I stepped in, dancing my way across the circle until I reached the middle.
The ropes of the trapeze slid down from above. I grabbed the wooden bar, and it pulled me up into the air. I swung forward, then back, twisting as the crowd beneath me blurred into streaksof color. Another trapeze swept past. I leaped to it, spinning through the air before catching the next bar.
I lifted myself up, settling onto the top of the bar. When I looked down, little girls in the audience were staring up at me with wide eyes. I lifted my hand and waved at them.
This was no place for families, but they still came.
I moved again, rising on my toes on the wooden wire, holding the ropes as I bowed. When I saw the net tighten below, I finished the act. I spun once more through the air and let my body fall into the net. It caught me hard, then bounced me back up, and I landed lightly on the ground.
The crowd clapped. I bowed again and tiptoed toward the exit.
As soon as I stepped outside, I noticed men in black suits. The moment they saw me slipping out, they started moving toward me. I ran straight to Oscar’s tent. When I pushed inside, the table was covered with masks, knives, a bat, and an axe.
“They are already after me,” I said, barely catching my breath.
Oscar grabbed a rabbit mask with long ears and pulled it over his face. He took the axe and lifted it to his shoulders. Enzo reached for a mask too, but instead of the axe, he picked up a metal bat.
“You have to lead them to the wooden park,” Oscar said.
I nodded and looked at both of them.
“Go,” he shouted.
He didn’t give me any promise that I would be safe. The shout may be the closest thing to one. I glanced over my shoulder as I ran out. Oscar was right behind me, and farther back, the men in suits had already started chasing.
I ran so fast I could hear my heartbeat pounding inside my ears with every step. When I reached the woods, I ducked behind the bark of a thick tree and crouched low.
Screams moved through the trees, followed by heavy thuds. I held my ears and stayed curled down until a hand grabbed me by my braid and yanked me upward.
“Finally got you,” the man said. He twisted a knife near my neck and dragged me backward.
He started pulling me deeper into the woods. Behind us, I heard Oscar’s voice. “Let her go.”
The man holding me laughed. “Or what?”
“I won’t chop your dick off,” Oscar said.
The man kept dragging me until we reached the edge of the cliff. Oscar stood several feet away in black leather pants, blood smeared across his skin. His axe rested on his shoulder, dripping. The rabbit mask covered his face, and he tilted his head slowly to the left, then to the right, like he was studying both me and the man holding me.
He moved closer. When the man shifted his grip to test Oscar, I punched him hard in the gut. He let out a rough groan and doubled over. I ran toward Oscar. He caught me, pushed me behind him, and lifted the axe. With one clean motion, he hurled it at the man’s face.
The mask split in half. Blood ran down his chin in a thin dark line. He staggered back, struggling for balance, then slipped over the edge of the cliff and disappeared.
Oscar turned to me. He lowered his mask and cupped my cheeks with both hands.
“You good?” he asked.
I nodded.
He pulled me closer. His lips touched mine. His tongue slid against mine, hungry, pulling me into him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him kiss me harder.
A sound behind us snapped the moment.
“Ew,” Enzo said. “You two need holy water and a priest.”
“Go away,” Oscar said, waving a hand without looking back.
Enzo laughed. “Okay, demons. Have your fun. And when you” he paused and cleared his throat “finish whatever this is, come meet Mia and me in the house.”
