by Izzy Shows
“So, I’m going to this club tonight, with Carmen. The vampire. And apparently, it’s a club for supernatural creatures, first I’m hearing of this anyway. It’s called Serenity—have you heard of it?” I asked, eyeing him carefully.
“Yes, yes, I’ve heard of Serenity.” He nodded his head to punctuate the sentence.
“Well why haven’t you told me anything about it then?”
His huge eyes widened and he looked down at his book for a moment then back up at me. “You was never asking, Miss Blair. I did not know you would want to know about Serenity. There are so many things I be knowing, how is I to know which one is important?”
I stared at him, resisting the urge to gape. So many things? I had to wonder what it was that he really knew, what information was hiding in his head that I wouldn’t be able to access because I never knew the right questions to ask.
“OK, well…I’m asking now. What is up with Serenity? Who goes there, how popular is it?”
“Oh, quite populars but mostly with the nastier members of the community. They goes there because it’s promised as no judgment. No one can shame another for whatever they are happening to be, and no one can be eating each other. Is a good rule, I s’pose, excepting for the people who are needing to be eated.” He paused to frown as he thought about that. “Am I needing to be eated?”
“No, Fred, you don’t need to be eaten.” I laughed. “You’re a very good person, and I would eat anyone who threatened you, OK?”
He wiggled, smiling up at me. “That’s good! Nows, about Serenity. You must be especially carefuls if you’re going there, especially with a vampy. She won’t look after you the way she’s supposed to, I’s be knowing that already. Vampys don’t look out for no-one but themselves. It would be a nice world if they at least looked out for one another, but they’s solitary. So, they don’t, and she won’t treat you any different.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “I wasn’t expecting her to watch my back or anything, Fred. I know better than that.”
He nodded emphatically. “Yes, of course, you are so good at knowings. But is not just Carmen that you are needing to be careful of, Miss Blair,” he said, sobering. “There are things there that will not eat you, but maybe will try to do worse things.”
“What kind of worse things, Fred?” I asked, eyebrows narrowing.
“Things inside your mind. They could try to breaks you, unmake you from the inside out. There are succubae who attend, and they will try to seduce you and take you away from there so that they can have you all to themselves. The incubi will do the same. There could be Fae, but is not likely, and you could sells your soul to them in one conversation before you knows it. The vampys will charm you until you are so in love with them you do not ever want to be leaving. And.” He gulped. “I have heard rumors that there are wolves.” He looked around the room, eyes wide, as if he expected one to jump out of a dark corner right then.
“Wolves?” I asked. “There are no wolves in the world, Fred. They’ve been gone a long time.”
He nodded his head. “I knows. Is just a rumour I has heard. But Blair, if there’s a wolf, you must run. They won’t abide by the traditions, they will eat you.”
“Why would they eat me? I’m not going to cause any trouble. You seem to be under the impression that everyone is going to know what I am,” I said, laughing nervously. “I’m going to be in disguise. Carmen took care of it.”
He shook his head. “Everything else, the other creatures would do that no matters who you are or what you looks like. They do it to each other. It’s fun to them. But a wolf will know what you are by the smelling of you. They can tell when you lie, theys can tell what a being is.”
I swallowed. “How do you know that, Fred? Werewolves have been eradicated for centuries now. Everyone knows that.”
He stared at me. “Werewolves disappeared. I knows because I has been through alls of this, I’s has watched the rise and fallings of many species, Miss Blair. I’s is going to watch many more. It would be not good, not good at alls, to think that any foe is ever truly gone.”
Silence stretched out between us as I thought about what he had said. He had watched the rise and fall of species? Sometimes I forgot just how old Fred was—not that I had ever known the exact number—the way he talked and acted lent the idea that he was young. But he wasn’t, he was old beyond imagination, and he knew more than anyone could possibly learn in a lifetime. If he said that werewolves were something to be worried about, then I would worry about them. He had never led me astray before. I doubted that there would be a wolf at Serenity, but I’d keep my wits about me just to be sure.
Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if a wolf showed up. They were supposed to be the mortal enemy of vampires, right? That’s what all the fiction and lore told me, anyway. If I could stop someone from eating me for five seconds, maybe I could enlist there help.
And maybe I could wrestle an alligator.
“OK, so, those are all the things I need to worry about then. I’ll keep a running list in mind. So, what can I do to prevent most of that from happening?” I asked, because I had since learned that preparation is the best thing for a Wizard. Prepared meant the difference between surviving and dying.
“Aidan taught you, and we have worked on it together, but your mental shields will be most important tonight. You must keep them sharp and you must defend them with your life. Beyond that, it is only your senses that you can rely on to determine when it is necessary for you to leave a conversation, as any person might. Of course, your senses are sharper than any normal person. But the point stands.”
I blinked, staring at him because it was so out of character for him to be so matter of fact.
“Well, all right then. This is going to be so much fun,” I said, bitter.
29
We arrived in a limo, because apparently, that’s what you do when you go to a club. Someone should have given me the memo sooner. I had never ridden in a limo before, but I spent the entire time tugging at the tiny skirt I was wearing, trying to get it to cover more of my thighs and yet somehow also not expose my bum.
“Stop fidgeting,” Carmen said, casting a disparaging glance at me when she looked up from her cell phone. “You look great. Just rock it and no one will say anything.”
“People are going to say something?” I squeaked the words, aware of how nervous I looked—because that was how I felt. I could face down vampires, necromancers, warlocks, demons, throw the kitchen sink at me I don’t care. But don’t put me in an awkward social situation. I just cannot deal with them.
“They will if you keep tugging at your clothes.” She rolled her eyes and went back to her fun, leaving me to sit on my hands so that I would do as I was told.
I didn’t want to attract any more attention than was necessary, but I just felt like there was going to be so much attention anyway. I had let Carmen do my makeup, and with that in combination to the outfit I had on, I barely felt like myself. I had managed to talk her into letting me wear my rings and wind chain, though, as apparently, that was not too conspicuous. No cuff for me, though, she’d said that the worn brown leather was so obviously hunter material that no one would think twice before tossing me out on my ass. I didn’t think anyone would notice a cuff on my wrist, considering everything else I was wearing, but I wasn’t the expert here.
I was just thankful that she had allowed me some of my foci, they were the only things that kept me balanced right now, along with Aidan’s pentacle necklace. These things were mine, they were things I wore regularly, and aside from the necklace, they were things that kept me safe. Without them, I wouldn’t be alive right now. That made me feel a little bit better, a little bit more like myself.
The limo pulled to a stop in front of the building I assumed housed the club, and Carmen got out first. I slid along the seat and stepped out, cautious, my eyes darting around to take in everything around me. Thus far, nothing was out of place, just a regular London stre
et. It wasn’t particularly busy, but I suppose that made sense given the clientele.
It was when we walked into the club that the difference was obvious. Even the first room was loud, and that was the bar. The bartender was a dwarf, short and stocky with a bushy beard and a bald head. He was chattering with the patrons at the bar, handing out drinks and keeping up with them as if it was second nature. Maybe alcohol was popular for dwarves, that’s what all the stories said anyway. I saw what looked like a half-snake half-woman slithering across to the farm room where a dance floor held a multitude of various bodies. It was all so shocking to take in, and at the same time…
It relaxed me. I felt it, the sense of camaraderie in the room, the feeling of being at home. These were people that I didn’t have to hide myself from—well, OK, that wasn’t entirely true. I had to hide my true nature, or else I’d be booted out, but I didn’t have to hide what I knew. I didn’t have to hide the fact that I was magic. This was a place where I could simply exist and not worry about mentioning magic to a mundane. That was one of my constant fears, that I would be having what appeared to be a normal conversation, and somehow it would just slip out of my mouth. I suppose it’s like that with all secrets.
“We shouldn’t be together,” Carmen said as she started to put distance between us. “We don’t travel in the same circles.”
I almost reached out for her, to grab her by the wrist and demand that she stayed by me while I tried to navigate this room, but I stopped myself. Fred had told me she would do this, and I couldn’t say I was surprised. And to be fair, she had a point. It would look odd for her to be seen with me; not that anyone knew who I was, even if I was wearing my usual get up no one would recognise me, they would just know that I was the person who hunted them. I was their bogey man. But no one knew my name, no one knew what I looked like. On the reverse side of that, I was sure that everyone knew Carmen’s name. All I had to do to get confirmation of that was watch the way she melted into the crowd, greeted by so many different people.
While I stood awkwardly by the door. Was that some talent of mine or something?
After a heartbeat or two passed, I was acutely aware of the feeling of several pairs of eyes on me, of being judged. I swallowed and lifted my chin, walking farther into the club. Carmen had been right; I didn’t have to worry about balancing in the heels. I walked with all my usual grace, floating through as if I were wearing flats. I was thankful for that, because a twisted ankle was the last thing I needed for the next few days.
“Hey there.” A golden-haired man slid in front of me, winking. “You look fantastic. Can I buy you a drink?”
Really? That’s the opening you’re going for, buddy? You look fantastic? Ugh. Creep.
I gave him my most glamorous smile, finding it in me to laugh as if he’d said the most charming thing, even though my senses had gone on red alert. This was someone to stay aware of. I performed a cursory check of my mental shields, but found them all in check and saw no signs of someone getting close. I would of course know if someone had made an actual attempt, but it didn’t seem like any feelers were being put out just yet.
“No, I couldn’t possibly impose,” I said, taking a step back and to the side.
“Oh, it’s no imposition at all. I would love to spend a moment or two with you.”
My smile threatened to turn brittle, but I kept it in place. My mind raced for something I could say to let him down gently, so that he wouldn’t become a threat.
“I’m afraid it would be.” Another voice joined in before I could say anything. I turned and found a woman beside me now, with a lustrous red mane and vibrant green eyes. She had a hand on her hip and was glaring at him. “I don’t think she wants to spend any time with you, mate.”
I gaped at her, then turned back to him with a sheepish look in my eyes. I didn’t know who she was but it seemed that she was set on rescuing me from the man.
His eyes turned frosty. “Amber,” he said curtly, his lips pulling into a sneer. “Fine, then.” He turned and walked away without another word.
I felt the air rush out of me in a sigh of relief. “Thanks for that, I wasn’t sure how to get rid of him.”
“You wouldn’t be the first woman Jasper cornered as soon as she stepped across the threshold,” Amber said. “It was my pleasure to be your rescuer.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Ah, well, you have my thanks.”
“Not a problem, we must stick together, after all I must say, I didn’t think you’d need rescuing when you walked in,” she said, eyeing my outfit.
I lifted my chin instead of flushing, letting the attitude of the outfit fill me. I had decided to take confidence from it, instead of being embarrassed by it. “What is that supposed to mean?”
She grinned. “See, there, that’s what I’m talking about. You’ve got the attitude of a woman who could crush a man with her eyes. You should hold onto it.”
“Thanks.” I laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She took a step closer to me. “It has to make you wonder though, what else could you crush?” Her voice had dropped an octave and her lips curved into a deeper smile.
I abruptly stepped back. “Whoa, Nelly. Nah uh.” I said, lifting a hand between us. “We’re not doing that.”
“Hmph. Fine.” She scowled at me and stalked off.
I stared after her with widened eyes, shocked. I hadn’t been expecting that, it had come entirely out of left field. And what even had that been? The way she’d said it, it had sounded like a come on, but at the same time, the words hadn’t. All I knew was that I was not getting close to anyone in here, not yet anyway. I knew that I needed to mingle, to fit in with the crowd, but I couldn’t bring myself to flirt with anyone.
Which, was a little odd, I had to admit. Normally I didn’t have any reservations about flirting to get an angle on a case, I had done it countless times. Maybe it was the warning of danger Fred had given me that had me on a higher alert, had me more cautious than I would normally be. Maybe it was something else, something that had started to gnaw away at me recently, a feeling I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I didn’t know, but I also didn’t want to question my gut reactions. The moment you start to ignore those, that’s when you go down a bad path.
Could be the path that gets you killed, you never know.
I made my way through the room to a far corner where I could stand in peace, leaning against it with my arms crossed. I observed the crowd from this view point, my eyes searching for the face of the vampire who had attacked Jolanda. I knew I would recognise him the moment I laid eyes on him, no matter the fact that I had never seen him with my own eyes. I had watched him devour a woman from her own point of view, there was no chance of me forgetting what he looked like, what he sounded like, even what he smelled like. I had picked up so much from that memory and it was etched into my mind. Never to be forgotten.
So far there was no sign of the vampire in the club—but that would have been too easy, I reminded myself. He certainly wouldn’t be there on the hunt. No humans. There was little to no chance that I would just waltz into any area and happen upon him. I doubted I would even find the three vampires who had stopped me by the Thames the other night, they didn’t seem the sort to get out and socialise. They were too busy ranting about the world they were going to create from the ashes of this one once it had been destroyed. What kind of freak mentality was that, anyway?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Meditating on that wouldn’t help me at all.
Then I felt the probing at my mind, the slithering of another’s mental energy as they circled the fortifications around my mind.
“Hello, gorgeous.” A silken voice cut through any thoughts I might have still held on to.
I bristled, looking down my nose at the man who had appeared. His skin was dark as coal, his eyes a brown that almost matched, and he was wearing a simple black suit that still had an elegant edge to it. Were he a normal man he would not have been imposing at all,
in fact he would have looked like the type of person you wanted to approach you in a club—nice, collected, no hint of the regular creep vibe. But he wasn’t a normal person, and my senses told me that he was dangerous even without the knowledge that he was looking at my mind like a predator looked at prey. I was a mark to him, and he intended to control me.
“No,” I said, a simple world that had an edge of iron in it.
“No? You haven’t even let me say anything?”
“I don’t need to. Anyone who opens with ‘hello, gorgeous,’ needs to be rebuffed as soon as they think to open their mouths. Sorry I was a little late on that. You can go now.”
He looked me up and down, unperturbed by my words, simply focusing on taking in my appearance. “I’ll forgive you if you give me a dance, how about that?”
“How about I crack your skull instead?” I asked sweetly.
He reached out and gripped my wrist with one hand, holding it tightly so that I couldn’t get away. “No way you’d do that. You’re too hot.”
I stared at him for a second, amazed and repulsed by his forwardness. Then I inhaled, reaching for the fire within me, and set my skin by my wrist to a gentle burn. He yelped and leapt away from me, cradling his burned hand in one hand.
“You’re a freak!” His shocked look warmed my heart and I smiled when he turned to dart into the crowd.
“What can I say? I’m too hot,” I murmured, knowing that my voice carried just enough to reach him before he was out of range.
This sucked, I decided, and moved away from the wall. I spied an almost empty courtyard across the room and made a bee line for it. I couldn’t handle the club right now, so I was going to get some fresh air.
Screw socialising.
30
I grasped the railing that fenced in the courtyard, dragging in precious air. I hated this: hated being in a club packed with people that I apparently couldn’t relate to. I had felt so good when I’d walked in, but it turned out that the only thing I had in common with these people was the magic in my blood. I didn’t have the drive to manipulate that they did, and I didn’t like having to constantly deal with it either.