The Emporium parade glittered like a dancing rainbow as it cut through the arena to a matching exit tunnel on the other side. Valeta waved, and the gathering crowd cheered. Kendi found a few reserves of energy and turned a cartwheel. Hobo Ben plodded sadly along beside him. Down near the floor in the seat Kendi knew to be A7 sat Edsard Roon, his family beside him. The children were munching candied apples. Mrs. Roon sat with her hands in her lap. Roon himself sat staring at the arena with the same rapt look on his face Kendi had seen earlier at the parade. Kendi smelled fried food and animal manure.
The elephants, followed by the group of joeys, passed out of the arena and into the performer's tunnel. The area under and behind the coliseum was a gray warren of dressing rooms, storage areas, holding pens, offices, and other facilities. The Emporium had taken over the entire thing for a week at tremendous cost. Valeta Kalopolis had groaned that she was going to lose money on this run but hadn't tried to back out of the agreement.
The elephant riders turned the animals down a side tunnel to a holding area where they would await their cue. Kendi dashed ahead of them so he could catch up to Valeta. Her scarlet tuxedo glittered with gold sequins.
"Roon's here, Val," he told her. "You remember what to do?"
Valeta turned and gave him a hard look over the golden head of her cane.
"Sorry. I worry."
"Don't," she said, and linked arms with him. "We're show people from a long line of show people, dearest. Roon won't suspect a thing."
Kendi nodded, feeling suddenly silly in his clown outfit. "I appreciate this, Val. You have no idea what this means to me."
"I'd say it was no trouble," Val replied, "except I'd rather save my lies for Roon. Keep in mind that after this"-she wagged a warning finger at him-"our debt is clearly and carefully paid. Don't even ask for tickets the next time we're in the neighborhood."
"I won't," Kendi promised.
Val squeezed his arm and left. Kendi rejoined Ben, who was waiting in a performer's alcove that gave them a view of the main ring. Gretchen had already gone down to the clowns' dressing room.
"We're all set, Ben," Kendi said. "I guess we have a few minutes to sit back and enjoy the show."
A few moments after the Emporium parade had wound its way through the arena, the coliseum went dark. The murmuring crowd quieted, and Kendi imagined Roon leaning forward with anticipation. A single shaft of light stabbed down to the exact center of the middle ring. There stood Valeta Kaloplis, resplendent with her top hat and cane.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" she cried. "Children of all ages! Welcome to the Kalopolis Intergalactic Traveling Emporium of Wonders!"
The crowd cheered its enthusiasm before the echoes died away. Kendi's mouth, however, was dry and his gaze wandered toward Roon.
"Before we begin our performance," Valeta boomed, "I wish to inform you that everything you see here is absolutely real. The Emporium uses no holograms, no anti-gravity generators, no genetically altered animals or people. The only concession we make to modern times is to use a sound amplification system so that everyone can hear. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, can you hear me?"
The crowd cheered again.
"I said, 'Can you hear me?' "
Wilder cheers.
"Then let the show begin!"
Performers burst into the arena. A trio of riders leaped lightly on and off the backs of six horses that cantered steadily around the first ring. Two identically dressed clowns stood on opposite sides of a full-size empty mirror frame and duplicated each other's movements. A bare-chested humanoid with scaly orange skin and hulking muscles put a set of strange-looking animals through their paces in the center ring. Kendi, who remembered circuses from his childhood in Australia, found the entire scene a wonderful mix of Earth and… other places. Still, he couldn't keep his eyes off Roon.
"He's still there?" asked Ben beside him.
"Free and clear," Kendi said. "The shit who's holding my family-and who knows how many others."
"Any more information on the plan?"
Kendi shook his head. "There will be later, I promise. Did that comm signal ever pop up again?"
"Not yet. I'll keep watching for it." Ben leaned against the wall, his sad clown face reflected in his posture. "Ken, I don't like being kept in the dark."
"I know, Ben, and I'm sorry. It won't be for long. Promise."
Ben sighed and Kendi detected a definite note of anger in the sound. Kendi firmed his jaw. He knew exactly what Ben was going through-Ara had done it to him often enough. And Kendi wanted to tell Ben everything, both to include him and to relieve the pressure that was building inside him. But Ara had pounded into Kendi's head that when it came to complex plans, the fewer people who knew what was going on, the better. Although he had chafed under this policy several times, he had also come to realize that she had been right. He wondered if Ara had ever felt this way about him and wished he could ask her.
"Kendi, is that you?" asked a familiar voice.
Kendi turned. A woman with a pretty, round face was standing behind him. White streaks shot through her long dark hair. Her skin was a little lighter than Kendi's. Beside her stood a man who was close to the woman's age, though his hair was going more silver than white. Vidya Vajhur and her husband Prasad. The two of them had been instrumental in ending the Despair, and Kendi would have lost the battle against Padric Sufur's children without them.
"Vidya!" Kendi gave her a warm embrace while Ben shook hands with the man. "And Prasad! I was wondering where you'd gotten to."
"You and Ben are hard men to find," Prasad said.
"Especially when you hide yourselves under such garish makeup," Vidya added.
"Valeta told me she'd picked you up," Kendi said, "but there was a lot to arrange and I didn't have time to come find you. Is everything all right? How are Sejal and Katsu?"
"As far as I know, they are well," Vidya said, "though I haven't spoken to either of them in some time."
"They are… occupied," Prasad added. "The Council of Irfan desperately wants both of them to join the Children, since their Silence was largely untouched by the Despair, but they haven't decided yet. The Council is very worried these days."
"About the Silent dying out," Ben said. "We're nervous, too."
"This is a worry for another day," Vidya said. "Right now we should enjoy the circus."
"Agreed," Kendi said with a smile.
The performances continued. Flyers flipped and twirled among ropes and trapezes. An animal trainer trotted out a pod of small dinosaurs from Bellerophon, and Kendi felt a small stab of homesickness. Up in the stands, food and souvenir merchants hawked their wares. Smells of hot, greasy food spread everywhere. Kendi shifted uneasily. When would it be time for- "Ready?" Val said behind him. Kendi jumped. He hadn't heard her coming.
"Gretchen's down in the dressing area," Ben said, "so we're set."
Val nodded. "One more act and we'll do it." She trotted away.
"What are you going to do?" Prasad asked. "You said you do not need us to steal Roon's key, but you have not explained why you do need us."
Kendi started to scratch his nose, remembered his makeup, and dropped his hand. "I'll tell you later. It's too complicated to go into right here."
The dinosaur trainer ended her act, and Val stepped into the ring to introduce a magician. "Once again I repeat-the Emporium uses no holograms or other special effects. Everything you see is accomplished by skill alone, and the Great Manzini challenges you to figure out how each trick is done."