“I have every right! Mr. Harrow has decreed that Cora is to take the zero. The spot you emptied.”
“Then I will eat her like Hernandez the next moment.”
“You won’t. Because it will be you who is going to be the one to Sponsor her. You are going to do your part to fill the void that you created.”
None of this made any sense. It was like a bad fever dream. She pulled on her wrist, but she was still caught by whatever held her. Take the zero. Sponsor. None of it made any sense. It was all insane.
Simon laughed. “You’re a fool. I have no reason to do anything of the sort.”
“You have never once sponsored anyone to join the Family. Not once. And because you’re responsible for our loss, you’ll be responsible for the replacement. The fact that you’re too selfish to endanger yourself once the deed is done will ensure you don’t harm her.” Ringmaster tugged Simon closer, and as soon as the other man was within arm’s reach, Turk snagged him by the front of the shirt and pulled him in.
Cora pulled on her wrist but knew she was either just going to yank her joints out of her sockets or rip off her hand. The string wouldn’t let go.
“You can’t make me.” Simon grinned up at Turk. “You can’t force me to Sponsor someone.”
“Oh, yes. I can. I just never have had a reason to. Now, I do.”
It was only then that Simon’s smug smile flickered and faded. Suddenly, he looked almost afraid. “You…you wouldn’t.”
“All you ever do is take, Simon Waite. It’s time you finally give something back.”
“I’ll let her go. I’ll let her leave the Faire.” Now the Puppeteer was the one begging. “I’ll do whatever you say, just don’t—don’t do this!” He grabbed the big man’s arm and tried to pull himself free, but now he was the one who was stuck.
“No.”
The Ringmaster turned to her and put his hand on her shoulder. It might as well have been snapped around her throat for how firm it was. It was clear she wasn’t going anywhere. He smiled sadly at her again. “Welcome to the Family, Cora. I’m sorry it had to be like this.”
Something stabbed into her mind like knives.
Simon screamed.
She did, too.
Her world went white. Then it promptly went black.
At least the pain stopped.
Simon slammed to the ground on his knees, and he would have cared if it didn’t also feel like someone had drilled a hole out of his chest and yanked out part of his lung. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be so easily solvable as a bit of good, old fashioned, bodily mutilation. That’d heal. It always healed.
What the fat fuck had taken out of him wouldn’t ever grow back. “Damn you!” He wheezed. He leaned on the nearby bench hard and tried to push himself to his feet. He didn’t quite make it on the first attempt.
“You did this to yourself, Puppeteer,” Ringmaster said from over him. “If you hadn’t made Hernandez into one of your abominations, this never would have come to pass. Now you’re responsible for her.” Ringmaster sighed and put Cora down on a long bench. She had fainted when the fat fool pulled out part of Simon’s seity and shoved it into her.
Simon wasn’t surprised that she had blacked out. It hurt to have one’s whole being rearranged. As it was, he felt like he was going to throw up. And he wasn’t the one having her body remade into something new.
Ringmaster straightened and turned to him. “You took a piece of her. And now, she has a piece of you in return. You’re bound together. If anything happens to her, it happens to you. You’re a selfish, egotistical, self-centered waste of air, Simon. I trust that your dedication to self-preservation outweighs your indignance.” Turk smiled derisively.
“You’re a bigger idiot than I gave you credit for if you think I’m not going to find a way to get back what you just stole from me.” Simon finally pushed himself to his feet and brushed the dust off his clothing. “I will be whole again, and I’ll leave her desecrated remains on your doorstep as a reminder that you’re to blame for what she’ll suffer.”
“No, you won’t.” Ringmaster turned to leave. “You’ll try, but you won’t succeed.”
“Wait. Where are you going?” He furrowed his brow and pointed at the unconscious Cora. “Take her with you!”
“She’s your problem now, Simon. You made this mess. You deal with it when she wakes up. You wanted her, so you deal with her. I expect she’s going to be very frightened and hideously angry at you.” Ringmaster turned to smile over his shoulder. “Enjoy.”
As the big man left his tent, Simon roared in frustration.
Cora woke up and felt like she had been hit by a truck. A very large, very angry truck that was filled with bees that someone had been shaken up a few times before letting them loose. She felt feverish. She felt like she wasn’t inside her own body anymore.
She could hear the noises of the carnival going on around her, but they were faint. It took every ounce of her strength to open her eyes against the incredible desire to just lie there and not do anything at all. But whatever happened to her, she knew she was still in danger.
It was dark. Hours must have gone by, but it was hard to know exactly how many. She felt grass underneath her as she struggled to come back to reality. When she could finally sit up, the world abruptly spun around her, and she lay back down.
“Oh, hey, take it easy, there.” Someone was next to her and had their hand on her arm. She didn’t recognize the voice, although she thought she might have heard it before. “Easy. Don’t rush. You’re okay.”
Somebody else whistled. “Hoo-boy, Ringmaster did a number on you, eh, toots?”
“Not like him to just dump her in the grass.”
“I don’t think he’s the one who left her here.”
Cora listened to the conversation going on over her, and she wanted to make it all stop so she could try to get her own thoughts straight. But she couldn’t ask them to shut up, so she lay there and had to listen.
“Who would’ve Sponsored her and leave her here like trash, then?”
“Take a flying guess.”
“No.” The first male voice laughed. “No. No way. Bullshit.”
“You saw him. He was after her the moment she went through the gate. He wants her bad.”
“Sure, like one of his pets, but not like this.”
She really needed them both to stop talking. “Guys…” Unfortunately, they didn’t seem to hear her. They were too busy debating.
“But here she is. You can feel it. She’s Family now.” Now she could recognize that voice. It was Aaron. “We’re whole again, at least.”
“I don’t know about this, Barker. Something feels wrong. Very wrong. You think she came willingly?”
“Fuck, no. Look at her. It doesn’t hurt that bad if she chose this. I bet she didn’t even know what was happening. She came here to save her friend—the Faire was threatening to hurt the sprite who was dallying with Ludwig. I don’t think she had any idea this was what the Faire and Mr. Harrow were after.”