Page 89 of Wicked Temptations
The crowd went still.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...” I turned toward the entrance tunnel, raising one arm like a ringmaster. “Your King.”
The music swelled. Dramatic, cinematic, the kind of track that belonged in a horror movie climax. And then Riley’s manic laughter punctuated the night.
She rolled out of the tunnel on her skates, moving smoothly despite the weight she pushed.
It was Jude, draped over a wheelchair like he was posing for a boudoir photo. It wasn’t just any old wheelchair, either. This thing was athrone.
I’d draped black velvet over the back, and glued silver studs into the armrests. Fake chains looped around the wheels, clinking with every rotation. Someone had zip-tied plastic bones to the frame last night, and I’d loved it. One of the vampires was a cosplayer in their spare time, and they’d helped me make a crown of twisted wire and bones, and LED lights.
It now sat crooked on Jude’s smiling head.
The crowd lost their fucking minds when they saw him. They were screaming and cheering, phones everywhere, recording every second as Riley pushed Jude into the center of the zone and locked the wheels.
Jude looked lost between stunned and overwhelmed, and positively ecstatic. His hands gripped the armrests as his eyes found mine across the platform. I could hear that look in my head:What the hell did you do?
I grinned and jumped down, landing in front of him.
“All hail the King of Screams,” I announced. “The Architect of Fear. The Master of Scares.”
The crowd ate it up. Jude’s face cycled through shock, embarrassment, and something close to tears before he settled on a crooked, disbelieving smile.
He was beautiful.
I turned back to the audience and carried on. “Now, what does a king do?” I paced in front of the throne, playing to the crowd. “He presides. He rules. He watches over his domain and judges all who serve him. And tonight, for one night only...” I paused, letting the anticipation build. “Or more, if the public demands it.”
The crowd roared. Someone was already chanting, “More, more, more.”
I raised my hands for quiet. It took a moment, but they gave it to me.
“Tonight, all those who scare shall perform for their King.”
The music changed again. Faster now, aggressive and chaotic. And from every entrance, every shadow, the performers emerged; Jonas towering and skeletal; the murder clowns with gore-streaked faces and manic grins; hissing vampires and howling wolves. A flock of creepy dolls with their twitchy, broken joints and dead eyes, shuffled in behind Riley. And Simon roared from the sidelines, the sound causing more than a handful of pleased shrieks.
They formed a circle around Jude’s throne, and I loved seeing him like this. Happy and in costume and struggling not to break character and grin from ear to ear.
“Your champions, my liege.”
And then Simon lunged at one of the clowns and all chaos broke loose. The music warped again, shifting from aggressive bass to something bouncy and ridiculous; traditional circus music with calliope organs, honking horns and all.
Simon’s punch was so fake that a blind man could see it, but that was part of the fun. The clown went down like he’d been shot, arms windmilling dramatically before he hit the ground in an exaggerated sprawl, and the crowd when wild.
Another clown tripped over the first one and sent themselves flying face first into a prop barrel. Jonas stumbled backward onhis stilts, grabbing at thin air before crashing into Riley, who somehow spun it into a skating routine, pirouetting around him while screaming obscenities that the music drowned out.
A vampire lunged at Simon. Missed completely and careened into a support beam, sliding down it like a cartoon character. One of the dolls got “tackled” by Jonas and collapsed on the floor, arms and legs twitching in a broken marionette sort of way.
It was complete chaos, a controlled disaster and an homage to all the stage performers who’d ever come before us. The weird, the wacky and the wonderful.
My eyes couldn’t stay away from Jude for long, though. He was laughing—really laughing—his shoulders shaking with his hand pressed to his mouth like he couldn’t believe what he was watching. The wheelchair wobbled as he dissolved into fits.
He was so beautiful. Manic as fuck, but beautiful.
One by one, the performers met their dramatic, over-the-top ends, each one making the crowd gasp and laugh. The rest of the dolls collapsed in a heap of spasms, taking their ringleader with them, and when Jonas fell to his knees, he toppled like a felled tree. The vampires clutched their chests and shrieked as they crumpled, seemingly intent on taking themselves out while standing in the middle of a spotlight.
Down they all went until it was just me and Simon left standing.
We circled each other, playing it up, tossing out insults and threats. The crowd chanted our names, torn between loyalty and the overall thrill of the show.
