Charmed: The Gypsy Enchantment

by Carla Jablonski

  “Ruby?” he croaked again.

  Prue stood unsteadily. “No, I’m not Ruby.”

  The guy wavered a moment, as though Prue’s words confused him, then he shuffled away, back behind Ivan’s trailer.

  Prue stood staring after him. Do all the performers stay in character the way those clowns did this morning?

  Another thought occurred to her. Why would such a ghastly character be part of this sunny circus? A figure like that would terrify kids.

  Maybe he wasn’t a performer, she realized, her stomach starting to twist. Maybe he has something to do with Ivan’s so-called curse.

  Before she could investigate further, Kristin bounced over to her. “There you are! Come on! The show’s about to start. We don’t want to miss a single minute!”

  “Okay,” Prue murmured. She shivered. Ivan may not believe in signs and portents, but perhaps he should.

  Phoebe scrunched down in the hard chair as low as she could. She wished she had a hat she could pull down over her face, or better yet, a total disguise. Anything to get Raphael the Tattooed Snake-Charmer off her trail.

  Why is it that I’m irresistible to creeps? Phoebe wondered. When Piper attracts a guy, he’s someone hunky and sweet like Dan or Leo. She has two fabulous men fighting over her and I’ve got what? A wacko who comes with his very own boa constrictor.

  Not that it’s so easy to have to choose, Phoebe knew. Watching Piper struggle with the Dan-Leo triangle wasn’t pretty. Phoebe hoped her sister was handling that accidental meeting with Dan. That was so not on the agenda. Things are always so sticky around Dan. Piper still had really strong feelings for him, and it was way obvious that Dan’s little heart was pit-a-patting over Piper. Still, Phoebe figured they were both being very adult about it all, especially since Jenny was around as a witness. Phoebe sighed. She hoped this wouldn’t stir up those doubts for Piper. It had been such hard work for her, figuring out the right thing to do.

  Phoebe shifted in the uncomfortable seat. Hmm. These free passes didn’t exactly land us in the VIP section, did they, she observed. More like nose-bleed section. Phoebe’s seat was up near the back wall of the tent, far from the ring. She wasn’t complaining, though. She still had a great view. She could even see Prue down at ringside, snapping away.

  Music blared from the loudspeakers, and clowns tumbled in the aisles, stealing hats and tossing balloons. The candy sellers shouted their wares.

  “Over here!” Phoebe called. She waved over a popcorn seller. As far as Phoebe was concerned, one of the best things about carnivals and circuses was that you had an excuse to eat all the junk food you wanted. It was practically a requirement! She handed the teenager her money and accepted an enormous box of popcorn. She craned her neck, scanning the tent for the hundredth time. Now, where was Piper? What could be taking her so long?

  Just as Phoebe was ready to get up to start a search, Piper and Jenny arrived.

  “Hey, guys,” Phoebe said. “I thought maybe one of the elephants had stomped you.”

  “Nope. Just distracted,” Piper replied.

  Phoebe couldn’t read her sister. No time to find out how things had gone with Dan. His noticeable absence, however, spoke volumes.

  “So just us girls?” Phoebe said with a raised questioning eyebrow.

  “Yup,” Piper said.

  “This is so babyish,” Jenny complained. “I can’t believe Dan thought I’d want to go to the dumb old circus. I mean, who thinks clowns are funny except little kids.”

  “I do, for one,” Phoebe said. She wondered if Jenny’s crankiness had to do with the failed romance between Dan and Piper.

  However, as the circus got under way, Phoebe watched in amusement as Jenny’s demeanor changed. The girl was at the edge of her seat for the aerialists and gasped at Miranda Merrill, tightrope walker extraordinaire. She even laughed at the antics of the clowns. When the elephants stole the jugglers’ clubs, Phoebe thought Jenny might actually collapse, she was guffawing so hard.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages!” the ringmaster’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “For our next act, I ask that you be as quiet as possible. For you will be entertained not only by amazing wild beasts, but also by the beautiful music of Ivan the Gypsy Violinist!”

  The lights went down. A hush fell over the tent. Out of the darkness a tiger’s loud growl was heard. It was taken up by the roar of a lion, and then the sounds of bears snuffling and growling. Jenny grabbed Phoebe’s hand. Phoebe noticed the girl was also clutching Piper’s hand.

  Above the growing animal sounds came a pure note, high and sweet. Instantly Jenny’s grip lessened. As the note became a lilting melody, the lights came up on a tall man in the center of the ring. He was playing the violin. He wore a billowing white shirt and tight black pants. Circling the ring were animal cages. The roustabouts must have moved them into place in the dark.

  Now the violinist began to dance as he played. He did some steps over to the lion’s cage. With a twist and a kick, he flicked open the cage with his foot.

  Serious Tae-Bo action, Phoebe thought admiringly. Actually, she decided, more Riverdance than martial arts.

  The violinist continued to dance around the ring, kicking open cages. He never stopped playing. The melody soared and dipped. It sounded both familiar yet completely new. Nothing else could be heard in the ring; even the animals seemed mesmerized.

  Once all the cages were open, the violinist returned to the center of the ring. He played a new song, and now the animals joined him in the dance. A tiger stood on its hind legs, placed its heavy paws on the violinist’s shoulders, taking care not to dislodge the violin. They whirled around the ring together. The lions paced in time to the music, dipping their heads in unison to the beat. The bears chased each other, pulling pranks on Ivan as if they were naughty children. Then they rolled around on the ground as if they were laughing.

  All the time the violinist played. Phoebe didn’t want the music ever to stop. She glanced around the tent. The entire audience seemed to be entranced. They smiled at one another, complete strangers holding hands and grinning. A sense of well-being permeated the tent.

  Each of the animals was given a special moment to shine. The bears were adorable—clumsy but endearing. The lions were dramatic, the tigers majestic.

  Finally, the violinist played the last notes. All the animals took a bow. Then, as he played an exit march, each animal trooped back into its cage. The violinist once more stood alone in the center of the ring, played a single note, and the lights blinked out.

  For a moment the entire tent was silent, as if the audience didn’t know what to do now that the music had stopped. Then as if a button had been pushed, thunderous applause filled the tent.

  “That was beautiful,” Jenny gasped. Her eyes were shining, as if she was about to cry.

  Phoebe found herself feeling a bit choked up herself. But then, I’m a total sucker for guys in tights with gorgeous animals—not to mention serious animal magnetism.

  The clowns tumbled back into the ring, changing the pace of the show. After the mesmerizing performance of Ivan the Gypsy Violinist, the clowns’ antics were a welcome change. Their pranks seemed even funnier now—or maybe everyone was in such a good mood after Ivan’s lovely act that anything the clowns did would be A-OK with them, Phoebe observed.

  All too soon the entire cast appeared for the final parade. The circus band played lively music as the ringmaster and the clowns got the entire audience clapping and stomping its feet. Then the show was over.

  “That was awesome!” Jenny exclaimed.

  “Not too babyish?” Piper asked with a smile.

  “Not at all! This was totally great!”

  “I thought so, too!” Piper gave Jenny a quick hug.

  “Now do we get to go meet the performers?” Jenny asked.

  “We’ll see,” Piper said. “We do get to go down to the ring and find Prue. There will probably be performers around. Maybe we’ll be able to wrangle
some introductions.”

  “I want to meet the Gypsy violinist,” Jenny said. “And I want to pet one of those cute little pigs that chased the clowns.”

  “Okay,” Piper said, tucking the program into her purse.

  “Hurry!” Jenny urged. “I don’t want to miss this chance!”

  Piper rolled her eyes good-naturedly at Phoebe. “This from a girl who claimed she didn’t want to be here.”

  Phoebe stood up. “Oops!” Phoebe’s purse tumbled from her lap. Unfortunately the drawstring top wasn’t very secure and out rolled a lipstick, a pen, and a mascara wand.

  She knelt down as Jenny hurried Piper along the bleachers and down toward the ring. Phoebe tossed her stuff back into her cloth bag and gave the drawstring an extra-hard tug. She stood back up and spotted the sweater Piper had left draped over her seat. “I guess the circus got us all in a bit of a daze,” she muttered.

  She reached for the soft peach-colored sleeve. A startling shock of energy surged through her.

  The bustling circus tent vanished as a powerful vision took hold of Phoebe. Images flooded through her.

  Large powerful hands gripping a slim neck.

  Smaller hands desperately clawing at those hands.

  Long hair swirling in the struggle.

  Huge brown eyes filled with cruelty and fury.

  Pain. Terror. No air. Can’t breathe.

  Phoebe released the sweater. It fell between the bleachers. She steadied herself by gripping the back of a seat.

  Piper. Her vision was of Piper being strangled by a handsome stranger.

  CHAPTER

  6

  Phoebe took in several deep breaths to center herself. It always took a few seconds to recover from one of her visions. They came on so powerfully, took her over, and left her a little disoriented.

  She needed to keep a clear head. She had to get Piper out of there—fast. The tricky part was to do so without giving anything away in front of Jenny.

  Phoebe hurried down the bleachers toward the ring. She ducked past kids crowding around a merry clown. Other children were being ushered out by their parents. Roustabouts were already sweeping the ring, getting ready to set up for the next show a few hours later.

  Phoebe stood on one of the bleachers, eyeing the crowded backstage area. Several security guards were patrolling, barking into walkie-talkies.

  Where are they? Phoebe scanned for Piper. The problem with her visions was that she never had any idea how much time she had before the future she had flashed on came to pass. Was Piper being strangled this minute? It was such chaos down by ringside. It was easy to imagine someone snatching her sister and dragging her behind some trailer and leaving her for dead.

  Why hadn’t the vision been clearer? All Phoebe had been able to see was the hatred in the handsome man’s eyes and his hands squeezing the life out of Piper. There had been no indication of where this horrible attack would take place. No clothing clues. No sense of time of day. Just the cruelly handsome face, Piper’s terror and gasps for breath, and her desperate attempt to escape from the powerful grip around her throat.

  “Piper!” Phoebe called, scanning the area. Then relief flooded through her. There was Piper, talking animatedly with Jenny. The only guy nearby did not qualify as handsome by anyone’s standards: Raphael the snake charmer.

  The way Jenny was peering around the stands made Phoebe suspect that Raphael was asking Jenny where she was. Should I hide? Can’t. Gotta get Piper out of here, grab Prue, and call a Halliwell powwow pronto.

  I hope Piper appreciates this, Phoebe thought as she made a beeline toward the little group. Volunteering to put myself into Raphael’s orbit really is going above and beyond.

  At least Ralphie-boy was minus the snake, Phoebe noted. Only she wondered if maybe she’d prefer the reptile’s company. Ralph was far more slithery and certainly slimier.

  “Pretty lady, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Raphael said to Phoebe. He grinned, displaying a gold canine tooth. “Not that you gals aren’t lookers yourself,” he added to Piper and Jenny.

  “Well, you found me. And now we have to disappear. Piper?” Phoebe grabbed Piper’s arm. One good thing about Raphael’s presence: Jenny might assume they were escaping from Raphael’s not-too-charming charms and not Phoebe’s attempt to prevent a murder predicted by a supernatural vision.

  “Why, Phoebe, you said you wanted to meet some circus guys,” Piper said, stifling a giggle. “What’s your rush? Isn’t Raphael your type?”

  “We need to find Prue and get going, sister dear,” Phoebe said through gritted teeth. How could she warn Piper with Jenny standing right there? Too bad our powers don’t include telepathy.

  “I don’t want to go,” Jenny complained. “I want to meet the performers.” She glared at Piper. “And you promised that after the show we could try out all the games on the midway.”

  Piper looked appealingly to Phoebe. “Well, I did prom—”

  Phoebe cut her off. “Another time. Piper, we have that really important thingie. Don’t you remember?”

  Piper looked puzzled. “What kind of thingie?”

  “Something I saw . . . and then because I saw it, I got really interested . . .”

  Phoebe could see the light dawn in her sister’s eyes.

  “Oh, right!” Piper slapped her forehead. “The thingie.”

  “What thingie?” Jenny asked.

  Piper stared at Phoebe. “Uh, Phoebe?”

  Phoebe thought fast. What could she say they had to do that Jenny wouldn’t want to tag along for? Something a twelve-year-old would find boring.

  “I saw some excellent new tires that I thought we should buy, and they had just gone on sale,” Phoebe said. “We need to get there before the store closes.”

  Jenny looked baffled. “You want to leave without meeting anyone for that?” she asked. Then she seemed to remember her manners. “Well, okay . . .” She dropped her chin and gazed down at the ground. “If you really have to.”

  Phoebe gave a decisive nod. “We really have to. Now, where’s Prue?”

  “I’m not really sure,” Piper told her. “She said she wanted to check on something with a costumer. Maybe she’s setting up a shoot in the wardrobe trailer.”

  “There she is.” Jenny pointed toward a stack of props.

  Phoebe turned and saw her sister talking to a short, stylish woman with cropped hair who was holding several clothing hangers. Prue’s expression was concerned, perplexed. I don’t know what’s bothering her right now, Phoebe thought, but once I tell her about the vision she’ll be even more worried.

  The woman with Prue vanished back among the crew. Prue glanced around. Phoebe waved at her, and Prue came over to join them. “Hi, what’s up?” Prue asked.

  “Tire shopping,” Jenny said in a voice dripping with disappointment.

  “What?” Prue’s eyes darted back and forth between her sisters.

  “You know me,” Phoebe said brightly. “Once I see something, I just have to act on it immediately. So let’s get out of here!”

  Prue seemed to pick up the message. Despite having been the Charmed Ones for a while, Phoebe noticed, we’re only just starting to get our secret codes down. We really need to come up with a signal or a code or a handshake or something so we don’t have to go through all this. After all, we spend an awful lot of time trying to discuss things that can’t be discussed in front of other people.

  Kristin charged over. “Ready?” she asked Prue.

  Uh-oh, Phoebe thought. How is Prue going to get out of here? She’s supposed to be working.

  “Actually, Kristin, something’s come up,” Prue said. “An emergency.”

  Kristin’s face clouded with concern. “What kind of emergency? Is everything okay?” She held up a hand to stop Prue from answering. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to get personal. You do what you need to do.”

  Phoebe was impressed. Kristin was being really cool about Prue taking off. The reporter’s famous niceness
was making it almost too easy. Even Phoebe was beginning to feel guilty about lying to the woman. And Phoebe knew what was at stake.

  “Thanks, Kristin,” Prue said gratefully. “I promise I’ll be set for a full day tomorrow.”

  “Bright and early then,” Kristin said. “I’ll give you a list of anything from this afternoon you should shoot.”

  She squeezed Prue’s shoulder. “Isn’t this the greatest assignment! You can thank me later! Toodles!” She rushed away.

  “Did she say ‘toodles’?” Jenny asked, staring after Kristin.

  “She also says ‘gee whiz,’ ” Prue replied.

  “Are the tires an emergency?” Jenny asked.

  “They will be if we have a flat,” Phoebe said. “Let’s go.”

  Phoebe hurried them to the parking lot. She practically had them jogging. Once they got into the car Jenny asked, “Is something wrong? You’re all being kind of weird.”

  Uh-oh. Better do something to distract her, Phoebe thought. She turned around in the front seat to face Jenny in the back. “We are weird,” Phoebe joked. “You only just noticed that?”

  Jenny’s forehead crinkled. “No, really. Did I do something?”

  “No sweetie, of course not.” Piper hugged Jenny and looked at Phoebe. Phoebe read her sister’s message loud and clear. We need to get on to some interesting topic fast.

  “So what did you think of the circus?” Phoebe asked. “Not for babies, after all?

  Jenny leaned back against the car seat. “Nope. I guess I actually have to thank Uncle Dan for setting this up, after all.” She smiled at Piper. “It was a hundred times better hanging out with you, though.”

  “What was your favorite part?” Phoebe asked, keeping Jenny occupied.

  Jenny thought for a moment. “Everything,” she declared.

  “Even Raphael the snake charmer?” Piper teased.

  Jenny made a face and laughed. “Okay, not everything. Besides, he’s Phoebe’s boyfriend.” She reached between the front seats and poked Phoebe in the side. “I don’t want to steal him away from her.”

  “Ha. Ha.” Phoebe said, trying to grab Jenny’s finger. “Very funny.”