soul. “And you’re going to be our opening act.” Saying nothing more, he turned and stormed away, leaving me completely undone against Trey’s body, my lungs still heaving for a breath that just wouldn’t come.
A show. We were going to have a show…
And this time, I wouldn’t be in the audience. This time I’d be up on that stage, performing, doing God knew what, all to please that man.
I was already dead. What’s the worst that could happen?
Chapter Seven – Nigel
I stood in my tent, wearing my showman’s uniform. It fit snugly on my frame, made for me. No tailor made it; it simply came out for me, for me to wear when we flexed the muscles of this place.
There was a time when we were simply traveling folk, but most did not take kindly to wandering gypsies, so after a time we became somewhat of a marvel, a freakshow, a circus full of wonder and awe. We did not have to be a performing band, but it made it so much easier to bring in more.
More souls. More blood. More power. Wasn’t that what everyone wanted, in the end?
The others had cleaned the stage and moved Trey’s body; I doubted the tiger would wake up before the show, which was more than fine. If he did not wake until morning, we already had an act to replace his. A new opening act I could not wait to try out. I had the feeling it would be to die for.
Quite literally.
I was still very angry at Thana for what she and Trey did. It was not everyone’s business I was in; I didn’t care who fucked who or what have you. But Thana? She was mine. She was mine, and she had to know it. She played by my rules here; I was the watcher, the guardian. It was all me, and for her to disrespect me… well, I couldn’t take it lightly now, could I? No, she had to be punished, and I hoped fucking her against Trey’s lifeless body and tonight’s show would remind her of her place here.
It could be a wondrous place where she could let loose, but within reason. Being mine, I would not let her fuck her way through the entire troupe. I may not have many limits, but when it came to her, I did have some.
I stayed in my tent for a while, until evening fell and I heard guests start to wander the grounds. Usually I was outside during this time, greeting them, telling them to head directly into the main tent for the first big show, but I was not in the mood to play nice. Right now, the only thing I wanted to do was rip a certain tiger apart limb by limb, pluck out his eyes and feed him his own intestines.
That might be going overboard, but I didn’t care. I didn’t give a single shit.
Thana, I was aghast at realizing, had made me feel so possessive, so quickly and so obsessively. None of the others had made me feel like this, even when they were new. Some had tried to come onto me, purely based on the supernatural connection we had, but I never paid them any mind. Not until Thana.
I had no idea what it was about her, why she drove me mad, as crazy as a man could possibly be, and I hated it. To be utterly frank, it irritated me to no end to know she had that power over me. It should always, always be the other way around. To not hold all of the power here was unheard of, and I didn’t know what to do or how to change it.
Hmm. I could control her every waking movement, I supposed. I could force her to be at my side during all hours of the day and night, but then I’d run into the issue where she would not want to be by my side, wouldn’t want to be in my bed every night. Thana would fight me, even if I forced her. She might start to hate me.
Hate was so close to love, after all. Could I stand to hold her hate instead of her heart? I… I didn’t know.
The indecision gnawed at me like an annoying, aggravating animal that simply wouldn’t get the hint and go away. I remained lost in my head, something truly unusual for me, as everyone else handled the show outside.
This place… when I decided a show