The Magic Carnival Box Set: Books 1-3

by Trudi Jaye

  “Work that you can do from anywhere. It doesn’t need to be in that stuffy old town or from your sterile apartment. You don’t have any ties there. Why couldn’t we leave?”

  “I can’t run away to join the circus, Dad. That’s just not going to happen.”

  A small crease appeared between his father’s eyebrows, and the twinkle in his eyes started to fade. Jack felt his heart start to beat faster. His eccentric father of old had been back while they were at the Carnival. Before that—since his mother’s death—Jack had been dealing with a flat, hollow version of Blago. The expression on his face right now said Blago would go right back there if he didn’t get his way. Jack would lose his father again.

  They can just be gone one day, and that’s it.

  Rilla knew what it was like to lose her father. Hell, he’d only just lost his mother a year ago, and it still hurt like nothing else. He had a chance to keep his father happy for a little while longer. He wouldn’t win against Rilla, not when he was an outsider, even with his father’s support. It would be a temporary option, until he could figure out what to do. His other choice—to send his father back to his house to return to being an empty shell of a man—didn’t seem like much of an option.

  He couldn’t do that to Blago. “All right, Dad.” He sighed. “What do we have to do?”

  ***

  Rilla closed her eyes. “What do you mean he’s running for Ringmaster?”

  “Blago’s claim can be transferred to Jack.” Christoph’s expression was carefully blank. “Father to son. And he’s doing it.”

  “Why?” Rilla’s voice cracked in the middle. She didn’t understand.

  “If I had to guess, I’d say it was more about Blago than Jack.” Christoph shrugged when Rilla flicked a startled look at him. “Blago’s obsessed. And if he can’t have it, he wants his son to have it.”

  “He doesn’t have a chance. He’s too much of an outsider.” Rilla spoke with confidence, but she wondered if it were really true. Some of the Carnival folk were blaming her for their problems, and Blago had regained a lot of sway. Could he pull it off for Jack?

  “Rilla, be careful. Don’t make assumptions about anything.” Christoph gazed at her with serious eyes. He opened his mouth as if to add something more, then shook his head and looked away.

  “What is it, Christoph? Do you know something?”

  He glanced up, his face a stoic mask. “I’m just worried about you, Rilla.”

  “Well, I—”

  A knock on her caravan door rattled the blinds.

  “Who is it?” Rilla moved to the door.

  “It’s me, Deputy Fordham. Rilla, let me in.”

  Opening the door, Rilla frowned at the deputy in confusion. “What is it? Are you okay?”

  “Kara’s gone,” blurted the deputy. “She was furious at me for letting you go with just a warning and a bit of paperwork. I was on the phone with her, and she told me if I wasn’t going to do my job, she’d do it for me. I checked on her, and she’s not there. And her gun is gone.”

  “You checked for her gun?”

  “She’s unstable, Rilla.” He stopped, glancing around. “She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, not really. But when she gets something in her head, she doesn’t let it go. She does stupid things.”

  “And you think she’s after me?” Rilla couldn’t understand what was happening. Their Mark was after her with a gun? This was so far off-track she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Blago had been right after all.

  “I don’t know. But I need to search the Carnival, just in case. I don’t want Kara to do anything stupid.” He pulled out a photo. “I have this so we can show people what she looks like.”

  Rilla paused to look at the photo. Kara looked serious and wistful, her eyes not looking at the camera. She sighed. “Can you keep it under wraps? We’re about to open the sideshows for the evening.”

  “You have to promise me you’ll stay here. If we know where you are, we can protect you.”

  Rilla shook her head. “I have to—”

  “You’re going to stay here, Rilla.” Christoph’s big form towered over her. “I’ll get some of the others to help with the search. We’ll be careful.”

  Rilla closed her eyes. In the dim light, Christoph looked a little like her father. “Okay. I’ll wait here. But you have to let me know what’s happening.”

  Deputy Fordham nodded. Then he and Christoph disappeared off into the fading early evening light.

  Shutting the door, Rilla turned and sat on the bench seat behind the table. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on her hands. Had she really read it so wrong? She’d thought she’d had a lucky escape from her accidental confrontation with Kara. It was yet another nail in the coffin of her attempt to be the next Ringmaster. Jack might actually beat her, if only because she was getting so many things wrong.

  She looked around the small space. It was silly to be sitting here, waiting while the others searched for Kara.

  But she’d promised Christoph.

  So she reached for her book of crosswords, grabbing a pen from a nearby drawer. She flicked open to a random page and looked at the first clue. Doing puzzles always settled her down, and she could usually do a couple in the time it took normal people to do half of one.

  One across. Mediterranean Republic Isle, five letters.

  She frowned. It was impossible to concentrate.

  All she could think about was Kara holding her gun at Rilla’s chest, demanding that Fordham arrest her.

  Apparently, when Kara set her mind to something, she didn’t let go. Rilla nervously tapped one fingernail on the hard surface of the counter. That kind of focus probably didn’t help with getting over the death of her family, either. In fact, it probably made it almost impossible, especially if she didn’t have anyone to help her move on.

  Add that to the fact that she thought she’d caused the car crash, and it meant Kara would never move on from the accident unless they did something drastic.

  Rilla tried another clue. Two across. Michigan car production city… Six across… She kept tapping her finger on the tabletop, the rhythmic beat like a ticking clock.

  Kara had to be shown she wasn’t to blame and that she needed to move on with her life. It was all about the accident. But how could they get Kara to stop focusing on the past and get back into the real world? Rilla did a mini drumroll with her fingers. Kara needed something else to focus on, to distract her for a while. It was like the old circus saying: Smile even if you don’t feel happy. After a while, it will come true.

  If you acted like you were moving on, it would happen.

  She needed to speak to Kara, to figure out what might be interesting to her. But Kara wasn’t going to talk to her now. At least not without a gun to her head.

  But there was someone else inside Kara’s head.

  Garth.

  She leaned over and pulled aside the blinds, trying to see what was happening outside her window. The light was disappearing, fading into the twinkling lights of the Carnival in the distance.

  It seemed safe and comforting.

  She didn’t really believe Kara was out there. Deputy Fordham was overreacting because he was worried. Careful not to draw attention to herself, Rilla opened the door, peering around the edge. Just in case.

  Nothing.

  All she had to do was get to Garth’s caravan without anyone seeing her. Especially the deputy and Christoph.

  The sounds of the Carnival set-up crews filled the warm air, laughter and chatter mixed with hammers on steel. She took a deep breath. A mix of salty popcorn and sweet candy apples filled her nose, as the food vendors prepared for the evening’s crowds.

  Running all the way, she got to Garth’s caravan in record time and knocked on his door. “Garth,” she whispered.

  Garth opened the door and looked down at her quizzically. “Rilla?”

  “Let me in,” she said as she pushed past him and into the tiny room. She sat herself down on the fam
iliar old couch inside.

  Garth raised his eyebrows, folding his arms across his chest. “Sure, Rilla, come on in. Privacy? No, I don’t need privacy.”

  “I need your help,” she said. “I need to ask you about Kara.”

  “You’re off the Gift, Rilla. That was made very clear.”

  “Who’s doing it now that Blago is in hospital? Jack? We have to finish the Gift, or we’ll have nothing left at all.”

  His black eyes seemed to swirl for a moment. His hand clenched, and he sat down across from her on a wooden bench. “She’s getting out of control. She’s angry and unmanageable. Even I know it, and I’m not usually able to distinguish it when I’m locked inside a Mark’s head.”

  “I know. But I think there might be a way out of it. I think we might be able to help her.”

  “Tell me.” Garth leaned forward, his black eyes focused on her face.

  “She’s determined. Focused. She won’t let go of things once she has them in her head. So we need to help her move on from her guilt over her family’s death by giving her something else to focus on.” Rilla paused. “And move on from her anger at me, incidentally.”

  “At you?”

  “She thinks I should be locked in a jail cell, with the key thrown away.”

  Garth laughed. “Maybe she’s right.”

  Rilla rolled her eyes. “I was only trying to help her. But I’ve thought of a new plan. We redirect her focus.”

  “How?”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I thought you might have some ideas. You’re in her head.”

  “I’m in her emotions, not her thoughts. And all I can tell you is that it’s really messy in there at the moment.”

  “I need you to think, Garth. Have there been any moments since she came to the Carnival that she was happy, or even less sad?”

  Garth frowned. “The first night she was here. There was a leap, an excitement, early on.”

  Rilla grinned, leaning forward to smack a kiss on Garth’s cheek. “That’s something to work with. So, what might have captured her interest that’s near the entrance to the Carnival? The elephants?”

  “I guess riding on an elephant might be considered a thrill for her.” Garth sounded uncertain.

  She nodded. “We can give it a try.”

  “It’s better than doing nothing.”

  Rilla stood up. “We can do the old won-some-tickets-in-a-competition ploy. Then we introduce her to Martha.”

  ***

  Rilla opened the door to her caravan and stepped inside. She took a deep breath. It was good to have talked to Garth and not have anything sour their chat. She hadn’t thought about being Ringmaster and hadn’t worried about what side Garth was on. She’d just been trying to help the Mark.

  It felt excellent, in fact. She smiled.

  “Put your hands in the air. Now.”

  Rilla jumped in surprise, her gaze flicking around the room to find her intruder.

  Kara was sitting on her bed, the same handgun she’d used two days ago aimed directly at Rilla’s chest. Kara’s clothes were creased and her hair was messed up. She had a wild look in her eye.

  Rilla swallowed.

  Keep calm and don’t agitate her. That’s all you can do.

  She looked directly at Kara, not moving an inch.

  Kara gestured with the gun. “Up.” Her voice was harsh in the tense silence.

  Heart thumping, Rilla put her hands in the air. “What are you doing, Kara?” she said softly, trying not to alarm her. She’d really thought the deputy was overreacting.

  “Shut up. You should be in jail. You broke into my house, and Matt couldn’t even be bothered to put you behind bars.”

  “He wrote it up in a report. It’s all on record. But he let me off to be kind, Kara. He knew I wasn’t going to hurt you.”

  “The law is the law. You can’t decide to let it slide for some people and not for others.”

  “Do you know someone who got away with breaking the law?” asked Rilla softly.

  “You shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.” She seemed to be talking to herself. Tears flowed down her cheeks.

  “Kara, I’ve had bad things happen to me as well. My father…” Rilla took a deep breath, trying to stem the tears that seemed to automatically flow when she had to say it aloud. “My father died in a car crash, too, remember?”

  “Were you in the crash?”

  “No. But I could have stopped it.”

  Kara looked thoughtful, then frowned. “But you still weren’t there. And you didn’t cause the accident.”

  “You didn’t cause it, either,” said Rilla gently. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “You don’t know anything about it! About me!” Kara stood, jerking the gun around to accentuate her words. Rilla flinched, trying not to think about it going off accidentally.

  Then Kara stopped waving the gun. She took a deep breath and aimed it directly at Rilla’s chest.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “Jack!”

  Turning to where Garth’s voice had come from, Jack looked back along the narrow alleyway between caravans.

  “Garth.” He’d only just arrived back at the Carnival. The hospital had told him he couldn’t stay another night. They’d promised Blago was recovering well and politely kicked him out the door when visiting hours were over.

  “Rilla’s in danger,” Garth called as he ran closer. “Kara’s got her at gunpoint. Hurry.”

  Jack’s heart thudded in his chest. “What are you talking about?” he said.

  Garth caught up to him, grabbed his arm, and Jack found himself being dragged along.

  “Kara thinks the deputy should have arrested Rilla. She’s here for some kind of twisted revenge.” Garth’s voice was muffled, like he was speaking from a distance.

  “Do you know where they are?”

  “In Rilla’s caravan. I can feel it. Kara’s projecting clearly for the first time since we started her damn Gift.”

  “And this is what she chooses to project?”

  “I can’t control this. We have to hurry. Kara’s not stable. I knew it, but I didn’t think it would spill over like this.”

  “Is it because this is a dragon Gift? Was Viktor right?”

  Garth blinked, his mind shifting around so slowly Jack could see the cogs turning. “Oh my God. The dragon. It’s doing this. That’s why she’s going crazy.” The panicked look in Garth’s eyes was enough to make Jack speed up, and both men raced toward Rilla’s caravan.

  ***

  Rilla took a breath and decided to take a risk. “I know what it’s like to blame yourself, Kara,” she said, half-expecting a bullet to the chest at any second. “And I know from Deputy Fordham that you’re a good person and wouldn’t do anything to hurt your family.”

  “It’s my fault. My fault they’re dead.” Kara flicked the gun around the room again.

  Rilla tried not to cringe each time the barrel passed in front of her. “No, it’s not,” she said.

  Kara paced in short steps across the tiny room. “He was yelling at me. I was being a bitch. I couldn’t help it. Everything he did used to make me so angry.”

  “You were a teenager, Kara. That’s what teenagers do. He didn’t crash because he was yelling at you. A truck drove into your car.”

  Kara eyed Rilla suspiciously, her gun swinging back to point directly at Rilla’s chest again. “How do you know a truck hit us? I never told you that.”

  “Matt told me about the accident,” Rilla said quickly, her hands still in the air. “I looked it up. I’m sorry. I was curious about you.”

  Kara narrowed her gaze. “You’re awfully nosy.”

  Rilla nodded. “My father used to tell me it was my biggest character fault.”

  “He sounds like a wise man.” Kara’s hands shifted nervously on the gun, and she pointed it at the ground.

  “He was. He would have told you that fathers love their daughters no matter what.” Rilla’s heart was
beating so fast she felt like she was in the middle of a marathon. Sweat ran down her back and her legs were like jelly. But all her attention was so focused on Kara none of it mattered. She had to convince the other woman to put her gun down and get herself out of this mess.

  “No matter if they kill them?” asked Kara.

  “You didn’t kill your father,” said Rilla, a little more sharply than she’d intended.

  Kara didn’t notice. “But if he’d been watching the road more carefully, he might have seen the truck.”

  “And he might not. You have to give yourself a break. You didn’t cause the accident.”

  “It wasn’t an accident. Your father’s crash was an accident. My family was murdered. By me.” Despair tinged her every word.

  Rilla took another deep breath. “I never said my father’s crash was an accident,” she said, a catch in her voice. She cleared her throat. “My father was murdered. Which is how I know what happened to you and your family wasn’t murder.” Rilla’s eyes filled with tears, and she couldn’t stop shaking.

  For the first time, Kara looked properly into Rilla’s eyes, clearly startled. Some of the craziness drained out of her gaze. “You think someone killed him? How?”

  “I don’t know yet. But there are people who wanted him dead. It was too much of a coincidence.”

  “So you don’t know if he was actually murdered?”

  “I know he was murdered,” said Rilla, her voice flat and hard. “I just don’t have proof. But I will.”

  Kara sat on the bed, laying the gun in her lap. She looked up at Rilla, a spark of interest in her eyes, replacing the wildness that had been there only moments before. “How are you going to prove he was murdered? Aren’t you about to leave town?”

  “I have a couple of weeks. That’s enough time… if I have help.” Rilla watched Kara carefully. An idea was forming in her head. They’d never done it before, and it was totally frowned upon, but perhaps befriending the Mark wouldn’t be such a terrible idea. It might give them more of an insight into her character. And it would give Kara a new focus, a distraction that would help them show her she hadn’t been to blame for her family’s deaths.