The brothers received enchantments and gifts for a tiny trade.
The Valerios shared their magic for the world to see.
So, we celebrate their great find. For a small fee.”
Performers and carnival hands had stopped to listen. They clapped and whistled once he finished. The ringmaster made a great show of bowing for his doting fans.
“What do you think, kid?” he queried.
“You’re saying Carnival Fantástico’s magic comes from agod?”
Veracruz shrugged coyly. “Stranger things have been true,no?”
Have they?Ignacio didn’t think there was anything stranger than a god blessing a carnival. Especially since gods didn’t exist. His mother had been devout in her prayers. Before she died, she had told him about the hundreds of gods who dwelled beyond the realm of the living. She’d told him that most were good, shining blessings upon those who worshiped them. Some were benign, not caring what humanity did or did not do. But a handful were made from pure wickedness and waited for any opportunity to wreak havoc. Ignacio had seen enough evil in humanity to understand mere mortals didn’t need the help of devious gods to destroy the world.
“Maybe the song means everything is smoke and mirrors,” Ignacio said. He gestured toward the Fun House, a tent quite literally filled with smoke and mirrors.
The ringmaster laughed. “Can it not be both?”
Ignacio crossed his arms. “You answered my questions with more questions.”
“Did I?” Veracruz chuckled. “When one grows up in a carnival, they find themselves forever speaking in riddles. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He sat on a bench that had been sculpted to look like a cloud. In fact, from the way it swayed and misted around the ringmaster’s striped britches, Ignacio wondered if it was one.
“Look around you, kid. This carnival is as magical as the mind wishes it to be. Our country is in the middle of a terrible war. I am here to give our people an escape. There is no harm in that. In fact, bringing joy to people is honorable, I think. There are some who long to steal what I have created. They’d like to harness all these enchantments and use them in malice. I cannot and will not let that happen.” His expression turned serious. A heavy sort of anger blazed behind his eyes. “I know who your father is, kid.”
Cold ice slithered down Ignacio’s spine. “You do?”
The ringmaster flicked his wrist, and two crinkled pieces of paper appeared from thin air. One was the flyer Ignacio had taken from his father’s secret office. The other was the breakup letter Esmeralda had left him a year ago. They had both been tucked inside his coat pocket. The one the ringmaster had just returned to him.
“You went through my clothing.”
“Nah.” The fury burning in Veracruz’s eyes dissolved. With a wink, he gestured toward the tear in the seam. Esmeralda had ripped his jacket up to make him a mask for the parade. “These letters fluttered out when I picked up your things. But I’ve known you were Olivera’s son since I first saw you on the caboose.”
“How?”
The ringmaster raised his other hand with a flourish and his intricate hand mirror poofed into existence. “The mirror never lies. It told me who you were. But judging from the letter our dear Esmeralda wrote to you, perhaps Ishouldbe wary. She seemed to believe you were very much your father’s son.”
She was wrong. Ignacio glared at the letter. Each word written scorched inside his chest. His heart still stung knowing that she’d run away with only those hateful words as her goodbye.
“I understand what is going on here,” Veracruz said. “And I believe you have come to make amends with your one true love while also sabotaging your dear old daddy.”
He really did know. Not about the Esmeralda part. There were no amends to be made. But the part about his father was certainly true.
“I have a question for you, though,” the ringmaster said. “Well, I have onewhyand then awhat.Whyare you at odds with your father? Andwhatmade you think coming here would help you in your mission?”
Ignacio held his tongue. He did not trust Veracruz. Not in the slightest.
“Shall I take a guess, then?” the ringmaster queried. “You finally understand that your father is leading us deeper into war. His Blackbirds aren’t trying to defend our country against a formidable foe, they are trying to steal Dos Palos’s resources. Seeing how you helped Anella, I’d say you’re the type that cannot sit back and do nothing as innocent lives are taken.Orperhaps you did sit back and do nothing, and now that deep well of guilt inside your belly is starting to drown you.”
Ignacio’s pulse thumped hard in his temples. His palms began to sweat. Veracruz somehow knew everything. He even knew what a failure Ignacio was. That he’d stood by and done nothing to save those farmers.
“Now to my next question: What made you think coming here would help you in your noble cause?”
Ignacio surrendered. The ringmaster knew everything about him anyway. “I found notes addressed to my father. The sender wanted him to come to Carnival Fantástico. They claimed they knew his secrets. I figured this person might have some sort of intel I could use.”
The ringmaster fiddled with his curled mustache. “So, someone in my carnival has been communicating with your father.”
