Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel by Liz Long Page B

working to improve. It takes
a lot of concentration and tires me out kinda quick,” I answered.
    “That was amazing,” Keegan said.
“What’s the trick?”
    “Maybe someday I’ll show you,” I
teased.
    A broad grin crossed his face to
show dimples and my insides melted a little. “I hope so,” he said.
    “Thanks,” I answered. “I’m not
really that great at it; I’ve seen my father do incredible things with fire.
But I hope I can get better.”
    “You’ve got real talent as it
is,” Keegan replied.
    “Yeah,” Nikolas agreed. “You
might be the best one here.”
    For a second, I thought I
detected a hint of jealousy. Before I could confirm it, the moment was gone and
Nikolas gave me a high-five and a beer.
    “This means we have a referee
for our matches, Keegan,” Nikolas said. “Lucy can control the fireballs that
get out of our reach so we can focus more on each other.”
    “Good idea. Now we need to get
her to agree to a match with us once in a while,” Keegan said with a grin in my
direction.
    Finley sat down next to Bianca
and motioned to the seats next to him. “C’mon Lucy, sit. It’s the last night we
can really relax ‘til the next city.”
    I took a seat next to Delia.
Keegan sat down on the other side of me, our arms almost touching. We sat close
to hear one another; a warm glow from the bonfire doused everyone. I breathed a
sigh of relief. It wasn’t that I had impressed everyone there and proved my
worth. My hard work and all those years of practice were finally showing. I
could belong here all on my own.
    “We meeting Angel tonight?”
Finley asked.
    “We can visit the G-Top another
night,” Nikolas said. I gave him a puzzled look and he added, “It’s where some
of us hang out. Beer, cards, cigars, you know?”
    “Good idea. I think Lucy needs
to get introduced in increments instead of all at once,” Delia said. “We do not
want any of those malakas scaring her.”
    “Any who?” I asked.
    “Malaka!” the group replied
together with gusto.
    I cocked an eyebrow. They were a
little cheesy, but I liked silly. Finley spoke up first.
    “It’s basically Delia’s Greek
word for idiots. She says it a lot, so get used to it.”
    “It’ll become your favorite word
before long,” Bianca chimed in.
    “It simply means that one is an
asshole,” Delia explained. “But sometimes we use it with each other and it is
just a term of affection. Like, um, “dude” or “buddy” or something, but it may
only be used with good friends. It is rude with outsiders.”
    I nodded and took a sip of beer.
Malaka. I liked the way it rolled off the tongue. Bianca and Delia spoke softly
to one another; Brooklyn and Nikolas lit cigarettes and discussed new tattoos.
I stared at the fire and became mesmerized; I hadn’t felt this calm in a while,
especially not in the last week.
    I let myself think about my
mother for only a second and my heart ached. I already missed her laugh. I
wasn’t ready; perhaps I never would be. I tore my gaze away from the flames to
look at the others.
    “So what now, we sit and tell
ghost stories around the campfire?” I asked.
    “Why, is that what humans do?”
Delia asked.
    “Not all of them, but some.
Especially when they go camping. Scary stories in the woods creep people out.”
    “There are plenty of true scary
stories. We don’t have to make up ghost stories,” Brooklyn said. She stared
daggers at the bonfire and the shadows on her face made her comment sound
sinister.
    “What do you mean?” I said.
    “None of them are here, but
plenty of gifted aren’t what you’d call friendly,” Nikolas said. “There was the
Transporter who tried to take one of our acrobats because he grew obsessed with
her. He fucking stalked her.”
    “And the one who tried to spread
disease through our group to get to Sheffield after he couldn’t join us,”
Keegan said. “Lots of flu that week.”
    “Or there’s…” Finley shot a
quick look at Brooklyn. “…Dr.