Tales of Gloomsdale #4: The Horror of the Big Top

Epilogue

"I heard that the ringmaster dropped dead from a heart attack," Mr. Dubois said while helping us clean up the remains of the circus.

"That's just what we told everyone," Demelza admitted, rolling up her tent. "It's more believable than what actually happened."

"You won't tell anyone in town, right?" I asked while helping gather the tarot cards that had fallen out. I stacked the suit of wands in a pile, which symbolized fire. Like the fire dancer, and the burning crystal ball...

"Of course not," Demelza assured. "There isn't much point. We'd rather forget about it entirely. You won't tell anyone either, will you?"

"Don't worry, I won't," I promised. "He's gone now, right?"

"Besides, they'd never believe us. I was shocked by it all myself," my dad added while discarding the shards of the orb. "But not as much as finding out he stole the staff from this town."

"And you succeeded in breaking it?" Mr. Dubois asked, watching with both relief and disappointment. "It was my brother's greatest creation, and also his most dangerous one. I suppose it's a good thing that it's gone."

"Well, we still have the tree branch the handle was made from," my dad admitted, pausing just as he was about to throw those away as well. He offered the spindly, fraying pieces to Mr. Dubois.

He briefly observed them before throwing them on the ground next to my dad's juggling balls. They were probably what I had tripped over behind the ring that time. "They're just parts of a tree. As useless as the orb now is."

"I can't believe it was that easy," Rosetta added while exiting her caravan with her arms filled with boxes. "Any of us could have taken it from him and destroyed it at any time."

"I could have done that any time he forced us to perform and that weird red light blinded us," Aidan quipped, scowling.

"No, you wouldn't have," Nadia reminded, helping him roll up the largest tent. "You're just as terrified of him as the rest of us."

"I'm glad the orb was shattered," I shuddered. "I still remember how it felt when he used that thing on me."

"You think that's bad? Try working here," Kai told me, gesturing to the torch as he threw it into one of the boxes. "At least I'm used to being burned by the fire, so it isn't as bad for me."

"And I'm used to falling off the trapeze and tightrope," Nadia added with a shudder. "But that thing causes much more pain..."

"It wasn't as much pain as he was in when we shattered the orb," my dad admitted. "It really did look like a heart attack at first. But we didn't shatter the entire thing, so he could still open his eyes and speak."

"And then he dropped dead?" Mr. Dubois guessed. "I should know that somebody who consumed too much of the power would lose their life if it was taken."

"Well, actually, it was thanks to Antonio," Demelza admitted. "He's the one who shattered the rest."

"I can't believe it," Antonio groaned. I glanced over to see him sitting on the ground with his head in his hands. "He was right. I killed him... my own father."

"No, you didn't," Mr. Dubois assured. "He wouldn't have died if he wasn't so power hungry. It killed him instead of weakening him."

"You did the right thing, Antonio," I assured. "You freed everyone who worked at the circus."

"No, that's not true," Kai added while effortlessly lifting the largest boxes filled with wires and spotlights in his huge arms. "We were imprisoned at the circus. Forced to work against our will, sometimes with acts pertaining to our deepest fears, and punished if we defied him. And none of us could leave, in case he revealed our darkest secrets." Kai shuddered while Antonio glanced away, probably remembering how he hadn't been blackmailed.