Page 27 of Galaxy Circus Act One

Dylan rolls his eyes and stands up, coming over to me. “Here, let me do it.” He grabs the bottle out of my hand and pours some into his before slapping it on my chest.

“Hey! You’re blocking my view,” Magenta complains, and he growls in response, a little bit of smoke leaving his nose. There’s that unwarranted jealousy again.

He oils all the exposed skin for me, his hands gliding seductively across my chest, but after Lila and the feelings she inspired in my beast, Dylan does nothing for me. Thankfully, he doesn't notice. His torso is already gleaming in the light, so I take the bottle back from him and put it back on the table.

“Hey, Mags, have you met Lila yet?” I ask as Dylan washes his hand in a nearby sink. Oil on the hands isnota smart idea for jugglers.

“No, but I'm dying to meet her! I've been harassing the boss men daily. I'm sure they’re close to caving. Don't you think it’s weird they haven't been introducing her to us? I know they've been busy and she’s met the crew, but you’d think they’d be excited for her to at least be around some of the other performers.”

“Maybe she’s too good to slum it with the freaks?” I glare at Dylan even though his words are an echo of what I just accused her of. People have already seen him getting friendly with her. What game is he playing now?

“No, I’m sure that's not the case. She seems…” I break off, not sure how to describe her. I can’t very well sayfuckable. “Cool.”

Mags stands up, slapping her hands together. “That’s it! If they don't introduce me tomorrow, then I’m going to find her myself. Do you know where her room is?”

She looks at Dylan. Circus gossip hasn't hidden the fact that he’s been hanging out with her. He rolls his eyes and points to me. “Actually, she’s next door to octoman.”

Huh, I didn't know that. Well, that makes things interesting. I think now that I know she’s not going to reject me, I'm going to do my best to convince her that spending time with me would be a good thing. My kraken opens one eye inside me and agrees, baring his teeth in Dylan's direction. Jesus, he really doesn’t like that dragon.

A smile crosses my lips, and Mags raises her eyebrows. “Oh, I see how it is. Good for you, man. You go get yourself some.”

Before anyone can reply to that, one of the stagehands sticks his head in. “Five minutes, guys. Let’s get moving.”

So the three of us head toward the stage entrance, all talk of Lila done with for now as we get ready to wow an easily wowed audience.

“I wish all audiences were as easy to entertain as humans.” Mags voices exactly what I had been thinking. “Anyway, break a leg as the humans say, and I’ll catch up with you later.”

Dylan is strangely silent as we wait for our cue, but I don't have time to worry about him now. I have plans to make and a woman to woo. There’s a huge smile on my face as I take the stage, happy with my decision and having something to look forward to.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Lila

Half an hour later, I find myself in the tiered seating, ringside seat. My mind is still occupied by what just happened despite the mystery of what I’ll see tonight. How is it I haven't been able to manifest any cool powers but the whole mate thing is now an issue? At first, I felt like I'd gotten the short end of the stick.

But as my mind’s been fixating on this for the last thirty minutes, I’m starting to think that something else is happening too. Since the event in the elevator, all my senses are on high alert. The noise of the crowd is like the sound of waves pounding on the ocean, thunderous and constant, and the smell of popcorn and cotton candy permeates the air… along with the regrettable undertone of excitement in the form of body odor. I lean over and whisper in John’s ear.

“I think something’s happening. Everything around me is just…more.” John’s eyebrows raise in surprise, excitement crossing his face as he leans in toward me.

“Tell me what you feel?”

“I can hear, smell, and seesomuch better. Like, I can see all the way across the other side of the arena. There’s a little girl, and she wants a Galaxy Circus shirt, but her parents are telling her she has to wait until after the show.” I point in her direction, and he turns to look before nodding.

“Yes, that’s good, Lila. This might be the start of it all. Maybe you just needed to ease into it slowly.” He rubs his hands together, and a rush of excitement flows through me followed by another bout of the stench of body odor and anticipation.

“Eww. Can’t say the better senses are a side effect I’m thankful for.” My nose wrinkles as I try to clear the smell. The scent of beer and peanuts gets stronger when William sits down on my other side.

“Here,” he says, waving a beer under my nose before handing it to me. “This will make it easier. Big crowds like this always affect the senses, but you will get used to it the more you are exposed. Once you become ringmaster, you will be doing it all the time. Your senses will adjust.”

“How did you know?” I ask him in surprise, and he taps his ears.

“We all have enhanced senses, so I heard you telling John. When you get more experienced, you will be able to pinpoint one conversation even in a crowd this big.”

Grabbing the beer from him, I take a sip before turning up my nose. It’s definitely not as nice as the last alcoholic beverage I tried, but I guess they can’t very well offer that to humans.

Looking around the area closest to us, I watch a small child a few seats away, bouncing up and down in her seat. The pure happiness on her face as she waits for the show to start is infectious, and I grin and wiggle in my seat as well. After a quick conversation with the adults sitting with her, she starts furiously waving her arms up and down to get the attention of the manselling balloons a few rows away. He starts moving toward them, slowly going to get through the rows.

“I don’t recognize that man selling the balloons.” I gesture to the guy when he gets to the little girl, an indulgent smile on his face. I might not know all the names yet or have the ability to pronounce their species correctly, but I’m good with faces. Call it one of the few perks of being a bartender.