Jasper must have reached the main building by now. Grace and the others stood in the shadows behind the tent and after nearly ten minutes of silence, Holly asked, “Jasper? Everything okay over there?”
Thea frowned. “Something’s wrong with the comms. They aren’t sending any signals out.”
“You’re not the only technopath around here,” a woman’s voice said. The carnival worker it belonged to emerged from a flap in the tent, flanked by two others.
Dax frowned. “Were you just waiting by the exit for a chance to step out and say that?”
“You cut our comms?” Holly asked, louder. “Why?”
A new voice answered behind them. “Why don’t you tell me why Van Terra acts like some sort of mastermind when she only has a handful of low-level villains working for her?”
Grace turned slower than the others, afraid to see the owner of the voice.
Ringmaster studied them carefully before speaking again. “Red Holly. Jolt. I wondered what you could possibly want with Dr. Prime’s spacetime warp data. And it would seem Van Terra lied about her affiliation with Alvarez, too.”
Holly raised her fists. “Why don’t we have a rematch.”
“Four against one hardly seems fair,” Ringmaster said. He waved his hand. Glowing golden bars rose from the ground, surrounding the team. A roof appeared overhead, and the cage became solid. “Maybe if Van Terra were with you, it’d be a fair fight, but she’s busy walking into a trap right now.”
Ringmaster circled the cage. “Grace Alvarez. What are you doing, helping Van Terra? Has she really turned you to the dark side so quickly?”
Grace lifted her chin. “I’m only trying to make Starr pay for what he did to me.”
Ringmaster laughed. “You’re fighting an uphill battle. Don’t worry, I won’t tell the Red Blades you’re here. I may be on good terms with Starr, but I know better than to hand someone as valuable as you over to him.”
A golden bird darted down from the sky and landed on Ringmaster’s shoulder. “You know,” he said. “I made the animals we use in our shows myself. It requires a lot of energy, but it’s easier than training live beasts.”
The bird dissolved into energy, and Ringmaster frowned. “It would seem Viper failed at his task.”
“You sent one person to catch Jasper Van Terra?” Holly barked out a cold laugh.
Ringmaster’s eyes narrowed. “He’s not the only one. My employees are scouring the grounds for her as we speak.” He sighed. “I’m sure she’ll be here any minute to rescue you all. I’ll have to move you.”
The cage lifted into the air. Grace stumbled forward and wrapped her hands around the bars.
“What are you going to do with us?” Holly demanded.
Ringmaster raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m just going to tell you my plan?”
Two golden elephants emerged from the tent. In the shadows outside, the faint glow they emitted was more obvious. Ringmaster lowered the cage onto their backs. “Take them to tent seven. It should be empty,” he ordered his henchpeople. “Van Terra might be able to handle my employees, but she’s going to have a much harder time with me.”