“You have no idea what it is like to grow up without a mother because she went crazy from magic.” Audrey had been silent until they’d turned into their winding drive. “I’ve spared you that knowledge. Sure, it’s fun to have old equipment in your backyard, but you’ve never been taunted by your friends that you’re a freak because you work at the circus. I have. You think it’s cute and it’s fun, but drawing attention to yourself is dangerous.”

When Lara returned home, the punishment had been swift yet quiet. Since the phone had been the source of the problem, Audrey enchanted it so Lara couldn’t call anyone for a week. Interestingly, her mother never mentioned to Jason what Lara had done, nor the punishment she’d doled out. Only then did Lara understand that Audrey had kept both of their abilities from her father. Magic was a shameful secret.

Shutting down her computer, she looked at her watch. It was almost time for Audrey to pick her up for the circus. Folding up the paper with Althacazur’s entry, she placed it deep in her handbag.

For two weeks each June, the Rivoli Circus from Montreal settled in one of the open fields near the highway, the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains peering over the big top at sunset. The stop at Kerrigan Falls was an act of respect for Le Cirque Margot, many of the performers having sought jobs with the Canadian troupe when the circus closed. Loyalties ran deep with these families, and even the children of many members who had died still recalled the stories. The Montreal troupe had picked up most of Le Cirque Margot’s old stops, so the two companies’ histories were richly entwined.

After kicking off the season, the Rivoli Circus would perform in twelve towns in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi before heading to the Southwest for the winter and then retooling the show back in Canada for the following year’s performances.

Tickets were hard to come by, but Audrey always managed to get premium seats from the Rivoli family. The legacy between the families was something that her mother endured more than celebrated, but the horses were some of the most stunning animals in the ring. For that reason, Audrey always made sure they were front and center.

The trademark moss-green-and-blue-striped tents were strung together into a connected bazaar. As Lara and Audrey walked through the grand entrance, food stands and other carnival attractions like fortune-tellers, T-shirt sellers, and arcade games lined the avenue to the entrance to the big top.