The Nightingale Circus (10 page)

The client walked around her, adjusting ties
and binds. He never said a word, and he wore the same inscrutable
expression all along as if he didn’t see a woman in front of him
but only a tool to relieve his frustrations.

Surprisingly, he didn’t get off on her being
submissive. He enjoyed her rage. And she
was
enraged over
the bruises he’d left on her creamy skin, and possibly a couple of
broken bones, too. It was hard to tell as there was too much pain
all around.

The struggle brought no relief. The machine
he’d tied her to was designed in such a way she couldn’t break free
by herself. There were too many restraints and odd angles that gave
her no leverage. She shouldn’t waste her strength that way, but she
couldn’t help it. Her body reacted outside of her control. But she
wouldn’t give in. She refused to let this monster break her.

The client pulled on a lever. Her leg twisted
unnaturally. Riella let out another soundless scream.

* * *

Nicholas finished washing his hands in the
rusty sink and watched himself in the mirror. The past few years
spent at the circus had added fine lines
to
the corners of his eyes. In other circumstances, he
would have thought they made him look distinguished, but tonight
they made him look old. He
felt
old, long past his thirties.
He’d traveled the world, never staying too long in one place
because the circus didn’t, and he’d seen too much. More pain and
destruction than he could tolerate. The circus people handled it
well, but he didn’t have the stomach for it.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he pulled on
the lapels of his coat—an old reminder of another life. A life when
he used to be someone else. Sometimes it felt like yesterday he’d
left his mother at the top of the Capitole stairs in Toulouse. The
buzz of the alcohol clouded his judgment and let memories filter
through. He shook his head. Too much wallowing. It didn’t help
anyone, and it didn’t make him feel any better. Maybe another drink
would.

A blast echoed down the corridor. Nicholas
straightened his back. He was about to make another bad call.

* * *

The door flew open, and Spinner rushed inside
one step behind Rake. The torture chamber reeked of blood, and
faint whimpers came from the mangled body trapped in the metal
contraption in the center of the room.

The man standing with a hand on a lever
looked down his nose at them. “Get lost.”

“Not a chance.” Rake growled. “Release
her.”

“If you come any closer, I’ll release this.”
The man nodded at the lever. “Do you know what it will do to
her?”

They didn’t, so Spinner and Rake paused in
mid-stride. There was no point in risking hurting her even
more.

“It’s okay. I’ve got this,” Nicholas said
from the doorway.

Rake jumped, grabbed the man by the throat,
and pinned him to the closest wall. His fist came down like a
hammer. The grunts of pain faded fast as the man became as bloody
as his victim. Sweat broke out on Nicholas’s forehead, but the
lever stood still.

Knowing better than to try to stop Rake when
he was in punishing mode, Spinner focused on the girl. Serioja was
already wiping the blood off her face with a corner of his shirt,
and together they detached her from the machine, wincing along with
her each time another strap or bit of metal was removed. They laid
her on the floor since there was nowhere else to put her, Serioja
cradling her head in his lap. Lucky for her, the girl had passed
out.

“Can you fix her?” Serioja looked up at
Spinner with his blank, blue eyes.

Cuts, punctures, burns, at least four
fractures, and who knew what else. Spinner shook his head. “She
needs to go to a hospital.”

Nicholas stepped away from the door, careful
not to touch anything and dirty his clothes. “What makes you think
anyone working here can afford to pay for healthcare?” He was
shaking slightly
,
but not from the
booze.

By the wall, Rake let the man drop and
turned. “You should have said this before I was done with him.” He
wiped his hands methodically on a silk cloth that used to cover a
tray with torture instruments. His knuckles were bruised.

His victim didn’t move.

“Well…” Spinner scratched the back of his
head. With a little luck, the girl would live, but it was unlikely
she would be comfortable dancing on the pole again.

The door slammed against the wall, and
another man burst in. His eyes bulged at the sight of the
pe
rson
lying on the floor, and he pulled
on his hair. “What did you do? Do you know who that is? He’s
responsible for half of the concrete production in the
country!”

“Not anymore,” Rake said.

“I’m ruined! They’re going to close my club.”
The club owner pulled on his hair again.

“They should,” Spinner said. “This is no way
to treat your girls.”

“Who are you people?” the club owned asked.
“How did you get in here? The police will look into this!”

Nicholas stepped forward and raised a
hand.

The club owner sputtered, stumbling
backward.

“There was a fight in the club, and he got
caught in it,” Nicholas said. “We were never here.”

The eyes rolled back inside the club owner’s
head, and he collapsed in a pile on the floor.

Nicholas looked up. “What?”

Spinner suppressed a shudder. It was the
first time he’d seen Nicholas use his telecharger skills on another
human being so openly. “Nothing.” He sighed. Unlike Cielo, at least
this one could control himself. “So what do we do with her?” He
nodded at the girl.

Rake bowed over Serioja and helped him pick
her up. Nicholas handed them his coat to cover her with it and
walked ahead, leading the way.

“Oh, man, Big Dino is going to be pissed,”
Spinner said.

* * *

“Who’s paying for this?” Big Dino paced
inside the factory car between the workbenches.

Spinner wisely kept
his
head down, focused on fixing the client’s
injuries. A client who couldn’t afford their services. No wonder
their charity annoyed Big Dino so much.

From his half-lying position in his chair,
Nicholas waved a weak hand. He was generous with his money when he
had any, which didn’t happen often. Magic didn’t pay well, and he
wasn’t all that skilled as a magician. But that wasn’t the reason
he traveled with the circus. He should have been the one to pay Big
Dino for allowing him to hide among his people.

“He should pay.” Spinner gave the tall
aerialist a glance. “He insisted on fixing her.”

A cheap shot since Serioja wasn’t going to
protest. Technically, it was true. He had asked. And he was above
trivial banter.

Serioja stood in the corner with his arms
crossed. He hadn’t moved since they got there. He nodded once in
acknowledgement, but other than that, he didn’t say anything.

“Well, I’m not paying him enough to cover all
this.” Big Dino gestured towards the operation table.

“She can work for it,” Rake said.

A ghost of a smile flew over Serioja’s
face.

Big Dino stopped pacing and turned his
massive body around. He narrowed his eyes, but Rake kept his gaze
lowered, busy wiping the blood off the redhead’s thigh.

When the silence became heavy, Rake looked
up. “She’s got a nice body.” He shrugged.

“So we’re kidnapping her now?” Spinner
asked.

“At least we’re not forcing her to do her
second job,” Rake said.

Spinner nodded. He couldn’t actually imagine
her enjoying the time spent in the torture chamber. He handed Rake
another sponge. “Are we going to ask her first?”

“Don’t get cute. Of course we are going to
ask her.” Big Dino huffed and pursed his lips. “Don’t get me
started on you. And you…” He turned to Nicholas. “You should have
known better than to get involved.”

Nicholas answered with a bleak look. “Guys?
Remind me never to go drinking with you again.” He slumped back in
his seat and closed his eyes. He was still pale, but the tremors
had subsided.

Big Dino shook his head. “Fine. Start
patching her up. After you numb her, wake her so we can discuss the
terms of our agreement.” He paused. “Is she any good?”

“Oh, she’s good!” Rake said.

* * *

Riella came back to her senses, startled by
the loud beating of her heart. She didn’t open her eyes right away.
If the nightmare wasn’t over, she didn’t want the attention of her
torturer to return. A moment of respite would be nice. She tried to
move and test the resistance of her restraints despite already
knowing it was useless, but she didn’t feel them. The pain had also
shifted, becoming a dull throb, its locations not exactly matching
the ones she remembered.

“She’s awake.” Someone chattered nearby with
an affability that couldn’t belong to her torturer, so she dared
peek through heavy eyelids.

The peek turned into a full blink when faced
with the giant toad head. Black eyes blinked at her, and the man
with a green complexion moved out of her range
of
vision
. The following second, Riella wished he hadn’t
because his absence let her see herself in the mirror pinned to the
ceiling. Her show costume was torn, and two scarred men dug with
scalpels and tweezers through the holes in her torso.

Another type of nightmare.

Riella screamed and screamed and screamed
until she couldn’t hear her thoughts anymore, though no sound left
her lips.

“It’s all right. They’re fixing you,” someone
told her in Russian, and presumably the same person squeezed her
hand.

Riella’s eyes darted to the right in search
of the owner of that voice, desperate to focus on anything other
than the horrific sight in front of her.

The tall blond man she vaguely remembered
seeing at the club smiled at her. He hadn’t left a tip, but there
was absolutely nothing threatening about his appearance despite his
big, muscled frame.

“Over here, sweetheart. You can ogle Serioja
when we’re done.” The toad snapped his fingers, bringing her
attention back to him. “Don’t be scared. You are going to be fine.
How fine is up to you.”

Riella wanted to ask who they were, where she
was, and what had happened. The inability to speak was
frustrating.

“First thing first, let’s make the
introductions,” the toad man said. “I’m Big Dino, and your
attendants are Spinner and Rake.” He pointed at the men covered in
scars who each looked at her when his name was mentioned. “You’ve
already met Serioja. You’re at The Nightingale Circus. You might
have heard of us,” he added with a grin. “Are you with me so far?
Two blinks for yes, one for no.”

Riella blinked twice.

“Your condition is stable,” Big Dino said.
“We managed to stop the internal bleeding, and we’re working on
fixing the worst of the injuries. It was bad, but when we’re done,
you’ll be functional. Dancing, however, might not come as easy to
you as it used to. Both your legs and spine have been affected, and
basic fixing won’t solve those issues.”

Somehow, the back of her throat remembered
how to work, and she heard herself whimpering.

“Now, now, there’s no need to panic.” Big
Dino raised one hand with short, thick fingers. “We can provide
additional fixing. Our prices aren’t as high as in regular
hospitals, but it’s still expensive. Is that going to be a
problem?”

Yes.

“Well … we also have a solution for that. Is
there anything keeping you in Sofia?”

No.

“In that case, you can work for us until your
debt is paid. It will take a while, but we’re in no hurry if you
aren’t. We offer boarding and meals, plus a full healthcare plan
and 100% protection within the circus grounds—”

The word “protection” stirred something in
her brain, and she whimpered again.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about your client,” Big
Dino said. “He won’t be anyone’s client … ever again.”

A relieved smile stretched Riella’s lips.

“Since he’s a big shot around here, it would
be good for you to lay low, but you don’t have to concern yourself
with this right now.” Big Dino clasped his hands. “Back to our
business … you also get a share of the profit like all of us. It
will be split in the beginning, still, we can renegotiate your
contract when you finish covering the expenses. We’ll have to
remove your scars and enhance your muscles and flexibility for the
act I have in mind, but if you’re as good as they say you are, I
can make you the third headline, right after The Nightingale and
The Swan. Do you have a problem with heights?”

No.

“Great. Let’s get to work then.” Big Dino
gestured with his hand at Spinner, and this one reached for the
machine behind him.

Riella’s eyelids lowered. The last thing she
heard was Rake saying, “Let’s fix her ankle, too.”

* * *

Nicholas joined the line inside the cafeteria
car. He’d been too exhausted after using his telecharger ability to
eat anything, and that had left him with tremors and an upset
stomach. He ignored any of the traditional strong-scented foods—the
chef tried his hand at local cuisine each time they stopped in a
town—and filled his bowl with chicken soup. The noodles floating in
the hot liquid reminded him of the creep’s entrails after Rake had
been done with him, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.
Nicholas didn’t enjoy violence. The thought of leaving the club
owner with brain damage was troubling enough, but they couldn’t
risk going back to check on him.

Stifling a curse that joined the growl of his
stomach, Nicholas turned his back to the unappetizing trays loaded
with food and looked for a table. All of the seats were occupied,
and he didn’t fancy eating outside.