Page 25 of Blood & Ice (Princess Procedural #3/Haven Hollow #41)

(read on for a sample)

Dark clouds rolled through the sky, casting eerie shadows over the terrain.

Even though the conductor announced it was midday, that was hard to believe, given the grayness of the sky outside. I was used to the clear, sunny skies of Iowa. Or maybe I’d deluded myself into thinking summer would last forever—and that autumn wasn’t already enveloping everything in its cold, dreary grasp.

“All disembarking for Tanana Riverfront, please watch your step.” The conductor’s voice carried over the squeal of the train as it finally rolled to a stop.

I stood up, my heart racing as the buzz of sheer excitement coursed through my veins. I disembarked from the stuffy train and stood on the age-worn wood platform, poised to take the first step toward the fulfillment of my lifelong dream.

Fingering a few strands of loose, blond curls that had slid out from my ponytail, I glanced around the station for a familiar face.

“Nothing but a sea of strangers,” I said to myself on a sigh. A handful of weary travelers disembarked from the train, hustling to places unknown to all but themselves.

Shifting my bag to my other shoulder, I set off across the platform. It was only a mile away; or at least, that’s what Amelia had said in one of her many letters.

Cirque du Noir .

The name tingled on my lips, pulling them into a slight smile. The circus . The only place I’d ever felt inexplicably drawn to. It had been dreams of the circus that had helped me escape the humdrum life of a farmer’s daughter growing up in the middle of Podunk, America.

It was visions of the circus that helped me settle into sleep each night—dreams of leading a life full of excitement and adventure. The most thrilling way to see the world and escape the unremarkable existence I’d been leading for the past nineteen years.

And, now, that’s exactly what I was about to do…

One more deep breath and I marched toward the train station exit, the weight of my meager belongings suspended entirely on my right shoulder.

Tanana Riverfront was the sort of place you could pass through without realizing it, as it housed only a tiny handful of shops and eateries. It was no more than a steppingstone to a final destination. Occasionally, my family and I passed through small towns like this one when we had to pick up supplies or livestock. My father used to say, “Don’t blink or you’ll miss it!” as the yoked oxen pulled our work wagon. At the time, I thought how awful it must be to live in a town that folks passed every day—a town where no one ever stayed long enough to learn people’s names or remember their faces.

Regardless, Amelia and I had agreed to meet at the Tanana Riverfront train station. But, now, there were only four people who remained at the station and none of those people were Amelia. Her train had been scheduled to arrive twenty minutes before mine. Maybe it was late… I plopped myself down on an empty bench and waited, swinging my feet back and forth as I listened to the heavy chugs of coal-fired engines rolling down the tracks.

After ten minutes, I decided to head for the circus grounds. After all, Amelia and I had agreed in our last telegram that if our trains were delayed; we’d just meet at the circus instead.

I walked around the entire train station, which wasn’t very big, to make sure she wasn’t waiting in another area, but she was nowhere to be found. An elderly man in a red cap and vest sat quietly humming to himself in the ticket booth. Other than him, the place was empty.

I adjusted my heavy bag on my other shoulder and headed for the front of the train depot. Luckily, the circus was within walking distance of the train station.

As I walked, the dark clouds overhead rolled across the bleak, gray sky. In the distance, the faint silhouette of a huge tent peeked over the tops of the old oak trees lining the street.

The big top.

It had to be less than a mile out, planted attractively in waving fields of yellowing prairie grass.

As I stepped onto the dirt path leading through the field and fixed my gaze on the huge tent, an icy shudder rolled down my back and gave me cause for pause.

Why in the world was I suddenly feeling nervous, scared even?

Perhaps it was just the ominous feeling of a gloomy day, when it seemed like the landscape was just waiting for a storm to strike. Whatever it was, I shook off the feeling and focused, instead, on the adventure that awaited me.

A new life.

Setting out toward the tent, golden fields waved in the autumn breeze, giving way to a distant forest so thickly strewn with trees, light barely penetrated the canopy. I hoped to see Amelia walking somewhere ahead of me, but no such luck.

Despite the short walk, the large bag I carried, which had seemed manageable at the start, became oppressively heavier as I plodded along. But the thought of seeing my best friend after so many years apart kept a spring in my step—well, that and the thought of the circus itself.

Amelia and I had met in primary school, becoming instantly inseparable and united in our dream to join the circus one day. We were forced to part when her father, the manager of our local train station, was transferred to another station in Nebraska.

Our kindred love of the circus had never waned, though, and here we were, in the autumn of 1930, finally manifesting our dream… together.

As I walked, I tried to absorb all the incredible sights I passed. A dazzling rainbow of tents and stalls were scattered in casual rows leading up to the main circus tent, which dominated the skyline.

People strolled in and out of the tents, busily tending to this or that. The more I watched them, the more I realized that no matter how hard I tried to take in all the details of my surroundings, I couldn’t. Strangely, the people almost appeared faceless, their features obscured by shadows from the clouds above—they appeared as streaks of skin color, leading into a bright red shirt here or a blue one there.

Every so often, I could make out a pair of eyes, or a crooked nose on one of the passersby, but when I looked again, they were blurry. It was like I was trying to study faces through a thick fog or trying to recall them from a distant memory.

I blinked a few times and then took a deep breath as I forced myself into believing this was simply a trick of my eyes—or that of my mind. I’d been traveling on the train for a very long time and hadn’t gotten much sleep. Clearly, my mind was playing with the images referred to it by my eyes.

Much to my relief, folks began to appear more clearly the closer I came to the big top.

I could breathe a little more easily now and as I watched, I even felt a smirk take over my lips as a trio of clowns juggled balls and rings as they walked past me. Next was a fire-eater who carried lit sticks between his fingers, and as I turned a corner, a woman stood before me with a bright green snake wrapped around the length of her arm. My skin crawled when the viper slid across her shoulders. I skittered off to the side of the path, giving a wide berth to this odd-looking woman and her exotic pet.

After watching the snake lady enter the big top, I turned around and bumped right into a stranger’s chest. All I saw was a long, curling orange-red beard as I pushed myself away from his chest a little too hard, trying to escape the tickle of whiskers in my nose, and lost my balance. As I started to go down, he reached out and grabbed my arm, preventing me from hitting the ground.

“I—I’m sorry,” I apologized breathlessly as I looked up into his face.

But when I finally caught a glimpse of his features, I felt my mouth drop open in shock because the man who’d kept me from falling was actually a woman! A bearded woman.

“Oh, it’s all right, hon!” The feminine voice took me completely by surprise. The beard wasn’t any hallucination, and it was attached to the woman’s face, which was round, with pink cheeks and a wide grin of lots of teeth. Her hair— all her hair—was a brilliant display of ginger curls.

“I…” Shaking my head, I tried to reorient myself. “I’m really sorry.”

The gold sequins on her exotic, purple dress shimmered in the light as the woman laughed deeply. “Aw, it’s fine. I’m a big girl, love! I can take a few whacks to the ol’ chest.” She held out her hand once more, taking mine and giving it a firm shake. “The name’s Halfrieda. I’m known ‘round here as ‘The Bearded Lady’.”

My hand was dwarfed by Halfrieda’s warm grasp. I’d never seen such large hands on a woman before. Or a beard, for that matter, but her deep chuckle and jovial smile filled me with comfort, and I found myself smiling back at her.

“Hi, Halfrieda,” I said. “Nice to meet you.”

“Whaddya call yerself, love?”

“Um, B-Bindi. My name is Bindi.”

“Bindi, Bindi…” Halfrieda played with my name for a moment before her eyes lit up. “Oh, Bindi! Laurent mentioned you’d be comin’ sometime today.”

“L-Laurent?” I wasn’t sure who this Laurent character was or how he knew I was coming. Then I guessed this had to be Amelia’s doing—she must have contacted the circus before we arrived? Or, at least, before I arrived?

“Laurent’s the ringmaster of the Cirque du Noir , Laurent Elilchelvan,” Halfrieda clarified. “He seemed awful excited ta meetcha.”

I was puzzled. “He did?”

Halfrieda nodded. “He’s always lookin’ fer new talent, ya know?” She indicated the big tent behind us and added, “You’ll find him in there, practicin’ his act fer later tonight.”

“His act?”

She nodded again. “He’s not only our ringmaster but also an illusionist. He’ll be the only one wearin’ a top hat.” Before I could respond to that, Halfrieda broke into a heavy chuckle. “Yep, he always wears a top hat, even when he rehearses. Claims it helps him git inta character.” Halfrieda snorted, the crow’s feet crinkling at the corners of her eyes. “He’s a strange one, Laurent is. But he treats us good an’ he’s fair.”

“I didn’t realize my friend told him we were coming,” I said, still slightly puzzled by that fact. “By the way, you haven’t run into a girl about my age named Amelia, have you? She’s a juggler with long, red hair, similar to yours actually.”

Halfrieda stroked her beard. “Can’t say as I have.” Then she looked me up and down, a sparkle coming to her eye. “Didja both come to try out for our little troupe of actors?”

I nodded.

“There ain’t but two things in the whole world that gits Laurent excited,” she continued. “Money and new acts.” Then she chewed on her lower lip. “An’ saltwater taffy, too, I guess. He’s got a right sweet tooth, that man does. Gits giddier than a horse on the prairie whenever we go to the piers.”

Halfrieda winked as I smiled. Strange though Halfrieda was, I immediately liked her—she was one of those people who had no trouble talking to anyone—one of those people where words never seemed to stick in their throats like they did mine. I imagined she made friends wherever she went.

“Well, if Laurent is expecting me, I don’t want to keep him waiting,” I said, thinking Amelia could already be inside the circus tent, waiting for me there. Along with Laurent.

Halfrieda’s gaze followed mine to the big tent. “Well, if ya’d like some company, I’ll be happy ta introduce you to him, love.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your routine.” Although I found her offer comforting, it was a bit embarrassing to need an escort, and I began to feel like a lost child. “I’m sure I can find my way.”

Halfrieda peered at me curiously. “Well, all right then. I’ll leave you to yer business. Nice ta meetcha, Bindi. Good luck with yer audition. As we say in the business, break a leg!”

I laughed. “Thank you, Halfrieda.”

She gave me another of those genuinely happy grins. “I hope our paths cross again real soon.”

“I hope so, too,” I said, and meant it. I waved as Halfrieda turned away, leaving me alone once more. My heart skipped a beat, and I prayed Amelia was inside the big tent, waiting for me, planning a dramatic reveal once I entered. Regardless, I was here to audition, and Bindi Bairam wasn’t one to ever run late.

With a deep breath, I started toward the open flaps of the tent, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach.