The Night Circus Read online

  His tailcoat has been tossed lazily over a velvet armchair, and his waistcoat hangs unbuttoned over his lace-edged shirt. The top hat which featured prominently in his performance sits on a hatstand nearby.

  The man appeared younger on the stage, his age buried under the glare of the footlights and layers of makeup. The face in the mirrors is lined, the hair significantly greying. But there is something youthful in the grin that appears as he catches sight of the man standing in the doorway.

  “You hated it, didn’t you?” he asks without turning away from the mirror, addressing the ghostly grey reflection. He wipes a thick residue of powder from his face with a handkerchief that might once have been white.

  “It is a pleasure to see you too, Hector,” the man in the grey suit says, closing the door quietly behind him.

  “You despised every minute, I can tell,” Hector Bowen says with a laugh. “I was watching you, don’t try to deny it.”

  He turns and extends a hand the man in the grey suit does not accept. In response, Hector shrugs and waves his fingers dramatically in the direction of the opposite wall. The velvet armchair slides forward from a corner packed with trunks and scarves while the tailcoat floats up from it like a shadow, obediently hanging itself in a wardrobe.

  “Sit, please,” Hector says. “It’s not as comfortable as the ones upstairs, I’m afraid.”

  “I cannot say I approve of such exhibitions,” the man in the grey suit says, taking off his gloves and dusting the chair with them before he sits. “Passing off manipulations as tricks and illusion. Charging admission.”

  Hector tosses the powder-covered handkerchief onto a table littered with brushes and tins of greasepaint.

  “Not a single person in that audience believes for a second that what I do up there is real,” he says, gesturing in the general direction of the stage. “That’s the beauty of it. Have you seen the contraptions these magicians build to accomplish the most mundane feats? They are a bunch of fish covered in feathers trying to convince the public they can fly, and I am simply a bird in their midst. The audience cannot tell the difference beyond knowing that I am better at it.”

  “That does not make it any less frivolous an endeavor.”

  “These people line up to be mystified,” Hector says. “I can mystify them easier than most. Seems a waste to let the opportunity pass by. Pays better than you might think, as well. Can I get you a drink? There are bottles hidden around here somewhere, though I’m not entirely sure there are glasses.” He attempts to sort through the contents of a table, pushing aside piles of newspapers and a birdless birdcage.

  “No, thank you,” the man in the grey suit says, shifting in his chair and resting his hands on the handle of his cane. “I found your performance curious, and the reaction of your audience somewhat perplexing. You were lacking in precision.”

  “Can’t be too good if I want them to believe I’m as fake as the rest of them,” Hector says with a laugh. “I thank you for coming and suffering through my show. I’m surprised you even turned up, I was beginning to give up hope. I’ve had that box reserved for you the entire week.”

  “I do not often decline invitations. Your letter said you had a proposition for me.”

  “I do, indeed!” Hector says, striking his hands together in a single sharp clap. “I was hoping you might be up for a game. It has been far too long since we’ve played. Though first, you must meet my new project.”

  “I was under the impression that you had given up on teaching.”

  “I had, but this was a singular opportunity I could not resist.” Hector walks over to a door mostly hidden by a long, standing mirror. “Celia, dearest,” he calls into the adjoining room before returning to his chair.

  A moment later a small girl appears in the doorway, dressed too nicely for the chaotic shabbiness of the surroundings. All ribbons and lace, perfect as a shop-fresh doll save for a few unruly curls escaping her braids. She hesitates, hovering on the threshold, when she sees that her father is not alone.

  “It’s all right, dearest. Come in, come in,” Hector says, beckoning her forward with a wave of his hand. “This is an associate of mine, no need to be shy.”

  She takes a few steps closer and executes a perfect curtsey, the lace-trimmed hem of her dress sweeping over the worn floorboards.

  “This is my daughter, Celia,” Hector says to the man in the grey suit, placing his hand on the girl’s head. “Celia, this is Alexander.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” she says. Her voice is barely more than a whisper, and pitched lower than might be expected from a girl her size.

  The man in the grey suit gives her a polite nod.

  “I would like you to show this gentleman what you can do,” Hector says. He pulls a silver pocket watch on a long chain from his waistcoat and puts it on the table. “Go ahead.”

  The girl’s eyes widen.

  “You said I was not to do that in front of anyone,” she says. “You made me promise.”

  “This gentleman is not just anyone,” Hector replies with a laugh.

  “You said no exceptions,” Celia protests.

  Her father’s smile fades. He takes her by the shoulders and looks her sternly in the eye.

  “This is a very special case,” he says. “Please show this man what you can do, just like in your lessons.” He pushes her toward the table with the watch.

  The girl nods gravely and shifts her attention to the watch, her hands clasped behind her back.

  After a moment, the watch begins to rotate slowly, turning in circles on the surface of the table, trailing its chain behind in a spiral.

  Then the watch lifts from the table, floating into the air and hovering as though it were suspended in water.

  Hector looks to the man in the grey suit for a reaction.

  “Impressive,” the man says. “But quite basic.”

  Celia’s brow furrows over her dark eyes and the watch shatters, gears spilling out into the air.

  “Celia,” her father says.

  She blushes at the sharpness of his tone and mumbles an apology. The gears float back to the watch, settling into place until the watch is complete again, hands ticking the seconds forward as though nothing had happened.

  “Now that is a bit more impressive,” the man in the grey suit admits. “But she has a temper.”

  “She’s young,” Hector says, patting the top of Celia’s head and ignoring her frown. “This is with not even a year of study, by the time she’s grown she will be incomparable.”

  “I could take any child off the street and teach them as much. Incomparable is a matter of your personal opinion, and easily disproved.”

  “Ha!” Hector exclaims. “Then you are willing to play.”

  The man in the grey suit hesitates only a moment before he nods.

  “Something a bit more complex than last time, and yes, I may be interested,” he says. “Possibly.”

  “Of course it will be more complex!” Hector says. “I have a natural talent to play with. I’m not wagering that for anything simple.”

  “Natural talent is a questionable phenomenon. Inclination perhaps, but innate ability is extremely rare.”

  “She’s my own child, of course she has innate ability.”

  “You admit she has had lessons,” the man in the grey suit says. “How can you be certain?”

  “Celia, when did you start your lessons?” Hector asks, without looking at her.

  “March,” she answers.

  “What year, dearest?” Hector adds.

  “This year,” she says, as though this is a particularly stupid question.

  “Eight months of lessons,” Hector clarifies. “At barely six years of age. If I recall correctly, you sometimes start your own students a bit younger than that. Celia is clearly more advanced than she would be if she did not have natural ability. She could levitate that watch on her first try.”

  The man in the grey suit turns his attention to Celia.

  �
��You broke that by accident, did you not?” he asks, nodding at the watch sitting on the table.

  Celia frowns and gives him the tiniest of nods.

  “She has remarkable control for one so young,” he remarks to Hector. “But such a temper is always an unfortunate variable. It can lead to impulsive behavior.”

  “She’ll either grow out of it or learn to control it. It’s a minor issue.”

  The man in the grey suit keeps his eyes on the girl, but addresses Hector when he speaks. To Celia’s ears, the sounds no longer resolve into words, and she frowns as her father’s responses take on the same muddled quality.

  “You would wager your own child?”

  “She won’t lose,” Hector says. “I suggest you find a student you can tolerate parting with, if you do not already have one to spare.”

  “I assume her mother has no opinion on the matter?”

  “You assume correctly.”

  The man in the grey suit considers the girl for some time before he speaks again, and still, she does not comprehend the words.

  “I understand your confidence in her ability, though I encourage you to at least consider the possibility that she could be lost, should the competition not play out in her favor. I will find a player to truly challenge her. Otherwise there is no reason for me to agree to participate. Her victory cannot be guaranteed.”

  “That is a risk I am willing to take,” Hector says without even glancing at his daughter. “If you would like to make it official here and now, go right ahead.”

  The man in the grey suit looks back at Celia, and when he speaks she understands the words once more.

  “Very well,” he says with a nod.

  “He made me not hear right,” Celia whispers when her father turns to her.

  “I know, dearest, and it wasn’t very polite,” Hector says as he guides her closer to the chair, where the man scrutinizes her with eyes that are almost as light and grey as his suit.

  “Have you always been able to do such things?” he asks her, looking back at the watch again.

  Celia nods.

  “My … my momma said I was the devil’s child,” she says quietly.

  The man in the grey suit leans forward and whispers something in her ear, too low for her father to overhear. A small smile brightens her face.

  “Hold out your right hand,” he says, leaning back in his chair. Celia immediately puts out her hand, palm up, unsure of what to expect. But the man in the grey suit does not place anything in her open palm. Instead, he turns her hand over and removes a silver ring from his pinkie. He slides it onto her ring finger, though it is too loose for her slim fingers, keeping his other hand around her wrist.

  She is opening her mouth to state the obvious fact that the ring, though very pretty, does not fit, when she realizes that it is shrinking on her hand.

  Her momentary glee at the adjustment is crushed by the pain that follows as the ring continues to close around her finger, the metal burning into her skin. She tries to pull away but the man in the grey suit keeps his hand firmly around her wrist.

  The ring thins and fades, leaving only a bright red scar around Celia’s finger.

  The man in the grey suit releases her wrist and she steps back, retreating into a corner and staring at her hand.

  “Good girl,” her father says.

  “I will require some time to prepare a player of my own,” the man in the grey suit says.

  “Of course,” Hector says. “Take all the time you need.” He pulls a gold band from his own hand and puts it on the table. “For when you find yours.”

  “You prefer not to do the honors yourself?”

  “I trust you.”

  The man in the grey suit nods and pulls a handkerchief from his coat, picking up the ring without touching it and placing it in his pocket.

  “I do hope you are not doing this because my player won the last challenge.”

  “Of course not,” Hector says. “I am doing this because I have a player that can beat anyone you choose to put against her, and because times have changed enough to make it interesting. Besides, I believe the overall record leans in my favor.”

  The man in the grey suit does not contest this point, he only watches Celia with the same scrutinizing gaze. She attempts to step out of his line of sight but the room is too small.

  “I suppose you already have a venue in mind?” he asks.

  “Not precisely,” Hector says. “I thought it might be more fun to leave a bit of leeway as far as venue is concerned. An element of surprise, if you will. I am acquainted with a theatrical producer here in London who should be game for staging the unusual. I shall drop a few hints when the time comes, and I am certain he will come up with something appropriate. Better to have it on neutral ground, though I thought you might appreciate starting things on your side of the pond.”

  “This gentleman’s name?”

  “Lefèvre. Chandresh Christophe Lefèvre. They say he’s the illegitimate son of an Indian prince or something like that. Mother was some tramp of a ballerina. I have his card somewhere in this mess. You’ll like him, he’s quite forward-thinking. Wealthy, eccentric. A bit obsessive, somewhat unpredictable, but I suppose that is part and parcel of having an artistic temperament.” The pile of papers on a nearby desk shifts and shuffles until a single business card finds its way to the surface and sails across the room. Hector catches it in his hand and reads it before handing it to the man in the grey suit. “He throws wonderful parties.”

  The man in the grey suit puts it in his pocket without so much as glancing at it.

  “I have not heard of him,” he says. “And I am not fond of public settings for such matters. I will take it under consideration.”

  “Nonsense, the public setting is half the fun! It brings in so many restrictions, so many challenging parameters to work around.”

  The man in the grey suit considers this for a moment before he nods.

  “Do we have a disclosure clause? It would be fair, given my awareness of your choice of player.”

  “Let’s have no clauses at all beyond the basic rules of interference and see what happens,” Hector says. “I want to push boundaries with this one. No time limits, either. I’ll even give you first move.”

  “Very well. We have an agreement. I shall be in touch.” The man in the grey suit stands, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Celia.”

  Celia bobs another perfect curtsey, all the while regarding him with wary eyes.

  The man in the grey suit tips his hat to Prospero and slips out the door and then out of the theater, moving like a shadow onto the busy street.

  *

  IN HIS DRESSING ROOM, Hector Bowen chuckles to himself while his daughter stands quietly in a corner, looking at the scar on her hand. The pain fades as quickly as the ring itself, but the raw red mark remains.

  Hector takes the silver pocket watch from the table, comparing the time to the clock on the wall. He winds the watch slowly, regarding the hands intently as they swirl around the face.

  “Celia,” he says without looking up at her, “why do we wind our watch?”

  “Because everything requires energy,” she recites obediently, eyes still focused on her hand. “We must put effort and energy into anything we wish to change.”

  “Very good.” He shakes the watch gently and replaces it in his pocket.

  “Why did you call that man Alexander?” Celia asks.

  “That’s a silly question.”

  “It’s not his name.”

  “Now, how might you know that?” Hector asks his daughter, lifting her chin to face him and weighing the look in her dark eyes with his own.

  Celia stares back at him, unsure how to explain. She plays over in her mind the impression of the man in his grey suit with his pale eyes and harsh features, trying to figure out why the name does not fit on him properly.

  “It’s not a real name,” she says. “Not one that he’s c
arried with him always. It’s one he wears like his hat. So he can take it off if he wants. Like Prospero is for you.”

  “You are even more clever than I could have hoped,” Hector says, not bothering to refute or confirm her musings about his colleague’s nomenclature. He takes his top hat from its stand and puts it on her head, where it slides down and obscures her questioning eyes in a cage of black silk.

  Shades of Grey

  LONDON, JANUARY 1874

  The building is as grey as the pavement below and the sky above, appearing as impermanent as the clouds, as though it could vanish into the air without notice. Nondescript grey stone renders it indistinguishable from the surrounding buildings save for a tarnished sign hanging by the door. Even the headmistress inside is clad in a deep charcoal.

  Yet the man in the grey suit looks out of place.

  The cut of his suit is too sharp. The handle of his cane too well polished beneath his pristine gloves.

  He gives his name but the headmistress forgets it almost instantly and is too embarrassed to ask him to repeat it. Later, when he signs the required paperwork, his signature is completely illegible, and that particular form is lost within weeks of being filed.

  He presents unusual criteria in what he is looking for. The headmistress is confused, but after a few questions and clarifications she brings him three children: two boys and one girl. The man requests to interview them privately and the headmistress reluctantly agrees.

  The first boy is spoken to for only a few minutes before he is dismissed. When he passes through the hallway, the other two children look to him for some indication of what to expect, but he only shakes his head.

  The girl is kept longer, but she too is dismissed, her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  The other boy is then brought into the room to speak with the man in the grey suit. He is directed to sit in a chair across from a desk, while the man stands nearby.

  This boy does not fidget as much as the first boy did. He sits quietly and patiently, his grey-green eyes taking in every detail of the room and the man subtly, aware but not outright staring. His dark hair is badly cut, as though the barber was distracted during the process, but some attempt has been made to flatten it. His clothes are ragged but well kept, though his pants are too short and may have once been blue or brown or green but have faded too much to be certain.