by Lexi Blake
“I have a great condo.” He glanced my way, a sad smile on his face. “My father was human. I always seemed to be more attuned to my human half than my brother. I was more…fragile. You should have seen my mother’s face when she realized she had given birth to a mortal. My brother takes after her, you see.”
“That must have been hard.” Most halflings took after their Fae relations from what I understood. Dev should have been looking at a long life, but those pesky human genes had screwed him.
Dev pulled the car into a downtown parking garage. “I left five years ago, and I haven’t looked back. I rarely rely on magic. I prefer to use my human talents. Especially since my human talents don’t get me into the kind of trouble I got into earlier.”
“So why did you use them tonight? I mean, not to inflate your ego, but you really don’t need glamour.”
He pulled the car into a slot next to the elevator. He shut off the engine and turned to me. “Dating is hard for me. I’ve tried dating humans, but I have to hide so much of myself it seems pointless. I’ve heard stories about you for years, Zoey Wharton. Ingrid talks about you all the time. It seemed like a perfect solution. You live in the same world I do. You don’t know this, but I saw you once. You were leaving as I came to visit Ingrid. I begged for your number, but she was really cryptic. She kept saying you weren’t ready. I guess you had just broken up or something. Last night she finally relented, so you’ll have to forgive me if I felt the need to look my best.”
I smiled as widely as I could. I wasn’t about to explain why I hadn’t been ready, but there wasn’t anything he could have said that would have made me feel better. After years of ramming my head against the stone wall Daniel had become, it was a balm to my ego to hear someone had actively pursued me. “You’re forgiven.”
Dev flashed a devastating grin. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
I hesitated for the briefest second. This man could be dangerous. I could be tempted to tread into some deep water, and I didn’t know if I was ready for that. I was still in love with Daniel and might be for the rest of my life. But there was something in Dev’s green eyes that compelled me to get into the elevator with him. I let him take my hand, never realizing that something far more dangerous was closing in on us.
* * * *
The first sign that something was unusual was the way Dev pushed seven buttons, his hands flying across the keypad in a practiced manner.
“Are we going to all those floors?”
“No, just the one, but you have to know the sequence to get where we’re going,” he assured me. “Don’t worry, you’ll like it. It’s one of my favorite places in the world.”
I was surprised when the elevator, which I thought was on the ground floor, started going down. It jerked slightly, and I had to step back to balance myself. Dev’s arm shot out to keep me from falling and I found myself against his firm chest. I was glad for the heels Sarah had insisted I wear. They brought my head almost to his shoulders. Otherwise I would have maybe reached the middle of his chest.
I looked up, and he was smiling down at me. I knew in that instant that he was going to kiss me, and I wanted him to. I wanted those sensual lips on mine. I wanted to want someone who wanted me.
Unfortunately, the doors to the elevator opened, and the loud, insistent thud of music distracted me.
“Here we are.” Dev held his elbow out in a courtly fashion. I threaded my arm through his and let him lead me into the hall. When we turned toward that music, I saw a throng of people held in line by a velvet red rope. It took me a moment, but I realized where we were.
“This is Ether.” I looked around, taking it all in. “This is the nightclub, isn’t it? Sarah keeps trying to get in here, but it’s always packed.”
It was obviously packed again this evening. The line looked to go on forever.
“It is indeed the hottest club of its kind,” Dev said with what appeared to be pride.
Like humans, supernatural species are social creatures and most have gathering places. Weres have their biker bars, witches sponsor some great raves, and demons seem to prefer Starbucks for some reason. For the most part, they stick to their own species.
Ether was different because it welcomed all supernatural species. It was a place where witches danced with little goblins, and trolls shared a meal with visiting brownies. Officially known as a place of peace, everyone was welcome at Ether as long as they followed the rules. Everyone was welcome with one exception.
I stopped in my tracks and knew the expression on my face was one of sheer panic. “There’s no reason to wait in this line, Dev. They don’t let humans in. They’ll turn us away at the door.”
He simply pulled me alongside him. “Who said we were waiting in line?”
I let myself be led mostly because I didn’t want to cause a huge scene in front of so many people. I was dreading the confrontation that would certainly occur when we managed to make it to the front of the line and the man guarding it. I caught a glimpse of him standing in front of the door, and he was impressive. The bouncer was enormous, and from the rumors, he was a half demon with a bad temper and impressive strength. Now that I saw him up close, I didn’t doubt the gossip. His skin had an inhuman red hue to it, and he was at least seven feet tall. I doubted Dev was going to be able to charm his way past that one.
The enormously scary half demon looked down at me, his eyes flaring briefly. “Good evening, sir. Good evening, Miss Wharton. Welcome to Ether.”
The halfling’s genteel speech was only marred by the slightest lisp made as his tongue maneuvered its way around his enormous fangs. I was speechless for a moment, and it takes a lot to render me speechless.
“If there’s anything I can do to make your evening more enjoyable, please do not hesitate to ask,” the demon said. “We pride ourselves on service.”
“Thank you, Albert,” Dev said as he led me through the door.
I stopped, forcing Dev to stop with me. “You own the club.”
He laughed. “I own this club and two more. I have one in New York and one in Vegas. We’re working on finding a suitable place in Miami.”
So he was gorgeous and wealthy, putting him even further out of my league. “You let me think that bouncer was going to toss me out on my keester.”
Dev took my hand again, leading me on. “Albert is far too civilized to ever throw a lady out on her rear. He would have politely had you escorted back to your car. He’s just filling in tonight. Most of my security team are werewolves, and it’s a full moon. I tend to get a little thin during the full moon.”
“What does Albert normally do?”
“He’s my butler,” Dev said seriously. “And he does my taxes.”
We walked through the impressive foyer. I noticed a large sign stating the club’s rules.
Welcome to Ether
No weapons allowed
This includes holy objects, silver, iron, guns, stakes, swords or the like
No humans or hunters
Please, no exorcisms on the dance floor
The bringing about of the apocalypse on the premises is strictly discouraged
Thank you and have a nice day!
I was pondering the rules when I heard a sound that made me turn. There was a shriek that managed to resound over the thumping techno beat. “OMG! I can’t believe you’re here!”
I turned to see Neil pushing his way off the dance floor toward me. He was dressed to impress in form-fitting black slacks and a tight white T-shirt that showed off his well-muscled chest. “Hey, I thought you had a date.”
“Girl, you look good enough to eat! Witchie worked some magic on you.” Neil took my hand in his and twirled me around to get a 360 degree view. “You should wear that every day from now on. Sorry to say my date turned out to be a bust. I’m so gonna call that dating agency. They are supposed to match you based on compatibility, but telekinetic boy turned out to be a vegan. You can guess how that worked out.” Neil turned his attent
ion to Dev. When I thought about it later, I realized it was a testament to our friendship that Neil had talked to me first. There was nothing he liked more than a really hot guy, and Dev fit the bill. Neil’s eyes went wide as he looked Dev up and down. “Oh, honey, is this your date? Please say no. Please tell me he’s your new homo friend.”
Dev took it all in stride, and I liked him all the more for it. He smiled and leaned forward, offering his hand. “The name’s Dev. And sorry, I’m a hundred percent hetero.”
Neil shook Dev’s hand and sighed. “Well, it just looks like Z has cornered the market on hot guys tonight. What’s a boy to do? Between this one and…oh crap. The two of you are on a date, right?”
“Yes.” Did anyone think I could get a date?
“Quelle drama!” Neil sighed. He seemed to come to some inner decision, and he took my hand again. “Listen, I was just thinking about heading out. This place is kinda dead. How about we three go somewhere else and have a drink? The bar here sucks.”
Dev huffed a little and seemed ready to defend his club when we both saw the reason Neil was attempting to get us to leave. Sitting at the bar, dressed in an immaculate suit, was Daniel. He had his arm around a chesty blonde. He was staring straight at me, and as he realized I was looking, he curled his hand around her shoulder. I could see even from here that her IQ probably matched her bra size.
“So you just work with him, huh?” Dev asked, frowning a little.
“There might be a little more to the story,” I admitted with a sigh.
It was going to be a long night.
Chapter Six
“Coffee, black, please,” I ordered when the bartender finally got around to me. He gave me a puzzled look but was professional enough not to ask questions. Unfortunately, he was the only one who didn’t ask questions or make way too perceptive comments.
“You’ll have to forgive my employer.” I turned just in time to see Albert settle his hulking body onto the barstool next to me. It looked like the butler/accountant/part-time bouncer was taking a break to play counselor.
“Oh, I disagree. I don’t see myself forgiving anyone involved in this particular evening.” I brought the coffee cup to my lips and glanced over at the scene playing out just yards away.
Dev, Neil, Daniel, and the girl I had come to affectionately refer to as “Skank Ho” were sitting in the VIP section of the club. It was like a lushly decorated living room. There was a decadent-looking sectional sofa and a large coffee table. The room came with its own bar and bartender, and a server stood off to the side waiting to fulfill any request. The room was open on two sides, allowing a view of both the impressive dance floor and the regular bar area. Large screen plasma TVs covered the other two walls. The screens had been set to music videos when we entered the room but Dev had quickly switched to both a baseball game and a basketball playoff game.
“Thanks, Tom.” Albert touched the cup placed in front of him. Like me, he seemed to be eschewing alcohol. He turned back to me. “He doesn’t have a lot of friends, you see.”
“I don’t know.” I glanced around the club. “He seems to be extremely social. He gave me some sob story about being an outcast, but there are a good number of faery creatures here tonight.”
“Oh, they come to his clubs,” Albert acknowledged. “They use the facilities and come to him for protection when they need it, but have you seen a single one of the creatures greet him tonight? Have you seen him have a pleasant conversation with one of his own kind?”
I hadn’t, and I had to admit my heart softened slightly. In the last hour, only his staff and my friends had actually spoken to Dev. When we’d first seen Daniel, I had worried that he had come to force me to go home with him. Several scenarios had played out in my head, each brutal and ending in an increasingly violent death for my date. What had happened had been much worse. Daniel had been pleasant and had acted completely surprised that we were here. He had been friendly, not a term I used when referring to Daniel, and offered to buy us a drink. He had introduced Skank Ho as someone named Chardonnay or Chablis. She giggled a lot and generally made my brain hurt.
“Well, he seems to be having fun now.” I wasn’t sure which hurt worse, the fact that Dev had dumped me to watch sports with Daniel or that Daniel would purposefully ruin my date.
Dev and Daniel sat in the VIP room pointing and shouting at the screens. Well, Dev was shouting and Daniel was showing his displeasure in more refrained, supercool vampire ways.
“Perhaps he’s simply trying to fit in with your friends. I’m a little surprised you’re not with the vampire.” Albert blinked as he looked at me. “You’re quite vibrant.”
I didn’t feel vibrant. I felt dull and useless. Even Neil deserted me after half an hour of trying to pull me out of silence. For some reason, Neil had decided I wasn’t being friendly enough to Skank and had betrayed me by befriending the enemy. I can’t think of why he did this, but he started referring to me as “Bitchy Smurf” and had ignored my bitter comments. Neil and Skank Ho had been in a deep discussion about who was screwing whom in Hollywood, and I had excused myself to go to the restroom.
“Somehow I doubt it,” I replied. “I think he found something more interesting than me. Look, this whole evening was a mistake.”
I should have taken Daniel’s advice and tried dating a nice, quiet IT guy. The truth was Dev was so far out of my league, we weren’t even playing the same game. I liked nerds. I always had, and I probably always would. I preferred going to the movies or staying in and watching bad sci-fi TV to the fast lane. I had never been one of the cool kids, and if I was honest, I hadn’t really liked them in the first place.
Daniel had been quite the nerd before his turn. He was a hot nerd, but a nerd all the same. Sometimes girls in school would decide to hit on him, but after ten minutes of Daniel discussing World of Warcraft, they would decide his hotness wasn’t worth the trouble.
The truth was, Dev would be horrified if he knew who I really was. He thought I was this cool chick who happened to be a master thief. The reality was I was a complete geek who just happens to be a master thief.
Dev had an entire world I couldn’t ever fit into. I lived in a cheap apartment in a crappy part of town and shopped for clothes at discount stores. This club was something out of Hollywood. The crowd was fast and the music was cutting edge. I could enjoy it for a night, but I just couldn’t see myself as a fixture.
“I don’t believe it was a mistake. At first I was a bit worried you were a companion who had run away from her vampire master. But you haven’t, have you?”
Master? Yeah, I wasn’t going to ever call Daniel that. “No. Daniel and I used to be friends. Now we’re just business partners.”
Albert nodded as though my answer had pleased him. “Then this was not a mistake. You must forgive my employer. He grew up with a brother. They were very close. I believe he misses male companionship greatly.”
“Well, he’s getting plenty of it tonight.” The coffee was doing its job, helping to banish the slight buzz I had gotten from the cosmopolitans I had downed at dinner. I’d quickly realized on Daniel’s arrival that further alcohol would probably result in me crying in a bathroom somewhere.
“It shouldn’t reflect on his interest in you,” Albert said. “He was excited about his date with you. He doesn’t date often. He’s become selective in the past few years.”
I turned to the halfling. Despite the demonic nature of his body, his eyes were blue and strangely human. It was disconcerting, and I had to wonder how much of him was human. Did appearances deceive? He looked like he could rip me in half and greatly enjoy feasting on my intestines, yet he was staring at me with understanding in his soft eyes. How hard would it be to have a gentle soul trapped in a monstrous body?
“I appreciate the talk, Albert, but I think it’s time I called it a night.” I tried not to think further on Albert’s situation. I had plenty of my own problems to worry about. “Could you have someone call me a cab?”
“I wish you wouldn’t. He will be devastated when he realizes how he has treated you,” Albert said quietly.
“It was a mistake to go out in the first place.” I would have to call my own cab. I pulled out my phone and hoped I could get a decent signal. “I’m in too much hot water to be playing around like this. I need to focus on the job at hand, not my sad love life.”
“Mr. Quinn mentioned your somewhat unusual career.” I sensed a slight disapproval in Albert’s voice. I didn’t take it personally. “Thief” doesn’t exactly look good on a resume.
“Well, I have a job right now, and a rather demanding client who quite frankly scares the crap out of me.” I gave Albert a quick rundown of the story thus far. I didn’t usually open up to strangers, but I found Albert easy to talk to. It was also nice to tell the story and not get screamed at for my stupidity.
“Did you get the demon’s name?” Albert asked, leaning toward me.
“Only the one he chose to give me. He called himself Lucas Halfer.”
Albert nodded. “Typical. It would be helpful for you to know his true name. It would give you some measure of control. It would allow you to summon him, and it might give you some insight into his true motivations.”
“Yeah, that would be great. But unfortunately, he declined to be listed in the demon Yellow Pages, so I’m shit out of luck as far as I can see.” I sighed. No bars on my phone. I would have to ask the bartender.
Albert looked at me for a moment, and I sensed he was coming to a decision. “I have deep connections with that world. My mother is well placed. I could attempt to find out his name for you.”
“You would do that?” I was surprised. I had assumed he didn’t spend much time with demon kind.
“I would, but I need you to do me a small favor.” For the first time I saw a hint of calculation in his eyes.