by C. B. Miller
So when I walked out onto the floor, and no one was around, I searched the area for threats. Conversation between a man and woman drifted from the front of the building as I crept through the gallery, and I relaxed as I recognized the man’s voice. Bruce, another one of Eden’s wights and one of the daytime tattoo artists, was talking with a young woman at the front counter.
One of the benefits of working for Eden is she does bodywork for free on her wights, every wight other than me for some reason. For the last two years, Bruce has been working here, maybe longer, and he was the type of guy most girls swoon for. Tall, well-built, but not overly muscly, his sandy brown hair complimented his light mocha skin. All of which made his warm brown eyes stand out, gleaming even brighter than his model white smile.
“Hey Bruce, slow going today, it seems.”
“Way too quiet, but I don’t mind today, brother. It’s nice to get a break from the daily grind and work on something I want. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but sometimes I want to draw or paint something that is totally my own.”
I didn’t know what he was talking about. My ability to draw stick figures was questionable, which made working and living with a ton of artists difficult at times. They were my tribe and not my tribe all at the same time. I did get his feeling about doing my own thing.
“I hear ya. Say, since you’ve got a bit of time, can you look at something for me?”
“Sure, whatcha got?”
I pulled out my cellphone and showed him an image. I had taken a screenshot of the woman’s marking and enlarged it. “Do you recognize this? It looks familiar, but I can’t place it.”
Bruce shrugged and gave me a blank look. “Hard to tell from the picture, but it could be a lot of things. Between the lack of definition, the bad angle, and the picture quality, I’m going to say it’s a circle. Might have a face or a couple of squares in it.”
“Damn. Thanks for the help.”
Bruce gave me a thumbs up, “Not a problem.”
“Worth a shot, thanks.”
The front door chimed, and we turned as a young woman in her mid-twenties entered. Gauging by her expensive clothes, a Prada purse that matched her two and a half-inch heels, and her impeccable makeup at nine am on a Friday, she was here to spend her parents’ money and piss them off in the form of permanent rebellion.
Truth is a cliché.
She strode past Bruce to me and, with a short bounce on the tips of her toes, smiled at me. “Hi, I’d like to get this tattooed.” An immaculately manicured hand pressed a photo into my hand.
I held up the photo and suppressed my shock. Even though I didn’t work in the shop, everyone working for Eden was given a crash course in how she expects us to deal with customers. The first and foremost rule was to never judge them by their appearances. Sadly, I had stereotyped her from the moment she walked in.
Which is why I had to catch myself when she handed me a photo-realistic painting of several Elder Gods out of the Cthulu books mimicking the Last Supper.
I nodded and soaked in the image’s detail. “Very nice. Whoever made this has some real skill.”
The young woman blushed and looked away.
I handed the image to Bruce, “Which is why you’re gonna need to talk to my man Bruce right here.”
Something passed behind her eyes as her gaze lingered on me and then turned toward Bruce. “Hmm, I don’t know.”
Bruce was an Adonis, and other than his face, nearly all of his exposed skin was covered in tattoos. I didn’t have a single tattoo anywhere on my russet-bronze skin, nor was I wearing a name tag. Frowning slightly in confusion, “He does great work. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here. Let him help you out, and if you want another artist to help you, there are plenty on staff.”
She looked back, and I held up both hands, “And I’m not an artist. My job is more administrative.”
Her face lit up, and she beamed as she examined me before extending a hand to Bruce. “OK. Hi Bruce, I’m Mercedes.”
Bruce went into sales mode and led her away to one of the consultation areas. As they sat down, he gave me a puzzled look and mouthed, “She’s weird.”
“No kidding,” I silently replied.
There was something off about her that I couldn’t place, but I dispelled the thought as I exited Eden’s Pretties and headed to my first stop of the day. The Great Divide. The coffee was free, and it was terrible here. I was in desperate need of coffee and information.
Chapter Five
I headed out into the overcast autumn day toward my first stop of the day, The Great Divide. It was part conference center, part bar, part nightclub, and one hundred percent neutral territory for supernatural beings. It also never closed, shifting functions based on the time of day. From early morning to sundown, it was what I needed at this very moment; Its primary daytime function was a coffeehouse and tea shop.
But like the coffee at the sanctum, tea is gross.
The Great Divide was also on my way to Stanley’s, and that meant I wasn’t actually delaying my task, simply doing my due diligence.
And getting my coffee fix.
The Great Divide took up most of the block with a single entrance at the building’s center. A twelve-foot black and white marble archway covered a set of massive double doors. Each door was made out of solid marble, one black as night and the other brighter than fresh snow. The black and white motif was broken up by a vibrant iridescent blue keystone and scrawled across it “The Great Divide” in alternating black and white letters. Other than the entrance, the building was an unremarkable drab gray slab and gave no hint as to what kind of business was contained within.
My first time here, the black and white motif assaulted my senses. Everything was in black and white, and while the owner never heard of the saying ‘There’s too much of a good thing,’ they did abandon the outside’s checkered pattern when it came to the interior. Instead, various black and white geometric shapes covered every inch of the walls, ceiling, and floor. The designs blended together so perfectly that it was hard to tell if the walls were black with white shapes on them or vice versa.
The multicolored lights and strobes along the ceiling were dormant, leaving the second and third-story balconies on the walls overlooking the floor shrouded in darkness. The layout was reminiscent of a Roman gladiatorial pit arena. Latin words I kept meaning to get translated were inscribed over the inner archway to complete the theme.
Several gladiatorial theme bars lined the walls, and the center of the arena was a large circular dais, maybe half a foot tall. On any given night, it would be filled with people dancing the night away, but this early in the morning, it was filled with tables and chairs where patrons could enjoy their drinks. It was already crowded with students and gig workers, plus the occasional creative that required a caffeine fix and a change of scenery to work. Along the edges, tables were scattered throughout for people to congregate at, along with a multitude of bar games too heavy or large to move back and forth. Bags, pool, darts, and an eighteen-hole mini-golf course were tucked away on the far side.
What I hadn’t known at the time was that due to The Great Divide’s status as neutral territory, it was a great place to get information.
Pulling open the black door, I stepped in and joined the short line. A pair of students were all that kept me from my caffeine dream, and my mouth watered at the thought of that delicious first sip. Four minutes later, I took a sniff of my drink’s rich aroma. A white mocha with four shots of espresso was precisely what the day called for.
I glanced up from my nectar and cursed internally at the person striding towards me.
“Kaedin!” The woman called out and waved, making sure to get my attention as she crossed the coffee shop floor.
Of all days to run into my ex-girlfriend. Wait, no day was good to run into her.
I braced for an uncomfortable conversation as her three-inch black stiletto heels clacked across the floor. Things hadn’t ended well between us last
year, and when she reached out to talk to me a few weeks ago, I blocked her number.
Shirene was a tall woman, standing a bit over six foot and with her heels, she towered over me still. She was wiry with a strong athletic build, the result of years of hard work playing basketball. Her raven black hair framed her face, gently touching her shoulders. Her rich green sleeveless dress left plenty of her dark amber skin exposed, and I gauged by her toned muscles, she still played ball regularly. I had to actively pull my eyes away from her body and back to her hazel eyes as I drank all of her in.
Shirene pulled me into a crushing hug, and I almost dropped my coffee. Drops of the scalding liquid splashed on my hand, and I pushed down my rising annoyance to weakly return her embrace. I unwrapped my arms from her, and she pressed up against me, lingering for a few seconds before stepping back.
Putting on a fake warm smile just as I have been taught to do by Eden, I changed directions and headed her way. “Everyone is an asset… until they are not, Kaedin. Remember that.” Eden would tell me over and over . “Even if they are not your asset, they are someone else’s. Use that to your advantage or be used to theirs.
Why do I do that to myself?
Of course, her smile widened when she noticed how my gaze had drifted and lingered a little bit longer than it should have. Whatever I told myself, Sunshine already set the pace. It’s her fault, yeah, that’s it.
“Hi Shirene, I’m surprised to see you here. Taking the day off?”
Her eyes were puffy, and she had noticeably more makeup on than normal. “Yeah, I’m here with some friends. Things have been rough lately, so the girls took me out.” Her voice dripped with hope, disappointment, and a twinge of regret, and her mouth hung open for a moment before she pressed her lips into a thin line.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen her like this. We’d been on-again, off-again for a year until I wanted to get serious. That’s when I found out that she was married, and I was the other man. I walked away and stayed out of the relationship game since.
“I’m sorry to hear things have been rough.” I turned a little toward the exit and took a sip of my coffee. The scalding elixir burnt my tongue, and I funneled a small part of my power to suppress the pain.
Shirene launched into a rambling explanation of recent events, and her words tumbled out so fast I couldn’t find a polite way to interrupt her. Tears flowed freely as she talked about finding herself and how she’s a happier person now that they’re on a break.
“Say what?” I exclaimed.
Shirene’s eyes went wide, and she took a step back.
“Sorry, that came out a bit more forceful than I intended.
“Tom and I are on a break. I’m actually meeting with an attorney this afternoon.”
“Huh, what changed?”
”Tom’s changed. I knew politics was a cut-throat field, and we’d have to make some sacrifices, but ever since he joined forces with Colin… He scares me, Kaedin.”
This was a new angle on an old story. He scares you, now? People change and grow apart, it just happens, and I’m failing to see why it’s my problem.
”Um, I’m sorry.”
She looked at me, the hint of tears in her eyes . “Tom is going to run for mayor. It hasn’t been announced yet, but things are in motion. Colin is pulling his strings, and he - he has a lot of powerful people in his pocket. They aren’t good people either, Kaedin.”
I should be walking away now. We only dated for a year, and you were married.
“Of course not; they are politicians.”
If one thing could be worse than blood-sucking maniacs or rampaging were-creatures, it would-be politicians. The true lowest of the low.
“I know what you think about politics, but they aren’t all corrupt. There are plenty of people out there trying to do good and make things better. Tom and I were those people.”
“But Colin is not one of those good people, eh?“
“He’s not, but he got a lot of people convinced that he is or at least to look the other way. I had no idea the things that went on in this city. And Tom is just fine with it. I had to draw a line, and he crossed it.” Shirene’s expression hardened, and she clenched her hands into fists.
One of Eden’s many warnings popped into my mind,” Be careful of your assumptions, Kaedin.”
I shoved away my own petty grievances and took another hard look at Shirene. She trembled, her eyes slightly narrowed, and every muscle in her body was tense. She wasn’t sad; she was angry, and I missed that. I kicked myself mentally and motioned for her to continue with her story.
Shirene swallowed hard and looked away. “By all appearances, Colin appeared to be exactly the type of contact we would need in our lives to meet our goals. He’s well connected, knows a lot of the right people on the Northside. He has friends in Springfield and a few contacts in D.C. Best of all, he’s a financial whiz and knew all the campaign finance laws inside and out. Tom has a war chest, and no one even knows or suspects his upcoming bid. Of course, this meant a lot of private meetings, and they spent a lot of time together. “Her face darkened as the flood of emotions she had been holding back slammed into her resolve, and her will barely held. “But Tom changed after a few weeks of being with him.”
“What do you mean changed?” I wanted to kill the conversation, but this could be useful information. Vampires like knowing who you can and can’t pay off. And if Tom managed to win the mayoral race in Chicago, it might mean some trouble for my people unless Eden and her cohort aren’t able to establish an arrangement like the one they have with the current mayor.
“At first, there was a ton of work, the three of us staying late. Sometimes so late it was into the early morning. I had to visit my sister in Indianapolis for a week, and when I got back, things had changed. Tom was distant, and the two of them frequently spent the night wooing donors and other elites . “ A wistful look crossed her face momentarily as what must have been some good memories raced across her mind.
“I hated that part of politics, the constant schmoozing and veiled conversations. It’s tiring for me, and I knew that I’d eventually drag Tom down, so when it was just the two of them, I was thankful for the break. It allowed me to work more on the policies and his platform.” I watched as the mix of sadness, regret, and wistfulness played out across her face.
I grabbed her hand and led her to an open table. After we sat down, I motioned for her to continue with her story.
“Last week, they came home late from another party. It was nearly four in the morning, and they must have thought I was still sleeping. I caught them together. Tom was laying on the couch, and Colin was kissing him up and down his neck.” Shirene wiped a tear from her eye and blew her nose. She looked up at me, her eyebrows drawing together as her lips pressed together into a frown, and she opened her mouth several times as if she was going to add something more but let out a deep sigh instead.
Alarm bells rang in my head.
“There’s something else?”
Shirene shook her head, “You’re not going to believe me. I barely believe it myself.”
“No judgment from me here, Shirene.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she watched me. “I was on the stairwell, staring down into the living room, and I swear Colin looked up at me and smiled. Smiled at me. There’s no way he could have seen me. I was in the darkness more than sixty feet away.”
It would figure that somehow Shirene would get mixed up with vampires. It was bound to happen since the supernatural had a vested interest in concealing their presence and that typically required greasing the right palms. It certainly sounded like this Colin guy was one. Colin wasn’t a very talented one if she was remembering things and got away from his mental control, either.
I ran through my mental list of Chicago land vampires and couldn’t think of a single Colin. Assuming that was actually his name. It didn’t mean anything, as Chicago was a big city with well over a thousand vampires,
many of which I’d never met.
Still, this all felt off and not at all like something Segane, the nominal overlord of Chicago, would allow. If he’s making some kind of unsanctioned power play, Eden needs to know about this, if anything, to help clean up the mess of Shirene remembering Colin’s very obvious feeding. Assuming everything about this operation was above board, I could pull some strings to get Shirene out of trouble, at least.
She might have hurt me, but I’m not a monster.
“Shit. I shouldn’t even be talking about it.” Shirene’s face hardened, and she crossed her arms as her frown deepened. “You have to be loving this after all the times you warned me about Tom.” She sneered.
I guess I wasn’t exactly being empathic.
Her comment snapped me out of my thoughts and awkwardly relaxed the unconscious tension throughout my body. I smiled, returning her glare with as much compassion as I could muster, “If it helps, I don’t think you are crazy for thinking Colin saw you there. I can’t really help you with Tom, but Colin sounds like bad news, but I think I might be able to do something about him.
“What the hell can a delivery guy do to help? Yeah, I know how you left your IT job at Gendil,” Shirene spat.
The condescension in her voice lanced through my patience and caring. Involuntarily my eyebrows rose at her barb, and it took a moment to resist the urge to get up and leave. While I wasn’t surprised that she had been keeping tabs on me, that was also something troubling. When I came to work for Eden, I had done my best to cut off contact with everyone normal. Anyone my association with monsters might endanger. I lost more than one good friend already.
“So that means I have no friends or influence? That there’s nothing in my skill set that I could help you with? I’m at least listening to you. What did your friends have to say about Colin seeing you in the dark or the blood on his mouth?”
Shirene’s eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped at the mention of the blood.
I softened my tone and wrapped her hand in mine.” Look, my job may have changed, but I have no problem digging into who this Colin guy is. I wasn’t kidding when I said he sounded like bad news.”