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“I don’t know,” I answer as I slide my mask on and lift the wrench. “But the fire’s spreading fast.”
We rush after the screams and shouts of excitement. The night lights up with the inferno as the flames dance along the tents, spreading like a disease. We pass by one with people screaming inside, desperately trying to get out and finding themselves trapped. Others throw water on the blaze, trying to stop the flames from spreading, but it’s hungry. It consumes and destroys everything in its path, and my fury grows. My only relief is that the children are on the other side of the cirque, so someone will have time to warn them.
A man appears before me, his eyes bright with destruction as he carries a gasoline can. I recognize him—not because I know him, but because he was in the diner, staring at Club and me when we walked in. Another man appears behind him, also easily recognizable.
“The townspeople,” I growl to Diamond, telling him all we need to know.
The assholes from the town have decided we’re not welcome here.
“Look at these freaks,” he calls to his buddy, laughing, and then he spits at my feet. “You should burn with the tents.”
I smile behind my mask, even though he can’t see it. “Oh, I’ll burn,” I coo, “but not until I go to hell. Right now, it’s your turn.”
His eyes widen as I rush him. I guess he didn’t expect me to do something about it. He certainly didn’t expect Diamond to go after his friend. I slam the wrench into the side of his head, knocking him out cold before he knows what hit him. Diamond hacks the other man in half, silencing his screams of horror almost immediately. Blood splatters over his bare chest, speckling his mask, and when he turns to me, he makes such a pretty sight.
“Come on,” he growls. “Let’s hunt.”
With the flames surrounding us, we prowl through the grounds, stalking those who would dare attack the cirque. She’s angry, her fury as hot as my own, so we feed her with the blood of those who wronged her.
Someone gets the flames under control, keeping it from spreading, but at least a quarter of the cirque burns. We find fifteen men, all from town, each carrying a weapon and a can of gasoline. None of them are prepared for us to fight back, apparently thinking freaks are weak, but they have no idea of the hornet’s nest they kicked.
When we reach the edge of the cirque, we find the last of them running into the night, fear in their eyes as both Diamond and I appear from the flames, our clothes and bodies coated in blood. What a sight we must make.
I memorize each of their faces as they look over their shoulders, marking them for later.
No one burns down our cirque and gets away with it.
No one.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
The cirque is a mess. Fear streaks the pale faces searching for me in the crowd, looking for answers. Everyone hesitates, unsure. It’s my duty as ringmaster to look after them and keep them safe. I failed. I feel that weight heavily when a small hand slips into mine. Looking down, I peer into Ember’s blood-speckled face, her mask pushed back to expose it.
“Okay, we need people to make sure that every fire is out. Someone needs to check on the kids too. Save what parts of the tents you can. Gather our . . . Gather our dead,” she chokes out. “Diamond and I will double-check the cirque in case any more townspeople are hiding. Let’s go!” She claps her hands, and people burst into movement, looking determined now that they have a purpose.
“Thank you,” I murmur, grateful for her at this moment. Usually, I’m in control and know what to do, but this was unexpected. Even now, the smell of charred flesh burns my nose and screams ring in my ears. Some of my people died tonight, and I couldn’t do anything for them. I couldn’t save them.
“Of course. We’re family,” she replies before tugging my hand to get me moving. “We need to make sure no one is hiding.”
I fall into step with her as we search every corner of the cirque. We find Club protecting the kids, making sure those who are still whimpering in fear know they are safe. He huddles with them in the center, instructing any who are okay to check on those who may not be. Heart is dangling above tents, trying to rectify some of the damage and seeing if they can be saved. We’ll have to replace what we lost, and he does his best to mend what can be temporarily fixed. Spade is helping carry our dead, his face stricken, with Freedom trailing along behind him, chuffing in sadness. Even the tiger senses what a huge loss this was. All are somber and angry.
I feel it too.
How dare they attack our home? Our people?
They’ll pay for it.
When we find one of the assailants, alive and hiding behind a tent, a strength I didn’t know I possess fills me. I lift him with one hand as he groans and presses his palm against a wound on his side. When Heart appears behind me, I throw the man toward him. My voice comes out flat and furious. “Tie him up in the big top. I’ll check for others.” I glance at the pale, scared man. “Then we’re going to have a little talk.”
I know my smile is sinister, and the audible gulp he lets out only confirms that. Heart giggles as he leads him away, Ember stoic at my side. I follow her gaze to see one of our clowns, Monty, face down in the grass a few feet away. His arm is stretched toward a tent, as if warning whoever may be inside, and there is a knife in his back.
A small head pops out from inside the tent. “Is it safe now? The clown said I would be safe hiding here.” The boy’s eyes fall on Monty and begin to water, as if he only just realized what happened.
Ember looks at me, stricken, then drops to her knees. “It’s safe now,” she says, holding her arms open, and despite the blood on her, the child rushes into her embrace. She lifts him into the air and turns, wandering to the closest circus staff member. “Can you take him to be with the others?”
“Of course.”
