Page 115 of Galaxy Circus Act One

“Phew, that could have been a disaster.” John sags next to me, and it’s my turn to pat his knee.

“Thank goodness for almighty powerful warlocks, right?” I tease him, and he shudders in relief.

“Shall I tell him you said that?” Eric asks, and my head swings to him.

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Lila

Eric and John settle down once more now that the dinosaur danger has passed. I can’t believe that I’m even thinking those words. My life has become bizarre and unbelievable. William takes to the center of the ring again, still wearing the stupid hunter hat and outfit and holding his gun.

“Phew, that was a little close. I almost thought I was going to need my gun,” he tells the crowd in a joking manner, but I could hear the truth in his voice.

“I think you would have needed a bigger gun, buddy,”someone yells at him, and William tips his hat in his direction.

“You may be right, my friend. But after that heart-stopping act, are you ready to see another?”

The crowd cheers, and the same heckler yells, “Am I going to almost shit my pants at this one?”

William chuckles. “No, this time all you have to do is keep your fingers crossed that the act doesn’t have slippery hands. I give you the Volans.”

The spotlight shines toward all the rigging that is located at the top of the arena and down the flimsy ladders that lead up to it. We watch as seven people climb to the top to stand on tiny little platforms on either side.

I lean into John. “How come there are seven of them? I thought Saxon’s clan only had five people. And what does Volans mean? Is it Vilaxian?”

“Volans is Latin for flying. We decided to stick to Earth words when we are here in case people used Google to look it up. As for the number of people, we are not happy with the remaining members of Saxon’s clan,” John murmurs quietly as music fills the arena and the trapeze act begins. “With Saxon down, they were short a catcher, so we needed someone in a hurry. The queen sent us Saxon’s brother and his small clan to cover. That’s who the extra three people are.”

“And by Saxon’s clan, he really means Estrella and Radella,” Eric adds. “I’m pretty sure that clan is on the verge of collapse, especially with you being Saxon’s blood rose. William said that Hale and Velorina basically confirmed it. So once we finish here on Earth, that is another thing we have to deal with. I’ve got to say, Lila, things really have been boring until you got here.” The stupid man chuckles and claps like an excited child. “This is the most excitement we’ve had inyears.”

I send a fake glare my grandpa’s way for insinuating that I attract all of the drama in the circus.

The crowd oohs and ahhs and gasps as the aerialists flip and turn and swing. The act is so mesmerizing that when it finishes, I startle in surprise. I was so engrossed, I hadn’t noticed that over half an hour had passed. One by one, they drop down to the safety net hanging below them before flipping over and landing gently on the ground. The seven of them take a bow and wave to the crowd before running off. The arena goes darkas crew members come out and tear down the net, the spotlight highlighting William as he banters with the crowd once more.

“Is everyone ready to go home yet? Or would you like to see one more act?” he asks the audience, who obediently shouts their enthusiastic response.

“Who likes to ride on the carousel when you go to the fair?” People in the crowd raise their hands. The children are more eager than the adults, but that’s to be expected. He waits a few seconds to let the anticipation build.

“Would you like to see our carousel? We don’t just have horses on ours, however, we have larnuks. They are a special breed of alien horses.” He gives an exaggerated wink and the crowd chuckles.

“What’s a larnuk?”a little girl asks boldly.

“It’s a unicorn with wings, but ours aren’t colored like your horses on Earth. No indeed,” he tells her, rising up, strapped to a harness, as the floor of the arena seems to open again. Up out of the ground, much like the pool did, an old-fashioned carousel rises, with a roof and center pole, but the wooden horses are missing. The center pole is painted in bright colors with fantastic-looking creatures all over it, as is the top of the carousel.

“Where are the horses?” a child yells.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our larnuk mistress, Zala, and her larnuks,” William shouts as the sound of thundering hooves fills the arena. The big door opens, and six of the most magnificent-looking animals I have ever seen come running into the arena.

“Oh my God, they are gorgeous,” I murmur as I take in the sight before me. Built like a Friesian, with long flowing manes and tails, these animals have wings tucked into their sides and sparkling horns sticking out of their foreheads, and each and every one of them is a bright jewel color. They are emerald,violet, gold, scarlet, and sapphire and copper. They toss their heads and snort as they canter around the arena. Atop the gold larnuk is a curvy, dark-haired female who looks like she has colored streaks in her black hair. They seem to match her horses.

“When she bonds with each creature, it creates a streaked lock of hair, that’s why she has all the different colors in it.” Eric leans forward, as mesmerized as I am by the creatures. “They really are magnificent creatures. They breathe fire, and their main food source is precious and semi-precious gems. You should see the vault we have on the ship that holds their supplies. If an Earthling found them, they would think they hit the jackpot.”

“Rilu is a desert-like planet with little oases dotted all over it. The Rilus are a nomadic race, and they use the larnuks for transport. The planet is riddled with gem mines, which they use to feed their animals and to trade with other species. That drink you like is made from the rilax berry, which only grows in their mines,” John explains as the mistress sends the horses to stand in a specific spot on the carousel.

“It takes extreme courage and bravery to become a larnuk master or mistress. To bond with them, you need to allow them to bite you. You can’t see it, but Zala is covered in silver scars from where her horses bonded with her. Most Rilus will only ever bond with one or two horses in their lifetimes. Being a larnuk master is equal in power to the tribe leader. She has four more horses, but she only ever uses six for the show. She swaps them in and out.” Eric eyes Zala with admiration, but it’s not sexual, just full of profound respect.

The animals all start to move in synchronized formation, round and round, just like a carousel. Their high stepping movements get faster and faster until all of a sudden, at her command, their wings snap open and start to flap as they geteven faster. At her accented order of, “Fly,” the six of them take off into the air to the gasps and shouts of wonder of the crowd.