Blood Circus

Chapter 8- Trapped Animal

Sylvia peered around the side of the stands she hid behind. Liam was next to her, too far in to see but still able to hear. Damian had moved to the front of the bench, and out of her sight, while Talia remained at the tent entrance. She recalled what Talia had said. 'Bee'? She assumed this was another vampire. And this one had really bad timing. She wasn't finished asking Damian questions. Mainly if he knew who the vampire from her past was.

The curtain covering the entrance pulled open. Sylvia abandoned her train of thoughts and examined the person who came through. It was a small girl, barely 5 foot, her brown hair gathered high on her head in a messy bun. Vampire red eyes shone through her long fringe. Her height, and the fact that she wore black jeans and a yellow top, did remind Sylvia of a bee. She looked around eighteen. She stopped next to Talia and smiled, probably at Damian.

" Hey. What're you doing in here?"

" Hi Bee. We're just...chillin', as you would put it." Damian answered, mimicking Bee's obvious lazy way of speaking. Talia giggled, but Bee never noticed. She seemed focused on Damian. Her voice maintained it's original happy tone.

" Lord Graham is searching for you two. He's worried because the Hunters have killed Grisby, Morgana and Ramon."

" Really?"

" Yeah! I hope I don't run into them. Are you scared, Damian?"

" No. And you can go tell my father that. I'm fine. If I do run into the Hunters, at least I can pretend to be human."

" What about Talia?"

" She's harmless. They wouldn't want to waste their time with a juvenile vampire." Bee thought for a minute before turning on her heels and marching out. Sylvia looked at Liam. He was confused, but she knew he was thinking the same thing. Looked like even vampires had love issues.

" You killed Ramon?" Damian's voice made them both jump. Sylvia spun around to see him leaning casually on the stands. She hadn't noticed before, but he was only about an inch taller than her, unlike Liam, who was three inches shorter. She racked her memory for a 'Ramon'.

" Did he have blond hair and a trench coat?"

" Yeah."

" Oh yeah. He's the one I shot in the Hall of Mirrors. Sorry?"

" Don't be, nobody liked him."

" Good. Now, were can we find your father. I assume that's Lord Graham?" Damian nodded.

" You need a key for to open the door to the main tent. Bee will go tell him what I said, then he'll send a guard to drag me back to him. I have to stay here so no one sees me helping you, but I do know where you can start."

" Where?"

" I saw one of the main guards go in the Animal Show tent. Try over there."

" Thanks."

They left Damian and Talia to handle themeselves and set towards the only other tent on the grounds. It was obviously the Animal Show tent because it was the only one they hadn't looked in yet. Liam walked with his handgun in case they ran into any vampires on the way. Sylvia knew he was really just scared, and he thought holding a gun masked this. Sylvia was confident that even if they did meet anyone, she wouldn't need her gun. The signboard outside the tent confirmed her logic. The words 'Animal Show' were printed on in large blue writing. A picture of a lion balancing a ball on it's nose was starting to peel off. Sylvia was heading straight for the entrance, but Liam stopped. She stopped too, turning to face him. He was looking at her, his expression had changed from pretending to be brave, to absolutely terrified. She sighed and placed her hand on her hips.

" Of course. You're scared of animals."

" Only big ones!"

"Oh yeah, and Tye is a big animal, right?" she laughed. Tye was Sylvia's pet cat, and she was barely the size of her forearm. Liam freaked out every time the cat came near him. It was the only phobia he had, but she always thought it was a silly one. She loved animals, and never understood why people would be scared of them.

" Sylvia, this isn't funny!"

" Fine. You wait out here and I'll go in." He thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head.

" Last time we split up, I was attacked by five vampires. We need to stick together right now. This case is too dangerous."

" Then you're coming in." She grabbed his hand before he could protest and pulled him with her inside the tent.

Inside was the same as the tent where Damian had taken them. Two large stands faced into a ring bordered by a short black and red wall. The difference in this tent was that inside the ring, various hoops and blocks and balls were scattered around. A huge cage stood in the very middle. Sylvia and Liam checked around and behind the stands first. Now she had taken out her handgun and held it out. Before looking behind the stands, she would stop and listen for any movement, then turn the corner. Her police training made this a bit of a habit.

The stands were clear. So they moved into the ring. They started by moving the blocks to see under them. Nothing. They picked up and investigated all the balls and hoops with no success. She looked at Liam. He was looking at the cage. She stepped forward towards the cage, when he suddenly spoke.

" Wait! Do you hear that?" She stopped and listened.

" I don't hear anything..."

" Exactly. That's the silence of you're brain not working again! The cage is obviously a trap!"

" Would you stop being such a wimp? You can wait here." This time she never let him answer. Instead she walked to the cage door and pulled it open. It was unlocked. She went in. She looked around the floor. The cage was empty.

" You didn't have to go in to check the cage you know. I can see from here there's no key."

" Yes, Liam, well I thought it could be another portal thing like the one that took us here to start with."

She crossed her arms when he started to laugh. But she soon found herself chuckling too. She couldn't help it. Liam was one of those people who's laugh tended to be funnier than the joke. He sounded a lot like Barney the Dinosaur, only his laugh was slightly higher pitched. After a minute, they stopped laughing and Sylvia sighed.

" Okay, there's definatly nothing here. Let's try somewhere else..." she started to leave the cage. She only made it two steps before something screeched loudly. The bloodcurdling sound echoed through the empty tent, and Sylvia and Liam both covered their ears and bowed their heads in pain.

When Sylvia looked up, a bat was flying into the cage with her.