Page 34 of The Cannibal

“The big taxidermy kind,” he said with a wide smile, once he saw my attention was earned. “Antarctica, India, China, Africa.”

I was either insane, or considering it, or both.

“There’s a polar bear,” he said.

“Bring me,” I demanded.

“Well, you have to dress nicer than that.” His eyes trailed down then up. “Be ready and outside by midnight. Stay in your room until then.”

“Deal,” I said. “You promise I won’t be hidden for long?”

“Let the golden boy do his work, I’ll make your time worth it. Not to worry,” he assured me, “though, you may have to get to your room using the service stairs. Do you know your way around them now?”

“No,” I mumbled.

“Well, good luck then.” He suddenly opened the door, smacking it shut in my face.

I hit the door with my palms, giving it one last kick before venturing farther into the service hall to the steep stairs.

The bastard had an irritating way of being, but his offer did interest me for the short term. The key to my disordered eating could just be as simple as the victim itself. Consent could be something that is giving me some psychosomatic symptoms. Or my lab knowledge made me more paranoid about sterilization when I drink from a cup. Either way, this would hopefully be a controlled environment to test some theories. Who am I to deny a good experiment?

“Now you just have to go up and request for two.” Luka squeezed my shoulders from behind as we stared across the street. “You must smile, pull one fang forward with your tongue.”

The night was busy, music weaving its way through the streets, warm lighting on the pavement, and comfortable temperatures allowing for more people out on the town.

I dressed nice, but not too much. Something for the evening but not quite for a dinner. It was a deep green again, the color beginning to nauseate me. It felt nothing like something I’d wear, and my entire identity was in crisis at this point. Perhaps being out of my own comforts meant it would be easier to embrace the changes thrust upon me. This was fine, I was fine.

We stood across from a nice brick building modeled after Tudor sensibilities. Crosshatch windows and artificially aged stone, a castle-like aesthetic, and a large wooden door with iron details on the handle and window bars. There was even a line of people stacked to get in. An exclusive club, a Guild.

“Why must I do it?” I turned to him. “I thought this was your spot?”

“Men aren’t allowed without bringing a lady.”

“So you’re using me to get in?” My shoulders slumped. “I don’t want to go anymore.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” He stepped in front of me, holding his hands out to my arms as he walked backward. “Technically, I can’t get in anywhere. Not usually.”

“Why? Did you bring trouble with you, as usual? I don’t blame them.” I continued to walk, pushing against his hands as he continued to stumble.

“They don’t often check the guest! No one knows you.” He dug his heel into the ground to fully stop me. “Worst case, they ask my name and we are turned away. Best case, you get to enjoy your anonymity for a little longer. You can go anywhere, enjoy anything without people knowing your connection to our Nest.”

I nearly bumped into his chest, considering giving him a proper shove into the road. But first I considered it. It sounded nice in theory, but I wasn’t keen on being used as an entry piece.

“Why won’t they let you in?”

“I’m sure you’re familiar with the competitive nature of these Guilds.” He tipped his head at me. “The formation of Chimera was sudden and successful. Because that’s what money can buy you, instant success. But that doesn’t mean people don’t notice a new Nest in the same city. They’ve barred us from using Guilds. There were makeshift Nests already here, for at least ten years before we showed up. I’d feel a bit sour too if someone came and took a ten-year accomplishment and conquered them in only two.”

The queue out the Guild doors was only getting longer.

“You said there are specimens in there?” I asked.

Luka smirked, his hands resting on either side of my head as he leaned down, now eye to eye with me. “At least one hundred on display, thousands in their archive with the museum.” It was like he was describing something sexual.

“How rare?” I whispered.

“Extinct, rare morphology, and mutations,” he whispered earnestly. “You may never be able to see them anywhere else in the world.”

It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.