Page 3 of Sanctuary of the Shadow
She looked up just in time to see a shadow streaking toward the gate. A second later, Malaikah appeared inside the booth.
Harrow leaned around the wagon to get a better view, fingers clenching on the wooden side. She watched with bated breath as Mal spoke to Oli, reassuring him, while simultaneously slashing her claws at any weapons that strayed near.
The Water surged again, and this time Harrow obeyed it. “Run, Mal!” she shouted.
Malaikah glanced back through the window.
“Run, now!”
Malaikah seized Oli’s hand and finally, they started moving. At the same moment, someone threw a torch.
It sailed through the air and went through the open roof of the structure. They’d barely made it through the door when it hit, spilling fuel and fire across the floor. Immediately, the old, dry wood went up in flames. By the time Oli and Malaikah reached Harrow’s hiding spot, the entire booth was engulfed.
They dropped to the ground, their backs against the wagon wheels. “That was way too close,” Malaikah breathed, but she looked exhilarated, her amber eyes alight with the thrill of battle. Poor Oli looked shell-shocked.
And then Salizar arrived.
“Thank the sweet mother Goddess,” Oli whispered, pressing his palms to his cheeks.
Their intimidating ringmaster cut an impressive silhouette as he strode toward the gates. Tall and foreboding, he held his enchanted staff aloft, his long coat billowing behind him. As his rapid strides carried him toward the mob, the irate humans appeared to lose some of their bluster.
It seemed Salizar’s reputation preceded him, but that wasn’t a surprise. He was nearly as infamous as his circus was.
When he reached the gates, he didn’t bother combatting anyone directly. Instead, he raised the staff and pointed it toward the iron bars.
Bolts of silver lightning traveled from the tip of the weapon across the metal, down the crossbeams connecting the bars and shooting all the way to the top. The current struck anyone touching them, and cries rang out as the crowd lurched back.
As a final warning, Salizar struck again, but this time he targeted the man with the axe who’d been trying to break the chain. Lightning coursed over his body, and the human dropped like a stone. He didn’t even have time to scream.
Message received, the crowd began to retreat. Their weapons lowered, and their raucous slurs faded until the only sound was the crackle of burning wood. Salizar stepped back, and there was a tense pause, the ringmaster challenging anyone to come closer, and the humans debating whether to attack again.
In the end, of course, they relented, backing down the road, once again hollering threats and insults to appease their wounded pride. The unconscious man with the axe had to be carried away with the group, his arms and legs suspended while his torso hung like a sack of grain.
Salizar turned his back on the humans and approached the gathered members of his circus.
“That was awesome, sir,” Oli whispered, still slumped against the wagon wheel and looking utterly exhausted.
The ringmaster glanced over at him and Malaikah. “Are you all right?”
“We’re fine,” Mal said, grinning. She was back on her feet, looking as though she was half considering chasing after their fleeing aggressors. “Especially after watching those humans scatter like frightened chickens.”
Salizar addressed the others. “Go start packing up. We’re leaving. Spread the word to everyone else.”
There was a moment of stunned silence, and their victorious smiles faded.
“But, sir,” Oli said, “we just got here.”
“And now we’re leaving,” Salizar replied. “I refuse to perform in a town that couldn’t bother to ensure we had a safe reception after they invited us, and I won’t risk any of those humans getting past the gates and posing a threat during a show. So go pack up. We leave for Allegra first thing tomorrow.”
With that pronouncement, he departed down the center lane, the ticket booth still flaming behind him. Groans and murmurs of disbelief followed in his wake, but no one protested his decision.
Harrow almost couldn’t believe they were about to turn around and go after traveling weeks to get here, but she also knew that Salizar took the protection of the circus seriously. She hated the thought of Malaikah being in danger from the audience while she was performing. What if someone threw something at her while she balanced on the trapeze? A fall from that height could mean serious injury or even death.
Soon the others dispersed to fulfill their orders, undoing the work they’d just begun, while a couple people stayed to put out the ticket booth’s fire. Malaikah offered to walk Harrow back to her caravan, and she was glad for the company, still feeling unsettled.
“It’s uncanny how you do that,” Mal said as they walked, careful to keep her voice low. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. You said you saw fire in your vision, and you told me you felt there was someone who needed your help. Well, that was obviously Oli. If we hadn’t showed up when we did, I shudder to think what could’ve happened.”
They stopped outside Harrow’s caravan. She forced a smile. “It was lucky, that’s for sure.”
