Gifted, A Donovan Circus Novel Read Free

sure
you heard me right. No one told me anything other than I had a new roommate.
Are you a Chameleon? Muse? Telepath?”
    “No, I’m…um, I’m a Firestarter.”
I winced; Firestarters weren’t always everyone’s favorite supernatural being
due to their tempers, therefore the ability to demolish one’s life in seconds.
A girl I’d known briefly in childhood had been hesitant to even loan me a
sweater before realizing I had my emotions under control.
    Surprise crossed her pretty
face. “A girl Firestarter? Cool. I have only met guys with that gift. Only try
not to set my stuff on fire, okay? I am pretty attached to my clothes. And the
cookies in that drawer over there, which you can help yourself to.”
    I took my only coffee mug, which
had superhero cartoons all over it, and set it in the cabinet by the sink. This
kitchen was way better than what I remembered from my previous camper. Maybe it
wasn’t coincidence that this very gifted group had more sophisticated living
areas than most.
    “Well, most Firestarters are men. Women can be carriers, but
rarely have the physical aspects. Imagine everyone’s surprise when I created
fire from thin air as a toddler. Got lucky, I guess. Your turn—what are
you?”
    “I’m a Runner.”
    I looked at her, puzzled. “Sheffield
told me there might be those I’ve never encountered. I give up. What’s a
Runner?”
    Delia grinned at me and raced
past me in a blur. All I saw was a split second of her dark hair before she
went out the door and back to her bed just as fast. I didn’t even have time to
blink.
    Impressive. “Wow. Now that’s a
useful gift. You didn’t do track in high school did you?”
    “Nah. My family and I have been
with this troupe for a while. Well, I mean before my parents retired. I was
twenty-two and knew I wanted to be here.” She smiled. “They live in Las Vegas
now and love it.”
    “I can’t believe I’ve never met
a Runner before. How the heck does every circus not have six of you?”
    “We have two others here, but it
is a rarity. For example, in my father’s family, it is only passed down every
two generations. It skipped my dad, but my mom was from another Runner family.
They got married and hoped they could break genetics. Lucky it worked.”
    “How old are you?”
    “Twenty-five, but do not spread
that around. I plan on staying this age for the next few years,” she said. “So
how did you get here? Sheffield rarely brings in people like this.”
    “My situation is a little
weird.”
    “Oh?”
    “My dad was a Firestarter here
at this show. Lenny Sullivan, you may have heard of him? We were here until I
was twelve or thirteen. Mom wanted a normal life so we left.” I put a hand up
to my mouth and mock whispered, “It didn’t take for me, by the way. Sheffield
and my dad were really good friends. He died a few years ago; my mom passed
away last week. Sheffield left me a longstanding offer and I finally took it.”
    “I am so sorry about your
parents. You must miss them very much.”
    I stayed silent and an awkward
pause came over us. I spoke for no other reason than to break her pity gaze. “I
can’t seem to place your accent.”
    “I am Delia Stavros; my family
is from Greece. We lived there until I was a teenager, then my parents met
Sheffield. He offered for us to be with his show. Best decision they ever made,
I think.” She proudly tossed her hair. “I have been talking English for many,
many years now.”
    “You’re good at it,” I said with
a smile. “I wish we had stayed here.”
    “Your father never wanted you to
return?”
    “I expect he would’ve eventually
allowed me to come back, maybe after I turned eighteen. I’m not sure if he was
ever happy about leaving either, but he loved my mom enough to trade it in for
her. He knew I struggled around humans. High school wasn’t the best time.”
    She grimaced. “Yikes. I have
seen enough American comedy movies to know that high school is a worldly hell
of