━━━ ꧁ད ✶ ཌ꧂ ━━━

CHAPTER 31

━━━ ꧁ད ✶ ཌ꧂ ━━━

Time seemed to stand still as that rectangular box gained deeper meaning in my memories. The padlock, once securing its mysterious contents, gave way and fell with a dull thud onto the planks of the stage. The trunk wobbled as it opened, revealing a thick vapor that rose above it. Unadorned and unmarked, only the scratches on the inside of the lid gave us any clue about its history.

Ashton kept staring at the trunk. It was impossible to guess what was going through his mind at that moment, but his silence revealed the deep trance he was trapped in.

Trying to break that spell, I took his hand in a gesture of support. He looked at me as if awakening from a dream, but the distress in his eyes didn't disappear. It was evident that he was scared.

"It's okay," I said, surprising myself with the assurance I was able to provide. He squeezed my hand, and as he exhaled, his posture relaxed just a bit.

"Creepy, isn't it?" Another intrusion startled both of us and seeing the silhouette that had appeared behind us, I wondered if it was a product of my imagination.

I scrutinized every inch of his body, but I still couldn't believe what my eyes were showing me.

"Thomas?"

"I've been looking forward to meeting you again, Zara." Another presence now occupies a place on the closed trunk. I recognized him by the stars on one of his crossed legs, but there was no trace of the man's medallion.

I didn't know where to look. Maybe my sanity had just gone out the window as I heard Thomas and him speak in unison.

"You said you didn't know him," I whispered.

"Not looking like this," Ashton asserted. "He was twelve years old back then. He grew up, but not as much as he should have."

"How is that possible?"

"The world of shadows. Time doesn't pass there, and he could have stayed there, especially if he had two medallions."

It made sense. At the fair, they couldn't capture me as they did with my family because of the contraption I now carried in my pocket.

But somehow, he must have been present in this world as well, because he went from looking about twelve years old to appearing around sixteen.

"You must be surprised, cousin." Frey caressed his lower lip. It seemed like he was trying to hide his smile, and the way he referred to Ashton made me remember that the circus was composed of several families. Nevertheless, that didn't change the fact that the revelation caught me off guard.

I glanced at Thomas, who seemed more focused on looking at the stage. He hadn't moved from his spot. But as if called by my thoughts, he slowly tilted his head in my direction and remained that way, with an eerie pose and without blinking.

"If you play with fire, you can get burned," Thomas repeated every word uttered by Frey.

"Who are you?" My heart was pounding at an unnatural speed.

"Ah, but how rude of me. I'm Frey, the kid who went unnoticed in the circus and was considered useless. That's how it was, wasn't it, Ashton? Wherever you are, although I suppose not very far from her."

Hearing Thomas' voice overlaid on his started to drive me crazy. It was like the perfect recording of a disturbing choir.

"What did you do to Thomas?" I asked, and he smiled again.

"Why would I do anything to him?"

Ashton slid his fingertips along my arm. He must have sensed how close I was to shouting. Frey had something to do with what was happening to Thomas.

"I'm very sorry it had to turn out this way," he whispered to me. "I won't let him hurt you anymore."

His words were laden with a dreadful sensation.

"The good thing about being a nobody is that you can see and hear without anyone caring or noticing. Hans hated Reidar for Ellinor and because your father, Ashton, the fantastic ringmaster, didn't know how to recognize talent. But look at him." Frey pointed at Thomas. "What do you think of that? Clever, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, my little giant, Zara." I was annoyed that he was suddenly imitating my best friend, and Ashton also made a sound of discontent. "The one who bears an undeniable resemblance to the person I admired. Ellinor helped me, you know, but not better than you did. I have nothing against you. Thanks to Thomas, I saw you grow. However, I didn't think you would be so gullible. The phrase... Ashton didn't show up for such nonsense. It was something I made up, although I admit I didn't account for certain surprises, starting with his manifestation. I never imagined he would still be, in some way... alive. I found that out thanks to you and, of course, mostly thanks to Thomas."

"Phrase?" Ashton asked. "I heard you say my name and suspected it was because of the medallion, but I never knew about any phrase."

"Get to the point," I interrupted, feeling like the link that brought the family together, which made me reject their annoying talent for beating around the bush.

"How do I put it so you understand? Hans, under that alcohol-induced armor, was a hopeless romantic. He had a diary, which I got rid of, by the way, but which I found to be cheesy because it talked so much about Ellinor. He was practically a stalker. It was unexpected to find the little book after he ran away, because when I delved into its words... You'd be surprised by all its contents. It even had a section for each member, except for me, of course. He also wrote about his revenge plan against Reidar and his great friend, the circus owner. He just wanted to put them in a tight spot, but things didn't turn out as smoothly as he had hoped. Do you know what you say when you fall? Oops, I won't get off the ground. Though that didn't happen with Ellinor because she ended up six feet under."

His callousness made me grimace.

"Anyway," he cleared his throat, "he investigated the medallions and had more knowledge about them than the circus heir did. But he also added a couple of rings to the mix. That's how I set out to find Dallas, and it was just over sixteen years ago that I managed to locate him." He stood up and jumped off the stage toward us. Ashton forced me to step back while, over his shoulder, I glanced at where Thomas was.

"The interesting thing about all of this, Zara, is that he not only studied the devices but also included acquaintances and close friends of Ashton's father. That's how, at the time, the police officer from one of Scotland's most beautiful ports. Do you know who I'm talking about? The supposed Grandfather, Bearnard. And yes, I refer to him that way because the ex-military man did have a grandson named Thomas, but the child died at birth along with his mother sixteen years ago. And tell me... How old is the Thomas you know?" He waited a couple of seconds with his hand to his ear, hoping to hear an answer that my lips would never utter. Then he clapped and added, "The same age, correct!"

A significant part of my world collapsed into pieces.

"This is... It can't be... Thomas..." The silence behind my words deepened, turning eerie. A deafening silence surrounding a tragedy.

"Isn't it obvious? Thomas is me." Frey seemed delighted to finally admit it.

"It's not possible," I gasped. They had no resemblance. Thomas was always a positive and bright boy, while Frey was surrounded by a disturbed and resentful aura.

"Oh, but of course it is! Do you know what the four rings are the blue one hypnotizes, and the black one allows you to enter any mind. The turquoise one, in my case, found something of value inside me, my essence, and transferred it into Thomas thanks to the white stone ring because I desired it. But it wasn't a process I did alone since I never possessed the rings. Dallas did it for me. Well, I gave Thomas the body he needed to look human, thanks to the medallion of man because it strengthened my ability. And now, guess which of the devices on your fingers was used to hypnotize Thomas's supposed father. When Bearnard, the poor old man, saw his son come home with his supposedly deceased grandson, he nearly had a heart attack. Remember when I told you once that the old man was afraid of the dead?"

"Enough," I pleaded because it was true. Thomas had let that information slip once, but I never knew the hidden motive behind it.

"Wait. We haven't gotten to the best part yet. Thomas convinced your father to take them to Dallas' fair. That was a surprise to me too. But thanks to him, I found the medallion I needed, the one you carry in your pocket. Although I must say that, given the circumstances, I used you to keep the medallion away from the other two. Now that I think about it, that does make me... What was it you called me? Ah, an idiot."

My head was a mess. He seemed to know so much. It was all part of a plan structured over the years. He effortlessly destroyed every wall built throughout my life, all in a matter of a few days.

"My family..."

He didn't let me finish and interrupted, raising his arms.

"Listen. I merely took care of building their new puppet bodies, thanks to the medallion of man. Dallas, on the other hand, with his rings, took the essence of your siblings and gave them life. But after he died, leaving the shadows out of control and the rings with you, that wasn't my decision." He shrugged.

"What is the purpose of all this?" I asked. I had never felt so exhausted... defeated.

"I just want to be the creator of my stage, and to achieve that, I need the three medallions. But it turns out that I still can't bring them together. They don't fully respond to me because, for some reason, the one you have there stays with you. Also, I require the shadows due to a strange fetish. But because of Dallas's selfishness, that doesn't respond to me as it did before."

"You controlled them," I reasoned.

"Correction, Dallas had the power to manipulate minds, and he helped me with that. There are things I can't do alone. I think he committed suicide intending to leave you his rings because, like me, he found out that Ashton is with you. He took advantage and distanced himself from me to use them his way. But be honest, do you think my cousin could do anything more than fly? The boy doesn't even harm a fly. He was so sweet it gave me a serious case of diabetes, and I suppose that hasn't changed."

"He didn't care about knowing where the policeman was when he disappeared into the basement, but about the rest of the circus members. What Frey wants is to get rid of each one of us through the shadows," Ashton explained. "The medallions don't belong to him; he wants to make them his by force. And because of that, there can't be anyone left on this side. No living or conscious member."

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