Chapter 568
The circus performers had set up a tent in the yard. After lunch Katelina and Sarah filed outside with the others and took seats to watch the performance. Katelina noticed the pale twins and Kali ahead of them and shivered.
"What?" Sarah followed her eyes. "You don't still think they're creepy?"
"Yeah I do. They're always picking through my brain and saying spooky Oh crap. They saw us."
Tol and Ren glided toward them. Though their smiles were meant to be pleasant, they made Katelina shiver. "Hello again, Sarah."
"Yes, so nice to see you. We hope you had fun yesterday."
Fun? Katelina turned to Sarah questioningly.
"Yes, I did. We should do that again."
"Yes," Tol said. "Even Kali enjoyed it."
"Yes. She talked about you all night," Ren said.
"All night," Tol echoed.
"Next time you should bring Katelina," Ren added.
"Kali would like to get to know her, too," Tol said.
Katelina shivered and pulled back a step. "That's okay. I'm sure she's too busy to bother with me."
"Oh no. Never too busy." Ren laid a hand on her shoulder and she stiffened. "We could all be great friends."
"Great friends," Tol repeated and touched Sarah's arm.
Katelina pulled away. "I really don't need any friends. I have Jorick. If you'll excuse me?"
She hurried toward the bleachers and into a seat before they could stop her. Her head crawled and she felt the digging, probing sensation of a mind reader. With a glare in their direction she imagined a pile of bricks dropping on their heads. Like before, a soft laugh echoed in her mind and the probing stopped.
Sarah joined her a minute later, visibly angry. "What's your problem? That was unbelievably rude."
She was right, but Katelina couldn't help it. "They were in my head. I'm sorry, but I can't stand that."
Sara dismissed it. "No they weren't. I played several games of Hearts with them and Kali yesterday. They were all nice, and none of them tried to read my mind."
Katelina rubbed the goosebumps from her arms. "Of course they did. As you said, all the ancients do it. I don't know, maybe it's just because old vampires freak me out."
"Do they?" a voice asked behind them.
Katelina turned to see Brandle/Acwellen looking amused. "Um-I didn't mean-"
He chuckled. "Kali takes some getting used to. Egyptian, I think someone said. But you're right to be cautious. The older we get, the crazier, and crazy immortals are capable of truly terrifying things."
Katelina wasn't sure how to respond. Were his words a warning, or a threat? She managed a nod, and turned around as the music started.
The circus' usual thrills were magnified by the participants' immortality. Katelina's attention was glued to the ring; even Jorick only earned a cursory glance when he roamed into the tent and took a watchful place to the side.
The pair of clowns entertained them while workers set up a cage for the cats, made of pieces of heavy metal mesh fastened together around the outside of the ring. When they finished, the lion came in with a roar that made Katelina jump. The trainer moved it through a routine of climbing, leaping, and posing. With immortality came increased abilities, and the cat's leaps were the longest she'd ever seen.
The trainer motioned it to wait on a painted stand, as the tiger came in. The animal did a round of tricks that ended with it leaping onto the other end of the lion's platform. The maned cat reared up with a roar and swiped at his partner.
The trainer shouted and smacked a nearby box, but the lion didn't notice. It slapped the tiger hard enough to knock it off the stand, then leapt over him to land, claws out, on the wall of the metal cage. It hung for a second before the metal plate groaned and tipped over, pulling free from those around it.
The spectators rose to their feet, eyes wide, mouths gaping in silent shock as the lion bounded at the nearest person. Man and animal crashed to the ground. With horror, Katelina realized who it was.
"Jorick!"
Cries swelled from the crowd, and Katelina struggled to shove her way down the bleachers as everyone else was trying to go up. She finally reached the ground, expecting to see blood and torn limbs. Instead she saw the lion making his way into the ring, where he let his trainer guide him back to his private cage.
Katelina reached Jorick's side as he took his feet. He dusted himself off, his expression grim.
"My God, are you okay? What happened?"
The trainer slammed the cage door and hurried back. "Did you see Leo's eyes? Someone was controlling him!"
Leo, Leo the lion. Why not?
"Yes," Jorick responded irritably. "I was."
"You made him attack you?" the trainer demanded.
"No, I made him get off of me."
The trainer gave a huff of impatience. "Before that. When he attacked Teal he was already under their influence."
Jorick knocked the straw out of his hair. "No offense, but I doubt a whisperer used their powers to ruin your act. It's a lion, they're unpredictable."
"Not Leo! He's friendly and well behaved and-"
Jorick cut him off, "I'm more concerned with the construction of your safety equipment. The cage should have held."
"Yes, it should have." The trainer stepped back to examine it. "The bolts are missing!"
"Of course they are. It was put together in a hurry by workers who weren't paying attention."
The ring master joined them, and after a brief conversation called the laborers over. They denied sloppy work, and one insisted he remembered putting those exact bolts in.
"You think you do because you've done it so many times," Jorick said dismissively. "From now on I suggest you double check. I'll have to report this against your license."
The ring master grumbled, but they let it go, and Jorick led Katelina out of the deserted tent. As they walked to the house she saw William standing with an Asian vampiress. His green eyes met hers and he glared darts of pure malice.
Katelina clutched Jorick's arm. "Is William a whisperer?"
He followed her gaze. "No. He's a wind walker, and has a barrier, but no other mental abilities I know of. Why?" He seemed to suddenly understand. "No, Katelina. William didn't take control of the lion and force it to attack me."
"Someone did. Not only did the trainer say the lion was being controlled, but the bolts were missing. The roadie swore he put them in, you even checked his mind and agreed that he thought he did it. What if he thought so because a whisperer made him skip those bolts but told him he put them in?"
"I didn't actually delve into his mind. The only sinister thing here is two vampires covering up for sloppy work. I was not a target. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If not me, then it would have been someone else."
"Seriously? You don't think it's a little suspicious? William threatens you and three days later a lion attacks you? Are you dense?"
"No, I'm not as paranoid as you. Besides, William couldn't have done it, any more than you or Sarah could."
"You're saying you have another enemy?"
He sighed impatiently. "No. I'm saying no one did it. Now calm down and let's go to dinner."
