“Yeah, just tell us—we can probably spot her somewhere in the crowd,” Bound rumbled.
He had a point, Lexi thought—both Kindred were head and shoulders taller than everyone else at the party.
“She’s rather eccentric,” she told them. “She’s quite old—in her nineties at least—but she’s had a great deal of micro-surgery done which makes her face look like a plastic mask of a much younger woman. Oh, and she also lives by what she calls ‘The Law of Color.’”
“The Law of Color?” Bound growled, frowning. “What in the Seven Hells does that mean?”
“It has to do with the Wheel of Color,” Lexi tried to explain. “Certain colors are direct opposites of each other on the wheel. For instance, blue and orange. Or pink and green. Mistress Pricklethorn dyes her hair one color and wears clothing of the opposing shade.”
“So we’re looking for a plastic face and a lot of bright colors?” Gaze asked.
“Exactly.” Lexi nodded.
The Light Twin frowned.
“Theoretically, she shouldn’t be too hard to find. But it’s pretty dim in here and there are a lot of Mistresses dressed in bright colors.”
“We’ll just have to start in one spot and work our way around the room, I guess,” Lexi remarked.
“And keep a lookout for Pricklethorn as we go,” Bound agreed.
“Let’s start at the Dream Gas fountains,” Gaze suggested. “There seem to be a lot of Mistresses gathered around those.”
“Agreed.” Lexi nodded. “Come on—we’ll start in the far corner of the room and work our way around the perimeter.”
They made their way to the far left corner of the dim room, passing through crowds of people to do so. The low, rhythmic music rose up through the glowing green floor, seeming to vibrate Lexi’s entire body as she walked, and the spicy-sweet scent that she assumed must be Dream Gas filled the air. Gaze and Bound stayed on either side of her, both of them scanning the crowd for the colorful form of Mistress Pricklethorn. Lexi was looking as well, but so far, she didn’t see the other woman.
As they reached the far corner, she saw that a kind of semicircle had formed around the first Dream Gas fountain and a male servant in face mask was standing by, making sure that things stayed calm. It was no wonder he was needed because the people closest to the fountain seemed to be laughing and giggling hysterically.
“Hold on, no pushing please—no pushing, I say!” he snapped, when Bound tried to get around him to get a better look at the crowd gathered around the Dream Gas fountain. “There’s enough Dream Gas for everyone, you’ll all get your turn!”
“We’re not trying to push in—we’re new here,” Gaze explained to him. “What’s this all about?”
“Oh, never been around Dream Gas?” The male attendant’s eyes widened above his mask, which was probably to keep him from inhaling any gas himself, Lexi thought. “Well, in Opulex, they refine it and used it to act out scenes in books and pornos, you know? But here we have the unrefined gas in its purest state—it gives you intense emotions but they only last a few minutes. You want to try it?”
“Well, I—” Gaze began.
“You and the other giant there are tall enough,” the male attendant pointed out. “Just suck up a bubble—you’ll see.”
Lexi looked up and saw that, sure enough, strangely shaped bubbles were floating overhead. Some were shaped like spheres and some were shaped like rectangles. She saw cubes and pyramids too—all of them filled with what looked like bright yellow smoke.
“These here are popular—the yellow is happy gas,” the attendant said. “Try some—and waft some down to your Lady, too,” he added.
“We really shouldn’t,” Bound growled, frowning. “We’re not here to—”
But at that moment, a sphere filled with bright yellow smoke drifted over and popped right in the Dark Twin’s face.
Bound gasped, which pulled the yellow smoke into his lungs. A look of almost comical surprise came over his bearded face and suddenly he began laughing.
It was a deep, hearty belly laugh that was immediately contagious. Though she had inhaled no gas herself, Lexi found herself grinning at the big Kindred’s mirth.
“Brother, you really shouldn’t—” Gaze began and then a rectancular bubble popped in his face and he began laughing as well.
“Gaze?” Lexi looked up at him.
“You…you have to try this!” the Light Twin gasped.
Deftly, he fanned one of the bubbles drifting past his head down to Lexi. It was shaped like a pyramid with a square bottom and it went point-first right up her nose where it popped.
Suddenly the sweet-spicy smell was almost overwhelming. Then a burst of happiness entered Lexi’s brain and suddenly everything and everyone in the room seemed funny—like the most hilarious joke she’d ever heard.
Soon, the two big warriors were doubled over, holding their sides and howling with laughter and Lexi was laughing with them. The three of them clutched at each other, trying to stay upright as they giggled and chortled and chuckled without restraint.