“That’s…” John sat the empty glass down onto the bar. “That was something else.” He wiped his eyes, which had begun to water, with his free hand. “I’ll take another.”
“I’ll have what he’s having.” A voice spoke out over the loud music.
John looked to his right to find a girl standing beside him. She wore a form fitting, white tank top and a pair of extremely tight blue jeans. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail that came down to the base of her shoulders behind her. John hadn’t even noticed her come up, but then again he could barely hear his own thoughts over the thumping of the music that reverberated throughout the club. She noticed his gaze and turned to face him, bright blue eyes that shimmered in the laser lights of the dance floor below as well as a big, toothy smile were shot his way.
“You sure?” The bartender asked as he brought out another glass.
“It’s pretty rough.” John added.
“That’s perfect, I like it rough.” The girl stated with a wink.
“Well, alrighty then…” The bartender shrugged and pulled out two new glasses from the cooler beside him. “Two lava cups coming right up.”
He started throwing the ingredients into the blender again as the girl leaned against the bar beside John. “So, come here often?” She asked, tilting her head inquisitively.
“No, actually.” John answered. “This is my first time.”
“Really?!” The girl almost shouted. “This is like, my favorite place ever!” She said with great enthusiasm. “I’m Lily.”
“John.” He responded.
So far things were going well. John had managed to integrate into the nightclub scene flawlessly, mostly at the expense of a burning sensation in his throat. He took another look around the club. Other than an interesting sense of décor, the nightclub was as normal as any he’d ever been in, though that number was rather low.
“So.” Lily suddenly spoke up before asking. “You live around here?”
John shook his head as he leaned back against the bar. “Nah, I’m from out of town.”
“And what brought you to this nightclub in particular?” Lily prodded curiously.
“I guess you could call me a traveler.” John gazed around the room slowly as he spoke. “Just finding my way around.”
“Oh really?” The blonde girl seemed interested. “I guess you could call me a collector.”
“What do you collect?” John asked.
“Personal things.” Lily stated. “You know… sentimental stuff.” She added. “Mostly weird things though.”
“Alrighty.” The bartender suddenly interrupted. “Here you two go.” He said as he placed the two drinks down on the bar.
“And this is for both of us.” Lily slapped a twenty dollar bill down onto the bar. “Keep the change.” She said with a smile.
The man happily shoved the money into his back pocket and moved on to serve someone else. Lily reached for her glass and immediately began to drink with no hesitation. John, on the other hand, hesitated to reach for his. He instead eyed the blonde girl suspiciously. As if sensing his stare, she lowered her glass and glanced over to him.
“What?” She asked with a slight grin. “Can’t a girl do something nice?”
Immediately she went back to her drink and continued to chug it down. John shrugged and picked up his glass. He could feel the sting of the peppers and Tabasco wafting up into his nose. He took another moment to mentally prepare himself before turning the glass up. The red liquid flowed into his mouth and further destroyed his taste buds. He steeled himself and chugged, downing the fiery drink in no time. Sweat began to form on his brow as he set the glass down on the table. It didn’t help that the room was warm to begin with; maybe the drink had been a mistake.
“So how old are you, John?” Lily asked.
“Twenty five.” John responded, setting the empty glass on the bar.
“I’m 22!” Lily said with a smile as she wiped the spicy liquid from her lips.
John wasn’t really concerned in idle chitchat though. While conversing with the blonde girl beside him, he had been keeping a watchful eye out over the room. Though the place seemed terribly normal, apart from being based on a scene from hell, he had an odd feeling in his gut. He couldn’t quite place what it was, but he was keen on listening to it.
“Lily!”
A female voice suddenly shouted from beside John. While he had been so preoccupied with watching the room, he had missed the forest for the trees. He looked over in time to see a dark skinned girl in a tight, red tube top and cut off denim shorts nearly jump onto Lily. She hugged the blonde girl tightly as she brushed her own dark brown hair from her face.
“It’s about time you got here, Jean.” Lily remarked before she turned toward John. “John, this is Jeanette.” She looked back up at the girl. “Jean, this is John. He’s a traveler.”
“Oh, a traveler?” The girl repeated. “Sounds hot.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” John stated with a slight tilt of his head.
“John, you have got to dance with us!” Lily almost shouted.
“Sorry, ladies.” John held up his hands in an attempt to let them down easy. “I don’t dance.”
“Oh come on!” Jeanette urged. “It’ll be fun!”
“Don’t dance.” John’s words were a little sterner, though he kept his composure.
“Your loss!” Lily stuck her tongue out playfully and jumped down from her seat. She took Jeanette by the hand and turned to run towards the dance floor before looking back to John. “Make sure you watch us!”
In no time at all, the two girls made their way down onto the dance floor below. John watched from his vantage point at the bar as the two girls began to get into the rhythm of the loud music. There were dozens of people crammed onto the floor; they bumped and grinded against each other in time with the beat. Some swung from the few poles that held up a large laser light array, others danced around inside of metal cages that hung suspended from the ceiling above. Their bodies rubbed together and their sweat mixed into a pool on the floor. The place was a den of sin and vice. Truly the design had met its mark.
While watching the dancing below, John spotted something out of the corner of his eye. At first he wasn’t sure what he saw, but upon closer inspection he was definitely sure he had seen it. There was a girl across the way, some fifty feet or so, with wings. A pair of small, purple wings extended from her back and below that was a small tail. John did his best to remain calm as his mind flooded with questions. First off, why would the Succubus choose to reveal herself in plain sight? And if she hadn’t, was John the only one that could see her? Before his mind could get any more convoluted, he spotted another. She was closer and to his left. She had wings and a tail just like the other girl. As he spotted a third demon girl, he immediately understood what was happening. He quickly reached up to his ear and pressed a button on the side of his transceiver.
“Yo.” Lazarus’ voice spoke into his ear. “What’s up, mate?”
“Lazarus.” John began. “You didn’t check into this place before we came here, did you?” He asked again, seriously this time.
“N-no.” Lazarus answered without any hint of wit. “Why?”
“Lazarus, I’m looking at three girls with wings and tails in here.” John stated. “Three.”
“Three?” Lazarus repeated. “Wait, what the hell?”
“The name of the place is called Hellfire, Lazarus.” John spoke as loudly into the earpiece as he could without drawing attention to himself. “This is the worst thing that could have happened.”
“Son of a bitch!” Lazarus’ voice was loud in John’s ear. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah.” John said. “I’ve got this feeling though. If she’s going to show up somewhere, it’s gonna be here.”
“You sure, mate?” Lazarus asked.
“Yeah. I don’t know why, I’ve just got this gut feeling about it.” John paused. “I’m going to take a look around again
, see if I can’t find anything.”
“Right. We’re going to swing by a few more places real fast. You watch yourself in there, mate.”
John stood up slowly from the bar and looked around. There was a door over to his left that led back out to the entrance hall. Over to his right, opposite of the entrance, was another door that he hadn’t explored. There was a large man standing in the threshold that John assumed to be another bouncer. Putting the two together, he figured it to be some sort of VIP area. From where he was, he couldn’t see back there, and he needed to explore every part of the club to be safe. John made his way around the outer ring of the nightclub until he approached the man.
“Can I help you, sir?” The man asked from behind his thick, black sunglasses. John couldn’t tell if the man was looking directly at him, or if his gaze was focused on the rest of the club.
“Yeah, just wanted to know what’s back here.” John motioned to the room behind the man.
“VIP lounge.” The man answered.
“VIP, huh?” John said. “Don’t suppose you’d make an exception?”
“Sorry, sir.” The man said with a slight shake of his head. “VIPs only.”
“How do you become a VIP?”
“Friends of the owner, mostly.” The man stated. “Usually people of status. You know-“ He was suddenly cut off.
“There you are John!” Lily called out from behind. John turned his attention from the man just in time to see Lily and Jeanette come to a stop beside him. They were both nearly out of breath and covered in sweat from head to toe; effects from their intense dancing John assumed. “We thought you bailed on us!” She made a slight pouty face, which Jeanette mimicked.
“You were trying to get in the lounge?” Jeanette asked as she motioned toward the man blocking the way.
“Yeah.” John shrugged his shoulders. “Never been in one so…”
“And the big man wouldn’t let you?” Jeanette slowly made her way over toward the large man. “Why don’t you let us in?” She winked.
“Now you know I can’t do that.” The bouncer firmly held his ground.
“Aw, come on.” Lily joined in and moved closer to the bouncer as well. She leaned forward and tilted her head slightly. “We can make it worth your while.” She winked as well.
“Sorry, ladies.” The man stayed true to his word, though he showed signs of cracking. “VIP only, I’d lose my job if I let you in.”
“Are you sure..?” Jeanette moved closer to the man. She wrapped her small, brown arms around the bouncer’s right arm and pressed her breasts against him.
“I think we can help each other out.” Lily did the same to the man’s left arm. “Please?” She said, blowing a small kiss his way.
“You… You girls...” The bouncer shook his head and huffed. “Fine. Make it quick.” With that, the bouncer yielded. “If I get fired, it’s on you.”
Lily and Jeanette both giggled as they led John through the door. There was a hallway beyond the threshold that led to a door. Beyond that was a plush, red lounge. The few lights that ran along the base of the velvet walls kept the place dimly lit. In the middle of the room was a circular couch that was inset into the floor around a silver pole that served one obvious purpose. Other than that, the room was basically empty.
“Sorry about the bouncer.” Jeanette said with a smile. “They’re normally not that strict.”
“Yeah, you must be bad luck!” Lily chimed in.
“So you two do this often?” John asked. “Talk your way around bouncers?”
“A woman’s charm is a powerful tool.” Lily stated with her hands on her hips.
“Yeah… I could tell.” John mused.
He walked around the room and inspected it a little more, all the while he was trying to make it seem like he wasn’t searching around. Lily and Jeanette had been helpful in getting him inside, but now that they had served their purpose, they were becoming a hindrance. They followed close behind him as he walked around the room. His inspection hadn’t rendered much of anything new, other than another door. It was a black metal with a crash bar in the center. Above it was a green illuminated exit sign.
“So, what do you think?” Jeanette asked as she leaned around John.
“Seems pretty normal to me.” John stated as he crossed his arms. “Nobody in here either. I guess I can see why.”
“Say…” Lily suddenly spoke in a lower tone and moved closer to John. “Since we’re alone…” She winked at Jeanette.
“Why don’t we have a little fun?” Jeanette spoke softly.
She pulled the same maneuver that she had on the bouncer before. John suddenly found his right arm nuzzled between two soft pillows. The dark skinned girl didn’t stop at just holding his arm; she slowly moved it up and down between her breasts. The motion allowed John to feel a whole lot more than he had expected.
“How about it, John?” Lily whispered dangerously close to his ear, her soft breath tickling his sensitive flesh.
The blonde girl pressed herself against John in a similar manner. Out of all the things that he could think of, he compared her breast size to the girl to his right. Lily’s chest was noticeably smaller than Jeanette’s, and as such she didn’t try to move around like her counterpart.
“Sorry, ladies.” John shook his head. “As nice as that sounds… I’m kinda waiting for someone.”
“That so?” Jeanette pouted the same way John had seen moments before.
“You don’t want to play with us, Johnny?” Lily looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes.
Something about the two girls was hard to resist, outside of the obvious. As they held him there in the dim red light of the empty lounge, John found it hard to think. His mind was continuously going off to things he knew he shouldn’t be thinking of at the moment. Lazarus’ words from the parking lot were slowly trailing off in his mind as the two girls became all he could think about.
“You’re too tense, John...” Jeanette stated.
She reached up and began to rub the top of John’s shoulder. As she did, Lily responded in kind on his left. Their small hands moved delicately around the muscles in his back as they worked the tension from him. The action was intensely relaxing, and carried an oddly erotic undertone as well. The way they moved their hands in unison, their hot breath against his neck, the way they pressed themselves against his arms; John was having a difficult time suppressing himself.
“Does this feel good?” Lily asked in a whisper.
“Y-yeah… I… Yeah.” John responded.
“I know something that will feel a whole lot better.” Lily leaned forward and gave him a wink.
She looked over and nodded toward Jeanette, to which the girl nodded back in response. Together, they took hold of John’s hands and led him over toward the metal door at the far end of the room. Lily pushed against the crash bar and the door opened with a slight groan. John was met with a sudden burst of cold as the nighttime air rushed into the heated room. Outside was a dark alleyway that ran between the nightclub and a neighboring building. The only lights to be seen were a small bulb over the door and what little ambient lighting flooded in from the streets around them. Jeanette slowly let the door shut, but stopped it and left it slightly cracked so they could get back in. Lily took hold of both of John’s hands and moved closer to him, which caused him to instinctively step backward until he found his back up against a wall.
“What are you-“ John made an attempt to speak, but Lily quickly hushed him by placing her finger over his lips.
“I wanted to thank you.” She said as she rested her head on his chest and intertwined her fingers with his. John could feel his heart beating against her cheek.
“For… what?” He asked.
“For spending time with us.” Lily looked up and said with a smile. “Now relax, I’ll make you feel good.”
“Wait, what are you going to-“ John started to speak. Suddenly, while still holding John’s hands, Lily dropped to her knees. “O
h.”
“Don’t worry.” Jeanette said as she rubbed herself against John’s right shoulder. “Lily is the best.” She whispered into his ear.
“All we need to do is get rid of that necklace…” Lily said as she looked up at John.
“Necklace?” He repeated.
Something inside of John’s mind seemed to come unhinged at the girl’s words. He looked down and saw it, the same necklace that Aerin had given him the day they had met. He hadn’t put it on his neck before heading out with Lazarus, and for that matter, he never remembered ever taking it off. The gravity of the situation slowly became apparent as John unconsciously took a step back. Something was terribly wrong here.
“Let’s just take this off and-“ Jeanette reached for the necklace but was cut short as John took hold of her hand.
“Sorry.” He shook his head. “It’s a lucky charm. I never take it off.”
“Is that so?” Lily said with an odd look in her eye. “I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way then.”
“Afraid not.” John brushed Jeanette off and slipped around Lily. “I don’t think we’ll be doing anything tonight.”
Lily stood up slowly as Jeanette moved to her side. John could feel the air in the alleyway getting heavy around him. Finally, he had happened upon his target. In the hunt for the Succubus, he had nearly allowed himself to fall victim himself. John clung to his necklace with his right hand as he silently thanked it for pulling him out of whatever trance the two girls had managed to put him in.
“This doesn’t have to be hard.” Lily stated.
Her body began to change in the dim light. Her hair grew down to the middle of her back as two pointed, black wings ripped out the back of her white tank top. A long, purple tail dropped down between her legs; it waved side to side as if brimming with anticipation. Her fingernails extended outward into something like a claw as her own hands grew just a little. The blue of her irises turned to a putrid yellow and her pupils became mere slits.
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 17