The Ring Master
By: Tammy Vreeland
Merik is born to the Great Gypsy King - a man feared for curses he never meant to cast. But the worse curse is the one he unleashes on his own son, awakening an ancient contest between Destiny and Fate.
As Merik grows, the consequences spread like cracks through the land. Everyone touched by his curse becomes part of the same unseen struggle - drawn into Destiny and Fate's game long before the Dark Circus.
When the circus finally appears, it thrives in the hedonism of the 1920s - an era overflowing with money, indulgence, and hunger. It poisons everything it touches, a living wound where desire is currency and the cost is more than the soul can pay.
As the final act approaches, Merik stands at the center of a battle he never chose. Destiny pulls. Fate tightens. When the curtain falls, only one force will claim him - and neither intends to lose.
Prologue
A small boy sits inside an old gypsy wagon, its wooden ribs creaking softly as if the wagon itself is holding its breath. Lantern light flickers across his face, but Merik does not blink. Training is always done in the middle of the night. He sits in a dreamy-heavy trance, eyes half-lidded, mind pulled gently away from the world by the man seated across from him.
The Gypsy King, his father, watches him with a mixture of pride and desperation. Their meetings must remain secret. His wife would never allow this training. He must teach the boy the dark ways, for it is all the Gypsy King knows. Worships. Desires. He allows Destiny to be his path - always has. He must instill in the boy the darkness he knows, so he can survive the light.
During the day, Merik's mother teaches him her own forbidden lessons. She must instill in him the way of the light, to survive the darkness. To allow Fate to follow its carved-out path, for she knows that when you follow Destiny - it may give you your desire for the moment - but Fate eventually wins. A lesson you don't always learn the first time, for Destiny has a way of lulling you into different paths shaped by your desires.
She places a glass skull - her crystal ball - into his small hands, guiding him to see the threads of the future no boy should ever glimpse. A son is never meant to be a seer in their clan. A woman of her bloodline should never have lain with the Great Gypsy King. Their union is tolerated, not blessed. And their child... their child is something the clan has no name for.
Sometimes, when Merik peers into the skull, another child flickers in the depths of the crystal - a small girl far from here, sitting in a dusty church basement, her hands folded as a preacher scolds her for asking questions, she should not know the answers to. Her eyes are too old for her face. Her blood is half gypsy and half the violence of a man who claimed holiness. She is being shaped too, though no one around her understands what she is becoming.
Merik does not know her name. He does not know she is real. He only sees her as a shimmer, a shadow, a possibility.
But the skull knows. His mother knows. And Fate knows. But Destiny thinks of other paths for them both.
Yet the boy is not shaped by his parents alone.
In the quiet corners of his mind, another presence watches. A friend only he can see, Mr. Akeru. A voice that laughs softly when his mother speaks, that mocks the Gypsy King's teachings, that whispers that both parents are fools clinging to dying traditions. Mr. Akeru knows things he should not. He sees everything. He is always there in the shadows.
Three forces pulling at one small soul.
Three hands carving a path before the boy can even speak his own desires.
And somewhere far away, the girl in the crystal skull is being carved too - by fear, by blood, by the cruelty of ordinary men. Neither child knows the other exists. Neither understands the path being laid beneath their feet.
But Destiny does not wait for understanding. You may cheat Fate once, twice, even three times... but Fate always collects its due.
How it collects, however - that choice belongs to us.
Background
Even though Ring Master is my newest release it is actually the basis of the universe I unknowingly created. The Folks was the first novel I wrote which introduced the Ring Master. Sea of Souls continued the Ring Master's story. While Transporter of Souls actually had the Great Gypsy King, Merik - the Ring Master's father, placing a curse on all automobiles.
And then my White Noise Series Volumes 1-3 had Mr. Akeru in its story.
When I realized I had this invisible thread tying all these stories in, after 20+ years of writing, I thought it only appropriate to write Ring Master and give a basis to these characters that are in my other stories.
While you may think Ring Master is the prequel to The Folks, in reality it is a prequel to many of my stories. So, I felt it should stand on its own.
It is a period piece which I have never done so there was quite a bit of research. Plus, it was 7 years in the making. Taking time off to do other projects, this story kept on my mind. Through the years I would make notes and finally I was able to have the time to pull it all together.
It is quite different from my other stories and much bigger - this one came in at 456 pages so it's a story with some meat on it. I am quite proud of it; it felt as if a full circle was playing out but wait... would that mean the circle is not yet fully finished? Hmmm... maybe.
By: Tammy Vreeland
Merik is born to the Great Gypsy King - a man feared for curses he never meant to cast. But the worse curse is the one he unleashes on his own son, awakening an ancient contest between Destiny and Fate.
As Merik grows, the consequences spread like cracks through the land. Everyone touched by his curse becomes part of the same unseen struggle - drawn into Destiny and Fate's game long before the Dark Circus.
When the circus finally appears, it thrives in the hedonism of the 1920s - an era overflowing with money, indulgence, and hunger. It poisons everything it touches, a living wound where desire is currency and the cost is more than the soul can pay.
As the final act approaches, Merik stands at the center of a battle he never chose. Destiny pulls. Fate tightens. When the curtain falls, only one force will claim him - and neither intends to lose.
Prologue
A small boy sits inside an old gypsy wagon, its wooden ribs creaking softly as if the wagon itself is holding its breath. Lantern light flickers across his face, but Merik does not blink. Training is always done in the middle of the night. He sits in a dreamy-heavy trance, eyes half-lidded, mind pulled gently away from the world by the man seated across from him.
The Gypsy King, his father, watches him with a mixture of pride and desperation. Their meetings must remain secret. His wife would never allow this training. He must teach the boy the dark ways, for it is all the Gypsy King knows. Worships. Desires. He allows Destiny to be his path - always has. He must instill in the boy the darkness he knows, so he can survive the light.
During the day, Merik's mother teaches him her own forbidden lessons. She must instill in him the way of the light, to survive the darkness. To allow Fate to follow its carved-out path, for she knows that when you follow Destiny - it may give you your desire for the moment - but Fate eventually wins. A lesson you don't always learn the first time, for Destiny has a way of lulling you into different paths shaped by your desires.
She places a glass skull - her crystal ball - into his small hands, guiding him to see the threads of the future no boy should ever glimpse. A son is never meant to be a seer in their clan. A woman of her bloodline should never have lain with the Great Gypsy King. Their union is tolerated, not blessed. And their child... their child is something the clan has no name for.
Sometimes, when Merik peers into the skull, another child flickers in the depths of the crystal - a small girl far from here, sitting in a dusty church basement, her hands folded as a preacher scolds her for asking questions, she should not know the answers to. Her eyes are too old for her face. Her blood is half gypsy and half the violence of a man who claimed holiness. She is being shaped too, though no one around her understands what she is becoming.
Merik does not know her name. He does not know she is real. He only sees her as a shimmer, a shadow, a possibility.
But the skull knows. His mother knows. And Fate knows. But Destiny thinks of other paths for them both.
Yet the boy is not shaped by his parents alone.
In the quiet corners of his mind, another presence watches. A friend only he can see, Mr. Akeru. A voice that laughs softly when his mother speaks, that mocks the Gypsy King's teachings, that whispers that both parents are fools clinging to dying traditions. Mr. Akeru knows things he should not. He sees everything. He is always there in the shadows.
Three forces pulling at one small soul.
Three hands carving a path before the boy can even speak his own desires.
And somewhere far away, the girl in the crystal skull is being carved too - by fear, by blood, by the cruelty of ordinary men. Neither child knows the other exists. Neither understands the path being laid beneath their feet.
But Destiny does not wait for understanding. You may cheat Fate once, twice, even three times... but Fate always collects its due.
How it collects, however - that choice belongs to us.
Background
Even though Ring Master is my newest release it is actually the basis of the universe I unknowingly created. The Folks was the first novel I wrote which introduced the Ring Master. Sea of Souls continued the Ring Master's story. While Transporter of Souls actually had the Great Gypsy King, Merik - the Ring Master's father, placing a curse on all automobiles.
And then my White Noise Series Volumes 1-3 had Mr. Akeru in its story.
When I realized I had this invisible thread tying all these stories in, after 20+ years of writing, I thought it only appropriate to write Ring Master and give a basis to these characters that are in my other stories.
While you may think Ring Master is the prequel to The Folks, in reality it is a prequel to many of my stories. So, I felt it should stand on its own.
It is a period piece which I have never done so there was quite a bit of research. Plus, it was 7 years in the making. Taking time off to do other projects, this story kept on my mind. Through the years I would make notes and finally I was able to have the time to pull it all together.
It is quite different from my other stories and much bigger - this one came in at 456 pages so it's a story with some meat on it. I am quite proud of it; it felt as if a full circle was playing out but wait... would that mean the circle is not yet fully finished? Hmmm... maybe.
