The Colosseum

chapter 7: Elio

It had been a long while since I had been to a party. I flicked up the collar of my black button-down in the mirror. Perfect that little small-town girl won't stand a chance against good old-fashioned Italian charm. No woman ever could. Smiling, I hold out a hand towards my scythe that was propped up by the door. It flew into my hand and shrunk down to its pendant. I clipped it to the chain around my neck as the shadow spy that I stuck to that clueless gorgon, flew up out of the ground at my feet. It was a creature of my own making. It looked like a wisp of fire with cat ears and stubby little legs and arms. I held out my hand as it floated above my palm, rubbing its face against my thumb.

"Well, did she lead you to the party?" the spy purred and nuzzled against my forehead. An image of an old abandoned factory appeared in my mind. I shudder and groan. Of fucking course it's at an abandoned factory. It's so... dingy and country.

"This is gonna be a shit show. This damn girl better be worth it." I groan out and step into the shadows. When I step out again, I'm standing in front of a large factory. It looked like an old chicken processing plant. There were a few large feeders spread out over the lot. I shudder.

I look around. There were strobing lights flashing through the windows. I could feel the bass from the music playing inside. It was loud and rattled the windows. I watch as two shatters, raining glass on the people waiting in line to get in. They started cheering. I roll my eyes and make my way to the line. The bouncer caught my eye. He made me freeze in place. It was a werewolf. God damnit! What is it with the damn mutts and this godforsaken town? Well so much for going in normally. I finger the obsidian skull and slip past the bouncer.

The inside wasn't so bad. They made a makeshift dance floor complete with a tricked-out DJ booth. There was a full bar in the corner of the room. Well, there's an upside. I make my way through the crowd and towards the bar. The bartender was flirting with a blonde passing him an obviously fake ID. I roll my eyes and flash the guy a hundred. He waves his hand at me and keeps flirting with the girl. I growl.

"Hey, asshole you wanna stop flirting with jailbait who's trying to mooch a free drink and attend to someone who's actually paying." The girl gave me a dirty look. I flipped her off as the bartender shoos the girl away and slid in front of me.

"What can I get ya, buddy?"

"Whiskey makes it a double" his eyebrows raise slightly.

"Rough night?" he asked, sliding the glass into my open palm. I grip it tightly and raise it to my lips. I turn towards the door, pressing my back against the bar.

"It's going to be," I grunted out, downing the glass and setting it on the bar behind me. I heard him chuckle as he filled the glass again. My fingers had just curled around the glass when a rainbow tuff caught my eye. The gorgon had finally shown up. She looked like our average hot girl in a movie. She wore a pair of tight black leather pants that had strings tied down the front of her legs like a corset. Her shirt had long billowing sleeves like the ancient Greek princesses used to wear. It looked like it was made out of silk. There were long slits in the sleeves that went from her wrists to her shoulders. Her snakes slither happily around her head. She pulled out her phone, her fingers flying against the screen. I huffed and pressed the glass to my lips but froze.

My eyes locked onto Andromeda who came rushing in behind the gorgon and she was a vision. Her copper hair was curled and hung over her shoulders. She wore an emerald green one-shoulder top. it had a gapping slit on it, stretching over the top of her breast. I swallowed a lump in my throat as my eyes trailed down. She wore a tight white miniskirt that had a small slit going up mid-thigh on the left side. She had on a pair of knee-high boots. I could feel my body temperature rising. She was exactly my type. She looked uncomfortable. She kept glancing around and pulling on the hem of her skirt. I watched as Andromeda said something and the gorgon just smiled. I could tell Andromeda was annoyed. She opened her mouth to say something when the mutt grabbed her from behind and swung her around in a small circle. I could hear her scream from across the room.