8. Was That Supposed To Happen?

T urney eyed the place as they followed the Ma?tre d' inside. The room was circular, and there looked to be a second floor above. In the dining area, the carpet had a reddish-brown checker pattern, while the walls were wooden panels. Giant lit candelabras were placed on every third panel, lighting the lower half of the dining room while leaving the ceiling above dark. The ceiling was red in color, with all sorts of things rigged up above from spotlights to pianos. Though he was pretty sure one wasn’t meant to see any of that, since it was pitch black up there.

A large stage took up the far wall of the restaurant, curving out in front. Red stage curtains drawn closed, the stage was unlit.

Round tables of various sizes were scattered around the room, covered with draping beige tablecloths. Every single one, besides the table the Ma?tre d’ was directing them to, was full. He was also pretty sure they were the only paranormals in the building currently. Either way, the place definitely had an old playhouse-type of feel to it.

Turney smiled, murmuring, “Thank you,” to Octavius, when the vampire pulled out the plush red chair for him as they reached their table.

Taking his seat at the small rounded table, Octavius sitting across from him, he said, “I’m surprised we got in.”

The vampire glanced around, a smile on his face. “It is quite packed, isn’t it?! Glad I thought to reserve a table.”

Turney hummed in response. They must have gotten lucky and reserved one of the last tables, as the people in line in front of them had all been turned away.

He looked towards the stage when the light of the candelabras in the room dimmed and a spotlight lit it up. A man in a tuxedo was standing in front of an old timey microphone.

Looking to be in his mid-to-late thirties, the human had an anchor beard, a mustache that curled a bit at the ends, along with short brown hair that was neatly parted to the left. Even though they were a distance away, he could tell his eyes were gray, and his nose was sharp and pointed. It really helped to have enhanced sight when it came to seeing fine details.

“Ladies and gentle ducks! Welcome to the Ducktastic Murder Mystery Dining Theatre Extravaganza!” the human chimed happily. The man’s accent was British, if he wasn’t mistaken. “I, Aurelius Percival, am both the owner of Duckvilla, and your narrator today!”

Octavius' nose oddly wrinkled at the name, but the vampire didn’t say anything, and the expression disappeared as he began to clap when the humans around them did. Turney did so as well, as…why not?

It was interesting that the owner of the place would decide to narrate in one of the restaurants… Then again, he imagined someone who opened a duck themed hotel, adventure water park, slash convention center, would be…eccentric enough to want to.

“This fine afternoon, you will witness a murder, and more! When it will begin is a surprise! But in just a moment, waiters will come around to collect your order. While you wait, as you may have already noted, there are place cards in front of you. Check them, memorize what is on there, but tell no one, not even those you are sharing a meal with. That is your role this fine afternoon, and a secret you must keep! Now, enjoy!” The spotlight went out, and the lights returned to normal.

Octavius clapped cutely, clearly happy as he went to pick up the place card in front of him. The vampire’s brow raised, eyes lighting up further, but he said nothing as he laid it back down.

Smiling, Turney eyed the rectangular card that looked to be made of aged parchment paper. Picking it up, he flipped it over, scanning the curving letters of the titles and printed fonts.

Ducktastic Murder Mystery

Role – The Doctor

Five Things You Know:

1. You are a duck with an alcohol problem that often causes you to slur your words, and at times, to forget your own actions. A staff member will tap your shoulder any time you are meant to forget something you did.

2. You are melancholy and anxious when drunk, but an honest, clear minded, optimist when sober. You will receive cards throughout the dinner, informing you when you are sober or drunk.

3. Your partner is whoever has taken on the role of ‘The Receptionist’ tonight. They are a receptionist at your doctor’s office.

4. Your partner is having an affair.

5. You have a stalker who is insanely jealous of your partner.

Five Things You Don’t Know:

1. Why you came here.

2. Who your partner is having an affair with.

3. Who your stalker is.

4. Who is about to die.

5. If you killed them.

Role Summary:

A clumsy, sad doctor, who is unsure if they are involved, and just wants their life to return to how it was before the affair.

Goal:

Stumble through the performance, risking arrest, as you, just like everyone else, try to figure out exactly what you did.

This…was going to be so much more involved than he assumed, wasn’t it? Oh well, Turney was sure it would be fun, at least.

He glanced around, noting that the wait staff were making their rounds in the room, menus in hand. “I’m guessing the menu will be limited, since they are taking everyone’s orders at once.”

“Mmm, from what I read, it is a four-course meal with various options for each section,” Octavius mused. “But yes, it's likely the options aren’t as vast as a normal menu. Yet the restaurant is also only set up to do three shows per day.”

“How long is the show?”

“I believe the website stated, with the performances, a four course meal and so on, the experience lasts about three and a half hours.”

He nodded. That…sounded about right…maybe. Turney had never actually been to one of these things, but he assumed that food, plus the show, cost money…likely a considerable amount. Turney would have…gotten on the vampire about paying for everything…if he thought it was a fight he had any chance of winning.

Turney had found over the last few months… Well, no, he’d known for a long while now that Octavius often ran away, or stared at him in shock, whenever he suggested paying him back for something…

These last few months had been worse, as he now had the added problem of Scarlett stepping in whenever he tried to argue with Octavius, with her saying that it was her right to pay for him, as his sire.

How…had he found himself with both a sugar mamma and a sugar daddy? Not that he’d ever dare call her that out loud, or to her face… Turney shuddered at the thought.

He looked over when a blond-haired waiter approached with their menus. “I’m Marty, I’ll be your waiter for today,” the human said as he sat them down. “Please be sure to read over all of the options, as it’s best if you select all four courses now, so we can bring them out to you on time throughout the dining experience.”

“What about drinks?” Octavius asked.

The waiter blinked. “Ah, we have a long list of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for you to select from.”

“Any sweet drinks?” the vampire pressed. As if the man needed any more sugar, after downing who knows how many pixie sticks.

While Octavius continued to no doubt confuse and baffle their waiter about drinks, Turney picked up the menu and quickly scanned the options.

All of it was…fancy…very fancy. Despite how he was dressed, he wasn’t feeling particularly fancy at the moment.

Oh well…at least they weren’t overdressed, as he had assumed they’d be. Most of the people in the room had dressed up, just no vests, is all… Or waistcoats, as Octavius called them. He was pretty sure the vampire was using the correct term, considering he’d been the one to have them tailored.

He set the menu down and waited, smiling as he noted the waiter’s increasingly confused expression.

“You want…how many milkshakes?” Marty rasped in disbelief.

“Well, just those four. One for each course,” Octavius said with a head tilt.

Their waiter cleared his throat. “I see. And as for your food courses…?”

The vampire hummed. “My partner can decide the rest, as he will be the one eating it, thank you.”

Turney snorted when the waiter looked to him, a brow raised in concern. Instead of commenting on his boyfriend’s lack of eating, he just ordered an obscene amount of food for himself. “For hors d’oeuvres, the spinach artichoke stuffed mushrooms, and the pancetta crisps with goat cheese. Appetizers, the spinach salad with ranch, and French onion soup. Entrée, the braised short ribs, and glazed lamb chops. And finally, for the desserts, a caramel apple cheesecake tart, and the chocolate mousse. To drink, the house wine and water will be fine.”

“Right.” The man nodded, his eyes flicking back and forth between them before picking up the menus and leaving.

Turney chuckled. “I don’t think I can eat all of that…”

“Well, only eat what you can. At least, it is all spread out.” Octavius giggled. “Oh, do you think I could manage to eat the chocolate mousse? It’s liquidly-ish, isn’t it?”

“I got it for that reason. Let’s see how thick it is, and go from there.”

The vampire nodded cutely, a pleased smile on his face.

Smiling back, as he couldn’t help himself, Turney asked, “So, what do you want to do after this?”

“Hmm, maybe the water park?” Octavius beamed, before his nose wrinkled. “I'm not sure what Theo finds fun about hanging out by the pool.”

“I’m going to guess, it's the lack of noise and people.”

Turney doubted a hotel pool, in a place with a water park, would be that busy.

“How is that fun?!”

“For you, it wouldn’t be,” Turney laughed.

But Theo was not Octavius. The elder of the werewolf brothers seemed to enjoy his peace and quiet… All of which…his boyfriend was not.

Theo stretched out on the plush lounge chair with a groan, resting back with his eyes closed—not that he could see anything. The pool was inside, but according to what the staff member he'd spoken to had told him, it was surrounded by glass walls that allowed the sun to shine down. It was nice and warm, even if outside it was, at most, forty.

Meow!

Reaching out, he lightly pet Sprinkle, who was laying out in the chair next to him. “Glad you are having fun. Give me a few hours of not interacting with people, and I’ll take the vest off, so you can get all the pets your little kitten heart desires.”

Meow , Sprinkle replied happily, and he was going to assume, in agreement. While he couldn’t claim to understand every meow, like Octavius seemed to, Theo liked to think he understood her well enough.

He smiled as Sprinkle’s meows brought a round of feminine ‘awws’ from a few others by the pool. Luckily, the orange vest, with the words Service Animal at Work on it, seemed to be keeping them back. Which was shocking. He had way too many memories of people approaching when they shouldn’t have—probably just dumb luck…

Then again, it had been a while since he last had a guide dog. Theo’s previous one had passed away right before Cormac had been born. He had gotten Sprinkle trained…however, he was acutely aware that she was not his cat. He, in fact, felt bad for hoarding her time, even though neither Octavius nor Turney have complained.

In the month she’d been guiding him, he had realized that he not only missed having a guide animal, but had finally remembered just how beneficial it was for him to have one. Theo, honestly, had forgotten how much it improved the way he navigated the world. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t looked into fae pets back then, but it was time he did.

And it was not like Theo would lose Sprinkle if he did… The kitten would likely just travel more between the two houses…

Rubbing at his face, he grimaced. He had to say, he felt…quite pathetic…relying so much on everyone around him.

What Theo should be doing was looking for another house…but…he wasn’t…because he didn’t want to. He found, despite the chaos of living there, with people coming and going constantly…he didn’t want to leave. The noise, for once, didn’t overwhelm him. In fact, waking up randomly to the sound of his brother, or…Turney…or Octavius—who seemed to struggle with his inside voice—made him smile…laugh even. He wanted that… He needed those brief moments…more than brief moments of insanity to keep him…sane.

The idea of moving, and waking up to silence… Anytime he seriously thought about it…it set his heart racing in fear, and his anxiety levels soaring.

He laughed sadly. “Cynthia…you must be laughing, wherever you are…seeing me finally rely on others around me, after being so stubborn with you…”

His phone on his chest buzzed, announcing, “ Voice text received .”

Theo snorted at his phone, once again, messing up, and not telling him who it was from. Damn program… A single update to fix Goddess knows what, and five new, even worse, issues crop up.

Knowing his sound was low enough that those around him wouldn’t be able to hear it, he wasn't worried as he said, “Play new voice text.”

“Theo.” He straightened a bit in the chair on hearing Alexander’s smooth voice. “You mentioned in our last conversation that it had been a long time since you felt sand under your feet. Well, I’m heading out to the beach in an hour or so, and was wondering if you’d like to join me.”

Theo smiled, biting his lip nervously as he slowly picked up the phone, slightly wishing he was still at home.

He flinched at hearing a judgmental Meow… beside him.

“Don’t you judge me.”

The next meow was even more sarcastic.

“I am allowed to have friends, missy.”

His words got no reply, but he could feel her staring at him.

Great…he was being judged by a kitten. But whatever, he was…happy about the friendship he was forming with Alexander… He wasn’t sure if anyone else was…but then, they didn’t know… Besides Sprinkle, who had no way to rat him out. But it wasn’t like he was doing anything wrong.

“Thank you,” Turney murmured as the waiter set his water down, along with the hors d’oeuvres.

Marty said, “Enjoy,” as he put down what looked to be a strawberry milkshake in front of Octavius.

“Thank you!” the vampire chimed as he stared up at their waiter.

The human nodded and started to walk away, moving behind Octavius’ chair. The vampire looked back at him and opened his mouth, appearing to be about to say something, when, beyond all logical reason, what seemed to be a guillotine blade, came down from the ceiling, landing with a heavy chopping thud, directly on their waiter.

Octavius flinched at the noise when it hit, his eyes going wide, while Turney shouted in shock. “What the fuck?”

Blood splattered onto his face, and sprayed around Octavius and their table, speckling the pale surface, as his water turned red.

Wiping at the blood on his cheek, Turney stood, his eyes widening as he stared down at Marty, and what had sliced right through him. He really hadn’t imagined it… It had been a large guillotine blade.

The rest of the room quickly devolved into chaos, with people screaming and rushing to get out. Tables and chairs toppled, dishes shattered, and food fell to the floor, as they did.

“Was…that…supposed to happen?” he rasped. “No…that… This isn’t fake, is it?”

At first, all he could smell was…the coppery scent of blood. Strong and sharp, it was easily recognizable to him at this point. But then…he smelled it.

Turney shuddered as his mouth began to salivate. The throbbing in his head surged forward instantly, alongside the hunger and a flare of aggression, and with both came his own horror on realizing what he was smelling. Brains… He smelled fresh…human brains.

“It is…very real…” Octavius replied tensely, the man’s expression pinched now, instead of shocked.