by Erin Johnson
I looked between the two men. “What just happened?”
The tall guy with the mustache folded his arms across his broad chest and glared at his companion in the hat and striped vest. “Mick and I were helping erect the tent next door. I told them, many times, to check the guy line.”
The shorter guy, Mick, pulled his hat off his head and turned it in his hands. “We did. Honestly, I swear. I don’t know what happened.”
The buff guy frowned at his friend, then turned to me. “My apologies, miss.”
I raised my brows. “Apologies? You saved us from being crushed. Thank you.” I swallowed. “And also, how is that physically possible?”
The buff guy smiled, his mustache quirking to the side. He extended an arm as thick as my leg and wrapped in tattoos of red, yellow, and orange flames. “I’m Edward, the strong man.”
“Ah, that explains it. I’m Imogen.” I shook his huge, warm hand. Seriously, he could have thumb wrestled a bear. Do bears have thumbs?
“Most people call me Edward the Strong.”
I grinned. “That does save a lot of syllables.”
His dark eyes focused on mine for a long breath, and then he burst into a hearty laugh, clapping Mick on the back, which sent him flying. “I like you, Imogen. Really glad I kept that pole from crushing you.”
I nodded, grinning. “Me too.”
The next face to come rushing into the tent was a familiar one.
“Amelia!” I sighed with relief. Right behind her a team of medics with a magically floating stretcher entered. They carefully loaded up Sam, and Maple moved to my side.
I put an arm around her and was comforted when she hugged me back. The medics’ blue uniforms with the royal crest reminded me of someone I’d rather not think about. They carried Sam out of the tent, Amelia lingering behind.
“They’re taking Sam to the infirmary. Give them a few hours, and then you can go visit. They said he should be fine, but they want to run some tests.”
We nodded.
Amelia smoothed her white pencil skirt, which matched her tight-to-her-head hair, and adjusted her lavender blouse. “I heard someone needed a medic and came to make sure everything was being handled. I didn’t expect to see you lot here. Though maybe I should have expected it—trouble follows you around.”
I smiled. “Good to see you too, Amelia. You’re coordinating the carnival?”
She smiled back. “Yes, sorry. A million fires to put out today. Don’t need word getting out of people being nearly crushed by tents. Everyone’s freaked out enough with the recent BA attack.”
Ah. The Badlands Army. I was all too familiar with their recent attack—I’d stopped it by throwing myself in the line of fire (accidentally), and barely survived. We’d passed many wanted posters of their leader, Horace, on the way through town to the carnival. They still startled me, life-sized and realistic. I felt like his hooded blue eyes watched me when I walked by. At least there’d been extra security posted at the entrance to the carnival.
“Also, Prince Harry gave me a heads-up you lot would be working the carnival.” She swept her arm toward the pier. “Past the pier is a field where the workers are camping out. I’ve arranged a tent with a couple of beds for you. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s a place to crash for the night if you don’t feel like hiking up the mountain back to the palace.”
Maple and I smiled at each other. Knowing Amelia, it was going to be fancy.
Amelia pressed a dark, slim finger to her glowing earpiece that looked like a gumball-sized pearl. “Yes, Liam, the human cannonball was approved. Weeks ago.” She rolled her eyes and gave us an exasperated look. Her eyes shot wide open. “No, it’s not a ride, it’s for an act. Get those kids out of it. Now!” She dashed out of the tent.
“I hope Sam’s okay.” Maple’s lips quavered and her eyes shone with unshed tears.
“Me too.” I gave her shoulder a squeeze. “We’ll go check on him soon.”
The hammers and various tools finished their work and flew to Mick’s side again. Edward the Strong cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you, ladies, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”
Mick spread his arms wide. “To make it up to you, I run the canal ride—unlimited lifetime rides for you both.” Edward elbowed his friend hard. Mick rubbed his arm. “Ow.”
I cleared my throat to hide a laugh. I supposed that would compensate for nearly killing us. “Thank you both.”
Edward the Strong gave me a long look as he bowed his head to duck out of the tent. “Hope to see you around, Imogen.”
3
Swallows
When I spotted Maple strolling through the crowd toward the tent, I smiled, then leapt to my feet when I saw that Sam walked beside her. I waved my arm overhead, and Maple and Sam smiled and waved back. Then I spotted him. Hank, striding behind them.
He lifted his hand, too, a half smile across his face, like he wasn’t sure I’d want to see him. And he’d be correct. I sunk back down onto the wooden stool behind the table, and heaved a great sigh. Urg.
I hated the conflict between the butterflies in my stomach and the anxiety in my chest. Yes, I wanted to see him. Of course. Try as I might, I couldn’t stop thinking about him… and that kiss. Though, at the time, I’d been half-dead and covered in my own vomit. But I erased all that when I replayed it in my head.
I shook my head to clear it, my bun bobbing on top. No. Engaged prince. So off-limits. Don’t even think about it.
The little group stopped in front of me. “Sam! I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon. How do you feel?” I turned to Maple. “Is it okay for him to be up and about?”
We’d agreed to take turns visiting Sam in the infirmary. They’d only taken him away a couple of hours ago, and he’d been unconscious then. I’d expected Maple to return alone and watch the booth while I visited.
Even though the sounds of tents and booths being hammered together filled the air, the carnival still attracted human tourists, and someone needed to hold down the fort. Though Maple had explained that the real fun and magic happened at night, when all the humans left Bijou Mer and the tide rose up to the pier, which now hovered hundreds of feet above the water off the side of the mountain.
Maple smiled at me, then at Sam. “The medics cleared him.”
“Yesss,” Sam said in his deep, lisping voice. “I feel tired, but that’sss all.”
I stood and moved around the table. “Why don’t you sit and rest?”
Maple and I guided Sam to the stool, and he nodded his thanks.
“What happened?” I looked Sam over, from his fixed glasses to his shy smile. “No concussion or anything?”
Sam shook his head. “They sssaid I probably wasss knocked over by the falling canvasss. But no damage done.”
Maple sighed. “Thank the waves.”
“That’s what Edward suspected.” I nodded. “I’m so glad you’re all right, Sam. We were so worried.”
“Edward?”
I jumped. I’d almost forgotten Hank stood behind me. Well, not really. It was strange how I seemed to always be aware of him if we were in the same space together. But I’d been so concerned about Sam, I’d gotten distracted.
“He’s the carnival’s strong man,” Maple explained as she pulled a stool up beside Sam.
I turned towards Hank slightly, but didn’t meet his eyes. “He saved us from being crushed.”
Hank sucked in a sharp breath through his nose and held it for several long moments. “It’s unacceptable that that happened. I’ll talk to Amelia, and make sure safety standards are up to code and—”
I looked up at his concerned face. A line creased the space between his thick brows. “Accidents happen. That’s all it was. And thanks to Edward, we’re all okay.”
Hank’s face darkened. “Can I speak to you a moment? Privately?” He looked at Sam, Maple, and Iggy, who eagerly hung halfway out of the oven, watching us with bright eyes, and popping bits of log into his mouth like
popcorn.
I looked at the grass, torn between wanting to be alone with him and knowing how difficult it would be to keep my distance if I was. “I think Maple and Sam need me here at the tent. This okay to talk here?”
Hank huffed, glancing between my friends and me. Sam and Maple retreated to the pantry and pretended to be busy, while Iggy continued to watch us with delight. I glared at him and hoped he understood its meaning. So glad you find my angst entertaining.
He arched one brow, which I interpreted as, I do.
“Listen.”
Hank startled me into looking up into his face. My resolve softened for a moment and I felt that pull between us. Something about us both being swallows made strange magic happen, and when his face became underlit by the golden strands growing between us, I leapt to my feet and stepped back.
Hank cleared his throat. “I don’t like that this Edward guy saved you.”
I frowned and darted a glance at him. “Why?” Was he jealous? He couldn’t be—not when he was engaged to the most elegant, beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
Hank rubbed his wrist and looked away, as if searching for the words. “If you knew how to use your magic, you could have saved yourself.” He caught my gaze with his deep blue eyes and pressed his lips together. “If he hadn’t happened to be there, you could’ve been—and I would’ve—” He sighed. “Please just let me teach you.”
“That’s not a good idea.” I crossed my arms and looked away.
Hank growled. “You can’t avoid me forever.”
I smirked up at him. “Watch me.” I sniffed. “Besides, I’m learning just fine on my own.”
“You’re not, otherwise you would’ve stopped that falling pole yourself. Like I said—” He stopped and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He continued in a calmer voice. “Like I said, it takes another swallow to learn. It was the same for me. And except for my mentor growing up, I’ve never met another swallow till you—”
“Well, you have now.”
I startled and turned. I’d been so intent on arguing with Hank that I hadn’t noticed Edward the Strong walk up to my side. I let out a breath and smoothed my apron and bangs, then gestured between the men. “Hank, this is Edward the Strong—the man who saved us. And Edward, this is Hank—I mean, Prince Harry.”
“Oh, a prince, well a bow is in order then.” Edward swept one enormous arm across his stomach and folded forward at the waist, his eyes always on Hank’s face. As he straightened, he said, “As they say. Golden shoes, upon golden feet, do a golden path tread.”
Hank blinked and his thick brows drew together in a frown. “What did you say?”
“Just an old saying from my hometown.” Edward waved it away with a broad hand. “I hope I haven’t interrupted. I came by to check on Imogen.” He turned to me. “And how are you?”
I smiled. “Fine, thank you.” I swept a hand toward Sam, who peeked around the tarp diving the pantry from the front of the tent, and waved a floppy hand. He didn’t quite understand all the human gestures yet. “And our friend is all recovered.”
“Ah!” Edward nodded and placed his hands on his hips, his elbows out wide. The tattooed phoenixes winding up from his wrists made his arms look like flaming wings. “Glad to see that you’re well, lad.”
“Edward.” I looked up into his face. “A moment ago—that thing you said?”
He grinned, his handlebar mustache twitching. “I’m a swallow.”
My brows jumped up. “You are? Hank and I are, too!”
Hank glared at Edward. “I was telling Imogen she needs to learn to use her powers, so she can protect herself from careless accidents.”
My eyes darted between the prince and the strong man as they stared each other down. Iggy pumped his little flame arms and silently mouthed, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
I pressed a hand to my forehead, pushing my bangs to the side. “Yes. And I will learn, as I said, from my books.”
Edward turned, breaking the staring contest. “That won’t do. It takes one to learn from.”
Hank half closed his eyes. “Well, we agree on one thing.”
“I’ll teach you.” Edward smiled at me, the corners of his ’stache lifting.
Hank’s nostrils flared and he paled. I jumped all over it. “Perfect!” I smiled at Hank. “See. All settled. I’ll learn, like you wanted.”
“Hardly what I wanted,” Hank grumbled, before stalking out of the tent.
Edward watched him go with a sneer. “Touchy, isn’t he?” He grinned at me. “My caravan’s to the left of the pier, up against the thicket. Come by tomorrow, around midmorning, and we’ll get started.”
4
Rhonda vs. Zerna
“That’ll be three merkles.”
“Huh?”
I leaned forward over the wooden table laden with pastries, and shouted, “That’ll be three merkles.”
The teenager handed over the coins and I gave him a half-circle-shaped hand pie in waxed paper. He bounded off with his group of friends, their laughter lost in the din of the milling crowd, the screams from the fair rides, the noise of the hardcore witch band on the stage, and the DING DING DING from the various game booths.
I moved next to the oven and held the coins up under Iggy’s light. I ran a thumb over the stamped image of Bijou Mer rising from the sea, then flipped the coin to look at the two fish with encircled tails, bordered by a ring of waves.
“I still can’t believe this is your money.” I tossed the coins in my hand to hear them jingle. “It’s like pirate doubloons.”
Iggy moved forward to see me. “What’d you expect? Seashells?”
I didn’t answer.
“Sea snakes, you did! You thought they paid in seashells!” Iggy devolved into a fit of laughter.
Maple tried to hide her smile as I handed over the coins and she placed them in the till.
“Well, would it really be that far out?”
Iggy continued to laugh, and I resumed my seat on the stool beside Maple. We’d sent Sam home to rest, then baked for hours during the afternoon, and now the fruits of our labors lay spread out on the table before us for the magical night crowd to purchase.
The sweet, buttery smell of hand pies, cupcakes, ice-cream sandwiches, and funnel cakes would have been tempting, if I hadn’t snacked so much during the preparation that I’d made myself sick. I pressed a hand to my unsettled stomach as a bearded man walked by gnawing on a fish head on a stick. The fair food here was certainly different than at home. I grinned as a mom holding her daughter’s hand passed by, a cotton candy cloud magically floating beside them, dangling from a toy dirigible.
I settled in for some good people watching. A young boy stretched his shaking hand out, working hard to levitate a ring onto a peg in a game booth. A crowd of onlookers watched a belly dancer charm a snake made of flame, and a man in a vest with a hooked cane called out to the dense crowd, “Step right up, step right up! Come see the strangest, oddest specimens collected from the depths of the Badlands wilderness!”
Two familiar faces cut their way through the crowd towards us. Amelia, dressed in a pencil skirt and blouse, strode forward, while Rhonda the Seer, wearing overalls, a fringed leather jacket, and a beer hat, trailed behind her. As they neared, I could just make out their conversation.
“I don’t see why you’d ask her, and not me!” Rhonda frowned as she sipped from her beer hat. Two emerald green bottles balanced on either side of her head over her ears with straws running from each to hover near the corners of her mouth. “I thought we were friends.”
Maple and I exchanged looks.
Amelia whirled on her. “We are friends, which is why I will tell you that hat looks ridiculous.”
Rhonda pouted. “It’s my adult beverage hat.”
“Furthermore, I’ve already told you. I didn’t ask her. She came to me. And when the world-famous Madame Zerna asks to perform at your carnival, you say yes. You don’t ask questions—questions like why, when it’s
so beneath you? Which, by the way, is what I’d ask you if you wanted to perform. This would not be a good career move.” Amelia shoved her hands on her hips.
“That’s for you to know, and me to find out.” Rhonda swayed on her feet.
Amelia shook her head, then jumped and pressed a hand to her earpiece. “The python kitten got out again? Gary, I’ve told you a thousand times—” She speed walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Rhonda blinked, her eyes closing at different times, and swayed. She swiveled to look our way, and Maple and I jumped, then pretended to be busy with folding napkins and counting money. Totally not eavesdropping. She sauntered over and I looked up.
“Oh hey, Rhonda. Didn’t see you there.”
Maple looked up, squinting. “Rhonda? Rhonda, who? Oohhhh. Right, Rhonda.” She winked at me.
Too far, Maple. Not playing it cool.
The seer slapped a hand down on the table and leaned over, the amber liquid in her adult beverage hat sloshing to the side. “I know you girls overheard.”
Girls? She had to be a few years younger than me and about the same age as Maple.
“Pssht.” Maple waved a hand and shook her head, then cast me a worried glance.
“How’d you know? Because of your—” I touched a finger to the center of my forehead, where Rhonda glowed when she received a vision.
She rolled her eyes then tossed her tiny, black braids over her shoulder. “No. Because we were standing right in front of you.” She leaned against a tent pole and plucked up a hand pie, ripping a huge bite out of it. “Mm. Dis is goo,” she mumbled in her stuffed-up-sounding voice. She swept up some oozing cherry filling, then sucked it off her finger.
“Is she going to pay for that?” Maple mouthed.
I shrugged.
As she chewed she rubbed her necklace between two fingers. I squinted at it to get a better look. Yep. Definitely the ugliest necklace I’d ever seen. And that wasn’t a catty comment, just the absolute truth.
