The Nightingale Circus Read Online Free PDF

job earlier.”
Rake pulled on his tattered clothes. If he pulled any harder,
there’d be nothing left of them.
    Big Dino eyed both of them pensively before
answering. “Yes. The offer still stands if you’re interested.”
    “What does it entail?” Rake asked.
    “I’ve got a workshop in the train we use to
carry the circus around, and we fix prosthetics for the locals when
we travel across the continent,” Big Dino said. “My assistants are
doing all right with the tasks I give them, but they’re not truly
gifted in this field. I could use some help from people with a good
understanding of the technical side of the business and who can
come up with new ideas. I do like experimenting myself quite a
bit.” He smirked. “And there’s good money in it.”
    Money wasn’t an issue. But their security
was. After all, they were fugitives.
    “Where does the circus travel?” Spinner
asked.
    “All over Europe and part of Asia, too,” Big
Dino said. “We don’t stay long in one place. It’s the best way to
keep my crew safe. But you will need an act. Everybody has
one.”
    “We would work in the shop,” Spinner said.
“Why do we need an act? Can’t we handle the security instead?”
    “Sure, you can help with that, too.” Big Dino
nodded. “But if you want to try something new for a change, now’s
your chance.” His voice became alluring.
    “I don’t know what we could—” Spinner
muttered.
    Rake held out his hand, and the screwdriver
flew out of the bag and into his hand.
    Show off . Spinner rolled his eyes.
“And there’s that…”
    “Nice.” Big Dino grinned, his eyes gleaming
with interest. He took Spinner’s hand in his to palpate his wrist.
His skin was rough and cool to the touch. “Magnetic fields, right?
I can work with this. How do you feel about knives?”
    Spinner shrugged. He hadn’t used any since
his troubled youth, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t work it out. His
reflexes were good, and where they were lacking, the magnetic
fields would make up for it.
    “The scars would have to stay then,” Big Dino
said. “I mean we’ll heal the burns, but keep cosmeticized scars. It
looks more realistic this way.”
    This time, Rake shrugged. He had to be the
one person in the whole world who couldn’t care less about his
appearance.
    “Very well … follow me, boys.” Big Dino waved
his hand at them. “There’s someone charming the guards for us
outside, and she doesn’t like to wait.”
    Spinner chuckled. He hadn’t been called boy
in a long time.

The
Magician

    “Place your bets.” The dealer’s voice rose
over the murmurs of the small crowd surrounding the table.
    Nicolas considered ordering another drink,
but the waiter was nowhere in sight. Next to him, Lucille leaned
forward to place a small stack of chips on number four.
    Her floral perfume tickled his nose, an
incentive to take her home sooner. After a delightful dinner filled
with Lucille’s charming personality and laughter, they had stopped
at the club for drinks and a game of craps. It had been a bad idea
because now she didn’t want to leave. She pouted when she lost and
cheered when she won, enjoying the experience to the maximum.
    Lucille’s teeth bit into her bottom lip as
she watched the shooter roll the dice. Nicolas wanted to soothe the
abused piece of soft, pink flesh, preferably with his own lips, but
she didn’t allow any distractions while she played. The white cubes
bounced against the back of the table and then stopped. A second
passed before the blue lights showing the numbers lit on the
visible sides. Five. She’d lost.
    “Damn,” Lucille muttered, and a corner of her
mouth twitched in annoyance.
    It had taken her only forty-five minutes to
realize that, regardless of the type of the bet, if she bet more
than five chips, she lost. Anything less than five chips would most
likely bring her a win. She’d been convinced she figured out the
system, but it turned out she’d bet too high again,