Chapter 9: Let Him Burn

"I'm back, so you're no longer needed." Richard steered Roxy from Gunner with his arm around her waist.

"See you later, then," Roxy called, peering over Richard's shoulder to Gunner. Richard's grip tightened and he pulled her closer against his side.

She felt his grip tighten when she glanced over his shoulder to Gunner. Gunner grinned widely. "Any time. It's a small crowd, we'll talk again soon." Richard tugged, bringing Roxy's attention back to him. She smiled sweetly at his scowling face, making his expression shift to a more relaxed smile. "Is everyone here from Zenith?"

"For the most part or from my gaming group back then," Richard replied. "I've got a lot of catching up to do with everyone. But, do you want a drink? Or do you want to dance? The DJ is supposed to start soon." He indicated a table at the back of the room where a pale, skinny man dressed in black with a green fohawk and headphones around his neck was messing with a laptop and a turntable.

Dancing with Richard the fastest way to seduce him but Roxy didn't want it to be that easy for him. Gunner had provided an interesting variable, she unintentionally made Richard jealous. She needed him on the palm of her hand, the competition of other options might stabilize her position further. "A drink would be great."

"What's your poison?" Richard asked quickly.

"Think they can manage a rusty nail or a prophet in plain clothes?"

Richard looked confused by the drink request, like he didn't know what she wanted but didn't want to ask her to clarify what the they were. His expression shifted to a grin. "Sure! You stay right here, I'll go strong arm my way to the bar." He quickly kissed her forehead before hurrying towards the bar.

Roxy casually pushed her hair back from her shoulder as the DJ started doing his sound tests. She noticed a blond man approaching wearing dark denim jeans with a grey henley, his hair cropped short. She thought she recognized his face but couldn't recall his name as she turned to greet him.

"So you're Rich's plus one." The man grinned, Roxy suspected he was slightly older than them. "I'm Callum, welcome to the Cave." As Callum examined her face, Roxy observed that his eyes were a pine green and there was something about him that she instantly liked. "Wait," he squinted, "I know you. You're little Roxy Pierce. Do you still paint?"

Roxy smiled with a nod. "Only when there's wine involved. I'm more into investments and motorcycles these days."

Callum chuckled. "That's a mix! Does that mean you golf too? I hear the best investment tips happen on the green." He cast his gaze around. "I see Rich has dared to leave you by yourself, are you having a good time?"

"Maybe I know my way around the greens, maybe I don't," Roxy replied with a teasing wink. "I am. He's just grabbing some drinks."

"You'll have to teach me a thing or two, I need some help on my swing," Callum suggested as Richard returned with two drinks in hand. "You've returned triumphant!"

"Sorry. The bartender had to google what the cocktails were." Richard handed Roxy her drink with an awkward smile.

Callum raised a curious brow. "Oh yeah? What are they?"

Roxy lifted the class to her lips, sniffed it for a moment before taking a sip. She held the liquid in her mouth and let the flavors settle against her tongue. The smoky smoothness of the scotch mixed with the delicate citrus notes of the Amaro Cinpatrazzo and the bitter herbal notes of the Fernet-Branca balanced out the cocktail. "It's a prophet in plain clothes," Roxy replied with a smile.

Callum looked intrigued. "I've never heard of that before. May I try?"

"Sure!" Roxy nodded and lifted up the glass for Callum to take it.

Richard raised a hand in protest. "Hey now, you can get your own drink."

Roxy shook her head. The comment struck her as both strange and suspicious. Was there something else in her drink? "No, I insist. I'd hate for Callum to order one and have to toss it because he hates the test. It's a party foul to waste alcohol like that."

Callum didn't take the glass from Roxy, instead leaned down to sip the cocktail through the tiny straw. Richard watched with a scowl but shrugged.

"That is interesting." Callum stepped away, letting Roxy withdraw her drink and hand. "Don't know too many women that start their evening with a scotch cocktail, usually it's something light and fruity."

"Can I try?" Richard asked with large, imploring eyes. Roxy inwardly sighed and charmingly smiled as she lifted the glass up for him to take. Richard placed his lips against the rim of the glass and she understood he wanted her to tilt the glass up. She followed through and pulled the glass away as he made a disgusted face.

"Too bitter?" Roxy sweetly asked, looking from Richard to Callum in an unspoken challenge. With the two of them tasting the drink, Roxy would have to assume that it was either untampered with or the men would start showing some sort of symptoms later on tonight. She needed to excuse herself to cast a detoxifying spell without drawing anyone's attention.

Richard's eyes shifted toward Callum and he shook his head. "Just unexpected. I wasn't expecting that, I thought it'd be sweeter."

"I need to go powder my nose. Where's the ladies room?" Roxy asked casually as she sipped her drink to confirm her suspicions. On the second tasting, there was an acrid aftertaste that she couldn't place mixed into the cocktail. She fought down her desire to set the horrid Richard on fire, she needed to bide her time.

Richard pointed towards a set of double doors at the back. "Yeah, go out those doors to the left and the bathroom is there." He checked her over and considered something. "You want a guide or you think you can make it?"

Roxy shook her head. "I'll be fine. You should go talk to your friends, you're the star of this show, don't worry about me."

Callum nudged Richard, turning his attention to someone that had just arrived. "Hey, there's Jack. He's been bugging me about you. Go say hi before he calls the cops to find you again."

Richard rolled his eyes. "Ugh, right. He's such a mother hen."

"Go, go." Roxy slipped away with a short wave, her heels clicking against the smooth tile. She didn't need to look to know that Richard's eyes were staring at her bare back and working their way down. She had two vectors to explore to simultaneously get closer to Richard and get under his skin.... if he hadn't attempted to drug her first. If that was true, then she'd need to re-examine her evening plans. The fantasy of him burning in a fire settled her nerves as she found the bathroom. It was a single toilet with a lock and was cleaner than she expected. She locked the door, grateful that there wasn't a line.

She set the glass in the bottom of the sink, waving her hand over the caramel colored liquid. "Aithneachadh." The drink glowed a soft green indicating that it had been tainted by some sort of drug. Roxy gripped the edge of the sink with a scowl. "That bastard." She had to make a choice, to pretend the drug was working or to act normally. There were a number of different reasons why a drug might not work but then he might try again. Her eyes narrowed, touching her collarbone and her glass. "Ath-nuadhachadh." She retrieved her glass, and stalked from the restroom leaving a lingering scent of roses and goldenwood in her wake.

Roxy stepped into the hallway and felt a wave of heat wash over her skin accompanied by a scent of tobacco smoke. She glanced down, seeing intricate glowing glyphs scrawled on the tile. It dawned on her that the line of glyphs were a part of a spell circle around the party room, this was meant to be some sort of ritual.

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