Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel (29 page)

“I don’t even understand why
you’re telling me any of this,” I almost shouted. Now frustrated and confused,
I couldn’t keep my control much longer.

“Stop yelling, girl!” he hissed
through gritted teeth. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck and I knew I
hated him. “I want you to help me take him down.”

I snapped. “And how the hell do
you think I’ll agree to that? Even better, what’s your big plan?

“I want to use your blood to
create a multi-gifted being which will be able to take down Sheffield.”

I was so stunned that I couldn’t
speak for a second. A multi-gifted being? No such person had ever existed. For
whatever reason some of us were gifted, we were only given one gift. I wanted
to wipe Felix’s smug look off his face.

“Sheffield could take that away
at one touch if he were a Collector,” I argued.

“His body wouldn’t be able to
handle it. It’s too much power—he’s not built for it.”

“You don’t know that for sure.
Wouldn’t his touch just transfer it back to him? His body is built for taking
gifts that aren’t his, if I understand it correctly.”

“But that’s just it—if I
create a being that can handle more than one, who’s to say Sheffield would get
all of it? Maybe he gets one gift and once he has it, he can’t get rid of it or
switch with another touch. If that person is prepared for it, he can make sure
Sheffield gets a power that can be overtaken. It’s never been done. It would be
the biggest breakthrough in gifted history, to create a individual so
powerful.”

“Let me guess. You want to be
the test subject.”

“I haven’t had much luck
injecting a gift into someone that already has one. It seems as though I need a
new canvas to make it work.”

My head spun but I grasped his
plan. If someone had the gift of say, a Telepath and a Firestarter, could he
plan it so that Sheffield touched him in defense and took the passive gift? If
that could happen, then all Felix had to do was throw a fireball. Sheffield
wouldn’t even register what happened before Felix killed him. I thought of
something else.

“But if Sheffield inherits
all
gifts, that leaves you defenseless.
He would kill you.”

“Yes, he would. You could see
why I’d rather it not be me. But it’s worth the risk if it’s the only way.”

“How would you even plan it so
that he’d take a specific gift?”

“It’s been part of my research,”
he replied. “But Collectors are one of the rarest gifted and I can only assume
it’s correct. I’ve got a few cards up my sleeve.”

“So you want me to volunteer my
blood so that you can destroy Sheffield.”

“You have enormous power.”

“It’s not like that. It doesn’t
just happen. You have to grow with it, learn to control it. It takes more than
having
a gift to be gifted. Otherwise
you’re just a person who lights shit on fire using jazz hands.”

“I’m sure I’m not the first
person to tell you that you underestimate yourself. It’s not all about
skill—it’s more than that. One must have the ability to go far and you
have it. One can use energy and constantly practice, but it also takes power
and that’s not something one can simply learn.”

“You don’t need me. You can use
any Firestarter.”

“I don’t want any Firestarter.
I’ve met several and there are none like you. I witnessed your power as a child
and knew you would be great. You are everything I wish I could’ve had at that
age.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I want to share something with
you, something only my wife knows.” He paused and looked my way. I raised an
eyebrow, curious to see where this was headed.

Felix undid the buttons of the
wrists of his shirt and slowly rolled up the long white sleeves. He came closer,
stepped into the shallow pool of light that spilled in from the circus grounds.
I leaned in despite my misgivings and saw scars all over Felix’s arms. Tiny
little circles scattered across his pale skin like freckles.

“Are those cigarette burns?” I
asked.

“Not quite. You see, I loved
science even as a young boy. My favorite hobby was frying ants with a
magnifying glass on my sidewalk. Inhumane perhaps, but at nine years old, it
kept me entertained. One afternoon, a bully approached me. My father, his science
teacher, flunked him for cheating. This boy stole my magnifying glass out of my
hands. He straddled me and proceeded to fry my skin.”

I looked at the shiny white
spots and felt nauseous. Marks covered Felix’s skin. I could even make out
scars on his neck behind the collared shirt. I looked at his face again,
processed his severely broken nose and quiet, geeky demeanor. I would bet my
gift that the torture had continued for several years.

“I don’t understand what that
has to do with me.”

“When I met you, I knew not a
single being would dare challenge you. You were strong, stubborn, even then.
Over the years, I saw you were too smart, too righteous to use your gift
against a tormenter.” He gave me a very small smile, one I could even believe
to be genuine, before his voice grew dark. “And I wished more than anything in
the world I had been a Firestarter at your age.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m sorry
for your childhood, but why are you telling me this?”

“You have a stake in all of
this, Lucy.”

“I don’t see how. It looks to me
like you want to use me and have me think it was revenge for something I’m not
even aware of.”

“Sheffield didn’t kill your
father, obviously. It’s not about revenge. It’s about power. Sheffield is a
bully and he will hurt you as he has hurt others. It’s a matter of time. You
can stop him, maybe before it comes to anything. He’s a cold hearted bastard
for his own hide, but I think he’d do anything for you.”

“I think you’re exaggerating
quite a bit. We’re not that close.”

“Your father was his best
friend. You have emotional sway over him. He owes it to Lenny to keep you safe
from others out there against him. You’re smart and promising, already
powerful. He wants you on his side. It’s both a business and personal
decision.”

“You haven’t told me how you’ll
convince me to change my mind, Dr. Hardy.”

“I think you’ll agree with me
when the truth finally comes out, when you see all sides. If Sheffield actually
does confess to his sins, you’ll hear it firsthand.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“Judge his attitude. See if he
gets edgy about his gift. Provoke him.”

“I don’t even know how I would
do that.”

“Then you can ask him about the
townies. That seems to be a reasonable subject to bring up without making him
too suspicious,” he suggested.

“What townies?” My heart dropped
into my stomach. How could he know about that night?

“You know. Those idiots from the
bar who claimed some circus freak lit his truck on fire. They run their mouths,
then one of them goes missing and no one talks?”

I felt all the blood drain from
my face. No one ever mentioned the incident after that night. I thought
everyone wanted to put it past them. Had Sheffield done something to them to
prevent them from going to the police? I said nothing but looked at Felix as he
lowered his voice and leaned in towards me with that know-it-all smile and a
gossipy tone.

“Well, the other day I happened
to hear about this massive fire at a nearby bar where the circus had just
arrived. My curiosity piqued, I found the remaining men and managed to persuade
a few words out of them. They seem to recall a pretty young redhead who burned
their friend’s arm. He seemed intent to repay the favor and somehow, a circus
freak, as they call him, but you and I know to be a Firestarter, lit a truck on
fire and it exploded. They found their friend out cold in the brush, pants
around his ankles. Now he’s gone without warning.”

“Is there any proof that
Sheffield may have a hand in the guy’s disappearance? Why would he do that?”

“The guy, Mac they called him,
phoned his friends later that night. Something about a mustached man with a
very large partner who tore his house and his ribs apart. Now he’s gone; his
friends are smart enough to keep their mouths shut at least. I’m willing to bet
Sheffield thought he was protecting you. Now, I completely disagree with how he
took his anger out on him, but maybe death wasn’t something you would choose
for him.”

“I don’t even…” My immediate
horror and guilt kept me from any actual response. If that was true, I was the
reason a man was dead. He might have been scum, but he deserved a jail cell,
not murder. He was someone’s son, maybe a brother or father. A ball of guilt
sat heavy in my stomach.

“If you don’t believe me,
retrace your steps and you’ll find the same men I interrogated. You can ask
them for yourself,” he said confidently. “Then ask Sheffield what he knows. I
know I’m curious to see how he’ll respond.”

“Maybe I will,” I stated flatly,
wanting to call his bluff. Felix didn’t even blink; was he telling the truth?

“I’ll give you some time to
think things over and talk to Sheffield,” he said. “I will visit with you again
in a few days, see if you’ve considered my offer.”

I gave him a curt nod and turned
to walk away. My brain was on overload.

“Oh, Lucy,” he called, and I
paused but didn’t turn around. “Be careful who you trust.”

I walked back to my trailer
without a second glance. I didn’t fall asleep until nearly sunrise.

Chapter
24

Delia was out of the camper
before I even woke up the next morning. I stayed in bed for a while, wondering
if I could hide under the covers for several weeks. I didn’t know what to do.
Did I talk to Sheffield or pretend my conversation with Felix never happened? I
wondered if I’d made the right choice in coming here. I was almost worried to
find out what new information I’d hear if I did go to Sheffield, but was I
willing to stay in the dark?

If Felix’s side held even a little
validity, did that mean that my father helped Sheffield hurt other people? I
couldn’t bear to imagine if that were true; everything I believed about him
would be a lie. He’d taught me my entire life to not only control my gift with
caution, but to never use it against others. He’d be the world’s biggest
hypocrite.

I finally told myself Sheffield
needed to know Felix was in the area. My brain might be addled with confusion,
but I trusted my instincts enough to know Felix was dangerous. That meant that
others were in jeopardy, regardless of whatever side he claimed to be on. I got
showered and dressed and when I went to step outside, I had a guest at my door.

“Keegan,” I said, surprised, as
I opened my front door to find him about to knock. He held a tray filled with
plastic utensils and bowls, small cereal boxes with milk cartons, and orange
juice in paper cups.

“Thought I’d bring you
breakfast. How’s it going?”

“Uh, I’m okay.” I motioned for
him to come in.

We sat down at the small kitchen
table and prepared our breakfast. It went quiet for a moment and I looked over
at his handsome face. Keegan smiled slightly as he put milk over his cereal
before he caught me looking.

“What?”

“Nothing.” I ate a spoonful of
Cheerios.

“I didn’t really get to catch up
with you yesterday. Everything go ok?”

“It was the same as it’s been.
Mostly everyone ignored me.”

“At least they’ve stopped
shoving you,” he sighed. “I’m sorry.”

We quickly finished breakfast
and got up to walk to the door. As I reached the doorknob, Keegan touched my
shoulder. I turned around and he pressed his lips to mine. Geez, no one around
here asked anymore. I had now kissed more people in twelve hours than I did my
entire sophomore year of high school.

He pulled away after a second
and looked at me. “I hope that was okay to do.”

“Of course it was,” I said. I
pasted on a smile much bigger than I felt. “Come on, let’s walk together.”

We stepped out and began out
towards the Big Top. As we walked side by side, his hand reached for mine and
held tight. If I weren’t so worried about Felix and my need to talk to
Sheffield, I’d have been pleased. Nikolas caught up with us within minutes.

“Hey,” he said. He glanced at
our hands before putting his attention on Keegan. “Your bike is messing up. Can
we go take a look at it and get it fixed before tonight?”

“Yeah, of course,” Keegan said.
He gave me a disappointed look. “Sorry, Lucy.”

“I totally understand. Your bike
is definitely more important.”

“I’d argue with you, but
unfortunately there’s not much show without a bike. Talk to you later,” he
said. He and Nikolas took off towards the vehicle area where their bikes were
kept.

I knew this was my chance to
find Sheffield. I eventually found him in the Big Top testing his microphone
and sound system. He greeted me with a tight smile, the corners of his mouth
not quite reaching his eyes.

“Doing all right today, kid?”

I shook my head. “Felix found me
last night.”

His demeanor instantly changed.
He frowned and I saw his hands form into fists at his sides. He glanced around the
tent and made sure no one paid us any attention. He lowered his voice.

“Where? Was he alone?”

“Yeah, he was alone. I went for
a walk and he confronted me in the parking lot.”

“You shouldn’t be going anywhere
by yourself.” His voice was disapproving and my temper flared.

“I can take care of myself.
Besides, it sounds like you’ve been handling things just fine behind my back.”

Sheffield’s eyes narrowed. “And
what exactly did Felix tell you?”

“How about that my attacker from
the bar called his friends and described men that match you and Marty coming to
his house and kicking the shit out of him? Ring any bells?”