Scourge: A Grim Doyle Adventure

Chapter 15

The foursome spent the next three days avoiding Valeria Bellow. Word was out that she had an argument not only with Eevenellin, but also Ninnipence, and even Dorian. And all three times she almost went Banshee. It forced Grim to check the halls before he left his room. The last thing he needed was to run into Valeria on a bad day.

Fortunately, this particular day Valeria seemed in a rather pleasant mood. It was a city holiday, even for the orphans. And they all decided to make a joint trip to the local emporium.

Good cheer ran rampant through the city streets as most of the city dwellers also made their way to the lower side of the city. And it was a chance for the orphans to finally spend some hard-earned money. Grim couldn’t wait to see what he could buy with the money he collected from his chores. Although goods were quite expensive and orphan labor was cheap.

He examined the few coins in his hand.

Very cheap.

Grim fingered the silver pocket watch and wondered how much he might get if he hocked it. There was a wondrous-looking walking stick with a green stone that drew his attention. According to the merchant it was once used by a Mystic, but what it could do was unknown. Grim went to take the pocket watch out, but noticed Rudy giving him a sidelong glance. And he knew what his Aunt would say if she found out.

Tucking it back into his vest pocket, he walked away, grumbling to himself that he’d have to save up ten years’ worth of wages if he wanted to buy one.

At the emporium was a traveling sideshow called Circus Quirkus. It was filled with entertainers and acrobats, jugglers, costumed men and women on stilts, and fire eaters. The first thing Grim thought of was a carnival. There were grand tents arrayed in vibrant colors, some of which reached staggering heights. Eerie music echoed through the square, as if played on some off-key, mechanical orchestra. It was a little macabre, Grim thought.

Parts of it seemed almost like a traveling freak show. Around the tents moved sinth-based creations, most of which seemed to have no particular form or purpose. They were a menacing mishmash of parts, yet Grim was fascinated nonetheless.

The four of them strode through the vast array of baked goods, preserves, sinth gadgets, toys, and weapons of every kind. Grim wasn’t sure where to begin, but followed the others.

He finally splurged on a device from the Southlands that acted like an umbrella. After the days of rain, he thought it would be appropriate. It folded up small enough to easily slip into his pocket, and it also transformed into a grappling hook with the flick of a switch. That was the extent of what his paltry wages could get him.

The evening brought a fantastical show of exploding fireworks that floated to the ground as candy. Afterwards, they watched a musical performance with characters masked as Darksworn and Jinns that were defeated by men and women wielding the coolest sinth contraptions Grim could imagine.

The Circus wrapped up with a final show of the Unseen who performed incredible feats of strength and flexibility, accompanied by haunting music. All of it was narrated by a short, rotund man named Sir Gummanel T. Falsus, but everyone called him Ol’ Gummy because he lacked most of his teeth. He dressed in furs and a feathered hat and walked with a knobby stick. He was the jolliest person Grim had ever seen, his face grinning with a huge toothless smile.

“Good evening, younglings,” he said to the four of them with a bow and a sweep of his arm. They all returned the greeting, Treena offering the most graceful of curtsies. Rudy attempted the same, but it was rather awkward and she nearly fell over in the attempt. She settled for a half-bow, half-curtsy. Grim stifled the snicker that inched its way up his throat.

Sir Gummanel was flanked by two peculiar creatures, both with stark white skin that appeared as if they wore thick makeup. One had a single black line running down the middle of his face. The other had two lines running across hers, one over her eyes and the other over her mouth. They were both dressed in puffy white pants and frilly shirts, their heads crowned by a pointed white hat with spiraled black markings. They reminded Grim of clowns. Sir Gummanel introduced them as Boboo and Sissimal, respectively.

Boboo, who spoke only in rhyme, offered Rudy a single rose.

“A rose for a maiden, so good and so fair,

All pales to your beauty, so true and so rare,

I offer this flower, but beware its sharp thorns,

It will prick you as surely, as a dragon has horns.”

“Thank you,” she said and attempted to pet the two white ferrets he carried upon his shoulder. When one of them tried to bite her, she quickly withdrew her hand.

Sissimal, who was a mute, waved her arms in front of Grim, showing him there was nothing in her white-gloved hands. She then pulled a gold coin from behind Grim’s ear and handed it to him.

He smiled and thanked her. Yet he did not even have a moment to consider how to spend it; its shiny appearance melted into a dull, tarnished lump of metal the instant Sissimal turned around.

As three large dirigibles flew by and landed outside the city, Ol’ Gummy turned to depart. “Well, I am afraid the night has drawn to an end. Good evening.” He took another bow and left them.

As they ambled about the streets, Grim heard a faint humming that rose and fell on the air.

“Do you hear that?” Grim asked.

Treena tilted her head to listen. “Hear what?”

“Yeah, hear what?” Rudy asked in her thunderous voice.

They rounded the corner into an alley where strange glass bulbs were inserted into the ground. The Gargoyles were dancing and howling between them. With wings extended they would turn the bulbs into the ground at various intervals, like a light show. It reminded Grim of the light bulb that used to hang in Poppa’s workshop.

Quinn and Treena appeared ill at ease.

“What’s wrong?” Grim asked.

“Gargoyles,” Quinn replied. “They fiddle with dark powers.”

Sam and Ellen sat, watching as the twins inserted the bulbs into the dirt. Dorian and Valeria stood off to the side, keeping watch.

“You go ahead without me,” Grim said. “I want to check this out.”

“Me too,” Rudy said.

“Fine by me,” Quinn said, and he and Treena hurried back to Madam Malkim’s.

“Hi,” Grim said as they approached. Ellen and Sam made room for them to sit. Toby climbed onto Grim’s lap.

“I have something to tell you,” Grim said. He needed to relay Aunt Patrice’s last message to them about Festrel. He’d forgotten to tell them.

Ellen took his hand and Sam took Rudy’s. “We know,” they said.

“You know what I was going to tell you?” Grim asked.

They both nodded. “About Festrel. We know.”

Rudy looked at Grim, but said nothing.

Sam giggled, pointing to where the twins had just turned on one of the bulbs and were pretending like they had wings.

“I want to be a Gargoyle too,” Ellen said.

And without anything further said, they watched the bulbs flicker on and off well into the dark of the night.