Empress of Time

Chapter 15: The Farmer's Market

Ryan

"Man, I'm so hot! What did you get, Victor?"

"Just some beer. I can order you one if you want. On my tab, of course."

"Thanks, man."

I noticed Kisa was still sitting at the bar where we left her but she looked a bit pale. "Are you ok?"

She twisted her hair around her finger without looking up at me. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"You look kind of pale. Was Victor telling you those stupid horror stories?" Tyler nudged her.

"Oh, no! I would have left. Everything is fine, I'm just a bit tired. You guys danced really hard out there too."

"A little too long," Cassie whined, rubbing her feet. Victor tossed me a beer.

"Thanks!" I let out a satisfied sigh after a long, ice-cold sip.

"No problem, boss."

Clarissa took the bottle from my hands and drank it quickly. "Ah! I'm so thirsty."

"Um... you can't handle alcohol well, right?"

"Oh, was that beer? Gosh, how silly of me!" Clarissa blushed.

"Don't, be an idiot. You know alcohol makes you dizzy," Tyler scowled. He snatched the bottle from her hand and passed it back to me.

"Aw, come on Tyler! It was just a little sip! I'll be fine!" Clarissa hiccupped, stroking her hair quickly.

"Wow, she gets drunk fast," Lucia snorted.                                                                                             Tyler rolled his eyes and lifted Clarissa across his chest.

"Victor, can you send us home?"

Victor snapped his fingers and a black hole appeared in front of them. "Have a safe trip, love birds!"

"Gee, thanks..."

Kisa tilted her head a bit. "If you can teleport us home, how come you can't teleport us to the beach or the carnival or this club?" she asked him.

"It's only in areas I leave these," he held up a black crystal.

"Oh, like a pinpoint of sorts?"

"Yeah, kind of like a warp point or something."

"You should have left us one at Brian's lair!" I shouted.

"Someone there would have found it and removed it anyway. It would have been no use, plus they would have suspected something odd from me earlier than I wanted them to."

"Very true..." I agreed.

Victor drank his bottle all in one gulp before setting his drink down again. "So, shall we leave?"

I finished mine and placed the bottle next to his."Yup! Let's go, ladies."

Lucia and Cassie jumped into the hole first. Victor followed in after them. Kisa stood off to the side without moving an inch, looking from side to side.

"Are you afraid?" I asked her.

"Just a little... it looks dark and scary down there," she shivered.

"It's not that bad! You'll be fine, trust me."

"Can I really?" she teased.                                                                                                                        I grimaced at her tone and grabbed her wrist. Her eyes grew wide as I pulled her down into the black hole with me. Inside were swirling stars and an unsettling dark drift in the air. The trip, however, was always so short that it did not ever concern me. Kisa had gripped onto my arm so tight that it turned red with her face scrunched up in the cutest way. As soon as we landed back in the hotel room, her eyes squinted open.