“How… why did you tell the bouncer I’d come a long way?” the girl asked, her eyes narrowed warily. Shit. That had slipped out, hadn’t it?
I leaned against the bar and shrugged, “Just a guess. You don’t look like the typical kind of New York punk that comes to these shows…” I reached out and tugged at her army jacket. She slapped my fingers away and I laughed. She was going to be a tough one.
I couldn’t explain it, but there was something different about this girl. She wasn’t as tall as I was, but she still towered over Lacey who set the bottles of soda down with a thunk. The girl reached out and grabbed a bottle as soon as Lacey snapped off the cap, chugging it down quickly as her pale eyes burned into mine. A line was beginning to form behind us and the club was starting to fill up, but I wasn’t quite ready to move.
The girl slammed down her empty bottle and smothered a belch on her arm. “Thanks,” she gasped and pushed past me towards the stage. I reached out and grabbed her arm briefly.
“Come find me after the show, I can take you backstage,” I shouted over the growing chants of the crowd. The girl looked at me carefully, and then nodded, pulling her arm out of my grip before pushing through the crowd.
“Fee… what the fuck was that? Who the fuck was that?” Lacey shouted at me, her eyebrows disappearing under her bright purple bangs. I shook my head and took my bottle of soda.
“I don’t know, Lace… but I’m going to find out.” Lacey opened her mouth to say something else, but the line behind me was getting impatient. I winked and raised the bottle at her and headed back to my booth. If it was important, she could tell me later. Her furious exhalation was the only reply I could hear over the rising noise in the club.
The club filled up steadily, and I felt a little bit of pride in Eli and the rest of the guys in the band. Eli had pushed back against Bishop’s pressure to put out another album for way longer than was necessary. He’d been holding a grudge for a long time, and this new album wasn’t just about giving in to Bishop’s constant begging, it was also about Eli finally accepting what he was and hopefully shedding some of the anger he’d carried with him for so many years. He hadn’t said anything to me, but I wondered how he felt about Grady’s contract.
The crowd in front of the stage pulsed and bounced, and I saw the Laudan at work keeping everything under control. They were bouncers with sunglasses covering their moonshined eyes; they were groupies with shaved heads and tattoos weaving through the unsuspecting fans, drug dealers standing in obvious yet somehow surreptitious positions… If the humans only knew what they were surrounded with. Well, it might be worse for me than it would be for the Laudan, but I didn’t want to think about that.
It must be so easy to go through life not knowing that these things existed: immortal beings who were allergic to sunlight, magic, curses, ancient gods and goddesses. Real Housewives was way easier to stomach… although not altogether different.
The crowd roared and I leaned back against the velvet upholstery and took a sip of my soda as Eli took the stage. He was a dynamic performer, and anyone who paid attention could see where he took his influences. Sure, those influences were dated and probably (definitely) dead by now, but it didn’t matter. The way he moved was unlike anything these freaks and fans had ever seen, and they screamed and shouted for him as he growled and shouted his lyrics into the mic.
Thankfully he’d left me out of this new album, so I wasn’t going to be hearing anything that would make my eyes roll. At least that’s what he’d promised me. But as he launched into the first song I cringed as the lyrics hit me.
Master of nothing I found your weakness
Twisting your neck and smashing your life
Blinded by me, you can't see the vein
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you laugh
Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you laugh
* * *
Judgment day and the a wild immortal arrives
Staked out for waiting for daylight
Moonlight burns
Eventually, they all commit crimes and Hecate comes for you
I choked on my mouthful of soda.
Oh fuck.
How did Bishop let all of that get through? He may as well have just stood on the stage and told a room full of strangers that he killed someone. All the Lauden in the room seemed to hold their breath at the same time as the crowd cheered and their feet thundered on the floor. I might have to have a talk with Eli about that ‘write what you know’ advice people kept giving writers. If all you ‘knew’ was teenage angst and the dreaded ‘friendzone’ be my guest. But Eli’s experiences were a little more… convoluted.
I found Bishop in the crowd, he looked paler than usual, and I could see the moonshine gleam in his eyes as he watched the stage. I wondered if vampires could sweat.
As the set continued, it didn’t take long for me to start to feel antsy, for anyone who knew what had happened at the warehouse on Halloween night; Eli was laying out exactly what had gone down, right down to a chorus that repeated:
The fire is coming for you, the flames in her black eyes,
Coming.
We were definitely going to be having words about all of this shit as soon as I was able to pull him away from Bishop. I had a feeling that his manager was going to give him more than a good old-fashioned scolding… he was spilling secrets, and that wasn’t a good thing. It didn’t matter if no one knew what the fuck he was singing about, it was only a matter of time before an interviewer asked the inevitable question of what the lyrics meant… and Eli was shit at lying.
Lacey was doing brisk business behind the bar, but she looked a little harried and her eyes were wide behind her pink tinted glasses, so I took it upon myself to help out a little. If nothing else it would distract me from what Eli was singing about.
Dead under the roses, I’d say sorry but they bloom so nice now.
Oh, my Goddess. That one might have been a little too close to the mark. I saw Lacey flinch, she knew as well as I did that he was singing about Rachel. I laid a hand on Lacey’s arm, but she shook me off and reached into the cooler for another beer. She slammed it down and snapped the cap off with her thumb, unaffected by the shocked stare of the human in front of her.
“It was already loose...” I said lamely, taking his money and pushing the bottle towards him.
“Lacey... are you okay?” I hissed, leaning down so she could hear me. She looked up at me over the rim of her pink-tinted glasses and the moonshine in her dark eyes glinted at me. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get used to that.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” She looked over at the stage where Eli loomed over the crowd like a vulture, his long hair obscuring his face. “Did Eli play any of his songs for you, show you any of the lyrics?”
I shook my head, “No, he’s been locked up in the studio with the guys while they finished up the album, this is the first time I’ve heard... this...”
“I wish he would have said something, I mean... Rachel.”
“I know. He’ll be getting in shit later, that’s for damn sure. From the look on Bishop’s face he’s going to get both barrels there too.”
“Even Bishop didn’t know about these songs?” Lacey was incredulous. Even in the short time she’d been a part of the Laudan Coven, she’d learned just how exacting Bishop could be. I smiled just a little.
“Looks like Eli got in a last bit of rebellion before the hammer dropped,” I said, following Lacey’s gaze towards the Laudan band manager. “Come on, let’s get through the rest of the night, we’ll talk about it later.”
Lacey nodded, but still looked concerned. “Fee,” she said, “that girl.”
“What about her?” I leaned against the bar casually, Lacey had gotten observant since her transformation, and she was learning more about the secret world around her all the time.
“She smells,” Lacey said matter-of-factly.
“I’m sorry, what? She smells?” I laughed loudly, “What kind
of observation is that supposed to be?”
“You mean,” Lacey looked at me strangely, “Are you telling me you don’t know you smell?”
Okay, this was getting personal.
Lacey blinked apologetically, “Don’t look at me like that, it’s not like a bad smell... you just... smell. And so does she.”
“Okay great, remind me to stop shopping at Lush. Are you just making an observation or does it mean something?”
“I... I’m not sure. But I’ll get back to you on that. But she also smells like rain... I don’t think she’s from New York.”
I rolled my eyes, “You’re so helpful, Lacey, thank you,” I said sarcastically as the crowd began to chant.
M - A - D!
M - A - D!
“Sounds like we’re almost done here, Lacey. Eli doesn’t do encores.” I reached into the fridge and pulled out four bottles of beer and set them down on the bar to wait for the last rush of disappointed fans.
Lacey followed my lead and together we slung beer until the crowd began to thin. It was late, and Eli and the band hadn’t come out into the club yet, but I knew they would soon.
The girl from out of town was loitering by a concrete column. I poked Lacey in the shoulder, “I’m going to take her to meet Eli, I’ll be right back,” I said, jumping over the bar without waiting for her to say anything.
* * *
The girl was sweaty, and elated, I could feel the excitement radiating off her, and that strange magnetic pull in my spine again. She was something different, that was for sure, but I couldn’t put my finger on just what it was.
She looked over as I approached, and I smiled.
“Hey, did you enjoy the show?” I asked, knowing full well that she had never experienced anything like it. It was radiating out of her pores.
The girl straightened, squaring her shoulders and pushing her hair out of her face, “It was pretty cool, I guess. I’ve seen better.”
Oh, you liar.
“Gotcha. So, if I said that I could get you backstage to meet the band you wouldn’t be interested—“
The girl’s mouth fell open, “Are you serious? Eli Maddern? Mutually Assured Destruction? I can meet them?” she was almost screaming, and I struggled to keep from bursting out laughing at the change in her demeanor.
“Yeah, I’ve got a hookup... come on, Seattle, let’s go,” I said.
“Maia...” the girl replied quietly. “My name is Maia.”
“Maia,” I said with a smile and gestured for her to follow me, “Come on.”
Getting Maia backstage was the easy part, getting Eli to sign a poster was easy, but getting Grady to shut up was a little harder, and Maia was all too eager to ask questions that could have kept him talking for hours. Thankfully, Bishop intervened with members of the press who’d been waiting to interview Eli and the band. I only hoped they weren’t going to ask any of those dreaded questions about the meaning behind their lyrics. I couldn’t think of anything more ridiculous or unbelievable, which was probably a good thing. The less plausible it all sounded, the less likely they would be to believe that it was real.
Lacey was cleaning up the bar as we walked through the club, she wouldn’t be home for hours. I had to work in the morning, but I wanted to know more about Maia. Lacey’s comment about her smell was floating around in my brain... the fact that we smelled alike couldn’t be blamed on bath products. It had to be something else. It would also explain that weird magnetic pull that was starting to make my spine ache.
We walked up the stairs together, Maia clutching her signed poster tightly. I knew that she would treasure that piece of memorabilia and I wouldn’t have to keep an eye on eBay waiting for it to resurface.
At the top of the stairs, Church was waiting at the rope to let us out. He glowered down at us, and I gave him my sweetest smile. “Thank you, Churchill, I’ll be seeing you soon!”
He grimaced in my direction, and I heard Maia draw in a sharp breath as she saw his teeth flash in the red neon light. I grabbed Maia’s arm and pulled her away, “Come on,” I hissed in her ear. We ran down the rain-slick sidewalk together, laughing, and as we rounded the corner. The subway station was just ahead, and Maia turned to take the platform opposite mine.
“Maia! Come visit me tomorrow. I work at Haven near Prospect Park. It’s easy to find.”
Maia didn’t pause, she just ran down the stairs toward the platform.
Shit.
I really needed to work on my social skills. I ran down the opposite set of stairs that would take me back to Prospect Park. Maia stood on the platform across from me, clutching the poster tightly in her hands. The train rumbled as it approached and I stared at her, reaching out with my magic, I needed to know.
Maia flinched, grabbing for her arm. The witchmark on the back of my leg tingled, and then itched.
No fucking way.
“Meet me tomorrow! I’ll explain everything,” I shouted. The train rushed into the station and I lost sight of Maia. I thought I saw her briefly in the window, her hand pressed against the glass, and then the train was gone and I was alone on the platform.
No fucking way.
Chapter 6 ~ Maia
Seeing Mutually Assured Destruction on stage was everything I’d ever wanted from a concert. They hadn’t played a new album or recorded more than a handful of new songs in almost forty years, but they still sounded amazing. Better than amazing. Their sound had changed somewhat, and now included shades of metal. It was full of angry dark cords, with screaming twisted lyrics delivered at 90 miles a second straight into your brain and I loved every second of it.
I never thought I would ever be able to see Eli Maddern up close, performing live. I had been obsessed with online conspiracy theories about his supposed death. A Polish website I'd found made a really great case for a theory that the record company had covered up the frontman's death back in the '80s and found a lookalike to put in his place. But I knew it was all bullshit. He was there, he was real, and he was perfect. He sounded perfect… better than perfect. Better than the studio albums, singles and bootleg releases I listened to all the time.
As far as I could tell, nothing about the band had changed except for their drummer… I understood that these kinds of things happened all the time, hell, most bands that toured nowadays were cobbled together from session musicians supporting an aging lead singer… but that wasn’t what was going on here. It might have been the lighting, or the atmosphere of the club, but none of them looked as though they had aged a day since their first promo photos.
At one point, Eli Maddern leaned out over the crowd, a bird of prey and I reached up toward him… he touched my hand. He fucking touched my hand. His eyes held mine for the briefest of moments, but it seemed like a lifetime. His fingers were cold, and they burned against my palm.
* * *
It had all passed in a flash, and before I knew it, Mutually Assured Destruction was winding down their set with an acoustic version of the single they’d pre-released the week before the gig.
Staked out for waiting for daylight
Moonlight burns
Eventually, they all commit crimes and
Hecate comes for you
Eli Maddern’s voice was haunting, low and growling, and the crowd swayed, caught in his spell.
And then it was over.
The stage was empty, and the lights flashed while M.A.D.’s first album thundered over the sound system and the roadies packed away their gear. I leaned against a concrete post; trying to make sense of everything I’d seen and felt that night.
The only problem was, no matter how amazing the concert had been, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. I found myself checking over my shoulder, but no one was looking at me… at least I didn’t think they were. There were a few guys floating through the crowd who were probably security, two punks in sunglasses who were probably the club’s dealers… I knew the type, and I knew enough to steer clear. But something wasn’t right
.
The woman with the red hair who’d bought me the soda had asked me to wait for her after the concert… if this had been Seattle I probably would have told her to go fuck herself. But that was Seattle, and I knew everyone there was to know in the underground scene. But this was New York, and I had to go with my gut… and right now my gut was really undecided. Part of me wanted to run out of there with the poster I’d stolen out of the bathroom and get back to my hotel as fast as possible.
I tightened my hand around the rolled up poster and gritted my teeth. Fine. I’ll wait.
I felt her coming before I saw her, it was weird. It was like the tingle I’d felt when I’d pressed my fingers against the glass of the plasma ball at the Pacific Science Center.
“Hey,” she said, and her voce was dark and inviting. I smiled, a little warily, but that trepidation faded as she asked me about the concert, and asked if I wanted to go backstage to meet the band.
“Fuck yes,” I’d blurted before I could stop myself. Her smile was encouraging, and I let her take my hand and lead me backstage to meet the band.
* * *
Eli and the rest of the band were lounging in a large room that seemed entirely out of place in a club like Spiral. It was filled with antique couches with rich upholstery and pieces of wooden furniture made of heavy dark wood. Beer bottles, empty bottles of wine, crushed beer cans, and crystal decanters filled with thick red liquid sat on every surface and I smothered some nervous laughter. It all seemed so contrived. The room looked like the kind of place a set decorator who had never met a musician assumed a backstage would look like.
I looked at the dark liquid in the decanters. Or maybe Ann Rice.
Members of the band were draped over the couches or leaning against the dark wood, talking to groupies. I recognized them all. Shade the bassist, was in deep conversation with a girl who couldn’t have been older than me. She had green hair, surgically pointed ears and too much eyeliner, typical. I didn’t look like these girls, these textbook groupies.
Moonlight Burns: (Urban Fantasy) (Daughters of Hecate Book 2) Page 5