“I can stay with you tonight,” I offered. “If you want.”
Roxie seemed to consider this for a moment, then nodded. “All right. You can stay in Blossom’s bed.”
I ran over to my Winnebago to let my mom know that I was just staying at Roxie’s, so she wouldn’t worry, and I changed into pajamas. When I went back into Roxie’s Airstream, all the lights were off except for her bedside lamp.
Her room was in the back, with her narrow twin bed across from Blossom’s. She sat cross-legged on the covers and brushed her long platinum-blond hair.
There were three young women sharing a small trailer, so their stuff was crammed everywhere. All of the drawers were overflowing, and the door to the closet could never completely close. Posters and pictures covered every inch of the wall. One of Seth’s shirts lay on the sofa that folded out into Carrie’s bed.
It had to be really strange staying alone with the ghosts of Carrie and Blossom.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a slumber party,” I said, hopping into Blossom’s bed.
“This is the first time I’ve ever really had the room for it.” Roxie set aside her brush and crawled under the covers. Then she flicked off the light. “Night, Mara.”
I expected to lay awake for a while, since I was sleeping in a new place, and I still had so many details of my date with Gabe running through my mind. But it had been a very long day, and exhaustion set in quickly, so I was out within minutes.
I didn’t stay asleep long, though. My stomach turned sour, twisting up inside me, and I woke up feeling like I’d throw up any second. I sat up in the strange bed, trying to decide if I needed to run to the bathroom or not, and I heard something that scared me to the core.
Mahilā the tiger let out a long and pained roar.
28. assault
Roxie’s bed was on the side of the trailer that faced the tiger pen, and I jumped from my bed and leapt into hers.
“What the hell, Mara?” Roxie shouted, sitting up with a start.
“Something’s wrong with the tigers,” I told her as I pushed back her blinds.
The streetlamp was on the other side of Gideon’s trailer, which cast the tiger pen in a dark shadow, but the full moon was bright enough that I could see fairly well. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a view of the tiger pen from this angle.
Mahilā let out another sound, more of the guttural mewling she’d been doing since we got to Caudry.
“I’ve gotta go check on them,” I said, climbing off the bed.
Roxie grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Mara, no. If there’s something that’s hurting those tigers, what do you think it will do to you?”
“I can’t just let the tigers get hurt. Listen to them!”
“I know, I love the tigers too, but Zeke has a tranq gun and Gideon has a shotgun. They need to be the ones to deal with this.”
I climbed back on Roxie’s bed and pushed aside the shades. “Where the hell are they? Other people in the camp have to be hearing Mahilā too.”
Roxie crouched down beside me so she could peer over my shoulder. “I don’t know.”
The lights on Luka and Hutch’s trailer flicked on, and a few seconds later, the front door opened. Luka stepped out first, holding a devil stick, which was a large baton he used in tricks. Following a few paces behind him was Hutch, holding two other devil sticks.
“Idiots,” Roxie said under her breath. “Go back inside, go back inside.”
Instead of going inside, they decided to split up. Luka went right, going toward the tiger pen, and Hutch went left, going away from it.
“At least Hutch is smart enough not to walk toward the danger,” Roxie muttered.
As Luka walked toward the tiger pen, he had to pass the Phoenixes’ trailer. And then I saw something—that same thing I’d seen last night. A dark blur of a shadow, but this time it seemed … more real somehow. The darkness was less abstract and more of a shape—something low to the ground and very fast.
Roxie gasped. “Luka’s walking right toward it!”
I jumped off the bed and ran toward the door. Roxie cursed, and I heard her footsteps as she ran after me. As soon as we got outside, we separated, with Roxie going after Hutch, and me bolting toward Luka.
The air felt thick, like a humid blanket wrapped around me and slowing me down. Beneath my feet, the grass was slick and cool with dew, and I struggled not to slip as I rushed to Luka. Clouds were gathering overhead, and soon the light of the moon would be blocked out.
Surprised, Luka struck out at me with the devil stick, but I ducked, barely missing it. Then I grabbed Luka’s arm and started running toward his trailer.
But there it was, in front of us. It was hidden around the corner of the Phoenixes’ motorhome, as if it had been circling the trailer, but the creature cast a shadow out in front of it in the moonlight.
With nowhere else to run, I decided that we should hide. I pushed Luka to the ground and we crawled underneath the motorhome. It sat only a foot or two off the ground, and I could only hope that whatever was stalking the campsite was too big to get under the motorhome.
Lying on my belly in the dirt beside Luka, I held my breath as my heart pounded in my chest, and my stomach lurched.
Only a few feet in front of me, I could see the feet of the creature. Four huge feet with long toes, almost like fingers, and razor-sharp claws at the end.
“What the hell is that?” Luka whispered.
“Is anyone out here?” Gideon shouted. He sounded nearby, but I couldn’t see him, not from where I was hiding. “If you’re out here looking for trouble, you need to know that I have a gun.”
The feet in front of the trailer moved quickly, once again moving in a shadowy blur impossible to see clearly in the darkness of the night.
“Hello?” Gideon called again.
Then there was nothing but silence for a few moments. It was long enough for me to consider climbing out from under the trailer and letting Gideon know we were close.
“Holy shit!” Gideon yelled, and the air cracked like thunder as he fired his shotgun.
29. inhuman
The silence that followed felt more deafening than the gunshot. I didn’t dare move or breathe, and I couldn’t see anything. I felt trapped in a void, where I could only imagine all the worst things that could have happened.
“Zeke!” Gideon shouted, and the world fell back into motion again. “Get out here!”
If Gideon was calling people to come out, then he must’ve thought it was safe. I crawled out in a hurry, not waiting to see if Luka followed.
I ran toward the sound of his voice and discovered that the fencing around the tiger’s pen had broken. The metal tines were bent and twisted, creating a gap large enough for a bear to fit through.
Gideon knelt on the ground with his shotgun in one hand, while his other was pressed against a wound in the tiger’s abdomen. Safēda’s blue eyes were wild with fear, and her white fur had been stained red with blood.
Mahilā stood at the other side of the pen, howling.
“What happened?” I asked.
Gideon looked back over his shoulder at me. “Get in your trailer. Tell everyone to stay inside.”
“But what happened?” I persisted. “Did you shoot Safēda?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I found her like this. I fired the gun to scare away whatever had attacked her.”
“So you didn’t see it?” I asked.
“Mara!” Gideon snapped. “Get back in your trailer! Lock the door!”
I knew I wouldn’t be able to get any more from him, so I did as I was told. Though I skipped my trailer, instead deciding to hole up in Luka’s trailer with him, Hutch, and Roxie.
We sat at the windows, watching as Zeke rushed around to gather blankets and basic first aid. A few people came out to ask Gideon what was going on, but he sent them all back to their trailers with no more information than he’d given me.
Then Zeke and Gideon loaded Safēda into
the back of the truck, and Zeke sped off, presumably to get her the medical care she needed.
Finally, the sky began to lighten, and people began filtering out into the campsite. Normally, most of us weren’t up this early, but I don’t think anyone had gone back to sleep. Not that I blamed them. Gunfire wasn’t a common occurrence in the camp.
“Did you guys get a good look at it?” Hutch asked, not for the first time. “You saw the thing, right?”
He sat in the dinette across from Luka, while Roxie poured herself another cup of coffee. I sat in the swivel chair by the window, with my chin resting on the back of the chair, so I could watch everything that happened outside.
“We didn’t really see much of anything.” Luka repeated the answer he’d been giving Hutch since we’d gone into the trailer a couple hours ago. “It was dark, and we were under the camper.”
“But you think it was an animal?” Hutch pressed.
“It wasn’t human, so it must be an animal,” Luka replied wearily.
“You know those aren’t the only two options,” Hutch said.
“Hutch!” Roxie snapped. “Just let it go for a while, okay?”
The camp looked gray and dull, since the sun hadn’t risen fully yet, and everyone moved slowly as they started their morning routines, looking like zombies in a horror movie. Then the campsite was suddenly flooded with red and blue, and Hutch jumped to his feet to look out the windshield.
“Holy crap,” Hutch said. “There’s a cop here.”
A black-and-white car pulled into the center of the campsite. Caudry Sheriff’s Department had been painted on the side in bold blue letters, and my heart sank when I saw Deputy Bob Gendry getting out of the driver’s seat.
Gideon was already walking toward him, his lips pressed together in a grim line. Blood stained the white ribbed tank he was wearing, and I realized that he’d already lost a lot of clothes to bloodstains this week.
I moved slowly, opening the door to the motorhome and waiting at the bottom of the steps so I didn’t intrude. Mahilā growled, and I looked over to see her locked up in the traveling cage.
“What can I do for you?” Gideon asked.
“We’ve had some complaints about gunfire and possible animal attacks.” Deputy Bob stood with his hands on his belt, emphasizing the fact that he had a gun holstered on his hip.
“We’ve had some problems with an animal harassing our campsite,” Gideon explained carefully. “I fired a gun to scare it off.”
Deputy Bob looked over at the mangled tiger pen, and his full lips pinched into an annoyed pucker. “It seems like you’ve had some problems with your tigers.”
“It’s not our tigers,” Gideon corrected him. “It’s something from around here—something from Caudry—that attacked the tigers.”
“What kind of tiger is that?” Deputy Bob narrowed his small eyes as he watched Mahilā pace her cage.
“She’s a Siberian tiger,” Gideon replied.
“I don’t know much about exotic animals, like what you’ve got here.” The way Deputy Bob gestured when he said that, it seemed as if he was including all the people who lived in the carnival.
“I doubt very much that your knowledge extends beyond the limited things you’ve seen inside of your little backwoods town,” Gideon said, not bothering to even mask the irritation in his voice.
Deputy Bob laughed then, a loud braying sound that echoed through the campsite. “You don’t know anything about Caudry, do you?”
“I know that I’ll be glad when we get out of here,” Gideon countered.
“The sooner the better, don’t you think?” Deputy Bob asked with a raised eyebrow.
Gideon stood up taller. “Our contract is up on Sunday. We’ll be leaving then.”
“The thing is that I don’t think Caudry is zoned for that type of animal.” Deputy Bob pointed to Mahilā. “And I was willing to let it slide, but now that it seems you can’t control—”
“We have control of the tigers,” Gideon cut him off and pointed his finger at the deputy. “There is an animal here, some type of oversized coyote, and it’s messing with us. You need to get control of it.”
“I’m a deputy.” He smirked and tapped the badge on his chest. “Not animal control. And once you get these tigers out of here, I’ll see about sending the animal control boys out here to have a look at your claims about alleged coyotes.”
“You think my tiger attacked herself?” Gideon countered.
“No, I think you have two tigers, and the one that’s left doesn’t look too happy about being here,” Deputy Bob said. “They’re wild animals, maybe even rabid. And if you don’t get them out of here by the time the carnival opens this afternoon, I’ll have to shut you down.”
Gideon gritted his teeth, but he nodded. “Fine. The tigers will be gone.”
Deputy Bob grinned. “Glad to hear it. Now I hope y’all can enjoy the rest of your stay in Caudry.”
The deputy turned and went back to his car, so I walked over to Gideon.
“Why’d you let him make you get rid of the tigers?” I asked as Deputy Bob got in his car.
“Whatever’s been bothering us seems attracted to the tigers,” Gideon explained. “It’ll be safer for them if they’re gone. Maybe with the big cats gone, we’ll get some peace and quiet around here.”
Deputy Bob finally turned off his flashing lights and backed out of the campsite. When he turned out, Carrie Lu walked in. She watched the police car leave, then looked over at the crushed tiger pen.
“What the hell is going on here?” Carrie asked no one in particular.
30. the hierophant
People immediately began peppering Carrie with questions about Seth and what she was doing and how she was doing, but her appearance really said it all.
Her black hair had been pulled into a ponytail, and her deep-set eyes had dark bags underneath, contrasting with her pallor. With her shoulders hunched and her arms hugged against her chest, it was like she was trying to fold her slender frame into herself.
Roxie pushed her way through the small crowd of people that had gathered around Carrie, then she looped her arm around her roommate’s shoulders.
“Seth is awake, and he’s doing better,” Carrie said. “The doctors say he should be well enough to be released tomorrow.”
“That’s great news,” Gideon said. He stood a few feet back, away from the well-wishers, but his low rumbling British accent pushed through the murmurs of everyone else. The exhaustion of this place was wearing on him, but he looked relieved and even managed a small smile.
“It’s been hell sleeping in the hospital, though, so I just came back to catch a nap and grab some of my things,” Carrie explained.
“Give her space, people,” Roxie commanded, and began leading Carrie to their trailer. “She can talk to you when she wakes up.”
“Actually, I was just going to call a meeting,” Jackie said, and everyone turned to look at her in surprise, including Gideon and her husband, Brendon.
She stood in front of her motorhome, already dressed in a jumper with her blond hair curled even though it was barely seven in the morning. Behind her, her daughter, Alyssa, was inside the trailer with her face pressed against the glass door, making her nose smoosh up like a pig’s snout.
“I would like it if you would join us for the meeting, Carrie,” Jackie said, resting her blue eyes on Carrie. “I understand if you need your rest, though.”
Carrie nodded numbly. “I can stay for the meeting.”
“Are we having it now, then?” Gideon asked with a cocked eyebrow. He glanced around the campsite, looking skeptical and annoyed. As the head of the carnival, he was usually the one who called the meetings.
“Since Carrie is here now, I think it would be best.” Jackie tried to keep her voice even, but I heard a slight nervous tremor running through it.
Gideon turned and shouted, calling for everyone to join us in the campsite for a meeting. Most people were already outside
and awake, but a few stragglers made their way out. Hutch scurried around to set up lawn chairs, and I rushed to help him.
Roxie led Carrie to a picnic table in the back, while Gideon took a seat front and center. Mom finally emerged from our Winnebago with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders and sat down next to him.
“What’s all this about?” Brendon asked his wife while everyone took their seats.
“I think it’d be better if you just sat down with everyone,” Jackie whispered.
He eyed her warily, but he complied, sitting down next to his brother near the front. With the whole campsite here, we were actually a couple chairs short, so Hutch and I chose to stand in the back.
“Thank you all for coming out here so early, but in light of everything that’s happened, I think it’s best that we talk about it all now,” Jackie began.
“As you all know, there was a police officer that came into the campsite this morning. He said he came here because they’d had a complaint.” She paused, clearing her throat. “I called in that complaint.”
A few people gasped, and Brendon cursed under his breath.
Gideon stood up slowly, and Jackie took a step back. He wasn’t as tall or as strong as Seth, but the scars on his back and arms proved that he never backed down from a fight. His hands were big and rough from years of manual labor, and he’d balled them into fists as he seethed at Jackie.
“You had no right to do that,” Gideon said, and Jackie flinched. He didn’t raise his voice at all, but the anger in his words was palpable.
“I did what I had to do to protect my family,” Jackie insisted.
“If you’re worried about your family, you come to me,” Gideon snarled. “You do not go to the outside! You do not bring them here!”
“Gideon,” my mom said quietly, in a vain attempt to calm him.
“I did go to you and you didn’t listen!” Jackie shot back. Her nostrils flared as she glared up at him. “There is something attacking us—targeting us—and you’re doing nothing!”
Gideon took a deep breath and unclenched his fists. When he spoke, his voice was restrained and tight. “What else would you have me do? We have precautions in place, and the tigers will be gone this afternoon.”
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