Dylan smith's Arc

Chapter 9 of 12

Belinda's bottle hissed open and she drank half before the cap hit the table. Dylan kept his hands where they were. Bella's belly stayed under his right palm. Voracia's stayed under his left. The gate arch beyond the tents framed the empty path. Two pendants hung at the table. One post still stood unmarked beside the third tent Voracia had not raised yet. He had two chosen. The contract said he could gather more. He wanted one more before the sun dropped. A woman walked through the arch without slowing. She was tall, red-skinned, with long black hair and a belly that pushed her tank top up over the band of her shorts. She stopped at the foot of the stage and patted the curve once. "Heard there were auditions," she said. "I'm Scarlett." Voracia turned her head. Belinda set her bottle down. Bella's hand tightened on Dylan's. "Show me what you brought," Voracia said. Scarlett climbed onto the stage. She pulled a wrapped sandwich from her back pocket, ate it in four bites, and stood there while her belly worked. She did not cover her mouth. The burp came out long and even and ended on its own. She patted the curve again and looked straight at Dylan. "That's one," she said. "I've got more if you stay." Dylan stood up. Bella let his hand go. Belinda did not say anything. He walked to the edge of the stage and put his palm flat under Scarlett's belly. He pressed up slow, the way he had with the others. She burped again before he finished the stroke, shorter this time, and did not look away from his face. "Stay," he said. "That's what I'm doing." Her mouth tipped at the corner. She did not add to it. Voracia stood. She lifted a hand and a third tent rose behind the unmarked post. A chain dropped from her palm into Scarlett's. The pendant on it was a clean number three. "Third of the year," Voracia said. "Bring your own food. Do not touch his collar." Scarlett fastened the chain at her neck without looking at it. She stepped down off the stage and walked to the post and set her hand on it. The wood took her mark the same way it had taken Belinda's and Bella's. Dylan went back to the bench. Belinda picked her bone up again. Bella moved her chair half an inch toward his. Scarlett sat at the open end of the table and pulled a second sandwich from her other pocket. Three pendants at the table now. Three posts marked. The arch behind them stayed open, but Voracia closed the basket at her feet and set her boot on top of it. "That's the slot," she said. "The rest watch from outside." Dylan counted three and kept his hands ready.