Witch {Book One} [UNEDITED]

XII: Fortuna

When I was five years old I wanted more than anything to be in a Freakshow circus. I wanted to be a sideshow freak like Mirin Dajo, the Invulnerable Man or Ella Harper, the Camel Girl or any of those other freaks that made a fortune by just being weird. At that time in my life I already knew I was weird. I had no clue that I couldn't die then, but I did know one thing; I could scare a hell of a lot of people just by staring at them for a long time. Once my mother died I changed my mind about wanting to be in a sideshow.

Once I got older, I considered working at a strip club. Or at least being a bartender at one. I got a job at the Apex Predator, a strip bar in downtown New Orleans. I worked there for a few months before deciding to work as a receptionist for the whore house which everyone simply called Propaganda. It had a name, but Propaganda worked best.

"Fortuna or the Black Rabbit first?" Sammy asked once I finished talking to a Propaganda client on the phone. I looked at her, snapping myself away from work and towards, well, more of my work.

"Fortuna or the Black . . . Fortuna. Let's find Glitch Thompson or whatever his name is first," I said after thinking about the situation. The Black Rabbit was closest to where we were, but that would require us to swing by both the Bitchy Witchy and the Devilswood Cemetery. Jemma was at work at the Bitchy Witchy and it is a known fact that one of our rival cults, Stoner, always does rituals at the Devilswood on Fridays. Fortuna would be clear on the other side of New Orleans, past the Slum City and on the outskirts of town. Just barely still in Eldorado territory.

"Bandit, the Black Rabbit is just a few blocks away from here . . ." Alice said, finishing her complex half black, half purple French braid.

"Exactly. Let's go to Fortuna first." I turned around, the heels of my Oxford shoes making a rather obnoxious clanking sound on the pavement. I walked away from Alice, Lucy, and Sammy, as well as away from the Black Rabbit, my black skirt swishing around my legs. I didn't need to look back to see them following me like the puppets they pretend to be.

After several minutes of silence filled walking we arrived at Fortuna. I saw the blue and white striped tent before I heard the chaotic noise erupting from the circus ground. A ferris wheel with the same blue-white color scheme loomed behind the tent and a smaller building was built to the side. The sideshow. That's where Glitch would be. I strode towards the large arena, trying to see if I could pick out who Glitch could possibly be. I nearly made it into the sideshow before being stopped.

"Sorry, lass," a man with a curled mustache and pointed beard said, putting a cane in front of me. "Need to pay first."

"Pay? I don't need to pay you shit," I said. "I need to get inside."

"Bandit . . ." Sammy grabbed my arm. "How much do we need to pay?" She asked the freakish mustache man, already digging through her things.

Two minutes and forty dollars later Sammy, Alice, Lucy, and I managed to push our way into the sideshow.

"Which one is Glitch?" Alice hissed in my ear as we examined the freaks. My eyes lingered on a woman with a snake slithering out of her throat for a moment before I even thought of responding.

"We'll find him. I don't know who the hell he is, but we'll find that bastard." I looked away from the snake woman and continued walking through the claustrophobic space. I took note of each person; a man who was on fire, a girl who was not even two feet tall, an older woman with no arms or legs and a rather small head.

"Laaaaaaaaaaaadies and gentlemen!" A loud voice snagged me away from the intriguing people and back into reality. "You've seen some of our weirdest freaks from Eldorado! Now welcome these two Slum City residents who managed to find potential in the Golden City! I now present to you the Match Made in Hell!" I pushed past the crowd of people making my way to the source of the booming Southern Drawl. A man in an old fashioned 1920s Ringmaster costume yanked a rope, pulling down a curtain and revealing two boys sitting on beds of spikes. Neither of them had shirts and both of them had swords through their non bleeding chests. One of them was taller than the other. He had pale skin and black hair that was tousled and in his bright blue eyes. The other was shorter and had white hair, blue and purple patches dispersed around it. His eyes were even more intensely blue and his skin looked like snow. There was a faint scar along his chest.

"Meet Glitch Thompson--the Nerveless--" The Ringmaster pointed to the black haired boy. "And Thomason Riley--the Painless!" My face first went pale, but then I broke into a grin.

"That's them!" I exclaimed in a hushed voice to Samantha, Lucy, and Alice. "Glitch and Thomason! Those are who we need!" None of them moved. Their jaws were all dropped open and they were staring at the Nerveless and the Painless. The Ringmaster yanked the swords from their chests. Thomason moved over and sat close to Glitch, their chests touching. I couldn't see them clearly from where I stood but I could see that they were afraid. The Ringmaster dropped one sword and examined the blade of the other before shoving it through Thomason's back with enough force that it penetrated Glitch's chest. The crowd erupted in cheers. I clapped quietly, watching as Glitch laced his fingers with Thomason's. A comforting gesture.

The show--as repetitive as it was--continued for another half an hour before the Ringmaster pulled the curtains back up and moved the crowd along to show them another helpless freak. I took this as my chance to lead Alice, Sammy, and Lucy to Glitch and Thomason. Once I was positive that the Ringmaster was gone I yanked the curtains up and looked at the two boys.

"Glitch Thompson and Thomason Riley?" I asked, a smirk playing on my lips. The boys exchanged a look, still holding hands. I saw that Thomason had a bandage wrapped around his chest. "Hi. Name's Bandit Lee. Gabriel sent me. Apparently you two need to help me save his sorry ass from Hell."