Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel (31 page)

“Yes, one years ago before the
incident. He volunteered for it, but afterwards he complained of feeling dizzy,
nauseous, and extremely weak. He couldn’t produce his gift. If it weakens us,
even momentarily, we’re in danger. Besides, there are always other
complications.”

“Complications?”

“Felix isn’t the only bad guy
out there. We don’t want anyone else taking a page out of his book.”

“That’s less than comforting.
Just so you know.”

He shrugged and took a gulp of
whiskey. A thought struck me.

“What happens after he achieves
his goal and becomes permanently gifted?” I asked.

Sheffield looked thoughtful as
he took in his smoke. “He wants to go public with our kind, which of course is
out of the question. But who’s to say if he becomes one of us, he doesn’t make
a billion dollars off of our gifts? People would find ways to use us as lab
rats. Military officials who know us have long been after us for defense
purposes. The government could attack or use our gifts as an excuse and without
proper control, a lot could go wrong. He wants to ruin us; he thinks we ruined
his life and wants revenge. Going public would certainly do that.”

“What would stop people from
attacking any of us in what they thought was self-defense?” I said.

He nodded. “They probably would.
Or they could all become gifted themselves and destroy one another. People
would despise Hardy’s plan and group us all together, think us monsters and
savages. They might try to kill us. There are reasons we stay hidden from
humans.”

“Sheffield, what happens if he
becomes gifted and wants more? If he’s obsessed, being one of us won’t be
enough. He’ll want to dominate everyone, abuse his power over the rest of us,”
I said. He couldn’t honestly stop at only being gifted. If he were as bad as he
sounded, he’d want to rule over whatever world he thought we occupied.

“I’ve also considered that
theory. I imagine that will take much more time after the initial permanence of
a gift. I suppose he’s always envied our world, our secrets. He will attack us
for his own strategies. I only wish I knew what gift he will choose. I don’t
know his final agenda.”

“Would he go for a physical gift
that can easily damage an area, like an Earthshaker or Telekinetic? Or a
something more along the lines of a Telepath or Shapeshifter?” I asked.

“He has expressed interest in
several, but only one in particular.”

“I’m sorry?”

“He wants you, to be a
Firestarter. He wants you for his own experiments, to make your gift his own,”
Sheffield replied. His mustache didn’t even flinch.

Chapter
26

I grabbed my whiskey glass and
took a large sip. It burned my throat; I gritted my teeth and kept a straight
face. I didn’t want to look like a pansy girl in front of my boss.

“I guess I should’ve seen that
coming. How do you know for sure?” I choked out.

“Felix knew Lenny and the kind
of gift he had. Felix was fascinated by our world and made no qualms about it.
He was especially interested in the Firestarter gift. Something about the idea
of throwing a fireball at your enemies thrilled him. He wanted your father’s
gift very badly. And after he met you…”

“He mentioned seeing me before.
I sure don’t remember him.”

“You were very young, but he
couldn’t believe your talent. You learned so fast, had such power even at five
and six years old. He knew you were special. He was interested in you.”

“Well, of course he was,” I
muttered. “So what, without my dad around, I’m his backup plan?”

“Lucy, why did your parents
leave the circus?”

“Well, Felix said it was to get
me away from you. My parents said it was so I could have whatever constitutes
normal teenage years. I kinda thought my mom just got tired of living on the
road. And yet, somehow, I now feel I’m wrong about both of those things.”

“Lenny knew Felix as I once did,
as a doctor willing to help those who were different. Felix knew your dad was
one of the most powerful Firestarters in the world and always said so when we
were together. He asked a lot of questions about your abilities, how they might
grow to be even better than your dad’s. Lenny confessed something about it
bothered him.”

“So…wait. Are you saying my dad
got us out of the circus because he was afraid Felix would kidnap me or
something?”

“After we heard he was
essentially stealing gifts and killing us off, your dad thought it would be
best to get you out. I wanted to keep your family in the Donovan Circus where I
thought you’d be surrounded by protection. But Lenny and your mom both thought
you were safer away from the show where there would be less chance of Felix
finding you in a random city. I think, once Felix snapped and went out on his
own, your power went to the back of his mind. But I think he’s begun to
consider you again.”

I sat there for a moment,
processed the information. If Sheffield was right, then the last thirteen or so
years were a lie. My parents hadn’t pulled me out for a normal life. They left
their family, their way of life because they thought I was in danger. I didn’t
know what to think.

“Why me?”

“He’s obsessed with the control
of fire. I’m not entirely clear on why.”

“His burns,” I said without
thinking. I looked at Sheffield, who only raised an eyebrow. “A long
relationship with a bully—it started with Felix being burned with a
magnifying glass. I saw the scars.”

Sheffield lowered his eyes for a
second. “That explains a lot.”

“How did he know where to find
me?” I asked.

“Felix contacted me when he
heard Lenny died. He asked me how you were and that’s when I came to offer you
a job. I half expected to see him at the funeral.”

“That is totally creepy.”

“Agreed. He knows you didn’t
come to us after that and I doubt he knew about your mother’s death.”

“But he knows I’m here now.”

“Everyone saw your gift your
first night here, with that show in the field. Marty seemed to think the bar
fight could have gotten out to his ears and obviously that was true. And of
course, you had your moment during the show the other day with the clowns; I’m
not entirely sure Felix didn’t have something to do with that. I think the
rabbit’s out of the hat, Lucy.”

“Boy, I have not done a great
job of being discreet,” I said to myself. Sheffield smiled wryly as he sipped
his drink.

“You said that I was here for
protection, “in every sense of the word.” What did you mean by that?” I asked.

“You already seem to suspect
your father’s relationship to this show.”

“You mean do I think my father
worked for you as a hit man? A little, yeah,” I replied. I couldn’t believe I
said it; I picked up my drink and took another awful sip to distract myself. Or
as punishment, I wasn’t sure which at this point.

“A hit man? No, Lucy. This show
went from a small business opportunity to protection for the gifted community.
People here are from all walks of life and that includes some less-than-ideal
pasts. We protect each other.”

“Where does my dad come into
this story?”

“Your dad, when he could, worked
for me as protection. When I refused employment to Felix, he threatened the
camp. Lenny urged others to join us for safety; he would stay here every so
often in case of an attack.”

“Was there ever one?”

“Two; one was some time after
Lenny got you out. Felix tried to get you out of hiding but your dad came here
instead. Felix was naïve—he thought it would be simple to get your
father’s blood for transference. Lenny was clearly no slouch and Felix’s stolen
Transportation power couldn’t take him. He’s no weaker than a truly gifted
individual, but he was far from full control with a newly acquired gift. He
would’ve had to kill Lenny to get his blood and it wasn’t possible.”

“When was the second attack?”

“The night Marty died. Felix was
here and it appears he found another Firestarter’s blood. That’s his gift, for
now at least.”

“Then he wouldn’t need me. He’d
want someone else, another gift,” I said.

“I believe he’d still want yours
above anyone else’s. I think he would use your power to create his permanent
gift. Felix knows your power is greater than most Firestarters in our world.”

A realization hit me and I felt
a dull weight hit my chest. “Marty died because of me.”

“I wouldn’t dwell on that. Marty
died because Felix is a cruel, uncontrollable human being.”

“I’m definitely a factor,
though.”

Sheffield opened his mouth to
protest and then shut it again. There was an uncomfortable silence.

“Please tell me my father died
of an actual heart attack and not some weird science project Felix concocted,”
I begged.

“Lenny Sullivan died of a heart
attack. Felix had no hand in his death,” Sheffield confirmed. I breathed a deep
sigh of relief. If that had been the case, I would’ve splintered into a million
pieces.

“I don’t know how Felix would be
able to simply come in here and take Marty. Everyone here knows one another.
Strangers aren’t welcome,” I mused, changing the subject.

“It might be as simple as he
paid for a ticket to get in. People aren’t on the lookout for him,” Sheffield
said. He finished off his drink and smoothed out his mustache.

“It would be that easy for him
to get near us, to ruin our equipment?”

“He could wear a disguise or
even be a Shapeshifter, for all I know. I honestly can’t say.”

“What was Marty doing all the
way out there in the parking lot, anyways?”

“Marty’s body was left there. I
hadn’t seen him since the night before, after the show. I don’t know how an
Unbreakable was kidnapped but I believe Felix took him, harnessed the
Unbreakable power for himself, and brought Marty back to kill him on the
grounds. Marty was defenseless without his gift, although I can’t say that a
fireball wouldn’t have killed him either way. Felix is cruel enough that he
would try to burn him from the inside out.”

I shuddered. “Why? Why risk
bringing him back to the grounds and killing him?”

“It’s a statement,” Sheffield
replied flatly.

“That no one is safe,” I said,
more to myself than him. “When he takes gifts, is it permanent, like yours? Is
that his idea of a cure?”

“No, I’m almost positive it
doesn’t work that way. To my knowledge, it only weakens you for a period of
time. You’re powerless until some time passes and your gift comes back. As a
Collector, I choose to give your gift back. His isn’t natural.”

“So I can’t let him get near me
or I’m shit outta luck if he takes my firepower.”

“As far as I know, it only takes
a syringe.”

“That’s it? One syringe can take
my entire gift?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“It’s Hardy’s own creation. The
few he tested on said it was no regular syringe; it had a double chamber, with
some sort of serum inside that he injects as he takes your blood. It prevented
use of a gift, thus the idea he’s giving his victims humanity. I’m hoping it’s
only that they didn’t survive long enough to get it back.”

I grimaced at the thought;
Sheffield’s finger traced the rim of his glass longingly and I caught him
glance at his desk drawer.

“I haven’t the faintest idea how
he developed any of it,” Sheffield finished.

I sat back in disbelief. I knew
immediately I never wanted to see that needle. The image of it made me pop my
knuckles before I could stop myself.

“Do you think Felix framed me on
purpose?” I asked.

“I’ve wondered if he wasn’t
trying to draw you out. That if he did frame you, you’d go looking for answers
or somehow end up at his doorstep.”

“If that’s true, he was right
about the answers part. I should know what’s happening around me. Like you
said, I’ve been gone from this world for a while, so I have lots of questions.
I can understand why you wouldn’t tell me all of this my first day here, but I
need to know,” I said.

“Lenny wanted to tell you, but I
know he didn’t want to put that kind of stress on you. You were a kid and he
didn’t want to spoil that. His death was unexpected, to say the least. Your
mother told me she would explain everything to you after that.”

“She was a wreck. There’s no way
she could’ve handled that. Besides, she probably didn’t think I’d come back to
show business. I guess she thought I’d figure out another plan and not have to
worry about him,” I defended her. She had so loved our “normal” life; I
couldn’t bear to fault her. Now our nightly movie dates and hopes for fun
teenage experiences made sense. She wanted me to have another life so I could
avoid getting hurt in this one.

“Miranda is not at fault. I just
wish you were hearing it from both parents instead of me. This is not going to
be an easy road.”

“Is there ever one?” My voice
sounded dull and emotionless.

Sheffield cleared his throat. “I
think we should call it a night. Sorry to throw so much at you.”

“I’d rather know and be
prepared,” I responded. “Is there more to the story?”

“There usually is,” he said,
“but we’ve got a show to do. I’ll think strategy later.”

“So there
will
be a strategy?”

“Gotta be, right? That’s another
thing about you and that protection thing. You
are
part of the protection here.”

My eyebrows shot up into my
scalp. “What’s that now?”

“You’ve got an aggressively
powerful gift. You should use it to our advantage.”

“You have such a confidence in
my abilities. I’m worried you’re overestimating me. I’m not my father.”

“You’re better than him. You can
handle it.” He held his head high as I looked down at my hands.

“I couldn’t really handle it the
other week at the bar,” I mumbled. My ears burned in shame; I had never
experienced anything like that. I hoped never to do so again.