attention. Revealed was a bright eye the color of a fresh blood stain.
When the door show was over they were ushered inside and plugged into a world with too many opulent images to process. The building was huge. That it had appeared otherwise from the outside was one hell of an optical illusion. The winding maze of rooms they were led through contained everything from old stone churches to lavish circus tents so saturated in color it was painful. Nothing in the place wasn't top of the line and beyond. Each item and entity they passed was poised to evoke the most dramatic effect, and none of it disappointed. There was still something strange about the air, but at least the biting, stinging, finger in light socket feeling had abated at the door.
A compact woman with pale finger waved green hair and facial tattooing seated them and returned with drinks without taking an order. She placed a wide glass in front of him. Sio looked up to thank her, wondering how she'd known. As their eyes met she hissed and averted her gaze. She curtseyed and booked. Sio watched as she receded into the shadows.
"Were you hitting on our waitress?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Rachel, stop," Bren chided.
Rachel shot him a withering look. "The service here sucks anyway."
"Maybe it's you," Jay put in with an overly polite smile.
"Jay, stop, you stop now. Why don't we all relax and have a good time, okay? Rachel, Sio gets attention, but he's here with us. We're used to it. Sio..." Bren trailed off. "Do your best to keep the pimp juice to a dull roar, okay? Everybody good? Good, now when is this thing supposed to start?"
Right on cue, the lights dimmed and servers spilled from the arena's marble floor as if they were climbing from the pits of hell. Each one carried massive trays laden with brilliantly colored foods in all shapes and sizes. The smell was intoxicating. Issues were forgotten as plates heaped with exotic offerings were set down by lightning quick hands that melted back into the shadows surrounding their booth.
Sio speared something he didn't recognize with a fork that probably cost more than his apartment and stuffed it into his mouth. The only sound from the rest of the table was the frantic clatter of silverware against antique china. He glutted himself until a clap of thunder reverberated through the room, shocking him out of the taste induced stupor. A deep disembodied voice followed suit rumbling in the newly stilled air.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Honored Guests, and Other. Tonight we bring you ecstasy and agony, a tempting taste of both heaven and hell for your viewing pleasure. Tonight is like many other nights, but begins quite unlike any other. Dearest creatures, we lay before you an offering and a boon. Please welcome your most fearsome hosts Messires Royal and Xavier. Our Lion Tamers."
The air temperature spiked as two men appeared in the arena, phasing into view as if they were part of a heat mirage. The one on the right was lean with white blonde hair that looked too bright in contrast to the angularity of his face and the depth of his tan. The metal in his bottom lip glinted in the low light when he smiled. The guy on the left was a few inches shorter. A slightly stockier, hard muscled dirty blonde with a carefully man-scaped goatee and hair cut for fighting. He had high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and eyes blue enough Sio could see them clearly from fifty feet away. Scars were etched all over the side of his neck and torso as if the guy sat around carving himself on Saturday nights for fun. Both of them were pretty and either one of them looked like a good fight.
"Oh good, Chip'n Dales," Jay said around a mouth full of food.
Sio swallowed. "Nah, I think they'd start out wearing more."
"Shhhhh," Rachel bit out.
"You guys are going to make jokes through this whole thing, aren't you?" Bren asked.
"Yep."
"Pretty much."
Sio shoveled another heap of food into his thrilled pie hole. He choked as a gorgeous, long legged,
When the door show was over they were ushered inside and plugged into a world with too many opulent images to process. The building was huge. That it had appeared otherwise from the outside was one hell of an optical illusion. The winding maze of rooms they were led through contained everything from old stone churches to lavish circus tents so saturated in color it was painful. Nothing in the place wasn't top of the line and beyond. Each item and entity they passed was poised to evoke the most dramatic effect, and none of it disappointed. There was still something strange about the air, but at least the biting, stinging, finger in light socket feeling had abated at the door.
A compact woman with pale finger waved green hair and facial tattooing seated them and returned with drinks without taking an order. She placed a wide glass in front of him. Sio looked up to thank her, wondering how she'd known. As their eyes met she hissed and averted her gaze. She curtseyed and booked. Sio watched as she receded into the shadows.
"Were you hitting on our waitress?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Rachel, stop," Bren chided.
Rachel shot him a withering look. "The service here sucks anyway."
"Maybe it's you," Jay put in with an overly polite smile.
"Jay, stop, you stop now. Why don't we all relax and have a good time, okay? Rachel, Sio gets attention, but he's here with us. We're used to it. Sio..." Bren trailed off. "Do your best to keep the pimp juice to a dull roar, okay? Everybody good? Good, now when is this thing supposed to start?"
Right on cue, the lights dimmed and servers spilled from the arena's marble floor as if they were climbing from the pits of hell. Each one carried massive trays laden with brilliantly colored foods in all shapes and sizes. The smell was intoxicating. Issues were forgotten as plates heaped with exotic offerings were set down by lightning quick hands that melted back into the shadows surrounding their booth.
Sio speared something he didn't recognize with a fork that probably cost more than his apartment and stuffed it into his mouth. The only sound from the rest of the table was the frantic clatter of silverware against antique china. He glutted himself until a clap of thunder reverberated through the room, shocking him out of the taste induced stupor. A deep disembodied voice followed suit rumbling in the newly stilled air.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Honored Guests, and Other. Tonight we bring you ecstasy and agony, a tempting taste of both heaven and hell for your viewing pleasure. Tonight is like many other nights, but begins quite unlike any other. Dearest creatures, we lay before you an offering and a boon. Please welcome your most fearsome hosts Messires Royal and Xavier. Our Lion Tamers."
The air temperature spiked as two men appeared in the arena, phasing into view as if they were part of a heat mirage. The one on the right was lean with white blonde hair that looked too bright in contrast to the angularity of his face and the depth of his tan. The metal in his bottom lip glinted in the low light when he smiled. The guy on the left was a few inches shorter. A slightly stockier, hard muscled dirty blonde with a carefully man-scaped goatee and hair cut for fighting. He had high cheekbones, a strong jaw, and eyes blue enough Sio could see them clearly from fifty feet away. Scars were etched all over the side of his neck and torso as if the guy sat around carving himself on Saturday nights for fun. Both of them were pretty and either one of them looked like a good fight.
"Oh good, Chip'n Dales," Jay said around a mouth full of food.
Sio swallowed. "Nah, I think they'd start out wearing more."
"Shhhhh," Rachel bit out.
"You guys are going to make jokes through this whole thing, aren't you?" Bren asked.
"Yep."
"Pretty much."
Sio shoveled another heap of food into his thrilled pie hole. He choked as a gorgeous, long legged,
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