Heather Thornton

The Alchemical Carnival of Eternal Dusk

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Step right up, step right up, to the Alchemical Carnival of Eternal Dusk, where the air crackles with burnt sugar and forgotten dreams.  Beneath an Arizona sky perpetually kissed by twilight, this is no ordinary carnival. It’s a crucible for the soul, a labyrinth of illusion where the past whispers from the shadows and the future shimmers like a mirage.
Mira Alden, a juggler haunted by a self-imposed amnesia, arrives seeking not amusement, but a cure. Her hands, skilled in manipulating both objects and memories, tremble with a desperate need to piece together the fractured mosaic of her lost identity. The carnival, for her, is not a playground but a battlefield.
Within this hallucinogenic realm, she encounters Corin Finch, a sardonic potion-maker whose eyes hold the weight of centuries. He becomes her reluctant guide, offering a shimmering draught that unlocks the hidden chambers of Mira’s mind.  Together, they embark on a quest for the Seven Keys of Self, mystical artifacts rumored to restore Mira’s memories, each hidden within the carnival’s most surreal attractions.
Their journey begins on the Carousel of Forgotten Dreams, a macabre merry-go-round where spectral figures beckon from painted horses. In the Hall of Whispers, sentient mirrors reflect not their outward forms, but the hidden scars within.  With each key discovered, a new layer of Mira's past is revealed: a loving grandmother’s whispered tales, a romance cut short by tragedy, a shadowy figure lurking at the edges of her mind.
But they are not alone. The Carnival Master, a figure wreathed in shadows and the scent of burnt sugar, watches their every move. He is a collector of lost souls, and he sees in Mira a prize beyond measure, manifesting her deepest fears into grotesque obstacles.  A childhood terror of clowns twists into a troop of razor-toothed harlequins, while Corin’s fear of abandonment takes the form of spectral whispers promising oblivion.
As they delve deeper, Mira and Corin’s alliance blossoms into something more, a flicker of connection in the overwhelming darkness.  But the closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous the carnival becomes. In the Library of Lost Narratives, they face the temptation to rewrite their pasts.  Within the Labyrinth of Reflections, Mira confronts the shattering trauma that fractured her identity. 
The final key lies within the Grand Tent of Illusions, the Carnival Master’s inner sanctum.  Here, amidst a kaleidoscope of light and shadow, Mira must confront not only the Carnival Master, but the fragmented pieces of herself.  Will she succumb to the seductive promise of oblivion, or will she reclaim her story and step into the dawn of a new beginning?
This book is currently unavailable
154 printed pages
Original publication
2025
Publication year
2025
Publisher
PublishDrive
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