The Girl in the Dark by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory

Author:J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory [Rain, J.R. & Mallory, H.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rain Press
Published: 2022-09-30T00:00:00+00:00

***

True to Rex’s word, my breakfast arrived a few minutes later. Before the bearer could go in, however, Ned stopped him at the entrance and inspected every scrap of food on the plate. Only after he decided it was all right did Ned wave the stagehand through. The man said nothing as he handed me the tin plate with my first meal of the day: hardtack biscuit, two sausages and scrambled eggs. After dropping off the canteen of water that was slung across his shoulder, he turned around and walked out. Ned barely acknowledged his departure. I only wished he’d be as inattentive if I tried to leave the tent.

I didn’t know how long it would be before someone came to collect me, so I dove into my meager breakfast with great relish and enthusiasm. Ironically, by indulging my hunger, I managed to temporarily distract myself from my current predicament. I trusted Jiang and the sisters to organize our fellow troupe members, but would that be enough for the task ahead of us? I barely tasted my breakfast, but shoveled it into my mouth, knowing that no matter what, I needed to fortify my energy.

After placing the empty plate on my cot, I emptied the canteen into my parched throat when I noticed the trunk began to open a slight crack. I caught the reflection of a pair of glassy eyes belonging to Amelia. Finishing the canteen water, I quietly walked over to the trunk and helped Amelia lift it up all the way. She then reached down beside herself for something and produced a small paperback book which she pushed into my hand right before tugging on the lid of the trunk again, in a sign that she was ready to return to her solitude.

I looked at the paperback Amelia gave me. The back cover featured an odd set of pictographs. A pair of squares with squiggles inside them were connected by a single arrow, pointing from right to left. That made me curious, so I flipped open the back page. Inside was a beautifully hand-drawn rendition of a great prairie. The next three pages had the same picture, except there was a subtle change at the center. A head seemed to be emerging on the horizon.

I flipped back to the first page, gripping the rest of the book’s leaves and letting them rapidly turn in my hands. It was a flicker book, and the moving pictures came to life as I flipped through them. The head on the prairie belonged to a long-haired equestrian that began to emerge from the pages. My throat tightened when I saw she was the spitting image of me. But, of course, it wasn’t me: it was Brandeis.

The next pages featured her riding her horse, as if she were performing in person. All at once, I noticed the distinctive outline of Cirque du Noir. Then the scene abruptly changed. This time, Brandeis rode up to a man clad in ringmaster’s garb—a man whom I recognized as Laurent—just before dismounting.

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