Carnival Souls

One Piece at a Time (part one)

Lydia would pepper her stories with a dozen questions. "Why is snow cold? What was gym class? How did she know the difference between a spaniel and a golden retriever? And as the questions piled up, Lira's grin would fade and her heart would twinge and she would say, "I think that's enough for tonight."

"How you learned to play the violin," said Lydia.

"Well, I had a music teacher. Kind of like how I had a history teacher and a math teacher. And I had to practice a lot."

"I had to practice a lot too," chirped Lydia.

"Did you have a teacher for what you do?" asked Lira. Bit by bit, she was trying to figure out what Lydia actually did with the souls, but so far, the tiny pieces of information just floated around her head like dandelion fluff blown from its stem. When the girl had first admitted she worked with souls, Lira's stomach had lurched sickeningly. What did Bebinn need with children's souls when she had a whole carnival full of them. Lira had struggled not to let her confusion or panic show in front of Lydia.

Don't get ahead of yourself, her mind had counseled. She already knew that Bebinn was stealing children and that those she took didn't come back. The fact that Lydia was working with their souls didn't change much until she figured out what she did with them.

Lydia frowned at Lydia's question. "Not really," she said. "In the beginning Bebinn taught me what she knew. But mostly I learned as I went. I practiced on cloth before Bebinn allowed me to work with the souls.

"Cloth?" repeated Lira. What did clothing have to do with it?

Lydia wiggled her colorful fingers. "I had to learn to weave. Souls are much more delicate than cloth, but the techniques are similar"

"So...you wave souls?" Lira's pulse thumped in her ears. Would Lydia finally explain? But the girl was already shaking her head.

"I'm not supposed to tell," she said. Her shoulders touched her ears in an apologetic shrug.

The tingle of anticipation in Lira's fingers and toes faded away. Damn thought Lira. Lydia might think of her as a friend, but her allegiance to Bebinn would always be stronger. She might get lucky one day, the girl might forget herself and say something she wasn't supposed to, but how long would that take? The better Lira became at controlling spirits, the more worried she became about what exactly Bebinn's intentions were, and how soon she would start to implement them.

She studied Lydia out of the corner of her eye. The girl was looking over the sheet music with a bemused expression. For someone raised by Bebinn, she seemed sweet and innocent, two attributes obviously not learned from her mock guardian. Was it just a case of nature being stronger than nurture? Or was it by design?

Either way, it was something Lira could exploit, though she felt guilty for thinking that way. But it wasn't anything compared to the guilt she felt for the next thought that grew in her mind like a weed. If worse came to worse, she might be able to use her new-found ability to control things to get Lydia to talk. Lira suppressed a shudder. Only as the very lost resort, she promised herself. But the girl had a kind heart, she would appeal to that first.

"Do you like weaving?" Lira asked.

Lydia nodded. "Yes, very much. Bebinn says I'm a natural at it."

Lira picked up the violin, the wood cool beneath her fingers. She plucked a string. "I used to love playing music," she said, frowning down at the instrument. "But I don't love it so much anymore."

"Why's that?"

"I don't like what it's being used for," Lira said sadly. She plucked another string and she could swear she felt the violin hum in her hands, almost like a cat purring.

"What do you mean?" Lydia stood up and moved closer to Lira, her face pinched in concern.

"I have to use it to bring children here. And then they disappear." Lira sighed. "I feel awful that I'm taking them away from their families."

Lydia bit her lip. "But you shouldn't feel bad," she protested. "We're helping them."

"I don't feel like I'm helping them. I never see them again after they get off the carousel. I worry that they're hurt or scared..." she trailed off, letting her voice crack just slightly, and picked out a few more notes. She hoped she wasn't laying it on too thick. "If I could somehow know or see that they're being helped, that they're okay, I would feel a lot better." Lira turned to Lydia whose eyes were a bit unfocused, like she was turned into herself.

"Well...maybe..." she mumbled, mostly to herself. "Maybe I could show you-so you wouldn't feel so bad, but..." She flinched, as though snapping back to the present. "But if Bebinn caught us, she'd be really angry. I don't want to get in trouble." Lydia wilted like a flower curling its petals in to protect itself from heavy rains.

"I won't let that happen," Lira promised. She forced herself to remain calm, but her fingers tightened around the neck of her violin. The wires cut into her skin. "Bebinn will never even know I was there."

The saying "famous last words" ran like a ticker tape through Lira's mind. She swallowed against her suddenly dry mouth. "It would mean a lot to me, Lydia, to know that the kids are safe."

The little girl nodded, but her weight rocked from foot to foot. Her gaze darted to the door and the window. "I'll come back in a few days. At night when Bebinn's asleep."

Lira reached out and took the girl's hand. It was small and warm and surprisingly rough. "Thank you, Lydia," she whispered. Lydia gave another jerky nod and then slipped out of the room.

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Apologies for the somewhat filler-y update, but things are slowly beginning to happen. Lira is getting closer to finding out where all those kids go. Have any of your predictions changed since the beginning? Let me know! :)