The Marvelwood Magicians

by Diane Zahler

  “Stay down!” Mattie told her, afraid the ringmaster would notice, and Tibby immediately became as heavy as lead. That was the other side of her ability, and it drove Mattie crazy. If she didn’t want to be carried, or to go where she was supposed to go, she’d just get heavy. No one could move her then. “Tibby, please!” Mattie begged, and Tibby lightened up and walked again.

  “So you’re magicians?” Master Morogh said. “Rabbits out of hats, crystal balls and whatnot?”

  “Something like that,” Da replied.

  Master Morogh came to an abrupt stop, turning, and Mattie nearly crashed into him. “And you, little girl—what do you do?”

  “Me?” she said. “I … I read minds.”

  “Really!” He sounded impressed, but in that fake way grownups had when they really thought something was silly. “Would you like to read mine?”

  He held out his gloved hand, and without thinking, Mattie laid hers over it. A little flash of static made her jump, but she couldn’t read anything. Maybe it was the glove; she’d never tried anyone wearing one before.

  “Oh—no,” she stammered. “It takes … you know, some preparation.”

  “Of course,” Master Morogh said. His eyes met hers sharply, and his tone had changed a little. Mattie felt uncomfortable, though she couldn’t have said why. “Silly of me. I know the routine. I have my own act, you know. I’m not just the ringmaster.”

  “What do you do?” Bell asked.

  “I’m a hypnotist,” he said. “Have you ever been hypnotized, my young friend?”

  Mattie could see that he might be good at it. Those green eyes were compelling.

  “You mean you put people to sleep?” Bell jumped with excitement. “Really? Could you do me?”

  “Oh, surely, surely, surely!” Master Morogh exclaimed, his pointed beard bobbing. “When we’re all squared away, you come see me. I’ll be set up on the midway. We’ll put you there, too, right across from me. It’ll be marvelous, Marvelwoods!”

  Tibby giggled. “Marvelous Marvelwoods. Marvelous Marvelwoods,” she chanted, hopping on one foot.

  “You’re Scottish, aren’t you?” Da asked Master Morogh as they started walking again. “I ken the accent, and the name. Though there aren’t many Moroghs around anymore. That’s an old name, that one.” Mattie had never heard it before. She wasn’t even sure if it was a first name or a last name.

  “It was my own da’s name,” Master Morogh said. “And his da before him—the eldest of the family, for generations.” A first name, then.

  “And where do you hail from? What’s your clan?”

  Mattie knew that most Scots were from a clan, a group of people who were all related. Some clans were huge and had their own crests and their own patterns of plaid that were named after them. Her da was a Burnett, an old clan, but not as big and important as some. He’d taken his mother’s name, Marvelwood, because he thought it sounded better—more magical.

  “I’m from way up north, a tiny little burgh in the Highlands. You’d never know it,” Master Morogh said.

  “Oh, I know them all,” Da said. “My people are Travellers. I was one until I came over, twenty years ago. We went everywhere, doing our acts. I’m sure I’ve been through every village and down every wynd in Scotland.”

  “Really!” the ringmaster exclaimed. “Well, my people were innkeepers. We stayed put. Ah, here’s my wagon now.”

  They had circled around behind the big tent to the back yard, where all the circus wagons were parked. Roustabouts ran to and fro, and Mattie breathed in the circus smells of dust and straw, popcorn and animals. It was so much better than the smell that fairs had, of motor oil and fried food and always, faintly, of vomit from people coming off the rides.

  “Now, Mrs. Marvelwood—” Master Morogh looked at Mattie’s mother.

  “Maya,” she said.

  “Maya. Such a pretty name,” he said. “Your husband and I will do some business, and you can go around and meet the other artistes. I’ll send the boys for your truck.”

  Maya’s eyebrows went up. “We do our business together, Simon and I,” she said. “Mattie can mind the others while we talk.”

  “That is not my way,” the ringmaster said.

  This was the sort of thing that drove Maya wild. Mattie wondered if she’d protest. But no, this was a job, and they needed it.

  “Very well,” Maya said, her voice carefully controlled. “You are kind indeed to see to our truck. Come on, children.”

  Master Morogh and Da climbed the steps into the ringmaster’s wagon, which was large and brightly painted gold and black, with a shiny red door. It had the circus’s sign on it, the same sign from the flyer that hung in Audra’s, and Mattie saw it painted on most of the other wagons and trucks parked nearby.

  A smaller tent sat beyond the wagons. Smoke trailed out of a pipe at the top, carrying the smell of cooking meat. Mattie grabbed Bell’s arm and pointed. “A cookhouse tent! Real food!”

  “No more hotplate curries,” Bell said, rubbing his hands together gleefully. There was no kitchen in their wagon, so Maya made one-pot meals on a hotplate when they were with a fair or circus that didn’t have a cookhouse. Mattie and Bell both hated curries. The spiciness made their noses run.

  “No more corn dogs!” Mattie cried, naming her least favorite food in the world. They tasted so disgusting. Even the name was disgusting. Bell loved them.

  “Ooh, look,” Tibby said, pointing, as one of the wagon doors opened and people began to pour out. A woman came down the stairs first, and then a man, and then a beautiful girl who looked almost grown up. All three were dark-haired and wiry and dressed in sparkly leotards and tights. The girl had a thick braid that came down to her hips. Behind her came two boys, one in tights and one in jeans. Last was another girl, short and thin, her head ringed with dark curls. She wore jeans and a T-shirt like Mattie, but her T-shirt had a unicorn made of shiny spangles on it.

  They noticed Maya immediately, and the woman came over. “Well, hello!” she said. Her face was open and friendly, and Mattie liked her right away. “We’re the Silvas. Aerialists. Are you an act? What do you do?”

  “We are the Marvelwoods. We do magic, different kinds,” Maya said. Her accent made her sound a little formal and standoffish, but that didn’t seem to bother Mrs. Silva a bit.

  “And you’re joining on with us? That’s fantastic!” she cried. “It’ll be great to have another family around. I’m Sabella, and this is my husband Sebastian. This is my oldest son, Santos, and my daughter Sofia, and this one is Stefano, and my littlest, Selena.” Sofia was gorgeous. She flashed the Marvelwoods a distracted smile as she examined her manicure. Santos, Stefano, and Selena looked almost exactly alike, except that Stefano and Selena were about a foot shorter and five or six years younger.

  Mrs. Silva put out a hand to shake Maya’s, but Maya clasped her hands behind her back and said, “My name is Maya. This is Tibby. Bell is my son; he is nine. And this is Mattie. She is eleven.” Mattie followed Maya’s lead and folded her own hands together. She and Maya didn’t like shaking hands. It was usually no fun at all to know the futures or the thoughts of people they met.

  “Welcome!” Mrs. Silva exclaimed. She seemed like a very enthusiastic person. “Selena is eleven, too. The girls can be friends. How wonderful!”

  Mattie looked at the girl, Selena. She was staring at the ground, and her face had turned bright red, right up to the tips of her ears. It was nice to know that other people’s mothers could be so embarrassing. But Mrs. Silva seemed really nice. She was sort of like a mother in a book, happy and friendly and funny.

  Mattie decided to rescue Selena. “Hi,” she said.

  “Hi,” Selena said back, still looking down.

  “I like your shirt.”

  “Really?” Selena raised her head, her brown eyes shining. “I sewed it myself, with extra sequins. Can you tell it’s a unicorn?”

  “Definitely,” Mattie assured her. “It’s amazing. I can’t se
w at all.”

  Mattie could tell Selena was pleased. “Mom!” she said to Mrs. Silva. “Can I show Mattie around?”

  “Oh, can I go, Maya?” Mattie pleaded.

  Mrs. Silva looked at Maya, who shrugged. “Go ahead, girls,” Mrs. Silva replied. “Just stay out of the rousties’ way. And keep away from those tigers.”

  “Really, tigers?” Mattie said, wide eyed. “I’ve never been at a circus with tigers before.”

  “Master Morogh brought them,” Selena told her. “Them and Ahmad, their trainer. I think they’re kind of scary.”

  “The tigers or the trainer?”

  “Both,” Selena said, grinning. “Come on, let’s go see the Bellamys!” She grabbed Mattie’s hand, pulling her forward.

  At the touch, Selena’s thoughts bounced around in Mattie’s head. Yay, a girl my age! she heard. At last, at last, at last! So much fun! Mattie had been thinking the exact same thing. She smiled back at Selena and wriggled her hand free, hoping Selena wouldn’t notice and take offense. It was nice to know that Selena was glad she was there, but it seemed kind of creepy to keep on reading her.

  “That was your mother, right? You call her Maya?” Selena asked as they walked among the wagons.

  Mattie explained. “When I was little, I kept getting mama and Maya mixed up, so I just ended up calling her Maya. Besides, she’s not really the mama type.”

  “Boy, if I called my mother Sabella …” Selena bared her teeth to show how angry her mother would be, but then she laughed. Mattie couldn’t see that kind-looking woman getting too mad about anything.

  “So what do you do, Mattie? In your act, I mean?”

  “I read minds,” Mattie said.

  “Oh, I would love to do that!” Selena cried. “Wouldn’t it be brilliant if it was real? You’d always know if a boy liked you, or why someone was mad at you.”

  “Maybe,” Mattie said. “Well, maybe not. Think of the things you wouldn’t want to know.”

  Selena stopped walking. “That’s true. It could be bad, right?” She bit her lip. “It could be horrible. What if your best friend really hated you? Or your sister thought you were hideously ugly?”

  “Exactly.” Mattie was pleased that Selena understood.

  “But on the other hand, what if you found out something bad that you could do something about? Like if someone was in trouble?”

  “What could you do, though?” Mattie asked. This had happened to her once. A boy she’d read had a stepfather who beat him. Not just spankings or slaps, but real beatings with a belt. It was awful. She had seen it as clear as anything, but what could she say? She never told anyone, not even Da, though she’d always thought she should have. But Da would have said something, or confronted the boy’s parents. And then what? Either they wouldn’t have believed that she really knew and there would have been a fight, or they would have believed, and … well, it just couldn’t happen. She still felt horrible about it.

  “Hmm.” Selena started walking again. Mattie admired the way she moved; she was graceful, almost like she was dancing. Her toes pointed out, and her back was perfectly straight. Mattie tried to straighten up herself.

  “So you do the trapeze stuff?” Mattie asked.

  “Some of it. The less dangerous moves,” Selena replied.

  “Isn’t it scary?”

  “I love it,” she said. “It’s like flying. There’s a moment when you let go of the bar and you’re just in the air. Sometimes I think if I flap my arms, I’ll keep going, like a bird.”

  They came to a big wagon with a sign on the side that read The Remarkable Bellamy Brothers. “I hope they’re in there,” Selena said. “They can’t be practicing because it’s our time, but they might’ve gone into town.”

  “Who are they?” Mattie asked.

  “They’re acrobats, tumblers,” Selena said. “They’re really nice.”

  She was about to knock on the wagon door when Mattie held up her hand. “Wait. What’s that?” A low rumble seemed almost to shake the ground. It went on and on.

  Selena listened. “That’s the tigers,” she said with a little shiver.

  “Can we see them? Just for a second?” Mattie pleaded.

  “Well … okay. Then we’ll come back.”

  Mattie followed Selena around the Bellamys’ wagon to the wagon parked in front of it. All sorts of animals were painted on the sides in colors so bright they almost hurt to look at—lions, bears, and wolves, all with long, sharp, white teeth. The front of the wagon had bars like a jail cell, and behind the bars were the tigers.

  The girls stood very still, and Mattie looked at the tigers. They were light orange with black stripes, like tigers in pictures, but a little smaller than she had expected. Not that they were actually small; she thought that if they stood on their hind legs, they’d probably be way taller than Da. One of them paced back and forth in the wagon, its muscles rippling as it moved. It had to turn and go the other way every couple of steps because there was so little room. The other one lay in the front, looking out. It had pushed one of its paws between the bars, and the paw swayed a little, like it was waving.

  “They’re beautiful,” Mattie breathed.

  “Yeah,” Selena agreed. “They really are. I’m glad they’re in a cage, though. One’s a girl and one’s a boy. Ahmad calls them Hasha and Hadi.”

  “Hasha,” Mattie whispered to the one lying down. “Hasha, hello.” She moved a little closer.

  “Mattie, watch out,” Selena warned nervously.

  “It’s okay,” Mattie assured her. “I just want to see her eyes.”

  Hasha stared right at Mattie. The tiger’s eyes were amber, and Mattie could see herself reflected in them. She could see something else there, too, but she wasn’t sure what. Was it sadness? She didn’t know what sadness would look like in a tiger. It was completely different from looking into a person’s eyes, but for some reason, she wasn’t a bit afraid. She moved closer, and closer still. Selena let out a little squeak, but Mattie barely heard it.

  And then she reached out and put her hand over Hasha’s huge, sharp-clawed paw.

  CHAPTER 4

  Right away, behind her closed eyes, Mattie got a rush of images. A jungle, it looked like, with the most amazing trees and vines winding around them from the floor of the forest, up and up. Flowers and leaves so thick that the sun’s rays couldn’t get through, so the light was all murky and green. Little quick visions, like short movies, of animals—lizards and snakes and some ratty-looking thing she’d never seen before twisting and dodging through the underbrush. Sounds, even—weird birdcalls and something else shrieking.

  And on top of all that was the feeling. Sad, it was so sad, but not like any sorrow she’d ever known. It was grief so deep and raw that it hurt, and Mattie had to clutch herself like she’d been hit in the stomach. There weren’t any words, just the images and the terrible, mournful feeling.

  And then she was tumbling backward, hitting the dusty ground hard, the breath knocked out of her. For a second she wasn’t sure what had happened. Had the tiger swiped at her?

  “What do you think you are doing?” a furious voice asked. Mattie struggled to breathe, gasping and wheezing, until she could inhale. A man loomed over her. He wore a white robe over leggings, and a turban covered his hair. Uh-oh. The tamer.

  “I’m sorry,” Mattie said in a small voice. “I just … I didn’t …” She put a tentative hand up to her face, where she could feel wetness. Blood? But no, when she looked at her hand she didn’t see any red. The wetness wasn’t blood, it was tears. The tiger had made her cry.

  “Get out of here, girl, and do not let me see you around my tigers again,” the man snarled.

  Selena helped Mattie to her feet. “You didn’t have to knock her down, Ahmad!”

  The man scowled. “They are not pets, Selena. They could have bitten her hand right off. I had to get her away from them quickly.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mattie said again. “It was stupid.”

&nb
sp; “It was incredibly stupid,” Ahmad agreed. “You are lucky still to be in one piece.” As the girls walked away, he stood watching them, making sure they went.

  As soon as they were out of sight, Selena stopped and turned to Mattie. “What the heck was that?” she demanded.

  “Um … what do you mean?” Mattie asked, though she was pretty sure what Selena meant.

  “You touched that tiger—I can’t believe you did that!—and then you said, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.’ And you got all weird. And the tiger got all weird, too.”

  “Weird?” Mattie repeated, stalling for time.

  “Your eyes were closed. You looked like you were in some kind of trance, but you were crying. And the tiger almost looked like it was crying, too.”

  “It did?”

  “What were you sorry about? It was like you were talking to her.”

  Mattie clenched her teeth. She couldn’t tell. She couldn’t. “I don’t know. I was just … pretending.”

  Selena raised her eyebrows. “Well, if you don’t want to tell me, that’s your business.”

  She started to walk away, and Mattie panicked. This was the first chance at a friend she’d had in years. She knew she’d get in trouble for it, but she couldn’t just let Selena go.

  “Wait,” Mattie said in a low voice. Selena stopped but didn’t turn. “You’re right. It’s something weird.”

  Selena spun around. “I knew it!” she said triumphantly. “Well, what? Are you really a tiger tamer, too? Or part tiger yourself? How weird is it?”

  Mattie had to smile. “Not that weird,” she said, and took a deep breath. “It’s just … just that I can sort of read minds. I mean, really read them.”

  Selena narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  Mattie shrugged, trying to seem casual. “What I said. I can read minds.”

  “Like … what people think?”

  “And animals, too, I guess. I’d never done that before. Just cats and dogs, and they don’t really think much.”

  “They don’t? Even cats? But they always … wait. You can really read minds?” Selena put a hand over her mouth. Mattie could see her thoughts going wild, even though she couldn’t read them. Selena had the kind of face that showed everything. It showed that she was wondering what she’d thought in the last hour, what Mattie might have read.