3.26 Nice Hair Gets You There

Dena's rebellion left Mel feeling uneasy, Josh could tell, and her angry attitude made him feel uneasy, too. When he spotted Tika wandering through the crowds with her Honey Buns, it was a welcome distraction, he would need to be discreet.

         "I'll see you later, I gotta go eat something."

         "Don't drink their wine" Mel advised as he sauntered off in Tika's general direction. "It's Serpent Poison!"

         "What's going on?" Dion was surprised to find Mel standing alone when he finally made his way down to the Grand Courtyard. He scanned the crowds, everyone was swaying to the music, it was even worse than he heard.

         "It's not good" she replied ruefully, gesturing towards the bar. "There's going to be some serious fallout from this. Atalon is out of his mind for allowing those Serpents to take over the Farewell Celebration with their demonic freak show!"

         He spotted Dena and Nepheus at the wine bar together. "Why doesn't she just take off her clothes?"

         "I know!” Mel agreed. "It's ridiculous! First Eden, then Dena and now look over there!"

         Dion searched the crowds, he spotted the chocolate flaxen curls bouncing off the perfectly round buttocks before he spotted Josh, tailing them. Mel was right.

         Bella spotted Mel and Dion by the entrance as she emerged from the washrooms with Bria. It was a perfect opportunity, one she had been waiting for since walking off the boat.

         "Wait here!" She ordered, straightened her dress and worked her best walk toward the VIP opportunity. Mel and Dion would welcome her pitch, especially at a time like this. Pitches separated the eager from the lazy.

         "My name is Bella, Goddess of Finias, Rabbit Year" she announced with confidence and pride. "I just wanted to let you know that I absolutely love your salon and Hairdressing School, so much!"

         "I'm glad you enjoy them" Dion replied, noticing the red in her hair, it complimented her blushing cheeks.

         "I applied for your New Empire Apprenticeship Program."

         "Oh?"

         "Yes…"

         "We haven't looked through the applications yet, but we will let you know if we find yours suitable for one of the new programs, there will be plenty of opportunities" Mel assured, noticing the red in her hair too, it looked almost pink in the sun yet inside the salon it was hardly noticeable. She reached for one of her ringlets, pulled it straight and watched it bounce back. "Nice" she smiled. "Unusual color!"

         "Why don't you come by the salon and fill out an application for work?" Dion suggested. "We're looking for a new receptionist, it’s a foot in the door."

         "Really?" Bella's face lit up, a job opportunity was even more than she had hoped for. "That's like... Oh my god! That would be so awesome!"

         "We'll be expecting you then" he smiled.
         "Thank you so much!" She paid her respects before strutting off, blinking back tears of joy. She knew her hair would do it!

         Dion chuckled as she hurried off to not share the news with her friend before disappearing into the crowd.

         "Now that one's a keeper! More interested in an opportunity to shmooze than fall victim to this ridiculous sorcery. I like her hair. Make sure to ask Medena for her records."

         Mel was still trying to decode the interaction. "I didn't know we were looking for a new receptionist…" She was feeling a little upset that she hadn't been consulted about a new hire, when she realized what he was implying. "Oh. My. God... Did you just officially fire Dena?"

                                                      

         "Is that Torus dancing?" Bakkon finally dared ask.

         "I can’t think who else it could be" Atalon was trying to use a telescope made for ocean voyages, he had it trained towards the stage and was fumbling with the focus, more concerned about the red head he was dancing with. Instead of feeling relieved that young Torus had finally discovered his manhood, it couldn't have been more misdirected if he had tried to derail it himself.

         "He's going to PAY for this!"

         The music was destroying the Farewell Celebration, now he knew this was a deliberate stunt. The Lemurians did this on purpose to mess up his head, to mock him, to irritate him, to throw him off his game because they heard about the war against Aquilla! Whistles and cheers erupting one more time were one more than Atalon could take.

         "DAMN YOU!" He bellowed, throwing the instrument off the balcony into the gardens below. Like a wild animal exploding from a cage, he stormed into the Villa only to be mocked by the grinning Crystal Skull, sitting on the corner of the table.

         "FUCKING SERPENT CRYSTAL FUCKS!" Like a violent maniac he picked it up and smashed it into the fireplace, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

         Smothered and struggling to breathe, Min was losing consciousness fast, did no one notice the terrifying hold she was enslaved in? Sandwiched and jostled from every angle, she couldn't even feel the floor, let alone scream.

         Aroused by her fear, fueled by jealousy, Torus ground harder and harder, inching himself closer and closer to the stage, harnessing this invisible power, a power he was naturally endowed with, when all of a sudden, he lost control. With a violent thrust he shot his tongue deep into her throat, as far as it would go.

         Stabbed from skull to gut, Min felt torn in two, the Phoenix was flapping wildly inside as she struggled for her life. She tried to kick or grab someone close but her attempts were futile, lost in the beating wall of bouncing bodies, screaming too loudly themselves to notice hers at all.