Page 90 of Circus From Hell

Karma and her boys can’t keep me in here forever. Something’s got to give, and when it does, death will be upon us.

I don’t know how long I’ve been asleep when I jerk awake to the sound of the trailer door swinging open. My eyes hurt to pry apart. They’re too sleep-filled to see whoever’s sneaking inside.

“You’re really in a cage.”

Shit. Moxie.

“Shut up. You’re hurting my ears,” I groan. She kneels down in front of the cage, pursing her heart-painted lips like she’s trying not to laugh, but I’m more preoccupied with her eye. The sight jerks me wide awake. “What happened?”

Her eyelid is disfigured and covering half her eye—or where her eye would have been. There’s bruising around the socket and some old, dried blood around the empty, black space.

“That fucking monster scraped my eye out,” she hisses. “I want Karma dead, Spiral. I’m going to kill her for this.”

I laugh under my breath, still half-drunk. “No, you’re not. Not only is that entirely impossible for you, but the person who’s going to kill her is me.”

She grinds her teeth together, and true, raw anger overcomes her voice. “You’re a pussy, Spiral.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me,” she spits with malice. “Dolly isn’t going to get the key for you, and neither am I. I’m glad you’re locked in here. I gave you chance after chance to come back to me, but I’ve seen the way you’ve been obsessing over Karma. I’m fucking sick of it.”

“Jealous, Mox?”

“Not jealous. Fed up. She’s a monster. A freak of nature. An abhorrent crime. Kreo never should have made her, and you know damn well that’s a fact. But here you are. In a cage because of her. You call everyone else pathetic, but it’s you who’s pathetic.” Her chest heaves with pure fury, and she’s saying everything she possibly can to affect me, but mere words don’t hurt. “Guess what? The clowns are functioning fine without you. We don’t need you. Dolly and I are running the circus until Kreo is back, and he’ll see how well I stepped up to the job when you managed to let out his test subject just to be placed in the cage.” She laughs manically. “That’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to see his face when he finds you in here and realises what you’ve done. You’re done, Spiral.”

“You finished?” I yawn, and her one working eye narrows. “Is this all because I stopped showing you attention? I didn’t realise you were so pitiful.”

“You can’t goad me anymore.” She smiles, the action evil. “I don’t care what you have to say. I wanted to let you know that I won’t be helping you get out of this mess. Your double cocks aren’t worth it.”

She storms out without another word and slams the door behind her in classic Moxie fashion.

Thanks to Karma, I’m burning bridges.

Another reason as to why she has to die.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

KARMA

My whole body feels on edge, like a release is clogged in my stomach that’s begging to be let go.

I open my eyes and sit up, looking across my small tent. It’s empty apart from Soren, who’s sat beside the bed and watching me.

“That’s creepy,” I murmur.

“You are calling me creepy?”

I brush past whatever he’s insinuating. “Where are the brothers?”

“They went home. I thought it was best whilst the performers are up.”

That’s probably true. The performers don’t like non-circus folk around here. I can hear them leaving their tents and getting ready for a day of practice before tonight’s show.

“You should probably ssstay in here.” I curse my hissing tongue; I thought I had it there.

He shrugs like he already knew I would say that, and I see his eyes glued to my naked breasts. “Fine by me. I’m happy to wait until nightfall for you to return.”

My stitches pull as I smile wider, flashing sharp teeth. “I stay in here all day too.”