The skeletal creature never took its gaze from Kenzie. “Don’t flinch,” I heard it whisper as it drew one of the knives on its belt. “I don’t see very well, anymore.” Slowly, it raised its arm, the knife gleaming between its talons, and my stomach twisted so hard I felt nauseous.
Oh, God, I can’t watch this. I’m so sorry, Kenzie.
“Wait!”
Kenzie’s voice cut through the tense silence, making the knife thrower pause. Surprised, the ringmaster turned, a slight frown on his face, as Kenzie looked over at him. “I’ll make you a deal,” she said clearly. “One that will be even more entertaining than what you’re having Bull’s Eye Pete do.”
The knife thrower glared at Kenzie as if offended, but the ringmaster raised his gloved hand, halting him. “A deal, you say?” he repeated. “Well, this is an interesting twist. What are you proposing, young lady?”
My heart pounded. I hated making bargains with faeries, but in this case, if Kenzie came out unharmed, I wouldn’t complain. Making any kind of deal, even one to save your life, was risky, but Kenzie knew that just as well as me. She knew what she was doing.
I trust you, Kenzie, I thought, relieved that I wasn’t watching a creepy knife-throwing faery impale my girlfriend. I know you can handle this. Just...be careful.
Kenzie took a deep breath. “Let Ethan do this,” she said, making me start in surprise. “If he can hit the target three times without hitting me, you let us go. If he misses, then we’ll stay and watch the rest of the show, for however long you want us to.”
“Intriguing,” the ringmaster said slowly. “And if you get hit?”
Kenzie shrugged. “Then I get hit. And there will probably be a lot of blood and screaming from me, and a lot of angst and guilt from Ethan. Either way, it’ll be entertaining, right?”
The ringmaster scratched his chin for a moment, thinking, then beamed a smile and whirled, holding out his hands. “Ladies and gentlemen!” he called. “We have a new participant! Please, give a warm welcome to our wonderful volunteer who will take Pete’s place.”
My mind was spinning as the clowns cut me loose, dragged me to my feet and shoved me toward the circle. Yanking out the gag, I stumbled forward, trying to think, to form some sort of plan. I was good at knife fighting, sure; kali taught us how to be proficient with all blades, not just swords. But my knife skills were more defensive, focused on disarming a person trying to stab you, not hurling the blade like a ninja star. Guro didn’t advocate throwing knives, because even if you didn’t miss, you were now weaponless. I’d never thrown a knife at a target before, certainly not at a real person. I didn’t know what Kenzie expected me to do, but my hands were shaking as I stepped into the ring.
The ringmaster loomed over me, grinning from ear to ear. “Ah, here we are,” he announced, clamping steely fingers into my shoulder. “Welcome, young man, welcome! Are you ready to show us what you’ve got?”
No, I thought, my mouth dry. I don’t want to do this. I’m not sure I can throw a set of knives at my girlfriend and not want to kill myself if I hit her. But the ringmaster was giving me no option to back out. “Pete!” he called, and the skeletal thing sidled up, glaring at me with empty eye sockets. The ringmaster didn’t seem to notice. “Give the young man your knives,” he ordered cheerfully, “and let’s start the show!”
Pete grabbed my wrist, yanked my arm up and smacked three copper, slightly curved throwing knives into my palm. They were about six inches long, edged along both sides, and razor sharp. A thin line of blood welled up from where one knife edge parted my skin, but I barely felt it.
In a daze, I let the ringmaster lead me across the circle and stop about thirty feet from where Kenzie was strapped to the giant target. A pair of clowns waited for us as well and silently flanked me as the ringmaster stepped away.
“Whenever you’re ready, my boy,” he said, gesturing at Kenzie. I looked numbly at the knives in my hand, then at Kenzie, facing me across the circle. Okay, I can do this. I just have to hit the target and not her. No big. My stomach twisted, and my hands shook as I picked up one knife with a hollow clink. God, Kenzie, you have way too much faith in me.
“One moment, my boy.” The ringmaster raised his hand before I could pull my arm back. “I have an even better idea.” Striding up to Kenzie, he beamed a smile at her, then turned to the “audience.”
“Ladies and gentlemen!” he called, raising his arms. “We have a special treat for you!” Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a bright red candy apple, waved it around for effect, then placed it atop Kenzie’s skull. Kenzie froze, eyes going wide, and the ringmaster beamed. “This brave young man will attempt to throw a knife and spear the apple right off this girl’s head!”
My stomach dropped all the way to my toes. “No!” I protested. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“Oh, come now, it’ll be fun.” The ringmaster strode back to me, a warning in his bright grin. “You don’t want to disappoint everyone, do you?” He waved back to Kenzie. “Hit the apple, and you and the girl can go. You get three tries. It shouldn’t be that difficult, right?”
“And what if I refuse?”
“Then I will be disappointed, but I certainly cannot make you participate if you are unwilling or scared. But worry not.” He nodded to the skeletal thing standing behind me and smiled. “Pete will do it. The show must go on.”