Chapter 57 - Scary thought

— Aslan, could you and Ray go and call Mr. Monteccello and let him know what happened here?

— Huh?

Aslan stared in surprise at the administrator, then turned to the magician, who continued with that frightening appearance. Benjin's laughter, which seemed about to commit some brutal act, echoed through the circus and although Vincent was still busy stopping the bleeding from Leonardo's hand, he continued to speak.

— Ben, don't do anything — said the clown, without receiving an answer from the trapeze artist. Looking over his shoulder, Vincent frowned menacingly — Benjin!

Benjin still seemed to enjoy tightening his fingers around the thug's neck, and the evil smile that appeared on his face seemed to rejoice in the dread that his eyes showed. However, the trapeze artist still looked at the administrator from a corner.

— It was an order from the young master, Vicente.

— And I am telling you not to comply, at least for the moment. If someone comes in here it will be more problematic for the young master — Even explaining himself, his words did not seem to have the expected effect. Sighing, Vicente pointed to the hand bandaged with the handkerchief, which was turning red — Get first aid, you must take care of Leonardo or he may even lose his hand if he gets an infection.

That threat had had an effect, and Benjin let Alex and go to his young master. Sighing with relief, Vincent looked at Aslan and nodded silently, and it wasn't long before he dragged Ray off the circus stage and went after the detective.

— Leo! It hurts, doesn't it? What can I do...

— First aid, Ben — Vicente insisted again, holding the trapeze artist's arm.

Leonardo grunted when he moved his hand in reflex. Raising his head to Benjin, he could still see that scary look. Besides having to deal with the pain of his injury, Leonardo's body was shaking absurdly. Maybe dread was in his eyes, because Benjin moved away the hands that were about to touch him and smiled.

— Are you afraid of me? Am I... Ugly?

Gritting his teeth, Leonardo shouted.

— Get the fucking first aid, you stupid puppet! I don't care if you're the devil incarnate, just get the box!

Benjin had nodded groggily, rushing off the stage. Leonardo had taken the opportunity to check on Alex's condition, but the brute was no longer around.

Tsk.

Not a good scenario.

— Young master, hang in there a little longer and we'll get you to a hospital soon.

— What the hell are you guys? — Leonardo questioned, staring fiercely at the administrator. Without stopping to tighten his handkerchief, Vicente kept a serious look on his face — Have I gone crazy to see you like this?

— Now is not the best time to explain what you want so much.

Letting out a nasal laugh, Leonardo lowered his dark eyes to his wounded hand.

How it hurt.

He could faint from the pain.

And he still couldn't stop shaking.

What the hell kind of situation had he gotten himself into? Why had things ended up like that?

It seemed that everything he had experienced in Dreamland had been an illusion.

Not strange for a circus.

— What happened here?

Mister Barley entered the stage accompanied by other foremen. Soon Benjin passed between them, bumping and apologising, but without stopping until he reached Leonardo. Immediately the university student turned to Vicente, who would have already returned to his normal - and less psychotic - appearance.

But Benjin, on the other hand...

Damn, he wasn't going to hide. As far as he knew him, Benjin would be careless with himself precisely because he was more concerned about his young master. And if the foremen saw him like that, not only would they find him strange, but it would only add to the confusion.

Hide yourself, you stupid puppet!

As soon as the trapeze artist handed the first aid box to Vicente, Leonardo pulled the back of Benjin's neck until it rested against his chest. They were close enough for him to whisper to him.

— You're not ugly, and that's why only I can see you like this — Leonardo had felt Benjin's body shaking, and when the trapeze artist had looked at him surprised, he had directed a thin smile and a brief caress in his cheek — Be a good boy and obey me.

— Leo...

To Leonardo's relief, the greenish eyes were shining again, along with the blush on the puppet's cheeks. At the same moment, Vicente was rubbing cotton on the wound, making the brunette groan loudly in pain.

— I'm sorry, just hold on.

— It's a mess outside, and it looks like it's a mess in here too... What the hell happened here?

— I brought the detective! — Aslan returned, pulling the magician and the detective by the arms.

— My piece of cloud, next time you can tie a collar around my neck and I'll follow you obediently.

— Stop talking shit at a time like this! — Aslan grunted.

The detective looked around the stage, which had a small mess of a broken drum set and blood drops on the floor.

— Haa... It wasn't enough that those kids created such a mess outside, and now here... What happened?

— Those idiots from earlier — Benjin complained — One of them broke into the circus and attacked Leo.

Giovani looked around, seemingly searching for someone among the small crowd of curious onlookers. But finding none, he nodded.

— Very well, I am sorry but I will borrow your security team to look for this boy — Seeing Leonardo's wound, Giovani approached — Do you want me to take you to the hospital?

— I will do it myself, Mr Monteccello — Vicente interceded — It is more important that you arrest those troublemakers, before they do something to the customers.

— All right, it's up to you.

Vincent got up as soon as he finished bandaging Leonardo's hand. Facing the curious onlookers, the administrator crossed his arms.

— As you can see we will have to repair the damage caused by today's incident, so no soft body. I want the sector managers to be alert to find the ones who caused all this mess, and the security team should spread around Dreamland. While I take Leonardo to the hospital, Aslan will be responsible for supervising them. All right, Aslan?

— Yes, sir!

Before the situation could get even more out of control, Vincent tried to help Leonardo to get up and get him out of the circus as fast as possible. The boy was still trembling and could barely hide the grimace of pain on his face.

Why the hell?

What the hell was going on in that place?

He didn't have the heart to look at the clown, even as he was being led down the hidden path until he reached the rusty gates of the mansion. And even while waiting for Vicente to get his chevette, Leonardo couldn't stay calm.

In his mind, the image of those three with those scary eyes kept repeating itself. He wanted to believe that tiredness had reached a level that made him see things, but Vicente himself said that was not the case.

What should he think of that?

— Young master, please come in.

Obedient, Leonardo got into the car and soon they were on the highway. The silence between them was suffocating. As suffocating and burning as the pain of his wound and the fear he felt. What the fuck! Benjin had Alex in his hands and had lifted him up like a fucking rag doll!

Looking over at Vicente from the corner, he looked the same as he always did. Serene and elegant, paying attention as he drove. It was humiliating that he was so upset while Vicente seemed to be in control of everything.

— Young master, just ask. I will answer any question you may have.

He was giving him the opportunity, but nothing would guarantee that the answer would be true.

Swallowing, Leonardo stared at him bravely. It would be the most ridiculous question of his life, but it was something he could confirm.

— Is Aslan the only one who is human?

Vincent was silent for a while and then nodded. A debauched laugh escaped from Leonardo's lips.

— Are you kidding me?

— I'm afraid that would be a rather rude joke, young master.

— Then what the fuck is this? Who are you?

Opening a sad smile, Vincent softened his expression.

— Who knows?

Ah, he was definitely enjoying his confusion.

However, a small light had reached Leonardo's mind. A slight thought that might go unnoticed, but once noticed would be just as frightening. And before he could even process the thought and ponder whether to ask Vincent about it or not, his mouth had already uttered those words.

— By the way... Disappearances are not your thing... Huh? — Once again that clown kept quiet while driving. A shiver ran down Leonardo's spine, and little by little his face showed his dread — Vincent... It is not you, is it? Tell me I'm wrong.

— Forgive me, young master.

Ha.

Haha.

Hahaha.

What a bad joke.

— Why?

— Young master, you don't need to be afraid of us. We won't do you any harm.

Quickly Leonardo grabbed Vincent's blouse, who got scared and almost left the track.

— What the fuck is this? Are you telling me that I have three criminals right under my nose?

— Young master this is dangerous, we can have a traffic accident if you act this way in the car.

— Answer me Vincent!

Sighing defeated, Vincent slowed down the car. Leonardo had grabbed his collar so hard that his hand was bleeding again. But the angry look in his eyes seemed to care little about the pain of the wound.

— We are only fulfilling our part of the contract, young master.

— What contract?

— With the late master Evilian — The mention of Leonardo's father had numbed him to the point of loosening Vincent's blouse and sitting down again. Taking advantage of the gap, the platinum-plated man continued — I promise to answer any questions you may have, young master. But only after I have treated your wound.

...⋈...

When the black chevette parked in front of the mansion at night, the silence received Vicente with open arms. The darkness was present, making it impossible to see far ahead, but even so Vicente managed to take Leonardo in his arms. As soon as he closed the car door he could see the curious people that were standing in the entrance of the mansion. Walking calmly, he looked at his young master who was sleeping serenely in his arms, grateful for the calmness.

— How is the boy? — Giovani questioned as soon as Vincent had climbed the stairs.

— They gave him some stitches after cleaning the wound. And they also prescribed some pain medication. He will need to take care of himself for the next few days. And what about the kids who made this mess?

— Some of them had already run away. I spent all afternoon looking for them in the park, but I couldn't find them all. So I sent the ones I managed to catch to the police station. About the rest, I'll visit their homes tomorrow.

— I apologise for giving you so much trouble, detective.

Giovani clicked his tongue.

— It's my job to keep order.

— Could you take the young master to his room? I need to update the boys on today's performance.

Giovani did not seem bothered and soon took Leonardo in his arms and entered the mansion accompanied by the girl. As soon as he was away, Vicente turned to the other three who looked more serious than usual.

— Leo... Did he find out?

— I'm afraid so — answered Vincent, stroking Aslan's head — but I haven't told him everything yet, since I promised I would only do so when he recovered from his injury.

— Hey, Vinnie... Why are we standing here? Leo gave us an order that hasn't been carried out yet.

Benjin stared at some point in the mansion's garden, hidden under the fog, with the frightening eyes of old. Tilting his head towards the clown, the trapeze artist seemed to be holding back. He was impatient again. And he wasn't the only one, as Ray also seemed strangely quiet despite also showing that hideous look. Both anxious and restless.

Sighing, Vincent had also joined in the game, straightening the white gloves in his hands.

— Alright, let's show our unwelcome guest the real Dreamland Circus.