The winding tunnel led us for some fifty yards further down the park until the way opened into a well-lit cavern. The room stretched for fifty yards in all directions and the walls showed off a smooth carving that made me wonder if magic hadn’t been used in the creation of the cavern, as well. The floor was sunken some twenty feet below the entrance, and a pair of curved stairs with handrails led down to a mess of round tables with elegant white table clothes. A bar ran along the curve of the wall to our right, and smooth red plush cushioned stools showed off their expensive pedigree.
The ceiling sloped sharply downward away from us and ended at a stage at the far end of the large room. A dark red curtain hung so that when closed it cut off all but the last five feet of the stage. At the end of those age-blackened boards stood a stand and microphone. A wooden sign some thirty feet long and five feet tall hung above the bar with the words ‘The Basilisk Bar’ etched into it.
The tables were filled with an unusual, though not unfamiliar, clientele. There were witches in dark suits seated with men who had hairy sideburns, sure signs of their werewolf nature. Some in the company were as pale as their undeath, and the black-fleshed staff shuffled about with their arms double-stitched to their shoulders so the weight of their trays wouldn’t pull off their slightly rotten arms.
A man stood behind the bar who, compared to the others, appeared to be normal. He wore a plain white shirt with the top buttons undone to show off his somewhat pale skin. His pants were an elegant black of such a softness that they appeared to be silk, and a silver watch was wrapped around his right wrist. The man’s sleeves were rolled up to just short of his elbows as he shook one shaker after another to fill the insatiable thirsts of the guests.
Eric led me down the right-hand stairs and over to the bar. The man noticed our coming and a smile slipped onto his lips. I myself noticed that his eyes were of such a brilliant yellow that they were almost white.
He leaned his arms on the bar and grinned at us as we reached the bar. “What a pleasant surprise.”
Eric took a seat on one of the bar stools and returned the smile, but there was an insincere touch at the corners of his lips. “Is it?”
The man’s twinkling eyes fell on Eric’s chest where his hidden compass no doubt glowed. “I suppose not, but you know I keep that around just to see you.” His attention fell on me, and those brilliant but strangely haunting eyes studied me. His nostrils flared a little and his smile tightened. “Well, well, if it isn’t another one of you. Vanar really is getting soft to save another one of you from the Lord of Eternity. How did a beautiful woman such as you become his latest toy?”
I scooted onto one of the tall stools and leaned my elbows on the bar as I gave him a smile. “You could say I had a bad night.”
The man grasped one of my hands and planted a soft kiss on the top. “Then allow me to offer you a better one, and a proper introduction. My name is Gandra, the lord of this establishment known as The Basilisk Bar. And you are?”
“She’s busy, as am I,” Eric spoke up as he frowned at the gentleman. “What did you want?”
Gandra sighed and released my hand. “I only thought to be friendly, but if you insist on coming to business-”
“I do.”
The bartender shrugged. “To be honest, I’ve been having a spot of trouble with some of my clients.”
Eric shook his head. “What you slide over to your customers isn’t my concern.”
The man’s good humor failed him a little and his eyes flickered over those gathered about us. “Not that kind of trouble. They’ve been coming in and paying their tabs.”
It was Eric’s turn to shrug. “What’s that to us?”
“They’re not the kind-hey!”
Gandra’s attention had been drawn to a table of four halfway across the room where each of the two men had a woman around one of their arms. A deck of cards sat on the table, but it wasn’t a gambling deck. The cards were from a tarot pack, and between them was the upturned card that featured the personification of death. Both men glared at each other while the tense women had frightened looks on their faces.
One of the men curled their lips up in a snarl. “You take it!”
The other shook his head. “Hell no!”
“That’s exactly where you need to be going, so take it!”
“Not on your life!”
“It’s on your life, not mine!”
Gandra’s sharp voice interrupted their squabbling. “Gentlemen!” The pair grew ashen-face as they looked up at their irritated host. He nodded at the card. “Pick it up, Johnny.”
The man who sat farthest from us began to shake. “P-please don’t make me-”
Gandra narrowed his eyes. “Pick it up.”
Johnny grabbed the wrist of the woman in his grasp and smacked her palm down on the card. He glared up at her as a frightened cry escaped her lips. “Pick it up!”
Tears ran down her cheeks as she shook her head. “Let go of-”
“Pick it up!”
Movement out of the corner of my eye made me look back to Gandra. My mouth dropped open as he stretched out one arm and his hand morphed into a snake head almost as large as my whole body. The snake let out a hiss and flew between Eric and me, elongating his arm into an impossible length.
Johnny noticed the incoming serpent and leapt to his feet. He tried to shove the woman in front of him, but the snake bit down on his arm and forced him to release her. She scrambled out of the way as the serpent bit down harder on the man’s arm, causing blood to gush out from where its fangs had punctured his flesh. Johnny screamed and thrashed in its hold. The creature released him, and he stumbled backward only to fall over his own feet. He fell onto his butt as the serpent loomed over him. The creature let out a hiss before it opened its mouth wide and lunged at him. Johnny threw up his arms, but he couldn’t block a mouth that could swallow him whole. He disappeared into the gaping maw, but his scream echoed over the room. A large lump traveled upward into the serpent’s thick body and disappeared as the snake shrank back into its host.
I stumbled out of the way as the thing slithered back to Gandra and reverted back to being his arm. He flexed his fingers before he smiled at all who gawked at him. “That was quite a disgusting nuisance. I doubt he’d showered in the last month.” His sharp golden eyes fell on me. “Don’t judge me too harshly, miss. According to the cards the man was a doomed soul. I merely helped him along his way.”
Eric scoffed. “Always the philanthropist.”
Gandra shrugged. “I aim to please. Now then,” He lifted his arms and clapped his hands above his head, “who’s up for some entertainment?”
The clientele eased themselves back into their chairs, though the freed woman scurried out of the room. The other man at the table scooped up some coins that had lain beneath the tarot cards and quickly followed her lead.
Gandra inclined his head to us. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I have to see if everything is prepared.”
My host turned away and shuffled down the length of the bar. I couldn’t help but notice that he dragged one foot behind him like he was club-footed, but a quick look showed it was worse than that. One side of his foot, the side that dragged across the floor, was completely flat and slid along the floor. The man limped up a ramp and onto the stage where he disappeared into one of the wings.
I swept my eyes over the room as I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Is this really a place we want to be at?”
Eric pursed his lips as he reluctantly sat back down. “Not really.”
I followed his lead, but my eyes remained on the now-empty table. “What was that game they were playing?”
“Fated Hands,” he explained as he cast a look of disgust at the board. “They play with tarot cards to see their future, and the first one to meet death is the loser.”
I winced. “So, a kind of Russian roulette?”
“Yes.”
I spun around on my seat and stared at the empty spot vacated by the host. “And the guy? He doesn’t happen to have any relation to those snake skinwalkers we met on Basileus’ island, does he?”
A dark cloud fell on Eric’s brow. “He-”
All the lights dimmed except for a single spotlight on the stage. Gandra stepped out from behind the curtain and stood before the mic with a sly, crooked smile on his lips. I couldn’t help but feel his gaze lingered on us as he swept his eyes over the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present for your pleasure Miss Zaza!”