Broken People Read Free Page A

them removed, the skin was the
easiest to regenerate, but Big Dino liked the badass look. It fit
the parts they played in the circus. “I wasn’t here when Big Dino
fixed her, but all we hear is what awesome work he did.”
    “Too bad she hates it.” Rake put his
sharpening tools away.
    “Yeah, well, it doesn’t stop him from
considering her his masterpiece. He would leave her the circus if
he could.”
    “Then we’d get to park the train on her
front lawn,” Rake deadpanned.
    “Does she have a lawn?” Spinner asked. “I
thought she lived—”
    “Beats me. I haven’t been in the city in two
years, ever since they banned us to this abandoned railway
track.”
    Spinner let out a sigh. “It’s a miracle we
get customers at all.”
    “We’ll always get customers,” Rake said with
a pointed look.
    People in need would find them even if the
circus was camped kilometers away from the city, but Spinner wanted
an audience for their shows, too. Being stationed on the other side
of the river made that difficult, and the rain wasn’t helping
things, either.
    The air vibrated, and Spinner raised his
hand in time to grasp the knife flying his way. He caught it, but
his grip slipped, and it flew past him and got stuck in the
wall.
    Spinner winced and answered Rake’s arched
eyebrow, “It’s not the field. It’s my wrist that’s acting up. I’ll
have a look at it in the morning.”
    Rake nodded and went to retrieve his knife.
The new hole in the wall had joined an already large collection,
proof that Spinner’s wrist slipped often. At least he caught the
knives when it counted.
    The car door opened, and a wave of cold air
burst inside, along with clouds of mist that surrounded the tall
silhouette standing in the doorway.
    “Nicholas, how nice of you to join us!”
Spinner jumped up from his chair. While standing, the other two men
towered over him, but he compensated with the bulk of his arms.
    “Good evening, gentlemen. Brrr … It got
pretty chilly out there,” Nicholas said with an easy smile,
removing his white gloves and top hat. His black hair shone in the
fluorescent light. “A little bird told me you could use my help.
What can I do for you?”
    “We’re expecting a potential client,”
Spinner said. “We need you to speak to him for us.”
    “Won’t Big Dino mind?” Nicholas asked. “I
wouldn’t want to step on his toes. This is his business.”
    “Big Dino hasn’t been conscious in two
days,” Rake said. “It’s unlikely he’ll wake up tonight.”
    “Ah … I see.” Nicholas shrugged off his coat
and straightened the lapels of his tailcoat. “Of course, I’ll help
if I can, although you’ll have to guide me through the process as I
know nothing of your trade.”
    “We’ll take over once he explains his
problem. Don’t worry,” Spinner said. “All you have to do is nod
when we tell him the price.”
    “And try not to look surprised.” Rake
smirked.
    “Your fees are different than mine,”
Nicholas said. “So, basically, you need a puppet. Very well, I can
do that. It’s the least I can do to repay Big Dino’s
generosity.”
    “Yeah. When will you admit you’re one of us
and ask for a big headline?” Spinner asked.
    “Oh, I don’t know about that. I wouldn’t
want the ad to catch my creditors’ attention. It’s hard to live off
magic these days. Even kids can’t be fooled anymore.” Shaking his
head, Nicholas pulled a chair to sit down. “Where’s this client of
yours?”
    “I sent Jacko to show him around,” Spinner
said. “He wasn’t thrilled, so I doubt Jacko will manage to delay
him much longer.”
    “Do we know anything about him?” Nicholas
crossed his long legs and linked his hands on top of his knee.
    “He was sent by Miss Aurore,” Rake said.
“There’s bound to be a catch.”
     

5

    Rake refilled his glass and held the flask
out to Nicholas, but the magician declined, shaking his head and
covering the glass with his hand. He’d never seen