“I thought you said they were a matriarchal society?” I ask Willam.
He nods his head ruefully. “They are, but between you and me, Natalia is a raving bitch, and although their council was hoping this group would become a streak, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen. The others all look to Maxsim for protection when she's in a shitty mood because he will and does stand up to her.”
John practically giggles on my other side. “And I can guarantee she is still in a shitty mood from when you zapped her in the dining room. She knows how to hold a grudge.”
“Great,” I grumble, slumping down in my chair. “Do you think I’ll survive to actually do a show with them?” John pats me reassuringly on the shoulder while William chuckles.
“Don't drop your guard around them, and you should be fine. Remember, if she comes at you, you can levitate her around the dome if need be once your powers kick in. You may have to once or twice to put her in her place until she understands that you're not a pushover either. It’s also forbidden for her to use her lightning against you, so that’s a little safety net to keep in mind. Although they can absorb it, it’s lethal to just about anyone else.” Oh yeah, I had forgotten I’m not a vanilla human anymore. Not that I’ve ever been very vanilla.
Eric waves his cane, and with a flick of his wrist, it unravels into a whip. Immediately, he cracks it, the sound like a shot across the dome. The big cats’ eyes are now all on him. The surrounding terrain has shifted, and he has them jump from space to space, over each other, and then commands them to roll over and play dead, causing the audience to laugh.
“Isn’t this a bit demeaning for them?” I ask. “I mean, they’re huge animals and prideful when in their humanoid shape. How can you get them to do this without complaint?”
“With great difficulty,” mutters John next to me.
William shoots him a scowl before answering, “When they shift, their personality recedes. They become more animal than intelligent being, so it really is like training a wild animal, and we treat them as such. They don't have a problem with it. Without the strong handling, they would tear Eric apart and feast on his entrails.” My heart thuds to the bottom of my stomach, and a wave of nausea crosses my body.
“And you want me to train them? What the fuck!!”
After more spectacular leaps, thunderous roars, and air-splitting flashes of lightning, the show finishes with the cats jumping through a flaming hoop before leaving the arena with Eric riding on Maksim’s back, the others following in a V formation.
The arena of ice slowly starts to disappear in a cloud of mist and smoke, and all eyes are drawn to a spotlighted single figure hanging from the roof. Lanky pale limbs, a stark contrast wrapped around shiny black silk, her long bright pink hair adding a splash of color to the monochromatic sight. The white leotard she wears sparkles in the spotlight, the flash of diamantes and sequins adding some pizzazz to the elegance.
A hauntingly beautiful melody fills the arena like a siren song, captivating the audience as she twirls and twists herself through mesmerizing movements.
“That's Magenta, a Skarrian. I keep meaning to introduce you to her, but you've been so busy this week,” John explains.
William leans closer to my side and adds, “She's definitely a good one to be friends with. She's smart and feisty and will be a loyal friend as long as you don't cross her.”
“What happens if I cross her?” I ask curiously.
“She’d probably shank you.” Given the seriousness of the statement and my very strong impression that he’snotjoking, I really don’t see how William is laughing as he says that. “Her act is modified for our Earth performances. On the other planets, she slowly moves from two silks to one to none.”
“No silks? How does that work?” Disbelief must be obvious in both my question and my tone because I can feel the grandpas stiffen.
“You're still thinking like a human,” William snaps. “You need to remember we have talents that Earth people only dream of possessing. She can levitate. We put objects up in the air, and she floats through. We even give the audience a chance to play dodgeball with her! If they hit her, they get to take her on a date. No one has yet, but it’s always fun to watch them try.”
Her act keeps the crowd focused as the rest of the icy landscape disappears. Frequent gasps of amazement fill the arena as she wraps herself then completes death-defying drops supported only by the flowing black silk. At one stage, she binds herself completely, looking like a sexy offering to a bondage god, before unraveling all the way to the floor, stopping inches from the crowd.
The haunting melody comes to a close, and she strikes a final pose as the crowd bursts into applause. With her waving to the crowd and blowing kisses, the silks rise upward and the spotlight shines back down onto the floor.
In rolls a little yellow car with Eric riding on top. He’s had a costume change. Same style of outfit, just different colors. The little car jauntily makes its way around the arena with Eric waving and smiling. Suddenly, it comes to an abrupt stop and he flies forward. With great skill, he somersaults in the air and lands on two feet with a flourish. I turn to William to say something, but he rolls his eyes and waves at the action. “Just keep watching.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the floor... our clowns!” He runs out of the ring, but the soft mutters of the crowd begin to pile on top of one another when nothing happens. The little car just sits innocuously, its windows blacked out so nothing can be seen inside. The muttering increases in volume, and from the corner of my eye, I catch people wiggling in their seats, children standing up as though just getting a different vantage point will magically give them something to see. I open my mouth again to say something, but before I can, the little car begins to shake. The muttering stops abruptly as the audience's eyes are drawn back to the car. The motion continues, this time more violently, and with a sudden drum roll that comes from nowhere and everywhere all at once, the doors to the car fly open and out of it pour the clowns. There are so many of them, my mouth drops open in surprise. Looking around the arena, I can see I’m not the only one in shock.
First, five dwarf-sized clowns exit. Next, an extremely long leg pokes out one of the doors, followed by the second leg, two extremely long arms, and an equally large torso, and last to emerge is the head. Once this clown stands up, he’s close to nine feet tall. He waves to the crowd and moves out of the way. Next, an extremely wide clown eases himself out, followed by three more dwarfs. Just after that, some normal-sized clowns get out. In the end, once they have all exited, there are almost twenty clowns standing around the arena. One of them tries to close the car doors, but another runs over, shaking his hands and gesturing no to the others. He reopens the door, only for two little dogs that look like Jack Russells and then three brightly-colored poodles to jump out.
Finally, the car doors close and it rolls back out of the arena. Stagehands roll a whole heap of props into the center of the arena, and the clowns and the dogs spend the next fifteen minutes entertaining the crowd with a kind of slapstick performance mixed with magic tricks, mostly sawing bodies and parts in half. The children are giggling, and the parents are smiling indulgently at their offspring.
William leans closer again, though I can forgive him invading my space all night since it’s usually accompanied with some kind of explanation. “These guys are called Nenghe, from a planet with the same name. Have you ever seen that 80’s movie about the girl who goes into a maze and all the wonderful creatures she comes across before meeting the king?” I know the movie he’s talking about, so I nod my head. “Do you remember the creatures that could remove their body parts and throw them around?” I grimace because that bit kind of grossed me out. “Well, these guys can do that, and instead of juggling balls and things, when we’re off world, they juggle each other. They also have the ability to change shape. All the ones that are tall, short, or wide are actually the same size as the normal-sized ones; they’ve just changed their shape for the act.”
Turning back to the action, I look closely but I can’t see any signs. “Mamu, the one who is really wide today,” he says, pointing at the performer, “actually gets into the car in his normal size. He wouldn't be able to fit in the car otherwise. As he climbs out of it, he shifts the dimensions of his body with each movement.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see John holding a hand up to the earpiece he has in. He’d been quiet while William explained things to me, but now I can see him replying to whoever is talking in his ear.
He stands up and holds out his hand as the clowns race off , allowing Eric to re-enter the arena. “Come on, Lila, you’ll have to catch the rest of the show at the next stop. We’ve got some pre-flight checks that need to be done before we are ready to leave this evening, and we want to get a start on showing you those.”
Taking his hand, I allow him to pull me up, and the three of us leave before the next act can begin. We make our way to the control deck of the ship where we are greeted by Captain Lester. He and Captain Potter, who is back on the command ship, take turns with each vehicle. Both are Skarrians who have been with the circus for a long time.
