Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
I t was probably what Mario had told him that made Ilya feel like there were eyes constantly watching him, but he’d never felt so exposed as he did sitting in the green room with his cast-mates obliviously going about their routines around him. The straps act was near the finale of the show, which made the wait almost agonizingly long.
He’d tried to give the amulet back to Mario, but he had adamantly refused to take it. He’d told Ilya that he wasn’t going to hide any longer, and that even if the vampire was in the audience, he wouldn’t be able to recognize what Mario was while on stage. That they needed to be within a few feet before either could spot the other. Ilya wasn’t sure if he believed it, but when Mario had stubbornly refused to back down, he relented and put the amulet in the small pocket of his costume.
Mario seemed convinced the vampire wouldn’t try anything during the show, although they had warned Terry and the others to be alert. He then explained in a low whisper as he and Ilya warmed up that most vampires tended to be solitary, and ever since humans had developed weapons that could easily destroy them, they needed to act from the shadows. So far the human authorities had nothing to go on, and they hadn’t even linked the disappearances; but something as public as a death during a Circo show would attract a great deal of attention, particularly after the incident at the warehouse.
Ilya leaned closer to Mario as something occurred to him, triggered by the events of that day. “Have you seen Gordon since the crane fell?”
Mario frowned, his brow creased. “I don’t think so, but didn’t you say he’s mostly at the warehouse?”
“Yeah, that’s his domain. But I’m trying to think if I’ve seen the little nightcrawler since then.”
“Perhaps he’s just been busy?” Mario shrugged it off. “Could be the board isn’t happy with him about the crane thing and he’s been demoted. Or maybe he got caught up in the organization for moving Capriccio over here? Whatever the reason, I’m glad he’s been scarce, because ever since you told me what he said to you about Derek, I’ve wanted to do something unfortunate to him.”
Ilya smiled, despite the seriousness of the topic. Mario was as protective of him as he was of Mario, and, perhaps more importantly, Mario didn’t shy away from mentions of Derek. He acknowledged Ilya’s grief and didn’t downplay the fact that Ilya had spent a third of his life married to someone else. Since Mario didn’t walk on eggshells around the topic, it meant Ilya didn’t have to, either.
Finally, the time for their act came, and an assistant director cued them to their positions. The music for their segment began, and Ilya stepped out onto the still-dark stage. A muted spotlight picked him up, while its twin found Mario approaching from the opposite side. They paced toward each other, their movements perfect mirrors of each other, and as they reached the center of the stage, they circled one another slowly, like competitors who were uncertain of one another. Mario looked sexy and dangerous, and when Ilya met Mario’s eyes, he felt as though he were drowning in their depths.
The straps descended from the rigging and he automatically reached for them, grasping the loops in his hands. They continued to circle one another as the music built, and then the rigging above them engaged and lifted them both high off the stage, the watchers in the audience giving a sigh of pleasure as they took wing.
They’d practiced the routine until Ilya could do each move without thinking, every nuance indelibly worked into his muscles. He watched Mario, matching him in perfect synchrony, as they spun out over the audience, coming closer and closer together.
They slowed and stopped, facing each other, suspended in mid-air as they began another series of moves. Flipping over and over, both of them winding their way upward, the straps looping about their arms. Ilya had fashioned each movement to make them look exotic with their heads cocked and their legs pulled in at strange angles. The rigging turned, and now they were working together, Mario’s leg flashing out to entwine with his. They spun around their common center, then released, soaring away only to come together once more.
Swinging, posing, they made each move in perfect harmony, but Ilya only had eyes for Mario. Soon the music shifted, and now they were no longer competitors, showing off and trying to better each other. Now they were working together, as the straps descended toward the floor and the main lighting dimmed. A gasp came from the audience as the black lights engaged, and Mario, Ilya, and the entire set glowed in bright, breathtaking colors that shimmered with stage magic. The EL wires in their costumes were now visible, making them look like the fantastical creatures they were supposed to represent, while the dark straps became invisible to the audience.
Mario released his straps and crossed to him, and Ilya took his hands. Ilya was the anchor as they ascended again, this time on a single set of straps, appearing to fly into the air unassisted. Mario lithely climbed up Ilya’s body, his hands on Ilya’s shoulders as he inverted himself into a handstand. Then he grasped Ilya’s forearms, rolling himself downward, their slick, warm skin sliding together in a way that always made Ilya’s heart pound. But he held his concentration as he released the strap in his right hand, taking hold of Mario’s wrist as Mario, with perfect trust, gripped Ilya’s in return, and flipped downward into a split, only the strength of Ilya’s grip on the strap and the clasp of their hands keeping Mario from plunging to his death as the rigging swung them in a wide arc over the audience seated below.
They flew together for a few perfect moments, then were back over the stage. More poses, pure displays of strength and power, before Mario’s straps, visible to them but not the audience, descended once more. Ilya released Mario, who spun to his straps, and in tandem they rolled upward.
Now came the penultimate sequence, the Hanged Man, and their triumphant, diving swings that elicited gasps and sighs from their audience. Again they were lifted, circling one another, their straps entwining and pulling them closer as the trapdoor beneath them opened. The audience couldn’t see from their angle, and as their bodies wrapped around one another, they sank out of sight beneath the stage.
Mario smiled, and Ilya felt an incredible sense of relief that nothing had happened. But they had to hurry to release the rigging, which pulled back, still invisible. Above their heads the trapdoor closed, and the crowd burst into thunderous applause.
Of course, there was an assistant director present, who urged them toward ladders at opposite ends of the space which led up to stage level. But they stared into one another’s eyes, flushed with the triumph of the moment, and Ilya saw his own relief mirrored in Mario’s eyes.
Leaning in, Mario captured Ilya’s lips in a brief, hard kiss. “That was perfect,” he murmured, then gave Ilya a heated look before moving away at the director’s almost frantic motions.
Ilya huffed at the teasing, but he headed in the opposite direction. Their part at the end of the finale had them fly out of the wings, passing one another twice before their straps entwined again, this time lowering them directly to the stage so they could take their bows as the stars of the show. He could already hear the wild applause of the crowd as they acknowledged each of the acts, so he hurried to take his place.
While the rest of the performers entered from the wings at stage level, he and Mario would be twenty feet in the air, taking off from platforms in hidden recesses. That meant Ilya had to climb another ladder, one that was back behind a curtain that separated him from the other performers. He slipped into the nook, but as he reached for the first rung of the ladder, he felt a sting on his right arm.
He turned automatically to look, thinking he’d been bitten by something or perhaps bumped into some piece of sharp scenery left too close to the ladder. But then he blinked, his vision growing fuzzy around the edges. Opening his mouth, he tried to call out, but no sound emerged. Just as his vision went completely dark, he felt rough hands on him, moving him quickly away and he had only a moment to fear for Mario’s safety before the blackness claimed him completely.