“Really?” I asked as I tried to ignore mysweating palms and the blood rushing through my ears.
“Where else would clowns have comefrom?”
Despite the tension gripping my body, Icouldn’t help but chuckle as I knew he’d wanted me to. “We’ll getthrough this.”
“We will. Just start torching things now.You can start with anything wearing too big shoes and a red nose. Iimagine, in this place the only things clowns like to twist intoanimal shapes are our intestines.”
I winced at the image his words conjured.The first clown who came at me was going to take a fireball to theface.
Something moved in the darkness ahead of us,drawing my attention to the man strolling toward us. The shadowscrept over him in such a way that it seemed as if he were a part ofthem. I swore one of the shadows caressed his face before it waschased away by the light.
A rock settled into the pit of my stomach asthe man stepped up to the red booth set up beside the turnstiles.He was shorter than I was, but he exuded an aura of power that mademe realize there was far more to him than met the eye. He raised amegaphone to his mouth.
“Come one, come all to the greatest show ofthem all!” the barker called. The man, dressed in tails and a tophat, spun a silver cane in his nimble fingers while he spoke. “Youcan see the bearded woman, the two-ton gallapos demon, and thefifteen-foot salavandor demon. Enjoy the rides, the games, thefood. There’s something for everyone. Come on in!”
The barker’s black eyes shone with merrimentas he leaned toward us. His face had a sheen to it that made mequestion if he were real or some wax figurine brought to life inthis vile place. His black hair had been slicked back from the hardangles of his face, a face that was far from handsome in itsruthlessness.
“I’ll share a secret with you. You can’tstay on that side,” he placed his hand against his cheek as hewhispered conspiringly to us. “If you do, the worms will eatyou.”
As if on cue, something moved beneath myfeet. I jumped back and glanced down as the ground shifted toreveal a large, round, brown thing slithering under me. Segmentedlike an earthworm, I felt as if I were standing above anearthworm’smuchlarger and far less friendly cousin as itslashed its tail upward, flinging dirt over us.
Behind Hawk, another one rolled over, and Icaught a glimpse of a round mouth full of three-inch-long, pointedteeth. Hawk shouted and jumped to the side when it snapped at himbefore it dove beneath the ground once more.
The two of us exchanged a glance before weran for the turnstiles. The carnival had to be the lesser of thetwo evils, or at least the one that wouldn’t kill us right now. Thecool metal of the turnstiles pressed against my palms. It clickedas it turned in place and I stepped into the carnival.
“Welcome! Welcome!” the barker greeted. Iglared at him as Hawk stepped through the turnstile to stand besideme. “Good choice! I guarantee you’re going to have the ride of yourlife in here.”
The waxy-looking man grinned at me with aheart-sinking knowledge in his beady black eyes. He stepped awayfrom us, vanishing into the shadows as if he’d never been there. Istrained to see him, but nothing stirred the air where he’d oncebeen.
“I suppose we continue,” I muttered toHawk.
“If it keeps me from being worm shit, I’mall for it.”
My eyes ran over the game booths lining theconcourse as we walked. I refused to look too closely at the onewith a bunch of fishbowls lining the back wall. I was certain thoseweren’t fish swimming in there, and from my brief glimpse, I gotthe impression of leeches behind the glass.
The air didn’t stir, not even a breezewafted through here. Dirt, instead of the solid black rock we’dencountered so far in Hell, crunched beneath our feet. It was as ifwe’d stepped into an entirely different universe, or stepped intosomething outside of Hell.
It was different than what we’d experiencedso far, but I still felt the pulse of life flowing into me from theground. I longed to set fire to everything, or blast it with life,but nothing had attacked us so far. No matter how much I hated thisplace, I couldn’t start torching it for no reason. I may unleash awhole horde of misery onto us if I did.
A man at a game leaned over the booth tohold a glass ball with what looked like blood inside of it out tous. “Win the pretty lady a bear,” he said to Hawk as he flipped theball in his fingers.
My mouth went dry when I spotted the“bears” hanging from the hooks in the ceiling. I had no ideawhat they were, but they most certainly didn’t look like any bearI’d ever seen. Unless that bear weighed fifteen pounds, had theclaws of a wolverine, the snout of a pig, and red eyes. The onlything bear-like about them were their thick brown coats. Jaggedfangs hung over their bottom lips and blood seeped from the hooksdug into their backs.
I gasped when one of them swung out an arm,clawing at the air. “They’re alive,” I breathed.
“Of course, no stuffed bears here,” the manreplied with a crooked smile.
I took a step away from the revoltingcreature as it continued to bat at the air.
“Come on now, win your girl a bear,” the mancajoled Hawk as he spun the ball faster in his deft fingers. Theman’s head tilted to the side as he studied me. He inhaled deeplywhen his gaze fell to my neck and the mark on my shoulder that myshirt had slipped down to reveal. “Marked,” he breathed. “By—”
CHAPTER 16
River
“We have to go!” I grasped Hawk’s arm andpropelled him away from the gamekeeper. I had no idea what wouldhappen if he realized it was Kobal who had marked me. Would we beset free of this place? Or killed on the spot? Or worse, taken toLucifer? I wasn’t willing to take the chance of that happening inthis bizarre and terrifying world.
“Come here! Play this game! Well hello,beautiful! Aren’t you the most handsome man,ever!”
