Girl on a Wire Read Online Free Page A

hadn’t seen him attempt the quadruple somersault with my own eyes, I’d never have pegged him as a flyer. He was all muscle, and didn’t have the right quality about him. Most flyers—including Dita and Nan—moved in a way that was effortlessly weightless, even when their feet were on the ground.
    I turned to see what Dita was pointing at. Across the ring, I spotted my parents sitting on a raised platform, chatting away with Thurston. Mom was glowing, but Dad was scanning the crowd. He rose to his feet.
    “Novio,” Remy said.
    His sister responded, “Master of the obvious.”
    Remy rushed past me, Dita following, and I chased after them. The crowd parted for us. My eyes flicked to the dais, and I saw that my father was off it and into the crush. Only a few people continued to dance. Everyone else had grown quiet. Mom was on her feet and frowning, but stayed where she was. Thurston leaned back in his seat.
    A moment later, I reached the edge of an instant clearing, the kind that always forms for a fight. A lean, compact older boy in a black leather jacket was circling Sam. I’d never seen such a fierce look on Sam’s face before.
    “Say one more thing. I dare you,” Sam said, his hands balled into fists.
    Oh no.
    The boy—it had to be the famous Novio—wore no mask, and the hard set of his features made me question whether he’d ever had a happy day in his life. I kicked myself for wondering whether he and his brother looked anything alike.
    “What’s going on here?” Remy asked, approaching the two of them.
    His hands were upturned and flat, but I didn’t buy him as peacemaker. I stepped in. “Yes, I’d love to know too. Because it seems like you’re ruining our party.”
    If there was any talking still going on in the crowd, it stopped then. Yes, I said it. Our party. The music had vanished.
    Novio approached me, and I hoped that would give Sam time to calm down. “I can see why my brother was dancing with you, even if you are a Maroni.”
    My father wasn’t far, because I heard him shout, “Let me through, imbecile!”
    I could defuse this before he got involved. I could. This wasn’t how I wanted our first night at the Cirque to go. I hadn’t wanted any of Nan’s feud nonsense to be real, and here it was already causing problems. I refused to let ancient history ruin things.
    “I’m a good dancer, I know,” I said, laying on the charm.
    Novio came in closer to me. I held my invisible line, refused to flinch from him. He said, “You’re pretty for a thieving dog.”
    Odd choice of comparison, but, “Woof,” I said.
    Novio almost smiled. His cheek jerked, and a hand landed on his shoulder. I expected it to be Remy, pulling his brother away, and felt a wave of gratitude. Thurston wouldn’t like the fighting, and it was better for everyone when owners were happy. I said, loudly, “Sam, let’s go. This party’s dead.”
    But, of course, the hand belonged to Sam. His fist landed dead center on Novio’s square jaw.
    I stood, more or less in shock, as Sam and Novio laid into each other, locked in a close scuffle like some sort of perverse hug. Until a devil mask appeared in front of me, blocking my view.
    Remy placed his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to walk backward away from the fight. I peered over his shoulder. “Let me go. Sam!”
    The crowd sealed off behind us, separating us from the mayhem. “They’ll break it up in a minute,” Remy said. “You’ll be safe back here.”
    He stopped, and we stood there, glaring at each other through our masks.
    “You should have stayed out of it, butterfly. Look at the carnage, already happening.”
    And then the tent began to go dark. The lights died in a progressive swoop of spots going out, section by section. When the black descended, I couldn’t see Remy or his devil mask anymore. He lifted his hands from my shoulders and said, “Stay put.” I tried not to feel unmoored without the anchoring touch as the crowd jostled and shouts of