"Jasmine? Jasmine!"

  A voice, deep and familiar, shatters the silence. Jasmine bolts upright. Reclining on the palms of her hands, she glances around. Her eyes struggle to adjust in the dim light. The walls of the surrounding room are strange. They appear wet looking and fleshy.

  Jasmine climbs to her feet and strides toward the wall on her right. She places her left palm against the wall. The wall is of a soft moist texture. Its grayish-pink surface pulsates ever so slightly. Jasmine pulls her hand away in disgust. As she draws her hand back, small purple sparks arc between the squishy wall and her hand. The light from the arcing allows Jasmine to observe the small convoluted grooves which traverse the entire surface of the wall.

  "What?" Jasmine exclaims. "Is this...What I think it is?"

  Backing swiftly away from the wall, Jasmine shakes her head in disbelief. She plows into Percy and squeals in fright, whirling to face him. The clown stands silently observing her, his expression blank. Jasmine backs the other direction, a hand raised in warning.

  "Don't come near me. Please. Just don't. I don't know what's going on...But...Just don't."

  Percy's eyes narrow with disappointment rather than anger. In the split second it takes Jasmine's eyelids to blink, Percy is upon her.

  "No," Jasmine cries out, stumbling backward.

  Percy grips Jasmine's outstretched hand and pulls her to him. He studies her face before kissing her roughly and wetly, his tongue sliding hungrily across her lips. Jasmine tries to turn her head. Percy uses one hand, placed under her chin, to keep her head in position. He keeps both eyes open, watching as his energy spills into the terrified woman.

  Jasmine is close to gagging, the taste of the hellish clown's mouth making her sick. The clown releases her wrist and wraps an arm around her waist. She tries pushing against him a second time. He only tightens his grip.

  When he finally stops kissing her lips, Jasmine quickly turns her head. The clown immediately drops his mouth to her throat. When he loses interest in this activity, he turns Jasmine's face back to look at him. Jasmine clamps her mouth tightly shut, expecting a return to his former passion.

  Instead, Percy kisses Jasmine's forehead. Her body trembles violently, from head to toe. Percy runs his hand through Jasmine's hair. He bends forward, in order to sniff the hair behind her left ear. Not quite like Alice's scent. Or the other woman's. But a very feminine scent all the same. As a vessel for Alice, she will do. He will ensure that she wins the game. So that she will be free to choose her own fate. If the master chooses Jasmine's fate...It may be a very bad one.

  "I do not wish to hurt you," Percy says by way of apology. "I do not wish to see you hurt."

  Jasmine stares at Percy, her mouth curled in disgust. She attempts to pull free, but Percy keeps a tight hold on her waist.

  "You have a funny way of showing it. Let me go."

  "If I let you go...I cannot tell you how to win the game."

  Jasmine's eyes study Percy with suspicion. She tenses as Percy uses his hand to cup the left side of her face. He fixes his gaze on her gorgeous brown eyes.

  "I do not have much time. I cannot be in more than one place for long. Not like the master can. She is very powerful. She can be cruel...But I love her. She is the only one who knows where my Alice is. All I want is to be reunited with my Alice. You are not like my Alice. In fact, I remember very little of my Alice...Except that I truly loved her. I can feel that you could never love me. But trust me when I say, if you do not win this game...Your life choices will be slim to none. Even if the master spares your life...You will be little more than a slave. You will lose everything you love. You will wish you were dead. I will tell you how you can win. But you must wait for the right moment. You must do exactly as I say."

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  "Isn't this dangerous for you? Why help me?"

  "I have something the master needs. She will not kill me. I was forced into the master's service. I had no choice. I can not make you love me. I don't know how. If I cannot have you...I do not want the master to have you either. You win...You choose."

  Futilely attempting to cast yet another love spell, Percy again kisses Jasmine's supple lips. He runs one hand through her hair while massaging her back with the other hand. Even more energy arcs between them as Percy directs as much as he dares toward Jasmine. He can only hope his assumption is correct about the master not killing him.

  "Remember, do exactly as I tell you," Percy says.

  ======================================

  Gerald shoots upright, an angry scowl on his masculine face. His gaze lands on the purple clown, who is leaning against the tent's center pole. A few feet away, the woman in purple is lying on her stomach atop a large metal cage. One of her sculpted legs is bent at the knee, purple high-heel dangling from her slender toes.

  The ringmaster casually glances over at Gerald. She drops her leg and rolls onto her back on top of the cage, releasing an exaggerating sigh.

  "At last...You are awake."

  Sitting up, and teleporting at the same time, the ringmaster strolls to where Gerald reclines on the tent floor. She bends down in front of him, placing a painted finger under his chin.

  "Now, we can get on to business."

  "Haha. Look, lady! The only business I have...Is with Bozo the Clown over there. Five minutes, asshole. Just five minutes, okay? And where's Jasmine. I'm not leaving here without Jasmine. I am already tired of this bullsh--!"

  The ringmaster clenches her right fist tightly and utters a silent spell. Her cane is held firmly in the other hand. She taps the tip of it on the ground three time.

  Writhing purple vines rope out from the ground, encircling Gerald's ankles and inching upward. Gerald's eyes widen as the vines effortlessly lift him into the air. He hangs feet above the ground, suspended upside down. One of the writhing vines coils upward, stopping centimeters from Gerald's shocked face. That is when he notices the tiny head and gaping mouth.

  "Whoa. What the f-? What the hell? Oh, Jeezus!"

  "Do I have your attention now, Gerald?" the ringmaster barks. "Do you still want five minutes with Percy? Or shall I give my little pets five minutes with you? Answer quickly...I am not known for my abundance of patience."

  "Yeah. Yeah. I'm good!" Gerald answers hastily. "I'm all ears!'

  "Wonderful!" the ringmaster exclaims.

  Percy moves from his place at the center pole and brings the ringmaster a chair. She gives him a thin smile and straddles the proffered chair. Percy places his hands suggestively on the ringmaster's shoulders, testing limits, while also giving Gerald the impression of a unified front. The ringmaster does not react. She doesn't have to. Any wrong he commits now, she will simply punish him for later. As is her way.

  "Okay, Gerald. This is how the game works," the ringmaster says in a sickly sweet voice. "Your wife is no longer the woman you knew. In fact, she is not even a woman at present. Your wife has been transformed..."

  Pausing her speech, the ringmaster retrieves a gold coin from within the bodice of her suit jacket. She grins slyly at Gerald.

  "...into one of these. A gold coin."

  "What?" Gerald utters, disbelief written on every inch of his face. "A gold...What?"

  The vines holding Gerald aloft begin to shake violently. The snake vine in front of his face hisses threateningly.

  "Just listen, Gerald. That's all you have to do. Listen. And I will tell you," the ringmaster states with a chuckle.

  Percy allows a tiny smirk to curl his lips. Gerald catches sight of Percy's smirk and imagines slapping the daylights out of him. Stupid, lame ass clown.

  "Below us...There is a chamber full of these coins. But only one...Is Jasmine. It will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It will be so much fun...For me to watch. Oh, and there are also...Creatures in the chamber. My pets. You must survive them...As well as other dangers...And find your precious Jasmine. Do try to have fun, Gerald."

  The ringmaster throws back her head and laughs as the ground once again opens up. The vine creatures dangle Gerald over the edge of the opening, hissing and spitting. Gerald looks down into the dark emptiness and nearly vomits. "Have fun," the woman in purple had said. Right.

  The vine creatures uncoil from around Gerald's thighs and ankles. He falls headfirst into dark nothing.

  To be continued..........