The Magic Carnival Box Set: Books 1-3

by Trudi Jaye

  Garth had parked outside the massive wooden auditorium, his red VW Beetle shining bright against the natural elements around them.

  “You didn’t go with the same natural scheme as the rest of them, eh, Garth? Isn’t that kind of going with the stereotype?”

  “What do you know about stereotypes? You’re only twelve.”

  “I’m a very mature twelve,” Simon said with hauteur.

  Garth just shook his head, keeping to himself the thought that yes, this boy was probably nothing like the usual twelve-year-old kid.

  Simon was right, too. Garth had perversely chosen to violate the unspoken code that said natural browns, greens, and blues should surround them in the Compound. The natural colors were the antithesis of the bright and brilliant Carnival world they lived in during the summer and were actually rather calming. But it didn’t stop Garth from participating in his own little form of rebellion.

  He half pulled Simon out of the car into his arms. The boy was light, skin and bones really. It was just another thing to get angry with Hugo about. Not feeding his kid properly.

  Striding into the auditorium, Garth nodded at the people already dotting the practice rings and other areas. There was a gymnasium, a lap pool, trampolines, and a climbing wall, all designed to keep circus performers in top shape over the off-season.

  There were three other rings set in the same space, and there was someone working in all of them. The news that they were to be putting on a Winter Spectacular had sent many of the performers into panic mode as they all tried to come up with something new and amazing that would work on the ice lake.

  There was also a lot of colorful swearing going on. Garth glared at the latest offender, who muttered apologetically in Simon’s direction.

  “What are you going to do, Garth?” Simon asked. The casts on his legs and arm were covered in drawings, mostly from one of the other youngsters, Alathea, who’d taken to hanging out with Simon. She was Viktor’s granddaughter and seemed to have inherited an aptitude for exact replication.

  “I’m not sure yet. Probably something physical. A bit of slipping and sliding on the ice, that kind of thing, I suppose.” Garth gestured toward the ring. “I’m just going to warm up. Let me know if you need anything.”

  Simon nodded, his eyes glowing as he looked around the auditorium.

  Garth stepped into the padded-floor ring, nodding his head at Zacharie and Eborico, who were already warming up along the side. Their movements were fluid and strong, and Garth was pleased to see they were still performance fit. The break at the Compound was usually their only downtime, and the performers generally took time off to allow their bodies rest. If they were going to make this winter carnival work, they were going to need everyone fit and able for the performances.

  Blanking out the distractions around him, Garth centered his mind to focus on his body and the movements as he warmed up. The routine was one of those that had been taught to him by his father, right from his earliest childhood memories. He’d followed his father’s movements, at first with fat little toddler’s arms and then later with a skinny young boy’s arms and now with the strong muscled body of a man who exercised every day of his life.

  He’d looked into the background of the range of movements they used to loosen up and had discovered the influences of karate, tai chi, yoga, capoeira, and even ballet incorporated into them. When he’d asked his father where it had come from, Milton had said only that his father had taught it to him, as had his father’s father before him. Supposedly, it had come down from the shipwreck, as with most things around the Carnival. Garth didn’t believe it had, but it was certainly a routine that had been created through the mists of time.

  His mind slowed down and he thought only of the movements of his body, the bending and folding of his arms, the stretching out of his legs. It was like a dance, a lesson in movement that taught them all to keep their balance strong, their core centered, and their mind in focus.

  For some reason, the warm-up always reminded him of his mother. She’d loved to watch them do this part of the practice. She’d said it flowed almost to the point where their bodies were blurs of light, magical to watch.

  Once he could feel his heart beating and sweat beginning to form on his body, he walked over to the two clowns already practicing.

  He nodded. “Zach. Eb.”

  “Garth. So you got any ideas yet? What are we going to do for this show?” Eb scratched his nose, his freckled face looking young and unformed without the usual garish makeup.

  “It’s not confirmed yet, so we really don’t want to rush ourselves too much.”

  Zach rolled his eyes. “That’s the politician speaking. O’ course it’s goin’ to be approved. Everyone knows it. You know it. Rilla knows it. Jack knows it.”

  “Well, if I’m going to be cast as the politician, remember this. It won’t do us any good to go jumping the gun too publicly. Let’s just keep our practices general until the Nine confirms the show.”

  “So any hint of what kind of things we should generally be practicing, then, boss?”

  Garth smiled. “Ah, well, as to that… I have some ideas.”

  Eb rolled his eyes. “You know, you could have just skipped straight to the point, Garth. It’s not like we didn’t know the rest.”

  “It never hurts to emphasize the obvious. And Viktor has been looking rather surly ever since he found out Rilla’s idea for a show. We need him on our side if some of my plans for our performance are going to work. So let’s not piss him off, eh?”

  Eb and Zach nodded, and the three clowns got down to practicing some general movements, tumbles, flips, and jumps that Garth figured wouldn’t hurt them to have under their belts for the performance. When he caught Simon yawning, he ran over to check on the young boy.

  “I’m fine, Garth. Don’t worry about me,” Simon insisted.

  “You’re not fine. I can see big black marks under your eyes. You’re absolutely exhausted. Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” he scolded.

  Simon shrugged and then frowned, his eyes going dark under Garth’s censure.

  Garth took a breath, trying to calm his urge to shake the boy into being sensible. “I’m sorry, Simon. I’m just worried. You need to heal, and pushing yourself at this stage isn’t going to help. Later on, I’ll get you up and about doing the exercises. Then you’ll wish you were sitting down again.”

  Simon grinned up at Garth. “I wouldn’t care. I’d be so happy to be out of these stupid casts that I’d do every move twice.”

  “Right now, I’m going to take you back to the house.”

  Simon sighed. “Okay, I guess. I can practice the origami for Maddy’s visit this afternoon.”

  “It would be even better if you had a nap before she comes by.”

  “I’m not a baby, Garth. I don’t need to sleep in the daytime.” Simon rolled his eyes, looking more like a typical preteen.

  “Of course you’re not a baby. But you’ve got some pretty nasty breaks. Your body needs a chance to heal.”

  “You know, for a dude that’s supposed to be funny, you’re an awfully big nag,” said Simon.

  Garth grinned, relieved that Simon was joking with him again.

  ***

  Maddy walked behind Garth into the back bedroom, trying not to notice his muscled arms where they extended below his T-shirt sleeves. He’d promised to show her around today, and she was bursting with curiosity about where he lived and the life they led behind the closed gates. Talking with Milton only made her more interested.

  But first she needed to concentrate on Simon. “Hey, Simon. How’s it going?” She smiled when she saw all the paper animals lying around the bed. “Been practicing, I see.”

  “Maddy! I did a whole bunch of them. Garth helped me, and Alathea.” He stopped suddenly, then blushed. “She’s my friend.” He glanced over at Garth, who was lounging near the doorway again, then back at Maddy.

  Maddy nodded, watching his face carefully for sign
s of stress or physical pain. He seemed to be calm enough, concentrating on things other than his memory loss. “Great. It’s a fantastic skill to have. My father taught me when I was about your age. I spent some time in the hospital, and it helped me pass the time.” Maddy almost wished she could take the words back as soon as she said them. She was conscious of Garth standing behind her, listening to every word. What was she thinking, pulling out all her sob stories?

  “What were you in the hospital for?” Simon asked.

  “Simon! It’s not really polite to ask that,” said Garth from the doorway.

  Maddy glanced at Garth and then smiled at Simon. It wasn’t his fault she’d blabbed her sad childhood story in front of Garth. “No, it’s okay. We’re friends. We can talk about these things. I had an illness, something quite rare. It meant I spent a lot of time in the hospital for a couple of years. But then I got better.”

  “You got better? Just like that?”

  “Well, no, it took a long time.” Maddy swallowed. It had been a lonely time, but she wasn’t going to tell Simon that.

  “But your parents, they were there?”

  Maddy blinked at the unexpected question. Simon’s parents weren’t here with him. What made him assume hers were with her? “Well, no, my father wasn’t there. He actually dedicated his time to finding a cure for what I had.”

  “Did he find it?”

  Maddy nodded. “He did. It won him lots of awards, and it saved me from a short life spent in bed.”

  “That was lucky. He must have loved you very much.” Simon’s voice was awed, and Maddy felt a pang of guilt. She’d made it sound that way. And perhaps in his own way, her father did love her. But in the end, he’d been more interested in the research than his daughter. She’d been test subject number twelve, hidden from his view by the rules that said if his research was to have any validity, he couldn’t know which subject was his daughter.

  She’d been lost in the system, and he’d never bothered to find her again.

  “I guess so. But what I meant to say was doing origami helped me when I was your age, so I was hoping it would help you as well. So I’m pleased you’re enjoying it. What shall I teach you this time?”

  “Well, Alathea’s favorite animal is an elephant,” said Simon, a blush rosy on his cheeks. “I’d like to make her one, if you know it?”

  Maddy smiled, relieved to have made it through the talk of hospitals. “Of course.” She leaned over and looked through the pile of square origami paper. “We should try to find a grey one if we’re going to do an elephant.”

  She spent the rest of the time with Simon, bent over the paper, chatting about inconsequential things. The idea was to get him completely relaxed and doing something small and detailed with his hands. It was in that kind of environment that she was going to be able to help him best.

  After about ten minutes, Garth stood from his position by the door. For some reason, Maddy held her breath for a moment, expecting him to leave the room. But he wandered farther in and sat at the end of Simon’s bed. She let out her breath and kept showing Simon the next fold.

  After another few minutes, he reached out and grabbed a piece of origami paper from the pile beside Maddy’s thigh. She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and tried to ignore the flutter in her chest. When she glanced in his direction, he was following her folds as carefully as Simon was. He didn’t say a word, and his concentration on the squares of paper seemed as intense as with anything else he did. He was genuinely interested in learning.

  “That was harder than the frog,” said Simon, a smile on his face. “Garth, show me yours.” Garth held up a wonky elephant, and Simon sniggered. “You’re going to have to practice with me,” he said.

  Garth smiled, a twinkle of amusement in his dark eyes. “Maybe I will. If Alathea will let me.”

  Simon gave a panicked look toward Maddy and then scowled at Garth.

  “Don’t listen to him, Simon. He’s just teasing you. What should we do next?” said Maddy.

  Before Simon could open his mouth, Garth replied, “A sparrow. I’d like to learn how to do a sparrow.”

  Maddy raised her eyebrows at Garth. It was an odd choice. But she shrugged. “I can do a sparrow, I guess. There are a couple of options, but I’ll do the easier one for now.”

  Simon shifted through the paper. “Here’s a brown and white piece. And another one.” He handed the second piece of paper to Garth.

  Maddy screwed up her nose at the brown they’d chosen and picked up a blue piece instead. A sea-green pattern murmured on the other side, and she smiled. “I’m going to do a colorful sparrow.”

  As she showed them the folds for the small bird, she was conscious of the looks Garth kept giving her.

  “Start here with the basic fold…” Her fingers shook slightly, and she crossly gave herself a talking to. What was she freaking out about?

  Simon nodded and made the fold with a wonky precision caused by the cast on one arm.

  She led them through each move, and in the end, she had a distinct little blue-and-green bird. The boys both had slightly crooked versions of the same animal.

  “Can I have yours?” asked Garth quietly.

  Surprised, Maddy flicked her eyes up to Garth’s. His eyes were dark and intense, like he was looking into her head and could see what she’d been thinking about him. She swallowed. “Sure. Um, here.” She held out her hand flat, the small blue-and-green sparrow sitting up on her palm.

  Without taking his eyes off her, Garth took the small bird into his large hands. He held it up to his face and looked down at the small bird like it was the most precious object in the world.

  “Thank you.” The words were soft, almost inaudible. Maddy felt like she was the only one in the room who’d heard him. She shook her head, flicking her gaze to Simon. He was sitting with his head bent, examining his creation.

  “Great work, Simon.”

  Simon looked up, his face suddenly serious. “Can I ask you something, Maddy?”

  “Sure, Simon. Of course.”

  “How come you’re not trying to force me to talk about my dad to get my memories back?”

  Maddy blinked. Sometimes it was easy to forget how smart and mature Simon was, despite his lack of years. “It won’t help to force it, Simon. We don’t have to talk about your dad to help you get your memory back. We can talk about him if you want to, though.”

  Simon glanced at Garth and then shook his head. “No, I don’t want to talk about him right now. Maybe next time you come over.”

  “Sure, I’ll remember that. But for now, I’ll leave you to practice—”

  A knock at the door interrupted what she was saying. “Hey, Simon! It’s Alathea!” Heavy steps came down the hallway, and then a tall, thin girl with long brown hair appeared at the door. She stopped, startled, when she saw Simon’s room was full.

  “Hey, Al,” said Simon.

  “Hey, Si,” she replied.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Thank you for freeing me,” Lucietta purred. Hugo felt her hand on his shoulder as she tried to turn him to face her. His skin crawled and he shook off her touch, continuing to stare out the window of the small motel. The dirty window only gave a partial indication of the concrete buildings outside.

  “I had no choice,” he said. “I’ve tried to find where they’ve disappeared. But I can’t.” He swung around to face her. “I need you, Luci. You know more about the location than I do, despite your ban.” Regardless of his revulsion, he needed the help of his previous assistant and lover. He’d planned to get rid of her when the Carnival was destroyed. But it had survived and so did she. She was linked to them, and he hated her for it. But he could swallow down that hatred if it meant he could get his son back. “I need you,” he repeated.

  Because he needed his son. Desperately. He clenched his now useless hand, the lack of magic stirring in his fingertips like a physical wound.

  She looked up at him with wrinkled blue eyes, the li
nes tracing her bitterness. “It was only because you need me to find them?” She pushed away from him, her expression hard.

  He swallowed down the sour taste in his mouth. “I missed you, Luci. You’re the only person who understands me.” With difficulty, Hugo kept his expression blank.

  She was a hollow shell, consumed by the need for revenge. At one time, he had found that attractive. It had fed his own vengeance. But no longer.

  “Come here, my love.” He forced the words out of his mouth, past the sudden taste of sawdust. He reached out and pulled her into a hug, his arms holding her close. A part of him wished he could just keep going, hugging her tighter and tighter, pulling her so close that he crushed her weak bones until they were dust.

  Red washed over his vision for a moment, and he saw her struggling in his arms, her body flushing with the need to escape, her mouth open in a silent scream. He allowed himself to daydream a moment longer. Then he loosened his hold.

  He needed her… for now.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Garth walked beside Maddy, trying to see the Compound through her eyes. Houses curled in and out of the trees, sometimes part of the tree itself or built high up in the branches. Others, like his own house, were on or over the lake, now frozen, with views over the icy shore. The architecture was whimsical, flamboyant, yet somehow fit in with the natural surroundings. That was important to them all, that they melded into the nature that surrounded them.

  “Most people live at this end. There are around a hundred people all up here during the winter and fall. About seventy of our people go on the Carnival tour over summer, and the rest stay here to look after everything,” he said.

  “What about the kids?” Maddy put her head to one side, curiosity lighting her eyes.

  “Depends. They have to go to school, so they’re enrolled for most of the year at the local Madison schools. When they finish for the summer, some of them are performers, so they catch up with the Carnival. Others just stay here, and they’re looked after.”