Broken Hearts (Excerpt)

Two

"Ahem..." Someone cleared a rough voice in the doorway.

He needed to put a lock on that door, especially now that Anya was going to spend some of her time, hopefully a lot, in there with him. Nicholas glanced over her shoulder.

Spinner stood across the threshold, his bulky body filling the doorway. In the dimming light of the afternoon, the web of thin scars covering the knife thrower's face and arms were less visible than usual.

"Yes?" Nicholas took pity on Spinner, who seemed reluctant to disturb the intimate scene he was unlucky to witness.

Anya openly glared at him and kept her arms laced around Nicholas's neck.

"The custom check...," Spinner said. "They want to speak to someone in charge. We thought we shouldn't wake up Big Dino just for that. They probably want some bribe not to charge us with trafficking prohibited goods or something."

Nicholas hadn't even noticed the train had stopped, but it must have because he didn't feel the hum of the engine anymore. "All right." He sighed and disentangled himself from Anya's arms. "Duty calls." He placed a kiss on the back of her hand while she slipped into the armchair. "Keep my seat warm. I'll be back as soon as we're rolling again." He shrugged on his tailcoat. It worked for his magician act, not so much for the new role as manager, but it would have to do. Circus people were known for being eccentric. He walked towards Spinner. "I'm all yours. Don't forget, I'm still new at this and can use all the pointers I can get."

"Well, just keep them away from Fei Lin," Spinner said while they walked in the corridor. "I don't think she can handle another dismembering of her bot the way we had to upon returning to Europe. It was too traumatizing for her."

"Okay, no Fei Lin." Nicholas nodded. "Is she still hiding in the storage car?"

"Yes, and she doesn't like it, so hurry. Other than her, we're clean. Or I think we are. I have no idea what they added to the transgression list." Spinner shrugged and opened the front door.

Nicholas stepped out into the chilly November air and took in his surroundings. There were too many uniforms gathered on this side of the train. Being busy with breaking into the Hrad then packing the circus and leaving in a hurry, he hadn't kept up with the news during the past twenty-four hours, but France and Germany were still allied and part of the European Union. While the enemy got closer every day, nothing could explain this display of forces in the middle of the continent. They could have only come for them. Or him. A block of ice settled in the pit of Nicholas's stomach.

The increasing number of crew members walking out of the train, determined expressions on their faces, surprised him even more. Something was up and, unlike him, they knew what it was. He tossed Rake a glance. The taller knife thrower frowned at the soldiers, his big hands balled into fists. Although it happened on occasion, Nicholas had rarely seen Rake ready to murder someone. He didn't want a bloodbath now.

"I'm Nicholas Renard, manager of The Nightingale Circus," he told the officer in charge. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"

The officer gestured to the soldier standing beside him, and this one brought out a scanner and showed him the readings. The officer nodded. "This says you're Nicolas Rieux, a class D telecharger. You failed to show up when the draft committee summoned you seven years ago. We have your metrics. There's no mistake."

Nicholas sucked in a breath. Other than the fact he had evolved to an F over the years, the information was correct. But from where did they get his metrics? As far as he knew, he wasn't in the system or they would have caught him a long time ago.

"We have an arrest warrant with your name," the officer said over the sound of guns being aimed at Nicholas. "You're required to come with us ... peacefully, if possible."

Murmurs broke out among the crew.

Nicholas glanced at the guns. Those were not regular weapons, but were specially designed to target telechargers. He didn't feel their presence on the power grid. It didn't matter. He had no intention to oppose resistance. There were too many people around who could get hurt. Besides, he'd always known it would end like this.

The murmurs increased in volume.

Until he left the scene, he was still manager, so Nicholas slowly turned around.

Behind him, the stilt men elongated their legs, and the aerialists slipped forward through the crowd. Almost everyone had exited the train by now. The knife throwers stood immovable in place, but their knives were never far from reach. At a window, Cielo opened her mouth.

"Don't!" Nicholas raised a hand.

Cielo's mouth snapped shut, but if her eyes had been as powerful as her voice, several people would have been lying on the ground already.

Sorry, mouthed Spinner.

They had sold him out. The realization hit him harder than expected. They had lured him out, knowing damn well what would happen, and they had let him walk into the trap without a warning. Sure, their loyalty was to the circus first, and he'd only been manager for one day, but he'd traveled with the circus for years. The betrayal hurt.

"Sir?" the officer said.

"It's all right. I'll go with you." Nicholas turned and presented his wrists to another soldier holding a pair of thick manacles.

They closed with a click, and Nicholas's shoulders slumped. The device inside the manacles annihilated his ability to manipulate mass and energy. Ever since he could remember, he'd never been without it. Its absence made him feel empty.

Rake growled.

Nicholas turned again and said with all the confidence he could muster, "Stick to the schedule, and take the power source to Paris. Also, wake up Big Dino. We had a deal."

Rake grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. The rest of the crew members froze. Well, that cleared up who was the boss.

Nicholas stepped forward to follow the soldiers, but Anya's silhouette, pale and shivering, in the car doorway made him stop.

"It's going to be okay," he said, repeating the same words she'd told him earlier.

This time, however, they both knew it was a lie.