Freeks(17)

8. the magician

I ran back to the campsite, once again using the hole in the fence since I couldn’t find the gate. I grabbed the water and aspirin from the trailer, but as I went to leave, I noticed the door to Gideon’s trailer was open and warm light was spilling out.

I went over and climbed up the metal steps to his door. He stood next to his desk, going over something among stacks and stacks of paperwork. Black suspenders hung down around his waist, and his shirt was off. His muscled torso was heavily tattooed, but my eyes were always drawn to the one on his back.

It angled from the side, going from above his hip toward his spine. The letters were wobbly and barely legible, but Gideon had been fighting it the whole time he’d gotten it. It was more of a brand than a tattoo. Gideon said they’d used the sharp end of a metal pipe, heating it over fire, then dipping it in ink, before they’d written the word “freak” into his flesh.

That had been his first tattoo, and the only one he’d gotten that he hadn’t wanted. He’d only been fifteen at the time, and three weeks later, he left England forever. He’d hoped it would be better in America for people like him, and when he found it wasn’t, he decided to make it better. That’s why he’d started this sideshow—to create a place where people who didn’t belong could belong.

I leaned against the doorframe. “Gideon?”

“Are people already showing up?” he asked without looking up at me.

“Yeah, but I wanted to talk to you about my mom.”

He looked up, concerned. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah … Well, no.” I shook my head. “She says she is, but all of this is really taking a toll on her.”

He grimaced, then scratched the back of his neck. “The break didn’t do anything for her?”

“Not really. She’s only just started, and the migraine is already setting in.”

“I would like her to quit as much as you would, but she won’t.” He sighed. “Not right now. We need the money, and she knows it. Maybe after this, if we get a big enough of a payday, she can take a break for a while.”

“I was thinking…” I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “Maybe we could talk about me taking over for her.”

Gideon shook his head. “Lyanka would never let you do that. You know that.”

“But it’s getting too hard on her,” I insisted. “Nobody’s meant to do a thousand readings a year for twenty years straight. She’s exhausted.”

“Which is why she’d never let you do it.” He gave me a knowing look. “Once you open your mind to the spirits, you can’t shut it again.”

“I don’t even think I can open my mind to the spirits. I don’t have the same gift as her. But I can still read a deck of cards.”

“That’s even worse,” Gideon argued. “Then you’d just be a hustler, and you know how Lyanka despises frauds.”

“It doesn’t matter whether she likes it or not. Mom isn’t going to be able to do this stuff much longer, and if I don’t start stepping in to take her place, she’s gonna end up destroying her mind and going insane.” I paused. “Just like her mother did.”

“I know, and I agree with you, Mara. But it’s not up to me.”

“Why not? You’re the boss,” I reminded him. “You have the power to hire and fire people.”

“I can’t exactly fire my girlfriend.” He looked back down at the papers in front of him. “And it’s not that simple.”

“Gideon. We need to do something,” I told him firmly.

He chewed the inside of his cheek, staring off for a moment, then finally relented with a heavy sigh. “All right. I’ll talk to Lyanka, but in the end, she’ll do what she wants to do. You know how she is.” He pointed to the bottle of pills in my hand. “If her head’s already hurting, you better get that aspirin out to her.”

I ran back to the carnival, and when I reached my mom’s tent, a client was inside with her. I ducked in, apologizing as I did, and gave Mom the water and the aspirin. Then I quickly exited and looked around to see if anybody else needed help.

Since the carnival had just started, everything was well stocked, and nobody seemed to need anything. I walked along the edge of the fairgrounds, preferring to stay in the shadows behind the tents and exhibits than mingling with the crowds.

A burst of light came from the other side of the fence, and I looked over to see Roxie playing with a small ball of fire in the palm of her hand.

“You should be careful with that,” I said as I walked over to her.

She shrugged, letting the flames burn blue and yellow a second before closing her fist, extinguishing them. Whenever she was bored or anxious, Roxie resorted to playing with her pyrokinesis.

Right in front of us was a booth selling cotton candy, and another one that had a ring-toss game. We stared in between the booths at the people walking down the midway.

“Looks like a lot of people are coming already.” I leaned on the fence next to her.

“Yeah, that has to be a good sign. Especially after the dry spell we’ve had.”

“Are you doing a show tonight?” I asked.

“Yeah. Just the peep show at eight,” Roxie said. “Zeke says the tigers need a rest, so we’re doing that tomorrow.”