Spurned

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lyla took the lead back towards the carnival, the path she created much quicker than hacking through dense forest. They ran as fast as they could as the big cat's yowls came closer. They flew by the manor and over its lawn, then into the woods before it. Kara noticed she was not hurting as she ran, she was alive and vibrantly strong. She wondered if it was the unicorn's water that had strengthened her, or the hope of freeing her mother.

  They shot past the outer ring of carnival tents and collapsed in front of the elephants. No animal, no matter how large or hungry, would willingly go into a human encampment.

  Kara saw no one was about. Likely they were on the other side of the tents, lining up for morning grub, or sleeping in.

  Icari exhaled. “We must have gotten too close to it. Usually they leave groups of people alone.”

  Lyla said placidly, “She was chasing a deer and smelled us.”

  Kara smiled at her. “You are really something, Lyla. You keep knowing stuff, and I believe you when you say these crazy things.”

  “I am something?” Lyla said, looking a little confused. “Of course I am. Everyone is. I know things because I listen.” She looked around the dusty tents, the piles of elephant dung. “Sometimes I do not feel like something. I feel lost and alone in this strange world that once I knew so well. Dark powers are looming, close to victory...” She shivered and fell silent.

  Kara's smile faded. Icari whispered, “Not here. Hither has ears everywhere.”

  Kara stood up and dusted off. “Going to get a bowl of grub and wash off. Coming, anyone?”

  Icari said, “I have a few things to do today. See you at midnight grub?”

  Kara nodded absently. “Yeah. See you.”

  “Goodbye.” He strode off to his nice, big, and private tent. As a performer, he got lots of little perks like that.

  She and Lyla hurried to their small, cramped, and shared tent. Naomi was still gone, which was a blessing right now as she would be full of questions on their whereabouts at such an early hour. And she was such a horrid gossip that she would spread any little thing throughout the carnival in a day. Kara quickly washed off and thought of the fortune tucked between her breasts. No word of that could reach anyone else's ears, especially not the thief hidden in the carnival that kept stealing from his or her own. With that much wealth in diamonds, she could buy her mother's freedom, get a good horse, supplies for traveling...

  A little voice in her head asked, Traveling where? Your place is here, with the carnival.

  She shook the little voice off as she stepped into the main part of the tent. “Basin's free.”

  Lyla ducked back and Kara heard the gentle splashing of water. Quickly, while Lyla was busy, she cut off a corner of her blanket and pulled out the diamonds. She wrapped them up tight so they would not clink and give themselves away. She tucked them back in her inner pocket, grateful that the jewels were tiny and she could carry them on her person at all times. It would have been impossible to hide a thousand gold coins under her shirt.

  She peeped under the tent's canvas floor and checked her new hiding spot for coins. She had buried it in the hopes of thwarting the thief, praying they would not take the time to dig in the ground. She had been careless the last time, keeping her money rolled up in an old blanket. It was a mistake she would not make again.

  She breathed with quiet relief when she saw the packed earth undisturbed. They had not found her buried treasure.

  She jumped up as Lyla stepped out. Her healing bruises created a rainbow all over her arms and legs and her hair was still in a snarled clump. Kara thought she kept it that way on purpose to hide her ears.

  Her stomach rumpled. She asked, “You hungry?”

  Lyla nodded and they walked through camp and got in line behind the elephant trainer, Justi. He turned and said, “Morning.”

  “Morning,” Kara said.

  He gave Lyla a huge smile, his face meshing up in a mass of wrinkles. “Baboo has taken quite a liking to you.”

  “And I him. Elephants are noble creatures,” said Lyla.

  He nodded and launched into a humorous story about Baboo's mother that Kara had heard a hundred times before. She smiled and laughed in all the right places as they got their food and sat down in front of the dead bonfire. Lyla listened to his elephant tales raptly as she scooped the gruel in her mouth.

  Kara got up when her grub was done. “Got a few errands to run. Meet me later, Lyla?”

  She looked up. “I shall meet you later.” She gave Kara a small smile. Kara smiled back, knowing she would be safe with Justi and his elephants. She dropped her empty bowl off, feeling good about Lyla's progress here. She was starting to fit in a little better. If only Kara could talk Malone into letting her work with the animals...

  As she walked back to her tent, she began to run through the list of things she needed to clean and pack for leaving tomorrow. Her boots were filthy, her clothes stained with sweat, and she needed to repair a strap on her satchel...

  As she drew up to her tent, some instinct made her slow down and listen, made the back of her neck prickle in warning. She held her breath as she stepped closer. Was the thief in there right now? She took a soft step and prayed it was not Naomi stealing from her. She was the most likely culprit since she had the easiest access to Kara's few worldly possessions. Surely, Kara thought, surely she is not that stupid.

  Kara pressed her eye to a tear in the tent and saw Naomi in the act. She had Kara's blanket and the canvas flooring shoved aside. She was digging through the dirt and found the small coin purse. She hesitated then tucked it under her shirt.

  So Naomi was that stupid.

  Kara's throat thickened. She had trusted Naomi, thought they were friends, despite the fact that Naomi had known her feelings for Vayne and had dated him anyway. Kara could take that. It was as much his decision as hers. And he had changed so much lately that her attraction was cooling rapidly.

  But she was not going to take this.

  She shoved aside their tent flap and stepped in, crossing her arms.

  Naomi squawked like a chicken and fell back on her butt. She stared at Kara with wide eyes, then stammered, “Huge stinging beetle crawled under your blanket. I squished it.”

  Kara said nothing, just stood there with her arms crossed, frowning.

  Naomi at least had the good grace to blush and look away. As the seconds crept on and Kara stood her ground, glowering the whole while in silence, Naomi cracked. She pulled the coin pouch out and put it back in the ground. She addressed the ground as she apologized, her face beet red. “I'm sorry.”

  Kara did not care about her (probably insincere) apology. She asked coldly, “Why?”

  Naomi swallowed and picked at her tunic.

  Kara used the exact same tactic of just standing there and glowering. She refused to give Naomi leeway or give her excuses to parrot back. If you stared silently long enough, people would talk.

  Naomi dared to meet her gaze, peeking from under her eyelashes. “I can't tell you why.”

  Silence.

  She blinked and hissed, “Fine. You win. Vayne's been asking me to steal for him.”

  Silence.

  Naomi's shoulders began to shake and she lowered her face into her hands. “I don't know why, so don't ask. I swear I don't know. Please just stop looking at me.”

  Kara stood there for a moment more and decided that was all she was going to get. She uncrossed her arms and turned away.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get my money back. You know, the money you stole earlier.”

  “No, Kara, wait-”

  She was already gone, hot rage coursing through her. After nearly a year of scrimping and saving, she was not going to lose that money.

  That familiar small voice popped up again as she hurried to his tent. But why? Why would Vayne steal from his own? He's not been himself for a long while. Something is wrong. Very wrong.

  Be careful, K
ara.

  She did not pause to catch her breath nor to knock. She burst right in, her knife slipping out and cutting the cord that shut his front panels with ease. She hoped he was there. She was ready to fight.

  He was there. And she saw and smelled immediately why he needed coin so badly, understood why he had not been himself for the last month or so, understood why his strongman act had suddenly become so much more impressive.

  He was a rhone user. The leaf could be brewed and strained then sipped, or ground up and swallowed depending on how hard of a hit you wanted. It was expensive, addictive, and gave the user unusual amounts of endurance and strength for a short time. If she took it, she could likely pick Vayne up and throw him across the tent.

  A tempting prospect, she thought as he spit out his foul brew. It smelled like cat manure and wet leaves, a rank, low odor.

  She tried not to gag at the stench. She said softly, “You've been using my coin to buy your rhone.”

  He went still as he wiped his face. “You know what it is? How?”

  She thought of her tutor, who had taught her more than a little of herb lore. Rhone was useful in other ways and her tutor had shown Kara all of them. “I have seen it brewed before.”

  He smiled, his composure already back in place. “Ever tried it? It's incredible.”

  “It's addictive and overstimulates most users. You'll be lucky to live until thirty. Your heart will burst.”

  “I can get off it anytime I want.”

  She noticed his pupils were pinpricks again. She was trying to assess her options and quickly. He was clearly not frightened by her accusation of stealing. She knew he was not afraid because there was little she could do to him. Another unspoken rule of the carnival was 'no snitches.' If she went to the King's Guard to report him, she would be spurned from the carnival. It was a shameful thing to take from your own, and everyone would give him the cold shoulder if he was caught out, but he would be allowed to stay in the carnival. Ignored? Ridiculed? Likely. Spurned? No. He would not be cast out, but she would be for exposing his behavior to outsiders.

  He smiled at her, and she noticed he was only wearing a pair of short leggings. He said, “Naomi snitched on me, huh?”

  “I caught her red handed. She was stealing my coin. She told me everything.”

  Vayne's face darkened at that. “What did she tell you?”

  Kara remained smugly silent. He had more secrets, more she could find out...

  Her heart sank a little as she continued to look into his gaze. She still had very strong feelings for him, but nothing like what she did when he was 'normal' Vayne. A couple of months ago, he had been a little cocky, a little arrogant, and breathtakingly gorgeous.

  Now that she saw how low he had sunk, all his strange behavior, easy to dismiss on a day-to-day basis, was making sense. She had not thought about it overmuch until now. His suggestion that they keep a secret relationship from Naomi. Rumors of his angry outbursts. His show having a sudden surge of popularity. All the pieces were falling on the board, and she saw a pattern now. She had willfully ignored the clues to mope after him like a bitch in heat...

  But no more.