The Faire (Harrow Faire #5) - Kathryn Ann Kingsley Page 0,54

that.

Simon wondered if he could dismember the memory-of-a-man to find out, or if he’d get lectured.

He’d probably get lectured either way.

Lazarus tilted his head closer to Rudy and motioned for the Zookeeper to come closer. Curiosity eventually won over the wild animal. Lazarus whispered something to Rudy. Simon could see his mouth moving, but it was too obscured for him to tell what it was.

Something in Rudy’s expression changed. Something in his whole demeanor. Suddenly, the rage was gone. His shoulders fell away from his ears, and he threw his arms around Lazarus in a fierce hug.

Lazarus grunted in surprise and nearly fell over with the impact but managed to keep his footing at the last second. He laughed and hugged the Zookeeper, patting the man’s back. Rudy clutched him tightly for a second, and then released him as quickly as the embrace had begun. He took a step back, shook his head, and moved farther away.

I think the Zookeeper is about to cry. Simon’s fork hit the plate loudly as he watched, now as stunned as everyone else. What in the world could the Faire have whispered to Rudy that made him nearly lose it?

Rudy never…ever cried.

But sure enough, Zookeeper swiped at his face and stormed out of the tent. But not before bowing his head in respect to Lazarus.

The tent sat there in silence. Lazarus took in a deep breath and let it out as a long, overwhelmed sigh. “Oh, it’s so very good to see you all. I mean…see you all as you see each other.” He smiled shyly and tucked his hands into the pockets of his overcoat. “I’m sure you all have very many questions for me. I hear all that you have ever asked. I have just been unable to reply. Murad”—he paused and corrected himself—“Ringmaster has wanted to keep you all in the dark as we withered away and died. In days gone by, I was never such a recluse. Only lately, when I became too weak to talk without burning up what little life I had left, did I wall myself away from my Family.”

No one seemed to know what to say.

Simon didn’t blame them.

“I’ll go. But if you ever have questions…come knock on boxcar twenty-one. I will do what I can. Mr. Harrow may not exist in the way you believed…but that doesn’t mean I’m not there to listen.” Lazarus smiled at them all tearfully, turning on his heels as if he were looking at a shore that was drifting away from him as he sailed out to sea. And with that, he disappeared into nothing. Vanished like smoke in the wind.

Several things happened at once.

Soothsayer laughed. Cackled like the witch she was.

Several people screamed and ran from the tent.

Aaron sat down and began emptying the contents of his flask into his open mouth.

And Cora, with a shrug, sat back down at the table.

“Your food is getting cold,” Simon said cheerfully, gesturing at her chicken satay with the prongs of his fork. “And let it be known I didn’t eat a single bit of it while your back was turned.”

The chaos ensued in the tent, and for once Cora seemed to be happy enough ignoring it. She smiled at him and went back to eating her interrupted meal. “I don’t know why you always insist on stealing my food when we’re at a goddamn buffet. And a free one, at that.”

“Because it amuses me. And frustrates you. And, more importantly, it amuses me that it frustrates you.” He grinned at her as he pointedly stabbed a piece of shrimp on her plate with his fork and took a bite out of it.

“God, I hate you sometimes.”

He winked at her. “No, you don’t. You love me. And that’s the problem.”

Aaron collapsed onto the bench next to them, looking more than a little strung out. “Was that—”

“Yes,” Cora stated flatly.

“Was it really—”

“Yes.”

“But he—”

“Yes.”

“And it—”

“Yup.” She ate a piece of her chicken satay. “Sensing a pattern?”

“How did you—how are you able to…” Aaron rubbed both his hands over his face and ended his sentence in a groan.

“I honestly don’t know.” Cora took a swig from her beer. “One day at a time. That’s all I’ve got right now. One day, and one step, at a time.”

“But…this isn’t normal.”

Cora shot him a glare that spoke volumes. That nothing in her life had been normal in a long time, and nothing was bound to be normal anytime soon. And that Aaron, for once in his life,