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My heart buzzed in my throat. The energy of the room had shifted from excited to menacing. The man beside me jerked to pull a knife out and his elbow jostled into me. I tripped and thrust my hands out to find something to balance on. Elisa caught my arm and pulled me closer to her. Those who had reached the stage shouted and raised their fists. We advanced closer to the center of the hostility, rather than following the small trickle of people who slipped out into the navy spill of night.
Why had I let myself get caught up with Sai? It was a punishment for running away. It had to be why unfortunate things kept happening. Or maybe I was bad luck. The last few years had given me evidence to support that theory.
Sai and Luz shoved past the crowd at the front and jumped into the ring next to the man who had to be Orman. Neia followed, and Elisa clasped my hand to yank me along. I was grateful she hadn’t left me. While I didn’t want to be in the center of the room, surrounded by hundreds of angry people, getting caught in the crowd alone might have been worse.
Sai approached the heavy-muscled man and glowered. “Orman.”
Orman dropped his head back and thrust his hands out. “I can explain, Sai.”
Sai whipped his arms out and gestured at the crowd. “Can you explain this away?”
Orman winced.
A man with a thick, gray beard shucked the remains of a hand pie at the ring, and it landed with a smack, flecks of it bespattering Sai’s boots. The crowd, encouraged, chucked remains of their dinners at us.
I’d given a lot of performances.
Never had refuse been directed at me afterwards.
A man in a fine cut jacket sewn with silky, colorful threads stepped forward and waved his hands around to placate the buzzing energy. It did no good. Faces had reddened, eyes had grown sharp and angry. These people who lived in this small farming town made little money and received even less entertainment. I knew it because we’d performed for hundreds of similar crowds.
Most of the revelers present didn’t own more than two books, one being for religious teachings. They worked most days from sunrise to sunset and had rare bits of excitement to look forward to. We’d performed in the same cities as these fights before. The company always set the winners. They would offer an obvious champion and charge a fee for bet placing. Almost everyone would win, get a good show, have their money returned to them along with a small earning skimmed off the fees, and the company made their earnings from the tickets. Everyone left happy.
But now… Orman knocking out the champion meant the people—those who struggled to afford anything beyond necessities—all lost their bets.
They seemed ready to tear Orman and the owner of the fight apart with bare fingers until they pulled their losses out of them.
Someone threw an apple core, and it smacked into my shoulder so hard I winced. Sai yanked me against him and wrapped his arm around me. The roar of the crowd quieted as my heartbeat thumped painfully loud and his sweet, burnt scent became a cloak. Tucked against him, fear ebbed. I felt safe and like I stood where I belonged. It made me want to jerk away from him, push the heat and warmth and comfort that shouldn’t feel sorightfar away.
The other option was to face down the mob alone. The rest of Sai’s group circled around so that there was no one with their back exposed. Luz had pulled their knife, and it gleamed in the orange flames of the chandelier hanging above the ring.
The noise became a roar, and Sai had to yell over it as he spoke to the owner. “Can you assure these people they can have their money? My partner doesn’t want it.”
The man wiped his hands down the front of his velvet coat. “And tell them I rigged the entire thing to begin with? I doubt that will comfort anyone at this point.” He pulled out a handkerchief to mop up the sweat on his brow.
“Lira.” Sai leaned down so that his lips traced over the tender flesh of my ear. A shiver swept down me. “Could you use your magic to get us out of this?”
“I…”
Someone jumped into the ring and curled their fists as they stomped towards us.
“Lira.” Sai’s voice intensified, my name staccato and sharp like the punch the man was about to throw.
Several spectators tucked under the ropes and walked towards us. One had a knife in hand.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the owner said, “Please!”
“Lira,” Sai said almost pleading.
I parted my lips, and my chest heaved. As much as I hated using my powers, this would help everyone. I could make the crowd forget about Orman and the fight and losing their money. They could all go home and never remember the faces of our group. It could be like it never happened.
I opened my mouth, and a single note poured out. The magic shivered in the air and ricocheted through me until I gagged on it. This magic was exploitation, darkness, and harm. It didn’t matter how I justified it. I used it to manipulate people against their will.
Plus, Mother could track me if I left a trace.
She could find me and force me to return, to take more of these horrid powers and live a life abusing others.
My mouth snapped shut.
