I don’t know what choosing one means, but I can’t imagine it’s anything good if it needs to be hidden away this deep underground. Not to mention that I’m choosing them at Valentine’s command.
A man stands in the next room, his hands cupped in front of him for modesty as he slowly spins around. He too, stares blankly ahead, his body well maintained though not nearly as God-like as any of the men I’ve seen lately.
Valentine snaps his fingers at Julius who steps forward to tap on the glass. Instantly, the man drops his hands to give us more than an eyeful of what he has to offer, and I quickly glance away.
“Do you have anything a bit more … interesting?” Valentine asks, tilting his head to the side.
“Of course,” Julius answers, “we also offer customization options, if you don’t see anything you like, for a price.”
Valentine seems mildly pleased by this news, but my mind instantly goes to thoughts of Seven.
What exactly did Dante mean when he said hefoundSeven in a brothel?
We continue down the hall, Valentine forcing me to stop and look at each man and woman along the way.
Julius wasn’t wrong, there are men and women of nearly every size, shape, and color. Not to mention the varying degrees of tattoos, piercings, and body modifications.
The only consistency I seemed to find among them is that they all appear to be roughly within the same age range.
I have no clue who I should pick, not that I wish I did.
“You’ve seen them all. I’ll give you one minute to decide,” Valentine says as we reach the end of the hall.
My mind blanks as I instantly start to panic. How am I supposed to choose any of them?
“Five seconds.”
“I-I don’t know.”
“Three … Two … One.”
“The first girl,” I answer as she suddenly pops into my mind, and I inwardly kick myself.
“And for the male?”
“The fourth one,” I answer, having absolutely no recollection of which one he was.
Valentine seems to consider my answers for a moment before turning to Julius.
“We’ll take the fifth girl, and the twenty-second man.”
I glare at the back of Valentine’s head, a small wave of relief washing over me, though I don’t dare show it.
I should have known better than to think he’dactuallylet me choose. It was just another one of his cruel games meant to torture me.
“Very well,” Julius says, with a small bow before opening up the door at the end of the hall and gesturing for us to enter.
“No,” Valentine says, “not here.”
“Sir?”
“Bring them to the main floor, there’s no reason to separate us from the rest of your guests tonight.”
“Valentine, these are the best of the lot. If something happens—”
“I’ll pay for them.”
“As you wish,” Julius finally concedes, “if you’ll just make your way back upstairs, Horatio will show you to the main stage.”