When a mysterious circus arrives in town, Caitlyn is immediately drawn to it. While visiting the hypnotic show, she meets a seer who warns her of a gruesome future and urges her to stay away. But soon, Caitlyn finds herself ensnared in the show and the Ringmaster himself.
Recognizing Caitlyn’s powers for what they are, and believing they are the ones he has been searching for, the Ringmaster is determined to claim them as his own. Trapped within the circus and the Ringmaster’s devious grip, Caitlyn realizes that to escape the seer’s foretold fate, her only choice is to fight. Banding together with Bevier, an imprisoned psychic, Meg, an eccentric seamstress, and Daniel, a handsome magician, Caitlyn falls into the Psychic Realm to thwart the Ringmaster and stop the show before they succumb to his control and are trapped forever in his spectacle of souls.
In her free time, Jessica can be found enjoying a cup of dark roasted coffee while snuggling under a blanket with a good book. When the weather is right she hops in the car with her husband, son, and dogs to road trip across the country where she delights in eating red vines, drinking iced lattes, and singing loudly in the passenger seat.
The boy handed them each a glass from his tray. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” Caitlyn said, taking hers and handing one to Vanessa.
“I’ll be back shortly if you need anything else,” he said, giving Vanessa a
wink.
“And so it begins!” Vanessa held her glass to cheers with Caitlyn.
Tapping her glass to Vanessa’s, Caitlyn laughed, drinking her shot. The deep
crimson liquid tasted like ripe cherries—not tart like the ones used in pies,
but the juicy and deep ones that leave behind stains on your fingers.
All the lights flashed twice, the music rose in volume, and the Ringmaster,
dressed in a blood red suit, walked onto the stage. Cheers rang from the audience
as he bowed multiple times, his arms outstretched toward the crowd.
“Welcome, welcome,” he began. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming back
tonight for our show. We hope you brought your appetite, for tonight we have a
thrilling routine that will surely delight, and leave you feeling anything but
uptight.” He paused as the audience tittered. Caitlyn smiled at the continuous
bad rhymes.
“So, relax. Enjoy! And drink up!” The Ringmaster shouted.
The baby-faced boy, Ian, returned, his hand outstretched with two larger
glasses filled with amber liquid. One by one, the audience raised their glasses
to the stage. Caitlyn and Vanessa mimicked their spirit.
“Tonight, we fill our night with fire and magic!” The Ringmaster clapped and
immediately every light snapped off leaving them in utter darkness. Caitlyn
felt her body tense as a sudden fear tickled the back of her skull. She had
never been afraid of the dark before but her hand shook, and she found herself
searching for a ping of light—anything to give her a sense of grounding as she
felt herself drowning in blackness. An image began to form within her vision
but a gong rang out pulling her back to the show. With a whispering whoosh, all
their raised glasses caught fire creating small torches that lit the arena like
fireflies.
Caitlyn let out her breath and blinked away the hazy image. She gasped as the
stage began to burn in thick flames; yet, no heat cast itself into the
audience.
A wave of awe rushed through the arena and out of the dancing flames came two
figures, both slender and tall, moving with the blaze. Drifting back toward
their escape, the flames rolled flat, lashing out at the dancers who now stood
center.
Wearing nothing but tight leather bikini bottoms that glistened in the firelight,
a female figure stood. Glitter dotted her body, covering her nipples enough to
be censored, and her long obsidian hair pulled tight against her angelic face.
As she moved, the braid twisted around her body like a snake. Her arms, laced
with gold bracelets, moved gracefully with the flames while her bare feet
padded against the flame ridden stage. She flipped, tumbled, and spun around,
while fire danced up and down her body, licking at any exposed skin.
In perfect unison, her male partner—lathered in oil and wearing shorts that
left nothing to the imagination—cartwheeled and carried her from one end of the
stage to the next. As he lifted her into the air—throwing her high above the
stage—his slick skin tightened and contracted, allowing the audience to swoon
at his perfectly toned body that even Hercules would be envious of. Flames
danced up and down his body, wrapping themselves around his bald head, and
obeyed his every command.
Still holding their smoldering drinks, Caitlyn felt that the glass itself was
not actually getting warmer. She slid her finger through the flame, feeling
it’s cool burn.
“Whoa!” She smiled at Vanessa who attempted the same feat.
“Raise your glasses,” the flaming woman yelled in a heavy Italian accent, “and
toast to the fire god.”
“Saluti,” the man shouted as a gong bellowed.
“Saluti!” The audience answered, drinking their fire.
Caitlyn burst with energy as the chilled liquid coated her throat like a
menthol cough drop. Her entire body shivered and without thinking, she shouted
“another” as Ian passed. Handing her two more shots, she toasted Vanessa and
downed another liquid cold fire that left a numbness in her mouth, but a fire
in her belly.
The dancers entertained them with flaming swords and blazing hula hoops. They
manipulated fire, transforming it into snake-like creatures that struck out at
the audience making them gasp for more. They danced together, as if competing
for their lives among the flames and grasped the other in places that made
Caitlyn blush, blowing flames instead of kisses onto their bodies. Just as the
Ringmaster had said, it was turning from chaotic to slightly erotic, and yet,
Caitlyn couldn’t look away.
As the stage began to dim leaving an ember-like glow, the dancers allowed a
single flame to envelop them. It clung to their bodies and receded, leaving
only the female dancer behind who now appeared wearing a tiny red sequined top
hat and leotard with a severe neckline. She curtsied to the audience as a thick
rope fell from the ceiling which she pulled gently. Nothing happened.
Motioning that she had an idea, she pointed at a man sitting directly in front
of her. Waving him up, he climbed onto the stage attempting to avoid any
lingering flames.
With her thin arms, she positioned his hands on the rope, motioning for him to
tug. He jerked it once, and still, nothing happened. The fire dancer made a sad
face, and the audience booed.
“You’re going to have to do better than that!” She patted him on the back.
“Come on everyone, cheer him on!”
Caitlyn and Vanessa screamed with those around them, giving him all the
encouragement he needed and watched as he put all his weight into it. Suddenly,
an echoing rip rang through the audience and the cord fell. In a slow
motion blur, the ceiling began to catch fire and spread quickly, leaving behind
the twinkling night sky, filled with shooting stars.
A hush fell over the crowd, if from terror or wonderment, the reason was
unclear.
What Caitlyn thought were shooting stars, were actually falling ash that
drifted down to the audience. A piece landed on her arm. It was cool, like a
drop of rain, and left behind a shimmering hue on her skin as she brushed it
off.
A moment later, the sky began to concave toward the stage like a rush of water
being freed from a blockage. The falling stars turned into fireballs, colliding
with the ground while the audience sat in their glow, gasping and holding their
breath and as the final flame reached the platform and died out, a murmur
started in the audience.
“What just happened?” Vanessa asked, turning toward Caitlyn, her face speckled
with stardust.
“I think—” Caitlyn began but stopped as the stage began to shift.
The glitter vibrated and lifted, rippling out from the center like a rock being
thrown into a serene pond. Everyone tittered in anticipation, their seats
vibrating with the commotion before them. Vanessa gripped Caitlyn’s hand as the
stage exploded, covering everyone in stardust.
After a second of silence, the audience erupted in laughter as it fell like
fresh snow, tickling their skin.
Rising from the remaining ashes, like a newborn Phoenix, Daniel proudly stood
center stage. His bedazzled suit threw speckled light off him like a disco
ball, bouncing from side to side. Removing his top hat, he bowed to the
audience. They clapped, standing in ovation at the magic before them.
“Thank you! Thank you all for being here tonight for this magical delight.”
Everyone chuckled. Caitlyn felt herself blush as Daniel made eye contact with
her, his smile pulling into a wide stage grin.
“What you just witnessed was nothing more than hypnotic magic as you are all
under my control.” He stopped as the crowd gasped then replaced his top hat.
“With the clap of my hands, everything you thought you saw will vanish,” he
said, lowering his voice. Daniel lifted his hands and clapped.
Caitlyn blinked as if waking from a dream, and realized that they all sat in
the original, stardust-less arena. No flames coated the stage, nothing
glistened in the moonlight above them, and the big top had not exploded into
the night—everything sat untouched.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Caitlyn said, clapping loudly along with
the audience.
Vanessa smiled back. “I can’t believe it! It felt so real.”
“Thank you. Thank you!” Daniel bowed. “Now, if you could all reach into your
pocket and pull out what’s in there. Oh, no. You don’t have a pocket?” He
pointed to a woman who wore a slinky blue dress.
“Well, reach down in front there,” he said, motioning for her to reach between
her breasts. “See if—Oh, see, there it is!” He laughed. “Everyone please, pull
out the card and raise them high.”
Caitlyn reached into her shorts pocket and felt a thin piece of cardboard.
Pulling it out, she saw she held the two of hearts and lifted it high into the
air.
“Alright, great! Now, keep your arms up if you hold a card higher than a four.”
Caitlyn lowered her hand and saw confusion cross Daniel’s face. His eyes had
been on her, waiting to see what she would do. Vanessa sat at the edge of her
seat, her arm up straight.
“Now, keep your arm up if you have a card in the spade family.”
Half of the hands fell.
“Okay,” he said rubbing his hands together. “We are getting there.”
The audience chattered with laughter.
“Keep them up if you have a card of spades that is higher than an eight.”
Only a dozen hands remained taut—one of which was Vanessa’s.
“Higher than a ten.”
Another four or five hands fell. Caitlyn looked wide-eyed at Vanessa who
bounced at the edge of her seat.
“Higher than a queen?”
Two hands remained.
“But not an Ace.”
One hand lowered.
“We have a winner!”
The audience clapped.
“Please, come down to the stage, the lovely lady with the King of Spades!”
Vanessa screamed with joy as she jumped to her feet. “Oh my goodness! That’s me! I never win anything.” She squeezed Caitlyn’s arm before bounding down to the stage
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