Page 34 of House of Clowns

Hypno's face leaned in, his voice slick with suggestion. "You were great tonight. We should celebrate.

She shrugged but her smile was soft. "Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"Pick you up at eight?" he asked, and she nodded, looking around as if she somehow knew I was watching her.

A shudder rolled through me, a hot wildness that shook my hands. I wanted to break him and make him pay for the way he touched her. But instead, I turned and walked away, leaving her in his orbit. She whirled quickly, sensing my movement as the fabric of the tent billowed in the wind, and I heard her sharp intake of breath. It was better this way, I told myself now, making myself continue walking.

I walked up to the House of Clowns, and saw her in the window; she was getting ready for the date. She put on her makeup, looking at herself in the mirror. I wished she did the same to me. I put the hood on my head and leaned against the house wall, waiting. Did not know who—her or Hypno—but I just wanted to see her tonight.

I actually heard Victor and Hypno laughing as they walked down the stairs when I fired the cigarette up. I took a deep smoke, hiding behind the stairs, and when I saw Victor leave, I came closer to Hypno.

He took the path beside the house leading to the woods, and I waited for a few minutes just before I walked behind him. He didn't notice; I guess he was happy, smiling, preparing for his date.

Clown.

Indeed, even when I wore the face of a clown, he was the true clown. As we walked further into the woods, I walked faster towards the woods, closing up on him when I saw him stop. I grabbed him from behind, his neck against my knife, slowly touching his skin.

"Hypno," I whispered, "hello, my friend."

His voice shook with a stuttering "R-R-Rio."

TSK TSK TSK

"It's Joker for you," I said, pushing him to the ground.

Ever since he had hypnotized me that day, Hypno had been controlling my every move, making me do terrible things—that I only now started to recall through my dreams. He was part of the Circle, masterminding it all along—the disappearances of the clowns—using me to carry out his wish and pushing me to take the blame in its wake. But he had underestimated me. And as his words uttered a demand not to think of any person associated with the circus, my mind was right there with her—myAce of Hearts. She was the one who kept me grounded, anchored here but turned me loose in ways he would never understand. And thinking of her, clarity was what I got even when things in my world flickered at their darkest.

“No,” he stammered, his voice quivering with disbelief, “it can’t be.”

I pulled a rope from my jacket and headed to him with cold precision, securing him tightly against a tree.

"You know," I said, wrapping rope around his body, "for a long time, I thought it was me who was the fool." I laughed bitterly. "But you—ho, ho, ho—you're the real idiot here."

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Wh-what are you going to do? You can't—I'm your master!"

My voice was hard, cold, steady. "I'm no one's slave," I breathed, my knife gliding down his cheek, close enough for him to feel the edge of its blade. "All those souls you had me flay down in that basement…"

TSK TSK TSK

"They didn't suffer half of what's comin' for you." I pressed a thumb over his eyelid, prying his eye wide open. He thrashed, but the knife was steady as I dug in, and his scream pierced the night, sending startled birds into flight from the treetops.

"You will not be needing this anymore, will you?" I snarled, continuing to the other eye as he screamed, raw, as his voice broke, slumping as he passed out due to the pain.

"Pathetically overly sweet," I said loud, letting his purple eyes fall into a small pouch, that grotesque present I would deliver to her. My Ace of Hearts would understand I had kept him away from her.

I stepped back, calling to him mockingly. "Hellooo?" His head hung limp, his mouth slack.

I rolled my eyes, striding over and slapping his cheek a few times. His body was slack, lifeless.

"Dead already," I muttered to myself. "Perfect."

I turned my back on him and, keeping his body bound to the tree, made my way along that meandering path in the direction ofthe House of Clowns. My hands plunged into my pockets; my fingers brushed against the small, heavy pouch hanging from my belt, heavy with all those sins weighing, their darkness settlingin my chest. No, I didn't deserve her. But even if I was damned, even if I couldn't have her, I'd make sure that nobody else would, either.

Every step up to the House of Clowns was heavier than the last like the weight of everything I'd done was pressing down on me. But it was something that needed to be done, had to be said, even if it meant she'd never forgive me. My hand grasped the door handle, slowly pushing it open. I went up the stairs, creaking at almost every step. It felt like my breathing was burning inside of me as I neared her room. The door was open, a crack, enough to tell she wasn't inside.

I could hear the soft cadence of water hitting the tile—she was in the shower. The sound brought back a torrent of memories, especially that first night she spent with me in this room.

I saw that a pen and paper had been left on the bedside table, and something just seized inside of me—a pulse of impulse I couldn't resist. I scrawled a message in handwriting that looked foreign to me:I am watching you.Then I pulled the small bag from my pocket and watched as Hypno's purple eyes rolled onto the bed sheets beside the note.

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