# Circus of the Damned

Circus of the Damned is a horror and mystery novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the third book in her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. Within the novel, the "Circus of the Damned" is the name of a supernatural circus that operated by Jean-Claude and serves as one of the main locations within the book. Hamilton employed the practice of titling the novels after a location within each novel for most of the books in the series.

## Plot

Circus of the Damned takes place a month after the events of The Laughing Corpse and begins with Anita meets with Jeremy Rubens and Karl Inger, who want her help. Rubens reveals he's created "Humans First" to eradicate vampires and demands she disclose the Master of the City's identity and location. Anita refuses to hand Jean-Claude over to a group, despite the possibility of freeing herself from his marks, because their plan is weak and likely to get them killed. While one member reacts angrily, another is more receptive, and Anita agrees to reconsider if they improve their plan.
Anita is called to a crime scene where she determines the victim, Carl Rupert, was killed by multiple vampires. Anita informs Dolph that she believes a master vampire is leading the attacks and that the victim won't become a vampire because he was killed by too many different vampires. Anita seeks information from Jean-Claude about rogue master vampires and meets him at his Circus of the Damned. She is led by Stephen through a supernatural circus performance to an inner chamber where she finds Jean-Claude with Yasmeen, Richard Zeeman, and Rashida, the latter two naked in bed.
Yasmeen confronts Anita, mixing aggression with seduction. Jean-Claude reveals Anita's denial of being his servant is creating political issues for him. He promises to resolve the conflict with Yasmeen if Anita acknowledges her role. Anita refuses to ask Jean-Claude for help when Yasmeen's jealous lover, Marguerite, duels her and loses. Yasmeen then attacks Anita, who is saved when her silver cross burns both herself and Yasmeen. A crisis erupts when a giant snake, once a god, goes berserk after killing its charmer. This may have been caused by Mr. Oliver, who controls snakes and wants to usurp the Master of the City. Jean-Claude, Yasmeen, Marguerite, Rashida, Stephen, and Richard fight a snake. Anita empowers Jean-Claude and uses her gun to help kill it, but Rashida is severely injured.
Jean-Claude reprimands Richard for his insufficient efforts against the snake and assures Anita that neither he nor Yasmeen are the rogue master vampire. He acknowledges that due to the current chaos, he may not be aware of any new master vampires in his territory. Anita agrees to drive Richard and a near-unconscious Stephen home after a stressful event. She's attracted to Richard, a kind teacher involved with Jean-Claude, and accepts a caving date with him.
Anita returns home to find Edward waiting for her. He needs her help to identify and locate the Master of St. Louis, who he has been contracted to kill. Edward reveals he saw Anita fight the giant snake at the Circus of the Damned and deduces either Jean-Claude or Yasmeen is Master of the City. Anita contemplates betraying Jean-Claude to free herself but ultimately misleads Edward about the Master's identity to buy time. Edward threatens consequences if she doesn't reveal the Master's identity and location soon.
After Edward leaves, Anita dreams of Jean-Claude. The next day, at the gym, Ronnie reveals that murder victim Carl Rupert was part of Humans Against Vampires and reminds Anita about Catherine's Halloween party, which conflicts with her planned date with Richard. Anita calls Richard, and they agree to attend the party together instead, postponing their caving trip. Anita investigates another vampire murder, realizing the victim might rise as a powerful, animalistic vampire due to the strength of the rogue master. Concerned about the previous victim at the hospital, she tries to warn them, but after failing to reach anyone, discovers John Burke is already there to stake the rising vampire. Anita and the police rush to the hospital, worried about the lack of communication.
Anita arrives at a hospital ravaged by Rupert, a vampire who escaped the morgue and killed several people. She teams up with vampire hunter John Burke to track him down, and after a brief confrontation, Anita kills Rupert. She then leaves to ensure her work is covered. Anita finds Larry, a young animator, struggling to control a zombie. She intervenes, using her blood to dominate the zombie and complete its task of signing a will. Afterwards, she explains the zombie's death to his family and prepares to leave with Larry for her next animation. Larry, despite his recklessness, is naive and unwilling to acknowledge the danger he caused. Anita, feeling protective, tries unsuccessfully to dissuade him from continuing the job.
Anita and Larry are attacked by Humans First, seeking information on Jean-Claude. They escape, but accidentally hit a powerful child vampire. This leads to a larger confrontation with the child, two female vampires, and their master Alejandro, who captures Larry and threatens to kill him if Anita doesn't surrender. Anita is attacked by Alejandro, who wants information about the Master of the City. She's saved by Humans Against Vampires, and taken home by Larry, who wants to become a vampire executioner. Anita reluctantly agrees to mentor him. Edward confronts Anita at her home, demanding the name of the Master of St. Louis. She reveals it's Alejandro before going to sleep.
Karl Inger recruits Anita to help overthrow the Master of the City. He introduces her to Mr. Oliver, an ancient vampire who wants to take over, and Melanie, a lamia under Oliver's control. Oliver demands Anita reveal the current Master's identity and location. Anita avoids answering a question and goes back to St. Louis. Ronnie reveals that both murder victims were part of Humans Against Vampires and had wills requesting staking after death. They shared a lawyer, and Ronnie believes someone from the lawyer's office leaked their identities to the killers. Anita passes the information to Dolph, who agrees to investigate.
Anita and Larry are interrupted by Jean-Claude, who summons Anita to the Circus of the Damned. There, she learns she has been marked as a human servant by both Alejandro and Jean-Claude, which was thought to be impossible. Anita is ambushed by Melanie and others, taken to a cave, and confronted by Alejandro who wants her as his servant. She escapes, killing Melanie's henchmen and her half-snake mate, Raju, in the process. Raju bites her with venom before dying. Edward rescues Anita after she escapes through an underwater tunnel.
Anita is poisoned by lamia venom, and Richard proposes turning her into a werewolf to save her. Anita refuses, so Richard takes her to Jean-Claude. Jean-Claude marks Anita as his human servant and drinks her blood, curing her poison, but enraging her in the process. Anita betrays Jean-Claude to Mr. Oliver, hoping to get rid of him. However, she learns of a larger plot to force all St. Louis vampires into a killing spree. Realizing Oliver becoming Master of the City would enable this, she warns Jean-Claude, then prepares for battle at the Circus of the Damned with Edward.
Jean-Claude and Mr. Oliver are set to battle for control of the city. Their minions will fight physically in a circus setting, while they engage in a vampiric power struggle. Jean-Claude's team consists of Edward, Anita, Rashida, Yasmeen, Marguerite, Richard, and Stephen, while Mr. Oliver's team includes Karl Inger, Alejandro, Melanie, and Alejandro's vampire pack. In a brutal fight, Edward decimates Alejandro's pack while Alejandro kills Yasmeen, leaving Marguerite devastated and blind. Alejandro then turns Anita into his full human servant through a blood bond and marking. Through this bond, Anita learns Oliver's plan to sabotage vampire legalization by forcing the city's vampires to commit mass murder.
Oliver defeats Jean-Claude but wants Anita to stake him to discredit him. However, Anita is too powerful to be controlled. Richard tries to fight Oliver but is killed. Instead of staking Jean-Claude, Anita stakes Oliver and then decapitates him, following Alejandro's plan. Alejandro then tries to kill Jean-Claude, but Anita kills Alejandro, dying in the process. Anita wakes up in the hospital, learning Edward saved her with CPR and both Jean-Claude and Richard survived. Richard reveals he's a powerful werewolf and no longer bound to Jean-Claude. Alejandro's death freed Anita from Jean-Claude's marks. She decides to date Richard, despite uncertainty about his lycanthropy and her feelings for Jean-Claude. Melanie the lamia joins Jean-Claude's Circus of the Damned.

## Characters

* Anita Blake
* Jean-Claude
* Richard Zeeman
* Mr. Oliver
* Alejandro