Daniel's face flashed in my mind, his jade green eyes pinning me with his stare.
Nope.
Not going there.
He might be pretty to look at, and I might have crushed on him super hard in high school, but my heart wasn't ready for anything just yet. I wasn't sure if it ever would be. How did I learn to trust again when the person I trusted most in the world just betrayed me in every way imaginable?
I looked at my surroundings, forcing myself to focus on the present. Beth's voice was soothing in my ear, and I tried to listen to what she was saying, I really did, but my mind drifted. I couldn't help but wonder if some of these people knew what they were walking into.
How many of them thought they were going to get sparkly vampires and how many thought they were going to get men in long black capes? Were either of them even accurate for that matter? I certainly had no idea.
Were some of them hoping to be bitten? Was that even how you became a vampire? Or did they just like the idea of feeding a vampire? I really needed to find out some of these basic details before we left for an exclusive club next time.
Eventually, it was our turn at the front. The bouncer turned from letting two giggly girls into the club, who were surprisingly adept on stripper heels with their thongs practically hanging out, and looked down at us. He laughed out loud and shook his head. “No way. Come on.” He turned and looked at the two guys standing on either side of the door. “Are you guys punking me?”
They shook their heads and looked at Beth and I in amusement. Their lips quirked up just a little at one corner, each one a mirror of the other.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
The bouncer looked down at us again, and I caught a glimpse of fang. Oh, shit. He was a vampire. “You’re old.”
I bet you're older if you're a vampire, I thought, not that I'd ever say it out loud. I took a step, preparing to turn and leave empty handed, but Beth had other ideas.
“Excuse me?” she hissed as she stepped forward and looked up. The giant of a man—vampire—didn’t flinch. And honestly, a cute witch versus a bodybuilding vampire that looked like he should be on the cover of a romance novel? Why would he? Beth practically growled as she demanded, “Did you just say old?”
He didn’t move, but somehow he seemed bigger and more threatening as he glared down at Beth. His bulk looked like it was growing in my line of sight, though I was sure that wasn't what was happening. He was probably just flexing, beefing himself up to get Beth to back down. I was certainly willing to back down and leave since I couldn't help but think of how he could smush us like bugs.
“Hey, let’s just go,” I whispered. “We don’t want to piss these guys off.”
But the main bouncer wasn’t having it. “Take these two grandmas into the back and teach them a lesson about respect,” he said in a voice so low I wasn’t sure the other two could hear it.
They must’ve, though, because they stepped forward. I stepped back, ready to run for the car with a scream building in my throat, but once they were close to grabbing her, Beth raised her hand and threw some sort of powder into all three of their faces. The white cloud started small, erupting from her hand like a volcano, and as it reached them it turned shimmery in the spotlight that shone above the door. It only lasted for a moment before the powder vanished completely.
The enormous men blinked rapidly, and one of them sneezed. The burst of noise seemed to shake them from their stupor, then they all shook their heads in unison. “Let us in,” Beth said in a low voice.
The bouncer nodded and stepped back, and his two goons went to their positions at the door, one of them reaching over and opening it as Beth and I walked in.
Well, Beth strutted in like she owned the place. I looked behind me to see if any of the kids had noticed, but no one had even glanced in our direction. Was this a witch thing? Could humans not see what we did? I’d have to ask later. For now, I needed to follow Beth, who was evidently pleased with getting her way. I, on the other hand, more scurried and cowered as I made my way through the doors.
And as soon as I stepped foot inside, I slammed straight into someone’s back. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, but the music was too loud.
The woman and her friends, the ones who had been in line ahead of us, turned and leered. She looked me over, then Beth, her lip curling upward in a sneer. “Old bitch.” I couldn’t hear her, but her lips weren’t hard to read.
One of the others looked at Beth and just as I glanced her way, I saw her mouth move. “Fatass.”
Oh, hell, no. Vampires were one thing, but no way I was letting this child get away with calling my friend fat.
Almost in unison, the three of them clutched their stomachs. Their brows all pinched in a familiar way, one that said trouble was on the horizon. The music stopped, and as it always was in places like this when the loud song was over, the silence deafened for a moment. But another song didn’t immediately come on, so when the one who called Beth a fatass farted, it was like an echo, ricocheting across the club.
Her friends stared at her in shock, but then one of them doubled over and moaned. Suddenly, as my gaze shifted to the people behind them, I realized that everyone was looking in this direction. Their gazes focused on the girls in front of us as the three of them and their butts started sounding like trumpets. Little honks, and big, flapping claps of ass cheeks, and not in the sexy dancer way either. These were high-pitched whines. Combine that with the moans that were coming from them? They were a cacophony of noise.
As though they couldn’t stand the horror on everyone's faces any longer, the girls ran toward what I assumed was a bathroom, or who knows? Maybe it was just a closet. It seemed like they would go anywhere so long as it got them out of the spotlight.
I really hoped it was a bathroom for the sake of the cleaning crew. The one that had called us old had a distinctive brown trail running down the inside and back of her legs as she waddled through the doorway. The sour notes that had been on the air were finally cut off as the door closed behind them.
The moment it did, everyone around us burst out laughing. The few people that were closest to us had tears running down their faces as they doubled over with laughter. I couldn't help but wonder if the tears were actually from the laughter or from the smell that was still lingering in the air.
I stared at them all, shock brimming within me. Had I done that?
Before I could ask Beth, the music finally came back with a blaring beat, drowning out their next words. The pause had been much too long. No DJ would ever allow something like that, so either someone was screwing up or this was a playlist with no one manning it, or worse, I'd caused the music to pause as well so that the girls could be sufficiently mortified by their gastric distress.
A moment later, before we could step away, the girls came out of the bathroom. One of them had toilet paper clinging to the bottom of her high heels like a bride’s train. They quickly pushed past us toward the door we’d all just come in, and I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.
They glared at us as they passed, and I didn’t really need to hear their words. I knew what was going on.
“What did you do?” Beth yelled in my ear.
I leaned over and put my mouth next to her ear as I yelled back, "I have no idea! How did you get us in?"
She moved back over and put her mouth next to my head, but she didn’t yell. “Magic,” her voice whispered in my ear, as if we were in a silent room. Chills erupted over my skin and a shiver zinged down my spine.
Grinning, I shook my head at her. “You’re amazing!” I shouted.
Beth either heard me or got my meaning, because she smiled and grabbed my hand as she started working her way through the crowd toward the bar. The whole thing was shocking, and hilarious, but I still wasn’t sure why we were here. Despite the vampires at the door, this place seemed to be full of humans. Not vampires. Or shifters.
I tugged on Beth’s arm and leaned close. “Nothing about this
place seems out of the ordinary,” I yelled in her ear, careful about exactly what I said since I didn’t really know for sure these were all humans.
Her voice whispered in my ear again, even though she was nowhere near close enough for me to hear her, yet hear her I did. “Looks can be deceiving." She tossed me a wink before adding, "This is just the front. We have to go downstairs for the real fun.”
Oh, boy. I wasn't sure I was ready for the real fun.
Downstairs.
15
Emma
Beth pulled me into a quiet corner, and I stared out at the room packed with people. Different colored lights flashed overhead and the bass was so strong it seemed to shake the ground. I tried to remember if clubs were the same when I used to go to them in college, but everything seemed brighter and louder now.
But also not like a vampire den.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked, frowning as I continued scanning the room.
“We go downstairs, ask about your brother, and hopefully explain that this has all been a big misunderstanding and get him back,” she said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.
“Do you think it’ll be so easy?” I didn’t know a thing about vampires.
She lifted a brow. “Not a chance. But the thing is, supernaturals aren’t just bloodthirsty monsters. We have codes. If the vampires just completely disregard a witch’s request, they risk pissing us all off, and we’re a powerful group. But they’re not just going to give him up. There’s probably going to be a price, so we need to be ready for that.”
A price? I took a deep breath. Whatever it was, I’d find a way to pay it.
“Okay.” I released my breath.
“Ready to take on a room full of arrogant vampires?” she asked, studying me.
No, I was not. “I need a little courage first,” I admitted. “The liquid kind.”
Beth nodded earnestly. “I feel that. Really do. Liquid courage has given me the strength to do a lot of things I never imagined this past year.”
There was no way that Beth had done so much just because of liquid courage.
I couldn’t help but stare at her a little. Beth really amazed me. Even though our situations were so similar, she seemed so over her cheating ex, unlike me. She’d been with her ex for nearly twenty years, about as long as I was married. I’d never officially met the guy. Apparently, he was one of the few people who moved from another place to Mystic Hollow, without any ties to the place. But she’d told me enough in our phone calls to know he’d been cheating on her with a younger woman too. She didn’t speak about it often. I assumed it was because it’d hurt too much to discuss, but was it really just that she’d found a way to come to terms with it?
I didn’t have a clue.
But her confident air, and the way she seemed so at home here, made me think maybe she was just doing well. The thought made me happy as she spun on her heel and started pushing through the crowd. It was good that at least one of us had it together.
We headed straight for the bar. “Four shots of your top shelf whiskey,” she shouted and slapped down a fifty. “Keep the change!”
I raised my eyebrows, but she shrugged. “The drinks are ten dollars apiece anyway. It’s just a tenner for him,” she said in my ear.
The bartender nodded and pulled out a stack of shot glasses, the squat, round glasses dripping with moisture as though they'd just been washed. There were plenty of people in the club so it wouldn't surprise me if they were cleaning glasses as fast as people were using them. The large bottle he grabbed from the top shelf behind the bar was already half empty and the liquid inside sloshed around a second before he flipped it upside down over the first shot glass.
As soon as that one was full, he moved to the next, raising and lowering the bottle over each consecutive glass. I knew it was a trick of the eye, something bartenders did to make it seem like they were pouring more when in fact they were all the same amount. He pushed the tiny glasses toward us and spread them out between the two of us.
We each picked up a glass, clinking them together before tapping the bottom on the bar and raising them to our lips, letting the fiery burn of the whiskey work its magic as we each downed our first one then, after a second quick cheers, the second. My whole body felt like it was being warmed from the inside out.
Rick didn't like whiskey and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it. He only ever drank vodka or rum. Sure, they were good, but whiskey and I got along like a house on fire.
“Good?” she asked.
I grinned, and I couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off my face. “Better than good. Do you have any idea how awesome you are?”
She laughed. “Are you drunk already? Emma, you need to get out more! Live a little!”
“No, seriously, you’re awesome. I wish I had half your confidence.”
Her smile wavered, then was back. “You’ll get there. I promise.”
I shook my head. “I was never like you. I was--”
“Awesome in your own way. I remember the way you could sing when you thought no one was around. You have the most incredible voice I’ve ever heard.”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “That was all my mom. She had wanted to be a famous singer, but then she got pregnant with me, and she decided to stay in Mystic Hollow. But she never forgot what it felt like to be on a stage. We’d stand out on the back patio and sing together, even though only the birds were listening.”
“I remember your mom,” Beth said, and her smile turned to a sad one. “She was an incredible woman.”
We ordered another shot. I wanted to chase that warm feeling again, not think about my mom turning up the stereo and us belting out songs together. Nor about my dad building Legos with Henry. Those two had covered the living room in Lego sets that no one dared to touch until after the funeral, when Henry took them apart piece-by-piece, tears streaming down his face.
He hadn’t cried at the funeral. He did cry then. And when he tossed those boxes of Legos in the trash, we’d both aged years.
Damn it. I grabbed my shot and raised it to Beth.
She spoke, her voice strong and sure. “To every valley we had to overcome to reach the top of this hill.”
I clinked my glass with hers and downed another drink. The warmth inside of me grew hotter, pleasantly so, and my thoughts scattered. Beth was right. We’d been through a lot. Saving Henry? We would do this too, and no one was going to stop us.
“Let’s do this!” I yelled when all the glasses sat empty in front of us.
Beth pointed to a door toward the back of the club. “That’s where we have to go!”
“Then that’s where we’re going!”
Steeling my shoulders and spine, I marched over to a bouncer guarding a door. It didn't look like the rest of the wall, which surprised me, since I thought it would have been more subtle. Instead, it was tufted black leather, looking luxurious and dangerous all at once. I’d even seen people slipping through while we had our drinks. This was the way to the downstairs. I was sure of it.
“Excuse me,” I shouted.
He glanced down without actually moving his head and arched one eyebrow. “Yes?” His deep voice vibrated through my body like Lurch from the Addams family.
I cocked my hip and tossed my hair over my shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the ends of my hair slap Beth in the eye.
Oh, damn.
Ignoring her flinches and movements behind me, I tried to look up coyly at the man. “How are you?”
He finally moved his head to look down at me, his dark eyes raking over my face as though trying to figure out what I was up to. “Fine.”
“A man of few words, eh?” I asked. “I like that.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I managed to choke on air and stray spit and had to turn away, so I could hack up a lung without it being right in the bouncer's face. The next thing I knew, Lurch was pounding on my back so hard I was afraid that the hacking up a lung thing would actually ha
ppen. His large hand smacked against my back again as I finally got myself under control.
“Are you okay?”
Oh, geez. His voice never rose in tone. It stayed that deep, flat intonation that resonated.
Pulling myself upright, I wheezed through a raw throat. “I’m fine.”
Wow, he actually seemed concerned. Go Lurch. He’d liked my flirting. Excellent. “So, I’m looking for my brother, Henry. Do you know him? He’s good at cards.”
Lurch froze and pressed at his ear. I hadn't even noticed he was wearing an earpiece until that moment, and I wasn't sure I'd have been able to tell if it wasn't for the tiny cord that appeared from behind his ear and disappeared around his neck. He turned his head away from me so I couldn't hear what he said, but the vibrations of his voice were apparent, like hearing the bass line of a song but not the lyrics. He was talking to someone.
A few seconds later, the black leather door behind him opened and two men walked out, fangs peeking through their lips. There was something about the vamps that sent a chill down my spine even with the whiskey warming my belly. It was as if my instincts were screaming that these creatures could seriously hurt me.
In any other life, at any other time, I don’t think I could have faced them. But I was Henry’s protector. I always had been. Today wasn’t any different.
“This way,” one of them said.
And even though I was scared out of my mind, I straightened my spine. Scary vampires or not, I was going to get my brother back. God protect anyone who gets in my way.
Lurch winked at me as I passed him, the gesture oddly animated for a man who had barely even raised his eyebrow earlier. “Have fun,” he drolled.
Karma's Spell (Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow Book 1) Page 10