Chapter 3:

Tonight was the first time we would perform. We had made sure that Christian and we were on the same stage so we would never go on at the same time and there was always someone watching Lissa. Lissa wouldn't be far away anyway. She had a table and two chairs close to the stage. We would be able to see her from stage if the crowd wasn't that big, and the person not on stage could look after her when the crowd would get too big.

Dimitri and I were practicing. He had made a board. He was very proud of it. He painted it and everything. He had been talking animatedly of maybe finding an axis and making it spin. He was enjoying himself. I could tell. But I was the one who had to stand in front of the board and try not to look afraid and I didn't think spinning would make me feel better.

He flipped a knife in his hand. And again and again, then he threw the knife. It landed inches from my face. He had said it would be better if I didn't know when it was coming around my face. I might flinch and actually move a bit and he would miss his target. Or well... You know, actually hit his target.

I didn't mind the knives around my legs or arms. But the ones around my face were still a bit scary. I knew Dimitri knew what he was doing. But that didn't mean my instinct wasn't to protect my face. I was shackled to the board at my extremities. I had my feet on the ground so it was more comfortable but they were spread and restrained at the ankles, the same with my wrists. Dimitri didn't close them all the way, because I needed to be able to move easily if someone did come for Lissa. So I knew I wasn't trapped. But still it felt very uneasy being strapped to the board with someone throwing deadly objects towards your face, even if it was someone you completely trusted.

Dimitri walked up to me, he pulled the knife from the wood next to my cheek. He replaced it with his hand as he leaned in. His leg moved in between mine and he pressed himself against me.

"Now Roza, I would never let anything happen to you, you know that… or to your hair." He smiled as he ran his hand through it a bit.

"Really my hair is more important than my face? Hair grows back Comrade."

He didn't seem to agree with my priority. "I do like your face. Specifically…" He traced my lips and his were inches from mine. He closed the distance between us. His kiss was hungry and passionate. I opened up to him and let his tongue explore mine.

That was until a cold feeling settled in my stomach and stopped us dead in our tracks. Dimitri pulled back and I knew he had felt the same way. His guard was up and so was mine, but we didn't move. He slowly looked past me to see if he could see the source of our dread. There were a few people walking by. The ringmaster being one of them. He looked at us wearingly. He didn't seem to appreciate our time off practicing.

I looked past Dimitri and I saw the magician practicing for his act tonight. I had felt the same feeling when I had put on the bodice. Was he the source?

But behind the magician I could see more and more people practicing their act. And even more were talking behind them.

"I had the same feeling when I touched the bodice and put it on." I informed Dimitri.

He looked confused. "Christian didn't seem to notice anything."

I shrugged. Dimitri also hadn't felt it when he touched the bodice when it was on me. So maybe it had been embarrassment. But I wanted to look into this. My gut told me something was going on and it had never failed me.

"Still, maybe I should talk to the magician about the previous owner of this outfit."

He nodded. "Be careful Rose, I don't like this. We need to stay on guard."

We were always on guard. Somehow I had been able to feel the evil and death Strigoi brought with them and it always helped us fight them. This felt similar yet so very different and it had me a little worried that Dimitri could feel it too.

After our practice I walked towards the magicians wagon. I was about to walk up the few steps and knock on the door when it opened and a rabbit and an old man came running out. One chasing the other.

"No no, I need you little rabbit. Come here. I have a carrot." He said waiving said carrot in the air.

They ran in circles before my dhampir reflexes proved too much for the rabbit. I picked it up. I looked at it and it at me before thrashing in my hands. Animals did that around Dhampirs. They were fine around Moroi apparently, but dhampirs were something unnatural to nature. An unholy mix of Moroi and humans. Nature itself seemed to turn against us.

I handed the rabbit back to the magician and it immediately calmed down. He put the rabbit somewhere in his wagon and came back out.

The magician was an old man, somewhere in his sixties. He didn't seem to have it all together anymore. He had a disheveled look. I caught a glimpse of the inside of his wagon and saw the mess it was. He wasn't much better himself. His shirt was buttoned up wrong and he wore two different shoes. But from his many possessions and the decent state of both shoes, I could determine that money wasn't the problem.

He looked at me expectantly. Right, I was here to talk to him.

"I wanted to thank you for the outfit. We really had to leave everything behind when we feld."

He had a kind expression on his face.

"I am glad I was able to help. Such a shame that those Witch hunters are harassing everyone. You seem like such good kids. And I had just had a new one made for Maria. It would be a shame if it went to waste."

I nodded, again expressing my gratitude.

"I miss her. She always knew how to keep the rabbit in his cage. I can't seem to find anything without her. I am looking for a new assistant, but Maria is hard to replace."

He talked fondly of the girl. I didn't get any of that cold feeling I had when we were practicing. As I looked at the rather small and old man in front of me, I doubted he could have hurt her.

"Dimitri told me she disappeared?"

He looked at me confused.

"She left. She wanted to see the world outside of the circus. She was born into it. She moved around the acts a bit. She had been many of our assistants at some point. It is what made her so good at her job. I always gave the majority of the coins we earned. I don't really need it and she deserved it. But I knew she wanted more."

But if she left of her own volition, then why did the bodice give me the heebie jeebies when I first put it on?

"I am sure she is somewhere enjoying her freedom a bit. Do you have any idea where she went?"

He shook his head. "She just left. She didn't even say goodbye. Or leave instructions for containing the rabbit. I like to think some young man caught her eye and she fell hopelessly in love."

He had a dreamy expression on his face.

"Did she take much of her stuff?"

"No, not at all. I assumed she only packed a bag for traveling. I have some of it here. It is mostly stuff for a young woman, so you and your friend can have it if you want."

I nodded my thanks. It would go a long way in replenishing some of our supplies, but it would also allow me to go through her stuff. I had a feeling Maria wasn't in the arms of a secret lover somewhere.

But at least for now our investigation would have to wait. We had a show to put on.

That evening, I put the last touches on my make-up and helped Lissa do the same. It was hard without the big mirror in her palace room. We had a small mirror with us, but it was smutched and the mercury-tin alloy was chipping on the sides. I had done some heavy make-up around Lissa's eyes. She was unrecognizable. She looked kinda scary too.

We walked out of the wagon and both men sucked in a breath through their teeth. I guess we looked good.

"Now comrade, don't get too distracted. I want to do the same act again tomorrow and have all my bits intact. That goes for you too, sparky. We can't have you torching the stage."

He shook his head and seemed to wake from his daydream.

"Okay let's do this. Let's impress some people and put on an awesome show."

He was too excited. He had been practicing and he actually seemed to have some fun.

"Not too much of a show, sparky. We need to blend in. We can't be better or worse than most of the acts here. Try to match them."

His face fell a little but he nodded anyway.

Dimitri fell into step beside me and we walked towards our assigned stage. Christian would go first then a break, and then we would go on. We would do this routine three times during the night. Lissa would be right next to us.

Daniel's voice brought everyone to attention. He shouted 'five minutes'. Five minutes until these premises would be overrun with people. A Guardian's nightmare. I started to appreciate me being able to look around and not have to do anything more and more.

The people started to come in slow. Christian first act drew a little crowd but we were still able to see Lissa and keep her easily within our sights. She had her first customer too, an old lady. I could tell Lissa was nervous but was glad her first customer seemed to be a sweet old lady. Although I wondered how much more future the lady had for Lissa to predict. After a few moments the old lady got up smiling and leaving a few coins. Lissa took them and smiled my way. Lissa was a natural, she would be insightful and help where she could and I guess Lissa's spirit charm was helping a little bit too with convincing people too.

After a short break it was our turn. I turned towards Dimitri and I was panicking a little bit.

He chuckled. "You aren't scared to go into a nest of Strigoi but this scares you?"

I put a hand on my hips. "Well, have you never heard the expression 'the crowd will eat you alive?"

He laughed, leaned in and kissed my forehead. "It is just us out there Roza, just you and me… and Lissa. The rest is irrelevant."

I suppose he was right. But still.

We walked out on stage and people cheered. Dimitri was chaining me to the board dramatically. For each shackle he would show the crowd and place my wrist or ankle in them. He traced his finger up the inside of my thigh before standing again himself. I gave him a foul look, but he just smirked. That one was for me and not the crowd. They wouldn't have been able to see from that angle, his body was blocking the movement.

He then opened his duster and showed the crowd the many blades strapped to the inside of it. The crowd oohed and ahhed, understanding what he was about to do. He took one out and touched it with his finger, letting the crowd know it was in fact, sharp. Then without warning he turned towards me and threw the knife next to my arm. The crowd looked shocked. They had barely seen him move. I had barely seen him move. The crowd was clapping. The knife was still moving side to side from the sheer force it was thrown with.

He threw a couple more and I started to look around. It would be a while before he would reach my face. He would start with a few single ones. Then he would continue with throwing a couple at the same time. I zoned out. I would have to focus again at the end for the finali but I took this time to look around. The crowd was gathering, but there was also a crowd at the other stages, so we were pretty average in drawing a crowd. Just like I like it.

I looked over the crowd and my eyes landed on a young woman at the front. She was the only one looking at me instead of Dimitri. She held amazement in her eyes for me. She was around sixteen I guess. She wore a green dress and had on a gold bracelet. It shimmered in the candle light. Her hair was auburn and it reminded me a bit of my mothers. She held my gaze and I smiled. She lit up at the gesture.

I saw a woman moving forward and putting a hand on her shoulder. Judging by the same colored hair and matching brown eyes, I imagine this was her mother. She looked fondly towards her daughter and her daughter pointed at me and told something to her mother. Her mother smiled.

I felt the knife wooshed past my ear and I was brought back to Dimitri. His eyes locked on mine and I knew we were in the home stretch now. He took a deep breath and threw the knife and it hit only a fraction beside my neck. If I would move I would cut myself. The crowd was clapping loudly.

Dimitri took four more knives and threw them in quick succession at my restraints. He hadn't locked the chains in place completely, so when the knives hit them they sprung open without damaging the chains. Dimitri walked up to me and held out his hand and I grabbed his, careful not to nick myself against the knives closest to my neck. He led me to the front of the stage and we took a bow together. The crowd was clapping loudly but non louder than the girl in front of me.

We did two more acts that night and by the end I was a little desensitized to the knives. Even the ones close to my neck. I was still in one piece, the same could not be said about the board. Dimitri was throwing the knives rather hard. I was more likely to actually get hurt by a splinter than the knives.

We were packing it in for the night when I saw the women with auburn hair matching her daughters come up to me.

"Excuse me?"

I got down from the stage.

"Have you seen my daughter, she was wearing a green dress and has red hair, like me."

The girl from earlier was missing?

"She couldn't stop talking about how brave you were and how beautiful you looked up there, I thought maybe she had come to talk to you."

I smiled. It was nice to know Dimitri didn't get all the attention.. But unfortunately she hadn't.

"I am sorry. But I haven't seen her since the first act of the night. But I will keep an eye out for her. I remember her well."

Her mother smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She was worried.

Once she left, Dimitri walked up to me and kissed my temple.

"I am sure she will turn up."

I hoped so.

We finished cleaning up and we were hauling our stuff back to our wagon when I felt something underneath my shoe. I bent down and frowned. It sparkled a little when the light hit it. I picked it up and felt that cold feeling settle in my stomach again. For a moment I couldn't breathe. Dimitri looked at me concerned and then at what I held in my hands.

It was the girls bracelet. Her gold bracelet. And the feeling in my stomach just got a whole lot worse.