“The Sánchez Sisters!”
“Benicio the Bear Trainer!”
“David the Knife Thrower!”
“La Paloma Blanca and her handsome noviecito!”
Ignacio’s head snapped toward the audience.
There had been a time when he had wanted nothing more than to be called Esmeralda’s beau. Now? He couldn’t deny how his body ached whenever he laid eyes on her. If only her heart wasn’t as cold as the frozen abyss.
The crowd continued to chant their favorite performer’s name.
The ringmaster laughed heartily. When the audience quieted, he said, “I hear you loud and clear, my lovelies. Lucky for you, a few of these acts are ready to put on a show for you tonight.” He swept his arm to the smaller ring on the right. “Up first, I give you Paco the Fire Breather!”
A spotlight fell onto a tall young man wearing a red singlet. He waved with one hand. The other hand grasped a torch of blue flames.
Something popped near the center ring. Glistening smoke engulfed the ringmaster before he disappeared. The spotlight that had illuminated Veracruz swiveled upward to find him standing on a catwalk hanging below the rafters. A woman sitting in the stands nearest to Ignacio swooned.
“Next, we have Benicio the Bear Trainer!” he bellowed.
Another spotlight shone on the center ring. A giant man sporting a bear pelt roared before running to a bicycle. He leapt on and began pedaling. To Ignacio’s surprise, real bears surged out of the backstage curtains riding on unicycles.
“And last but certainly not least, we have the Sánchez Sisters!”
A fourth spotlight hit the smaller ring nearest to where Ignacio stood. Camila and her sister wore matching leotards. They waved and blew kisses and dazzled the crowd. They dug their hands into a bowl of powder and clapped, sending sparkling puffs of dust into the air. The dust morphed into wispy butterflies and fluttered away, causing the audience to cheer even louder.
The cloth cuffs on the Sánchezes’ wrists caught Ignacio’s attention. They shimmered like the ink he hunted for, like the glue that had locked Anella inside the glass box. His eyes went to the other performers. Benicio’s fake claws looked to be tinted with the iridescent paint. Paco had a string of gleaming beads glinting around his throat.
The phantom band ambled to life and played “The Tale of the Valerio Brothers.” And with that, the show kicked off.
Ignacio remained transfixed but also on edge. Esmeralda swore the ringmaster would never write to his father. The ringmaster himself said so too. But when Ignacio questioned him about the ink, he had shrugged him off. How could this man not know where it came from when most of his performers sported something with those very glinting tones of blacks, purples, blues, and golds?
Camila readjusted her cloth cuffs as she squatted low. Her sister Pilar climbed onto her shoulders. She beckoned the audience to applaud. Camila extended her arm upward. Slowly, Pilar stepped onto Camila’s palm. Camila didn’t even flinch at the weight she carried. An amazing feat in and of itself.
In a measured and smooth motion, Camila bent down andpicked up a thick slab of marble. Small cutouts had been etched into the stone for her fingers like a bowling ball. She lifted the rectangular block, which had to have been at least one hundred pounds, with ease.
Camila flung it up. Pilar caught it and placed it on top her head. The crowd watching the act gasped, Ignacio included. How were these two so strong? Camila continued to bend and flick, bend and flick. Sometimes, Pilar missed the catch, and the heavy marble thumped onto the ground. The audience sighed with disappointment but leaned in a little closer with anticipation each time. The sisters continued until Pilar could no longer reach high enough to place the marble on top of the stack on her head. But Camila bent again. She threw the slab into the air. With a clink, the marble landed on the top piece of its own accord.
The audience stood and roared with excitement. As the cheers boomed around the giant tent, the bulbs swinging from the ceiling glowed a bit brighter. Ignacio squinted up, wondering why. It could be part of the act. But he saw no carnival hands up in the rafters.
He jolted.
That face appeared again. This time within the mirrors hanging high above their heads. But those glowing eyes were not focused on him. They were directed at the Sánchez sisters.
Time seemed to slow.
Camila let out a sound that was part grunt, part scream. The cuff on her wrist shimmered ever so slightly as her arm swayed.
“Drop the bricks!” she shrieked to her sister, who still stood on her palm.
But it was too late.
Camila’s wrist snapped back with a sickening crack. A sharp cry tore through the tent. The marble slabs, and Pilar herself, came tumbling down.
Chapter 25
Esmeralda
