Freakshow (37 page)

“Where should we take her?” I asked, shifting her weight so I didn’t drop her. The more we moved, the heavier she seemed to get.

I heard a massive roar behind me and jerked around to see Cairo leap atop Carl’s bear body and tear at him with his teeth. He snarled and shook his head, forcing another roar from deep in Carl’s throat.

“We need to go,” Milan said, tugging at my arm. “This is going to get ugly.”

“What about Cairo? I don’t want to leave him,” I said, unable to pull my eyes away from the scene in front of me. My lover, my bonded mate, my Cai was riding the bear’s back, gnashing his teeth and ripping chunks of hide and meat off Carl as he went.

Blood was pouring down the bear’s forelegs, his body seemed to be weakening and he was almost on the verge of collapse. I turned back to Milan, her stricken face spurring my decision. “Okay, let’s leave. I have to believe he’ll be fine on his own,” I said.

We pulled Paris up again, she mumbled under her breath and tried to stand on her own. I stepped back to test her strength while Milan kept her hands under Paris’ arms to keep her steady.

I heard a tumbling rush of wind behind me and saw a streak of colour from the corner of my eye. It didn’t even occur to me that it might be the grizzly until Milan started to scream.

I felt a tug on my arm and a sudden blow to the centre of my body. I flew through the air, landed on my back and couldn’t catch my breath for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to stun me and terrify me.

I hated that I couldn’t feel pain just then, I had no alarm bell telling me I’d been injured. It was like living in a house with no smoke alarm, you just went to bed each night hoping nothing would happen.

I opened my eyes and saw Cairo’s wolf face staring down at me, concern etched in his beautiful brown eyes. The most amazing thing about his shifting form was that the eyes were the same. I could fall into those eyes and never climb out, leave the world behind.

All at once the noise came back to me. I heard a roar and Milan screaming, the panic in her voice making me roll over to assess the situation.

Cairo growled, his chest vibrating and his hair on end as he took one massive leap and knocked Carl down to the ground.

The bear flailed and kicked at Cai, but couldn’t land a hit. Alexi tried desperately to distract Cai with the sting of his whip, but Cairo didn’t even flinch.

I stood on my shaky legs and examined myself. I had about an eight inch gash along my right forearm, blood was flowing freely and I could see exposed muscle tissue. It was a bad one, but the tent was set right on the ground so it would simply be a matter of connecting with the deep energy of the earth and healing myself.

Others might not be so lucky. Milan’s screams had died down to wails of terror. I found her sitting to the edge of the dirt floor, her back against the stage, Paris in her arms.

There were drag marks from where she’d pulled Paris’ ruined body across the dirt, a trail of blood indicated the level of damage she’d undergone.

Cairo was above Carl, his teeth sunk deep in the grizzly’s throat, his head shaking and growls emanating from somewhere deep and primal in his body.

It disgusted me that he’d chewed Carl’s throat out, that he was covered in the blood of his enemy, and that he was clearly enjoying it.

And yet that aspect inside of me, the righteous fighter that had appeared when Brigid had taken over my body...she clapped for joy over his death. She loved Cairo’s fierce nature and the fact that he’d taken down a full grown grizzly, even if it had been older and slightly overweight.

My sense of detachment melted away and I knew I had to act, to save Paris. I raced to where Milan was cradling her, ignoring the flow of blood from my own arm, and dropped to my knees on the cool earth beside her.

I didn’t know how I was going to manage this, or if Paris would survive, but I had to try. For Cairo and my own conscience, I had to try.

I
slid my shoes off and dug my toes into the dirt, examined Paris and decided to start healing her at her head, the gaping wound on her scalp. Her hair hung loose, and I could see a bright triangle of skull under the oozing bite mark.

Behind me, Cairo was snarling and biting Carl. Alexi was long gone, but I could hear the rending of flesh being torn off bone, the crunching of bones being torn apart, and the meaty sound of a beast eating his meal and enjoying it.

My stomach roiled at it, not able to process the fact that my Cai had done it to protect me, to save his sister.

And besides, that warrior part of me wanted to join him, roll in the entrails of our vanquished foes and run wild in the night, our breath like smoke from our deflating lungs.

I sometimes craved shifting, wondered what it would be like, if I could ever become like him.

“What are you doing?” Milan asked. “She’s dying.” A sob overtook her and she hunched over, letting out a pained whine.

“I’m saving her,” I replied and laid my hands on her head, closed my eyes and reached my consciousness down into the earth.

“What is...” I heard Milan’s exclamation fade out and incredulous wonder take its place. “Oh my god. What are you?”

“Just let me work,” I said, completely distracted by the power that was beginning to trickle up my body and through to Paris.

First stop was my own arm, I felt the familiar tingling sensation as the cells knitted back together, staunching the flow of blood and rebuilding the torn tissue.

Second was reaching out through Paris’ body, I’d never done this so it was a new sensation to me, but I could sense where the energy was needed, so I let it flow freely.

“Liv, what is this?” Milan asked in a hushed tone.

I opened my eyes and saw the familiar blue haze covering my body, a shimmering fog that swirled and danced, like gasoline on water’s surface.

“It’s what I do,” I said, feeling bashful.

I turned my head and caught Cairo, still in wolf form, sniffing the air and pacing back and forth. I heard him whine and saw him stop, stand still and stare at something near the entrance to the tent.

“Her eyes are open,” Milan exhaled slowly. “I thought she was done for.”

“Not yet,” I replied, focusing next on the gash in Paris’ chest. It was a sucking wound that hissed with each breath she took. I closed my eyes and closed the puncture to her lung, felt her body shudder and heard her take a huge breath.

I was so intent on making sure Paris survived that I wasn’t paying attention to my own energy reserves. I’d never had any formal training in healing, but it made sense that there was only so much I could handle at any given time and I was reaching my limits.

I felt sweat beading on my forehead as I struggled to push the last pulse of healing light into Paris’ steadily healing body, giving her another burst of power.

“Olivia?” she asked. “I was dying. I saw...I saw my mom...”

“I know, but you’re back now,” I replied, opening my eyes and looking into hers, so much like her brother’s.  “You’re going to be okay.”

“You look awful,” Paris said, “please stop, it’s hurting you.”

“It doesn’t hurt, but it’s exhausting,” I replied and shut my eyes again and allowed the flow of energy to quell, retreat back from her body, through mine, and down into the earth.

“You’re like an elastic band when you use magic,” Milan told me, holding my arm. “You can only stretch yourself so far before it loosens up. Anyone who practices magic has to learn this.”

“I think I have a lot to learn,” I smiled and looked down at Paris. “Cairo is going to be so happy you’re okay.”

“I feel good. I mean I thought I was dead. How did you find me?” she asked.

“Your friend found you and came to get us,” Milan said, moving to the side so the young acrobat could offer a shy smile and a small wave. He’d gone back to human form and was wearing his clothing again.

Paris brightened when she saw him. “Ethan, you helped save my life.”

I sensed a spark there, between the two of them. I reached for Milan’s hand and she helped me up so Ethan could take my place by Paris’ side.

“Young love,” I smiled at Milan as Ethan fell to her side, holding her hand and telling her all the things he should have told her before she almost died. It was funny how moments of tragedy, or almost tragedy, reminded us that life was short and we needed to say it all before we lost that chance.

I had so much to tell Cairo, first and foremost being that I would stay with him if he wanted to run Cirque. I would never leave his side or ask him to choose, I was at home with him and our love was worth more than anything I could find without him by my side.

“There’s my girl,” I heard him say from behind me. I grinned and turned to greet him. He was still naked, his glorious body shining from sweat and exertion, blood spattered his flesh, but I barely noticed.

I just saw him, his eyes shining in love and pride at what he had done, he has saved me.

“There’s my savage beast,” I laughed and walked the distance between us. He enveloped me in his arms, his particular musky scent mixed with the tangy metallic scent of blood.

I couldn’t lie, it turned me on. The savage part of myself was becoming more and more predominant as she woke.

He hooked his finger under my chin and tilted my head for a kiss. I parted my lips and let him consume me with his need, his lips salty and hungry, the taste of blood, sweat and victory clinging to his beard, I moaned and met his need with my own.

“Olivia!” Milan screamed, startling the both of us out of our kiss.

I pulled away and looked up to see Orion standing between the rows of bleachers, knives in his hand and a look of death in his eye.

“You!” he roared, his voice dark and powerful in the small space. “You did all of this! You ruined everything!”

His handsome face was so twisted with rage that he was barely recognizable. I trembled in fear and held onto Cairo’s hand like it was my lifeline.

“Did you know about this?” Cai demanded, waving around at the blood soaked stage and dirt beneath our feet. “Did you know they were killing girls for money?”

“Do you know how much they’ll pay to watch a girl get fucked on stage?” Orion sneered, his lip curled in disgust. “Do you know how much they’ll pay to watch that same girl get fucked then torn apart by a beast?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t need to know. What you’ve done is deplorable,” Cairo spat.

“I didn’t do it,” Orion replied evenly, “That was Alexi and Carl. It was all their big plan to make money and retire early. I just took my cut. How else do you think the Cirque has stayed afloat all these months?”

“If you didn’t fucking gamble our money away, we would do just fine on ticket sales alone,” Cairo growled. “Who else is involved in this?”

“That doesn’t matter now,” Orion snarled, “the cops are here rounding them up. Some fucking cop your little girlfriend decided to call in. Can you believe it? She marches in here with her witchy power, steals you right out from under my nose, takes over command of the family, and now she goes to the outside to restore order in my show? In my fucking show?”

“She did nothing that shouldn’t have been done weeks ago,” Cairo replied in a sad, heavy voice. “She’s brave, braver than I ever was.”

“Then she won’t mind dying,” he said and moved his hands faster than I could keep up.

The rest was slow motion in my mind, it had to have happened in slow motion, otherwise how could it have happened so fast?

Two foot long knives, dangerous and razor sharp, thin things from the east Orion always said, forged in the fires of Samurai houses and honed to perfection through decades of use. Two of them left his hand as he extended his arms, they flipped over twice, righted themselves and sailed towards their marks.

My heart.

I could feel it beating so hard I thought it must be somewhere in between my ears and not housed all the way down in my chest.

One beat, the knives were flying.

Two beats and there was a blur of flesh and fur, rib cage and extended forearms as Cairo leapt in front of me in mid shift, half wolf and half man, but still vulnerable flesh and bone.

Three beats and the tent disappeared. The world disappeared.

And we were together on a white plain.