Marionette

Chapter One -The Third Eye

Alice

I dragged my luggage toward the figure standing in the darkness. His dark outline was too huge to be my dream lover’s. He seemed to swallow Crow’s Nest Circus’s entrance, which was impossible. The circus looked enormous, not quite as I had imagined it. It was also not as silent as I expected up close, with an owl hooting in the distance and calliope music echoing as if from an AM radio. Even the trees seemed to join in, their leafless branches clacking softly in the breeze.

“Alice Woodhouse?” the man grunted, his voice gravelly but soothing. He could have been seven feet tall, though his back was hunched. I should have been frightened of him, but I wasn’t. His skin looked almost grey, though the midnight light and pale moonlight may have made it look that way.

“Yes, I am. How do you know I was coming?” I asked, trying to sound calm even though I was thrilled that my dream lover had announced my arrival to the rest of the circus.

“Madame Yora told us,” he said simply as he took my luggage and carried it with ease.

“Madame Yora?”

“She’s the owner of the circus.”

“D-does she have the third eye?” A friend of my mother’s had told me I might have it. The incident behind her conclusion was already fuzzy, but my mother’s reaction wasn’t. She had glared at her friend, Mrs. Eunice Waters, and given me a lashing with her belt that same night. I was only nine, and I had to deal with the welts on my bare back the next day. My nanny Suki took care of my wounds. She was so gentle, but the nine lashes still stung.

How did I know how many tiger welts I received? Suki counted them one at a time.

“Ichi, ni, san…” Her voice droned, but it was comforting. My gentle Suki. My heart twisted at the thought that my mother might be taking out her anger on the young woman she had chosen as my nanny. Suki was only ten years older than I was. Our housekeeper Marie said my mother took her in when she thought she couldn’t have a child. Then I came along.

“Mm. The third eye? You’ll be the judge of that, Miss Woodhouse. When you meet her, you will know.”

We walked in silence on well-trimmed green grass, surrounded by large tents. They were pretty typical, with red-and-white stripes. What wasn’t typical was the large black tent at the back of the circus. From the outside, it appeared at least five times the size of the area the Ferris wheel occupied, and almost as high as the ride.

When we went inside, I gasped. I didn’t expect the interior of the tent to look like that of a mansion. It might be an illusion, but the foyer almost looked like the one we had at home.

“Is this real?” I wondered aloud.

“It is, Miss Woodhouse. Follow me to Madame Yora’s office.”

“An office? Right here? What’s your name, by the way?”

“You can call me Hugo.”

Giddiness and fear mingled in me. I knew it was past midnight, but it seemed too bright inside this black tent. The only clue that I was inside a tent was the dome-shaped ceiling, yet the interior felt more like wood and brick than cloth.

Illusions.

Of course, I expected the place to harbor illusions. I had never been a stranger to magic and psychic abilities. My mother had friends who dabbled in the occult. They never had to tell me anything, but I had seen tarot cards and shiny black spheres tucked into large purses whenever they realized I was approaching.

Even with the sense of magic in this place, my enthusiasm was beginning to fade. Disappointment replaced the manic eagerness I had felt while shoving clothes into my luggage to meet a man I might have been dreaming of.

“Fool,” I whispered to myself. “Who would want me? A naive, little locked-up girl.”

Maybe this was just a way for me to gather enough courage to leave my life. I would take this—whatever it was.

Soon, we were in front of a black door. My mind seized. I couldn’t understand how the door had ended up there or how it had been built inside the flimsy-looking tent. Hugh opened it with a twist of his hand. It wasn’t locked.

“Madame Yora, Miss Woodhouse is here.”

“Come in, Alice,” a smooth, melodic voice said. It was a calming, soothing voice that reminded me just how much I needed to sleep.

As I came closer, I could see that the circus owner looked to be about fifty, with a sharp nose and thin lips. Her pale green eyes and black hair made her look elegant, and her features somehow made her stunning. Her hands traced beautifully illustrated black-and-gold tarot cards on her wooden desk. The way she traced the lines made me think of my dream lover, and how he knew just how to touch me. Desire pooled between my legs at the thought. I reminded myself that the man might not even live here.

“Am I not disturbing you, Madame? It’s the middle of the night.”

The elegant woman laughed and threw her head back. She took a drag from her slim cigarette and pressed the still-long butt into her ashtray. For some reason, the smoke smelled almost like cinnamon, and her laughter sounded like a song.

“We love the night here, dear Alice. It’s when we thrive. Of course, we have to keep up appearances and show ourselves to investors, clients, and the like during the day. You know how it is. Or, dear, do you?”

“Maybe not. I thought you could see through me so clearly,” I admitted. “I rarely leave the house.”

“But you left tonight.”

“I did,” I said, widening my eyes in wonder. I had given my mother an ultimatum. One more lash and I would be leaving. My fingers subconsciously traced the bruises on my wrists. Beneath the purplish color hid a much bitter secret: my scars.

Madame Yora eyed me knowingly. She licked her lips as if she couldn’t waste any nicotine that had touched them.

“Congratulations, Alice Woodhouse. You have managed to escape.”

Have I?

“I – I don’t know how I ended up here.”

“You know why you ended up here.” It wasn’t an accusation. She was just reading my mind. I felt that was the case as her eyes zeroed in on mine. I gulped guiltily, my fingers trying to find something to fiddle with and always ending up on my scars. I turned to check on Hugh, but he and my luggage were no longer there.

“Don’t worry about your luggage. Hugh should have already brought it to your room. You will stay here with us in the black tent.”

“Us?”

“Yes. That includes me, Hugh, Zachary, Arabelle, Miracle, the twins Essie and Bessie, and a few more.”

“How did you know about me? What can I do while I’m here? I need to work.”

Alice, let me be clear. You can’t lie to me. You may be able to hide some things from me, and if I didn’t ask, you may get away with those secrets. However, I knew you were coming through Zachary. He had been visiting you for years.

“You knew? And that was his name—Zachary? Where is he?” Excitement unfurled within me. The trip wasn’t a waste at all. Of course it wasn’t a waste. I had taken as much as I could from my abusive, drunk mother and was now free.

“Of course we know. You’ll see Zachary whenever he’s ready.”

What did that even mean? I didn’t want to ask too much, for fear of sounding eager. However, I suspected that this woman could read all my thoughts, even the naughty ones. When I met her feline eyes, they sparkled with amusement. I just might be right.

“What can I do here? What job can I take? Or, how much should I pay for my lodgings?”

“Strange girl. You know the circus will leave after its stint here on Edgefield. So, if you want to keep living with us, you’ll have to work for and with us. I know you have money. And no, you have nothing to worry about us. Circus performers are often thought of as charlatans. We are the real deal, and we are no thieves, Alice.”

“No, uh, I’m not worried about that. I want to join the circus so I can leave with you all when it’s time to go.”

She watched me thoughtfully. Then she rose from her chair and placed her index and middle fingers on my forehead. She pressed a little, but not enough to hurt.

“It’s here. Your third eye. That’s what’s going to help me,” she said, withdrawing her fingers. “Sometimes, I need rest. I need someone to do my work for me.”

“F-fortune telling?”

“Yes. But there’s something else in you that you will discover while you’re here. Until you’re ready, you can do the tarot for me.”

“Tarot. I don’t even know how to read it.”

“Liar,” a voice behind me hissed. A woman with two heads was standing by the doorway, which I realized had remained ajar the whole time I was in Madame Yora’s office.

“Essie and Bessie, be nice. Alice is new here, and she doesn’t know everything about herself yet.”

“Doesn’t she remember—?” the blond one asked, while the black-haired one nodded and watched her sister. Otherwise, the two were identical.

“Essie, stop,” warned Madame Yora, her voice growing chillier by the second. For some reason, I could feel the air in the tent growing colder, too. I rubbed my arms for comfort.

“Welcome over here, Alice,” the black-haired conjoined twin Bessie said, almost shyly.

“Thank you. Forgive me. I really don’t know what I can do yet, but I want to help. I want to be here.”

“You’re just here for Zachary, aren’t you?” Essie asked, her annoyance clear.

“Uh, no. I’m—” I grappled for words. Yes, the most obvious reason I was here was Zachary. My cheeks burned at the thought of him touching me and finishing what he started, but somehow I knew that there was something else. I couldn’t possibly have run away from home just because of a man?

“Her mother’s abusive. Of course she will leave,” Bessie said, taking my side for some reason.

“Of course,” Madame Yora said. “Anyway, I believe it’s time for you to rest, Alice. You’ve had a long day.”

As the conjoined twins walked to the hallway, the circus owner beckoned for me to do the same. We followed the chattering twins, and I became familiar with their differences in the mere minutes that I knew them. The blonde was sour, and the dark-haired one was all light and happiness. Polar opposites.

“Here’s your room, Alice.”

Madame Yora opened the door. My hand flew to my mouth. The room was beautiful, all blacks and reds with some silver trim. The red silk pillows contrasted with the black velvet bed, with silver crescent moons on the edges. The walls, which I couldn’t imagine popping up from within a tent, were a pale blue.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It is, Alice. Rest well.”

When alone in the darkness, only illuminated by a single candlelight, I finally felt fear. The wind felt like it had its form, whirling around me. Caressing me. My n*****s hardened to my horror, aroused by something that should be striking a fear in me. I heard moans coming from somewhere to my right, and lo and behold, I saw a peephole on the wall.