Chapter 30 Ignacio
Ignacio
The fire brigade stormed the tent and doused the inferno.
Esmeralda whimpered.
He held her tighter to him. “We’re almost done, but don’t stop smiling. Just picture yourself far away from here.”
She turned her head away from the sputtering flames.
“Where has your mind taken you to?” he asked.
“To a sleepy meadow.”
“And what’s in the meadow?”
“Fragrant flowers and fat-bottomed bumblebees.”
“Try saying that five times in a row,” he whispered.
He felt her chuckle against him, and he couldn’t help but smile.
“Time is up!” the ringmaster announced, as if nothing terrible was happening.
The hoop suddenly stopped spinning, and Esmeralda let out a relieved sigh.
As they slowly made their descent back to solid ground, Ignacio watched the carnival hands cart what was left of Paco the Fire Breather away.
“Thank you for helping me keep my mind in check,” she said softly. “How did you learn that trick?”
“I had a hard time sleeping while I was with the Blackbirds. I used to close my eyes and picture better times. Before long I’d drift off with a smile on my face.”
“What times did you picture?”
He sighed and rested his cheek on her hair. “Every time I was with you.”
She went silent.
He was terrified she would only offer some snarky retort, but he realized he couldn’t let the fear of how she’d react stop him anymore. He needed to tell her how he felt. How she made him feel. Even if what she said in the aftermath hurt like hell.
Yet, he couldn’t force his lips to work.
She was the one to break the silence. “What was that thing in the mirror?” She whispered the words as if the creature might hear her.
“I have no clue,” he replied.
There was something nibbling at Ignacio’s thoughts.
A phantom memory he couldn’t grab hold of.
It had been like that since the ringmaster told him about the Valerio brothers.
He’d heard their tale before. Someone else had told him about a portal to the gods.
But he couldn’t for the life of him remember who had mentioned such things in his past.
His eyes scanned the mirrors that surrounded the tent. But the monster was gone.
The spotlights moved away from the fire brigade and beamed onto Veracruz, who stood on top a circular platform.
He raised his arm and yelled into the loud-hailer, “Do you see the dangers my performers face?! It is all for you, folks! For our glorious, most astounding, most wonderous fans of Carnival Fantástico!”
The audience roared with a ferocity Ignacio had never seen. The backstage flaps opened, and rodeo riders galloped in, performing tricks on top their horses’ backs.
The ringmaster was not exaggerating when he proclaimed the show must always continue.
One of his acts had just perished, and yet he so mercilessly moved on to the next.
His performers were willing to do it too.
They were willing to risk everything for the safety he offered.
What a horrible sort of power he held over their heads.
The hoop was finally low enough to the ground that they could safely dismount, but Ignacio couldn’t let Esmeralda go.
This could be the last time they were so close, and he couldn’t stand it.
He wanted to bury his nose into her hair.
To breathe in so deep, the scent of jasmine would cling to his lungs forever.
Then, at least, she would always be a part of him.
But sinister happenings were afoot.
Regretting it already, he loosened his hold so she could step out of his embrace.
She faced him and tore off the gloves. She shook her head as she examined her arms. “From the pain I experienced, I thought my skin would be gone.”
He swiped his thumb over her wrist and found those damn iridescent flecks that made up the enchanted ink. He wiped his hand on his pants and inspected her more thoroughly but found no burns or injuries.
“Are you okay, though?” he asked.
“Normally, I’d lie and say yes, but my nerves are too frazzled for that. And, worst of all, I fear I must admit that you were right.”
Despite everything, he felt himself smiling again. “I don’t think I heard you correctly. What did you say?”
“Don’t push it, Pigeon.”
“I told you that you could trust me,” he said.
“Yeah, the jury is still out on that.” Her warm fingers slipped into his hand.
His insides clenched. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking you to the one place where we might find our answers.”
The ringmaster’s wagon was far outside the carnival hub and not intended for customers or uninvited performers trying to sneak in.
Three guards lounged in front of the strawberry-red wagon, smoking cigarillos and speaking about what had happened to Paco.
They made light of the fire breather’s misfortune.
They laughed and chattered on about who would get his prized game boards now that he was gone.
From their hidden place behind barrels of sugar, Ignacio’s hands balled into fists.
Esmeralda’s brow quirked. “Thinking about getting into a fight?” she whispered.
“I’d sure like to.”
“Hold that thought, hero. The ratas aren’t the sort to mess with.
I’ve seen them get into scuffles a time or two with ill-mannered guests, and it never ended well for the other guys.
Besides, you’ll cause a commotion, and we don’t want that if we’re trying to sneak into the ringmaster’s office.
” She jerked her chin to the right. “This way.”
They slithered around bins of extra prizes, clusters of oddly shaped balloons bumping into each other in the breeze, and roller-coaster buggies in need of repair. “It’s like a circus graveyard,” he said as they hid behind a marionette booth.
“ángel doesn’t like to leave things behind, unlike some people.”
“If that’s meant to be a slight, I feel like you’re being rather hypocritical.
Seeing as you left the ring I gave you behind when you ran away.
Why didn’t you take it? I gave it to you,” he asked.
“You could have pawned it off for a good profit.” The question had been burning on his tongue since the day she left him and he found the ring placed inside the box that he had kept his savings in.
“Now isn’t the time to dig up things dead and buried,” she snapped.
“But they aren’t dead or buried. Not for me.”
“Do you really think I’d want anything of yours once I heard what you said?” She turned to him so quickly that he nearly ran her over.
Ignacio reeled back, and his foot crushed down on something soft and foamy. A jubilant squeak trumpeted from under his boot. It was a clown’s red nose. He winced. He wasn’t so clumsy normally, but Esmeralda did this to him. She unnerved him.
“Did you hear that?” one of the guards standing in front of the ringmaster’s wagon said.
Esmeralda grabbed Ignacio’s hand. They dashed forward toward the rear of the wagon, but the guards were already running through the discarded bins with their flashlights aimed ahead.
“We have nowhere to hide,” she whispered.
“Over there!” a rata called.
Ignacio had to do something quickly. He pushed Esmeralda against a pile of crates. He pressed his body close and lowered his face, so they were nose to nose.
“What are you doing?” she hissed. “You’re going to get us caught.”
“We already are caught. They’re only yards away. Now, put your arms around me as if we’re lovers.”
“You can’t be serious!”
A stream of golden light hovered above their heads from the guards’ flashlights.
Ignacio grabbed one of her hands and flung it around his torso. The light found them. Their shadows danced onto the crates like reveling ghosts.
“Hey!” someone shouted.
Ignacio ignored it. If he were truly Esmeralda’s lover, he most certainly would. He scooted closer, shielding her with his body. He moved his head from side to side, mimicking a kiss.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re going to have to be more convincing than that.”
Her free hand grasped his collar, and she yanked him down. Their lips crashed together. Teeth scraped against soft skin. But the pain was numbed by the explosion blazing within his soul.
The world fizzled away. He heard nothing. Hell, he couldn’t even tell if his feet were still on the ground. There was only the taste of Esmeralda. Only the familiar fullness of her lips. And the hungry ache in his chest.
His fingers splayed out on the crate on either side of her head. His nails dug into the wood, holding him steady. Esmeralda’s hand slid up his back. The sensation of her touch sent a sunburst flaring inside his stomach and he groaned into her mouth.
She sighed, her breath mingling with his.
Their movements became ravenous as if they’d both been starved for far too long.
Despite his best efforts at self-control, his fingers slid into her hair, and he pulled her to him. Something metallic fell to the ground and her curls fluttered over her shoulders. He breathed her in.
“Stars, you smell good,” he whispered. His lips found her neck, the sensitive skin just under her ear, her jawbone. She moaned. And he thought his knees might give out from the sound.
“Hey!”
A voice from behind him slammed Ignacio into reality.
“You two can’t be out here. This area is for carnival staff only,” the rata said.
He and Esmeralda tore apart then. They stood there, staring at each other in the dark, panting uncontrollably.
A flashlight beamed in Ignacio’s face, and the guard gawked. “It’s the palomas,” he said in wonder.
The Palomas. As if they were one.
A smile tugged at the rata’s lips. “Looks like you finally made up.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Perhaps you love birds should take this elsewhere, though?”
“Sure,” Esmeralda said breathily. “Yes. Of course.”
She looked troubled. Ignacio’s gut dropped. Did she not enjoy the kiss? Did she not want it like he had? Had she been playing a part the whole time? The way she desperately gripped him certainly felt real.
Her fingers slid into Ignacio’s. “We’ll be on our way. Sorry to be a pest.”