I sorted through thecostume, trying to figure out what went where. “Where’s the rest of it?”
“Yer lookin’ at it.”
“Where’s the leather gladiator kilt thing?”
“Budget ran a little over due to the bear, so I had to improvise.” His smirk returned. “It’s completely in character.”
“That bear costume had to have cost at least a couple hundred dollars, Roscoe! I’m supposed to just go out in my underwear?”
“Nah,” Roscoe said, pulling my shorts down around my ankles. “Let me put it on ya.”
After running a strap from my shoulder down to my abdomen, he attached it to the thinner strap around my waist. He then fastened the thicker belt with the sword hilt and began snapping on the arm and shin guards. He coiled some thin gold-painted rope and tied it in place to the other side of the belt with a buttoned hoop, then took a few steps back and ogled me.
“This is a joke, right?” I said, looking down at my junk swinging freely between my legs, the belt partially covering my groin.
“Oh yeah,” Roscoe said, biting his lower lip. “I wanna be slayed by you, babe.”
“Careful what you wish for,” I said through my teeth while reaching into the drawer for a pair of boxer shorts.
“Yer gonna ruin the theme.” Roscoe stopped my hands, but I pulled away and slipped into the shorts. “Theseus fucks that minotaur, ya know.”
“Yeah, I don’t remember that being a part of the myth,” I said, sifting through my top drawer. “Find me something decent, or I’m just going to wear normal clothes.”
“Adam,” Roscoe shouted. A few moments later, our bedroom door opened and the half-turn walked in.
“Hey! Theseus and the Minotaur,” Adam said. “Lose the boxers, Cody. They’re clashing with the theme.”
“See? Adam gets it.”
“I loathe you both right now,” I said, still shuffling through the drawers for anything that would come close to matching. With no luck, I thought back to something I’d seen in one of the compartments of Mosavi’s bag of magic sex.
The autumn air clashed brutally against my bare skin, and I didn’t have nearly the amount of half-turn fur Adam did to buffer it. What a strange feeling. I should have been more embarrassed, but this look really flattered me. Roscoe may have been a complete idiot, but costume wasn’t his worst idea.
Even though it looked a little too modern, the studded leather thong pulled from the case was the perfect addition. Part of mewas a little worried there were magical tricks to this thing, but after scrutinizing it for nearly a half an hour, I’d taken a gamble that it was just a normal piece of kinky clothing.
“Kinda impressed,” Roscoe said, pulling at Darryl’s shark tail. “This is really well made.”
“If there’s one good thing I learned from you, it’s how to pick a good costume.” The shark tail wagged. “Plus, it suits me. Always wanted to be a shark.”
A hand slapped my ass, and the taut thong amplified the sound.
“Ow, jeez!”
“Where the hell did you get this? I want to borrow it when you’re done,” Adam said. “Goddamn, I’m kinda jealous now.” He looked up at Austin happily lumbering along in his bear suit, his eyes still that empty blue. “It may not be as sexy as Roscoe’s costume, but I still love it.” He hugged Austin again. “He’s so soft.”
“That should have partially worn off by now,” I said, eyeing the werewolf with concern. “You okay, buddy?”
“I’m great,” he said with a creepy smile and an odd, cheerful tone. “I’m a… pawlibear. Rawr.”
“Hmm.” I examined him and scratched my head. “Keep a close eye on him tonight, just in case.”
“Of course,” Adam said, hooking his arm through Austin’s.
I didn’t like how careless Adam was being, but this was helping—or at least I had to trust the word of a witch that it was. Austin would have never relaxed enough to have fun tonight anyway, so it couldn’t hurt, right? Then again, he’d never been out in public while under the effects of the vironoct.
We entered the center lobby of town hall, which ceased to look like any kind of plain government building. The décor was lavishly over-the-top. Fog machines and multicolored lights illuminated a path of cobwebs and realistic-looking dead treeswith red eyes that leered at us from the darkness. The main area was just ahead, but to get in there, we had to pass through a narrow entryway. There were two figures standing on the other side, just visible to make out.
“Oh yeah. I remember that smell,” Darryl said, sniffing the air. “Dude loves his cigars.”
