Page 80 of Magic for Nothing

“No,” I said. “It’s Antimony. But my middle name is Timpani. Antimony Timpani Price. Sort of a palindrome, only not quite, see?”

Sam didn’t look like he saw. He was looking at me like I was something he needed to scrape off his shoe. “You lied about everything, didn’t you?”

“Not everything,” I said softly, and looked away. In a more normal voice, I continued, “The Black Family Carnival really did get wiped out by Apraxis wasps, and I have the skills to pass as a carnie girl—my family’s been associated with the Campbell Carnival for generations. I trained there. Knife-throwing with the Amazing Christopher, trapeze and trampoline with Grayson Campbell. I can back up what I say I am. There was no way for the Covenant to confirm I was who I said I was, so they just worked me hard until they believed me.”

“Very much like we did,” said Emery.

“Yeah, well.” I turned back to her. “The Covenant noticed you because of what Umeko was doing. They’d seen the reports of the disappearances after your show came through town, and they put two and two together and decided, hey, we have a girl in training who has the perfect background to infiltrate and find out what’s really going on.”

“So wait,” said Sam. “You were sent undercover with us by the people you’d been sent undercover to spy on?”

I nodded, unable to keep from smiling grimly. “It’s a goddamn Shakespearean comedy, being me. The Covenant knew about the disappearances, and wanted to know whether they needed to do a purge, and I’m not their only American, but I’m their only carnie-trained operative. I couldn’t stop them from finding out about Umeko—not after some of her victims survived—but I could tell them that no one else here knew a damn thing. I’ve been trying my hardest to convince them that the rest of you are human and should just be left alone.”

“Has it worked?” asked Emery.

“No.” I fought the urge to look away again. “They know about at least three of the cryptids with the show, although they still think Sam’s human. I’m just a trainee to them. This is a test, meant to determine how trustworthy I am, and honestly, I’m pretty sure I’m failing it. They’re going to come for a purge.”

“And why should we start believing you now, when all you’ve done is lie?” asked Sam. “The Covenant wouldn’t send someone they’d just met out into the field.”

“Normally, your grandmother wouldn’t let someone she’d just met go out on the trapeze. There’s always extenuating circumstances. This time, my family is the extenuating circumstance. The Covenant wants someone who can help with situations like this one, who can move in a traveling show without standing out like a sore thumb. That’s me. But that means accelerating their normal timetable for training, and shoving me into the field before I’m technically ready.” To be honest, I was relieved. I didn’t know how much Covenant indoctrination I could have taken before I’d either snapped, or started to listen. “I never wanted to lie to you. I’ve been trying to minimize it since the day I got here, and to make the Covenant see that they’d be better off leaving you alone. I’m not the reason they noticed your existence. Umeko did that. If anything, I’m the reason they’ve spared you for as long as they have.”

“What do you want, a medal?” Sam glared at me. “I don’t care why you lied. You’re still a liar. I can’t believe I fell for it.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not the only one,” I said. I looked toward Emery. “My handler gave me an ultimatum earlier this week: she said when the carnival moved on, I wouldn’t be moving with it. She probably thinks I expect that to mean she’ll let you all go. She doesn’t know how much experience my family has with her people. They’re going to burn it to the ground. They don’t like killing innocent humans, but they consider voluntary association with cryptids to be a crime. None of you are innocent in their eyes.”

Emery stared at me. “You’re not serious. None of this . . . you can’t be serious.”

Sam didn’t say a word. He just kept looking at me like I was lower than dirt, an expression that made me want to crawl into my waterlogged tank top and hide. It’s too bad cartoon physics aren’t a real thing. I could have disappeared completely, if they were.

“I’m sorry, but I’m serious,” I said. “You can ask the mice, if you like. You know Aeslin mice don’t lie.”

“I’ve heard rumors of a surviving colony living with the Price family,” said Emery, in a thoughtful tone. Then she shook her head, glaring at me. “You can’t just waltz in here and tell me the Covenant of St. George is coming like it’s nothing big. This is my home. These people are my family.”

“Yes, I know,” I said. “I want to help you save them.”

“How are you proposing to do that?”

The time for lying was over. Maybe it had been over for a while, and I just hadn’t noticed. Things might have been better if I had. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “But I’m a Price, and I can find a way, if you’ll let me.”

“I’ll be honest with you, even though it seems you’ve never extended me the same courtesy,” said Emery. “I don’t see where we have a choice.”

For once, I didn’t have anything to say.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like some time with my grandson, and I’d like you to begin packing your things.” Emery made both these statements seem perfectly normal and reasonable, like they were the sort of things she said all the time. “You’ve upset him quite a bit, and you promised me you wouldn’t do that. He’s a sensitive boy. I’m afraid I won’t be able to forgive you for what you’ve done, and I simply can’t have people I don’t trust traveling with the show. It’s bad for morale. You’re going to find a solution to this little problem you’ve brought to our door, and then you’re going to leave.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, and took a step toward the RV door. “I’ll get started now.”

“Do that,” she said. Sam wouldn’t even look at me. I pushed the door open, and fled back out into the rain. I had to fix this. I didn’t think I could.

The rain was coming down harder than ever as I ran through the bone yard. That was something of a relief. I didn’t know how fast news traveled during a storm, but I knew how fast it traveled when the sun was out, and I didn’t want the entire carnival to hate me. Not yet. It was inevitable at this point—maybe it always had been—and I wanted to put it off as long as I possibly could.

I reached my RV without seeing another living soul, unlocking the door and stepping inside, into the dry and warm. The mice, who were standing on the counter outside their elaborate little house, greeted my return with cheers. Aeslin mice are good like that. As long as their gods and priestesses are around, they figure the rest of the world will sort itself out. Sometimes I really wish I could share their outlook on the world.

“Hi, guys,” I said, easing the door closed behind me. “Mork, I need to talk to you.”

The newer of my mice looked faintly alarmed, slicking his ears against his head and pulling his body down toward the counter. “Priestess?” he squeaked.

“You lived with the English branch of the family for a long time, even if they didn’t know that you were there. If Margaret were going to launch an attack, how would she do it?”