the coin into that little girl's hand. The crowd certainly acted impressed. And they bought out every seat in the tent to prove it.'
'They thought she was a plant, Methydia said. A part of the show. I overheard some of them talking afterwards.'
'Oh.'
'It was the spirit of the trick that impressed them, she said. The poor little waif and her young mother. She smiled at Safar and patted his knee, saying, Even so, I have to give you credit for the idea. It was a certain crowd pleaser and I think we should make it a permanent part of our act.'
Safar was as thrilled as if the praise had come from a master wizard instead of a circus witch.
'You have good instincts, my sweet, she said. And if you pay close attention to what your Auntie Methydia says, you'll make a marvelous showman.'
The days that followed were among the most joyful in Safar's life. His heart was as serene as the skies they sailed through. His troubles seemed far offlike the dark storm clouds edging the horizon behind them.
As a mountain lad he'd spent many a hour perched on high peaks pondering the mysteries of the skies. He'd watched birds wing overhead and dreamed he was flying with them. In Methydia's Cloudship those dreams came true. Although his fellow passengers of the air could be a boisterous lot at time, especially during rehearsals when there was much joking and leg-pulling, at other times they seemed to treasure silence as much as he did. Hours would pass without a sound.
Each member of the troupe and crew had favorite solitary spots where they could watch the world pass by. Only the occasional hiss of the furnace and pumping of bellows intruded. After a time these faint sounds blended into the song of the winds that carried them above the lands where poor earth-bound creatures dwelled.
Safar was exhilarated by his new life. He threw all his efforts into soaking up everything Methydia and her troupe could teach him. He learned about trick boxes and trapdoors, smoke and mirrors, and wires so thin they couldn't be seen against a dark background, yet could hold hundreds of pounds suspended above the arena. Methydia helped him work up a mind reading act and he amazed the crowds during intermissions with details of their lives that seemed to be snatched from their thoughts. He used two sharp-eyed and big-eared roustabouts to gather the information before he staged his act.
Along with the illusions Methydia also added to his store of real magic. He learned subtle spells that enhanced his performance. Some caused a grumpy crowd to feel humor. Others heightened wonder, increased tension or stirred romance in cold hearts. She taught him how to make the magical charms and potions they sold after every performance. Safar added his potter's skills to this job, pinching out marvelous little vials to hold the potions and creating charms made of colorful potsherd necklaces and jewelry.
He learned how to read a fortune in a palm, instead of casting bones. Methydia said this kind of foretelling was more personal and therefore more accurate than dead bones rattling around and scaring people half to death. Besides palmistry, he was taught how to cast a simple starchart in five minutes, rather than the hours and even days it took Umurhan and his priests.
'Those scholarly castings are so complicated, so ugly with all their mathematical squiggles, only a rich man would want one, Methydia said. To show he was wealthy enough to hire such a wise dream catcher.
'But ordinary peoplereal peoplewant to know now, not days from now. And they want to be able to read the chart for themselves so they can hang it over the mantle and show it off to their friends by pointing out the highlights.'
The other members of the troupe also pitched in with his showcraft education. The brawny dwarf, Biner, taught him the delicate art of applying makeup and altering his features so he could play many different kinds of characters. Arlain and Kairo showed him how to do simple acrobatics. They ran him through heart-stopping exercises and plied him with strengthening powders until his muscles vibrated with power. Elgy coached him on timing, getting Rabix to play rhythmic music as Safar performed his acts over and over again until his delivery was as natural as the mental beat Rabix drummed into his head.
To Methydia's amazementand his ownSafar's magical powers increased with each passing day. It wasn't a gradual strengthening, like his muscles, but leap after leap from one pinnacle to the next. For the first time since he was a boy he actually enjoyed doing magic. The roar of the audiences swept away the shame his father had accidentally instilled in him. He delighted in their amazement. Especiallyas Biner had said it wouldthe wonderment of the children.
As he became stronger and more skilled he even started dispensing with some of Methydia's tricks. His illusions became almost entirely magical, although he still used showmanship to sell it, as Methydia would say. True, the performances drained him, just as Methydia predicted. Yet never so much he couldn't deliver as many encores as the crowd desired.
For a time Methydia kept herself at a slight distance from him. She still teased him and made suggestive jokes that made him blush. But that was her nature. Mainly she behaved like a kindly teacher or mentor, correcting him when he needed it and praising him when he deserved it. Although Safar was powerfully attracted to her, it never occurred to him that she might feel the same. Why, she was old enough to be his mother. Perhaps even older. He ought to be ashamed of himself for thinking of such disrespectful thoughts.
During that time Safar noticed a small tension building among the troupe and crew, as if they were waiting for something long overdue. Occasionally when he and Methydia were out on the deck togetherrunning through a new twist in the acthe'd noticed people glancing at the two of them. Then there'd be little smiles, whispered asides and shakes of the head.
Once he overheard the roustabouts wondering aloud if maybe Methydia's lost her sweet tooth. Safar didn't know what that meant. He was doubly mystified when the men saw him and turned away, shamefaced.
The dreamlike days ended when they reached Kyshaat.
It was a regular stop in the troupe's circuit. Over the centuries the people of Kyshaat had turned the vast plains surrounding their walled town into wide fields of fat grain. The circus folk expected a large profit from their visit to the region and were dismayed when they saw the desolation of the usually lush fields. It was as if an enormous ravenous beast had swept through, devouring the grainstalks and allnearly to the ground.
Hungry and pitiful eyes stared up at the Cloudship as it sailed overhead. To Safar the usually joyful circus music had an eerie edge to it as they serenaded the crowds and Biner's big booming call of Come one, Come all, seemed to be flattened and swallowed up by a thick miasma.
'Don't know what's happened here, Biner muttered to Methydia. But maybe it'd be best if we moved on.'
Methydia pressed her lips together and shook her head. We were eager enough for their company when there was a profit to be made, she said. I'll not turn away now because fortune no longer favors them.'
Biner nodded and turned back to his duties, but Safar could see he was worried. On the ground hundreds of people followed the Cloudship's shadow, but they were so silent Safar could hear the wails of small children carried in their parents arms.
A few minutes later the Cloudship was tied up over a barren patch and the roustabouts were swaying down the equipment.
When Safar's feet touched ground he turned to face the onrushing crowd. To his amazement they all stopped at the edge of the field. It was as if an invisible barrier had been thrown up. They remained there for two hours while the roustabouts put the circus together. Methydia had them dispense with the tentsthe stands were set up in the open.
When she thought all was ready she beckoned to Safar and the two of them advanced on the crowd. About twenty paces away a shout brought them up short:
'Beware, Methydia! Come no closer!'
Methydia's pose was unbroken. Her eyes swept the crowd.
'Who spoke? she demanded.
There were mutters in the crowd, but no one answered.
