Алекс Калер - The Immortal Circus (Cirque des Immortels)

“Nothing,” Kingston says. “I mean…I’m not hurt. But he has my magic.” His voice cracks at this.

“What?” The roar grows louder.

“He…when I got here, he ambushed me. And I don’t know how, but he took it.” He holds up his hands in a begging posture. “That’s why I couldn’t enchant the place, couldn’t make it part of Mab’s territory. He stole my powers. It’s all my fault.”

“I’ll kill him.” The words echo in my ears, and that’s when I realize I wasn’t the only one saying them. Lilith is staring at him.

“I’ll get your magic back,” she continues. “Mab be damned, I will kill him for hurting you.” She looks at me, and there’s a fire in her eyes, a literal glow of red and gold that makes me edge further against the wall. Her gaze makes my skin go hot, like standing over the edge of a volcano.

“Vivienne,” she says. Her voice is cinder and ash. “We must kill him. Together. Tonight.”

I’m not a killer. I’m not.

She holds out her hand.

I’m not a killer.

I look at Kingston. The blood still trickling down his neck. The lost look in his eyes. The bloodlust in me hums.

I’m not a killer, but I’d kill for him.

I nod at Lilith. Senchan will pay for this. Senchan will die. I take Lilith’s hand. The world explodes.

If I wasn’t one hundred percent certain we didn’t have animals in our show, I would have blamed the elephants for trampling over my head. There’s no other explanation for the pounding in my temples and the fact that every joint in my body feels like I’d been sent to boot camp. I roll over in bed, and try to visualize happy, healing light spreading all over me, easing away the pain. Then someone puts a hand on my forehead, and that’s exactly what happens.

My eyes flicker open. There’s Kingston, leaning over me, a sad smile on his face. No sign of tears or blood, just his usual shadow of stubble and a tiredness in his eyes. I wish I could kiss his exhaustion away.

“You got your magic back,” I mumble. His touch is ice water over flame, the perfect dose of Vicodin.

“What do you mean?” he asks. He pulls his hand back and the sensation goes away, though now the pain isn’t as bad.

“Last night,” I say. I try to think back, but it’s mostly a blur. I just remember him in the trailer and Senchan and Mab in the headlights. Something about Lilith…a flash of pain makes me wince. I close my eyes and burrow my face into the pillow.

“What about last night?” he asks. His words are slow. Deliberate.

“You were hurt,” I mumble, leaning my head to the side. It feels like trying to string together a dream from two weeks ago. I know it’s there, but I can’t bring it up. “After…after the guy from the Summer Court took you. You said he took your magic.” It even sounds stupid once I say it.

He takes a deep breath but doesn’t speak.

“What?” I say. Maybe I’m still asleep. Maybe that’s why everything’s slurring together in my brain.

“You really don’t remember?” he asks.

“Remember what?” The memories are swirling along with the trailer now. The last thing I want to do is try to remember anything but the solidity of this bed.

“Last night…gods, I can’t believe this.” Another deep breath on his part, and I look up in time to see him press his face into his palms, like he’s about to deliver a death sentence. “You passed out last night.”

“I figured,” I mumble, trying to motion to the bed but failing. Even thinking of moving a limb hurts. “But I saw….”

“Honey,” he says, and he reaches down to pull the covers off me. Honey. The word makes me melt. “You nearly died last night.” I look down to where he’s pointing. There, on my calf, are two red scabs, the skin around them puffy and pink. “You were bitten by a rattlesnake a few minutes after getting out of the truck.”

“But the Summer Court guy. Senchan.”

He pulls the covers back over my leg and gives me a no-nonsense sort of stare.

“Who’s Senchan? You must have hallucinated. You got out of the truck and were bitten by a rattlesnake. Then you started convulsing and passed out. Everyone saw it.” There’s a finality to his words that make the room stop spinning. Only I know that’s not what happened. I think I know that’s not what happened… Right?