Spectacle (Galaxy Circus #8)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Lila

“ W hy is the goddess of life in the box instead of my grandma?” I feel sick, like everything we did to get here was a waste of time. My poor grandpas are going to be heartbroken and devastated. How did Zamala get it so wrong?

I watch as the earth god cradles the small woman against his chest like she’s the most precious thing in the world to him, and a sharp stab of jealousy burns inside me. Who is this goddess to him? He claims she is like his sister, but there is no blood relation, so maybe their relationship bloomed into something more.

He seems to be stunned into speechlessness, so I turn my attention to the others who seem just as bewildered as I am.

“None of us have been with the circus as long as she’s been missing, and I don’t remember meeting her when I was a child. I couldn’t tell you if this is her or not,” Xavier says unhelpfully. “I suggest we return to the ship and let Link assess her, and maybe then we can get to the bottom of this.”

“It’s obviously not her from his reaction.” I stab a finger in Zeydan’s direction. He is muttering under his breath, and I briefly wonder if he’s trying to wake her when I process what Xavier suggested. “Can we hide our return from my grandpas? This is going to break their hearts. They had so much hope. I could skin Zamala alive for giving them that.” The last bit comes out in a growl, and smoke wafts out of my nose as scales ripple across my arms.

“Easy,” Tirrian murmurs softly, approaching me from behind and stroking his hand over my back. “Your dragon is still new, and if you aren’t careful, she will burst out of your skin unbidden. Take a deep breath and breathe in and out slowly.”

“That’s easier said than done,” I tell him but do as he says, closing my eyes and breathing in and out a few times. When I feel more settled, I wait for Xavier’s answer.

“I think maybe we shouldn’t hide it from them. There must be a good reason why Zamala claimed your grandma was in the box. Maybe she’s wearing a glamour.”

“Xavier’s right,” Tirrian chimes in. “Zamala has never been wrong with her predictions.”

“There’s always a first time, and with our luck, this is it,” I reply stubbornly, crossing my arms to comfort myself. I’m feeling all out of sorts and slightly shaky. I think I might need some blood.

“She is not wearing a glamour. I would feel it if she was,” Zeydan says, looking up from the goddess, but then his gaze returns to the glyphs on the box. “I didn’t want to say anything before, but I recognize those glyphs. That box was created by the goddess of death, Vivax. I’m afraid she has something to do with Lilessa being in there, and if she does, then she now knows the box has been breached. We should leave now, just to be safe.” I don’t like his panicked tone. For fuck’s sake, he’s a god, so that means we really need to be concerned.

“But what about the halla harvesters?” I remind him, and he quickly shakes his head.

“They can return at another time. I will send them away. They will not question me,” he replies with an arrogance that doesn’t surprise me.

“Alright then, I’ll contact the ship and let them know we’re ready to teleport aboard.” Silac moves slightly away from us, and I watch as he uses the communicator on his wrist to radio the ship. A wave of exhaustion flows through my limbs, and I sway. Ghosie starts to put his hands up to support me but quickly drops them with a huff of frustration.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you,” he murmurs, gesturing to his fur.

Before I can reply, Tirrian wraps an arm around me. “I’ve got her,” he tells the bear, who nods with a sad look in his eyes.

“Thank you for retrieving her, even if she isn’t my grandma,” I say to Ghosie, offering him a reassuring smile. “We appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”

“Yes, thank you. Maybe once she wakes, she can shed some more light on the situation,” Zeydan chimes in as Silac waves us together into a huddle.

“Okay, Rick, we’re ready. Beam us straight to the medical bay please.”

Tirrian’s arm is tight around me as we dissolve into particles and fly through space before reforming in the medical bay on the ship.

Link is there, as is Saxon, and both are standing over a groaning Maxsim, who is lying on one of the medical beds. I look around for Echo, but I don’t see him.

“Should I get Echo?” I ask as Zeydan lays Lilessa down on one of the spare beds.

“No,” Maxsim rasps as I hurry over and take his hand. Link is sealing his wound with some kind of laser tool. There is also a line of blue blood running into his vein from a bag hanging next to the table. “I don’t want to worry him.” His eyes roll back in his head and his hand goes limp in mine as he loses consciousness,

“Lila!” Link sounds relieved. “Thank goodness, I was just trying to close the wound. He’s okay, but he lost a significant amount of blood. I thought if I closed the wound, he would be alright until you returned, but I’m having trouble sealing it.” He sounds a little panicked. Today has been a clusterfuck. Both the god and the cool-headed cyborg are panicked, so this doesn’t bode well. I feel my heart start to race as my panic joins Link’s.

“Why me?” I ask, feeling more tired than I should after my bout of sex with Brannock. I should be completely recharged, but I’m still flagging on energy.

An amused grin crosses Link’s lips, and my eyes get stuck on them for a moment. I feel my fangs descend and consider taking a bite out of him. I reach for him, but Xavier grabs me around the waist.

“Whoa, hang on. No eating the doctor until all his patients have been seen to,” he murmurs quietly into my ear, his breath brushing across the lobe.

“Can you shift into your Celestian form and heal him before we go any further?” Link pulls the tool away and gestures to the gaping wound. It’s oozing blue blood, and there’s a foul smell coming from it. Fuck, now my heart is racing even faster. I put my hand against my chest like that will slow it down, then I shake off the bloodlust and return my attention to his words about shifting to Celestian form.

“Oh, of course. Shit, I forgot I could do that.” I strip off my clothes and allow my Celestian form to appear. Xavier conjures me a shift dress in his favorite lavender that allows my wings freedom to move. I stretch them wide, and both Link and Saxon duck out of the way. The slight ache I feel whenever I assume this form dies away with the movement. My wings are the same color as my hair in normal form—shimmery white opal with veins of orange, pink, and blue. They are so pretty.

Stepping closer to the table, I place my hands over the wound in Maxsim’s body. “I thought shifting would fix this,” I remark to Link, who moves around to the other side of the bed and watches as my hands heat and white light emits from them, covering the wound.

“Normally it would, but I think the Madovians must secrete something from their claws that stopped it from healing.” Link watches with wide-eyed amazement as the wound expels some kind of black toxic ick. He quickly grabs a vial from a tray behind him and scoops some of it up. The layers of tissue, muscle, and flesh heal beneath my glowing hands before the skin knits back together, mending the wound completely. I go to pull my hands away but stop when I notice little tufts of fur pushing through the dermal layers, covering the wound with new fur. It’s like he wasn’t even wounded to begin with.

His heavy breathing eases, and his eyes flutter closed as he starts to breathe steadily. “He’s all healed, but he’s going to need to sleep for a little while.” I instinctively know this, which is kind of cool. The glow disperses, and I pull my hands away. “Can someone go get Echo to sit with him?” I ask, looking at the gathered men. There really are too many of us in here.

“He didn’t want him to know because of the babies,” Saxon explains. “He didn’t want to stress him out.”

“Let’s downplay the injury then and explain that he’s all better and just needs some rest. I know I’d be pissed if you kept it from me for my well-being,” I scold them.

“I’ll go. There’s nothing I can do here anyway,” Tirrian offers. “I’ll let Caspian know we’re back as well. What should I tell the Adams brothers if I see them?”

“There’s no hiding this, so maybe just tell them we’re back and let them see for themselves. They won’t believe we failed if they don’t see it for themselves.” I heave out a heavy sigh as Tirrian gives me a kiss on the cheek.

“You failed?” Saxon sounds confused as he looks at the figure on the other bed. Zeydan is still holding her hand and hovering over her, and that stab of jealousy has me flinching again.

Jesus, Lila, get a grip. You’re jealous of an unconscious woman. Maybe wait until she wakes up and see if she makes a play at your god before you can be jealous.

“Who is that then?” Link lifts Maxsim, careful not to pull out his transfusion. Saxon grabs the pole that holds it, and they both move over to a clean bed away from Lilessa. Link lays him down gently and pulls up a sheet to cover him, while Saxon situates the blood bag close by.

“Should I let Broderick know we’re ready to leave, Lila?” Silac asks, and when I turn to face him, he’s wringing his hands in front of his body in agitation. We achieved what we set out to do, so he must be anxious to return to Fluxx now. I can’t wait for the day when I can complain of boredom.

“Yes, Silac. Have him set a course for Fluxx and not to stop for any reason. Let’s rescue your father.” In this form, I feel his wave of gratitude. Celestians must pick up emotions similar to warlocks.

“Thank you.” He places his hands together and bows before he and Tirrian both leave.

“I’m just going to wash up. This black gunk is stuck in my fur, and it smells.” Ghosie plucks at the Madovian blood splattered across his face and arms, staining his bright fur. “Let me know if I can help with anything.” He waves and starts to depart.

“Ghosie,” I call, stopping him. He turns back with raised eyebrows. “You need to decide what you want to do now that the job is finished. Do you want to return to your planet?”

His eyebrows drop, and his fur seems to droop ever so slightly. “Ah, yeah. Okay, I’ll think about it.” He hurries out without waiting for a response.

Xavier groans. “Jesus, Lila.” He runs his hand through his hair, yanking at the strands falling out of the ponytail.

“What?” I snap.

“Are you really that clueless?”

“Look, Xavier, spit it out. I don’t have time for games. I’m tired and hungry and can’t decide if I want to fuck you or rip out your throat,” I growl, and my wings flutter behind me.

He shakes his head, glaring at me. “Never mind, we can talk about it when you’re more rational. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t decide to drown himself in the shower.” Xavier disappears in a flash, leaving me speechless.

“What is his problem?” I growl, looking around and hoping someone will clue me in.

“I’m going to go and do the same thing.” Brannock steps into my line of sight, and I blink. He leans in and kisses my cheek. “Let me know if you need me.”

He starts to depart, and I grab his hand, stopping him. “There’s a room in our suite for you if you want it. Can you tell Tirrian the same thing? I would love to have both of you there if you want.” Even though we aren’t officially mated yet, I want him around because I know it’s just a matter of time.

His smile is almost blinding. “I’d love to, and I’ll let the dragon know.”

“Once we deal with Silac’s parents and his problem, I promise we will head back to Earth and handle Agent Smith once and for all,” I promise him, and he leans in and kisses me again.

“I can’t wait for you to meet her.” He leaves, and my mouth drops open. Meet his daughter? Shit, I just became a stepmom. You know what? That’s another future Lila problem. Future Lila is fucked.

A chuckle has me spinning around. All that’s left are Link, Saxon, a sleeping Maxsim, and the god, but it’s Saxon who’s laughing. Link is busy doing something to the goddess. My Vilaxian husband approaches me slowly, like I’m a rabid animal he has to be wary of.

“Babe, I can practically feel your mind imploding. Forget about everything else for now. Your grandpas are going to be here soon, and they need you present instead of spiraling. We will get you something to eat and drink shortly, so just hold on for a few more minutes.” He carefully grabs my arm and leads me over to the bed.

Link placed a sensor in the middle of Lilessa’s chest, lowering the neckline of the dress she’s wearing to do it. He reads the results on his arm, and his eyes widen as his skin loses its shine.

“Holy fuck,” he mutters very unprofessionally.

“What’s wrong?” Zeydan asks, and I can hear the concern in his voice.

“Well, I can confirm she is in a form of stasis, but I hope she can’t feel any pain, because these readouts indicate just about every bone in her body is broken.”

My eyes widen, and my stomach roils with nausea as I take a closer look at the pale female. “What are all these lines on her body?” I ask, tracing the silver streaks with my eyes. She has them all over her, and it looks like they continue under the long dress she wears. I lift the hem, and sure enough, her ankle and calves have the same kind of lines.

Link is quiet, and when I look up, his eyes are shimmering with tears. “I think they are scars. I am absolutely certain that this woman has been tortured repeatedly. I need you to heal her, Lila, and maybe once her pain is gone, she may wake up on her own.”