The two magicians continued to taunt each other mercilessly on stage. William’s eyes drifted back toward the bright lights and the loud bickering. He smiled, couldn’t help it. The magicians were part of tonight too, a big part, actually. Important as hell.  Daniel and Charles were in their early forties. They were handsome in a crude sort of way, confident, especially in the eyes of the tawdry Vegas crowd.
Daniel spoke to the audience as if he were a trial lawyer cleverly engaging a jury. He waved a long, highly polished sword, using it for emphasis.
‘We are performance artists, possibly the best now working in the world. We’ve played at Madison Square, and the Winter Garden in New York, the Magic Castle, the Palladium in London, the Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris. We’ve headlined in Frankfurt, Sydney, Melbourne, Moscow, Tokyo of course.’
Charles seemed bored by his partner’s self-serving speech. He sat down on the edge of the stage and yawned until his tonsils showed.  ‘They don’t care about your pedigree, Daniel,’ Charles finally spoke. ‘Most of these bumpkins wouldn’t know Houdini from Siegfried and Roy. Do a cheap trick, that’s what the/re here for. Tricks are for kids, and they’re all kids! Do a trick! Do a cheap, slick trick!’ Daniel suddenly pointed the tip of his sword at his partner. He waggled it threateningly. ‘I’m warning you, chump.’ William looked over at the couple sitting beside him. ‘This part is pretty good,’ he whispered, ‘believe it or not.’
He caught the man’s eye, but the actor quickly pulled his gaze away. Too late. He had him too. The male wanted to get into his pants.  Who could blame him? God, he wanted to feed. Right here, right now.  Onstage, Daniel had begun to yell at Charles. ‘I’ve had enough of your high-handed, condescending bullshit, partner. I’ve had enough of you! More than enough!’
‘That’s too bad,’ William mimicked the next few words spoken onstage, ‘because I’ve only just begun to torment you, and them! The bumpkins!’
The two actors sitting next to them laughed at William’s accurate play by play. He had them utterly charmed. Now the male almost couldn’t take his eyes off William. Poor, poor Andrew.  Suddenly, up on the stage, Daniel rushed at Charles. He thrust the sword right into Charles’s chest. Charles’s scream was piercing and real. Blood erupted from his chest, spilled and splashed everywhere.  The frightened audience gasped, and the room went quiet. They were in shock.
William and Michael giggled, couldn’t stop. So did the couple beside them. Others shushed them.
Daniel began to drag Charles’s body across the stage, careful to emphasize how heavy the man was. Very dramatic stuff. He stopped at a small prop that was actually a butcher-block table. He draped the body across the table.
He took an ax, hoisted it high, and chopped Charles’s head off!
The room exploded with screams. Some people c............