The crimson witch

his hands upon her bare wrist…
         Everyone was laughing; the air was heavy with breath and liquor, smoke and perspiration.
         Now a flute…
         Moonlight and flutes.. ,
         She had been watching for some time. The dancers changed, and the tempo of the music changed, but the wonder remained as new costumes replaced the old. All of the fanciful suits were magics, culled up to cover the nakedness of their owners, magics that found their basics in the pictures and descriptions from the Old Books that dated before the Great Fire. Whenever one of the Talenteds grew tired of his or her costume, he simply altered it on the spot, momentarily naked, then clothed again in brilliance that transcended his previous disguise. The wood nymph had forsaken her leafed garment for a G-string and stood with her partner who was now dressed in a striped coat and wide-legged pants like a stage comedian. When the music began again, they started to dance, calling upon their magics for the energy necessary to keep them going and going and going… Slowly, Cheryn became aware that the two men in front of her were arguing. She slunk farther into the dark corner and tried to concentrate on the dancers.
         Moonlight…
         Tambourines…
         One of the men cursed the other vehemently. Finally, she turned her attention to them. One was a tall, needle-thin man dressed in a black cape and tuxedo, his hands adorned with fake claws, his mouth split with false fangs. He was holding a drink, turning the glass round and round in his bony hands, looking down at the shorter, more muscular man who was dressed as a wolf, his long tail curled around his right foot, his own false fangs yellow and foam-flecked.
        “ You won't even listen!” the wolf said, snarling and baring his fangs so that it appeared he would sink them into the vampire's throat.
        “ Because it is a bad proposition, Lelar,” the vampire said, fiddling with his glass, trying to keep his eyes on the dancers, but constantly letting them stray back to the shorter man before him.
         Cheryn forgot the dancers completely as she remembered the descriptions of the king and tried to match them with what she could see through the wolf costume. Yes, it was King Lelar. She felt a chill go through her. She had heard all the stories…
        “ Bad proposition?” Lelar said, swallowing what was left of his whiskey. “You speak like a fool, Krater. Don't you realize that Benevolency is out? We have checked our magics for too long. We were meant to rule over the Commoners. We are divinely chosen!”
        “ A fine one to speak of divine choice” Krater said, turning his eyes from the dancers.
         The wolf sneered. “ What is that supposed to mean?”
        “ We've heard of the atrocities committed by your manbats in capturing the lands to the ocean.”
        “ Do they frighten you?”
         It was the vampire's turn to sneer. “You will not cross the gorge, Lelar. Don't threaten. There are too many Talenteds there. You would be repelled. Why, the Talenteds of your own kingdom are not entirely with you.”
        “ Some day -” Lelar began.
        “ That day is a long way off, Lelar.”
         The wolf was silent a moment. “It need never come. If we could federate to mutual benefit -”
        “ I said no”
        “ The atrocities that so concern you, Krater, were done without my knowledge. After all, the manbats are but highly developed animals - or highly devolved humans. They are vicious by nature. One could not expect that I would -”
        “ Your own torture rooms are witness to your personal sadism, Lelar”
        “ You speak nonsense.”
        “ I speak truth. We know of the torture rooms below this castle. We have our informants, too, Lelar. We know of the things you do, the unspeakable things. We know of the harem you have had - and what happens to those you grow tired of, whose bodies are no longer varied enough to please you.”
         The wolf snorted, tried to drink, found his glass empty. “Then what did you and your Talenteds come for?”
        “ For the pleasure of saying no,” Krater snapped.
         Lelar, furious, threw a magic fist into Krater's stomach, doubling the tall man over. He brought a magic fist down on the back of the vampire's neck and crumpled him to the floor.
         Krater shielded himself from magic, struggled to his feet.
         Lelar swung the