Chapter 3

*Sophia*

"It's Sophia, isn't it?" Cormac Limbs sat down next to me as I stirred the dinner and thoughts stirred in my head.

"That's right. Hey."

"Listen, Mr Crepsley has sent for you. D'you know which his tent is, or d'you want me to take you?" He had a slight american twang to his voice, I noticed.

"Just point me in the right direction- I'm sure I will find it, but if you don't mind can you tend the stew while I'm gone?"

"Why I sure will. You just pass me the ladle and i'll serve it up to everyone. We all help out here, see."

"Taa." I said as I walked off to see Mr Crepsley. I entered his tent, wondering what he wanted.

"Ah, Sophia. I was awaiting your arrival. Listen, I am sure you have heard that there is a show tonight."

"Yeah...i have." I said, wondering where this was going.

"Do you have any suitable attire for performing?" he asked me.

"Will this do?" I indicated the outfit I was currently wearing.

"It's not very striking I have to say, but at least with the red of the dress, it shall suitably indicate that you are my assistant."

"Yeah, thats why I bought it." He gave me a strange look, but what I had said was the truth. For at least a year I had been buying various red outfits to show that I was his assistant-not that I actually was at that point of course.

"So are you ready? We shall be going on in half an hour. Just enough time for you to polish Madame Octa's cage and have a practice with the flute." It suddenly clicked.

"Wait...you want me to help you out on the stage? But i've never even controlled Madame Octa before? What if she bites you?"

"She will not. What I say on the stage is just a farce. Yes, she is incredibly dangerous, but I have experimented with various tricks for so long to know that she will not bite me even if provoked. I am perfectly safe. It is only other people who have to fear for their safety."

'Well that wasn't in the books.' I thought to myself as I set about preparing for the impending show.

*Ash*

I was in high spirits as I walked into town with Ree that evening. We stopped off at boots because she wanted to pick up a new bottle of her favourite perfume-Someday, by Justin Bieber, then we headed to Waterstones, so I could find the Darren Shan Saga.

As far as Ree was concerned, I told her I was buying them for my cousin who was coming to visit, she did not seem convinced, but the fact that my large purchase meant that she would get lots of points on her Waterstones card meant that she pressed the matter no further.

We went downstairs to where all the teen books were, then I scanned the shelves for 'Darren Shan.' while Ree was off looking at other things. Eventually I had to admit defeat. It was like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Ree-help!" I called. "i can't find Darren Shan!"

"Oooo" she said in a mock spooky voice. "Has Mr Tiny taken them away?" I faked a laugh. "Seriously Sop, they're on the same shelf they always are-see?"

"Oh yeah. Aha. Whats going on with me today?" I asked, rhetorically of course, as I gratefully slid the whole series off the shelf and into my arms. We paid at the till, Ree using her points card of course, and then left the shop. It was dark outside, although when we had entered Waterstones it had been light.

"I love it when its dark. It feels so magical and spooky." said Ree as I checked the reciept of my books. Whoops. I had spent all my twin's savings. Oh well, I thought. It was not as if she would need money, being a vampire and all. And anyway, it was for a good cause.

"Eee, you didn't say 'I know you do' this time?" Ree looked at me questioningly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, whenever I say I love the dark-you always go 'I know you do', but this time you did not say anything."

"Do I?"

"Yeaaah?"

"Oh. Oh yeah." I was saved explaining myself as we turned the corner and walked straight into Kerry and her crew.

"Eee hello!" they chorused as they noticed us, all smiling as if they were genuinely happy to see us, but their eyes told me otherwise.

"What are you doing here?" one of her friends-Leah-asked us.

"Just went to buy some stuff, yknow." Ree said.

"Ooooh nice! What did you get?" Kerry beamed at us with her fake cheesy smile, as she looked in my Waterstones bag and picked up the first book-'Cirque du Freak'.

"Books-nice."she said as she handed it back to me, clearly disinterested. "Wait-hang on?" No sooner than I had taken the book back from her, she grabbed it back for a closer look at the cover. Her friends all crowded round to see what she was looking at.

"Hey-look."Ally pointed at the title. "Isn't that the same thing we're going to?"

"No, Ally." Leah elbowed her. "We're going to the circus. Not some french thing."

"I'm pretty sure it's not just a circus though? Give us the tickets, Kerry?" Mona joined in. Me and Ree stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say, until Kerry pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the time.

"Oh Lordy Lord, we're going to be late. Come on guys, we gotta run."

She shoved the book at me and they left in a hurry.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Ree, wondering what she made of their whole conversation.

"Hear what?" Ree looked up from her phone. "Yeah, listen, I gotta go now, see you tomorrow yeah?" She had been on her phone the whole time, I gathered, as she sped off home.

*Sophia*

From backstage I watched as Gertha Teeth, the Wolfman and all the regulars performed their acts, to gasps of shock and applause from the awed crowd. As Rhamus Twobellies left the stage to wild clapping, I heard Mr Tall announce our act.

"And next we have a most spectacular set of performers. Larten Crepsley, and Madame Octa."

With a nudge and a thumbs up from Evra, I stepped through the curtain after Mr Crepsley. He stood centre stage, and introduced his act, while I stood in the shadows until the time came for me to control Octa via the flute. I watched the audience as they recoiled in their seats when he produced Madame Octa from her cage, my eyes flicking from one human to another. Whoa. I had started to refer to people as 'humans' now. When did that happen? I heard Mr Crepsley introduce me-

"I shall need my assistant for this part of the act, if you would please step forward Sophia."-so I did as he asked. He handed me the flute and I played a few notes, giving Madame Octa commands in my head as I did so.

"Crawl up his neck to his head. Spin a web over his mouth."

It was not too taxing to be honest, after I got over the fact that i-Sophia- was performing on stage at the Cirque Du Freak itself, I began to enjoy myself. When I had played my part and handed the flute back to Crepsley, I turned for one final glance of the audience's reactions. But I never expected to see just what I saw-or rather, who I just saw.

I blinked in surprise, but before I could look again to see whether I had really seen them, or whether it was just my imagination, Mr Crepsley had ushered me off the stage and the next act was on.

"Evra" I whispered, I did not want anyone else to hear me.

"Yeah?"

"Will you do me a favour? When you are on stage, will you check whether there's a group of four or so people, about my age, one of them with proper huge hair?"

"Course. Why? Who are they?"

"If they are who I think they are," I sighed. "They're trouble."

*Ash*

Upon finishing the books, I honestly had so many questions for my twin I did not know where to begin. Not that it mattered, of course, it wasn't likely I was going to speak to her any time soon. It was obvious what had happened though now, to me. Sophia and Ree must have been fans of this book series, hence why Ree always mentioned it, and that is why when we found the flyer for that Freak Show thing she got so freaked out.

Through the books, she knew that Mr Crepsley was a vampire...and she decided to take a risk and ask him to blood her. She knew she would have to leave town, but the fact that I had turned up was a handy way out. Me taking her place meant that she did not have to fake her death like the guy in the story-Darren-so she could just waltz off with the vampire and leave me to sort her life out.

I suddenly felt oddly cheated. I mean, I knew pretty much what was happening when she left, and I was really glad of the chance to start again with a new life-but to be honest it was all lies. My life-i mean. I couldn't remember the last time someone had called me Ash. I could fill in for her forever, but I could never be her. I think even Ree was noticing I was different.

Ree. I suddenly realised what my twin had done. Her and Ree had this dream, this dream to be vampire's assistants and live at the cirque. I could tell that just by the way Ree spoke to me about the story. And as soon as she got the opportunity to fulfil that dream, off she went. Never once thinking about how it was Ree's dream too. If anyone had been decieved, I realised, it was Ree. Could I really keep doing this to her?

I suppose I had to. Picking up the books which I had strewn over the floor, I went to place them on the shelf next to the other Darren Shan books. They fitted in the space perfectly, which I thought was odd. Could it be that Sophia had taken her copies with her? Why would she do that? Unless, I realised, unless she did not want me to see them, she wanted me to be kept in the dark. Silently, I seethed.

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