by Colin Forest
“I’ll handle this,” said Icarus, and sparks danced among his fingertips.
“No, Icarus,” said the Ringmaster. “You’ll harm John.”
Sasha hissed in triumph for she had obtained the man she was after, and now it was time to return. Sasha hissed in warning for she was confronted by people from the circus who would try to stop her. And Sasha hissed in anger for wherever she turned, more were coming.
With a speed which belied her immense size, she turned and fled. The people in the room ran after her. The woman who looked like a cat bounded after her on all fours. She landed on Sasha’s back and clawed her. Scales sprinkled to the ground. Sasha twisted and snapped her body in a whip-like motion, throwing Felina to the earth. She turned her head and snapped her jaws at the men emerging from the breach. Once, twice and three times, she lunged at them and hissed in frustration. Onto the building with the chimneys she went. She anchored her claws into the walls and pulled herself along, moving like a gecko. She plunged her head through a window and forced herself inside. Bricks fell. Cracks and fissures appeared on the wall.
“The Omniportallis machine!” she heard without understanding.
Inside, the churning, clanking, hissing and grinding of the machinery was non-stop. Sasha dropped to the floor and scrabbled for the exit. There was a bright flash of light and suddenly, she was in pain. In the doorway stood one of the men from the circus. Lightning danced along his arm. Tumblety lay unconscious in her coils.
“Get away from there!” he commanded.
The others appeared by Icarus’s side.
Sasha looked at them warily. They were not what she had expected. They were capable of hurting her. She edged her way back bit by bit, moving each of her sixteen feet slowly and tentatively.
“Now let him go,” said Icarus.
Angry at the obstruction and the pain, she lashed out at them. Icarus hurled another bolt at her. The tendrils of energy licked her side and the surge travelled down her spine. Her muscles twitched uncontrollably. But, she clung on to her prey.
“Don’t worry. It’s not enough to kill,” said Icarus re-assuringly to the others. “Ringmaster, can you hoist Tumblety away if it loosens its grip?” asked Icarus.
“That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Fine. I’ll get in close. It can’t hold on to him indefinitely.”
“Professor Abacus, it’ll crush you,” Titus piped in.
“I’ll be all right. This body has withstood plenty of punishment,” he said as he approached Sasha. “Everyone else, go.”
“Mr. Rose – Titus – you better do as Professor Abacus says,” said the Ringmaster. “You too, Felina.”
Icarus ran towards Sasha, electricity coursing down his right arm. The air appeared to crackle and the hairs on Icarus’s human left arm stood on end. Sasha bared her fangs at him and climbed onto the wall, coiling her tail around the pipes lining it. The metal pipes were dented and crushed under her bulk and the strength of her grip. The discordant sounds they made reverberated through the chamber. Icarus launched himself into the air and got hold of one of her feet. He swung himself up on to her back and with controlled bursts, sent electric jolts into Sasha. She hissed some more and turned her head to snap at the intruder on her back. Icarus evaded her long, wicked-looking fangs. Droplets of venom gathered tear-shaped at the end of her fangs and dripped to the floor. She thrashed her body to shake Icarus off. Finally, she loosened her coils and Tumblety fell. The Ringmaster reached out with his mind and caught Tumblety. With Tumblety safe, Icarus loosed a greater charge of electricity into Sasha’s body. She convulsed and released her grip on the pipes. The both of them fell to the floor with a loud crash, the electricity still coursing through Sasha’s body. Dust spilled into the air, intermingling with smoke and steam. Through the haze which formed, the Ringmaster saw that the serpent was immobile.
“Damned snake,” the Ringmaster heard Icarus mutter. “Nearly spent all the coal on you.”
Icarus trudged towards the Ringmaster; but just as he passed Sasha’s head, he noticed the eyes following him.
“Del! Get Tumblety out of here. It’s still alive!”
Sasha pulled herself up and scrambled towards Tumblety. Icarus grabbed on to her as she passed. The familiar pain coursed through her body. With a turn of her body and a generous swish of her tail, she knocked the Ringmaster off his feet. The arc made a sweep around the room and hit the Omniportallis machine, which began to hum. Then, twining the end of her tail around Tumblety’s prone body, she lifted herself into the air.
“Damn!” cried Icarus.
Titus and Felina could hear hisses and crashes coming from inside the building. They relayed the Ringmaster’s message when the zombie bouncers caught up with them. Still, the zombies wanted to enter and said assuredly that their dead flesh would not come to any harm.
As they were about to pass the doors, the air around them started to thrum. The surrounding countryside shifted and warped as if it were looked at through heat currents. The sky appeared lighter and the air felt warmer, though the source from which these occurrences came was undiscernible.
Titus gasped.
“Felina, there are creatures just beyond the big tent,” he pointed.
Ghostly forms, some towering over the great tent, loomed before them. They slouched and moved ponderously through the half-light. Titus caught the outlines of great antlers sprouting from a head supported by a thick neck. And there were trees: gigantic trees whose branches spread far and wide from the trunk, and whose foliage was chewed and munched upon by the hulking ghost-creatures. They grew more distinct and solid with time. Titus could now see the elk-like creature much more clearly; and the creature which towered over the tent bore the face of a sloth.
The sound of a loud crash drew the attention of those assembled to the roof. They could see Sasha’s bulk in silhouette behind the screen of billowing dust clouds. Sasha pulled herself onto the first chimney and began to climb. She coiled her tail around the chimney as she did so, moving up and over to the other chimneys so that in the end, her body resembled a weaving of scaly flesh around the stacks.
The Ringmaster ran out of the doorway, panting heavily.
“Adam, those creatures. Where are we?” asked a puzzled Titus.
“This is how we travel. We move the entire circus from place to place using our Omniportallis machine. Unfortunately,” he sighed, “it was activated during the fight. Icarus is taking care of it now.”
Fixing his eyes to the chimneys, he continued, “Everyone, listen. We must do what we can to retrieve John. I want this done quickly. We don’t know where we’re going to appear next.”
Icarus worked feverishly at the Omniportallis machine. With each passing second, his power drained from him. He could feel the movements of his limbs become heavier and more imprecise. The settings of the Omniportallis machine had been knocked out of alignment and the surge of electricity he had sent into the serpent had inadvertently activated it. He stopped the power flow to the machine – something he had not done before while the circus was in transit. They were now frozen in between two places. How would it appear to everyone outside, he wondered. It must be quite a sight, one backdrop overlaid against another, being neither here nor there. He re-set the alignment and sent every last drop of power into the machine. He then dropped to the floor with a loud clang as his machine parts fell dead.
The forms of the hulking creatures did not materialise fully. They were like ghosts: wispy and see-through. Up in the chimneys, Sasha was confused. With Tumblety dangling at the end of her tail, she looked from the other creatures to her adversaries below. Then, the air thrummed with a new vigour and the landscape began to change back. The countryside she was familiar with returned and the creatures disappeared. With a grand effort, she gripped the sides of the chimneys more tightly. Each of her legs clutched at a chimney as she re-positioned herself, uncoiling and shifting her weight, untangling herself. She launched herself into the air and sailed
over the people below her, who craned their necks to look at her passage through the air. Upon contact with the ground, her legs started to pump and she moved speedily into the dying night.
The Ringmaster ran to the stables as Sasha sped off. The others followed him.
“Felina, stay here. Make sure the animals are calm. The rest of you, see what damage has been done. And attend to Icarus.”
“No, I’m coming with you,” said Titus.
“Now isn’t the time for this.”
“How can I stay when John is in danger? Adam, I want to help.”
The Ringmaster saw the determination in his eyes and knew that arguing was futile. Minutes later, the two of them galloped on horseback after Sasha, whose form now appeared as a smallish bulk in the distance. The sky had lightened enough for the horses to see their way. The Ringmaster rode one of the carnivorous horses while Titus rode his own horse. Together, they gave chase as Sasha hurried home with her prize.
Sasha struggled to keep up her strength. She could feel the bond she shared with her mistress, though it was blunted by the pain which shot through her with each step she took. On and on she pushed herself, until finally, she saw the familiar house amid the familiar woods. The house stood hidden from prying eyes, screened by a wall of trees. Soon, she would be in the sheltering embrace of those woods.
Isabella Archer waited by her window for Sasha’s return. She drummed her fingers against the porcelain of her steaming cup of tea, allowing the heat to warm them. It was very early in the morning, and although the sky was grey, a few stars were still visible.
The sound of rustling drew her attention outside. She was glad to see it was Sasha for she had felt Sasha’s distress. Isabella stepped outside into the cool morning air. Sasha’s ordeal from the night before was obvious to see: missing scales, bloodied flesh and a few of her limbs swollen and bent at odd angles.
“Oh, Sasha,” she said. “You poor thing.”
Isabella laid her hands on Sasha and the wounds began to heal. John Tumblety, who had been unconscious groaned softly.
“It was you who healed the man at the circus, wasn’t it?” she asked, but was met with silence.
Sasha squeezed.
“Yes. Yes.”
“And how did you heal him?”
“Something I learnt from my father,” he replied.
“Your father?” she asked incredulously. “You are a liar. I KNOW how you did it.”
Sasha’s tongue flicked out of her mouth and she stirred in agitation. Titus and the Ringmaster appeared out of the shadows of a tree leading their mounts. The horses neighed and paced the ground nervously. Although Sasha was weak, she would not suffer such an intrusion and she bared her fangs in challenge.
“No,” said Isabella. She felt Sasha’s bubbling anger. “Sasha, no,” she said again but Sasha would not listen. The bond between them wavered tenuously. With each move Sasha made, it became harder for Isabella to calm her; the control and influence Isabella exerted became more dominated by Sasha’s fury until finally, the bond snapped.
Sasha attacked. She released Tumblety as she lunged at the Ringmaster and Titus. The two men managed to dodge in time. Their horses reared on their hind legs and sprinted away. Projectiles flew at Sasha under the Ringmaster’s guide. A fallen branch launched itself into the air to lodge in Sasha’s maw. Venom flowed freely as she snapped her jaws shut, breaking the branch in two. She swiped at Titus with her foreleg, who rolled away to safety.
“Sasha! Here! Leave him alone!” Isabella shouted.
Sasha turned her head at that sound and rushed towards Isabella like a reptilian centipede. There was a wild ferocity, a crazed look in Sasha’s face, which informed Isabella that all recognition of her as mistress was gone.
Thorn, she called out with her mind. She felt the answer to her call just as Sasha’s claws moved down in a cutting motion. Pieces of fabric floated to the ground but Isabella was uninjured. She stood firm. Sasha’s head was poised dangerously close to Isabella, her fangs on display. With lightning quick speed, Sasha struck. There was a loud snap and one of her fangs spun to the earth. And still, Isabella stood firm.
A low rumbling could be heard. From around the corner of the house, a rhinoceros appeared. Its hide was white in colour and the large horn at the tip of its snout almost gleamed. It stamped the ground, lowered its head and charged.
The horn met Sasha’s body at full impact. She hissed in pain and coiled her body around the rhinoceros. Her many legs clawed at the tough hide. The rhinoceros charged at a tree and rammed her against the trunk. Blood spattered in a rain of crimson drops. Sasha remained resolute, attempting to tighten her body around the rhinoceros but her strength left her. Her claws went slack and she slid to the ground.
The rhinoceros turned its attention to Titus and the Ringmaster. It glowered at them and threatened to charge.
“Thorn, no,” Isabella called to the rhinoceros.
Thorn went to her and nudged her shoulder. Suddenly, Isabella felt weak. There was a tingling numbness in her hand. She looked down to see that the colour of her hand had changed. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a tiny, barely noticeable cut.
Venom, she thought. Her knees buckled and she fell. There was a look of tight concentration on her face. Her skin gleamed with sweat and she clutched at her belly. Her breathing was laboured and it occurred to Titus and the Ringmaster that she was unwell.
“Miss Archer, are you all right?” asked the Ringmaster.
“Mr. Delfay,” she said, but before she could continue any further, she lost consciousness.
In the tumult of the fight, John Tumblety lay forgotten by everyone. He had scrambled to shelter behind a large tree, where he watched events unfold. Now, with the threat gone, he emerged from his hiding place.
“John, are you hurt?” asked Titus.
“Other than a few bruises, I am remarkably well,” he replied. “Ringmaster, do you know why this woman would want to attack me?”
“I was hoping you could solve that mystery.”
“I’ve never met her in my life. The first time I saw her was yesterday, at the circus.”
“Can you do anything for her?” the Ringmaster asked.
“Do anything!? Why should I do anything? She attacked me. She sent her snake to snatch me from my bed and carry me around like a puppet. Look at me. I’m barely dressed!”
“Still, you are a doctor. You have a duty,” said the Ringmaster, stressing the last word.
Tumblety pondered on this and said, “Duty … yes.”
He bent down and examined her. Titus noticed that his hand lingered for awhile near her belly.
“I don’t have my talisman. There’s not much that I can do but keep her comfortable.”
“But you’re a doctor. You have your training. You don’t need a talisman,” Titus interjected.
“Titus,” said the Ringmaster, “why don’t you get back to the circus and bring help. We’ll take her back with us. I’ll stay with the doctor.”
Chapter 3: Isabella Archer
Isabella woke up in an unfamiliar room. The Ringmaster sat in a chair next to the bed.
“Where …?”
“You are at the circus,” replied the Ringmaster. “We brought you here after you passed out. You had me worried. The doctor said it was poison though curiously, you should have been long dead before we got you here.”
“You needn’t worry. I had everything under control.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About a day and a half.”
He poured a beaker of water and placed it on the table by the bed. There was a light rapping on the door.
“Come in, Titus,” said the Ringmaster without taking his eyes off Isabella.
Titus walked in quietly and stood by the bed.
“Isabella Archer, this is Titus Rose,” said the Ringmaster.
“Hello,” said Titus.
“Hello,” she r
eturned the greeting.
“Miss Archer, I want to thank you,” he said hesitatingly.
“What for?”
“For saving me. You called off Sasha, told her not to attack me.”
“How’s your arm?” she asked.
“My arm? My arm is fine.”
“The doctor did a fine job then.”
“Why did you send Sasha after the doctor?” the Ringmaster asked suddenly.
There was a pause.
“Miss Archer, please tell me. You know that if I want to, I can get that information easily. You are not in any condition to resist me.”
“Adam, what do you mean?” asked Titus, shocked.
“That’s all right, Mr. Rose. You don’t have to defend me. Mr. Delfay is welcome to that information,” she said, looking directly into the Ringmaster’s eyes. “I needed to make sure.”
“Of what?” asked the Ringmaster.
“That he was the one who healed Mr. Rose’s arm.”
“Please, call me Titus.”
“On the day that Titus’s arm was injured, I felt someone using power. Power that only women can use. By birthright. Men are not equipped for it. It was a unique sensation, you see. I could feel its presence immediately. So, I had to make sure.”
“Now you know,” said the Ringmaster.
“Yes, now I know.”
She looked ahead impassively.
“You keep a monster among you. And you protect him,” she spat.
“He has his uses.”
She suddenly cried out in pain and grabbed her belly. Titus hurried outside and called for Tumblety who appeared shortly. With his talisman held in one hand, he extended his other hand holding medicine towards her.
“Stay away from me!” she yelled. “Is that it?” she demanded. “Is that the womb that you stole?”
“Please, you must let the doctor look at you,” said Titus in soothing tones.
“I can’t do anything if she won’t let me, Ringmaster,” said Tumblety.
