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Theta shrugged. “Wigs make my head itch.”
“Don’t worry, once we put the green face paint on her, she won’t be quite so stunning. Or noticeable, if you catch my drift,” Zarilda said with a wink.
Isaiah bounded over with Johnny the Wolf Boy on his heels. “I got to pet the elephants and watch them feed the tiger and there’s a poodle who can balance on a ball!”
“I can’t even balance on a ball,” Evie said.
Zarilda appraised Evie. “Say, that clown outfit looks pretty good on you.”
“I can’t tell if I’m supposed to say thank you,” Evie said.
“Way I fig’er it, while you’re playing clown, you can sneak a read of somethin’ belongin’ to somebody, feed me the lowdown on ’em before the show. It’ll be fortune-telling like they ain’t seen before. Good for business.”
“You want me to snooker them?” Evie said.
“Aw, hell. These folks wanna be snookered. That’s why they’re in the fortune-teller’s tent. Look here, I got mouths to feed all winter, honey. This feeds ’em. I he
lp you, you help me.”
“One summer, I had to help at my father’s office,” Evie said. “As long as I don’t have to put anything in a file cabinet, I’ll do whatever you need.”
“Attagirl! Congratulations, everybody. You have now officially run away and joined the circus.”
Over a delicious lunch of rabbit with roasted potatoes, carrots, gravy, and biscuits, everybody ate their fill, except for Johnny the Wolf Boy, who refused to eat anything but the vegetables. “I feel a kinship with the animals I take care of.”
Isaiah ate and ate until his stomach felt close to bursting.
Zarilda passed him more biscuits and winked. “That’s one of the best reasons to join the circus—three squares a day from the lunch and dinner tent.”
While they ate, Zarilda explained to the Diviners how things worked. Circus life was as organized as any military operation. Already, the advance men had gone ahead from town to town to post the bills, make the necessary arrangements, and drum up excitement. Tomorrow morning, the circus train would roll out before dawn. By noon, they’d unload at their first stop. People would travel from all over just to catch a glimpse of the circus wagons and performers as they paraded down Main Street, entertaining the cheering throngs and enticing them to the fairgrounds and the Big Top show itself. Those same crowds would pack the food stalls that popped up outside the circus, eager to fill their bellies with fried fish, hot ham, fresh buttered biscuits, popcorn, and cake.
“Why, I tell you, the smell is a carnival unto itself,” Zarilda said, and even though Isaiah was full, his mouth watered. “The children’ll clamor for nickel candy and red balloons to lord over their friends. Everybody turns out in their best glad rags. The pious folks won’t come in the Big Top—they think the circus is sinful. But they’ll hover around to get as close as they can to all that ‘sin’!” Zarilda let out a honking laugh and slapped her leg, and Evie decided she was mad for the Great Zarilda.
“Where we headed?” Sam asked, savoring a slice of apple pie.
“Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska.”
“Ohio,” Evie said with scorn.
“Baby Vamp here’s from Ohio. She just loves her hometown,” Sam singsonged.
“If I never see that place again, it’ll be too soon,” Evie said.
“Well. Everybody’s gotta be from somewhere. I’m from Texas myself. But, big as that state is, it wasn’t big enough to hold me. I guess I’m just a born traveler. There’s nothing like the thrill of bein’ in a different town every week. Meetin’ all those people. Realizing we’ve all got dreams and a need for a few hours of shared wonder. Guess I’m a circus woman, through and through. Oh, I also enjoy taking their money. Sure beats working the family farm. Lots of folks don’t have much going on. The circus brings a little magic to town, and everybody wants magic in their lives,” Zarilda said, finishing up the last few bites of her lemon cake.
“Unless that magic comes from Diviners,” Theta added dryly.
The room got very quiet.
“All right. Time to level with us, Sam. You know I don’t keep secrets from my circus family,” Zarilda demanded.
Sam confessed everything—from Project Buffalo to the King of Crows, Jake Marlowe’s Eye, the restless dead, and their hope that reuniting with Sarah Beth Olson in Bountiful would provide the answers the Diviners needed in order to defeat the King of Crows and close the hole between dimensions. When he had finished, the tent was pin-drop quiet.
Polly the Bearded Lady leaned against Bella the Strong Man for comfort. “Are there really ghosts out there? Bad ghosts?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Evie said.
“I’ve communed with the spirits some before,” Zarilda said. “They never bothered me none.”
