hard-as-rock chest of Radax.
“What’s going on?” he roared, catching me by the scruff of my t-shirt and lifting me up as if I were a cat.
“Found her snooping around the Gorgonian’s crate,” the one chasing me replied, quickly catching his breath.
“Who are you?” Radax gave me a shake.
“Nobody,” I panted, my heart lodged in my throat, choking me with panic. “Please, let me go.”
“What the fuck were you doing by the crate?” the one with the flashlight demanded.
“Just, um...” I remembered Radax speaking about people sneaking in to see the show for free. “Wanted to see what you have here, without having to pay for the ticket.” It wasn’t even a lie. “I’ll give you the twenty bucks right now.” I patted the back pocket of my shorts. “Just let me go, please.”
“What did you see?” Radax narrowed his eyes at me.
With my shirt in his firm grip, I could only stand on my tiptoes.
“Nothing,” I lied, desperately hoping it came out convincingly enough. “Nothing at all.”
“Weren’t you the one I escorted out of here earlier?”
My heart dropped, he’d recognized me.
Denying felt stupid at this point, so I just kept quiet, scrambling for what to do next.
“You wanted to see the VIP exhibit, didn’t you?” Radax asked next.
He was way too smart for his size.
“No. I have no idea what you’re talking about...”
“Well, she’s seen it, now.” The other one scowled, tipping his head toward the tank.
A pale shape was clearly visible in the water. With both hands pressed against the glass, Zeph appeared to be watching us, although his eyes stared into the void unfocused, his expression remained impassive.
“She didn’t eat camyte.” The man with the flashlight scratched his bald head. “She can cause trouble if we let her go.”
“I won’t,” I rushed to assure him. “I want no trouble. Promise. I just want to go home.”
Getting the police involved felt absolutely necessary now, but I tried not to think about that, afraid it would reflect on my face somehow.
“Trez, go get Madame,” Radax ordered to the other man.
“Oh God, no please,” I whimpered, hating him for bringing her into this. “Not her. Just let me go, and she would never need to know about any of this. Please.”
“This is her property.” Radax dragged me to the exit of the room. “Her show and her business. She gets to decide what to do with you.”
YAWNING, HER HAIR WRAPPED in a silk turban, Madame arrived in a smaller room somewhere inside the tents where Radax had brought me. Dressed in a pink kimono painted with golden birds, she tossed but one glance at me.
“Kill her,” she ordered curtly, a bored expression on her face.
Kill? Me?
Was she serious?
“Madame?” Something briefly crossed Radax’s stern features. Not a shock like I felt, but at least some hesitation.
“You heard me, slave. I don’t need any troubles here. Kill her.”
Was this woman insane?
“Murder for trespassing?” I desperately thrashed in Radax’s grip, dangling inside my oversized t-shirt like a rag doll. “I didn’t do anything!”
“You saw.” She glared at me.
“Wouldn’t killing her cause more trouble?” Radax asked. “The police—”
“The police have no business snooping around here,” she cut him off curtly. “But if she gets out there and starts blabbering about what she’s seen—”
“I won’t—” I began passionately, but she wouldn’t let me finish.
“I’m not risking my entire establishment on the word of some girl,” she cut me off resolutely. “The only sure way to keep her quiet is to kill her. The dead can’t speak. We are leaving the city in a few hours. If anyone asks during this time, she came to see the exhibit with a group of several people. She left. We don’t know what happened to her next. That’s all.” She pivoted around, obviously intending to leave. “Do not disturb me with these things anymore, Radax,” she tossed derisively over her shoulder on her way out. “You should be capable of making at least some decisions yourself.”
The horror of my situation descended on me with bone-chilling terror.
Madame really meant what she’d ordered, and she left convinced her instructions would be followed.
The two men moved their attentions to me, their stares crossing at my face.
Nothing in their grim expressions promised any leniency for me.
I had begged, with no results. Now panic spurred me into action.
With a pitiful squeak, I lifted my arms straight up into the air and bent my knees, sliding out of my t-shirt which remained dead-locked in Radax’s grip. Left only in my bra and shorts, I scurried up