“I do not know.” Sariel lifted his head to gaze out across the bar. “Perhaps we should ask Dagobert. This is his establishment after all. If it is not his artifact, I am sure he would want to know about it being hidden on his property by potentially unknown persons.”
“Oh! I saw him!” Day exclaimed.
“Saw who?”
“The persons who left it there!” Day’s ear twitched. “Well, possibly.” She pointed toward the back of the stage. “Access to the area beneath the stage can be reached behind those curtains! There is a small door, and I didn’t know what it was, but someone came out right as I was trying to go in.”
“Did you get a good look at ’em?” Seymour asked.
“Only a glance.” Day fidgeted a bit. “Because I was trying to pass through the door, he walked right through me.” She shuddered. “Ugh. It was not a pleasant experience, and it can bea tad disorienting. I was also more interested in what was under the stage once I saw the light of the crystal.”
“Big guy? Small?”
“Definitely big. Wearing something dark? Maybe a suit? There was a white flower in his lapel. I think it was a lily. Oh, and horns!” Day purred. “He definitely had horns. Hmm, and his skin was blue or maybe?—”
“Purple?” Sariel cut in.
“Yes!” Day blinked. “How did you know?”
Sariel had frozen. His smile vanished, and his halo flickered wildly.
He looked…
Scared?
Pissed off?
Fuckin’ something.
“What’s wrong?” Seymour followed Sariel’s gaze, and he grimaced when he recognized the source of Sariel’s discomfort.
It was Mr. Heiss.
“Fuck me runnin’,” Seymour muttered. “What the hell is he doin’ here?”
“I do not know.” Sariel remained tense. “He does not seem to be in a good mood.”
Indeed, Mr. Heiss had his brow pinched and lips puckered up like a cat’s ass. He was exiting the lounge area in the back of the club, searching for something, though Seymour had no idea what.
Orwho.
“That’s him!” Day whispered frantically, ducking behind Seymour. It must have been out of instinct, as there was no way Mr. Heiss could actually see her, and she hissed as she peeked out from behind Seymour’s shoulder. “Yes, that’s definitely him! That’s the man I saw leaving the stage!”
“He wasn’t here before,” Seymour said quickly. “He musta come in, uh, you know.” He coughed. “While we were, ahem,occupied.”
Sariel flinched. “Yes. That is it. Occupied.”
“Yup.Ocupado.”
“Why are you saying it all weird?” Day looked between them and then suddenly made a face. “Ew! Forget it.”
“We occupied with a perfectly normal?—”
“No! I do not want to know. I might die again.”
“Hey, hey,” Seymour whispered. “Stop it. He’s comin’ this way.”
Mr. Heiss walked toward them, but he seemed to look right past Sariel and Seymour.
