Page 16 of Galaxy Circus Act One

Maxsim crosses his arms and just continues to stare at me. Natalia looks me up and down, the growling stops, and she sneers at me with what sounds similar to a Russian accent butis much growlier—probably due to the teeth. “That remains to be seen.” She turns to William, dismissing me. “We will not work with thisbistich.” The unfamiliar word sounds more like a sneeze than anything else, but the tone she’s using is speaking perfectly clearly. “You insult us if you think that she, a human, can handle us.” Right, this must have been why he warned me to be nice. Bitch has attitude.

She turns to Maxsim and lets out a barrage of words in another language, arms flying, tail twitching. He listens and responds in the same language before she turns to me and growls, exposing those fangs, then storms off. I can see a burnt patch of fur just at the bottom of her dress. I snort in amusement as I realize just who got hit by my stray lightning bolt.

Maxsim turns to William and says, in a voice just as heavily accented, “I am sorry.”

No-nonsense William is immediately back as he straightens his spine and stares the tigerman in the eye. “Deal with it. Fix it, Maxsim, or you are all out. I can and will find another act. Lila is taking over. Last time we were on Iceeen, the Sensee matriarch mentioned that some of her children would like the opportunity to travel, so I’ve no worries about being able to replace you.” Maxsim nods, throws a scowl in my direction, and follows Natalia. I appreciate the support, but I really don’t know how that’s going to make them respect me.

“Whoa,” I say, leaning back in my chair. “Is everyone so intense?” Not waiting for an answer, I direct my next comment to Dylan. “And what’s with all the beautiful creatures? Seriously, when the grandpas told me aliens, I was thinking slimy little green men, but that was definitelynota little green man. You could bounce a quarter off of his ass. Even your friend with all the tentacles was smoking hot, and you, you’re sex on legs. How is a girl supposed to cope with all of this sexiness around?” Iwave in the direction Maxsim had gone, realizing that Dylan's eyes are on said ass.

“Honey, you are not wrong. That is one fine specimen of male tiger, but most of them are.” He turns back to me and laughs at the way I’m furiously fanning my face. Hey, you have to find the silver linings. Right now, I’ve struck out on a first impression with at least one out of two acts, so I’ll take the positive where I can.

“I’m not sure I can cope with much more. Not only is all of this so unexpected, but I can feel everyone's eyes on me. Like I’m on display and they’re waiting for me to freak out or something. I know that’s what Caspian had hoped for. People have been watching all that’s been going on and seeing all my reactions. I haven’t been popular so far.” All of this spews out of my mouth in a rush, and the grandpas exchange a glance. John and William are frowning at their employees, but Eric just stands up and stretches.

“Let’s call it a night.”

“But she hasn’t met everyone yet,” John complains.

Eric turns to him and frowns, gesturing to me. “Look at her, she’s exhausted and overwhelmed. She can sit and watch the show tomorrow night to get a feel for it.”

“I agree,” says William, “but we do have that one thing she needs to know.”

“That’s my cue to leave,” says Dylan, getting up. “Lila, it was lovely meeting you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He grabs my hand, places a kiss on it, and then walks away.

“So, what was so important that you had to chase him away?” I grumble to the grandpas.

"Not here,” says William, glancing at Phillip and Fiona, the two failing in their attempt to look like they’re not hanging on every word. “Let’s walk you back to your room.”

Back in my room, the grandpas crowd in and shut the door. They all have a serious look on their faces, and William takes the lead. He comes across as the hardass of the group, but not one of them stands out as ‘the leader.’ They seem content with being on equal footing with one another, so it looks like they almost take turns with who’s in charge of what.

“Although we have shared much of what the circus does, there is one thing we haven’t shared yet. The most important and most secret thing the Galaxy Circus does is guard the Orb of Power.” Well, okay then, that sounds like something out of a movie, but I‘m coming to realize my life is much more amazing than a movie could ever be.Or at least a lot crazier.

“The Orb of Power was created by the Unas, a now extinct race, as a clean source of energy that could power planets across the galaxy, but it was taken and harnessed in a more destructive way by a race hellbent on total galaxy domination. The Aaz’ax are a brutal and violent race, or at least their leaders were, and they needed to be stopped. The Unas decided that the bad far outweighed the good and wanted to destroy it and the knowledge. But when they realized destroying the orb would cause millions of worlds to collapse in on themselves, they found a way to hide that object away, never to see the light of day again. By then, the Unas were all but extinct, wiped out by the Aaz’ax, but the Aaz’ax weren’t doing so well themselves. Their women had been infected by a mystery virus. Having no women to create mate bonds with meant no children were being born,so their race started to wither too. The war that they had waged against one another had done nothing but bring them both to the brink of species annihilation.”

William breaks off with a sigh. Heading to a wall, he pushes his hand against the surface and a door pops open. When he reaches in and pulls out a bottle of water, I realize it’s a fridge. He opens the bottle and takes a sip before continuing his story. The other two brothers watch on in quiet solidarity, content to let him handle this.

“In a last bid attempt to keep the orb out of the hands of the Aaz’ax, the Unas roamed the galaxy in search of a soul pure enough to be responsible for it. They landed on Skar and stumbled across an Adams ancestor. Although he wasn't as pure as they had hoped, they’d run out of time, and he was a good, kind, and just man, who would defend his family to the death if needed, so they decided that was good enough. The group combined their power and linked his blood with the orb, making it so that it could only be controlled by someone from his bloodline. They then instructed him to create some kind of cover that would allow him to covertly move through the universe, helping people in need. For the orb is so much more than a source of power. It also heals, both living beings and lands. No one but the Unas and our ancestor knew for sure where the orb ended up, and alien races have been searching for it for ages.”

He puts down his bottle of water and grabs hold of my hands as if to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. “If you choose to take over, you will be required to make a blood sacrifice to the orb, and it will becomeyourresponsibility. We are the current guardians of the orb and the circus, and you are the last of the Adams bloodline. If you choose not to do this, it will become our responsibility to search for a new family bloodline to carry this burden, and like the Unas before us, we will have to sacrifice ourselves to pass this on.”

“What do you mean bysacrifice?” I ask, a lump of worry in my throat. Nothing sounds good about that word.

“The orb will absorb us just like it did the remaining members of the Unas. We would cease to exist.” The lump in my throat grows at the thought of these men no longer existing. I’ve only just found them; to lose them again so soon would bring me no joy.

The silence is heavy when William finishes his story, and I don't know if I can take any more surprise revelations. After a few beats, the grandpas sigh.

John takes over. “Because of this, you are always going to be in danger. All the performers have sworn an unbreakable loyalty pledge to us, and they will protect you if needed. They believe it is protection for the circus and the tasks that we perform for the various nations throughout the galaxy, whether that be trade or negotiations. Nobody but the four of us know about the orb. Your parents and our wife also knew, but you cannot tell anyone. Once you take a mate and seal the mating bond, then you can share the information. From now on, you will need to be alert to the people you are surrounded with. Although all people who perform with the circus are vetted, you never know who you’re going to stumble across when off world.”

Eric chimes in, speaking for the first time in a while. Maybe he’s just more comfortable letting the other two take charge. “It’s a good thing you became friends with Dylan. He will protect you if needed, even more readily than the others might. Get some rest, and we will see you in the morning for training.” Eric leaves with William trailing behind him, but once again, John stops and pulls me into a hug.

“I’m so sorry that you have had all of this information dumped on you. I’m sorry that your parents weren’t able to share all of it with you themselves. Even though we don't know each other well, I can tell you they would’ve been so proud ofyou. You’ve handled all the surprises with dignity while so many people would be curled up, rocking in a fetal position. You’re a brave girl, Lila, and we couldn't be prouder that you are our granddaughter.” He kisses my cheek then leaves the room, perhaps sensing that I’ve justifiably hit and surpassed my limit for the day.

I throw myself backward onto the bed, looking at the ceiling, my mind a haze of information overload with one thought repeating over and over again.

Fuck!

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lila