess they usually try to stay away from each other, but who’s to say they don’t come threatening us when they think Sheffield’s about to take over their territories?”
“Let’s worry about that at a later time. Focus on Felix, what to do with his information. Do you think there’s any merit to what he says? If some of Felix’s story lines up with Sheffield’s, does that put him in the clear?”
“Oh, hell no. That man is batshit crazy and will make us lab rats in no time if we don’t comply with him. He’ll tell the whole world about us, which we know is a bad idea. I don’t know how to tell him in a way that won’t get anyone else killed. He won’t be happy when I turn him down.”
“You need to be careful. I’ve heard stories about him and evidently he’s as crazy as they come.”
“I’m probably screwed either way, then. I don’t want any part of it.”
“Felix isn’t completely wrong about Sheffield, not based on what I know.”
“You think Felix is the good guy here?”
“Not at all. I don’t think what he’s doing is right, but Sheffield’s certainly no angel. He went after what he wanted and if people fought him, he sent them away in some fashion. I think you got your proof with your attacker being beaten; now he’s gone missing.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Sheffield may not have a clean slate, but I guess we’ll address that if it ever comes up. He went after that guy because he wanted to teach him a lesson and protect me. Felix is the culprit in Mac’s disappearance. He won’t stop until Sheffield’s dead. That probably includes me in there somewhere as well. You too, if you don’t quit hanging around me.”
Gabriel gave me a look that I couldn’t read and opened his mouth to say something but the Ferris wheel gave a sudden lurch. His lips came together in a hard line and I knew he wouldn’t let it go forever. We began to come back down to earth. We both peered down and around to see how dark it was on the lot. Most everyone had shut down for the night near the booths and tents, but the party had moved to the campers. Several lights were visible and I could hear laughter even from where we sat. I guessed the torches and pitchforks were put away for the evenings. The car came to a halt and Gabriel opened the bar to let us out.
“Hope that was enough time, kids,” the worker said. He gave a know it all smile at Gabriel, who gave him a broad grin.
“It was, Bobby, thanks,” he replied.
Bobby grinned at me and I rolled my eyes as we turned around to walk away. I wasn’t quite ready to crawl into bed yet. My brain was too busy to think about shutting down right now. Gabriel was quiet next to me and I felt bad. I wanted company and didn’t want to fight.
“I need to work on that fire ring again. I don’t get a lot of time to practice it. Think we could swing by the Big Top while it’s empty for a few minutes so I can give it a go?”
“You’re actually going to let me witness your prowess?”
“I’ve been training with Keegan and Nik, but I need to get comfortable doing this stuff in front of an audience. Gotta start somewhere, provided you stay quiet, of course.”
“You sure you won’t change your mind about wanting me there?”
“I need to practice and I can’t just shoo you away. You wouldn’t listen to me…unless you had something better to do.” I gave him a hesitant smile and he relaxed.
“I don’t. Let’s see you do your thing.”
We made the short walk from the Ferris wheel to the Big Top. As we walked inside, it was as I found it best: quiet and with just enough light in the ring. Gabriel wordlessly split off from me and took a seat in the bleachers. I felt confident he would light a cigarette and remain quiet to give me space. I walked to the center of the ring, but turned my body so Gabriel only saw my profile rather than head on. I didn’t want to risk getting distracted by any of his movements or become self-conscious.
I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths and shook my limbs out. I usually did some exercises to warm up, but I felt impatient tonight. Heat already oozed out of my pores and I wanted to get straight to it. I exhaled sharply and opened my eyes. As I took another deep breath, I focused on the fire in my palms. I held my arms out in front of me, palms upwards. The large flames in either hand grew larger and my hands came closer together to form a fireball. It began as small as a baseball but quickly grew to the size of a very large beach ball. That would be enough in size or I’d get too big for my britches.
My eyes narrowed in concentration as the fireball lifted off my hands and into midair. I opened my arms a little and rather than the fireball growing larger, space appeared and a ring began to form in the center. I could feel perspiration on my forehead and the familiar tinge of a headache coming on, but I pushed on.
Lifting the ring about five feet over my head, I made sure the ring became clearer. The fire thinned out and a nice, clear ring now formed. Time to finish it out. I brought my hands carefully into my chest, making sure the ring didn’t dissipate. It obeyed my mental command and the flickering flames were its only movement.
I threw my arms out and the ring burst like a firework. Dying flames fell like ashes around me to the dirt ground and I turned to Gabriel with a satisfied smile. The last of the amber embers rained to the ground.
“That would definitely amaze an audience.” He stood up and walked toward me. “You looked like a little fire angel surrounded by your fireworks.”
“Don’t tease. Just an audience? You didn’t think it was good?” I wasn’t necessarily fishing for compliments, but I’d be annoyed if he didn’t realize it was an impressive trick. Shapes and movement required far more skill than most realized.
“I thought you didn’t want my approval.”
“Not your approval, no, but I want to make sure that even a gifted person would think it’s worth the ticket price.”
“Luce, it’s definitely worth the ticket price. That was really, really good. You’ll have your own act worked out in no time.”
“I agree,” added a nasally, hoarse voice from the dark corner entrance. Gabriel and I both turned towards the sound and Felix stepped forward from the shadows. “That was spectacular, Lucy. Very special; you’ve worked very hard.”
Chapter 28
“Who’s your friend, Lucy?” Gabriel asked me casually, but he automatically took a step closer to me.
“Gabriel, this is Dr. Felix J. Hardy. He’s the guy I told you about ear
lier.”
“No wonder my ears were burning.” Felix took several steps in to close the large gap between us. My right hand, closest to Gabriel, twitched and he angled his body so that he was between Felix and me. When Felix finally stopped, he was only a few feet away. He didn’t take his gaze off me.
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon, Felix,” I said in an even tone.
“Forgive me. I’ve waited several years to speak with you. After the other night, my impatience got the best of me. I couldn’t wait any longer for your answer.”
“Lucy typically needs more than a few hours to think things over,” Gabriel interjected. I shot him a dirty look.
“You’ve had more than enough time to consider my offer, dear,” Felix responded flatly. His dark eyes didn’t so much as glance at Gabriel; they stayed focused on me, barely blinking behind his glasses.
“I’m not really comfortable with any of the information I’ve been given lately, from anyone.”
“I understand that. But Lucy, you must take a side. We all do, eventually. Did you find out what happened to your attacker from the bar?”
“Yes and no.”
“And what did you discover? Did you find that Sheffield is not the heroic father figure you make him out to be?”
“Sheffield and Marty were protecting me. Maybe they went a little overboard, but they made sure Mac wouldn’t ever come after me again.”
“And are you sure he won’t?”
The way he looked at me, the expression on his face, made my skin crawl. Did he know something? I threw a worried glance to Gabriel, who looked as befuddled as I felt.
“They did it to gain your trust, to ensure you wouldn’t go against them. You need to open your eyes, girl,” Felix continued.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Felix, but I’m not interested in taking anyone down. I want to be as normal as possible, be part of the circus. If there is a war, it’s not mine to fight.”
“Sheffield will use you. Others will hunt you for what you are, for who you associate with; I can save you from that if you fight with me.”
“I don’t see why anyone would do that to me. I’m barely a dot on anyone’s radar.”
“You have no idea how wrong you are. Already there are those who respect, fear, and hate you. They’ll want your gift, your talents.”
“Just because I can make fireballs and knock some people over with a heat wave?”
“You are so much like Lenny. You underestimate yourself to the point of insult. You will never have a moment’s rest. If it’s not me or Sheffield, others will approach or attack you. They’ll try to bribe and threaten you to work for them. You have no idea.”
“I don’t want any part of it. Sorry, Felix, but I’m not working for anyone except Donovan Circus as a performer. Now if, you’ll excuse us, it’s late and we’ve got a show tomorrow.”
Felix’s right hand came up and tapped the side of his glasses in what I now guessed to be his weird tic. I just barely brushed Gabriel’s arm and he paused for a moment to keep an eye on Felix. I was past the seats almost near the entrance when I threw a look back to see Gabriel follow suit. Our backs turned, I was thisclose to the exit.
A click sounded behind us. We both froze.
“Lucy, turn around slowly. If I see so much as a spark flicker from your hands, I’ll shoot your boyfriend here.”
Chapter 29
I took a cautious step forward then pivoted to face them. Felix, much quicker than he seemed, now held a gun to the back of Gabriel’s head. He looked dead serious about pulling the trigger.
“First of all, not my boyfriend,” I started.
“Are you kidding me right now?” Gabriel scoffed. He threw me a dirty look before looking around. Felix was a handful of inches shorter, but had no problem pushing the gun into Gabriel’s hair to make him look straight ahead. Gabriel’s eyes met mine and the look was clear: this probably wouldn’t end well.
“Don’t care. Just shut up and let’s all take a step back into the center ring. Got it?” Felix said. His anger sounded odd in his nasally voice.
We shuffled back towards the wide-open space. Gabriel moved backwards slowly and deliberately, kept his hands raised to show he wouldn’t make a sudden move. I took cautious steps towards them both until we were finally all in the center ring again.
“Lucy, I have proof that humans won’t tolerate your kind without me. You see, I can control both sides of the equation. Humans will listen to me, see my side; it’s all in how I say it.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Given the opportunity, most humans think being gifted would be quite amazing.” Felix shouted out to the darkness. “Don’t you think so, Mac?”
A figure stepped inside the tent; my insides heaved when I saw Mac, my attacker from the bar, slither in. He walked up next to Felix, stood five feet away from me. I held my breath until he finally stopped. Mac looked the same, yellow teeth and leathery skin, even the angry sneer on his face. I wouldn’t play the fool, though; Felix had dosed him with a gift, but which one?
“And what is your opinion on gifted, Mac?” Felix asked in a conversational tone, as though he didn’t hold a gun to two innocent people.
“It’s pretty fantastic, but don’t give them any rights to stampede over us,” Mac rumbled. “Humans should have the right to be gifted too; give everyone an equal playing field.”
He bared his teeth at me and I forced myself to glare back into his eyes. Dinner threatened to rise in my throat and I swallowed hard, hoping the thin sheen of cold sweat on my face couldn’t be seen. I would not give him the satisfaction of my fear.
“You know we can’t help who we are, Felix. We’re born this way; there’s nothing we can do about it,” I answered.
“Certainly there is; I’m producing a cure for those who don’t want their gifts. I’m also able to inject humans with power. Everyone wins.”
“There is no cure. We are permanently gifted. What don’t you get about that?”
“You have magic powers, for fuck’s sake,” Mac interrupted. “What don’t you get? Of course anything’s possible, a cure could be made to get rid of you freaks.”
“Doesn’t sound like you convinced him of much of anything there, doc,” Gabriel said. “He’s about as pissed off and prejudiced as he was when we beat his ass the first time.”
“You got lucky, you little prick,” Mac said. “It won’t happen again. You can’t beat me this time, not when Dr. Hardy made me invincible.”
Gabriel’s eyes met mine; Mac now had Marty’s Unbreakable power. How would we get him out of the way to only deal with Felix?
I turned my attention back to Felix. “You don’t think Sheffield will figure it out when he sees our bodies in here?”
“He won’t find your body in this ring. The boy’s body, yes. And I hope he does come after me. I welcome it.”
“Don’t do this, Felix.”
“Too late. You’re going with me to my lab.”
“Like hell—” Gabriel snarled, but was cut off by Mac’s sudden vicious attack.
Without warning, Mac swung his fist and slammed it into Gabriel’s skull with a sickening thud. Gabriel dropped like a bag of bricks. Mac smiled, didn’t even need to catch his breath. Felix studied his unconscious body for a moment then shrugged, turned his attention to me. He pointed the gun at me.
“The Empath stays. His gift is useless. We’re leaving now. I want your blood for my best gift.”
“What makes you think I won’t set you on fire on this very spot?”
“It won’t hurt Mac here. You might be fast to throw a fireball, but do you think you’re faster than a bullet?” He waved his weapon at me a little. “Besides, you don’t want to kill anyone, do you? Don’t be like Lenny.”
My temper surged. “You need my blood.”
“Doesn’t mean you have to be alive. But I want you around, in case I need to do more research, so I think a leg wound will distract you enough.” H
e pointed the gun down, presumably at my kneecaps.
Was I faster than a bullet? Doubtful, considering my anxiety. Too many thoughts raced through my brain. However, there was no way I would willingly leave the camp. He’d have to shoot me. I had to keep him talking.
“How’d you know he was an Empath? Are you still a Tracker?”
“For a little while longer.”
“What is the other gift you’ll use?”
“Maybe I haven’t decided yet.”
“I don’t believe that at all. I thought you’d been planning this for years.”
“Like I’d tell you and ruin all the fun.”
“Why don’t you kill me already? You don’t need me after you take my blood.”
“I agree with Sheffield—you’re special. You’re the ace up my sleeve now.”
“What do you even get out of this?” I shouted at him. Mac impatiently shifted his weight, gave me a look that made me dread any possibility of being within his reach. Felix focused his gaze completely on me, Mac forgotten.
“I’ll use your gift to kill Sheffield. With him gone, I’m one of the most gifted you’ll find. I’ll take your world public.”
“None of us will agree to that.”
“You’re so very wrong. There are many of you who believe the tables should be turned.”
“And then what? You become king of the crazies? Who’s to say people won’t turn against you or leave us be?”
“You’re not stupid, Lucy. They would never let this information go unnoticed. It’s a huge breakthrough. You’ll be integrated into everyday life and the military will pay millions for me to make their new soldiers. I’ll get my life back; I’ll finally get the credit I’ve studied thirty-five years to earn! My wife will realize my intentions and come back home. Your kind will regard me as an icon. I get the credit and respect I deserve.”
“Felix, let’s be reasonable—you’re putting a lot of faith in people not killing us in fear. It’s asking for a war between gifted and humans. We don’t want any trouble. We’re just a bunch of freaks who wander the planet and hope not to destroy it too much.”
