Carnival of Death by Carnival of Death (v5.0) (mobi)

knife. Serena kept it sharp because she liked to have everything in good order. She had a nice sharpening steel, and she went into her tidy little kitchen, took the steel and the knife out of the knife drawer, and began to draw the knife blade slowly up and down the steel, honing the edge to a fine sharpness. She liked the sound of steel on steel almost as much as she was going to like the sound of the screams she’d be hearing later on.

    The carnival opened at noon on Saturday, and Matt was uneasy and watchful as he moved among the crowds. The sun was bright, the sky was blue, the humidity was low, and the air was cool. A perfect day. The people laughed, joked, played the games, took in the shows, and ate cotton candy and corny dogs. They didn’t mind the little bit of mud from last night’s rain. They didn’t have a care, or if they had one, they’d left it at home when they came to the carnival. The cheerful music from the rides at the end of the midway matched their mood.
    Matt’s talk with Gloria had left him feeling worried and uneasy. The dreams he’d had later that night after he’d finally fallen asleep had only made things worse. He couldn’t remember them, but he’d awakened feeling sad, empty, and apprehensive. He was sure that Mr. Dark had been involved in all the strange things that had happened, but he didn’t know how or why.
    Maybe everything would be all right after all. Maybe Mr. Dark had done all that he intended to do.
    Matt almost laughed at his moment of hopeless optimism. He hadn’t seen the physical signs of decay on anyone yet, but he knew that Mr. Dark was around and that he wasn’t finished.
    Because nobody had died yet.
    But maybe now, between his sight and Gloria’s, he finally had an advantage over Mr. Dark…and could actually stop whatever it was from happening.
    As Matt neared Gloria’s tent, he saw that she hadn’t opened for business. He didn’t know if that was bad or good. A dozen or so people stood outside the tent, milling around, talking among themselves. Matt heard enough to know that they were wondering when the fortune-teller would show up or if something had happened to her, but they weren’t worried. They just wanted to have their palms read because they’d heard that the gypsy was the real thing, someone who could really see into the future. They smiled and talked and waited, their moods light.
    Everybody was having a fine time at Cap’n Bob’s Stardust Carnival.
     
    Gloria didn’t want to be Madame Zora anymore. She wanted to go somewhere far away and forget all about telling fortunes, true ones or false ones or any fortunes at all.
    That wouldn’t do, however. She knew there was no escaping whatever was to come. She swathed herself in her skirt and blouse and robes and scarves and left her trailer and books behind, wondering if she’d ever see them again. She couldn’t see her own future at all.
    Maybe she didn’t have one.
    She could see something about Matt, though, and while it wasn’t clear to her, she knew that she had to tell him something and that he wasn’t going to like it. Beyond that, she had no idea what might happen, other than that it was going to be bad. Very bad, indeed.

CHAPTER NINE
    Sue Jean met Madison at the entrance of the carnival. Sue Jean sniffed.
    “You’re wearing your mother’s perfume,” she said.
    Madison blushed. “I thought Freddie might like it.”
    “Oh, I’m sure he will.” Sue Jean smiled. “Is he meeting you inside?”
    “At the ringtoss. He’s going to win me a bear.”
    “Great! You deserve it. There’s something I want to show you before we go in, though.”
    “What is it?”
    “It’s a surprise,” Sue Jean said, taking Madison’s hand. “Come on.”
    At first she thought Madison might pull away, but Sue Jean gave her a big smile and clasped her fingers with a friendly squeeze. Madison smiled too and came right along.
    “What’s the surprise?” she asked again.
    “You’ll see. You’ll