WORSHIP ( ❥ ) DREAMNOBLADE [Reupload]

18. | CONNECTED

"Nice choker," Nick said.

"Oh—thanks," Clay blushed, running his thumb between his collar and his neck.

It was definitely tight.

Clay really did like the way it looked though: black leather with a gold buckle like a traditional dog collar. On its front hanging from a jump ring was a gold, circular tag with a rose engraved on it, the hilt of a sword protruding from the center of the petals. On the back of the tag were the words "If found, return to Blood God" and an engraving of a minimalistic crown above them.

More importantly, it had a little remote that went with it, which Dave told Clay to keep on him if he was wearing the collar—just in case. There was a switch and two buttons on it; the switch basically controlled whether magic could be connected to it or not, meaning when 'off,' even Dave couldn't use it to do anything to Clay. The buttons simply caused the little remote to make a beep for about a second, acting as their safeword if Dave had Clay gagged or he couldn't speak for any other reason. Push the button with one line for a higher pitch that meant crest, and the button with two lines for a slightly lower pitch that meant arrow.

Clay simply kept the small thing in his pocket as it was quite small and didn't draw much attention. It even had a keychain ring on it, so he could put a finger through to hold on better.

Knowing what the collar was really for, and what it could do, Clay felt his cheeks grow even warmer the more he thought about it. Of course Nick would bring it up, though he was only trying to be nice.

"Maybe we can find you more in one of these stores," George said, "They suit you pretty well, to be honest."

Clay chuckled as they walked past groups of people who didn't realize they were in the same space as alleged celebrities. There was a new mall constructed back in the city Clay had previously lived in; it wasn't exactly a mall though, more like a super center for all kinds of things. Small exhibits, magic displays, little stages for small artists to perform music, live painting, plus all the stores and shops. It seemed like its intended purpose was bringing people together rather than taking their money. It was a beautiful place and absolutely massive—so big that it had portals connecting ends of the mall back to each other to spare shoppers their legs.

It was actually quite interesting just how much variety there was to the place; there were even some little stalls for small activities that were completely free of charge, like the little psychic reading tent they were just coming upon.

"Hey, that actually looks cool," George said.

"Hm? Oh, the psychic lady over there?" Nick clarified.

"Yeah, you guys wanna get our energies read or whatever it is?" George laughed.

Clay was interested by it, "It sounds somewhat intriguing—it's free though, sure it's not just gonna be like... more of a theatrical thing for the aesthetic of it?"

The trio walked closer and read the sign that was outside of the tent, which actually had a warning on it explaining that those sensitive to time manipulation probably shouldn't enter. Apparently the woman running this particular kiosk used magic to distort the way time passed while inside the actual tent, meaning longer readings would take no time at all to the outer world, allowing for more customers and less waiting time.

Clay took back his previous statement upon reading the text, "Actually, if they're using magic like this, then they've gotta be legit."

The closed, purple curtains suddenly peeled back and a young girl walked out, thanking the woman sitting on the other side of a table inside the space; it was much bigger on the inside, decorated with books, crystals, dim lights, and animal skeletons.