for that. For all of it. I’m sorry. I…” She looked down at her palms. “I’m just so scared.”
“Scared of what, cupcake? I’m surrounded by the body parts of my prized collection, and you don’t seem to be terribly worried about it. What could possibly scare you so much that you’d throw me away and send us all to the void?”
When she couldn’t answer, she heard him get up from the stage. He jumped off the front lip and walked to her.
He sank to his knees at her feet. “Goodness. You really are afraid, aren’t you? I can feel it.” He scratched at his chest and cringed. “Are you afraid of Ringmaster?”
“Sure. But that’s not the problem.” She looked away, but he wouldn’t allow it. He turned her face back to his with the press of fingers to her cheek.
“Then what is it, Cora dear? Who are you so afraid of?”
She looked into those black-red-eyes of his and finally admitted the truth. “I’m afraid of the Contortionist.”
22
Simon blinked. There was no way he heard her correctly. “Pardon?”
“I’m afraid of the monster I think I am. Or what I’ll be if I agree to kill Ringmaster.”
He furrowed his brow.
Then he laughed.
He sat back on his heels and cackled in laughter. It really was the funniest thing he’d heard in a very, very long time.
“It isn’t funny!” Cora glared at him.
That only made it worse. He laughed harder, wiping his sleeve across his eyes. She was glowering at him with such ferocious hatred that he couldn’t have stifled his amusement even if he’d tried. He had to hold on to the bench behind him to keep from falling over.
“I fucking hate you, Simon.”
“No. No. I don’t think I heard you right. Explain it to me again. You’re—” He cackled. “Wait.” He couldn’t help it. He waved his hand, taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a long “hooo.” He wondered if he was going to get the hiccups. He held his breath. But after taking one more look at her, he exploded in laughter again. That time he lay down on the ground at her feet, holding his sides, kicking his heel into the ground.
“I really, really fucking hate you, Simon.” Cora kicked him in the ribs. Not hard. But hard enough.
He finally managed to quiet his laughter. He tucked his arm under his head and looked at her with a broad grin. “All right. All right. I’m done. You’re afraid of yourself! How adorable. Do tell. Have you developed an alter ego as well? Decided to follow in my footsteps? Is there some shadowy, evil version of yourself lurking in the darkness? Because, if so, I wish you’d introduce us. I’m sure we could really shatter some furniture together, if you get my meaning.”
“Simon. Stop. This isn’t a joke.”
“But it is!” He sat back up so quickly he startled her. He liked doing that. He flew to his feet and pulled her with him by the upper arm. He dragged her to the stage. He could have used his strings, but sometimes he really did prefer the manual approach. Especially with Cora. “Do you want to see why?”
He dragged her onto the stage. She kicked and fought, trying to dig in her heels. But he was just that much stronger than she was.
When he stood amid the pile of his shattered dolls, he threw her to the ground. She fell to the wooden stage with a pained grunt. “Look at them, Cora. Look at them. My collection. My prizes. Each one came to me wanting to be set free. Their power could have kept me alive for centuries. But I destroyed them. Do you know why?”
“Because I haven’t chosen to kill Ringmaster?”
“Because it made me laugh!” He towered over her, using his considerable height to his advantage. He straddled her legs. She rolled onto her back to look up at him, those perfect and beautiful gray eyes wide and bright like the clouds in the sky.
Oh, the things I want to do to her…
“I destroyed them all. I consumed what was left of their decrepit little lives. I emptied the take-away bins in my refrigerator and threw the appliance out the door. And why did I do it all, my dear, sweet, wonderful Cora?” He sank to his knees, pinning her to the stage. She didn’t fight him or try to run. She knew it was pointless. He placed his palms to the stage on either side of