Vagabond Circus Series

by Sarah Noffke

  Finley followed Zuma out when she left. He had broken away from Dave and Nabhi, saying he owed her a real apology. Dave consented with a nod. Finley was about to turn on his speed to catch up with her when Zuma made an early turn and headed straight in the direction of Jack’s trailer.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Finley halted, watching Zuma hurry in the opposite direction. Then he opened his mouth and was powerless to the word that fell out of him. “Zuma,” he said, too loudly.

  She stopped and turned to him, her face trying not to look startled. He sped up just a little, so he crossed the thirty yards in only a second. She blinked rapidly at him. “In a hurry?”

  “Just to talk to you,” he said and found his fingers reaching out for her. But Finley covered the move by pulling his hands all the way up and stroking them through his hair. The kiss had broken a latch he had locked. It had created a deadly possibility. He needed to reinforce his guard and remember why he was here, which had nothing to do with Zuma. “You headed to see Jack?” Finley said, pointing at the trailer behind her.

  “Yeah,” Zuma said, her expression would have been hard to read in the dark, but Finley had excellent night vision.

  “I wanted to apologize,” Finley said.

  “For kissing me and potentially getting me fired?” Zuma said. With this, Finley noticed her eyes narrow some.

  “For some of that,” he said, a rebellious smile on his face. It was easy for Zuma to spy since the light from Jack’s trailer was shining on his face. “But we both know Dave would never fire you.”

  She couldn’t argue with this, although she still never wanted to let him down. Of all the people at Vagabond Circus, Zuma could have gotten away with the most. But it was the fact that she knew this and didn’t take advantage of it that continued to endear Dave to her. “You were lying,” she said in a whisper.

  Finley pushed his chin to the side. He had considered that her combat sense might make her a human lie detector. Now he wondered if he’d been right. “About what?”

  “How many lies are you telling around this place?” she shot back at him.

  “How many do you think?” he said.

  “I was referring to what you said to Dave, your reasons for kissing me.”

  And now it was confirmed. She had such confidence in her voice. Zuma spied his lie and that meant she could spy all the other ones he’d have to tell to remain here. She was indeed dangerous to him in more ways than one.

  “So what was your reason for kissing me?” she asked.

  He stepped back, out of the light streaming from the trailer, into the dark. “Let’s call it a social experiment.”

  Zuma squinted at him through the dark. “Hmmm…I’m not sure I buy that.”

  “So you’re headed to see Jack?” he said again, ignoring her statement and pointing at the trailer behind her for a second time. It was the only way he could think to derail the conversation.

  “He’ll be upset and need to talk.” She paused and then took a step forward, angling her eyes at his jaw, wondering if it had bruised. “I’m kind of sorry he punched you,” she said.

  “As Dave said, he loves you,” Finley said, staring down at Zuma, his tone uniform. “He was protecting you from who he thinks is a monster.”

  “I don’t think you’re a monster,” she said.

  “You don’t?”

  “No, and Jack and I are just friends.”

  “As are you and I, right?” he said.

  “No,” she said. “We’re partners.”

  “Right, like business partners,” Finley said, wanting to agree and then hating the idea.

  “Exactly.”

  “Fine,” he said, “great show tonight, partner.”

  “Same to you,” she said. And there was so much not being said that the unspoken words felt like they would suffocate Zuma.

  Finley took a step backward as he gave a half wave. “Tell Jack what you always tell him about me, that I’m a jerk who can’t be helped.”

  “I’d planned on it,” she said as he moved farther away. She turned and forced herself in the opposite direction.

  “Zuma?” he called back at her.

  She stopped. “Yeah?”

  For the second time that night he used his super speed to race up right next to her. It made her hold her breath. Finley leaned down low, his breath making a presence on her cheeks. “When I kissed you tonight, I did it for the sole reason that I forgot who I am.” Finley slid back an inch and that was enough to catch the startled look in Zuma’s eyes. This time he’d told the truth.

  “What does that mean?” she said, her hands shaking by her sides.

  “It means that you won’t have to worry about it happening again. That’s not who I am and that’s not why I’m here,” Finley said and then turned so swiftly that the movement was lost on Zuma’s eyes. He strode like a person moving in fast-forward, away. Away from Zuma and her troubled thoughts.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Zuma’s knock was soft on Jack’s door.

  “Come in,” he said in reply.

  She was unsurprised to find him with his head in his hands, hunched over with his elbows on his knees. This was often referred to as the “Jack’s frustrated” stance. It was more his trademark than the globe act. She knew at once that he didn’t want to talk, but they didn’t need to speak in order to communicate.

  Zuma, why did he kiss you? Jack thought in his mind.

  It was just a stunt to add drama to the show, she said to him, sending the message over their telepathic link. It took complete concentration for her to send information this way, but it felt fitting right then.

  Jack pulled his head out of his hands. His eyes held a sobering look.

  “Do you believe him?” he said out loud.

  “Yes,” she lied.

  “He is a really strange person, isn’t he?” Jack said, and he didn’t sound angry, but rather perplexed, like Finley was a complex riddle he was trying to figure out.

  “A complete mystery to me,” she said.

  “You know, the thing is that I actually like the guy.”

  “You do?” Zuma said, not having expected this.

  “Well, I’m furious at Finley right now, but yeah, I do. There’s something compelling about him, something undefinable,” Jack said, thinking of how Finley had a way about him that should be admired to an extent. “But then I don’t understand his motives and that worries me.”

  Jack was a person who wanted to see the best in people. He believed people were inherently good. And in Finley he saw something he didn’t understand, but it made him feel the stranger was trustworthy somehow. He’d felt it since he first caught Finley on the flying trapeze. The guy had trusted Jack, and when he grabbed his wrist Finley looked back at him with relief like his confidence in Jack had been reaffirmed. It was hard for Jack to understand, but the way acrobats feel about each other is often complex. Few occupations rely on another person so completely.

  “I don’t really know what to make of him honestly,” Zuma said, and this was the sincere truth. Like Jack, she kind of wanted to like the guy, but he was hiding so much. She’d actually never felt a stronger draw to a person while her instinct told her to be on guard. And even that wasn’t clear, because her instincts told her to pull the guy closer to her and unravel the mystery. How could one person create such confusion in her, when she was a master at reading people? she wondered.

  “Well, I think we need to try to put this whole thing behind us as quickly as possible,” Jack said.

  Zuma was surprised by this. She figured Jack would sulk, especially since it was the first time he’d ever been in trouble with Dave. “Really, you do?”

  “Yeah,” he said with a heavy sigh. “Because I don’t want to think about it and also because it’s what’s best for you.”

  “How’s that?” Zuma asked, although she didn’t disagree.

  “Zuma, your performance wasn’t just your best one ever, it was the best act I�
��ve ever seen, period. You were more than stunning. I don’t want anything to detract from your ability to do that over and over again.”

  Jack never ceased to surprise her with his affection for her, his unconditional love. “Thank you, Jack,” she said, mesmerized by his thoughtfulness.

  They were quiet for a long moment before Jack said, “I’m sorry I punched him.”

  “Because Dave saw it?” she said.

  “Yes, but also because it didn’t make me feel better. The way Finley looked at me afterwards, it was kind of heartbreaking. That guy can make you feel strong emotions with a single look,” Jack said, suppressing a shiver.

  You have no idea, Zuma thought, keeping it to herself. Then she was glad that she hadn’t taken a seat and instead stayed standing in the room. Of all things, she was certain she needed to be alone with her own thoughts for the rest of the night.

  “Don’t worry about this any longer,” she said, her hand on the doorknob. “Things will be better tomorrow. We leave this in Seattle and start fresh when we hit the state border.”

  Jack brought his eyes to meet hers. “Sounds good,” he said.

  Then she was gone, leaving Jack’s trailer hollow from her absence. That was Zuma’s curse; she never left people or places the way she found them. She changed them. And when she was gone, Jack knew something was different about her. Had it been the show, her new role, or the kiss? Something had unlocked a new power in her and she was glowing, way more than usual.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  The after-party was still happening when the crew left early. Tonight the big top would have to be disassembled and packed away for transporting. The Vagabond Circus crew would drive to Portland first thing tomorrow morning and set up the tent in a new location. Tonight they’d do the first half of the work in the physical realm, taking down reinforcement beams and deflating the four-mast tent from top to bottom. Then when fatigue set in, the crew would go to sleeper row and dream travel back to the big top area. In the dream travel realm they’d finish up the work and have it all done in half the time than most circuses.

  Ian watched from the side as the big top shrunk. This was always a poetically sad part of every location to him. The big top deflating symbolized death to him. The end of another round of shows. The last part of the life of this big top. The same big top would be reborn in another city. It would rise into the air, like the phoenix, but it would never be like this tent, with its backdrop and its smells and its winds.

  A tear peeked out at the corner of his eyes as he scanned through the vision he’d gotten from Zuma. He hadn’t told her all of it. He couldn’t. And although he realized he owned the information to stop something tragic from happening, he couldn’t. Bad things had to happen. People had to die. Sometimes he told people enough to change things, but he’d learned how to filter the information. He’d used his instincts to direct him. And he knew that Zuma needed to allow something to happen so that other things would occur. He was navigating a future by telling her part of her fortune, but not the rest. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to intervene, it was that other visions of the future told him that it was time for this brutal reality to take place. And that night Dave and Ian had discussed it and made a decision. The ringmaster had asked him to follow his instinct, allowing the visions to direct his decisions from here on out.

  He’d felt that same instinct eleven years ago and ignored it. He told Molly about the accident she caused. And she didn’t step into the street the next day. And the driver of the car didn’t die; instead, he went home that evening and murdered his wife. Sometimes fortunes need to be told and sometimes they don’t, and sometimes only part of them. And sometimes they need to be told to one person and not another. Ian didn’t feel like a God shelling out this information, intervening in lives and futures. He felt burdened and wished that he would have been born like his Middling father, with only the gift to manage money. His real mother, not his stepmother, had been a Dream Traveler and she’d still be alive if she hadn’t taken her own life because she was like Ian, so burdened by the visions.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  The Seattle Times

  “The Vagabond Circus has changed, and for the better. This reporter didn’t think it could improve but it was like real fairy dust was sprinkled on every part of the circus. I left the show with a firm thought in my head: I’ll never see anything more spectacular than what I witnessed in these two hours. I’m not sure how, but last night’s show changed me. I feel like I’ve had an out-of-body experience, a soulful experience. I type this article at two in the morning. I can’t sleep. I’m too inspired. I’m too touched by the images I was gifted with tonight. It feels like I have new eyes. My life feels brand new. And I’m afraid to go to sleep right now, afraid I’ll miss something magical. I’ve been transported by this show and I’m frightened of touching back down in my old life."

  Seattle Post

  “The star of the show, a beautiful acrobat, must be a hunter because she captured my attention. And she’s definitely a thief because she stole my heart. The Vagabond Circus, without a doubt, delivers the most fantastic show in the universe.”

  Chapter Fifty

  When the Vagabond Circus stirred from their dream travels the next morning the big top was completely down and loaded into trucks. An urgent knock sounded at Dave’s door before the sun had even broken through the fog. Usually he liked his mornings quiet, reserved for meditation. Everyone knew that. He still would never allow a knock at his door to go unanswered. He was always available to Vagabond Circus. He pulled on his white gloves and opened the door to find Titus, who looked to be vibrating with excitement.

  “All the shows in Portland are sold out!” he shouted at once.

  Dave paused, tilted his head to the side. And then as Titus’s statement sunk in he slowly released a billowing laugh. It grew in intensity second by second until it became contagious and Titus joined in laughing too.

  “That’s great!” Dave finally said, almost hopping down the stairs as he joined Titus on the grass.

  Titus, who rarely smiled, looked like he might permanently have a grin on his face. At least as long as they were in Portland. “‘Great’ doesn’t even begin to describe it,” he said, his voice trembling with excitement. “Dave, with the profits we have on tickets alone we’ll be able to pull ourselves out of debt. By the time we reach California we are going to be running a billion-dollar venture. Venues are already asking that we add shows, which will undoubtedly sell out too.”

  At this, the smile on Dave’s face faltered. “Well, you tell them we’re honored, but no.”

  Titus’s face fell too. “What?! No. I told them yes.”

  “Call them back. The answer is no,” Dave said, finality in his tone.

  “But, Dave, don’t you see this is what we need to do to pull ourselves out of debt? And also this is key to how we’re going to make serious profits for once. We have to add more shows,” Titus said. His long forehead was creased and resembled open blinds in a window.

  “I don’t want to make serious profits, Titus. I want to put on an extraordinary show and provide a happy environment for my circus family. Both of those goals are compromised if we add shows.”

  “Dave, I think your judgment is clouded by your good intentions,” Titus said, careful to keep his voice down, although he was growing furious.

  “There’s no such thing,” Dave said, a pure conviction in his voice. “My employees serve me with faith that I’ll make the best decisions for them. And that means I won’t put too much stress on everyone. They will perform no more than what is scheduled.”

  “But Dave—”

  The ringmaster held up a white glove. “My circus. My decision,” he said, and turned back to his trailer, leaving Titus tight-lipped and angry.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Dave’s RV was the first to pull out, followed by the long caravan of Vagabond Circus. He always led the circus to the new locations. Portland was one of his f
avorites so it made sense that it was the place where they had their first sold-out shows. Vagabond Circus always had a full house because of its reputation, but it had never had a slew of sold-out shows. This was undoubtedly due to Finley being added to the acts. He was the missing ingredient. Dave had been searching for twenty long years and now he finally had it. The perfect circus. Vagabond Circus was complete. He knew one day he’d create a flawless show. He knew that one day all the talent would come together, complementing one another as only Dream Traveler gifts can do for one another. Dave smiled at the road, clear ahead of him. Then he fondly looked at the rearview mirror. The long caravan of trailers followed him. He’d finally done it. He could die now, a happy man. And he was prepared to do just that, if it brought about a better future for all.

  Part II

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Finley kept his promise. At the end of the next three shows in Portland he didn’t kiss Zuma. His gaze always locked on her brown eyes, his body attuned to the frequency of hers, like he read her from the inside out. And Zuma didn’t rip her eyes from his until he pulled her out of the dip, to a standing position.