Chapter Six
The lift door pinged as Peter walked down the hallway that led the backstage when he saw Cassandra walking closer and he saw the anger on her face. She stormed closer when she slapped the costume against his chest and Peter looked down, holding the costume in his hand.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked as he arched his eyebrows up and a small smile appeared on his face.
"It's not funny. Do you really THINK that I am going to go out there dressed in…in…that?" Cassandra shouted as Peter held the costume out in front of him and tilted his head to one side.
"Is it too small?" he asked with a blank look on his face and she sighed, rolling her eyes.
"There's barely enough material to tell if it is or not!" she shouted and Peter sighed, handing her costume back.
"Well, I never had any of the other girls say they have a problem with it. If you don't want to wear it," he said then pointed to the exit. "There's the door. Don't let it hit your ass on the way out."
She watched him go down the hallway then walked toward one of the stage hands and Cassandra growled, heading down the hallway toward the ladies dressing room.
The audience sat down as the lights were lowered and the blue lights lit up the stage. A fine smoky mist spread across the stage as eerie music started playing and a spot light shined on the pentagram hanging over the stage. The young woman slithered out of the fog as they hissed and the lights clicked on, showing them wearing the she-devil costumes. Their hair hung over their breasts as they hissed and the red lipstick the young women wore shimmered in the light. Cassandra sulked near one of the fake rocks while she watched the young women slither and hiss at the audience when the eerie music flared and a bright flash of light nearly blinded her. The audience gasped when Peter appeared as if out of thin air and he glared at the young women, who were huddled together at stage right and he did a quick count with his eyes.
"What the hell? Where is she?" Peter thought when he realized that Cassandra was missing and hoped that she hadn't really taken him seriously about leaving. One of the young women twisted her head toward Cassandra as Peter turned around and saw her sitting near the fake rock. The light shimmered on her long black hair while it floated down her breasts and the light over her head seemed to shimmer off her skin. Even angry, she looked amazing and he walked toward her. Holding his hand out, he nodded and she took his hand as he helped her to her feet. She looked deeply into his chocolate brown eyes as she again saw sadness there and he gently placed his hand against her cheek. His hand felt warm and soft as his long fingers stroked her hair and he moved closer, placing his forehead against her forehead.
"Glad you didn't quit," he whispered then looked down at the costume. "And you do look killer in that."
Before she could move, he kissed her lips then tossed her to the floor and the audience applauded. She sat on the floor as she watched the rest of the act and she was impressed. Peter seemed so assure of himself as he performed his tricks and winked at her. One of the young women crawled across the stage as she hissed at him during the finale of the first act but he walked to Cassandra when he helped her stand up and walked her to one spot of the floor. He held her against him as she slid her fingers through the soft hairs on his chest and he looked down then smiled a wicked smile. The lights flared as Cassandra felt the floor give way and they slid down into darkness.
"What the fuck?" she shouted after they landed on the mattress under the stage and Peter held his hand out, helping her up.
"Cool exit, hunh?" he asked as she looked up at the trap door and smiled, nodding her head. "Now be a good girl and go get dressed for the next number."
He watched her head for the stairs then thought about how wonderful she looked under the lights and sighed. His leather pants felt a little tighter as he looked down and laughed at the slight bulge poking through the leather.
"Down, Boy," he whispered then walked to the stairs, going upstairs.
Cassandra liked the set for the vampire hunter set as she looked at the blue mist floating over the floor and cast iron candle holders with lit white candles. The black wood bed sat at the center of the stage and two, fake dead trees were on either side of the bed. A blue curtain had the pentagram on it and a blue light lit up the stage. She and the young women were wearing black silk gowns and matching long gloves and Darcy was lying on the bed. Darcy was wearing a white, gossamer gown and the eerie music filled the darkness. Peter appeared on the stage as the young women hissed at him but Cassandra only stood near the headboard and glared at him. The reason she was glaring was because the fake fangs she had in her mouth had come off and she didn't' want to swallow them.
"BEGONE, DEMONS!" Peter shouted as the young women hissed at him and Cassandra cupped her mouth as she tried not to laugh. Softly spitting the fangs out of her mouth, she glared at him when she saw the wires lifting Darcy off the bed and the audience gasped. Cassandra followed the other young women toward Peter as Darcy hissed and growled at Peter then grunted when the wires jammed and Cassandra looked at Peter.
"Oh fuck," he whispered when Darcy started floating left to right and he knew she was stuck. Cassandra jumped onto the bed as she started hissing and he looked at her. She crawled across the bed as he walked closer and removed the prop wooden stake out of the pocket of his leather coat. The other young women didn't know what was going on as Peter climbed onto the bed and they moved on the bed until they were kneeling near the sides of the bed and Peter raised the prop wooden stake. "DIE, FOUL SPAWN!"
The light went out just as Peter lowered the prop wooden stake toward Cassandra's chest and she screamed. The stage hands had raised Darcy into the air as the lights came on and the young women had disappeared. Cassandra had gotten off the bed during the time the lights were out and Peter was standing on the bed when the lights came back on. He waited when the audience applauded and he jumped off the bed, taking a bow.
"Pssst, Peter, we're running short. Do another trick," the voice said in the ear piece in his right ear and he looked at the audience. He didn't have another trick when he thought of something and smiled.
"Hmmmm," Peter said as he smiled at the audience and folded his arms over his chest. "Normally I would end the hunt here, but I think we have time for a quick and simple trick. I'll be right back."
The audience watched as he walked backstage as he watched the stage hands lower Darcy to the ground then he walked to Cassandra, who was with the other young women and they were softly laughing. "Ok, I know that was funny, but we're running short and need one more trick."
"What do you have in mind?" one of the young woman asked and he looked at Cassandra.
"Did you bring Tweety?" he teased and Cassandra sighed, rolling her eyes then nodded her head. "Go get him."
A few minutes later Peter and Cassandra walked back onstage and he saw they had left the vampire hunter set onstage. He walked to the center of the stage while Cassandra followed him and he looked at the audience.
"I think you've noticed that I have a new assistant. This is Sassy Cassy and this is…" he said and saw that Cassandra was glaring at him. "This is Cross. Now, this is a really easy trick and all I need is someone from the audience to help me."
"I'll do it," a low voice came from the darkness as they looked out at the audience and, for a split second, both Cassandra and Peter swore they saw a pair of red eyes glowing on the darkness. They waited while one of the ushers led someone onstage and they looked at him. The man was as tall as Peter and had long black hair that was tied back with a black cord. His face seemed to be carved from smooth marble and he was strikingly handsome. He was wearing a black suit, a white shirt, black socks and black shoes. A gold chain was hanging around his neck and the front of his shirt was opened enough that Cassandra could see the tips of the dark hair on his chest. His skin was tan but it was his eyes that made her want to hide behind Peter. His eyes were dark enough to be black and she felt uneasy when she looked into his eyes. He stopped in front of them when Peter unconsciously placed Cassandra behind him and Cross softly growled.
"I didn't know falcons could growl," Peter thought as he looked at the falcon and wondered for a second if it really was a falcon. The man looked at them when Peter's better instinct made him back up and Cassandra nearly tripped as they headed for the trap door.
"What the hell is he doing?" Cassandra thought when Peter locked eyes with the man and a shiver moved through him.
"Can Cross fly?" he whispered and slid her arm around him. The audience was muttering to themselves as the man came closer and Peter hoped they thought this was a part of the act.
"Yeah," Cassandra said softly, wondering what was going on.
"Tell him to fly offstage," he said and Cassandra flicked her wrist and Cross flew into the air then flew offstage. Before the man could take one more step, the lights went out while Peter stamped his foot and the trap door opened. Cassandra gasped as they hit the mattress and the trap door closed. He helped her up as he held her against him and she could feel his heart thundering against his hand. "Shit, that was close."
"Is it me or was there something really wrong with him?" she asked as he looked down at her and frowned.
"No, there was something definitely wrong with him," he said then smiled and brushed the hair from her eyes. "But never mind that. How did you like the show?"
"Not bad," she said as they laughed and Peter looked up at the ceiling, wondering just who or what that man was.