Freakshow

Chapter Twenty One

We packed up and moved the Cirque down the coast to Portland a few days after I was attacked. The lead detective in the murder investigation had protested, but ultimately there had been no reason to keep us behind. There was nothing that could be proven against any one of us, so they had to let us go.

I took his card though, Detective Smythe, just in case I did find something that would implicate somebody implicitly.

I still hadn't seen Cairo, he was apparently being heavily guarded by Orion and his crew, to keep him away from me. That was the rumour anyhow.

By then I'd come to understand some of what Orion and I were fighting for. It was possession of Cairo. Orion had some quality that made people jump at his command, somehow I was mostly immune to his dark forces, and through me, Cairo tasted some freedom to defy his father. I didn't know how or why it worked like that, but somehow Cai and I together were stronger.

I knew Orion wanted Cairo to stay away from me so he wouldn't question his father's intentions. I also knew he wanted me close because of my ability to defy him. I'd had that strange ability to feel nothing, and that translated to feeling none of Orion's dominance completely. I was a puzzle he wanted to solve, a puzzle that threatened his very status.

That being said, I was as edgy as fuck around the Cirque without Cairo by my side. Although I didn't want to believe Orion was behind the attack, in the quiet moments I spent in my trailer, my mind definitely wandered there. I trusted that he wouldn't do anything to harm me outright himself, but any time I left the trailer, I made sure I had Rose or one of the girls with me, everyone else was a suspect.

I had learned that Orion would do anything to protect his perfect public image and exert his absolute control, threatening either of these had definitely put me on his radar and potentially in danger. But would he have actually taken it so far as to order my attack?

We still rehearsed the act every day at ten, and he informed me that once we got to Portland we would be performing four nights a week. He'd given me time to heal without acknowledging my injuries. He was crafty like that...or was it guilt?

He also must have noticed my uncanny recovery times. I wondered if he picked up on the deep connection I had to energies deep in the planet, that I could draw on them to assist me in times of desperate need.

I hoped he hadn't picked up on that, it wasn't something I shared with anyone and it might make him even more suspicious of me.

Once we settled in Portland, I helped set everything up. The Cirque encampment was arranged in essentially the same configuration in every city, so the first night I snuck to Cairo's RV to see if I could catch him unguarded. He hadn't returned any of my texts and seemed to have disappeared off social media.

His RV wasn't in its usual spot though, and after a few minutes of looking, I still couldn't find it. Orion's was right where it should be, so I hung around for a short time hoping to see Cai visiting his dad.

His sisters came and went, but there was no sign of Orion or Cairo.

Dejected, I started back for my little trailer, I was starting to think of it as home now that I'd been living there for a few weeks.

"Liv," I heard my name being called from behind me. I turned and saw Cairo's sister, Paris, coming my way.

"Where's Cai?" I asked. I didn't feel like making small talk or playing nice. "What has your father done to him?"

"He has to stay with us," Paris replied. "He's inside right now. Would you like to come see him?"

"Oh god, yes," I said, "please."