Demonic Circus

Xanthe

    People say when you forget something it probably was not important. What if you forget your whole life? What then? When you find yourself in hell, do you want to remember how you got there? For me that answer is yes. Yes, I do want to know how I got there, I want to remember the last fourteen years, no matter how bad or how good. I want to know about my family, if I had any friends. All I could hope for was they were ok, whoever they are. There is one thing I remember about my past though and that is there was a boy, a couple of years older than me. I have dreams about him sometimes but I still cannot see what he looks like but I hear his voice whispering to me and then I wake up and the hell starts again.

* * * *

Xanthe

    The curtains open, I am pushed onto the walkway of fire. There is cheering from the audience. I watch as the other acts perform dangerous tricks involving fire and blood. To my left, acrobats throw themselves into rings of fire, each one of them stands up, head to toe on fire, they walk out of the fire and the fire covering them disappears instantly, not one piece of their skin marked in any way from the fire. I look more closely at them; there are several scars running along their backs in several different directions. To my right, one man stands juggling balls of fire in his hands without even flinching. Both acts stop, take a bow and make their way out the circus tent with the audience cheering and clapping behind them. Now it’s my turn.

    The audience turn to each other in confusion at the sight of me. The ring master announces in a booming voice, “Watch in amazement as this girl,” he pauses and gestures to me, “gets whipped twenty times and leaves the room unmarked.” There are gasps of shock and there are whispers throughout the audience. “Quiet, quiet.” the ring master bellows, “Watch in silence as this amazing act takes place.”

    The ringmaster gets out his leather whip: I flinch at the sight of it. He climbs up the stairs and onto the platform. He pushes me to the floor and starts to chain my wrists and feet to the ground. He accidently stands on my white dress, ripping it. There are gasps from the audience again but it all seems distant to me. He pulls back the whip for the first blow. He brings his hand forward and the whip slices my back. I bite my lip and clench my fists, holding back the scream. He cracks the whip again and again, each time the pain is worse. My dress is blood soaked there is barely any patches of white left.

    The whip stops and I sneak a glance behind me, the ring master stands there, whip in hand, grinning. He bends down unchaining me. He stands back as I stand up. My body glows with a blue light, I turn my back to the audience. I feel the cuts knitting themselves together again. Soon all the cuts are gone and the blue light is gone. I turn back around; the audience stare at me with a mixture shock and confusion then one of them starts to clap slowly and with that everyone else in the room start to do the same, all but one. A teenage boy stands at the edge of the tent, his eyes dark and unreadable. He does not clap. He catches me looking at him and leaves the tent abruptly.

    I turn on my heel and run out the tent. I just make it out when two strong guards catch me and drag me back to the cages. I watch as the cage door is closes, I grab the bars, screaming for them to let me out. I feel a prick in my arm and then my vision turns to black.

* * * *

Lex

    I walk out the tent in shock. Images of the girl I love being whipped over and over again run through my mind. I had stood there and watched. I wanted to do something to help her but I could not, my master had forbid me. I walk to the back of the tent. I see the several cages that the acts were kept in. There were less than usual tonight. I look over to the cages; I see her lying unconscious in one of cages. I immediately run to her. She lies there sleeping, her blonde hair in a tangled mess, her dress still blood-soaked from tonight’s act. I reach in through the bars to touch her face when I hear a sudden rush of movement. I turn around and I see a figure in the shadow of the tent.

    “I wouldn’t do that if I were you” says a voice, warning me. “This wasn’t part of the deal, and we both know it” I say, gesturing to the cage.

    “But my dear, dear Lex, you have left her in my care. She would perform in my magnificent circus in exchange for her safe keeping until you returned.” Killian says, tauntingly. I swear I see a flicker of red in the dark.

    “Let her go now! I have returned, haven’t I?” I throw my arms out to either side of me, pointing out the fact I was there. “She doesn’t deserve to suffer anymore,” I say pleading.

    “I would but have you brought me what I asked for?” A low growl escapes my throat. “I’m guessing that’s a no,” and in a flash he is gone.

    I go back to the cage and crouch down beside it. I take out a small locket from my pocket, I put my hand through the cage and I put it in her hand, curling her fingers around it, being careful not to wake her. “I will save you soon, I promise.” I whisper in her ear.

    Her green eyes suddenly snap open, looking straight at me. In an instant, my back is against the tent. My breathing is heavy. She sits up, pushing her hair out her eyes, trying to see me. She stretches her hand through the bars, reaching for me. “Please don’t leave me,” she says, her voice choked with tears. A single tear escapes her eye, it glistens in the moonlight, running down her face slowly, and I hesitate. I look behind me and then back to Xanthe. It would be so easy to walk away and never see her again. Liar, a tiny voice in my head says. The voice was right, it would kill me. I cannot do this anymore; I could not live my life running away from the girl I loved. I throw my cloak to the ground, the black fabric fluttering down around me and landing in a heap on the ground. I see hope in her eyes.

    I start to walk out into the light when I hear heavy footsteps. I stop suddenly, listening, I return to the shadows again. The man is not alone; I hear barking of dogs pick up my scent. The footsteps become faster and louder as the man changes from a walk to a run. I disappear into the night just as a chameleon changes its skin to camouflage into its surroundings.

* * * *

Killian

    “We couldn’t catch him but we found this nearby,” the guard explains, handing over a black cloak. I take the cloak, examining it, running the thin material through my fingers.

    “And this man was he talking to her?” I ask.

    The guard nods. “We caught him talking to her just before he heard us and then he disappeared from our sight. He was there then he was gone as if he had never been there.” I look down at the cloak again with a grin on my face. I see embroidered on the underside of the cloak, the initials L.G., he was more daring than I previously thought.

    “Sir?” the guard says nervously.

    “Send out search parties, bring this man to me,” I order. “Yes sir.” He bows to me then leaves. I throw the cloak into the fire. The cloak slowly starts to burn and disintegrate. I warned him and he did not listen, now he will pay the price.

* * * *

Xanthe

    I stare disappointedly into the darkness, my eyes scanning for the mysterious man. It had been two hours since he had disappeared; the guards running past me in confusion, wondering where he had gone. I kept thinking he would come back but the scene in front of me does not change.

    In my hand was a locket, the one the man had given me. I had turned it over and over in my hands, looking for something which would identify him in anyway. I had opened it but it was empty. Words in some unknown language were engraved into the silver in a continuous circle spiralling into the centre on either side of the locket.

     I kept wondering who this man was and why he had came. I did not understand, usually nobody knew where the acts were kept because the ring master had put up some type of cloaking shield, preventing all outsiders from seeing us. Only the ring master, the guards and a select few people knew where we were being kept.

I hear loud footsteps from behind me, I turn and gasp, the ring master is walking straight towards me. I start to cower in the corner of the cage, trying to make myself seem small.

    “Someone has been a naughty girl,” he says, in a mischievous voice. “Now what are we going to do with you.”

    “What do you want to me!?” I scream. “What have I ever done to you? I perform in your shows, I have never caused you any trouble, and I don’t even know why I’m here. I have done nothing to you.”

    “That’s where you are wrong.” He says tauntingly. “See that man you were talking to earlier; there is bad blood between me and him and by talking to him, you have gave him an invitation to destroy everything I have built!” His eyes turned from a pale blue to black, the air around him starts to become chaotic, and it starts to swirl around him as if he was the only thing there. His long black hair is flying out in all directions and his long jacket ripping with the force of the wind. His hate filled eyes bore into mine. My head starts to spin and pound. I hold my head in both my hands, the pressure only increases, I start to scream. It feels as if my brain is about to explode. The pain is excruciating. I scream for him to stop, to make it end but he cannot hear me.

    Suddenly the ring master is knocked to the ground, the wind is gone and so is the pain in my head. A tall figure stands in his place, staring down at the ring master with pure hatred. The ringmaster is on the ground, his nose gushing blood and his face marked with long scratches.

    The man crouches down next to him. “See, Killian, the thing is, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he says, mockingly. He picks Killian up by his throat. “Because if you hurt her, I’ll be there to kick your ass for her every single time.”

    “You mock and threaten me but you are only a boy trying to act like a man,” Killian says, spitting blood from his mouth with every word.

    “I may be just a boy but what you are doing is madness” the man says through his gritted teeth. “I cannot let you continue this.”

    “You are forgetting something here,” Killian starts to grin. “See this girl you have tried so hard to protect.” He moves his face closer to the man. “I can kill her at any moment, I could send her to hell and back, make her go insane in an instant and it would all be your fault. How would you feel then? Guiltily? Ashamed? Maybe even heartbroken? How would you feel to have your love die right in front of your eyes, knowing it was your fault and that you could do nothing about it?” A low growl starts in the back of Killian’s throat gradually getting louder and the man’s hand tightens around his throat.

    I stare in shock. His love? I had never met the man. How could I be his love? I sensed that there was a lot more to this than it seemed. I wanted answers but I was speechless. I could not make a sound.

    The man throws Killian to the ground. Killian gasps for air, he breathes it in just like a dehydrated man on the brink of death would drink water. The man watches him regain his breath, his eyes mere slits. “No smart comment, eh?” The man remains silent. “That’s just what I thought.” The man turns on his heel and starts to walk away quickly, I watch him as he starts to disappear into the dark. 

    He turns just before he is completely surrounded by the dark, pointing at Killian.“I will never forgive you for this, never, not in this lifetime,” he growls, his face becoming a mask of pain. His eyes met mine; it is as if time itself had stopped in that moment, frozen forever. His eyes were full of fear, and no longer the man he was trying to be but a little boy. His eyes were slowly turning from black to silvery grey. His eyes sent a jolt of electricity through me even though it was only for an instant. He turns around, his eyes returning to black and he just vanishes, disintegrating into the night.

* * * *

Killian

    I walk quickly through the shadows, my black cloak shrouding me. I could not believe Lex had humiliated me like that, made me out as a weakling. He had gone against the master’s orders and for what, a love he could not have. He should have listened to me, now he will be classed as a traitor and I will have no choice but to kill him, I wince at the thought.

    I spot one of the guards standing next to my horse. I approach him quickly and silently. I startle him but he quickly recovers.

    “You frightened me, Sir. You shouldn’t do that, Sir; I thought you were an enemy, Sir.” He says quickly, stuttering, barely able to get the words out. This guard was obviously a newbie. I grab his throat and lift him off the ground, he drops his weapon, and it clatters to the ground, the sound echoing off into the distance.

    “Do you forget who I am? I am you’re master; you will not talk to me in such manner as you just did. You do not order me; I make the orders around here, not you.” I sneer. My hand tightens on his throat. I bring his face closer to mine. “You will get the others and you will have the entire circus packed up for my return tomorrow morning. Are we clear?”

    “Yes, Sir” He coughs. “It shall be done.” I let him go and he runs towards the other guards who were watching in curiosity.

    I haul myself onto my black stallion, Ebony, grabbing the reins tightly in both my hands. I start to ride through the streets, Ebony’s hooves hitting rhythmically against the ground. My heart beat matched the steady beat of the hooves. The cold air hit my face like a slap. I ignored it and carried on. I barely saw the houses change into a dark forest as I exited the town. The only sounds I heard were the sound of Ebony’s thundering hooves; the wind rushing past me and the sound of my heart hammering in my chest. The sound was so loud I could not hear the sound of a second set of hooves behind me. A horse suddenly jumps out in front of me making Ebony rear up, throwing me off him.

    The cloaked rider starts to circle me on his white mare; I could just see the hilt of a sword sticking out from underneath his cloak. I instantly reach for my sword, drawing it from its scabbard, the designs that run along the blade glowing red as I hold it. I pull myself up from the ground, pointing the sword at the rider. The rider pulls back his hood. He was young but from his serious expression and the scar running up the side of his face showed that he knew his fair share of battle.

    The rider raises both his hands in the air showing that he meant no harm, he lets out a huge breathe. “Look, I’m not your enemy Killian: I’m on the same side as you. The master sent me to say that he has changed his meeting place due to complications...”

    I cut him off. “What do you mean when you say complications,” I demand.

    “That is for the master to know and only the master to know. He has ordered me to take you to him,” he explains quickly, in a rush.

    “How do I know I can trust you?” I inquire. I did not like the look of this man and I did not trust him. He offers his hand to me, turning his palm upwards so I could see the simple tattoo there. The tattoo is an eye, its iris black in colour, one single rose head is placed next to it half covering the eye, blood drips through the black petals making swirling designs around the eye. The tattoo matches my own.

    He looks me straight in the eye. “You and I are the same”

* * * *

    We rode silently through the night, barely speaking. Ebony followed slightly behind the cloaked rider’s white mare. The rider kept checking over his shoulder every so often to make sure we weren’t being followed, something was not right here. Even though he was like me, one of the masters’s favoured few, I did not trust him.

We travelled by the main roads until we reached a small tavern on the edge of the road. I shot a confused look at the rider. “Look again,” he said, I did, I could see the small, dark waves rippling off the building. A cloaking shield had been placed on this building. I felt the slight pressure as I passed through the shield, an ordinary person would have felt nothing but I was not the ordinary person.

     The tavern was full to the brim with people. There were several demons, ghosts, warlocks, vampires and even a werewolf or two. I could feel the dark energy radiating in the room, it was suffocating. As we pushed through the mass of people towards the door at the back of the tavern, I accidently knock into a werewolf, making him spill the contents of his glass all over him and the floor. I continue to walk on, ignoring the commotion I had caused. I feel a tight grip on my shoulder. I freeze for a moment and then turn my head round slightly; the werewolf is standing behind me, his clothes dripping from the drink I had made him spill. He is twice my size and he towers over me. The entire room had gone still, everyone’s eyes were on the rider, the werewolf and I.

    I am first to speak. “Would you mind removing your hand from my shoulder?” I ask.

    “And would you mind if you bought me another drink to replace the one you just made me spill?” He says abruptly, his voice echoing throughout the silent room.

    “Well, I would but I can’t. You see, I’m here for business, not to buy some werewolf scum a drink.” I turn around, heading for the door again. The next thing I know, I have my face pressed up against the floor, my head throbbing. The werewolf is on top of me, pinning me to the ground.

    “I don’t like your kind, you know, always thinking your superior. Never have liked demons, never will. Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t just kill you now and leave your body out in the woods to rot.” He spits at me.

    “Leave him alone!” I turn my neck just slightly and I see the rider, his sword was pointed at the werewolf, just behind his neck. This gave me a chance to escape. My hands start to glow red, the light burning brighter and brighter until my hands are both emerged in fire.

    All it takes is for the werewolf to see that his shirt is on fire and he is off me immediately, throwing himself out the open door. I follow him eager to see that he’d do next, the rider close behind me. He is heavily panting when I reach him, his clothes no longer on fire.

    “Care to insult me or my kind again?” I say sarcastically.

    “Who the heck are you?” He asks, his words coming out in between quick short breaths.

    I extinguish the fire in my palms. I hold my palm up, showing him my tattoo.

    “Oh my god,” he says “Your one of them, both of you are.” He starts to kneel at my feet. “Forgive me for wronging you; I will never make the same mistake again.”

    “No,” I say. “No you won’t.” My hand burns red again and I punch my hand through his chest and when I pull my hand back out, I hold his no longer beating heart in my hand. He falls slowly to the ground, his eyes wide in pain, his expression frozen, and his body lifeless.

* * * *

    "Was that really necessary?” The rider asks. I shrug, ignoring him, the last thing I needed was a lecture. I walk back through the door and everyone stares at me for a moments then returns to what they were doing before I came, a few people run past me and out the door in fear. Cowards. As we walk through the room no one dared to make eye contact with me or the rider and I was glad of that, I did not want anymore distractions, I was already late for the masters meeting.

    When we finally reach the door, I knock on it twice. There is no answer, I shoot a worried glace at the rider. “Are you sure this is the right place?” I ask. The rider nods. I go to knock again when the door unexpectedly opens before my fist hits the door, a rush of cold air rushes through the gap the open door had made. I push the door further open with my hand. There is no light in the room, the curtains are drawn and the whole room in general is eerie. I see the outline of a grand table in the centre of the room, there is a slight shimmer of gold around the edge closest to the door where the light from the other room had crept in. The table seems out of place in the tavern, it was something you would have seen in a mansion or a castle instead of a tavern. At the very end of the table sat a hooded man, hunched over what looked like a book. He looks up, his face is concealed in shadow but I know who it is.

    “Master” I say, both me and the rider bow in respect. “Your late, no doubt because of the commotion you caused out there, I’d prefer if you didn’t make yourself so noticeable, there are a lot of people who want us dead.” He exclaims his voice sounds young but there is a great deal of wisdom and age behind his words. He looks to the rider next to me.“Rhoden, could you leave the room, I would like to talk to Killian in private.”

    Rhoden bows again and leaves the room, slamming the door behind him, shutting what light there was out. There is a loud bang followed by an awkward silence.

    “Where’d you find him?” I ask, staring at the now closed door.

    “I found him in a town not too far from here a year ago, living out in the streets. He should have known better than to steal a lord’s money.” I heard him chuckle. “The guards were on him in an instant, their swords unsheathed. He managed to knock one guard out cold with only his bare fists but he had no such luck with the others, there were too many and they nearly killed him. They left him there in a pool of his own blood for dead. That was when I decided to step in; it seemed a waste to let him die, he had so much spirit in him.” He says with a smug tone to his voice. “As you can see he accepted my offer just as you and your brother did long ago but just like your brother, he regrets his decision, such a waste.” I clench my fists tightly at the mention of my brother. “Now, I believe you have come to me with a matter of great importance.”

    “Yes, Master, I have come to you about Lex. He continues to talk to her. I have come to believe he wants to free her.” I say, looking down at my feet.

    “You shouldn’t have given him false hope, you know, you only encouraged him. The girl doesn’t even know what she is yet, you made sure of that, you erased her memories and you will continue to until the day she dies.” A chuckle escapes his lips; the noise sent a shiver through me.

    “Yes, Master but what if he does succeed in freeing her, what will we do then? Lex will tell her everything and our efforts will be for nothing, we must destroy him immediately, he has disobeyed both you and the circle.”

    “Do you think she will believe him? And if she does, would she want to be with him once she finds out what he is? Let them talk, if it becomes a problem we can just erase her memories again, it would kill him if when he finds out that his precious girl doesn’t remember him. This goes back a long time, Killian, but some things you just have to let go, you can’t hate him forever, you know”

    I look up. “Yes, I can, for what he did, I can.”

* * * *