Call of Water (Madame Tan's Freakshow #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,45

one I have.”

“I can tell you care about him.” I nodded, excited to hear her speak. “You see, I care about Zeph, too. It kills me not knowing how he’s doing.”

It was a risk to reveal all of that to her. In desperation, I hoped the risk was worth it. Sharing something personal with Amira, I hoped, would help me establish a better connection with her.

I really wanted to find out if Zeph was here, in the building, or if he even was still alive.

She put her head back down again, scrubbing another hoof of Yenric until it shined.

“It’s not the same thing,” she whispered, finally. “The siren is not sentient.”

“Is that what you’ve been told?” I remembered Madame spinning tales along those lines to her VIP clients, and I took the risk to say even more to her. “Amira, I knew Zeph from before he got here. I talked to him. He is very much a sentient, self-aware, intelligent being. Just like you and I. Trust me, he is not an animal. He’s my friend.”

The memory of the blank expression in his eyes came to mind again, making me worry about what Madame might have been doing to him. Suddenly, I needed to feel his emotions through the glass again, to reassure myself he was at least still capable of producing them even as his eyes no longer displayed anything.

“Is he still alive? Is he here, Amira? I need to see him. Just for a moment, please.”

Silent, Amira rinsed all the soap from Yenric then wrapped him in a thick towel. Snorting gratefully, the piglet made himself comfortable in her arms.

“No one can know about this,” she said quietly.

About what? About Zeph and I being friends? Or about whatever it was that Amira was about to do? Was she going to take me to Zeph?

My heart stopped then raced, I was afraid to breathe, scared she’d change her mind.

“I swear—”

“Come.” She got up to her feet.

Afraid to hope, I promptly emptied the plastic tub into the sink and rushed after her.

My heart sank when Amira turned to the room with my cage.

She placed Yenric back into his enclosure where he energetically nestled into his pile of furs and felt. She then silently gestured for me to follow her out of the room and down one of the basement corridors.

With renewed hope, I followed her as she turned into a wide, long hallway. The lights here were prettier than everywhere else in the basement. The walls had been painted with glittering murals, and the floor was covered with a purple rug.

It made sense that Madame would have the VIP room in a windowless basement rather than anywhere on the main floor. Was that where Amira was taking me?

“What’s that door over there?” I pointed at the metal door at the end of the hallway.

“There’re stairs to the main floor entrance,” Amira whispered. “We’re not supposed to use it, it’s for clients only,” she added hurriedly.

Finally.

Hope grew stronger inside me. That could be my way to freedom. I would have to find a way to sneak back here the next time the bracks left me alone.

We stopped in front of another door. It was open, but the entrance was roped, with the familiar blue VIP letters on it. Amira stepped over the rope, and I followed, my heart beating faster.

The décor of this room was slightly more extravagant than the tent had been. Shimmering fabrics were draped over the walls, and garlands of fluorescent plants I had never seen before hung from the ceiling.

Zeph’s tank stood at the far wall with the mahogany bar in front of it. At first glance, the tank appeared empty, filled with dark water. When I came closer, I made out a pale shape floating inside its depths, like an apparition rising into the night air.

“Zeph,” I whispered, placing my hand on the glass.

There was so much I wanted to ask him. I wished to hear his voice, too. Seeing him locked inside here like this made it impossible to believe his confinement was in any way voluntary.

If he indeed was a prisoner here the way I was, I wanted to share my hope with him. I was determined to find my way to freedom, and I wanted him to know I would not forget about him when I did.

Zeph’s face emerged from the darkness, coming closer.

Breathtakingly beautiful.

How did I not see before that his ethereal beauty could not be of this world? Maybe because back