The next curiosity was Hercules, the strongest man in the world, as a plaque at the base of the stage read. Tall and muscular, he towered over the crowd a good foot and a half.
“Don’t get too close.” Mother pulled her back. “I don’t like the smell.”
She sighed and craned her neck to see what was happening on the stage.
Cade beat his baton on the floor. “I need a volunteer to make sure that the anvil on the stage is real.”
“I’ll go.” A man from the crowd stepped forward and tried to lift the anvil. His face reddened, but he didn’t lift the heavy-looking block an inch. “Very much real, folks.”
Cade nodded at Hercules to start.
Hercules lifted the anvil with a single hand and raised it over his head without any change in breathing. Shocked shouts came from the audience. He lifted a bench where six women were sitting without a drop of sweat.
Next came the woman with what was claimed to be the highest-pitched voice in the world, capable of breaking glass with one high note.
“Remove your glasses,” Cade said. “Stash them into your pockets.”
“Heavens. This is dangerous. We might get hurt.” Mother pulled Vivienne back, weaving through the crowd.
“I won’t see anything from here.” Vivienne shrugged herself free.
“Vivienne.”
“Mother, please.”
The woman on stage cleared her throat before letting out an acute note that she held for almost thirty seconds. Vivienne covered her ears as the water glasses in front of the singer shattered into sharp pieces.
She clapped her hands with everyone else after the performance. That had been incredible.
“Move to the next one,” Cade said.
What would be next? She sped up to get a good spot before someone tall blocked her view.
“Vivienne, don’t run,” Mother said from behind her.
She slowed her pace, huffing.
Mother rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes for a moment. “I need a breath of fresh air. Let’s go outside.”
“You go. I want to see the next one.”
Tension tightened Mother’s features.
“I’ll be right here. Go. I’ll see you in a moment,” she said.
Dobkins nodded. “My lady, come. Let’s go outside. Lady Vivienne will wait for us here. It’ll take us a minute.”
Vivienne was already walking towards the next stage. Before Mother could protest, she sprinted off.
Her smile vanished when she caught a glimpse of a cage. Not a stage, but a proper, solid cage with thick iron bars and rushes on the floor.
“I must ask you not to scream,” Cade said in a low tone. “Screams upset him. Ladies and gentlemen, the Lion Boy!”
Vivienne couldn’t see anything when a few people shoved her out of the way and took her spot.
“Excuse me!” She was ignored.
Loud thuds erupted from the cage with the metallic shackling of chains, and the people in front of her gasped, stepping away and bumping into her. More people rushed towards the stage.
She was pushed back as excited spectators shoved her right and left. What was the fuss about? Aside from thuds, she didn’t hear anything.
Mutters spread. A woman seemed about to faint. A child gripped her mother’s legs.
Vivienne squeezed herself through the crowd and finally saw the inside of the cage.
A half-naked young man covered in dirt was crouched in a corner of the cage among rags and worn blankets. A leather cloth covered his crotch, but aside from that, his well-defined muscles were exposed.
But that wasn’t what petrified her.
