“I wonder what he would have to offer the god in exchange for eternal youth?” Gabriel said to Esmeralda, purposely ignoring the tailor.
“His lead acts, of course! He requires stars to feed Tezcán. He needs brilliant showstoppers who are as vibrant as he wants to be. Only the most magnificent performers win the Running. Only the very best. Don’t you see? But it isn’t only about their performance. It is about their ferocity, their willingness to do whatever it takes to reach the end of the competition, no matter the cost. Why do you think he makes you pass three challenges? To prove your tenacity.” Jorge prattled on. “But I know a secret. Our dear ringmaster is late on his last payment. He’s desperate to feed Tezcán. And you’re his salvation, doll. But we aren’t going to let that happen.”
“We aren’t?” she and Gabriel both said.
He shook the weapons again. “Keep walking. I’ve got to get you out of here.”
“So…you’re helping us?” she asked.
“The comandante wants Ángel gone. That’s rather difficult when he’s filled with magic. But if the ringmaster can’t pay Tezcán, he will become his true age. He’ll be a powerless geezer. And then…” He made a slicing motion over his neck. “Now move faster before any of Ángel’s guards come looking for you.” He shoved the pistols he held into Esmeralda’s and Gabriel’s backs.
But she couldn’t leave without Ignacio. And she had to helpCamila.
She stumbled forward and fell to her knees.
A shock of white hair caught her attention just ahead of them and to her left. Her jaw dropped. A little old woman was standing in the shadows. There was steely fury in her dark eyes, and in her hands, a broken piece of timber.
Esmeralda’s foot shot to her side. Gabriel cursed as he tripped over her toes.
“Dammit, Esmeralda,” Gabriel hissed. “I fell right on a nail.” He tried to get up, but she clutched his arm.
“What are you doing?” Jorge snapped. “Get up. Get up right—”
Camila jumped out of the shadows and swung the wood in the air. It hit Jorge’s skull with athwack.
The tailor spun in a circle before falling face-first into therubble.
Chapter 52
Ignacio
Ignacio woke with a start, and the full reality of what had happened slammed into him.
He tried to get up, but his arms and legs were hog-tied. To his left knelt his father in the sawdust, his pale skin deepening in a red-tinted rage. They were in the Big Top.
“Glad you two have finally returned from the land of dreams.”
Ángel’s knees popped as he bent down in front of them and adjusted their knots. He had aged even more since Ignacio was knocked out. That made Ignacio wonder how long he’d been asleep. The Big Top tent didn’t have that golden glow of daytime. So, had it been minutes? Hours? Long enough to drag him and his father inside.
A thought struck him. Two, actually. Was Esmeralda okay? That thought was forever there. But the second thought pierced into his stomach. How was Camila faring if this could happen to the ringmaster?
“Why am I tied up?” Father asked.
“Because, big brother, I know what you’ve been up to. Why do you think I’ve been trying to reach you for so many months? To catch up on old times?”
Father said nothing. He simply glared at Ángel with an intensity that would have petrified Ignacio when he was young. Ignacio hated him. Hated everything about him. If he weren’t tied up himself, he would tear into his father again.
“Did you truly think I wouldn’t put two and two together?” Ángel asked the comandante.
A bit of dust fluttered onto Ángel’s shoulder. Ignacio’s gaze flicked upward. He thought he saw movement on the catwalk but couldn’t be certain.
“You were going to ruin everything we have built,” Ángelsaid.
“I was trying to make things right. I’ve let this go on for far too long. I let you destroy far too much.”
“Youletme? Brother, I letyoujoin in on the fun. This”—Ángel gestured about—“I built this. This was all my idea.Iwas the one who came up with the idea to keep Tezcán’s mirrors in the carnival. To feed him morsels of all the souls that passed through my gates.Iwas the one who knew no one would care enough about the nobodies who worked in my carnival to worry over what happened to them. This was allmyplan. And it was one you went along with for ages. Yet now you are so desperate to destroy it.”
Something clattered high above, but the brothers didn’t seem to notice.
