Circus of the Dead Book Thirteen

Juliette is finally getting the hang of being a monster.

But a new murder in town has left everyone scratching their heads. This murderer seems to want to be found, leaving clues all over the place.

But when he's finally revealed, he drops a bomb that no one expected and now they are all fighting for their lives.

It feels so strange that a day can be so normal, and yet, as the minutes pass, my body fills with more and more evil. The need to maim, to destroy, to kill…

Not even three classes of yoga take the stress out of my body and bring me to a place of peace.

I wave goodbye to my students and remain in lotus pose, staring off into nothing and contemplating my life. Despite the horrible thoughts bubbling to the surface, which I know are not my own, I am still able to appreciate where I’m at.

I’m free of the circus island. I have the best of friends and a great family. I am part owner of a yoga studio—a dream of mine I thought would never come true.

Other than the whole being a monster thing, I’m quite lucky.

And that’s how I choose to look at life.

A figure appears at the doorway of the studio. “Kind of creepy how you’re just sitting in the dark with those wide eyes staring straight ahead.”

“I’m finding my center,” I tell Dylan.

“Still creepy.”

I snort and unfold my legs to stand. “Then don’t look,” I say with a smirk. After I close the supply closet, I go to the back of the room where he stands. “How’s it going?”

He shrugs. “Can’t complain. Excited we’re starting to see a bit of spring.” He gestures with his head to the sunny outdoors. March isn’t warm on Madeline Island, but it brings more sun than February. We’re still waiting for some of our snow to melt, though.

“Spring is nice here,” I agree. We both head to the office where Xander is already seated. We exchange niceties as I grab my coat and bag, and Dylan follows me to the front door. It seems like he might have something to say with all of his hovering, but he remains quiet.

“You sure you’re okay?” I ask before exiting the building. Tony waits for me out front to take me to my glass prison. Tonight is the new moon.

Dylan looks at his feet and doesn’t meet my eyes. He sighs. “Aaron and I had our first fight.”

“Oh wow. I’m so sorry.” I touch his arm, and he forces a small smile.

“It was stupid, really. Just about meeting his parents and how he’s not ready, and of course, I’m more than ready because I want to ask the people who raised this lovely man every question I can about him.” Dylan’s shoulders slump. “But I guess I need to wait longer.”

I am definitely the last person who should be offering relationship advice, what with my track record with Vincent and then Luca, but he is obviously looking for me to say something, and I remember how much I appreciated Katy’s insight when I was going through things with Luca. 

“I think you’re Aaron’s first serious relationship, right?” I rest my bag on the floor, and Dylan nods. “He’s figuring out how all this works. He probably loves the honeymoon phase you two are in and wants to hold onto that longer. But it’s good you told him you’re interested in meeting them. You planted the seed, so now, give it a bit. Ask again in a few weeks, and see how he feels then.”

Dylan nods slowly, and then a bit faster. “Yeah. That’s a good point. He is far more tentative than me on… well… everything.” He chuckles and meets my eyes. “Thanks, Juliette. You’re awesome.” He pulls me into a tight hug, kissing the side of my head. It’s such a normal human gesture. It’s amazing how much I appreciate these moments now that I’m a banshee.

“You’re welcome.” I lightly punch him on the shoulder and scoop up my bag. “I’ve gotta run, but maybe we’ll all head out for a bite sometime this week?”

“I’ll organize it.” He pauses briefly. “Hey, speaking about organizing our friends, have you heard from Katy? I sent her a few texts and stopped by the flower shop, but she wasn’t there, which is strange, since she’s kind of a workaholic.”

Oh crap. I can’t tell him she’s locked up in Samuel’s basement. Hopefully, my expression doesn’t reveal how caught off guard I am by this question. 

“You know, I guess I haven’t heard from her much these past couple weeks, now that you mention it. She’s probably super busy with something. I’ll shoot her a text, too.”

“Great. If you hear from her, let me know.”

“Will do.”

Dylan’s expression gets a bit mischievous. “Should I invite Samuel?”

“I’ll ask him.”

Dylan’s smile grows wider. I’m sure he—and all our friends—could sense the tension last month between Samuel and me. I wouldn’t say Samuel and I are back to normal. And really, who knows what normal is between the two of us. But we are way better than we were a few weeks ago.

“See you tomorrow.” Dylan holds the door open for me, and I head out to Tony’s car.

I give Dylan a wave, and once we’re on the way to Samuel’s house, all of those evil feelings come back full force. I don’t try to fight it anymore. 

Samuel’s glass prison will keep everyone safe from me.