by Bob Dattolo
So, yeah, between the flashing lights, pounding sound, overload of scents, and wonderful scenery, this place is amazing to experience. There are happy, laughing, and smiling people everywhere. Not to mention horny. Yeah, I skipped that. We can smell it everywhere in here as well. It just mixes with everything else.
I’m annoyed by how many people catch my eyes, hair, or both, and stare at me. Some make comments. Some are even mages and dragons. Honestly, I’d rather have them make comments about me than the straight humans. Is that racist of me?
Okay, kinda, it is. Still, though, I rather feel that those of us in the supernatural world get more leeway that way.
Not that I’m going to say anything to the people we’re passing. Unless they spit on me. Those two assholes out there were lucky I didn’t leave them with some shattered bones for their efforts. I’m hopeful the vertigo hits them hard and they can’t walk without aid for the solid week. That’d make me smile.
Samantha’s winding path brought us to an elevated section that goes around the entire place. Since the club is huge, that area is pretty large. No one stops us on the way up the steps, although now I’m picking up more mages and dragons in the mix as we reach the top. Not all, but way closer to like 75 percent than what’s down on the main floor.
There’s another bar up here and just as many people, but it feels different. Some mages and dragons are working magic, making their hair light up. A number of them have dressed to match their affinity, so the glow actually plays well with their outfits.
That’s too funny. Something I never quite thought of. Using our hair as another aspect of our outfits. I get the color matching, even if I’ve never done it before today, but the actual light? That’s pretty cool.
My appearance gets more comments as we head towards a section of this second floor that’s even higher. Not by much, but it’s definitely the highest portion of things here. It’s in the air affinity, and there are flowing curtains and other features all over it that make me smile. I really love how they decorated in here.
Samantha passes some huge guys that look like bodyguards as we head up to the higher loft, finding a small open space for dancing and a large table. There are at least 20 people up here, but she only has eyes for one of them.
Tall doesn’t do him justice. He has the coloration and body style of an air dragon, being tall and thin, and has to be at least seven feet tall. He’s not willowy, looking like he can’t hold himself up, he looks every inch a supernatural. There’s plenty of muscle to go around, although he’s not large, per se.
He sees Samantha and smiles, and it’s obvious that she’s vaguely familiar to him and he’s working to recall her name. He looks maybe 30 at the oldest, which probably means he’s a couple hundred years old, and has a pretty good presence about him. Handsome as hell, which doesn’t hurt, but he doesn’t look like he’s trying to use it to beat people or anything like that. It’s not a weapon, just part of him and part of his arsenal. He’ll use it if he has to, basically.
As would every dragon.
His eyes don’t light up until she stops, the three of us coming to a stop behind her, “Keenan. Nice to see you again.”
“Holy shit, Samantha?” He looks across us, “What the hell? I thought you were in the academy? You didn’t leave, right?”
She laughed, with the three of us joining her. Given what we’ve heard happens if you try to avoid having to go, it’s a rare, rare person that does that and stays here. You’d have to get to a country that doesn’t allow mages or dragons that’s willing to drain you and make you essentially human. Mexico is pretty popular, as you’d think since it’s nice and close. “Nope. Nothing like that. First year is over. We passed the trial, so we decided to ride around and see some things.”
He nodded and smiled, then pulled her into a hug, “Fantastic! I knew you’d make it through.” When he pulled back, he kept his hand on the back of her shoulder and lightly turned her, “Introduce me to your…friends?”
She shrugged, “You went to the academy. We’re friends.” He snorted at her response. “This is Parece.”
Parece smiled back, “Hi. Nice to meet you, Keenan.”
He took her hand and kissed it. I didn’t realize that he’s as dark as he is until I saw him compared to her. There’s something about his light gray eyes and stripes in his hair that makes him look lighter. “A lovely metal dragon! Very nice to meet you.” He pulled back from her, “Were you allies with Samantha?”
“I was.”
“Hmm, good choice!”
“Thank you. We fit well together that way.”
He squinted at her a little, “Let me guess, you’re okay with her being dominant?”
“I am.”
He barked a laugh, “Good. I’m glad that worked out.”
Samantha nodded towards Angelica, “This is Angelica.”
Another kiss to the hand, “Bronze? Very lovely.” He tilted his head when he stood straight again, “Let me guess, you were not an ally?”
“No, I was in a different group. Not enemies, but not allies.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“Thank you. Same to you.”
Samantha nodded my way, “This is Maddie.”
His smile faltered as soon as his eyes shifted to me. His nose flared again and again, and he didn’t offer to take my hand. Not that I’m all that eager for it to happen, but it stands out. He sniffed again, “I see. A norm that likes to pretend to be one of us?” He nodded to the side, towards the drop to the main floor, “We have enough of them here spending their money. Why are you with Samantha?” He sniffed again, “Are you wearing some sort of perfume that muddles your scent?”
Samantha caught my twitch and slightly stepped between us, just a little, “Maddie is a dragon. I know she doesn’t smell normal and doesn’t have the normal signs, but she is. She was one of my enemies during classes. And is one of the only reasons the three of us made it through the trial alive. Plus like another half of our class.”
His eyes widened and he smelled like shock, which made me smile and eased up on the tension that had sprung up, “We weren’t quite enemies going into the trial, though.”
“True.” She smells relieved at seeing me back from the edge, “She gave me rights to an open challenge. For any reason. She would have accepted it. It rather made me step back and…reassess things.”
More shock from him as he looked me up and down, “Interesting. There must be more to you than there seems.”
“Isn’t that the case with everyone?”
More laughter from him, “Please, in way too many people? No. They’re what they seem to be.” He nodded to the main floor again, “Look at everyone down there. The norms come here to have fun. To get laid. To get drunk enough to lower their inhibitions to find someone to get raw with. They dress up as one of us to feel powerful. To elevate themselves beyond their normal lives. I don’t have a problem with that, but that means they’re not what they seem.”
“I’m shocked you let them in here like that? Don’t people get upset?”
He shrugged and looked back at the floor, “They spend well, so as a business? It would be foolish to exclude them. Otherwise? I’m a dragon. I can tell who is pretending and who is not, so the color of their hair and their bargain bin internet contacts don’t matter as much to me. Some mages have run into issues with them in the past, but most know to flare their power a little to prove they are what they are.” His hair lit up the tiniest bit as his eyes darted up to mine.
So I flared mine back, keeping it on the low end.
More shock. “I see Samantha was telling the truth. I already gathered that from her scent, but it’s still shocking. I can’t say that I’ve ever met someone with white eyes.”
“Well, I would say that I aim to be different, the reality is that I’m just a bit of a freak that way through nothing that I did.”
A small smile formed, “I love a mystery.”
“If you ever find
out, let me know? I’m sure the researchers that visited me would love anything new they can get.”
His smile twitched and fell, “Researchers?” His eyes darted to Samantha, “They…visited?”
“They did. Kept her for three days after the trial ended to do some testing and whatnot. They said they’d be back during our second year, too.”
No response for the longest time before he shifted back to life and a smile formed, “My apologies, Maddie. You caught me by surprise, and it does sometimes get to be a little much dealing with people that pretend to be something they’re not and insist that they very much are. If they want to come in and pretend and that’s it? More power to them. If they come in and insist? That’s where issues occur. And that happens at least once a week.”
Holy crap, a norm comes in trying to look like one of us and then actually tries to lie about it? Damn, I wonder how many of them get hurt before they can get out of here.
“I’m sorry to hear that. As Samantha said, though? I’m not pretending. Which is one of the reasons why we wanted to visit you. A number of customers in line were rather rude to me when we were talking to the bouncers. Two of them spit on me. I rather crushed them against the wall with a spell and whipped them. Repeatedly. I didn’t break skin, but they won’t be able to do much for a few days. The police were talking to your bouncers and the guys when we came in.”
His face paled, “I’m so sorry. I had heard that there was an altercation, but I was waiting for more information. I will go speak with them and review the tapes to make sure those men and their parties never step foot in here again.”
Hmm, part of me wants to tell him not to do that, while the other part wants to make sure they never step foot in here by crushing them rather violently. “Thank you. Don’t do it for me if that’s what you’re trying to do.”
“Nonsense. We don’t abide by that kind of activity.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out three bands, “Please, take these. Free drinks on the house tonight while you’re here.”
Samantha took one of the glowing bands. “Thank you, Keenan.”
“My pleasure. Have fun. Be safer. I’m going to go make sure the police handle this and everything else is moving along.”
We took the bands and slid them on while he escaped and headed for the stairs down.
“What the fuck? Free drinks?” Parece adjusted hers, playing with it a bit.
“You smelled him. He’s kinda freaked. About Maddie. About the two guys up front. He’s big on respect here. Like he said? You want to pretend? Knock your socks off. Mages may not be able to tell, but we can. I was here once when a norm wanted to play big, bad mage. He had a bunch of others cowed, including some real mages, and then ran into this tiny little fire dragon. God, she was maybe five feet tall. He started giving her shit. Demanding that she fuck him. Stuff like that. Even when she called him on it, he kept insisting he was a mage.”
“What happened?” Angelica slid her band on as well.
“She got pissed when he pushed her and challenged him. Dragged him out into the street outside and royally fucked him. God, it took him most of an hour to die. They had to stop traffic and everything. It was fucking over the top, but I understand why she did it. He was a fucking prick and wouldn’t accept what anyone said that she was very much a real dragon while also insisting that he was an oh-so-powerful mage.”
Jeez, that’s freaking crazy, “He sounds stupid to me. How could he not understand that people can tell?”
She shrugged at my question, “No clue. Even I told him, but he thought I was like him and blew me off. So I shut up and laughed as he died.”
That made the bloodthirsty part of me smile, “That’s too much. Well, maybe that won’t happen this time?”
“We can hope, right?” She headed back towards the stairs, “Stay up here or head down to the main floor?”
The debate lasted maybe ten feet before we decided on the main floor. The energy there feels stronger, which I want to be a part of.
Parece laughed as we hit the main floor, “Hey, does this mean we can order some crazy expensive drinks and he’ll pay for them?”
She nodded, “Yeah. They have some shots here that are $1500 each. I’ve seen folks do that with the bands on.”
“He doesn’t care?”
“Umm, he does? A little? But what pisses him off is if you do that and then don’t tip well. He’s beaten more than a few people for that. Taking advantage of it when you’re willing to pay the price for doing it is okay with him. To him, it means you would have ordered them anyway. If you don’t? Then you’re just trying to fuck him. That, he doesn’t like.”
You know what? I can see that, I really can.
Instead of hitting the bar, we moved to the dance floor and mixed into the mass of people.
I would say that I haven’t danced much in my life, but the reality is that I was a professional ballerina in the Russian…No. I wasn’t. Now, don’t get me wrong, I could have been a dancer up to age nine and simply don’t remember it, I Just don’t think that was the case. My memories are fucked where they tie in with my parents, family, or somehow make it possible to connect the dots back to who I was. Something like that? I think there would have been some memories left. Like I remember playing video games. Just not all of them. Some I know I played on my own but then had times where I’d play with my father. I don’t remember that portion, but I do remember playing on my own.
So dancing? I should remember something.
As for not having a ton of dancing? I actually managed to dance when I belonged to Reggie. Yeah, I was blind as fuck and in constant pain from the mortmagi, but he did allow me to have a radio. He also enjoyed watching me dance at times and even had me do stripteases for him. So dancing isn’t unknown to me.
While I don’t listen to a ton of music, I do like it. I do like to move. I can feel the music even better now that my dragon side is out than I could before. The music and dancing becomes a visceral thing, which allows me to sink into it as I move to the music, watching everyone around me.
Parece has a cute smile on her face as she moves. I sort of expected them to move away to dance separately, that just didn’t happen. She stayed close and has a relaxed look and feeling to her. She smells more relaxed. Less stressed. Happier.
Angelica is the same. There’s definitely more happening in her under the surface, so it’s funny to see her set those cares aside even if it’s just for now. Her eyes look nearly unfocused as the beat drives her movements, and she’s turning it into almost something primal.
Samantha has her eyes closed. She’s the overtly aggressive one in the group, and she’s almost in her element. She has three people willing to follow, even if it’s just for now. She’s in an area she’s familiar with. She’s also at a point in her life where her every movement won’t necessarily turn into a possible challenge or death, so she’s also setting aside her angst, worries, fears, and stresses.
For me? It’s like a full body massage. Or what I picture one being. The pounding beat is soothing muscles that have been tense since that fateful day when my father crushed my cheek taking me down. I was so happy prior to that. I remember that clearly. Yet since then? Rarely a day of happiness. Even when I was with Jean. The constant agony in my eyes was the bane of my existence. Everything I did was done with the background of that agony. My eyes never really healed. Even when they were already fucking wrecked from the blades rammed into them, every movement of them was like it was happening the first time. That’s on top of the constant throbbing taking place. They never scabbed. They never stopped being orbs of pain in my skull, with blood and eye goo draining through my wrecked tear ducts and making me sniffle nearly constantly.
It was such a revelation to break free when I took my first breath and didn’t smell my own blood. Didn’t have constantly dripping eye stuff being sniffled. How or why that happened, I just don’t know. The doctors basically refused to answer when I described what it was like for me.
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Yet now? Now I’m in a club in LA, and the bass beat is wrapping me from head to toe and demanding that I move. Demanding that I let go. Release the tension the way the other three have.
I’m not sure if music soothes the savage creature, but I’m really thinking it does.
A girl can get used to this.
Chapter 7
We made it nearly a dozen songs before a touch to my arm got me to open my eyes. We’re still dancing close together, and it feels homey to me. I smell their light sweat from moving for so long, and it relaxes me even more. “You thirsty?” Angelica’s eyes reflect her happiness.
“Umm, yeah?”
Samantha and Parece nodded when I looked to them. “Let’s hit the bar?” Samantha’s question got us falling in behind her, and she started cutting through the crowd. If anything, the dancers around us are even more frenetic than before. I missed it, but there’s definitely more grinding and wandering hands taking place, too. That’d be why I smell so many turned on people.
Our huge icebreaker managers to get us through the crowd without much delay, thanks to her size and muscles denoting her as definitely being at least a mage but more than likely a dragon due to her eyes. We approached the huge bar, where people are three deep across the entire space. We can get quicker service upstairs, or so I’d guess, but we’re here so we might as well stay.
Instead of joining the throng, she heads to the side of the bar and holds her band up to the bouncer that looks like he tips over cars for fun. That lets us get through to a side area with almost no one there other that servers gathering their drinks to get them out to their customers.