Most of what I knew about Nerifir came from Madame’s speech she made to the visitors of her menagerie. She spoke about each exhibit she had. The curious objects, she claimed, came from either Lorsan Wetlands, Mountains of Dakath, or Sarnala Plains. She’d said that the siren came from the Olathana Ocean. According to her, all these places were in Nerifir.
“I know Nerifir is home to sirens,” I offered tentatively.
He hummed in affirmation. “And to gargoyles who live high up the snowy mountains. And to werewolves who take a ghastly appearance every full moon. To sky fae who live high above the clouds. And to many more magical beings that the human world doesn’t have. We’re all fae, Amira.”
That world sounded like a fairy tale.
“Is it true that fae have magic?”
“Yes, every kind of fae has their own type of magic. ” He sounded rather smug about it.
“What magic do you have?” I asked.
Silence followed my question.
“Bring me something mechanical,” he finally replied. “A broken watch, a music box, bolts, gears, springs—anything. And I’ll show you my magic.”
My mouth dropped open at that odd request. Then excitement of anticipation buzzed through me. Would I really get to see something magical?
“Oh, I’ll get you—”
A loud slamming against the trailer door made me jump.
“Amira!” Radax’s voice roared from outside.
I hadn’t realized the truck had stopped.
“I’m here!” I yelled back, then added quietly to Kyllen, “No one can know we’ve spoken.”
“Why not?”
“Shhh! Be quiet.” I yanked the tube off the crate and tossed it back into the bucket on my way to the doors.
So absorbed I’d been by the conversation with Kyllen, I'd never thought of what to tell Radax about my switching trucks.
Radax wrenched the back doors open with a crashing noise.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded. “You were supposed to be in my truck.”
I froze, faced with his fury. Radax had never hurt me, but his deep frown along with his thundering voice were intimidating. “I’m sorry…”
“How did you end up in this truck?” He wouldn’t give up.
I shifted my gaze aside. “I… This one seemed comfier.” I pointed at the tent fabric rolls.
It hurt me to lie to Radax, but the less he knew, the less he could tell Madame, even if she made him. The safer he would be.
He rested his penetrative stare on me.
“I’m fine. It’s all good. Where are we? Is there a bathroom here?” I asked, eager to escape any questioning.
“Over there.” He gestured in the direction of the building of the truck stop, with our caravan parked nearby.
The sun was setting already. The parking lot was lit by the few streetlights nearby.
“Thanks.” I climbed out of the trailer. “I’ll be right back.”
When I returned from the bathroom, Dez came by with two paper bags in his hands and a bottle of water under each arm.
Radax snatched one of the bags from him and shoved it in my hands. “Here. Take this.”
Dez gave me a look like he’d just noticed me.
“And this, too.” Radax grabbed a bottle from under Dez’s arm.
“Hey!” Dez protested. “That’s my dinner!”
Radax tipped his head back to the truck stop building. “Go get more.”
I shifted the bottle under my elbow, then reached for the other one that Dez held under his other arm. “Can I have this one too, please?”
“What? No!” Dez stared at me in shock. I never asked for anything. Especially this blatantly.
Radax frowned, giving me a concerned look. “You want two bottles?”
“Yes…” I tried to keep my voice normal. It wasn’t easy because normally I didn’t speak at all. “It’s just… It’s hot in the truck.”
Radax casually grabbed the second bottle from Dez and silently gestured for him to go to the truck stop building.
Dez opened his mouth to argue, then just shook his head. He pressed the remaining bag of food into Radax’s hands, then begrudgingly headed back to the building.
“You really should be traveling in the front, Amira,” Radax said.
“I’m fine in the back,” I protested.
The conversation with Kyllen proved addictive. I didn’t want to end it. Especially if that meant listening to Dez droning on for hours instead.
Radax shot a glare at the crate shrouded in the shadows inside the truck.
“How has your trip been so far?” he asked cautiously.
“Fine. Quiet.” I faked a yawn. “I slept most of the way. I’ll go back to sleep right after dinner, too.”
Radax flexed his jaw, moving his beard. “It’d be more comfortable in the front.”
I shifted from one foot to the other, clutching the bag of food in my hands and pressing the two bottles to my chest with my arms. “Not if Dez doesn’t shut up, which you know he won’t.”
It was so unlike me to argue. My insistence would normally raise suspicions. Thankfully, Radax’s mind must be so preoccupied with the move, he let it slide.
“Fine,” he finally conceded. “If you travel in this one, so will I. Hey, Leslo!” he yelled at the brack who was about to climb into the driver’s seat of my truck, a bag with the takeout in his hand.
“Get out. I’m driving this one.”
“Why?” Leslo made a face.
Radax shoved him aside and got into the driver’s seat himself. He pointed his stare at the bottles in my arms. “Make some noise if you want me to stop for a bathroom break on the way.”
Leslo glanced at me with a clear resentment on his face. Avoiding his glare, I climbed in the back again. Eventually, someone shut and locked the doors, and I made myself comfortable by the crate.
“You can speak now,” I said to Kyllen as the truck moved again.
For the first time in my life, I was actually excited about the long, dusty ride in a pile of old tent fabric.
“Where are we going?” Kyllen asked.
“To another location for the show, further south. I didn’t ask the name of the town.”
He scoffed softly. “The town name makes no difference to me.”
That was very much my sentiment as well. Maybe Kyllen and I weren’t that different at all. In many ways, I was Madame’s prisoner, too.