Call of Water (Madame Tan's Freakshow #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,39

the first row of crystals, a light caught inside each of them. It then grew, reaching from one crystal to another and connecting them all.

“Wow,” I breathed out in awe, quickly adding more crystals while making sure to follow the pattern precisely. If I misplaced one piece, the whole structure stopped glowing, and I needed to get it just right.

Once done, I leaned back, admiring the glow. It blended all the colors of the crystals into magnificent swirls, covering Radax’s entire back and illuminating the space around him.

Carefully, I held my hand over the glow, feeling a gentle warming sensation.

“Incredible,” I whispered. “What are these things?”

I did not expect anyone to answer my question, least of all Amira, and was surprised when she actually replied, “Biqirelle crystals from the Dakath Mountains in Nerifir.”

I glanced her way. Relief was clearly visible on her face now that Radax had been taken care of to her satisfaction.

“Have you been to Nerifir yourself?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Only bracks can travel between the worlds. Except for Radax. He’s lost his ability to cross dimensions.” Her gaze stopped on the sleeping man on the floor. “Thankfully, Madame still finds him useful.”

For a moment, I just sat there, trying to wrap my mind around what she had said. Then Ulg returned, making no further conversation possible.

“Time for bed,” he sneered at me, holding the door to the cage wide open.

I glared at him, climbing back in.

Instead of pondering an escape plan as I was falling asleep that night, I thought about this bizarre world of Madame’s menagerie.

Who was this woman who had grown men at her beck and call? She ordered them to whip each other to the point of passing out, and they obeyed, wordlessly. In fact, they even seemed to be vying for her attention. That must be at least a part of the reason why Trez betrayed Radax to her.

Everything about Madame was unnervingly vague. I couldn’t even figure out her nationality. She spoke English without an accent, called herself “Madame” in the French manner, but had an Asian last name and wore colorful traditional Eastern European or oriental style clothing.

Her eyes were black as coal and her hair red as fire. Despite its vivid intensity, her hair color still seemed natural, evenly distributed from the tip to the root.

I had a hard time pinpointing her age. Her skin seemed smooth and fresh like that of a twenty-year-old. However, her facial expressions often made her appear ancient. Her hard confidence and cold-blooded brutality also must have taken years to develop to the level they reached in her.

And all this talk about another dimension...

Maybe I was being slowly brainwashed along with the rest of them, but the existence of the magical kingdom of Nerifir no longer seemed as ridiculous as it once did.

Lying on the floor in my cage, I slid my gaze to Radax, just a few feet away. The multi-colored glow pulsated softly over his back.

What if all of it was real?

Wouldn’t the things I’d seen here and couldn’t explain fall into place, if I just allowed for the possibility of the extraordinary in our existence?

Crystals that glowed and emitted warmth, without any obvious source of energy.

Pigs with two heads that apparently belonged to a three-headed species.

Tattoos that under the gaze of a woman could strangle a man, possibly to death.

Men who could sing you to tears of joy, and who could obviously breathe under water for longer than was humanly possible...

How exactly did Zeph fit into all of this?

Madame’s menagerie was either one huge deception or a twilight zone between two worlds. Which would make Zeph either an actor pretending to be something he was not, or an actual being from another world, like Madame claimed he was.

Either way, it meant that I knew absolutely nothing about the man I’d spent one night with back in Paris.

His wordless plea for help when I’d touched the water tank rippled through my chest with the ache of an aftershock. His despair felt so real then. My arm tingled at the memory of the warm feeling he’d sent through the glass afterwards. I had no idea how it happened or what it meant, but I craved that feeling again.

The heady loss of control felt familiar. Was he manipulating my emotions in some way? Again? Longing stirred in me when I thought about Zeph being so close to me after all this time.

I’d wanted to be strong and pretend I’d forgotten our night together, but