“Let’s hear it,” Tarq says. “Talina can give you her opinion. We only get one chance to do this right. If we don’t get them out of here tonight, we’re all fucked.”
“OK.” And even though I was just told how dangerous and cruel our current nemesis is, I actually feel better about this plan. I think Tarq is on the up and up. I think he really is trying to make up for past sins and be the good guy now. And Talina’s spying was necessary so Tarq could make sure we were ready for tonight. So I turn to her and spit it out. “‘A horn, a hoof, an eye, a bone. A pack of nymphs enslaved at home. They paid their debt, they now are free. Take them back to sanctuary.’”
“Hmm.” Talina considers my words. “It’s good.”
“But not great,” I admit.
“The syllables are off at the end.”
“I know. ‘Sanctuary’ is a tough word. But that’s not only where we’re literally going, it’s also a mechanism of implied safety.”
“Yes, that part is brilliant. Still. The extra syllable bothers me.”
“I have an extra ring, too.” I hold up a hand and wiggle my pinky finger to show them the iridescent pearly-pink stone ring that goes with the new door I will make. “That’s the key.”
“Will it work?” Tarq demands.
“Yes,” Talina says. “It might not last long, but it’ll get them there.”
“Then that’s all that matters.” Tarq is looking at me now. “Ready?”
I look at Pell, and he nods. So I do too.
“Let’s go.” And then Tarq turns to the door, opens it up, and we go out into the party.
Tarq leads, holding on to Talina’s hand. Mikayla clings to her with one hand, and me with another. “Stay close,” she whispers. Pell is last, protecting us from behind.
The hallway is narrow and very dark. We walk for a while, past many other kitchens, and a beat thumps through the walls. We come to a door and when Tarq throws them open, the party hits us in the face like a wild southern wind. Obnoxiously loud music, strobe lights flashing across the walls and ceiling. People laughing, and dancing, and… being very intimate. In fact, the new hallway is lined with groups of naked monsters. All in the middle of sex acts.
I look back at Pell and mouth, What the fuck?
He just smiles at me.
But there’s not much time to worry about the royal orgies because I’m tugged forward by Mikayla and we are on the move again. We pass many, many rooms—none of which have doors, but are instead outfitted with great, long swaths of rich pastel velvets. Light blues, and pale pinks, and muted yellows. Which is completely at odds with the almost techno party going on all around us and I absently wonder what the palace really looks like when there’s no Fireday sex party to muck it all up.
I’m trying to imagine it when we stop. “This is it,” Tarq says. “When we get in there just keep them calm so Pie can work her spell, OK?” He looks at us, like he’s waiting for confirmation, so we all nod. “We need to get the fuck out of here before the sun breaks and all the spells wear off.”
“Spells?” I ask.
“The whole party is charmed,” Talina says. “It keeps everyone in kind of a hazy state of apathy.”
“Wow,” I say, thinking about the sex happening in this place. “That’s… gross.”
“Yeah,” Mikayla says. “But it’s not like they give us a choice. The only reason I’m not drugged is because I’m the on-duty pastry chef. And Talina here, she’s immune to the spells.”
I cock an eyebrow at her. “That’s handy.”
“Years and years of lab work.” Then she looks up at Tarq and they both grin at each other.
This look they share sparks something inside me. Something familiar. And I’m about to ask them what that’s all about, but it’s really not the time. And anyway, Tarq says, “OK. Ready?”
Pell squeezes my hand and we all nod in agreement.
Ready as we’ll ever be, I guess.
Tarq throws open the door, barges through—we follow—and… stop.
“What the fuck?” I whisper. “Why is it so dark?”