Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

L io luxuriated in the warmth of the tub in the back of Madame Persephone's tent, washing his hair with herbal-scented shampoo and removing what seemed to have been days' worth of grime from his skin—not to mention dried blood. The water—the third tub full—turned cold, forcing him to get out and dry off. He donned clothes that she'd left out for him. Somehow, she'd managed just the right sizes. They weren't new, except for the underwear, but they fit.

"What would you like me to call you?" Madame Persephone asked.

"Lio," he said, emerging from behind a curtain, dressed in the clean clothes and blood-free tennis shoes she'd gotten from somewhere.

She poured two cups of tea and gestured to a black-shrouded table. Lio sat on one side, Madame Persephone on the other. He studied the pieces of brightly colored paper she placed before him. Cards , his mind supplied. But not the kind he normally saw with pictures and numbers. Dave used to make money playing cards. Dave? Who was Dave? Lio's lover, yet not his lover, whose memory brought an ache to his chest. No, not Lio's lover, but Emilio's. Better to keep those memories for a time when he wasn't with someone who read him so clearly.

These cards showed elaborate pictures, some pretty, others depicting scary creatures like a man of bones and a woman dressed in black.

He sipped the delicate cup of fragrant tea. "What do they mean?"

She drew a few deep breaths, the worry lines in her forehead easing with her last heavy exhale. "I read the future. However, it's not your future that's the question, but your past."

"What do you mean, my past?" Lio certainly couldn't remember much before arriving at the Carnival.

"Your past ended. The person you appear to be is no longer with us. You have somehow transferred into his shell. I see two possible futures laid out for you."

Did she learn all that from a few cards? "I don't believe you." Still, Lio recalled entering this body and another entity leaving. Their brief conversation.

"Some don't." She narrowed her eyes. "To their own peril. The Carnival of Mysteries brought you here to be placed upon your Path."

The Carnival itself brought Lio here? Impossible. He hadn't learned much since waking in this tent, but places weren't sentient. Were they? No, Big Tony had Bennie bring him here or, rather, to the desert. Then again, he thought he had died there. Didn't he suffer from severe injuries? Now, the bit of discomfort he felt didn't match the excruciating pain he'd been in earlier. Maybe the sentient Carnival healed him.

Or maybe he still slept, and everything from his healing to Madame Persephone's tinkling bangles was a dream. But there'd been a man, hadn't there, with wild copper hair and sympathetic eyes?

Madame Persephone dealt a few more cards, frowning. "Your Path is unclear. Who you were before remains as much a mystery as the Carnival itself."

And the Carnival presented a huge mystery, something neither Emilio nor Lio had ever encountered.

Persephone hummed tunelessly. "Until your Path unfolds, you may stay with us, of course, especially while you recover. Once you've recovered, you can assist at a gaming booth. Rest, recuperate, and explore the Carnival until then. For now, you must go." Persephone gave an indulgent smile. "Customers await." She clapped her hands. "Amelia?"

A young woman appeared from behind a curtain. "Yes, Madame?

"Amelia, this is our guest, Lio. Can you please escort him to Bellamy's trailer?" She turned back to Lio. "Do not let your skin brush hers. She is my apprentice and still works hard to control her gifts."

Gifts? Buried memories claimed fortune telling and card reading were merely acts devised to separate humans from their money. Lio didn't have any money.

The young woman… Amelia… smiled. "Come with me, please."

They exited the purple tent, Lio still nursing a few aches. As long as he walked slowly, he'd be okay. Bright daylight had faded into night, brilliant touches of lavender on the horizon that somehow made Lio happy. He and Amelia passed several groups of people, most headed to the Carnival's attractions and vendors.

His stomach rumbled. He tried to open himself to the atmosphere and fulfill his body's requirements, but nothing happened. Wait. Why had he done that?

"We can stop by and get you a bite to eat first," Amelia said, with far too keen perception.

An attractive man wearing a red coat passed by. Amelia stopped and giggled, following him with her gaze until he disappeared from view. She let out a wistful sigh and gestured for Lio to continue. "That was Ringmaster Rafe," she said, longing not quite hidden in her words. "Sadly, he only has eyes for Errante."

Lio thought the handsome ringmaster and the elegant Errante made a gorgeous couple.

They stopped by a delicious-smelling building on wheels. Other people stood in front of them. Each approached the proprietor, waited until the woman handed them a bag and a cup, and then offered what Lio's mind said was the currency of this world. Of this world?

"Good evening, Amelia." A gray-haired woman behind the counter greeted Amelia when only she and Lio remained in line. "Who have you brought me?" She gave Lio an up-and-down perusal, a bright grin on her round face. Lines around her eyes and mouth suggested she laughed often.

"This is Lio. He'll be staying with the Carnival for a while, and he's hungry."

The woman studied Lio's face for a few moments. "I know just what you need."

"She doesn't need to ask," Amelia said. "She knows what you want and need better than you do."

The woman bustled around the tiny space of her mobile building, and a few moments later, she returned with a bag and a cup. "Here you go."

Lio had witnessed other people handing over money. "I… I can't pay you."

The woman's infectious grin widened. "You're one of us now. We don't charge family."

"Thank you," Amelia said. Lio threw up the hand holding the bag.

"Anytime!"

Lio and Amelia continued walking, Lio with the bag in one hand, and the cup in the other. They passed more and more people who didn't look like Carnival goers, and Amelia seemed to know them all. They stopped at a huge red and white tent, from which came bouts of applause.

"That's the Big Top." Amelia waved Lio close enough to peek in the tent flap. "The Flying Galliers is one of our biggest attractions, an entire family of aerialists. You'll have to take the time one day to watch them."

They resumed their trek to where more tiny wheeled buildings sat. One had people in front, sitting in chairs. Amelia stopped by to chat. "Hey, guys. This is Lio. He's going to be traveling with us for a while."

"Hey, Lio!" all four replied.

Amelia turned to Lio. "This is Phil, Angie, Mark, and Penny." So went the process for the next four trailers they stopped at. The names went on and on, too many for Lio to ever hope to remember.

Soft music reached Lio's ears, fading as he and Amelia strode past. She filled him in on gossip while they walked. "Do you see that woman over there? She's been with the Carnival the longest of any roustabout. And that man? He's had three wives since he's been here."

Lio lost track of who did what by the time they stopped walking in front of an… RV —a recreational vehicle, though it seemed these people called theirs home. This one wasn't as large as some and had seen much use, the body dented, a touch of rust here and there.

"You'll be staying in this one." Amelia knocked first before opening the door.

"Does someone else live here?" A stack of folded clothes sat neatly on a chair.

"Remember the big guy who brought you to Madame Persephone's?"

Lio recalled feeling a warm chest and hearing a muttered "Sorry" when Lio's human conveyance jostled him. Though he'd been near death and terrified, being in the man's arms made Lio feel safe as they passed under the "Welcome Traveler" sign.

"Vaguely," Lio replied. Much happened so quickly. Had it really been only a few hours ago that he lay on hot sand, thinking he'd die? Only scars remained of all the knife and bullet wounds. He'd been light-headed at first, but now he felt fine. Or what he thought was fine, not knowing who he was, how he got there, or anything else relevant.

"That was Bellamy, one of our newer staff. He's an easygoing guy. Errante must've thought you'd get along, or he wouldn't have assigned you to share quarters." Amelia blushed so prettily. So maybe the ringmaster wasn't the only member of the Carnival crew to catch her eye. "He's a roustabout, so he might be working until late. Make yourself at home. His bed will be obvious, so just take the other one."

A box sat on a chair. "Ah, I see someone has already delivered your things."

"My things?"

"Clothes, toiletries," Amelia replied with a beautiful smile. "If you need something we didn't think of, just ask Bel or Madame Persephone. I'll leave you alone to settle in. Welcome to the Carnival of Mysteries."

She left, and Lio surveyed the space, letting his mind fill in details: table, chairs, couch. A hint of some sweet spice hung in the air, and a well-worn book and an empty stained cup sat on the table. At the far end of the dwelling, he found a bathroom and, farther beyond, a room with two narrow beds, one on each side. One appeared plain. The other held an assortment of purple blankets and even a purple fluffy thing with eyes. Was that supposed to be a dog? Nothing in Emilio's memories hinted at dogs in that color.

Lio recoiled, but the thing didn't move. The plain bed gave under his rump as he sat, and he watched the thing's eyes while sipping the cup's liquid from a straw. The bag's contents smelled wonderful. His host's memories supplied hot dog and flashes of its use. Humans took solid food into their bodies instead of absorbing nourishment from the atmosphere. How inefficient. But wasn't he human? Odd to think of them as a separate species.

His stomach growled again, so Lio unwrapped the hot dog and took a tentative bite. He chewed slowly, letting the tastes reveal themselves on his tongue: fresh-baked bread, spicy mustard, pungent onion, tangy ketchup, flavorful chili, and the hot dog itself, bland in comparison with the other tastes.

After a few missteps, he mastered chewing and swallowing with help from his host. His body acted automatically for some things; for others, he had to bring up memories.

He sipped the drink, which was cold instead of hot like the tea Madame Persephone served, and he ate every bit from the bag. A similar empty bag sat in a container by the door. Maybe Lio should put his there. The bag crumpled in on itself before he could move, sailing across the room and into the basket.

Lio jumped back. What just happened? Did humans have the power to move things with their minds?

He closed his eyes, calling upon the something in his brain he'd been relying on for facts. No. Most humans didn't have such abilities. Those who claimed to were usually liars.

How odd to access someone else's memories, for Lio might not remember much, but he was certain they weren't his. If this body truly had housed another whose memories Lio accessed, Emelio had been a skeptic about powers and abilities. Lio's thoughts were so clouded at the moment that he couldn't distinguish reality from imagination.

He washed in the bathroom on instinct, performed more duties required by his body, and then lay down on the bed, trying not to think about anything that might cause things to move on their own. A mere wisp of thought swept through his mind, of floating upside down for sleep. Would he have been comforted or horrified if his body had risen above the mattress? The thought left before he could examine it more thoroughly.

What an odd turn of events to find himself here among humans, nearly dying a few times, then arriving at a strange carnival.

He glanced across to the other bed toward the odd purple dog. A heaped-up blanket now hid it from view. I'm too tired to consider how that happened right now.

His eyelids grew heavy, and he let them slide shut.

Voices from outside woke Lio. The bed across the room remained empty, though the rumpled covers said someone had been there. Or perhaps the purple thing with eyes was indeed sentient. It had also moved to the opposite end of the bed.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Lio called. He stood, but his feet hit bare wood, where last night his toes sank into fluffy softness. Where was the bathroom? A pitcher and bowl occupied a space on a table that hadn't been there last night, and another round bowl sat on the floor.

The entire dwelling could've fit inside the one he'd fallen asleep in, with plenty of room to spare.

Lio's mind supplied names and purposes while adding a touch of disgust at the round pot on the floor. He pulled clothes from the box Amelia showed him, but instead of blue jeans and a T-shirt like yesterday, he pulled on a cream-colored woven shirt with laces up the front and a pair of lace-up trousers. The spot where he'd placed tennis shoes the night before now held hide boots. All fit him perfectly.

He ran outside and stared into the distance. Instead of desert, trees surrounded the odd assortment of dwellings, which appeared to be more primitive.

The same big, burly, somewhat handsome man from Lio's fevered haze appeared, carrying two wooden cups. He offered one to Lio.

"Good morning. I wasn't sure if you'd be awake, but I brought you a cup of coffee." Like Lio, this guy—was his name Bellamy?—wore simple clothing that could have come from an earlier time, according to Emilio's recollections. There wasn't a snap or zipper in sight.

"Why does this place look so different from yesterday?" Lio took the cup and sniffed the contents. The man stood much taller than Lio, but his open manner made his size less intimidating. The red hair and green eyes were the same as in Lio's fractured memory.

"We moved last night. The Carnival rarely stays in one place very long." Bellamy grinned, showing a crooked front tooth. "I like it. I get to see a lot of wor—places. Everything in the Carnival changes to suit wherever we are."

Lio would love to hear what the man had almost said. And how did the Carnival move overnight without him being aware?

"I'm Bellamy, but you can call me Bel." Bel held out his hand. His voice was deep but soft. "We'll be sharing a wagon. I've been working here as a roustabout for about a week, but Errante gave me the day off to see you settled."

Errante. An image came to mind of the attractive man all in black and what Amelia had said about him and Ringmaster Rafe.

"Drink your coffee before it gets cold," Bel urged, gesturing with his own cup. "Your name is Emilio, right?" Though he seemed friendly enough, Bel kept assessing Lio like he might do something wrong at any moment.

"I… I don't know. I'd rather you call me Lio if you don't mind." Easier to keep himself separate from the original owner of this body until he found out his true name—if he even had one.

Bel smiled again, a beautiful expression that elevated his face from "somewhat handsome" to "gorgeous." His unruly copper hair brought to mind the cotton candy displays on the Carnival's main thoroughfare, contrasting with vibrant green eyes and a smattering of freckles splashed across a not-quite-straight nose.

Staring at Bel caused odd feelings in the pit of Lio's stomach, and the elusive Dave came to mind. This was how Dave had made Emilio feel the first time they'd met. Yes, there had been someone else living in this body at one time. Or Lio had been injured worse than he'd thought.

Either way, the tug of attraction made itself known—an attraction Lio needed to squash until after he learned who he was and why he was there.

He sipped his coffee to keep his hands busy. It wasn't bad—not bad at all. Not the coffee or the man standing before him.

"Want to go inside?" Bel asked, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm sure you have a million questions, and my coworkers tend to gossip."

Lio had many questions, and based on Amelia's chatter from yesterday, the Carnival dwellers truly loved their gossip. Better to converse privately. He re-entered the tiny wagon with Bel behind him and took a seat in one chair.

Bel settled his massive frame into the other chair. He wasn't overweight like Bennie, but muscular. "We found you in the desert yesterday. Some men had tried to kill you. Why? Are you their enemy?"

"I don't know," Lio answered honestly. "My earliest memory is of being kicked. Someone—I don't know who or what—told me he wanted to leave, and then I found myself alone in this body. I know it sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? But my only memories before yesterday are cloudy."

Bel studied Lio for several moments, something calculating in his gaze, before he spoke again. "Something similar happened to me, but I remember everything." He set his coffee down on a nearby table, clasped his hands between his knees, and leaned forward, his voice barely a whisper. "I came from a dying world, was sent here actually, and told to find a human body that was dead or dying. I came upon Kevin, who'd been in a serious accident. His husband was gone, and he wanted to go too, so he moved out, and I moved in." Bel spread his hands in a "here I am" gesture. "I know it sounds crazy, and you're the only one I feel comfortable discussing this with."

A dead or dying body? Like Emilio? Suddenly, Lio's own story didn't seem so bizarre. "How did you come to be at the Carnival?"

Bel shrugged massive shoulders. "My host—that's what I call Kevin—told me where to go, I think. But it seems I belong here, so I've no complaints."

Host. Yes, that summed up Lio's relationship with the former owner of this body. He stared at the blank wall beside Bel's head. "I wish I knew who I was and where I came from."

"Maybe it'll come to you. In the meantime, you can get to know this place."

Could anyone know a place that changed so much day to day? "Why is our trailer different from last night?"

The carved floral pattern on Bel's cup must've been fascinating, for he kept his eyes trained on the cup for some time before answering. "I'm going to try to answer your questions, but if at any time you feel stressed or need a break, let me know. I don't want to overwhelm you."

Lio gave a nervous chuckle. "How bad can it be?"

Bel lifted his gaze from his cup. "The Carnival travels not only to different cities but to different worlds."

"Different worlds?" He couldn't mean what Lio thought he meant.

"Yeah, I know, sounds mindboggling, but it's true. The Carnival itself, including our trailer, changes to reflect where we are. In a more primitive society, we have a wagon. In an advanced world, we have a motorhome of some kind."

Who was Lio to judge as he'd yet to figure out what normal was? But… if they were in different worlds, he'd love to explore. "Can we leave the Carnival?"

Bel let out a noisy breath that might've been a sigh of relief. "If Errante allows it. Why? Is there someplace you want to go?"

"No. I just. I don't know. I just feel strange here." Lio recalled the men who'd wanted to kill him and shuddered. But they weren't here, were they? Even if they were, he got the feeling this big man would protect him.

Bel nodded and took a sip from his cup. "I'm told it takes time to adjust to new surroundings. Hey! Maybe you came from the same place I did and just don't remember. That would be great to know someone from… back home." He opened his mouth again but closed it without saying anything. What had he been about to say?

"Maybe." Where was "back home"? "Why is there so much purple on your bed?" Lio blurted. The talk of home brought a sense of anxiety, leaving him desperate to change the subject.

"The place I came from had a lot of purple."

"What about the purple thingy with the eyes?"

"Oh, Albert? He's a stuffed toy someone dropped. I couldn't bear to throw him away, so I brought him back here. You can decorate however you wish, too. I can help you find things."

Maybe Bel made a habit of adopting lost souls. How different he was from the angry men who'd hurt Lio. Whoever Lio was, however, he'd gotten here, he'd make the most of the opportunity of being alive instead of a corpse lying forgotten in the desert.

He glanced toward where he'd seen the wastebasket the night before, but it wasn't there. It might be prudent not to mention the delusion that he'd moved something with his mind.