shimmering sail of gossamer silk stretched between sharp spikes. It reflected the multicolored lights running through the water.
“But how is this attached?” A few people rose from their seats, leaning forward.
“It looks too real,” someone said, their voice guarded.
“He doesn’t seem to be very comfortable in there.” An older woman reached over the counter.
Madame quickly slid in behind the bar, positioning herself in front of Zeph’s tank.
“Please take your seats, ladies and gentlemen. Remember the rules. You cannot touch the glass,” she reprimanded sternly.
With puzzled murmurs and gasps of awe and bewilderment, the audience settled down.
“Enjoy the refreshments,” Madame prompted. Obediently, the six at the bar went back to drinking their cocktails and munching on the food.
Madame’s smile returned. “I assure you, like all animals in my menagerie, the siren is kept in the utmost comfort. I make sure to maintain the optimal conditions for the wellbeing of my exhibits. Many would not have survived in the wild for as long as they do in my collection.”
I stared at Zeph as he completed his rotation, facing the audience once again. His expression was now blank, the clear blue eyes gazing vacantly straight ahead. If I had not seen this face vividly animated when he was singing, talking, laughing a year ago, I would have been inclined to believe there was no thought, no self-awareness behind those eyes, just as Madame had claimed.
But I did know better. Because I did remember everything from that night. I knew that Zeph was a real man—smart, fun, and intelligent.
It did not matter right now how the things had ended between us. Locking him in that tank was not right. Keeping him there could not be legal.
Fervently, I tried to decide on the best course of action. I should run back, find Fleur, and call the police.
As the light inside the tank dimmed. Radax and his beardless twin left. The people around the bar continued to eat and drink, with Madame telling them some out-of-this-world trivia about the food on their plates.
I had to get out of here before anyone spotted me. I was not looking forward to facing Madame if I were discovered trespassing on her property. Something about that woman made my skin crawl.
I was about to turn around, back to the gap in the wall I had used to enter, but the noise of footsteps and sounds of a conversation coming from that direction made me freeze in place.
Huddling into the shadows, I felt thankful for the darkness between the stuffy fabric walls. Whoever was approaching from the other end of the corridor wouldn’t be able to see me right away. Yet the sounds travelled easily enough through the fabric, and I crouched down, afraid to breathe.
The footsteps were heavy, the conversation stilted. Not a real dialogue, but an abrupt exchange of cut-off sentences and short phrases. The strangled voices and some low grunts made me think that the men talking must be also carrying something heavy.
The loud thud of a load being set down on the ground confirmed that.
The footsteps then moved again.
In my direction!
Trying to keep the panic from rising, I checked both walls on each side of me. The inside partition was stretched over a frame. Taut fabric did not leave me enough space to crawl under. The bottom edge of the outside wall was weighed down by the sand bags outside. My attempt to raise it made a rattling sound of a tarp crinkling.
“What’s that noise?” Radax’s voice asked, close—way too close—to me.
“Sounds like someone is trying to sneak under the wall again,” another deep male voice replied. The two would catch me before I managed to crawl half-way through any opening I could find or make.
“Cheap assholes,” Radax grumbled. “No one wants to pay anymore. Everyone wants free entertainment.”
Panic spiked hot in me, making it hard to think clearly. Glancing behind the velvet curtain again, I found the room there nearly empty now. The VIP clients had left. Madame was gone, too. The dark-haired girl carried out a pile of dirty dishes from the bar.
With not a second to lose, I slipped behind the curtain as the footsteps of Radax and his companion approached.
With the girl now gone, the VIP room was completely empty. Zeph’s water tank was dark, too. It was hard to tell whether he remained inside. With the footsteps right behind me, I crouched low to the ground and scurried behind the bar. The curtain swished open, with the heavy stomping coming in a