The Faire (Harrow Faire #5) - Kathryn Ann Kingsley Page 0,96
Louis put his laptop down on the kitchenette table and opened the lid, frantically tapping the space bar to wake it up.
“It’s December, Louis. Nobody visits Wisconsin in December unless they’ve got family there. You’re insane.” She had never seen Louis impatient for anything, but it looked like he was about to explode.
“But…that’s exactly it.” He turned the screen around. “I do have family there.”
Cora had to do a double take. The face plastered on the screen, even though it was illustrated, looked remarkably familiar. Down to the eyes. One blue, one brown. “Come marvel at the mansion of the Impossible Julian Strande!”
Cora just stared at it in stunned silence. “Well…okay, then. Wisconsin it is.”
Rudy sniffed the air. Someone was prowling around. Someone he didn’t recognize. They were stopped for the night outside of Nashville. He had already had to chase away a few hooligans looking to spray paint the side of the trucks or break some windows.
He would have let out a few of his more vicious animals, but Cora had made it very clear neither he, nor his creatures, were allowed to eat people inside of Harrow Faire.
So he was only allowed to frighten.
But he was very good at scaring people. He jumped along the tops of the trucks and converted boxcars silently. As a half-wolf, he made no noise. He found the stranger at one of his own cars. He could hear the animals inside moving about restlessly, smelling the unfamiliar scent.
One person. On their own.
With bolt cutters in their hand.
Rudy landed over them without so much as shaking the truck or making enough of a bump to alert the vandal.
It was a woman.
She snapped the chain and pulled it loose, putting the length of metal and the lock quietly on the ground.
When she went for the handle, Rudy growled.
The woman froze. She looked up at him. Amber eyes suddenly went wide, framed by hair that was almost black it was so dark in the light.
He lowered himself, digging his claws through the metal sheeting of the truck, puncturing the steel without any effort. The woman took a single step back. Then a second one.
And then she smashed him across the face with the bolt cutters like they were a baseball bat and she was swinging for the stands.
The blow was jarring more than it was painful. Oh, it stung, as she got him right in the eye. He was bleeding. But he couldn’t care less. She had struck the first blow. I get to kill her now.
He chased after her, eager for the hunt, snarling and snapping at her heels as she ran. Her gait was strange. A little uneven. But he couldn’t care less. Blood. Meat. Kill.
Rudy chased her into a corner.
His prey backed against the wall, seeing no escape. She held up the bolt cutters like a baseball bat. “Stay the fuck away from me, y’hear? I don’t care what kinda mutant shit they injected you with, puppy. I don’t wanna hurt you, but I will.”
He prowled closer to her, lowering himself to all fours, and still he was almost as tall as she was. He was enormous in this form. Easily twelve feet tall if he stood straight. He could feel saliva dripping from his maw. He was so eager to snap her into tiny pieces.
“Rudy. Enough.”
He whirled and snarled at the intruder. Cora. He opened his jaw in threat, showing his teeth to her.
“I get it. You’re pissed.” The Contortionist pulled her coat tighter. She was in sandals and looked to still be in her pajamas. The leader of Harrow Faire looked over at the terrified woman with the bolt cutters. “The animals here aren’t abused, you know. I appreciate the sentiment. But they’re all well-loved and cared for. You should see what Rudy here did to that PetSmart in Atlanta.”
Rudy growled low.
Cora eyed him coldly. “I said enough.”
The tone in her voice made him flinch. He slammed his teeth shut with a snap. He would obey. But it didn’t mean he was going to be happy about it.
“I know you have lousy manners Rudy, but really…” Cora smiled knowingly. “Is that any way to greet our new Ringmaster?”
Family.
It isn’t who you’re born with. It isn’t who raised you. It’s who you choose. It’s your clan, your friends, the people you would die for before you let them come to harm. It is who you laugh with, cry with, and who you’d help hide a body if they asked.
It also doesn’t mean they’re good people.
I’ve come to realize over the years that “good” and “evil” don’t exist. They’re fake words given to fake concepts that are supposed to help us sleep well at night. So we can wag a finger at people we disagree with and say their actions were wrong.
Do people exist who do evil things? Yup. They do. I should know. Trust me. I’m probably one myself. Why?
Because I take from the world to help my Family. I help them when they are in need. I smile when they smile. They are the only things in this world that matter to me. And I would destroy anyone—including you—if I thought you might hurt them.
That probably makes me one of those afore-mentioned “evil” people. Ask me if I care. Why doesn’t it matter?
Because I know you would do the same thing for the people you care about. For the people you call Family. For the ones you really love.
And if you wouldn’t? If you wouldn’t shoot a stranger if it meant saving the life of someone who mattered to you?
Then I pity you. And I think it’s high time you find a new Family.
If all the lights of waking day,
Have only ever led astray,
The hopes and dreams you prayed to keep,
And made them naught but wayward sheep.
I say to you, that freedom calls.
Find your home where darkness falls.
Fear not the voice that calls you here,
To Strongmen, Clowns, and Puppeteers.
Come take your place here at our side,
And reclaim all you’ve been denied.
For Family is where we can find,
What we cannot leave behind.
Come one, come all,
To Harrow Faire.
And greet your sweetest nightmare.
-Cora Waite
Fin.
Thank you for reading.
The Family
0. The Contortionist
1. The Magician
2. The Flyer
3. The Aerialist Vacant.
4. The Ringmaster Vacant.
5. The Catcher
6. The Twins Vacant.
7. The Zookeeper
8. The Strongman Vacant.
9. The Bearded Lady
10. The Juggler
11. The Firebreather
12. The Rigger Vacant.
13. The Clown Vacant.
14. The Seamstress
15. The Puppeteer
16. The Soothsayer Vacant.
17. The Diva
18. The Barker
19. The Mechanic
20. The Maestro
21. The Faire
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Also by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Harrow Faire:
The Contortionist
The Puppeteer
The Clown
The Ringmaster
The Faire
Immortal Soul:
Heart of Dracula
Curse of Dracula
The Impossible Julian Strande:
Illusions of Grandeur
Ghosts & Liars
The Cardinal Winds:
Steel Rose
Burning Hope
The Masks of Under:
King of Flames
King of Shadows
Queen of Dreams
King of Blood
King of None
Queen of All
Halfway Between:
Shadow of Angels
Blood of Angels
Fall of Angels
About the Author
Kat has always been a storyteller.
With ten years in script-writing for performances on both the stage and for tourism, she has always been writing in one form or another. When she isn’t penning down fiction, she works as Creative Director for a company that designs and builds large-scale interactive adventure games. There, she is the lead concept designer, handling everything from game and set design, to audio and lighting, to illustration and script writing.
Also on her list of skills are artistic direction, scenic painting and props, special effects, and electronics. A graduate of Boston University with a BFA in Theatre Design, she has a passion for unique, creative, and unconventional experiences.