The Calm Before (Reign and Ruin novella) Read Online Free PDF Page B

face."
    "Your friends
back there didn't give us much time to freshen up," I answered. The
Ringmaster flicked his cigarette lazily towards the door and
shrugged.
    "Charming
ruffians, but they have their uses. Quite the team. And you should
see them perform!" He blew a smoke ring into the air, which grew
bigger and bigger until it passed through me like a giant hula
hoop. "We here are all about the dramatics."
    "Obviously."
    "Well, at least
I can admit it. Unlike you friend Lucan in there." With that he
started to move through the tent, and I had no choice but to follow
the pool of light. "He is your competitor's brother, did you know
that?"
    Flashes of
cages emerged and disappeared again into the dark, eyes glinting in
the torch light as the animals watched us pass. "He mentioned
it."
    "Funny choice
of teammate." His arm pushed aside a hidden fold of fabric and we
were suddenly in the light again, a warmer glow of gas lamps. The
room was swathed in red cloth and couches and as he fitted the
torch into a bracket on the wall, he waved me to sit with his
smoking hand.
    Perching
gingerly on the edge of a settee, I watched him pull out a bowl of
marbles and set them pointedly on the table. They were like the
ones Marty had and the one I took to enter into Palet. Funny, how
something so innocent looking can be so different to your childhood
memories. He flicked back his coattails and sat down across from
me. His silver rings glinted in the gas light.
    "So when do I
call Cirrus to pluck the petal from the bud?" he murmured, picking
a piece of tobacco leaf from the tip of his tongue.
    "I'm surprised
you're even asking," I replied. The Ringmaster tsked and shook a
finger in my direction.
    "Why? Not eager
to be reunited with your love?" His smile grew nasty. "Does he
suffocate you? Do you yearn to be free?"
    "You don't know
what you're talking about," I said.
    "It's a toxic
relationship, and it's him. He clings, doesn't he?" he asked,
leaning forward as if to start gossip. I drew back in disgust and
he flashed me a knowing smile. "I see, then. You are really
Walking, then?"
    The Ringmaster
reached above his head and pulled a thin string, and the faint toll
of a bell rang somewhere far away.
    "Please do help
yourself," he said suddenly, motioning to the marbles. I shook my
head and his face fell a little in disappointment. He considered
the bowl and used his long fingers to fish one out from the bottom.
Meanwhile, I noticed for the first time the whip he wore on his
hip. It clung to his side as a sleeping millipede. I moved my eyes
away quickly and found him watching me with sly eyes. His tongue
was rolling the marble around in his mouth slowly.
    "There are
stories flying around Palet, the main rumor being a couple's spat.
Two crossed lovers fighting it out for the throne." He wrung his
heads mockingly and pulled the face of distress. " If they could
only work it out, we would have peace! And they could rule
together ." He broke out laughing and swallowed the marble in
one smooth gulp. "You are really the golden couple to those who
don't know better."
    "But you
do."
    "I do," he
whispered. Shutting his eyes, he leaned back in the chair and drew
a great sigh. He ran his hands up and over his chest as the drugs
kicked in and the blood rushed to his brain. And at that point, the
crimson fabric of the wall was lifted up by Leof, pulling along
Lucan. Timothy followed obediently behind. The Ringmaster stirred
and opened his eyes. Upon seeing Leof, his face lit up with pupils
the size of the moon.
    "Oh what fun ! What an absolute hoot. A prize for me!" The Ringmaster
rose, teetering a bit, and began to circle Lucan. "Do you recall
when I last saw you?" Lucan clamped his mouth shut and watched the
Ringmaster stroke his the whip tenderly. "You were gearing up to be
quite the protégé. Cirrus had very high hopes," he said. "Too bad
they were so high you ended up ten feet off the ground."
    Leof laughed
and Timothy joined in, but I doubt he