Brooke nodded yes this time, catching on to his meaning.
“You can’t perform magic though?”
“Take my arm as you slide through, I should come with you.”
“Should?” she asked uncertainly.
“Well, other Venators and I have walked through walls to get where we need to be. But I don’t know how good you are at that skill. If you can’t do it I’ll use my… talents, to climb up the building and sneak in through a window.”
“Like a cat,” she smirked at him. She thought he may have smiled back at her for a second, ever so slightly.
“What if someone sees us suddenly appear on the other side?”
“Then we’ll blame it on a trick of the light.” Amusement flirted with his mouth.
“Okay, keep hold of me,” she warned.
She took a deep breath and concentrated her magic, after a few moments she closed her eyes and stretched out her hand. She felt the cold brick of the building for a second, before her hand slid through. Feeling confident she stepped forward quick, before she lost her nerve.
An odd, almost indescribable sensation filled her as she passed through the wall. It felt as if she was trudging through a swamp, or quick sand. Then they were through and out the other side.
“You did it.” Arantay grinned at her. She felt her heart leap.
Crimson lights flooded the club’s interior, limning every sweat slicked body with a shadowy scarlet glow.
The effect it had on Arantay was startling. His hair appeared so lurid it could’ve been fresh blood, and his eyes glistened like precious rubies.
Other lights thrashed wildly in contention with the crimson, vivid greens, soft blues and light purples, and the building was filled to the brim with a swirling red mist.
Glow sticks and neon clothes glowed luminously as Arantay led Brooke into the sea of dancers. Brooke longed to take off her black sweater because the building was stifling, but then her armour would have shown. She remembered Tay’s warning that Venators weren’t liked around here, so kept the armour hidden.
“Come dance with us, pretty boy.” A group of elven girls wolf-whistled Arantay as he walked by.
Further along a pair of men invited him over for a drink.
“Popular aren’t you?” Brooke smirked.
Arantay was oblivious to the attention, focused on finding Phosian.
The Pixie Palace was dominated by its giant dance floor, heaving with people and flickering strobes of light. On the far side however were a multitude of private booths. At the top of the dance floor were scantily clad pole-dancers, swaying sensuously on raised platforms. Some of the strippers weren’t human either. Brooke caught scales glinting on the exposed flesh on one pole dancer as the strobe lights passed over her.
As they moved across the club floor, a boy knocked into Brooke’s shoulder. He looked normal, with his nut-brown skin and scruffy brown hair, except for his eyes, which were a bright, burning neon.
“Quinn, get back here,” rumbled a large man following the boy. The man had tangled blond hair and a face of thunder.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to… Kane is…” Quinn said to her, cutting off as he tried to get away from the larger man.
Kane threw Brooke a look too, yet his expression was full of disgust. He looked like he might say something, but then moved on, before Quinn could get away from him.
“Werepanthers,” Arantay muttered.
“There are werepanthers here?” She asked, staring after them in concern. She hoped Quinn could get away from the rude man. She could no longer pick them out of the crowd however.
“Of course,” said Tay. “I told you, other than the Seelie Square, this club is one of the few spots they can go to. They must remain living alongside humans in secret, but here they don’t have to hide themselves as much. They still aren’t allowed to feed in public and stuff though.”
As Brooke looked closely she spotted the supernaturals amongst the regular people. Using her knowledge from Creature-Study class, she picked out one guy who was likely a werelion, and a man who looked suspiciously like a hyena. Another group of girls were unmistakably fae. Brooke supposed their wings could easily be taken for the fake wings some girls wore on nights out.
“It was their eyes wasn’t it? That’s how you could tell they were panthers.”
“And their scent,” Arantay said. “But I guess you wouldn’t pick up on that.”
“Why couldn’t we just ask them about the rogue lycan?”
“It’s because the wolves won’t kill their own that we’re here in the first place. They’re unlikely to tell us where the rogue is so we can kill him.”
“But they weren’t werewolves,” she argued.
“No, but they could be part of a panther pack who serve the lycans of London. We’ll have to be careful throughout this mission. Both the wolves and the Shifters are tremendously territorial.”
Arantay returned to scanning the crowd. “Phosian is our best bet.” His face broke into a smile suddenly. “And there he is. C’mon.”
Tay took hold of her hand again and weaved fluidly in and out of the decorated dancers, heading toward a private booth in the corner of the club.
A group of girls left the seated area as Brooke and Arantay entered, leaving only one person remaining. He’d dismissed the girls, and appeared to have been expecting them.
Phosian Phantom made a striking first impression. He lounged on his sofa, glancing at them indolently as they took the seats opposite him. A stream of jet black hair fell to the nape of his neck and obscured one of his eyes. His one visible eye was such a light blue that it looked like only a pupil remained. The eye was underlined with black makeup, his nails were painted black, and demonic looking tattoos adorned every visible inch of his golden skin. He wore a sleeveless leather jacket, along with tight red jeans and leather boots.
“Long time no see, Arantay,” he extended a tattooed hand. Arantay shook it warmly.
“Who’s your friend?” Phosian’s visible eye pierced her own, before sliding down to caress her body.
“I’m Brooke.” She spoke for herself, unable to help staring at him.
“You have a strong magical aura Brooke, and very nice eyes.” Phosian added with a smile.
“Thank you,” she felt herself blushing.
“You were expecting us weren’t you?” Arantay surmised.
Phosian nodded, “I saw you arrive, you’re easier to spot in a crowd than I am Arantay.” Phosian turned to her. “First mission?”
“Y-yeah, how did you know?”
“You're not as arrogant as most Venators.” Phosian grinned. “You probably will be, once you get a few missions under your belt.”
“So,” Arantay began, but cut off abruptly and sat up.
She wondered what he sensed, until moments later she spotted the newcomer. The tall redheaded girl entered the booth and draped her arm about Phosian’s shoulders. She looked ordinary enough, save that were eyes were a lambent orange.
“A weretiger?” Arantay said, “Last time we met you were dating a leopard shifter.”
“Yes, but her claws were a tad too sharp. Lucille here is better behaved, though not by much,” Phosian chuckled wryly.
The weretiger’s eyes perused Brooke’s body in much the same fashion as Phosian’s had, her fleshly lips tugging into a feline smile.
Brooke felt extremely uncomfortable; a girl had never looked at her in that way before.
“So,” Arantay began again. “Let’s get down to it, what information do you have for us?”
Phosian took a moment to soundproof their booth with a spell. He crafted the sorcery so fast, merely twitching his fingers. Yet she felt an invisible barrier form by the door and guessed what he’d done.
“Okay, the rogue lycan you're looking is named Andon. Tons of rumours are circulating as to what drove him to madness, but no one seems to know for sure. Although I might have the answer myself.”
“What is it?” Tay asked.<
br />
“I think Andon has been infected by another creature.”
“But werewolves are immune to vampire and shifter bites aren’t they?” Brooke asked. “I mean it hurts them a lot, but it can’t make them change into whatever bit them, like it would for a human. Or make them go mad.”
“Correct,” Phosian said, “but the touch of a Wendigo will make any creature go insane. A bite or scratch from a Wendigo also gives the victim an undeniable quench to feed and kill. Andon has both these symptoms.”
“So you think that’s what happened here?” Brooke asked.
Phosian nodded slowly. “A kitsune friend of mine believed she spotted a Wendigo in London about a month ago. She said this man had the same desiccated grey skin and long yellow nails all Wendigo have. She saw him sitting on the tube of all places, but he left the train before she could get another good look. This Wendigo may well have infected Andon around this time.”
“What kitsune friend?” Luciile demanded. “Why haven’t I heard of her before?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Phosian replied quickly.
“So,” said Arantay, “this means we’ll likely have to deal with the Wendigo after we take care of Andon, before he infects any others.”
“We’re lucky there’s only been one infection,” said Phosian. “Imagine the destruction if even half a dozen lycans had been infected. The humans would know all about the Moonlight Races then, moments before they were eaten that is.”
“What has this Andon been doing?” said Tay.
“Every night for a week now he’s been attacking innocents. Word is, he’s managed to kill a few. Apparently Andon’s pack are trying to hush it all up, that’s why there've been no run-in’s with the human authorities. The vamps aren’t happy though, as whenever innocents are killed in this city the other Moonlight Races accuse them. Last night it all kicked off. Some of Hallia’s coven had been tracking the rogue, they cornered him and a fight broke out. Halfway through the battle Andon’s pack mates showed up and all out anarchy was unleashed. I don’t know if anyone died, but if they did that would be the end of the peace treaty and the Moonlight War would blow up in all of our faces.”
Arantay shook his head. “Rueda, this is bad.”
“You got that right,” said Phosian. “At the moment, it’s believed Andon survived and is still out there. You need to find and get rid of him quick, before this gets any worse. I like living in London, the nightlife’s good. If the Moonlight War started up again I just know either the vampires or the lycan’s will drag me on to their side.”
“But you wouldn't join either side Phosian, you're neutral like my pack,” said Lucille, with a pout.
“Of course.” Phosian rolled his eyes when she wasn’t looking. “But Lucille’s pack is one of the only neutral ones. Other shifters, mainly the werepanthers, are loyal to the lycan pack, led by Vore.”
Tay looked over at her, “You following this so far?”
Brooke nodded slowly. “I think so. In the report Taretta gave us it explained how London is ruled by two main factions. The vampire coven, led by a real ancient vampire named Hallia, rule west London, whilst this Vore dude and his wolves own east London. Certain shifter packs serve the werewolves, whilst zombies serve the vampires, I think. So each side has a small army.”
“Correct,” Tay nodded. “The two sides currently have an uneasy peace, but one condition of the peace treaty is that no vamp may kill a lycan, or vice-versa.”
“If that happens, war breaks out,” said Brooke, “London becomes a battleground and many civilians will get caught in the crossfire.”
“We just have to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Arantay, his expression resolute.
“Oh and Vore is a Hellwolf,” Phosian chipped in. “So don’t get on the wrong side of him. He’d even kick your ass Tay.”
“Hellwolf?” she asked.
“The alpha of a lycan pack is always the strongest,” said Phosian, “but Hellwolves are basically all alphas without trying. As you know there are many strains of werewolf. Most stay on two legs when they shift, others turn into the wolf animal completely, but Hellwolves, they’re another matter. The vamp leader, Hallia, happens to be three thousand years old, so I wouldn’t recommend getting on the wrong side of the fangers either.”
“Duly noted,” Arantay grunted.
Brooke was starting to feel extremely nervous with the stakes being spelled out for her. She didn’t realise how big this mission was. Many could die if they didn’t stop the rogue in time.
“If all goes to plan,” she said, “we won’t get on the wrong side of any Moonlight Races, right?”
“Yes,” Arantay said, “if we can cure Andon of his insanity everything will be fine. If we can’t and we have to destroy him, we just need to make sure no one knows it was Venators who killed him.”
“Otherwise you Venators could start a war with the werewolves yourselves,” Phosian remarked.
“No pressure then.” She smiled nervously.
Brooke flinched as a raven soared into their booth with a loud caw. The bird landed beside Phosian before hopping into his arm. She had to be seeing things, but no, the raven actually melted into Phosian’s bicep. Like an ink stain spreading, the raven slowly reappeared as another tattoo, to match the pantheon of tattoos already decorating Phosian’s body.
His expression showed no pain as his new tattoo formed, but his eyes narrowed in concentration, as if Phosian was listening to something.
“Ah,” he murmured, “always interesting messages my birds bring.”
“Anything we should know?” asked Arantay.
“No, my familiar was merely spying on a few enemies of mine,” said Phosian. “They can wait; Andon is the more pressing concern right now.”
“Is that how you escaped Velkarath?” Brooke said, realising what the tattoo magic was. “You were a druid before the Rakarn captured you?”
“One of the reasons,” Phosian replied casually. “Now, I’d kill Andon myself, but I’ve got my own peace treaties with the Immortals. They know me and accept that I’m content to be a demon hunter for hire. They stay out of my business if I stay out of theirs. Killing this rogue would get the whole pack on my back and I’d have to leave, and I do like this city.”
Arantay nodded. “Understood, do you know where Andon is now?”
“His movements have followed no pattern, other than whoever’s unlucky enough to get in his way. But I can tell you that the battle last night took place near Hyde Park. You might be able to track his scent there, Arantay, if you’re still in touch with your vampire side that is?”
“My thanks,” Arantay stood up. “You’ve helped a lot. We’ll solve this problem by tonight or tomorrow. Either way, don’t worry about your war. We’ll do everything in our power to prevent it.”
Will we? Brooke gulped.
“And Arantay,” Phosian’s voice dropped even lower as they turned to leave. “An hour ago I learned of a new vampire coven who entered the city, and they aren’t as nice as Hallia’s lot. One vamp in this coven is the most sadistic son of a bitch I’ve ever heard of. Eskal, I think his name was. Be careful you don’t run into them. Hopefully they’ll leave soon, or I’ll have to get involved myself.”
Arantay nodded grimly. “Another coven is all we need.”
Brooke decided to take some initiative. “Do you know if any Dark-Venators are involved Phosian?”
Phosian shrugged. “I don't really keep in contact with them anymore, darling. If I did it would only be a few words, before we tried to kill each other. Maybe I’ll send them a Christmas card this year though.”
“But you used to live there?" Brooke couldn't stop herself asking, “at Velkarath.”
"For a couple of years," he muttered.
"What was it like?"
Phosian paused, “Hard to describe really. Like a prison I guess, but with the wardens being psychopaths, fond of inflicting pain. Only the strong survive and the weak get flattened. And even
the strong sometimes go insane."
She shuddered, "How do you… how do you know they won't come after you? They can't be happy you escaped."
“Inquisitive aren't you," he chuckled. "I'm sure a few of my old friends have an inkling of where I am. But I have friends in high places. Least of all the shifters in this city. After I saved a bunch of them they've given me lifelong protection.”
"As if you need it," Lucille giggled.
"I'm sure they'll find me one day," Phosian was expressionless. "Maybe they'll force me to work for them again. Maybe they'll just kill me."
With a signal from Arantay they left the booth, but Brooke could feel Phosian’s eyes on her for a long time afterwards.
Chapter 17- White Hot Hands
Sightless, staring faces. Cruel eyes flashing behind secret spectacles. Sinister silhouettes, stark and bare against the vivid bright light.
Taija loathed it.
The crushing walls, the tiny space, the irrepressible feelings surging within her. There was no freedom. No way out.
Her memories were trickling back, slowly but surely.
Taija wasn’t like this, she vaguely recalled she’d never cried before. She’d always been laughing and trying to have fun where she could, because the owners hated to see them happy. Owners? What owners. She just couldn’t remember.
She recalled a beautiful girl too. Taija could still picture her face in fleeting moments. She’d had dark skin and darker hair. Kachina! That had been her name.
Taija had loved her, not like a girl loves her sister or her best friend, but loved her more than she’d loved anyone else. She remembered those beautiful black eyes vividly, remembered the feel of Kachina’s lips on her own.
But she was gone now, Taija knew because she felt it. An incredible sadness, and then fury, fury at the owners. Had they taken her love away from her? Killed her?
Taija found she was weeping, weeping for Kachina as she drifted into tormented sleep.
*
Visions of grotesque monsters clouded Taija’s mind. She would awake from one nightmare only to live through another in this claustrophobic white room.
Moonlight War- Act I (The Realmers Book 2) Page 20