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Acrobats ca out of the dark A man appeared before them and inserted a torch into his an and Cade slowly lers, a woan was not sure which orse in the flickering torchlight--the snake or the cloith their pale faces and false expressions Whether their painted rotesque, they all seemed to leer at her even as they cavorted around her

"If there is all this before we even enter the tent," Cade said, "I wonder e shall find inside"

She had no idea and wasn’t sure she wished to know From outside they could hear the strains ofshe’d ever heard before It was closer to horns than strings, and deep and powerful

A harlequin in motley with a half red and half black face bowed theht and color, was too lad to have her veil to filter sohts surrounded the entire center ring and were aug up above, sending shattered light twinkling across the red and white dia and walls The tent re’s htrope walker balanced her way across a wire Like Karigan, uests turned their faces up to watch She wondered if the aze openly at scantily clad females who didn’t even conceal their faces with veils

The source of the music was at the far end of the tent A man sat at a keyboard contraption with four levels of keys and several pipes that rose up into the heights of the big top, spewing periodic hissing clouds of stea across the keys and pulling levers and knobs, but also his feet never stopped puan pointed it out to Cade When the man hit the low notes, it made her bones rattle

"A music steamer," Cade said "It can make all the sounds of a band It means Hadley doesn’t have to pay a whole lot of ood to my ear"

He did not appear terribly impressed by it, but then he had lived his whole life in this tian wondered fleetingly what Estral would make of the ht up to thenized him as the circus boss "Welcome to the Imperial Circus I am Rudman Hadley I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure?"

Karigan started to speak, but Cade cleared his throat and passed her a warning look "I arave this evening, niece of Professor Bryce Lowell Josston"

"How interesting," Hadley said, giving Karigan a second look Once again she was glad of the veil What if he recognized her as the "corpse" that had "risen" froht she arrived? "Professor Josston’s ed to keep you sequestered it would see out since your arrival?"

She nodded

"Very good Enjoy all that Dr Silk offers tonight--the entertainht bow and ht she and Cade both exhaled in relief at the sagests--enjoy what’s here"

Nearby, a burly ainst a wooden board behind her The knives thunked into wood, outlining her figure with a precision Karigan could only ad of applause To Karigan, the one who deservedas sharp blades flew at her

Servants passed alasses of wine Cade deht Perhaps there is punch soed lion with full tawny e, this one tall and doet the guards to tell theuards only smiled and told them it was a surprise of Dr Silk’s

"Not sure if I like the sound of that," Cade , supple so many women with their faces blanked by veils, but a feore veils that barely reached their rouged upper lips They wore gorgeous gowns that bared more of their necks and revealed more of their curves than any attire she’d seen thus far Jewels glittered on their fingers, hung froan included, looked staid in coan’s gown to , she had fallen short

"These woaze, "no an raised her eyebrow There was sohed more loudly and wore the olds The Mill City wo a side shoith their quiet de and lack of baubles