The Lampo Circus by Alexandra Adornetto Read Free Book Online

‘Try again!’
    Ernest bent his knees before making a final lunge and this time the tassel did not slip through his fingers. He felt his hand close around it just in time.
    With a judder and a jolt the tent was propelled high above the treetops. The tassels blistered their hands and the wind flung their small bodies from side to side like kites, but the children clung on like death, so determined were they not to be left behind. The tent burst through cloud, dampening them so that theyshivered all over. They closed their eyes and tried to remain calm as they followed Federico Lampo and his Travelling Circus on their furthest journey yet…into the sky.

CHAPTER FIVE
Oslo the Gladiator
    M illi and Ernest woke in a sun-bleached wheat field. They recalled nothing of how they got there and there was no sign of the tent or anything remotely connected to the circus. Rubbing their eyes, they sat up, as did the other children all around them, and gazed at the washed-out world they now found themselves in. For some time nobody spoke, for fear words might break the fragile barrier between reality and make-believe. As long as the unnatural silence remained, they could still trust in the idea that this was an illusion executed by the Lampo Circus. Any moment now they would blink and find themselves back in thetent. Ringmaster Lampo would commend them on their participation and their parents would be waiting outside to collect them.
    But more minutes passed and nothing changed. Presently, some of the younger children began to whimper while the older ones took a few tentative, directionless steps in search of some sort of explanation.
    The heavy silence was interrupted by the sound of galloping hooves. Several hundred small faces turned to stare at the black charger rapidly approaching. The horse’s muscles flexed and rippled in its powerful body and Ernest held his breath as it drew so near he feared they might be trampled.
    But it reared at the last moment, grinding its hooves into the ground and sending clods of earth flying. The animal (which they would later learn was named Fiend) towered above them. On its back sat a rider whose face was hidden behind a helmet.
    Any hope the children had that this was a circus official come to explain what had gone wrong with the stunt and guide them safely home evaporated once the rider dismounted.He was dressed in what Ernest recognised from lessons on ancient civilisations as full gladiatorial armour. He wore a pleated tunic, leather sandals and across his shoulder was slung a shield engraved with the image of a griffin. A scabbard hung from his waist, housing a long sword. He had greasy black hair tied back samurai-style and his scowl looked so permanent it might have been a feature in its own right. Muscles bulged in his thighs and biceps and his neck was as thick as a bull’s.
    The man’s eyes narrowed menacingly as he surveyed the children, his expression similar to that of a hawk about to swoop on its prey. He raised a bronzed arm into the air and Ernest saw a wide copper band circling his forearm, glinting in the sunlight. Unexpectedly he made them jump by letting out a roar that was not recognisably human. The children watched as he tightened his fingers into a powerful fist. The muscles in his arm swelled so alarmingly that the copper band burst apart and fell in fragments to the ground. The man did not have to utter a single syllable for the children to understand the meaning behind this action. The look hegave them spoke volumes: any child who crossed him would end up wrapped around his forearm until they too exploded.
    The man remounted his horse and cantered around the group, driving them closer together like a herd of sheep.
    ‘Move!’ was the first word he uttered and, seeing there was no other alternative, the children complied with this directive and broke en masse into a run. Soon the wheat field was a pale blur behind them.
    As they tired, the children were permitted to