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Ghant quickly spotted Jamie standing outside the entrance of Coddlefin’s tent and he crept over quietly. Jamie hadn’t seen him coming. He ambushed him from behind, quickly locking him in a strangle hold and covering his mouth so he couldn’t alert anyone.
Tillie and Lina, meanwhile, had been snooping around inside and had plucked two journals from Coddlefin’s desk. They had frantically searched through them for information that might help them find Henry and were shocked by things they had read. Equally shocking was the sound of the activated tripwire as Tillie unwittingly stepped onto the booby trap set for Coddlefin’s enemies—spies from other circuses, people he had swindled, or authorities who might have finally caught onto one of his many illicit enterprises.
Ghant pulled Jamie into the tent, which served as Coddlefin’s sleeping quarters as well as a workspace, with a tidy desk, a collection of books, and drafting materials. There he found Tillie and Lina hanging from the ceiling, strung up by their ankles from rigged trapeze cables. He laughed as they struggled and thrashed, thrilled at his own competence in catching them in the act. He continued to squeeze Jamie.
“Ow!” he gasped. “You really don’t need to do that, I’m not going to run. Could you please just let me go and help them down? We didn’t mean to hurt anything, we just got lost.”
Ghant laughed. “That’s what they all say.”
Byron entered the tent suddenly. He snickered when he saw Jamie in a headlock.
Ghant turned abruptly. “Big help you are. Why don’t you just head back to the big top to help Ellis. I can handle these three myself. No need for two heroes here.”
“Aw, Ghant, I thought I could...”
“Go on,” Ghant growled and Byron skittered off quickly.
Tillie was starting to feel lightheaded, and also very annoyed to be hanging upside down. “He’s telling the truth, we just got lost!” she shouted.
Ghant stormed over, dragging Jamie with him. He pressed his face to hers, which was eye level with his own, but upside down. “I told you. I don’t care what you say, you’re not supposed to be in here. The Boss will decide what happens to you.”
“Please,” Lina pleaded. She winced from the pain of the rope lashed tightly around her. Thankfully, the thick woolen socks she and Tillie were wearing with their trousers offered at least some protection to the skin of her ankles.
Tillie squirmed. Ghant saw this so he gave her a little nudge, causing her to swing back and forth. “Rock-a-bye, little spy,” he laughed.
“You’ll be sorry if you don’t let us down!” she threatened.
Ghant looked at her with narrowed eyes.
Rikona and Kano entered the tent abruptly and Coddlefin stormed in from behind. He looked down at Jamie, around his tent, and then over to Tillie and Lina.
“I caught these three snooping around; I thought I could help,” Ghant offered.
“Yes, yes, we can take it from here,” Coddlefin replied, waving him away. Ghant opened his mouth, but he stopped him. “You’re not needed any further, you’ve done enough already today.” He waved him away again much more curtly.
Ghant let go of Jamie, pushing him to the ground, then he turned and hurried off.
Coddlefin moved closer to Tillie and Lina, his face flushed. He nodded to Rikona and Kano to restrain Jamie. They walked over and grabbed him by the arms.
“Honestly, we didn’t mean to cause any trouble,” he pleaded, pulling himself back onto his feet as they lifted him.
The color left Coddlefin’s face suddenly. He decided another approach. “I see. Let’s try this again more civilly, shall we? Now then, what brings you here into my home, my dear children?” he said, with eerie congeniality.
“Nothing, sir. We were looking for cotton candy and got lost. We tried to find our parents, but we got distracted by this beautiful tent,” Lina answered. He was standing close enough she could smell cigars and a light tinge of garlic on his breath.
“Wonderful,” he laughed. “And tell me, did you choose your clothing purposely?” he said, eyeing her grey velvet trousers that were identical to Tillie’s, except for the color, which were a dusty, dark blue.
“What do you mean?” Lina asked.
“Yes,” Tillie said, furrowing her brows, what does that have to do with anything?”
Lina groaned. She was feeling quite fuzzy now, the blood rushing to her head. “I know we shouldn’t have come in here, we just started exploring.”
“Well, isn’t that something. And here I thought maybe you were some of the little vagrants, spies, sent by Dickerson’s Circus. Your costumes are very much what they wear when they try to blend in here,” he said, glaring at Tillie and Lina’s clothing, gauging their response.
“What?” Jamie gasped.
“No? Then it must be Stan Dillon and his men you’re working with. Yes, that makes more sense—that slippery man is always trying to get his hands on my ideas and inventions. Well, he won’t get away with it this time.” Spittle flew from his mouth as he spoke.
“Oh no, no, we’re here to see your show,” Tillie protested. He turned sharply then studied her closely with no expression. For a fleeting moment she thought he believed her.
But he turned away and looked at the ground, catching a glimpse of one of his journals lying beneath her. It was open. He bent over and snatched it up. The veins in his neck pulsated. He moved closer, his steely gaze burning a hole through her. “Peeking at my diaries? Who else are you with!”
“I didn’t, we didn’t . . .” she said, panicking.
His face contorted, turning an even deeper crimson than his tent. He nodded at Rikona and Kano, then Kano unsheathed her sword and approached.
But Rikona put her arm out to stop her.
Coddlefin cocked his head, grabbing her sword from her hand. “Don’t you dare challenge me. I’ve never seen this side of you before, Rikona. Think carefully.”
Kano didn’t move. She remained ready to strike on his word.
“Kano, he’s asking too much this time—they’re children,” Rikona protested. She looked at Coddlefin pleadingly.
He ignored her and nodded to Kano again.
Kano moved toward Tillie, raising her sword above her head.
“Wait! What? What are you doing?” Tillie asked, frantically struggling to free herself from the cables.
“Please!” Jamie shouted.
“Don’t hurt her!” Lina yelled. Within seconds Coddlefin was at her side and he punched her in the stomach; the sound was dull and sickening. Lina recoiled in pain, struggling to breathe.
“Lina!” Tillie yelped and struggled again, but Coddlefin stepped toward her. “Somebody help!” she screamed again.
“Tillie!” Elinora called out reflexively from outside the tent when she heard her sister’s cries.
This distracted Coddlefin for moment—long enough to spare Tillie from the blow he had intended for her. But it also gave Elinora’s presence away. He turned to look out the tent, scanning for intruders. “Kano, find whoever that is!” he ordered.
She exited and bounded over to where she suspected the voice had come from, stealthily moving amongst the grasses. Her sabre glistened in the sun, her body poised to spring into action. “Show yourself!” she demanded.
Elinora was so frightened she felt lightheaded. But she took a deep breath. “Stay down,” she quickly whispered to Graham. “I’ll go with her. When I’m gone, go find Alister. I’ll be all right, I promise.”
Graham looked shocked.
“Please, just do it.”
He nodded and hunkered down deeper into the grass.
She stood and gave herself up. “It’s just me. I am looking for my sister and cousins. We got separated. I think they got lost,” she said trying to keep her voice from trembling.
Kano grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the tent. “Very well. Come with me. Someone wants a word with you.”
Elinora did not struggle. She breathed deeply, letting fear pass through as she was shoved forward into the tent in front of Coddlefin. He was sweating profusely, glaring at her. She stepped back to get away, but Kano pushed her forward. Behind him she could see Tillie and Lina suspended in the air, their faces flushed. Lina was still reeling from the pain. Rikona held Jamie tightly.
Tillie looked up in horror when she saw Elinora. “Nora, no!” she cried.
“I’m sorry, Tillie. I should have never let you wander off.”
Coddlefin eyed Tillie when he heard her name. He moved over to her and dug the tip of Rikona’s sword into her collarbone, stopping just short of breaking the skin.
She whimpered but held her tongue.
“Tillie, is it? Well, I’m sorry to say, clever Tillie, you and your cohorts have been caught red handed in a place you’ll wish you’d never found.”
Jamie looked up at Elinora, tears falling down his dirt-stained cheeks.
“Do you know what I do to those who take from me?” Coddlefin asked in an unnervingly pleasant tone. “I take something back—sometimes an arm or a leg. Sometimes just a hand.” He studied Tillie, calculating the space between them, then without warning, he swiftly brought down the sword upon her. But it was with planned precision, and he only just nicked the tip of her littlest finger on her left hand with the razor-sharp blade. Not so much of her finger that it would cause her to lose too much blood, but enough to make her suffer in pain.
She shrieked when she saw the blood dribbling from her hand onto the ground. She clutched her hand protectively.
“Leave her alone!” Lina raged.
He grinned. “Did you forget that I’m quite a marksman myself?” he said to Rikona. He raised the sword again, this time aiming at Lina.
“Stop!” Tillie screamed at him.
Before he could strike at Lina, Alister appeared in the tent, distracting everyone.
Elinora looked pleadingly at him, terror in her eyes. He winked at her, then smiled calmly.
Jamie and Lina immediately recognized him from the carousel, but kept quiet.
Alister returned Jamie’s glance with a subtle nod then looked around the tent assessing what had happened. He saw that Tillie was bleeding so he quickly moved over to her, pulling another handkerchief from his pocket to tend to her. He kneeled down and wrapped it around her hand. “Looks like you might need some help,” he said.
She looked up at him with recognition but he pursed his lips, hoping to silence her. Then he looked up at Coddlefin. “Well, hello, Boss. I just put the animals away and was going to see if anyone needed help at the big top, but I heard the commotion in here.”
Coddlefin didn’t reply.
Alister stood up and looked around the tent again. “So, what happened?” he asked.
“Just a little business I need to attend to,” he said evenly. “Don’t worry yourself about it. These fools got caught looking through my things. Stan Dillon has crossed me one too many times; I’ve decided it’s time we showed him we mean business.” He shrugged Alister off. “Get rid of them, Kano,” he said casually, as though he was asking someone to close a window.
“What?!” Elinora screamed.
“Wait. Are you sure you should do that?” Alister asked, stepping protectively in front of her.
“Quite sure,” Coddlefin replied curtly. He raised his right eyebrow, his face beginning to pulsate again. But he decided to let Alister speak.
Rikona and Kano remained motionless, waiting for orders.
“Well, I am quite sure I saw them in the crowd with their parents earlier today,” Alister said without missing a beat. “I suspect it might be very bad for business if they went home without the rest of their family.”
Coddlefin cocked his head.
“They aren’t spies, I promise. Why not just let them go.”
“They’ve read my diary.”
Alister didn’t know what that meant, but he could tell it was something he certainly didn’t want anyone to do.
Coddlefin looked at Tillie wild-eyed, like his mind was off in another world as the rage coursed through his body. “What, pray, did you read in my journal?” he interrogated.
“I...I only read about the new baby elephant. The one we saw in the show. She’s beautiful, everyone loved her. You’re so kind to have helped her.”
“But why were you looking through it in the first place?”
“The cover just looked intriguing, so I picked it up out of curiosity. I’m silly like that, but that’s really all that I read, I swear,” she lied again. But she noticed Coddlefin’s skin tone change back to a light pink again. His eyes stopped bulging.
“Really, sir, we love your circus, it’s amazing. We didn’t mean to cause you any trouble,” Jamie said.
Coddlefin lifted his head proudly.
“We saw the show, it’s the best I’ve ever seen. We were very impressed,” Lina added, joining in on the flattery.
“Is that so.” Coddlefin straightened his posture.
“Oh yes, extraordinary,” Tillie said.
“It’s going to be quite a show this year. We have other surprises in store. But I need to be assured you won’t share the little tidbit about the elephant. It’s one of our newest attractions and meant to be a surprise.” He paused. “Jeffries, make sure you escort these fine young children out of here. And take them to get their cotton candy before they return to their parents. On the house.”
“Will do,” Alister said, wiping a bead of sweat off his brow. He turned to Elinora and locked eyes with her. She exhaled with relief.
“And be sure to walk them off the grounds,” Coddlefin said abruptly. “Their parents can find them outside the gates. I am trusting you, Jeffries.” Then he turned to Tillie to address her directly. “I’ll let you go—this time. But to be safe, I don’t ever want to see your darling little face again, not here on the grounds, and not ever at our shows. And if I find that you have read anything else in my diary and share it with anyone, I have the means to find you, and your parents will never, ever know what became of you. Do you understand!?”
She gulped.
Elinora glared at him.
Coddlefin smiled congenially. “Thank you for coming. I hope you enjoyed the show, have a wonderful trip home,” he said, then exited the tent.
Kano shoved Jamie forward toward Alister. “Leave. Now,” she warned, then she and Rikona followed on his heels.
Elinora doubled over, trying to catch her breath. Alister moved to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’re gone,” he said. She nodded and breathed deep. “Are you all right, Jamie?” she asked. He nodded and she moved over to his side to check him for injury.
A moment later, Graham slipped into the tent.
Alister quickly found a small knife on the desk and Jamie, Graham, and Elinora untangled Tillie and Lina as he cut the lines that were holding them.
They dropped to the ground and Lina scrambled over to Tillie, throwing her arms around her.
Tillie grabbed her back. “I can’t believe he punched you! Are you hurt?”
“I’m not, somehow...thankfully, but that’s nothing compared to what he did to you! Look what he did to your hand!”
Tillie cringed. “I’ll be all right. Thank you for trying to protect me.”
“And thank you, Alister,” Graham added. “I don’t know what would have happened to them if you hadn’t come in here when you did.”
“Glad to help. I know it was hard for you to stay hidden, but you’re the only one Coddlefin won’t recognize now. Let’s keep it that way.”
Jamie put his hand out to help Lina and Tillie to their feet, then Tillie unwrapped the handkerchief. “Ouch,” she said looking down at her hand. “Who needs a fingertip, anyway?”
Elinora rushed to her side. “What on earth were you thinking, Tillie? Why did you come in here, of all places? Were you trying to get yourself killed? You’re lucky this is all he did to you!” She grabbed her sister’s bloody hand. Tears fell down her cheeks. Then she saw her necklace. Quickly she pulled it from her neck and opened the monkey figurine. “Here,” she said, soaking the handkerchief with the water inside the vessel, then holding it firmly to her wound. Tillie took it and continued to squeeze her finger to stop the blood.
Alister came to her side, watching intently.
“You have to stop doing such stupid things without thinking! This is by far the worst decision you have ever made in your life,” Elinora scolded, but she grabbed Tillie and was hugging her as she yelled.
“I read his journal. Hopefully what I read is worth losing a fingertip for,” she replied, then paused. “I’m really sorry, Elinora. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry I put all of us in danger—I’m just desperate to find Henry.”
Elinora sighed. “It’s all I want, too. We all do.”
Tillie looked up in surprise. “So, you’re not angry with me?”
“How could I ever be? I just don’t want anything to happen to you. But I finally realize what we are up against and the risks we’re going to have to take—that I’ll have to take, too—in order to help him. Henry can’t stay here. None of them can.” She paused. “We found him. He was with Alister,” she said, reaching out and touching his arm. She pulled it away quickly, catching herself for being so familiar. But he smiled at her. “Alister is taking good care of Henry; he will be safe with him until we can figure out better plans.”
Tillie looked up; her eyes were wide. “You have him? Where?”
Alister nodded. “He’s back at the stable, watching over Wildflower.”
Elinora removed the handkerchief; just as the water had healed Jamie, Tillie’s finger had already stopped bleeding. The tip was still missing, but it was visibly healing all the same. She covered it again. “I think we need to get out of here, I don’t want to get caught again. I’ll explain that on our way out of here,” she said to Alister, gesturing at the figurine.
He nodded. “I’m assuming you don’t really want cotton candy?” he asked with a slight grin, glancing at Elinora. He felt his face flush again and turned his head quickly to hide it. But when he glanced at her again, she was grinning right back at him. “Come on, we need to get you out of here,” he said to the group, his grin now a full smile.
They followed him out of the tent, through the encampment, and back under the white fence. As they made their way to the exit, they passed by the carousel.
“Can you give me a moment?” Lina asked. “I really feel like we should have a look before we go...” She ran to it, stepping up onto the platform and quickly moving to the center pole. She circled it, inspecting carefully. “I knew it! Come here!” she called to the others.
Jamie joined her. “Oh, you genius!” he said opening the little door. “It’s just like...” He turned to the others. “I’m looking right into the forest!”
The others rushed onto the carousel.
“Our forest?” Tillie asked.
“Yes! What if we were able to communicate through it!” Lina exclaimed. She turned to Alister. “Can you come back here later? You, here on the carousel, and us, there at the carousel in the forest.”
“I can come tomorrow night, just after sundown,” he replied. “That’s when Coddlefin and his men disappear for the night, and there’s lots of diversion while the animals are being fed. I could get away for a moment without anyone noticing.” He looked off in the distance. Rikona and Kano were headed in their direction, flanked by several circus performers. “Coddlefin’s people are making sure you aren’t sticking around. We should hurry,” he said. “Graham, stay out of sight, away from us.”
“Will do. See you tomorrow, Alister,” he said then quickly made his way to the trail back to the train station ahead of everyone.
The others filed off the carousel. Before parting ways with Alister, Elinora said something quietly to Tillie, who nodded.
“Here, Alister, take this,” Tillie said taking off her necklace and pressing the monkey figurine into his hands. “This will heal Wildflower. You can use it on the other animals, or yourself even, if you ever need to. Shake it, then hold it in the air before you apply it. And don’t worry, it doesn’t seem to run out. Thank you for saving us, and for watching over Henry.”
Alister pulled the strap around his neck and held the figurine in his hand. “Glad to help. Thank you for this. I will keep it safe and I will return it when I see you again. I hope that I won’t need to use it, but it’s good to have.” He glanced back to Rikona and Kano.
Elinora saw them coming, too. She turned to Alister. “I meant it when I said you can come with us.”
“Thank you, Elinora,” he said to her, reaching out for her hand. “I would like that. I’ll be there one day, and it will be as soon as I can. For now, I promise I will protect Henry and the others. I will be at the carousel tomorrow and I will see you again then. Now hurry, before they notice that you’re still here...and be safe!” he said as he led her to the exit.
“All right, you be careful, too, Alister,” Elinora said, letting go of his hand, then she, Tillie, Lina, and Jamie fled the grounds of Théodore Coddlefin.