two
Vivienne couldn’t take her gaze off Lion Boy.
His leonine mane of dark-blond hair and bushy beard hid his face, except for his amber-coloured eyes. He bared his teeth and threw himself against the bars with uncanny speed. She gasped and stepped away, hitting someone with her back.
“Careful.” The smoky voice behind her belonged to Captain Jackson. The smell of tobacco and whisky gave him away as well. He gently steadied her, giving her space.
Should she thank him? Mother would be furious.
Vivienne searched the frenzied crowd, but her mother had to be still outside.
“Why isn’t the lion roaring?” a man asked. “Where’s his roar?” He stepped closer to the cage. “I bet he isn’t even dangerous.”
Lion Boy reached through the bars of the cage and grabbed the man by the jacket, dragging him towards him. Shouts erupted. Vivienne was again shoved right and left. The man in the clutches of Lion Boy cried out, and the sounds of his head hitting the bars horrified her.
“Enough!” Cade reached through the bars and hit Lion Boy repeatedly with his baton until he let the man go and withdrew to a corner.
A vicious, cat-like hiss came out of him.
Someone pushed her back, and Captain Jackson steadied her again. She was too shocked to tell him not to touch her.
“Goodness.” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “The young man is truly a lion.”
Captain Jackson huffed. “Lion Boy my arse.”
She turned towards him at his crass word. “Excuse me, what do you know about him?”
“If he was raised by lions, then I was raised by the bloody fairies.” He puffed out a cloud of smoke. “My guess is that he can’t talk, and I could bet my left bollock he’s drugged.”
“Drugged?”
“Cocaine to make him violent to start with. Hashish to make him strong. Hercules reeked of hashish. Mark my words. See Lion Boy’s eyes? The pupils are fully dilated. His skin is wrinkly, a sign of dehydration. He looks thirsty and sweaty. Likely, he’s so confused he doesn’t understand what’s happening. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cade starved him before the show as well.”
Cade kept hitting the young man with the tip of his baton. “Lion Boy would kill everyone in this tent if he were out of the cage.”
“Not likely,” Captain Jackson muttered. “In a few minutes, Lion Boy will run out of energy and collapse. Then Cade will give him another shot of cocaine before he performs again.”
Vivienne believed he knew what he was talking about, despite what her mother thought of him, and her chest tightened with sympathy for the poor young man. Her gaze locked with his, and she saw his fear and desperation.
She’d seen that desperate gaze in some of the injured animals she’d rescued before Mother forbade her to touch any wild creature.
The spectators laughed and mocked Lion Boy, calling him names.
He cowered and hugged his bent knees, shivering so hard his teeth chattered.
“See how he shivers? That’s the cocaine wearing off,” the captain said.
“But if he’s drugged and speechless, he shouldn’t be here, treated like a strange creature for people’s entertainment. That’s incredibly cruel.”
He blew out more smoke. “I shouldn’t be treated like a strange creature either, yet it happens.”
He walked away, but she followed him, her stomach churning at the pitiful noises coming from the cage and the people still mocking Lion Boy.
“Shouldn’t we do something to help him?” She tugged at the sleeve of the captain’s jacket.
He gave her a glance charged with disgust. “The rich, lucky lady, who knows nothing of the world, wants to help an unfortunate, poor chap. How touching.” He resumed his walk.
“But seriously. We must talk to the police and tell them the man needs help. Obviously, the circus owner exploits him. Lion Boy can’t have a normal life in that cage.”
