The Tower of the Forgotten

The Tower of the Forgotten Read Free

Book: The Tower of the Forgotten Read Free
Author: Sara M. Harvey
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Grigori
will be noted."
    Portia gave him a curt nod in reply. "Good.
I’ll be wanting a parade."

     
    — 2 —
     
    "THE TOWER OF MIRACLES!" Halford Kirkley, the most
senior partner of the traveling circus and sideshow, had strolled into the tent
that housed Portia’s cage. "It’s making us rich, rich I tell you, Quentin! The
pilgrims! The cures! The advertising writes itself! Now, what shall we do with her ?"
    Quentin Seymour hastily followed, rolls of
architectural plans and a notepad clutched in his ink-stained fingers. What
Quentin may have lacked in ambition, he made up for in business sense. He
eyeballed the shoddy tableau of the cage and blew through his lips.
    "It’ll be a boon, combining both attractions. But it just means
we’ve got to move her again. Like a wildcat, that
one. And do we dare leave her out there at night? I don’t think we can pay anyone enough to take the job of shifting
her back and forth." He tucked his plans
under one arm and flipped through the notebook.
    "Bah,
she’s been weak as milk since we got her settled.
Once she gets accustomed to her new home I think she’ll be just as docile. Won’t you, girl?" Halford turned to address her directly for the first time.
    Portia
bristled, but did not respond.
    "But
Hal, wasn’t she plucked from that same tower by the
Airship Corps? I’d hate to endanger this
venture by giving her an opportune means of escape back there. Perhaps that’s what it’s waiting for: her
return. And if she goes home again, we lose them both, and where would our
revenue be, then? I’ll tell you where—"
    "Nonsense!
She isn’t going anywhere. Especially if you build
a nice and sturdy pavilion!" He snatched one of the
rolls from Quentin and stretched it out before him. "Besides, I have been in contact with Mr. Hadrian Magister,
who has certain interests staked in the tower, and he assures me that we will
have no troubles whatsoever; he knows precisely how to handle all of this. And
he is willing to pay top dollar to have her new setup placed there as soon as
possible."
    It
was Quentin’s turn to seethe, but he
hid it poorly. "And just who is this
generous benefactor that is going to graciously assist us in our quest to make
money?"
    "Oh,
now, now dear chum, don’t be so coy. I have no
intentions of replacing you as partner, but I did need to seek some outside
influence. Besides, he was some excellent methods for dealing with our
occasionally problematic habitué."
    They
both turned and laid their stares onto Portia. She gazed back, unmoved. Halford
handed one side of the scroll to Quentin and ran his fingers across the
topographic drawings of the coastline. The tower had been hastily sketched in,
Portia saw, as well as an image of a grand pavilion nestled amid the rocky
cliffs facing the sea.
    "You see, Quentin, this is the
moment we’ve been waiting for. We can forget this two-bit freak show and enter
the world of bona fide attractions! The Circus
Avernus!"
    Quentin sighed and took the sheet of vellum
back from his partner. "We shall see, Hal. But mark my words, I do not like
this." He tucked the architectural plans beneath his arm and huffed, stalking
out of the tent.
    Halford
watched him go and clucked his tongue. "He’ll come around, my treasure,"
he murmured to Portia, idly stroking her cage. "I
have been waiting for you, waiting for this…for so long. And we’re going to make the best of it. Together." He slid his arm between the bars, knocking loose a few of
the paste pearls, and reached for Portia. She shuffled back away from his hand
and his fingers fell upon the hem of her gown instead. He clenched the heavy
satin and gave it a nearly playful tug. "We’ll go far together, you and I. You shouldn’t fear me, my plum." He blew her a kiss and
strolled out of the tent, leaving the flap open to the chilly night wind.
    "Perhaps, you should fear me ,"
Portia growled. Halford did not return.
     
    * * * *
     
    "What
do we have here?" The creaking

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