Somebody sat down in the empty seat beside me and I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see the girl from the popcorn stand. She was holding a stick on which was spun a massive cloud of pink candy floss. When she saw me looking at her she smiled wide, her bright blue eyes sparkling and asked, “Want some?”
I nodded and eagerly plucked off a wisp before sticking into my mouth. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’m Lola.”
“Lille.”
“Pleased to meet you, Lille. Are you enjoying the show?”
Again, I nodded, this time more fervently. “Absolutely.”
“I’m on my break. Thought I’d come in for the best part. Jack’s on next.”
Instantly, I recognised the name and something both nervous and excited squeezed in my gut. Still, I feigned ignorance and asked, “Jack?”
“He’s the fire breather. He also does knife throwing. I swear every time he throws a knife at someone I can’t be certain whether or not he means to hit or miss. There’s this air of danger about him, you know.”
I swallowed, more questions on the tip of my tongue but the low, thrumming rock music that came on interrupted me. The bass hit me right in the pit of my stomach and the crowd began to cheer. Marina made a passionate introduction and then Jack was walking out onto the stage, two long wooden torches in his hands, the tips blazing with fire. My skin prickled with awareness, and somehow I just knew I was in for something truly amazing.