Henry had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was messier than usual. Cass fought the urge to walk away.
"Come on in!"
Reluctantly, Cass entered the dark apartment. There was junk and old food boxes all over the place; the glow of a TV was the only thing lighting the room—the light strained against the unnatural darkness swallowing up what little visibility he had. Seeing the state of everything, Cass was now thankful for the scent of drugs permeating the room. The alternative seemed much worse.
"That woman has the nerve to complain about MY place!? Maybe she should spend some time here and learn to appreciate me a little more."
Looking over at Henry and seeing him scratch himself, Cass decided that was probably a bad idea.
"Right over there, man. Have a seat."
"There are places to sit here?"
"Hey! Move!"
Henry kicked at a pile of…something. To Cass's shock, it replied. "What the fuck, man!? I'm sleepin'!"
"Get up! Or get out!"
A naked woman staggered to her knees and rolled across the room while mumbling a stream of obscenities—bottles clanking and the rustling of chip bags were the only indications of where she was after entering the darkness.
"There ya go! Have a seat!"
Weighing his options, Cass finally did. He forced out a half-hearted smile. "Who's that?"
Henry laughed. "No idea. Saw her on the street last night and thought she was cute."
Cass couldn't hold his fake smile.
"Is this how Daniella sees me?"
Henry grabbed a bag of fine, bluish black powder and loaded it into an inhaler. He took a shot and let out a long yell. "Wooo! Let's get to it!"
What followed was more of a demonstration than a lesson: Henry danced around the room; various circles and sigils that were arranged on walls, tables, the floor, and even ones on the ceiling would ignite with power as Henry moved about. Strange sparks of light and tendrils of flames slithered around the apartment. The room appeared to shrink and expand at will…Cass couldn't tell if this was the result of sorcery or the tainted air and pain of separation playing with his mind.
Henry never said a word. All he did was hoot, wail, and holler…totally lost in his high. At points during the bizarre display, it sounded like voices responded to his chant—echoes from the darkened corridors of the apartment halls. At times he could swear he heard Fog beasts wail in the distance, reminiscent of his time in the north. A kaleidoscope of colors Cass couldn't identify poured over the darkened room and a loud bang caused him to jump as piles of junk exploded into chromatic lights. Henry cackled with glee.
"Focus."
Cass paid it all little mind. He was concentrating on the runes and their effects. He also wanted to see how Henry channeled his mana through each of the circles he came upon. The spells seemed like little more than parlor tricks to entertain his drug-addled mind; but his control over mana…it was impressive. He was able to activate runic circles from a distance, something that greatly intrigued Cass. The malodorous display assaulted Cass and drew the hour out to what seemed like days. Once that hour passed, Cass got up and left the apartment. Henry didn't seem to notice, continuing his bizarre solo dance.
"No wonder people think sorcerers are nuts. Whatever that zyme is, thank god I don't need it to channel mana. I wonder if it would enhance my abilities…? No, it's not worth the psychosis."
As Cass entered the red light district, a peculiar sight caught his attention: a hooded man, bent almost into a question mark, appeared to be propositioning a prostitute.
"How inconvenient."
His entire body was under assault from itself as he shivered in the cool night air. He was so close to the respite offered by Tindra…He should just continue on.
"Hello, Festus."
The small man jumped at hearing his name said in such a manner. Cass had put on a menacing tone, scaring the girl away.
"F-Festus! Yes…What do you want?"
"I just wanted to thank you for the job. Remember? You told me about the factory making those fibers."
"Fibers…yes. You like? Very important work…yes."
"Do you ever work there, Festus?"
Festus made an inscrutable noise. "Bah! Simple runes…yes. Rune jockey work. Festus has many jobs…very important jobs…yes."
Cass smiled. "I thought you were too skilled to do such a menial task. The way you disappeared the other night…it was most impressive. Magnificent even."
Festus made some semblance of a smile…as much as his odd facial structure could manage. "Very smart…yes! Fibers easy…weaving them easy…connecting very hard…Lots of skill…yes."
"So your job is to connect the synthetic muscles and make them function?"
Festus was pulled out of his self-aggrandizing stupor by Cass's words; a look of horror on his face. His breathing increased rapidly. "Muscles…No! Festus has no muscles! See!? Very small…yes!"
The notes in Dhall's office had been very useful. They only mentioned the fiber itself, but the runes painted a much clearer picture when seen all together: The connection between them and the white muscle he saw in the exploding man's body. Studying the runes and attempting sorcery on the yarn confirmed his suspicion.
"It's alright, I know all about it. I was wondering if you think I might be able to work on that too someday. It's always been a dream of mine to master sorcery. I'd love to see what you're capable of."
"No No! Festus see no muscles…No!"
He was shaking. Apparently, flattery can only get you so far when the person is terrified. For the briefest of moments, Cass considered beating it out of the man, but quickly dismissed the idea.
"I have no clue what he's capable of and I'm not in the best shape right now."
"Ah well, it was worth a shot. Take it easy, Festus."
A series of odd grunts echoed down the alley as Festus scurried off to who knows where.
That night, the Doxy was very active. Not quite back to their usual levels, but it was a step in the right direction. Cass had to pay attention a little, this was the first decent sized crowd they'd had since the fire.
"Room 3, Cass. 20 minutes."
"Gotcha."
It was customary for the girls to let Cass know where they'd be when they left the main room. Sometimes they'd add a time limit for the next check in, just to be safe. As Cass was jotting it down, a voice crept into his ear.
"Hey, man. Ya left without payin'!"
Cass whipped his head up from the paper. "Henry!?"
"'Sup, man?" His grin widened. "Can't believe ya get to work with all these cuties! You were holdin' out on me!"
Cass took a minute to think. "Pay you? Can you even call that a lesson? No offense, but you're not much of a dancer. I was planning to pay anyway, but you seemed a little busy."
"Ah…That was just the sales pitch! Gotta give 'em a little taste, eh? We'll get to some formal lessons eventually." He puffed his cigarette. "Don't even worry about it. It's no problem. I got the perfect deal…"
Cass's eyes narrowed.
"Just cover my tab tonight! I'm gonna sample the good life!"
Cass's eyes darkened. "For all the lessons?"
"Deal!" He grabbed Cass's hand, shook it, and was off before he could say anything.
The night continued on. Cass was watching as Henry sat between Hilda and Rachel, spinning a tale that he couldn't quite hear—next thing he knew, they were comparing who the better kisser was…Cass was not amused.
"We have rooms for that, you know?"
Some of the girls were easy to read, Hilda and Rachel among them. Cass could tell they were having a good time, much to his surprise.
"He's like everything Rudy pretends to be. Though Rudy had him beat in the female company he kept…probably."
Not long after, they went upstairs.
"Room 4!"
Rachel hollered as Henry led her and Hilda upstairs. Cass gave her a half-hearted thumbs up.
"Both of them? Really living it up on my dime."
The night dragged on. After what seemed like an eternity, Henry and the girls came back down the stairs, giggling like idiots.
"What a night!"
Henry stretched. He reeked of booze—clothes disheveled and eyes so red it almost made Cass concerned…almost.
"This place is like a treasure trove! You lucky dog!"
"This was a one time deal. Any more is on you, got it?"
"I read ya, loud and clear. Don't be late tomorrow!"
The rest of the night went off without a hitch. After making a final sweep of all the rooms, Cass carried himself to the front door of the Doxy.
"Goin' home?"
Tindra was at the bar sipping a drink. She had been keeping to herself since their return from the police station. So much so, even the girls had commented on it.
"Yeah, no plans tonight." Cass said, rubbing his neck.
She went back to sipping her drink without a response. He opened the front door of the Doxy and hurried outside. Cass heard a squeak as something light and soft bounced off his body.
"Sorry, Hilda. Are you okay?"
"Cass! No worries! You're here late—early, I guess." She giggled.
"Yeah, the crowd was rowdy tonight. Had a lot to clean. I'll see ya tomorrow."
She leaned in and playfully whispered. "Say…Rachel and I are sneakin' out to the Surfside Diner for some shakes. Wanna come?" She grabbed his arm and smiled.
"Ah…well actually-"
Memories of the outpost came flooding back to Cass. Niko and his group staring suspiciously at Cass…knowing nothing of him, and he, nothing of them. He rubbed his chin.
"I'm falling into the same habit again. How well do I really know these girls?"
It was gonna hurt, but growing pains were necessary.
"Sure, that sounds good."
Shock flashed on her face then grew into a big smile. "Great! I'll grab Rach!"