The Grace In Darkness

by Melissa Andrea

  The guy laughed. “Playing hard to get. I like a challenge.” He whistled and pounded on the bar. “Hey, Waster! Two beers!”

  “You got it!” someone yelled beyond the bar.

  “Sure! For you, he’s Captain Speed,” Mak said sarcastically. “It’s because I don’t have penis.”

  “That’s exactly what it is.”

  “Bartender’s special?” the guy behind the bar asked before Mak could hand him one of her witty remarks.

  “Nah! Just the beers.”

  “Waster?” I asked.

  “We all play our parts, sweetheart,” he drawled, slowly.

  “Oh yeah? And what’s your part?” Mak asked.

  “I’m the Soul Taker.” He was proud about that, but it gave me a bad feeling. “I haven’t seen you ladies here before. Y’all slummin’ it tonight?”

  I could feel him staring at me. He didn’t realize he was being obvious about it though. He could tell something was off, but he didn’t want to come outright and ask.

  “More or less,” Mak said. “Hey,” Mak snapped, pushing his shoulder, “didn’t your mama ever teach you it’s not polite to stare?”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve just never seen eyes that color green before. They’re beautiful.”

  Heat crept into my cheeks. “Thanks.”

  “You guys probably shouldn’t hang out around here too much longer. You’ve already attracted some unwanted attention from Craze and his followers.”

  “Craze?” I asked. Just saying his name left a bad taste on my tongue.

  “Yeah… you know him?” he asked as if he didn’t believe that was possible.

  “No, but I’ve heard of him.”

  “Yeah, he’s bad news.”

  I frowned at Mak, trying to give her my best “I told you so!” look. There was a sudden blare of music and I flinched, unprepared.

  “We’re actually waiting for someone,” Mak screamed over the noise.

  He leaned against Mak and me to get as close as he could so she could hear him.

  “Who would that be?”

  “Ryland Dare?”

  “Should have known you were a Dare fan. Half the girls here just come to see him and Sebastian fight.”

  That piqued my interest, but Mak attempted to steer him away from the topic. I didn’t know whether to be thankful or annoyed.

  “Is he any good?”

  “He does all right. He’s won every one of his fights so far, which isn’t surprising when he has Sebastian in his corner.”

  I pulled his arm. “Everyone? How many has he had?”

  “More than I can count, sweetheart.”

  “Is he here?”

  “No, but his brother should be here anytime now. He’s supposed to fight in thirty minutes.”

  “Sebastian?”

  “Yep. You ladies gonna stick around?”

  “We sure are,” Mak said.

  “Here you go, Soul Taker,” someone behind the bar said and the sound of glass scraping across wood added to the theme of the club.

  “About time,” he mumbled.

  A cold bottle was placed in my hand and I looked down toward it. Mak clanked her bottle against mine before taking a sip. I brought it to my lips and the sour smell made my jaws hurt. Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a long drink and instantly regretted it. I’d never had beer before in my life and for good reason, apparently. Its bitter taste traveled down my throat in super-slow speed, and I swallowed hard to make it go down faster.

  “Not a fan?” The Soul Taker laughed.

  “That’s… disgusting!” I choked out, my face twisting. I set down the bottle on the bar and shivered as the aftertaste coated my mouth.

  “It gets better the more you drink, angel,” a new voice said. “Who are your friends here, Soul Man?”

  “They’re friends of Dare’s, actually.” He said it as if it were a warning.

  “Of Dare?” He sounded shocked. “Ryland or Sebastian?”

  “Does it matter?”

  He paused for a minute. “Actually, no, it doesn’t.”

  His voice gave me the creeps and that was enough to make me want him to go far, far away.

  “Maybe you should move on—”

  “Soul Taker!” a voiced boomed over the speakers. “Where the fuck you at, man?”

  “Sounds like you’re being summoned, Soul Man.”

  He seemed reluctant to leave us. “It’s okay,” Mak said. “I’ve got this.”

  His shadow hesitated, but they called his name again and he finally gave in. “I’ll come back and check on y’all later, okay?”

  “They look like big girls, Soul Man. I don’t think they need your protection.”

  “Cool it, Craze.”

  I missed the silent exchange between the three and I tried not to let it bother me that I was left in the dark, literally.

  “I’m Craze, and you beautiful ladies are…?”

  “I’m M and this is A, and that’s all you boys need to know,” Mak smarted.

  “Ohh, feisty. Just how I like ‘em.”

  His words conjured nauseating flashbacks and I shifted uncomfortably on the barstool. Mak sensed my uneasiness and grabbed my hand.

  “Excuse us, boys. We have to find our friend.”

  Craze moved, stopping Mak’s retreat. “What’s the rush, ladies? Neither of the Dare brothers are here yet and you don’t want this to get hot, angel.”

  I heard the glass hit the bar and the smell of beer added to the stench of the room. Luckily, I didn’t feel any of it spill on me.

  “Shit! Sorry about that. Here, let me get y’all another drink.”

  “No, it’s really okay. I wasn’t going to drink it anyway.” I just wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

  “Please, I insist.” His fingers wrapped around my wrist and I froze.

  “Fine.” Mak interjected, pulling my arm from his grasp. “One drink and then we have to go.”

  “Sounds fair.” He moved between Mak and me, leaning into the bar. He smelled like booze, sweat, and… blood. I moved back as far and I could. “Waster, two bartender’s specials.” He pounded his fists against the wood.

  “You got it, Craze!”

  “What’s the bartender’s special?” I asked.

  “It’s just on the house,” he said, turning toward me.

  His legs brushed against my bare knees and I wished I’d worn something that covered every inch of my skin. He grabbed one of my curls and wrapped it around his finger.

  “You know, you have the palest green eyes I’ve ever seen. There’s something really… different about them.” He was trying hard to figure out what it was.

  “They’re just green.” I shrugged, trying not to keep eye contact with him too long so I found a spot below his neck to concentrate on.

  I was glad Mak wasn’t trying to pull me away from him. Then he would really know something was off, and I wanted to keep the fact that I was blind out of this.

  “Do you like that?” he asked suddenly, and I panicked. “I have a few of them actually. This one right here is my favorite.” He went on. “I also have this one and this one. They’re a part of my collection.”

  I didn’t know what to do or where to look and I glanced up nervously.

  “What’s...?” His voice trailed and I didn’t make out the shadow of his hand waving in my face early enough. “Holy shit. You’re...” There was no recovering; it was too late.

  “Don’t be an ass,” Mak snapped, jumping from her barstool and moving to stand between us.

  She took my hand and pulled me with her and I felt mortified. It was like I was a child needing to be kept close to her parent. I knew she hadn’t meant to, but needing to be protected by Mak made me feel about an inch tall.

  “Everything’s all good, angel. Just caught me off guard is all.”

  “My name isn’t Angel.”

  “I’m sorry... M, right?”

  “Two bartender’s specials, Craze. Have fun.”


  “Here, peace offering.” I assumed he was handing Mak the beers.

  “Thanks, but—”

  “Come on, it’ll make me feel better. And then you’re free to go.”

  Does that mean we aren’t now? I wondered.

  “Fine.”

  Mak handed me the cold bottle and I waited for her to lead us the hell away from here and him. We started to move, but he stopped us again.

  “Cheers?” He waited. Mak sighed and clanked her bottle to his, taking a drink. “What about you? Do I get a cheers?” I lifted my bottle and he hit it with his. I looked down toward the bottle and my taste buds begged me not to take a drink. “It’s okay, angel. You don’t have to drink it. It’s probably better you don’t, right?” He took a sip and I could feel him daring me. It was stupid to feel the need to prove anything to him, but his challenge didn’t settle well with me.

  “I’m blind, not incapable.” I gritted my teeth, saying it out loud.

  “Prove it.” He taunted. “Down the entire bottle.”

  Mak turned toward me. “A, you don’t have to do that. You have nothing to prove to this guy.”

  But didn’t I? Not only to this idiot, but to myself. I needed to prove that I could be here just like everyone else and not need someone there to coddle me at all times.

  I lifted the bottle to my lips, eyeing it with disgust, and squeezed my eyes tight, tilting the bottle in the air. I swallowed it down, trying not to taste it, but the bite of the flavor consumed me. It seemed like it took forever to finish the entire bottle, but finally it came to an end. Pulling the rim away, I wiped my lips with my arm and hid my gag reflex around a cough.

  “Real nice, an... I’m sorry, A.”

  I put the bottle on the bar and pulled Mak’s arm. “Come on.”

  “I’ll be seeing you girls,” Craze called behind us.

  “Let’s make sure to stay as far away from him as possible,” I told her, looking back over my shoulder. There was nothing but blackness.

  “What an asshole.”

  “I agree and so does Ryland. He’s bad news, so I repeat, let’s stay far away.”

  Mak stopped suddenly, pulling me to her. “You know I was trying not to draw attention to you, right? I didn’t want to keep coming to your rescue because he was already looking at you funny.”

  “I know. It’s okay.”

  “Where’d you learn how to deep throat a beer bottle, you naughty girl you?” Her voice was sprinkled with mischief.

  I groaned. “Not that again! And I wasn’t deep throating anything!”

  She spun me around and my head spun too. I tripped on my own feet, falling into her.

  She snorted. “Lightweight.”

  “I can’t be buzzed already... can I?” My body was saying otherwise.

  “Probably. You don’t drink and you downed that beer like nobody’s effin’ business. I’d say it’s possible. Come on, drunkard, let’s go find lover boy.”

  The darkness swirled around me as she pulled me with her.

  “Well, it seems like today is your lucky day, J.D. “

  “So I’m guessing you came up with a solution for the problem.”

  “I surely did.” Craze slung the beer bottle in the air, taking a long swig.

  “Did you find someone to help out?”

  “You could say that.” He leaned into the wall beside the phone base. “Some blind girl showed up tonight looking for the Dare brothers.”

  The line was silent.

  Craze shifted on the wall, wrapping his arm around his stomach. “Did you hear me?”

  “I heard you. Is either of my sons there? Do they know she’s there?”

  “Sebastian, not Ryland. He’s about to fight.”

  There was no answer.

  Craze cleared his throat. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Listen closely and don’t screw this up.”

  “How are you beautiful ladies doing?” Craze asked two random girls sitting against the bar. “Did you see Sebastian Dare’s fight? He’s great, isn’t he? Why don’t you take this to him, on the house... He loves when his fans get up close and personal.”

  “Ahh, to be a beer virgin again.” Mak joked as I stumbled against her.

  She was jealous that I was feeling it already. She finished her beer and happily awaited the buzz. We’d found a less crowded spot in the back of the room, not too far from the fighters.

  “I’m going to go get another ‘bartender’s special.’ Come on.” She pulled my arm, but it felt like jelly and I let it sag in her grip.

  “You go,” I slurred and I felt like I had no control over my head as it rolled around my shoulders.

  Mak laughed. “You can barely stand, lightweight. I’m not leaving you here alone. What if something happens?”

  Everything I felt seemed heightened, and I snapped at her. “Stop it! Just stop! I’m not a baby. I can stand here and wait for you to get back.”

  She hesitated at first. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”

  I leaned against something hard, not responding to her. Everything seemed blurrier than normal, and I decided then and there that I didn’t like beer and I didn’t like being drunk. It wasn’t fun feeling so out of control when I had so little control as it was.

  People started cheering as a voice rose above the screams. I thought I heard them say Dare, but I couldn’t be sure. Everything sounded muffled. The heat and lack of oxygen was unbearable, and I felt like I was going to pass out any minute now.

  With what little strength I could find, I dragged myself along the wall, wanting to find a place where, if I passed out, I wouldn’t cause a lot of attention. I tripped and stumbled on something, or maybe someone, and I thought I felt hands, but I couldn’t be sure. Then I was in someone’s arms and I slumped against their frame.

  I could feel his sweaty body through my clothes and his arms wound around me tighter, instantly making me afraid. I could feel his breath against my face and I turned away from the smell.

  “What’s the matter, angel? Don’t you want to come play with big boy Craze?”

  He tried to pull me toward him, but I resisted and pushed against his chest.

  “Get away from me!” I moved faster than I thought I would and I tripped in my own speed. I felt the painful cut of his fingernails across my skin has he tried to hold on to me. His grip turned angry and his fingers bruised my skin painfully as he tried to pull me with him.

  “Come on, angel, I promise you’ll want it.”

  “Stop it,” I managed to scream and my hand felt like dead weight as I went for his face.

  My aim and the strength behind my desperate attack weren’t worth much, but I managed to rake my fingernails across his cheek.

  “You bitch!” He screeched and pulled me toward him, crushing my arm behind my back.

  I had no more energy to fight him or fight the buzz that was over taking my entire system. His hand came up and I flinched as I felt his fingers move across my collarbone.

  “What do we have here?” he asked, lifting my necklace from my chest.

  Suddenly, I was pulled from his arms and felt the snap at the back of my neck. I prayed to whomever that it was Makayla.

  “Mak?” I whispered. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open now.

  “Hey, sweetheart. It’s me, River... well, the Soul Taker. Do you remember me?”

  I was no longer being pulled in two separate directions and I settled in arms that didn’t make my skin crawl. I could barely feel his hand cupping my chin and pulling my face toward his. I felt a hundred times better when I realized I knew him.

  “What the fuck, Craze?” he growled.

  “Get lost, Rover.”

  “Do you like getting the shit beaten out of you? If either Dare brother catches you with her, they’re going to break your stupid neck.”

  “What are you, their guard dog?” He scoffed. “Have her. I don’t care. Blind girls aren’t my type anyway. I like my women to be able to see exactly what th
ey’re getting.”

  “Blind?” River asked, confused, and Craze just laughed. I felt relieved as it faded into the background noise. “You’re blind?” he asked, and I nodded. “Well, fuck. Are you okay?” he asked with real concern. I’d expected him to be annoyed, but he seemed far from it.

  “Something’s wrong with me…” I said, my voice hoarse.

  “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. I’m going to find Sebastian.”

  Everything seemed so heightened and my panic paralyzed me. I clutched his shirt in my hands. “Please don’t leave me.”

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’re coming with me. How many beers did you have? Do you remember?”

  “One.” But it might as well have been one hundred.

  “One? Are you sure?” I tried to focus on the tone of his voice, but I couldn’t. “Did Craze give you a beer? Did he give you a bartender’s special?” He gently shook my face, trying to get my attention. I couldn’t tell if I shook my head yes or not. “Where’s your friend? Do you know if she was with Craze?” I wanted to answer him, but I couldn’t move my lips. “Shit!” he hissed in my ear and lifted me in his arms.

  “Dare! Dare!” His chest vibrated with every yell.

  At the sound of Ryland’s last name, I wanted to sit up and look for him, but I couldn’t. I could feel the creep of unconsciousness and I willed it to wait until I was in Ryland’s arms.

  “Looks like you got your hands full.” A familiar voice joked and my head rolled toward the sound. “Araya! What the fuck, River? What the hell is she doing here and what the hell are you doing with her?”

  “I found her like this, man.”

  “What’s wrong with her? Is she drunk?”

  “Craze gave her a bartender’s special.”

  “What the fuck is a bartender’s special?”

  “It’s stupid. Just get her out of here.”

  “I will as soon as you tell me what he put in her drink! Do I need to take her to the hospital?”

  “No. She’ll be fine. Just get her home and out of here.”

  “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch! Where is he?”

  “I don’t know, but I need to go find her friend. She wasn’t with her when I found her.”

  Makayla! I panicked.