Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

There was still plenty of day light as they traveled through the streets of Volsceen, making their way further into the city and closer to the district. Every building, whether grand or small, was painted a different, brightly tinted color. From the walls, to shutters, to doors, to trim, not a single building looked the same as its neighbor.

“Shouldn’t we wait for night?” Ren asked as they crossed the invisible threshold into the district from the rest of the city. Compared to where they had just been, the streets were nearly bare and quiet, the shutters and doors on the tall, narrow houses closed tight for the day.

Sakura turned a corner while the others followed after. “No. I want to make sure we get to her first before she gets busy. She’s pretty well known around here. She gets a lot of business.” She turned and pointed sternly at the angel. “Keep your mouth shut. I want to get this over with, and I don’t want to wait around all day while you flirt with every woman who throws you a bone, and there’s gonna be a lot of them.”

He scoffed at the accusation. “That doesn’t sound anything like me.”

She wasn’t so convinced, having seen for herself those dazzling blues and charming smile at play, lips that uttered the perfect phrases to cast a spell on whatever woman the angel had set his sights on. “Bullshit! You do it all the time. Always have. You can flirt to your heart’s content in the next town. Not this one.”

“That’s not flirting,” Ren argued with a chuckle. “That’s manipulation. Pure and simple.” He took her hand, kissing the knuckles and gazing at her dreamily. “You know you’re the only one I flirt with. You’re the only one I care about. I’ll do anything for you, and I would never try to manipulate you.”

She pulled her hand free from his grasp with a roll of her eyes, completely immune to his attempt at seduction. “As if you even could. And whether it’s flirting or manipulation, I don’t give a fuck what you call it. Mouth shut. Walk away.” She gave one last warning before stopping in front of a pastel yellow house. Sakura knocked on the door and waited, listening to the soft padding of feet against the wood floors inside. The knob twisted and the door slowly swung open.

A woman with black hair twisted up in a brown scarf answered the door. She wore a loose, white blouse that went to her wrists, a long red skirt with multiple beaded belts, and her neck was adorned similarly with different necklaces. She leaned in the doorway and glowered at the fox before quickly glancing at the other three, unimpressed with the sight.

“It’s too early,” the woman’s voice was sultry and thick as oil, tinged with boredom. “Come back later when we’re open.”

“Where’s Mahala?” the demon asked, looking at her with the same irritated expression.

“Who wants to know?”

“Who the fuck do you think?” The fox was already losing her patience, having dealt and been ripped off by multiple succubi in the past, this one included.

The woman gave a small chuckle and considered the red-haired woman before her. “How much is it worth to you?”

“How much does it cost?”

She raised her eyes towards the sky and made a small grunt before looking back at the vixen. “One gold.” She smirked, not expecting her to pay the ridiculous price.

Sakura stuck her fingers in her pocket and held the coin out to her. “Where is she?”

The dark-haired woman took and examined the coin coldly, turning it over and biting the edge. “Two gold.”

“One gold or I take your hand with me when I take that coin back.” The demon smiled ruthlessly, her rage building. “I suggest you pick the second option.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed, uninterested in the dramatics this early in the day. “Mahala’s not here anymore. She left the district. She’s too pretty. Too good for us now.” The woman spit on the ground beside Sakura’s feet. “She’s on the East End now. She’s no longer prostitute. She’s escort.”

The demon snorted. “What’s the difference?”

“Nothing. Only difference is one is here, the other there. You’ll find her if you ask around.”

Sakura knew that this was as good as information as she was going to get, and she turned and began walking off as the others went to follow.

“You. Tall one,” the woman called out.

Ren turned back and pointed at himself, thrilled at the opportunity to be included.

“Yes.” She nodded. “You. Come.”

The angel obeyed, standing before the woman, giving a friendly smile. He could hear the demon groaning behind him and feel the gnashing of her teeth.

“Are you fucking serious, Ren?” Sakura snapped. “We have shit to do.”

He waved her off. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll get there when we get there. Don’t be rude.” His voice sweetened. “What can I do for you, miss?”

Her lips curved, pleased with the man’s dismissive attitude towards the vixen. “I like you. You are not intimidated by that ornery fox woman like the other men were the last time she was rampaging through here.” She looked him up and down a couple of times. “I also like the way you look; tall, strong, handsome, like a good lover. I don’t normally do this, but I’ll give you a good price.”

His eyes and smile brightened. “Oh! That’s so very kind of you. How much?”

“For you I’ll do one gold, ten silver.”

“One gold, ten silver?!” The angel was pleasantly surprised. “That’s it? For a beautiful woman such as yourself?”

“Like I said, good price.” Her smile sly and luring.

He nodded. “It really is. Best price I’ve heard in a long time. My price is thirty gold, five silver, seven bronze. So, if we subtract that then you’ll owe…” Ren didn’t get to finish before the door was slammed in his face. He sighed, disillusioned once again, and turned back to the group. “I just don’t understand why this keeps happening.”

“What do you mean this keeps happening?” Sakura snapped and looked at Zero who shrugged, unsure of what was going on.

Ren began walking, making his way out of the district as the others followed. “Yeah. I told you in Wei Wen about it.”

The fox’s eyes widened. “You were serious about that?”

“Of course I was. Why would I lie to you?”

“Why the hell are you in the red-light district in the first place?!” She had been sure that the angel’s comments were nothing more than jest, but it was looking like she was the one who was fooled.

He shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was. “I went after a lot of Rogue Ones. I found a lot of them in the district. The women always made offers, and it seemed rude to just ignore them, so I made an offer of my own. Only seemed fair.”

It all clicked and suddenly Sakura wasn’t the least bit surprised. Of course, the man would take any opportunity to be as irritating as possible. What was she thinking? “Thirty gold is kinda steep, don’t you think?”

“Thirty gold, five silver, seven bronze,” Ren corrected with a grin as he leaned closer to the woman, his hand slipping around her hip. “And no, it’s not steep. It’s what I’m worth. But I’ll give you a real good price. One you can’t refuse.”

The demon flicked his forehead and shimmied from his grasp. “I can refuse a lot.”

The angel considered using a different tactic but came to the realization that the best time to woo the woman he loved, of which he had already scorned and was still suffering the consequences for, probably wasn’t when they were in the red-light district searching for a prostitute.

He would just have to continue to bide his time.

He was a very patient man, after all.

“She said the East End, right?” he asked.

The woman sighed, “Yeah. I knew she was popular but apparently, she’s doing very well for herself. Unless, of course, that woman’s lying, which there’s a good chance. You never really know with a succubus.”

“Well, let’s look and if we have no luck then we can just go back and have another succubus do it.” Seemed simple enough to Ren.

“We can’t just do that. It took me weeks to find a succubus who would not only work with us, but not lie about everything as well.” Sakura looked up at the angel, dreading the possibility that they wouldn’t find the woman they wanted. “You have no idea the hell I went through with these women. I spent all day working any job I could just to turn around and hand off every coin I had made that night. I can’t tell you how much coin I lost jumping around from one succubus to another, every single one of them constantly full of shit. That’s just what they do, they lie without even thinking, always telling men what they want to hear. We need Mahala. She’s the only one I’ve met who tells the truth. That’s why she does so well. She’s mean as hell, but some men are into that, and she’s the only succubus who offers honesty.”

“And what if we don’t find her?”

The demon looked back at the pair, their clasped hands swinging back and forth as Ivy excitedly pointed out the houses that she liked to Zero. They were so sweet. So good. The picture of perfection that made her heart ache as she thought of what needed to be done.

Sakura really hated this option, but it really was a good one. If they could find Mahala then she would be able to see what Ivy was doing to Zero’s mind while they slept. And as much as she despised being around the woman, she was the only one that Sakura could trust to not only be honest, but to do as she was paid to do. She didn’t want anyone else poking around in the boy’s dreams, possibly attempting to suck his life force. Mahala could be discreet. Zero wouldn’t even realize she was there.

Of course, if they could find her.

“Then we leave,” she told him. “We’ll figure something else out. Go to the next city and go through their library. Ask around. Same as we’ve been doing.”

“We might be able to find another who’s willing to be honest for enough gold,” the man suggested. “Could be worth a try. This is an opportunity we shouldn’t waste. If it works, it could actually show us what Ivy is.”

Sakura peered up at him, resigned to the possibility that disappointment may be all they find. “It’s not worth it. I’m not going to experiment with Zero. He’s already doing more than enough. We’ll move on.”

“You’re getting soft,” Ren chuckled.

“Yeah, well, they’re not just your babies.” She smiled. “They’re mine as well.”