Page 11 of Chaos Carnival (Cirque de Sanguine #2)

Chapter 10: Phantom Masquerade

Tess

I eased the door open, and the carnival's eerie music drifted in, a twisted melody that set my teeth on edge. Maverick's breath tickled my neck as he pressed close behind me.

“Clear,” he whispered, his fingers brushing my hip.

His touch caused a shiver to run through me, nothing to do with fear. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” His voice held that infuriating smirk.

“You know exactly what.”

We crept down the hall, past garish posters advertising Ivan's attractions—contortionists in impossible poses, fire-breathers with demonic eyes, and women who promised to “read your darkest desires.” Each step brought another wave of his odor, hatred and ozone.

A door creaked somewhere ahead. We froze.

Footsteps approached, accompanied by the jingle of keys.

He pulled me tighter, backing us into an alcove behind a grotesque statue. My heart hammered in my ribs. His arms tightened around my waist.

“Maverick,” I hissed.

“Would you rather get caught?” His chest rumbled against my back.

The footsteps came and passed. I exhaled slowly, trying to ignore how perfectly I fit alongside him.

“We should check the basement level. Those cages we saw earlier—“

“Could be where he's keeping her.” Maverick's voice grew serious. “But the binding runes down there are strong. If we're not careful—“

“I don't care about careful. Every minute we waste, Addie's in danger, because of me.”

His hand caught mine as I started forward. “Hey. This isn't your fault.”

“Like hell it isn't.” I yanked away, but his grip held firm. “She's my best friend. I dragged her into this world of monsters and—“

“And she chose to stay. Just like I chose you, too.”

The raw honesty in his voice made me pause. Behind us, carnival music played on, a twisted soundtrack to our hunt. But for a moment, all I could focus on was the way his golden eyes held mine, fierce and certain.

A scream echoed from below, shattering the moment.

Addie's.

I bolted toward the sound, Maverick's footsteps right behind me. The carnival music grew louder as we descended the stairs, warping into something that scraped my nerves like fingernails on chalkboard.

“Slow down,” Maverick grabbed my elbow. “Could be a trap-”

“I don't care.” I wrenched free.

We burst through a set of double doors into darkness. Moonlight filtered through high windows, casting silver strips across rows of empty seats. The spotlight on stage blazed, harsh and white.

My breath caught.

Addie twirled center stage, her movements liquid grace. Too graceful. Her arms flowed like water, spine arching at impossible angles. The costume she wore—all black silk and crimson ribbons—made her look like a broken ballerina doll. Beautiful and wrong.

“Holy shit,” Maverick breathed.

She pirouetted, faster and faster. Her eyes glowed white, empty of everything that made her Addie. No spark of humor. No warmth. Just blank light pouring from her sockets.

“We have to stop this.” I started forward, but Maverick caught me.

“Wait.” His hands slid to my waist, pulling me back against his chest. “Look at the floor.”

Binding runes circled the stage, pulsing with sickly green light. One wrong step, and we'd be trapped too.

“Fuck.” I leaned into him without thinking, seeking an anchor. “What has he done to her?”

“Nothing permanent. Not yet.” His breath stirred my hair. “We'll get her back before he does.”

“You don't know that.”

“I know you . You're too stubborn to fail.”

A splintered laugh escaped me. “Flattery won't help you Mav.”

On stage, Addie kept dancing, movements growing more frenzied. The spotlight cast her shadow, huge against the back wall—a dark creature with too many limbs.

Her laughter sent a sharp tingle up my neck as she danced in the spotlight. It wasn't her laugh; it was thin and high-pitched, contorted into something cruel. I held my breath, willing her to snap out of it, but her blank eyes glowed brighter, her movements more erratic.

“We have to get closer.” My voice came out harsh. “What if he's controlling her through those runes?”

Maverick's fingers intertwined with mine. “We'll need a distraction.”

I pulled him toward the side of the stage, keeping out of sight as we crept along the wall. The binding runes fizzed with each step, sending whispers of warning to me.

We stopped beneath a window, moonlight bathing us in cold light. Addie's laughter rang out again, sending a creeping sense of wrongness under my skin.

“Ready?” Maverick murmured.

I nodded, bracing myself. Together, we stepped onto the stage, skirting the edge of the runes. The air sparked with energy, but Maverick's presence steadied me.

Slowly, we made our way toward Addie. Her gaze fixed on us, but her expression remained vacant. Her body moved to its own chaotic rhythm.

“Addie,” I crooned, willing her to recognize my voice. “It's me, Tess. We're here to take you home.”

She cocked her head, still moving in that mystical dance. “Home?” Her voice was distant, hollow. “I am home. With my master. My mate.”

Pain sliced through me at her words, a sharp twist in my gut. Maverick tensed beside me, a silent expletive escaping him.

“You don't mean that,” I said, reaching out toward her. “You're not his mate. He's controlling you, Addie.”

She froze, mid-spin, laughter pealing through the auditorium. Her eyes blazed with an unearthly light. “Controlling me? Oh, Tess. At least I chose Ivan, unlike some people I know who had to be claimed by force.”

My hand fell to my side. The words stung, striking at the heart of my fears. Maverick's eyes darkened, the intensity of his gaze softening the blow.

Addie skipped forward, her visage stretching tall behind her. “Don't look at me with those sad eyes, Tess. My master adores me.” She twirled, her movements suddenly graceful and deliberate, a ballerina once more. “He gives me everything I desire.”

“Watch!” She grabbed knives from a nearby table, their blades glinting in the spotlight. “He’s taught me such glorious things.”

She began juggling them, faster and faster. No safety measures. Each throw brought the blades closer to her exposed skin.

“Addie, stop!”

“The pain makes it real.” She caught a blade between her teeth, eyes still that empty white. “The blood makes it pure.”

One wrong move, and she'd be sliced open. But Addie danced on, her back arched, arms flowing through the air.

“Stop this, Addie!” I pleaded, trying to break through the glaze in her eyes. “You're not yourself. Fight it.”

She laughed, the sound grating my nerves. “Why would I want to? Ivan sees me. He truly sees me. He chose me, and now I'm his.” She twirled, the knife flashing dangerously close to her skin. “He completes me, Tess. Fills the emptiness inside.”

“That's not true, Addie. Please.” I stepped forward again. “Remember that time we got kicked out of that bar in Boston? When you started that karaoke riot?”

“Memories are clouds.” She spun, knives dancing. “Ivan burned them away and made me new. At least he wanted me.” Her empty eyes fixed on me. “Unlike you. Always fighting, always running. But I surrendered, and now I'm perfect.”

“You're my best friend.” My voice cracked. “Please.”

She laughed, high and wrong. “Best friends share everything. Should I share how he tastes? How he-”

“Enough,” barked Maverick.

I flinched, her words striking deep. Maverick took my hand, and squeezed tight, drawing strength from his touch.

Addie's vacant gaze flitted between us, and for a fleeting moment, the haze in her eyes cracked, revealing a glimmer of the friend I knew. Then, it was gone, replaced by cold determination.

“The moon drinks silver tears,” Addie sang, resuming her dance. “The shadows eat the light. He's coming for you both. Coming to make you perfect, too.”

I buried my face into Maverick's chest, unable to watch anymore. His heartbeat thundered against my cheek, matching my own racing pulse.

“We can't leave her like this.” My voice came apart, brittle and uneven, as I watched Addie continue her unrelenting dance. Maverick's arm tightened around my waist.

“If we grab her now, those binding runes could kill us all.” His warm breath kissed my ear. “And you know Ivan's waiting for exactly that.”

I turned in his arms, jabbing a finger at his chest. “So what's your brilliant plan? Stand here and watch while she slices herself into sausage meat?”

“Always so dramatic.” He caught my hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “We need backup. Stone can break those runes, Lux can—“

“By then it could be too late.” I yanked my hand away, but he pulled me closer.

“Getting yourself killed won't help her.”

“Neither will your overprotective bullshit.”

His golden eyes darkened. “Overprotective? You're the one rushing in half-cocked—“

“Half-cocked?” I pressed closer, voice low. “That's rich coming from the seraph who can't keep his hands to himself during a rescue mission.”

“You weren't complaining in that trailer.” His fingers tightened on my hip.

“Focus, Maverick.”

“I am focused.” His gaze sharpened. “On keeping you alive.”

Behind us, Addie's laughter rang out. “Such pretty lies you tell each other. My master says devotion is just another chain.”

I flinched. Maverick's jaw tightened. “Back up,” he said firmly. “Or we risk losing you both.”

“Fine.” I stepped back, hating that he was right. “But if anything happens to her while we're gone—“

“It won't.” He caught my face between his hands. “Trust me.”

He caught my eye and I paused, swallowed. “I do,” I whispered. The admission cost me. “That's what scares me.”

The worst part was how much I wanted to lean into him, to let him shield me from all of this. It terrified me, this trust I'd developed in him. Every rational part of me screamed that I should run—that letting anyone have this much power over me again was asking for heartbreak. But I'd seen how far he'd go to protect me, felt the fierce certainty of his devotion. In any other situation, I'd have walked away, protected myself. But with Addie's life on the line and supernatural forces hunting us, I couldn't deny that Maverick was my best chance at survival. That just made everything more complicated, knowing I needed him even as I feared how much I was starting to want him.

That telltale scent of ozone made me look up just as a slow clap echoed through the auditorium. My blood turned to ice.

Ivan emerged from the gloom, his tattooed face distorted into that signature demented clown smile—but wrong, stretching impossibly wide across his face. Blue sparks crackled between his fingers as he raised his hands.

“Leaving so soon?”

Lightning arced around us, forming a dome of crackling energy. The hair on my arms stood up as the electricity hummed.

“No one's going anywhere.” Ivan's arm snaked around Addie's waist. She dropped the knives with a clatter and melted into him, gazing up with pure adoration.

Maverick stepped in front of me. “Let her go.”

“Oh, but she doesn't want to go.” Ivan's fingers traced Addie's jaw. “Do you, pet?”

“Never leave you,” Addie breathed.

Ivan captured her mouth in a brutal kiss. She moaned, jumping up to wrap her legs around his waist. My stomach lurched as they ground against each other, putting on a grotesque show.

“Jesus fuck,” Maverick muttered, turning away.

I fought back bile as Ivan's hands roamed over Addie's body. This wasn't her—my best friend would never act like this. Not with him. The wraithshade's corruption poured off them in waves of evil.

“Stop this,” I growled.

Ivan broke the kiss, his impossibly wide smile gleaming. “But we're just getting started.”

Addie writhed on him, panting. “More, master. Please.”

I grabbed Maverick's arm, unable to watch anymore. His muscles were coiled tight under my fingers, rage rolling off him.

The electric dome flared overhead, trapping us with this twisted display. Ivan's voice echoed through the auditorium, dripping with venom. “You remember our little games, don't you, Tess? The tricks I taught you during our private rehearsals.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. My skin crawled as if a thousand insects were skittering across my flesh. He’d kept me as a private sex slave and shared me out to his friends. I didn’t like his tricks and games one bit.

Ivan snapped his fingers. Obediently, Addie sank to her knees in front of him. With a sickening smile, she reached for his belt.

My body moved, too. I fell to my knees in front of Maverick. Heard my own voice, pleading, confused, even as my hands worked the buttons of his fly.

“No. Tess, stop. What are you–” Maverick tried to push me away, but my body felt like it was operating on its own. I struggled against his hands, our desperate pleas mingling.

I wanted to stop.

I wanted to fight this, but some unseen force compelled me. Ivan's eyes burned into me, and a whip in his hand snaked out, the crack of leather on flesh filling the theater. I winced from the phantom pain in response. My hands closed around Maverick, and I realized with horror that I was doing it.

Following Ivan's unspoken command along with Addie.

Ivan threaded his fingers through Addie's hair, forcing her closer. Her mouth moved hungrily, and a strangled moan escaped Maverick as my own mouth began to mirror Addie's movements on him.

“Not as good as you, Tess, but she's learning.” Ivan's cruel laugh sent a flicker of panic through my gut. “Watch and learn, little witch. I plan to remind you both who's in control.”

Addie's moans filled the theater as she took Ivan deeper. My body moved in time with hers, my actions growing more frenzied even as my mind screamed in protest. I was trapped, a puppet on invisible strings, forced to play out this grotesque pantomime.

Maverick's hands faltered, his protests dying as he succumbed to the pleasure. His fingers tangled in my hair, his body arching into me as pain lanced through my head.

Ivan's laughter boomed, echoed by Addie's disturbingly enthusiastic glee.

The sickening sound of Ivan's voice broke through the haze engulfing my mind. “Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted? Ah, yes.” He motioned to the empty theater seats, his voice booming with demonic power. “LET THE SHOW BEGIN.”

My heart sank as the air shimmered, a tangible suffocating force like an invisible net. Row by row, the seats revealed themselves to be filled. It must have been a glamour that had concealed them, he’d now removed.

My stomach turned as I watched them move, puppet-like, each woman turning to the nearest man with seductive grace. Their smiles were perfect, painted on like dolls, but their eyes...

God, their eyes were dead pools of submission.

They were beautiful and broken, their gazes fixed on the men as if he were their whole world. Ivan hadn't just taken their bodies—he'd stripped away their will, their very essence, until they were nothing but pretty shells programmed to please.

I gripped Maverick's arm, bile rising in my throat. These women could have been anyone's sisters, daughters, friends. Now they were just Ivan's toys, and soon Addie would join them if we couldn't stop this. The thought of my fierce, independent best friend reduced to this hollow state made my blood run cold.

Ivan's grip tightened on Addie's hair, his hips punching forward as he spoke. “Each cock-hungry circus slut will service the nearest man. No refusal. No resistance. Just a deep, eager thirst for cum.”

Addie moaned, her fingers digging into his thighs as she sucked harder.

Maverick's body tensed in my hands. “Tess,” he growled, trying to pull away. “It's the magic. Fight it.”

But my body refused to listen. My mouth continued its obscene mockery of Addie's actions. My thoughts scrambled, helpless against the compulsion.

Ivan's hips stuttered, his breath coming in short gasps. “That's it, pets. So fucking good. Take what I give you and beg for more.”

Addie's tongue swirled, eager and obedient. Her eyes, blank and unseeing, fixed on Ivan with uncanny devotion.

“I'm close, little slut. Gonna paint your face.” Ivan's voice was thick with anticipation.

Maverick's struggles grew weaker, his body betraying him as pleasure took over. “Tess, I can't—oh, fuck.”

Ivan's body bucked, his hands tangling in Addie's hair, holding her firmly in place as he growled out his command. “Take it, pet. All of it.” His hips jerked as he pulled out, and then warm liquid splattered across Addie's face, dripping down her cheeks.

My stomach turned at the sight, but my body still wouldn't obey me. Ivan's warped smile seemed to dare me to try and resist. Trapped in my own skin, I was helpless as my body continued.

Addie whimpered, a hungry, eager sound that sent a wave of nausea through me. She pulled back, her lips curving into that disturbingly wide smile that seemed so wrong on her cum-splashed face.

Maverick groaned, his hands fisting in my hair as he lost the battle with his body. “Shit, Tess, I'm—”

His cry of release rang out as he filled my mouth. Instinctively, my throat worked, swallowing what he gave me.

And then, as suddenly as it began, it was over. The compulsion snapped, the chains that had bound me fell away, leaving me shaken and gasping for breath. Mind reeling, I fell back, my body wrung out and discarded.

A roiling queasiness threatened to overwhelm me. I should have been used to Ivan’s trademark violation, a repulsive manipulative force that cared nothing for me, my wants or needs. But I never did accept it. That’s what landed me here, where everything was worse now.

Ivan stood there, slick with satisfaction, his demented clown face spread in a smug grin. Addie was still on her knees beside him, her eyes glazed over. “Welcome to my circus, little puppets,” Ivan purred, his voice dripping with malicious pleasure.

Kneeling there, I trembled, my skin clammy with cold sweat. My hands quivered, barely supporting my weight, while a sour taste crept up my throat. These women had been reduced to mindless shells, their lips wrapped around the cocks of men, all utterly oblivious to the horror of the situation. Their faces were somehow blank, yet contorted in expressions of blissful pleasure, as if they were truly experiencing ecstasy.

The room reverberated with the wet, grotesque sounds, a sickening contrast to the fear and arousal that hung heavy in the air. It was suffocating, this onslaught of sensations—the sights, the sounds, the smells—all designed to subjugate and control. My stomach churned, threatening to expel the bile that rose from my belly as I struggled to process the depravity Ivan had orchestrated.

It was a twisted parody of satisfaction, their bodies violated and used, while their minds were trapped in a nightmare. A surge of anger and disgust coursed through me at the extent of Ivan's control. These women were being bled dry, their very essence sucked out to fuel his warped desires. The true horror of it all was lost on them, and Addie was among them, another victim of this twisted game. But I didn’t know how to get her out of it.

I wiped the bile from my mouth, my hand shaking with rage and disbelief. “What have you done?” My voice broke as I struggled to find the words to describe the abominable scene.

Ivan's smile, distorted and grotesque with its clown tattoo, only widened at my distress. “Ah, Tess, my dear, they are exactly what they appear to be. Beautiful, obedient, and eager to please. Just a little preview of what's to come.”

As if to emphasize his point, Addie rose gracefully, her movements fluid and hypnotically slow. Her hand caressed Ivan's leg as she stood, her eyes glued on him with a mixture of adoration and longing.

“He's right, Tess. It's what we all crave deep down. Submission. You just have to break through the resistance, let go of your inhibitions.” Her voice was husky, thick with desire.