Chapter 38: Carnival Row

We stepped out of the house quietly, closing the door behind us. The night air of Paris was cool against my skin, carrying the faint scent of rain and distant traffic.

Ayara suddenly stopped walking.

“Wait,” she said, looking back toward the door. “What happened to the dead man that was lying at the entrance earlier?”

Timi didn’t even pause. “His name was Pierre,” he said casually. “I locked the body up in the garage.”

Ayara’s brows furrowed as she looked down at the entrance again.

“And the blood?” she asked. “Why didn’t you clean the stain on the floor?”

Timi scratched the back of his neck like he’d just realized something embarrassing.

“I was going to,” he said. “But I heard you guys coming back earlier and figured it would be a bit suspicious if the first thing you saw was me scrubbing blood off the floor in the middle of the night.”

I smirked slightly.

Ayara stared at him for another second before shrugging it off and continuing down the steps.

We walked onto the quiet street.

It was exactly midnight in Paris.

The city looked different at that hour. The sky above was a deep navy blue, almost black, with only a few scattered clouds drifting lazily across it. Street lamps cast warm golden pools of light onto the pavement, reflecting faintly off the damp cobblestones.

Most of the houses around us were dark, their tall windows shuttered as people slept inside. Somewhere in the distance, music floated through the air from what sounded like a late-night bar. A car passed far down the street, its headlights briefly slicing through the darkness before disappearing around a corner.

Paris at midnight was peaceful.

Too peaceful.

We stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, unsure where to go next.

Ayara crossed her arms.

“So,” she said, glancing between us. “Where are we going?”

Timi shrugged.

“No idea.”

She sighed.

“Then where exactly are we supposed to find our prey?”

A chuckle escaped my throat.

They all looked at me.

I slipped my hands into my pockets and leaned back slightly, staring down the quiet street.

“Sometimes,” I said slowly, “it’s better to let your prey come to you.”

Juliet looked at me and shook her head with a faint smile.

“Wow… the student has become the master, huh?”

I was about to respond when we suddenly heard voices nearby.

They were loud, irritated voices—girls arguing.

We all turned toward the sound and saw three girls stepping out of the house right beside Pierre’s. They were still arguing with each other as they came down the small steps to the street.

Juliet stiffened immediately.

“We’re going to look suspicious standing here,” she whispered under her breath. “This could draw attention to us.”

But it was already too late.

The girls stepped onto the street and finally noticed us standing there. Their argument instantly died down. For a moment they simply stared at us—four strangers standing outside Pierre’s house in the middle of the night.

Then one of them smiled and waved.

Instinctively, we all waved back.

The girls exchanged quick glances with each other before they began walking toward us.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Juliet muttered quietly.

I rolled my eyes.

“Relax,” I whispered back. “Stop being paranoid.”

The girls stopped a few feet away from us. They looked curious more than anything else.

One of them tilted her head slightly.

“Americans?” she asked.

Before any of us could answer, Timi spoke up smoothly.

“No,” he said with an easy smile. “We’re Nigerian tourists.”

“Ohhh,” one of the girls said with interest. “Welcome.”

Another girl pointed behind us toward the house.

“Did you guys just come out of Pierre’s house?”

Timi nodded.

“Yeah,” he said casually. “We rented it as an Airbnb.”

The girls looked surprised.

“Really?” one of them said. “Pierre rented his house out?”

Another girl shrugged.

“Well… he has been having financial issues lately.”

They looked back at us again, their curiosity growing.

“Are you guys also going to the carnival tonight?” one of them asked.

We all exchanged quick glances.

“We actually had no idea there was a carnival going on tonight,” Timi said, acting as our spokesman.

The girls laughed.

“Then what were you doing standing out here?”

“Just trying to explore Paris,” Timi replied.

The girls looked at each other again, excited now.

“Well then,” one of them said with a grin, “you definitely have to come with us.”

Timi nodded immediately.

“Deal.”

The girls smiled excitedly when Timi agreed.

“Perfect,” one of them said. “It’s not far from here.”

They turned and began walking down the street, and we followed them. Paris at night felt alive—warm lights glowing from windows, the faint sound of music somewhere in the distance, and the occasional car passing by.

As we walked, the girls kept glancing back at us with curiosity.

One of them finally spoke.

“So… are you guys all dating or something?”

Juliet chuckled softly.

“No,” she said. “Nothing like that.”

Ayara shook her head too.

“We’re cousins.”

The girls looked surprised.

“Really?”

Juliet nodded and pointed casually.

“Ayara and I are sisters. And those two,” she said, gesturing toward Timi and me, “are brothers.”

“Ohhh,” one of the girls said, clearly satisfied with the explanation.

Then another one smiled warmly.

“Well that makes introductions easier then.”

She pointed to herself.

“I’m Sophia.”

She then gestured to the girl beside her.

“This is Maria.”

Then she wrapped her arm around the third girl.

“And this is Collette.”

Maria smiled.

“We’re sisters too.”

Ayara looked curious.

“You are?”

Sophia nodded.

“Yeah. We live with our uncle now.”

“What about your parents?” Ayara asked carefully.

For a moment their smiles softened.

“They passed away a few years ago,” Collette said quietly.

“Oh…” Ayara replied gently.

Sophia quickly brightened the mood again.

“But enough about that. What are your names?”

Timi stepped forward slightly, still playing the role of our spokesman.

“I’m Timi,” he said.

Then he pointed at me.

“This is my brother.”

He then gestured toward Juliet.

“That’s Juliet.”

And finally toward Ayara.

“And that’s Ayara.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Maria said with a smile.

As we kept walking, the girls became more talkative.

“So what made you guys visit Paris?” Sophia asked.

“Adventure,” Timi replied simply.

Maria laughed.

“That’s a pretty good reason.”

“You guys picked a good night to explore,” Collette added. “The carnival is the best thing happening in this area tonight.”

As we turned a corner, music suddenly grew louder.

Bright colors lit up the night ahead of us.

And then we saw it.

The carnival.

It stretched across an open square filled with lights, rides, food stands, and people laughing and moving everywhere. Strings of glowing bulbs hung above the walkways, casting warm golden light over everything.

Music blasted from speakers while games flashed with colorful signs. The smell of sugar, fried dough, and popcorn filled the air.

Ayara stopped walking the moment she saw it.

Her mouth slowly opened.

“Wow…”

Her eyes were wide as she stared around her.

“Wow…”

Everything seemed to amaze her—the lights, the spinning rides, the crowds of people laughing and running past us.

“Wow…” she said again, turning her head in every direction.

Maria laughed.

“First carnival?”

Ayara nodded slowly, still staring around.

“It’s beautiful…”

Sophia grabbed Ayara’s hand.

“Come on,” she said excitedly. “We’ll show you around.”

The girls led us deeper into the carnival, weaving through the crowd. Ayara kept looking at everything like a child seeing the world for the first time.

At one point we stopped in front of a bright machine spinning pink clouds inside a glass case.

Cotton candy.

“Have you guys tried this before?” Collette asked.

We all shook our heads.

“Then you’re about to,” she said.

A minute later the vendor handed us large sticks of fluffy cotton candy.

Ayara stared at hers like it was some magical object.

“Just eat it,” Juliet said with a small smile.

Ayara carefully tore off a small piece and placed it in her mouth.

Her eyes widened again.

“Oh wow.”

Everyone laughed.

As we continued walking through the carnival, Ayara kept looking around in amazement, whispering “wow” every few minutes while lights reflected in her dark hair and excited voices echoed all around us.

While we were still walking through the bright paths of the carnival, Collette’s phone suddenly started vibrating in her hand.

She looked down at it and frowned slightly.

“Sorry guys,” she said. “I need to take this.”

But the music around us was so loud that she could barely hear anything. The speakers were blasting music, people were shouting, laughing, and the rides screeched as they spun through the air.

Collette pressed the phone harder to her ear, trying to listen.

“I can’t hear anything,” she complained.

Then she stepped away from us.

“I’ll be right back!”

She disappeared into the crowd, moving toward a quieter area.

The rest of us stayed with Sophia and Maria, standing near one of the food stands where the lights flickered brightly above us.

Sophia looked at us with curiosity.

“So,” she said, “where in Nigeria are you guys from?”

“Abuja,” Timi replied calmly.

Maria’s eyebrows lifted in interest.

“Really? That’s the capital city, right?”

Timi nodded.

“Yeah.”

“What are you guys doing all the way here?” Sophia asked.

“Traveling,” I said.

Maria tilted her head.

“Traveling?”

Timi took over again smoothly.

“We wanted to see Europe.”

“So we started with France,” Juliet added.

Sophia looked impressed.

“That’s actually really cool.”

Maria crossed her arms playfully.

“So how many countries have you visited so far?”

I shrugged.

“Just one.”

They blinked.

“France?” Sophia asked.

“France,” I confirmed.

They looked genuinely surprised.

“Wait… this is your first country?” Maria asked.

“Yes,” Timi replied.

Sophia laughed.

“That’s insane. Most people travel half the world before coming here.”

Maria looked curious again.

“But why are you doing it though?”

Timi gave a small shrug.

“You only have one life to live,” he said calmly. “So we might as well live it.”

The girls smiled at that answer.

“I like that,” Sophia said.

Just then Collette returned.

But she wasn’t alone.

She walked toward us with a group of people behind her—six of them in total.

At the center of the group was a tall guy with messy hair and a confident grin. His arm was wrapped casually around Collette’s neck, while her hand rested comfortably on his back.

It was obvious they were together.

The group approached us, laughing and talking loudly over the carnival noise.

Collette pointed toward us and said something quickly to them in French.

The group looked at us with interest as they stopped in front of us.

After everyone had finished introducing themselves, the group naturally split apart into smaller circles.

Soon we divided into three groups.

I ended up with Ayara, Collette’s boyfriend Olivier, and two of his friends—Lea and Camille. Olivier walked beside Ayara almost immediately, clearly eager to stay close to her. Lea and Camille followed behind us, laughing and teasing each other as we moved through the carnival.

Timi went with Collette, Laurent, and Alexandre, disappearing toward a row of game booths where people were throwing darts at balloons.

Juliet went with Sophia, Maria, and Valentine, heading toward the rides where bright lights spun across the dark sky.

The carnival was alive with noise and movement. Music blasted from giant speakers, children ran past holding glowing toys, and the smell of fried food and sugar filled the night air.

Our group stopped at a shooting game first. Olivier grabbed the toy rifle and tried to impress everyone by knocking down the metal targets, but he missed most of them.

Camille laughed loudly.

“Wow Olivier, you’re terrible!”

Olivier rolled his eyes.

“Relax, it’s just a warm-up.”

While they joked around, I noticed something.

Olivier kept glancing at Ayara.

Not openly.

Just small side glances whenever she wasn’t looking.

Ayara, meanwhile, was completely distracted by everything around her. She stared at the glowing rides, the lights, the crowds—everything fascinated her.

She looked like someone seeing the world for the first time.

I noticed Olivier’s eyes drifting back to her again.

But I said nothing.

After playing a few more games and walking through different sections of the carnival, all three groups eventually found each other again near a food stand.

Everyone looked energized, laughing and talking about the games they had played.

Olivier stretched his arms and looked around at the group.

“This was fun,” he said. “But we should probably continue the night somewhere else.”

“Like where?” Laurent asked.

Olivier shrugged.

“We could go to Collette’s house.”

Before he could finish the sentence, Sophia and Maria immediately protested.

“No way,” Maria said quickly.

“Our uncle just came back from his business trip today,” Sophia added. “If he sees a whole group of strangers in the house, he’ll kill us.”

Everyone laughed.

Maria suddenly snapped her fingers.

“Wait.”

She looked at me and Timi.

“Why don’t we go to your place?”

For a brief second the three of us froze.

Me.

Timi.

Juliet.

Our eyes met instantly.

All three of us were thinking about the same thing.

The blood.

The large stain still sitting on the floor near the entrance of Pierre’s house.

But none of us reacted outwardly.

Everyone else in the group seemed excited about the idea.

“That’s perfect,” Olivier said.

“Yeah!” Alexandre added. “Let’s do that.”

Juliet glanced at me.

Then at Timi.

Timi gave the smallest nod.

I understood what it meant.

“Give me a second,” I said casually. “I need to make a phone call.”

No one questioned it. The music from the carnival was loud enough that it seemed normal for someone to step away to talk. I slipped away from the group and walked toward the darker edge of the carnival grounds.

Once I was far enough, I slowed down and looked around carefully.

People were everywhere—laughing, eating, shouting over the music—but none of them were paying attention to me.

Good.

I walked a little farther until I reached a quiet corner behind a row of parked cars. I turned again, scanning the area one last time to make sure no one was watching.

Then I moved.

The world blurred instantly.

The ground vanished beneath my feet as I sprinted forward with vampire speed. Cold air rushed past my face as the streets of Paris flashed by in streaks of yellow lights and shadows. To any human eye, I would have been nothing more than a passing gust of wind.

Within moments I was back on Pierre’s street.

I slowed down just before the house and slipped inside through the front door.

The metallic smell of blood still hung in the air.

The dark stain on the floor was still there, spread across the entrance tiles like a dark shadow.

“Damn.”

I moved quickly through the house, opening cabinets and drawers until I finally found a small cleaning closet near the kitchen. Inside were a bucket, a brush, and several bottles of cleaning liquid.

Perfect.

I filled the bucket halfway with water from the sink, poured in a generous amount of liquid soap, and grabbed the brush.

Then I dropped to my knees and started scrubbing.

The bristles scraped hard against the floor as I worked quickly, pushing the foam across the stain. The red slowly began to fade as the soap mixed with the blood. I scrubbed harder, faster, making sure every trace disappeared.

Minutes passed.

Finally the floor looked normal again—just clean tiles reflecting the light from the hallway.

No stain.

No evidence.

Nothing that would make nine unsuspecting humans suspicious.

I rinsed the brush, dumped the bucket water into the sink, and wiped my hands on a towel.

Then I moved again.

In the next second I was gone.

The streets rushed past me once more as I sprinted back toward the carnival. Music and bright lights appeared in the distance, growing larger until I slowed down just before reaching the entrance.

By the time I walked back toward the group, they were already heading out of the carnival gates.

Sophia noticed me first.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“Wow,” she said. “That was one long phone call.”

I smiled casually.

“My girlfriend was being dramatic,” I replied with a small shrug.

The group laughed lightly and continued walking.

As we moved down the street, Juliet glanced at me.

Timi did too.

I gave them a small nod.

It was done.

Neither of them said anything, but I could see the understanding in their eyes.

The problem had been handled.

We continued walking through the quiet Paris streets, the carnival lights slowly fading behind us.

Nine humans laughed and talked as they walked with us, completely unaware.

Nine warm heartbeats.

Nine living bodies.

Nine different people following us toward a house where a man had already died tonight.

Nine different people.

Nine different meals.