by C. J. Pinard
The club looked similar to any other strip club; round tables with two chairs apiece strategically circled the floor in front of large stage, which boasted three gleaming brass poles. A long bar at the back of the club was lined in lime-green lights and two bartenders busily made drinks for the waiting waitresses – who weren’t wearing much more than the girls onstage. A fast-paced Pitbull song was blaring through the surround sound.
On the stage there were two girls dancing under spotlights. One, a blonde, wore a white negligee with garter belts holding up her white stockings and shiny white stiletto heels. She featured a large pair of angel wings on her back.
The other girl had shiny jet-black hair, and wore the same costume as the first, except hers was solid red and did not have wings, but rather, a pointed tail attached to her backside. She sported a headband made of horns. They stalked each other around the stage in a perfectly choreographed dance, and eventually began their own pole dances.
The two Immortals and one BSI agent stood at the bar and looked around.
“Can I get you guys anything?” the bartender asked.
They turned around and Tyler raised his eyebrows at the young man. He had longish brown hair down to his collar and a barbell through his eyebrow. His light eyes were friendly and he had very muscular, tattooed forearms.
“Whatever’s on tap, man,” Jason answered, plunking down a five-dollar bill.
“We’ll have the same,” Jonathan replied, pointing to Tyler and then himself.
They paid for their drinks but did not move from the bar.
“The blonde is hot. She kinda looks like that Angel chick,” Jason said, jerking his chin towards the stage.
Jonathan chuckled. “That chick? She’s a vampire, man. The only sucking she’ll be doing to you is on your neck, and I don’t mean that in a good way.”
“I don’t care. She’s way hot,” Jason said.
Tyler shook his head and looked back at the bartender, who smiled at him, then back up front, obviously completely disinterested in what was going on onstage.
“So, how do I tell which ones are shifters?” Tyler asked.
Jonathan swallowed his beer and said, “It’s hard to tell, unless, obviously, you see them shift. Some, however, are a lot more obvious than others. Check it out.”
They looked to where Jonathan was pointing and saw Seth and Malachi get up from a table and disappear behind a curtain to the right of the stage.
“I can’t believe they let those creeps out so fast,” Tyler said, shaking his head.
“You’ll learn the council’s judicial system is a law unto itself. They do what they want, when they want,” Jonathan replied.
“Think we should follow them?” Jason asked.
Jonathan jerked his head and the other two followed him over to the side stage area, weaving their way through tables as they went. They paused by the curtain.
“Shall I?” Tyler asked with a mischievous grin.
“Knock yourself out, kid,” Jonathan said.
Tyler poked his head through the curtain and saw an empty hallway with a concrete staircase leading down.
He popped his head back out. “Nothing. Looks like it leads to a basement.”
Jason laughed. “Well, let’s go. You have your lighter?” he asked Tyler.
At Jonathan’s suggestion, Tyler always kept a lighter in his pocket. He claimed it was a much better weapon than any knife or pepper spray, as it could be used as a mini flamethrower with Tyler’s talents.
Tyler nodded and pulled it partially out of his pants pocket.
“After you,” Jonathan said, stealing a quick glance back then disappearing behind the curtain after the other two.
∞∞∞
Kathryn was lying on Jonathan’s bed, reading a book. It was a steamy contemporary romance, and as she reached the last chapter, she could hear someone at the room’s door. And it’s not that they were noisy; she could hear their thoughts. Disturbed, stressed out thoughts.
Thomas.
“You can come in, Tom. I know you’re out there.”
He opened the door, a bit chagrinned, and said, “Hi.”
“What’s up? Is Malina okay?” She sat up and placed a bookmark in the novel and laid it on the nightstand.
He took a seat next to her on the bed. “Yes, she’s sleeping, but I’m worried.”
She turned her head to the side. “About what?”
“I guess I never asked you, but have you ever been pregnant?”
Her smile faded. “Yes, once.”
Thomas looked surprised. “Where’s the child?”
She shook her head. “Never made it; miscarriage.”
He grabbed her hand. “I’m so sorry, Kat. You would make a great mother. Why don’t you have one?”
She laughed. “Jonathan neutered himself, remember?”
“Hey. I was doing some reading in one of Malina’s books, and they have all kinds of new technology they can do. Did you know you can literally purchase sperm off the Internet?”
She laughed again. “Ew.”
“You can say that again,” he jested.
“Anyway, why do you ask?”
He sighed deeply. “I don’t know. I know pregnant women are all emotional and stuff, but she just isn’t herself. She seems overly worried. I have assured her a thousand times that we are going to be great parents. I will get up in the night for feedings, change diapers, whatever. But that doesn’t seem to appease her at all. I just want to help her. I love her so much. It hurts to see her like this.”
“It’s more than the baby she’s worried about. Think about it. She has that baby and it’s no more immortality for her. You and the baby – if it’s a girl – will go on and she will just grow old and die of old age –”
“No,” Thomas cut her off. “She won’t. After she has that baby, I will only take one more dose of Enchantment – which I think we’re due this year – then I’m done. But please don’t tell Jonathan. I want to tell him myself.”
She hung her head. “I’m sorry to hear that. I will miss you around here.”
He chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re still gonna live in the building. We’ll need you to babysit,” he smiled.
“I can’t wait. I haven’t been around a baby in such a long time.”
There was a silence between them that only old friends could sit and feel comfortable in. She was still holding his hand. He was staring at the wall.
“So do you think that’s all it is, nerves about what happens after the baby? Because when she first found out she was pregnant, she seemed all happy and relaxed about it. Now she’s a bundle of nerves. And grumpy. My God is she a grouch!”
“Have you looked at her feet, Tom? It’s not comfortable to be that tiny and carry such a large load – and she’s swollen everywhere.”
He grinned. “I suppose.” He let out another sigh. “Well I’m gonna go back into the room and stay with her. Thanks for the talk, I feel better.”
He kissed her on the top of her head and left.
Chapter 10
∞∞∞
The Island of Nymph, Gulf of Mexico – 1920
“Oh, David!” Kathryn exclaimed. She immediately removed her shoes and adjusted her sun hat as she looked around the beautiful island.
David was grinning proudly. “I told you, doll. Isn’t it a beaut?”
“Oh yes,” she breathed.
David adjusted his sunglasses and pulled her closer, whispering in her ear. “But not as beautiful as you.”
She blushed and continued to walk toward one of the larger open huts. “I can’t believe we just travelled through mid-air!”
Zoe, the sylph who had brought them to the island, was wearing a thin yellow dress that blew in the island breeze. Her shiny black hair reflected the noon sun and Kathryn thought she was the most elegant and graceful woman she’d ever seen.
David had never been more excited in his life. Not even when he was at his own ceremony, becoming
an Immortal.
“So this is the way it’s going to go,” Zoe said as they followed her. She spoke animatedly with her hands. “Once all the queens arrive, you will stand onstage and just do as we say.”
Kathryn nodded and bit her lip. “Okay. I will admit I’m a tad nervous. Will it hurt?”
Zoe glanced at David seriously then back to Kathryn. “I hear it stings a bit, but the pain is short-lived.”
“Okay,” Kathryn replied nervously.
David squeezed her hand. “It will be all right. I will be here with you. Then we can be together forever.”
Kathryn blew out a breath. “I don’t know how you roped me into this, David, but you’re lucky that I think you’re worth it.” With a grin, she leaned up on bare feet and kissed him on the mouth. Her breasts under the white halter dress brushed up against his thin cotton shirt and he smiled against her mouth.
They entered a large outdoor sitting area with a stage at the front. The sandpit was surrounded by tiki torches and there were chairs set up in the sand. Kathryn noticed other women – she assumed they were sylphs – filtering in through the side. Their beauty took her breath away. She counted nine of them, all wearing brightly colored dresses similar to Zoe’s. The women all looked different and were of differing races, heights, and builds. What they did have in common, she noticed, was that they all appeared to be very young, no older than twenty.
“Please stand on the stage.” Zoe motioned with a wave of her hand as Kathryn climbed to the small, wooden stage.
Zoe followed Kathryn and went to stand next to her, grabbing her hand. Then she addressed the small crowd, made up mostly of the sylph queens and three members of the Los Angeles Immortal coven.
“This is Kathryn Ann Jones, formerly Kathryn Ann Berlinski. She has recently been married to David Michael Jones, an Immortal from the Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. coven.
“David approached the council approximately one year ago, through Andrew Davies, the coven leader of the Los Angeles group, wishing for his new bride to be granted immortality. I reminded young David that this gift comes with a steep price, and he agreed that Kathryn should speak with us.
“After conferring with both she and Andrew, the council met, and after serious consideration, agreed that Kathryn could be a useful tool in policing the Fae on the streets of Los Angeles and the greater Southern California area. She not only possesses street smarts, she has already survived a near-vampire attack.
“Today we gather for her transition from human to Immortal.”
Zoe had a small yellow satchel around her wrist that Kathryn hadn’t noticed before. She pulled out a small vial of pinkish liquid and a sewing needle. Pricking own finger, Zoe released three precise drops of blood into the vial. It began to swirl and turn aqua, as Zoe closed her eyes and muttered something incoherent to Kathryn.
Kathryn did not care what Zoe was saying; she couldn’t take her eyes off the magical vial. It seemed to take on a life of its own, and then it just stopped. Zoe opened her dark eyes, held up the vial, and recited, “Ad vitam longan! To a long life!”
Kathryn was startled when the other nine sylphs joined in the chant.
Zoe handed the vial to Kathryn and instructed her to drink. She took it tentatively, looked around, and said, “Cheers!” Tipping back her head, she swallowed it in one gulp.
Zoe quickly grabbed the vial from Kathryn’s hand before she inevitably dropped it.
This wasn’t Zoe’s first rodeo.
Kathryn clutched her chest and went down to her knees. David rushed the stage and rocked her while Kathryn cried, big fat tears rolling down her face. She was whimpering and gripping the hem of her dress in her fists, but she really wanted to scream. The liquid was burning a blaze of fire through her insides. It felt as if every nerve ending was aflame and she kept her head tucked into her chest and her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out. David continued to rock her while murmuring soothing words in her ear.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was actually more like a couple of minutes, the pain began to subside. She let out a shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding and David helped her stand.
Everyone in the hut was also holding their breath until Kathryn stood up straight and smiled weakly. They all broke out in applause and took turns introducing themselves to her and offering congratulatory hugs.
When it came to Zoe’s turn, she hugged Kathryn, and with a tight smile, handed her a heavy, leather-bound book.
Kathryn looked at it in her hands and ran her fingertips over the cover, which read: Fae Treaty. “What’s this?” she asked.
“As the cover reads, it’s the Treaty between the Fae and the Zie Council. Well, in all honesty, the first couple of pages are the Treaty and the rules. The rest of it is basically contact information of the other covens and stories about how other Immortals have been used to protect the humans and sylphs from the creatures.”
Kathryn nodded and looked back down at the book.
Zoe directed her question at David, who had his arm around Kathryn. “Has she met or seen a shifter yet?”
He shook his head. “No, ma’am.”
Zoe laughed. “Oh well, I think she should so it’s not such a shock when she sees one shift for the first time. Do you know any?”
David smirked. “Yes, I know where one works. I’ll see what I can do.”
She inclined her head at David. “Thank you.” She looked at Kathryn. “Congratulations, Kathryn Jones. Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you, Zoe. I really appreciate all you’ve done for me. I won’t let you down, I promise,” Kathryn finished.
“Would you like to stay and enjoy the sun or would you like to go?” David asked her.
Kathryn let out a shuddering breath. “This island is the most gorgeous place I’ve ever seen, but I’m suddenly not feeling so well. We should probably go.”
“Very well,” David replied. “Zoe, if you would be so kind. My wife isn’t feeling so well.”
“Of course,” Zoe replied, throwing her hand in the air.
As they stepped through the magical doorway, Kathryn looked at David and said, “I have to do that every five years, huh?”
He smiled. “Yes, my love.”
She shook her head. “Oh, Lord have mercy.”
∞∞∞
Portland, Oregon – Present Day
The trek down the short hallway was done in silence. Jonathan led the way, signaling them to be quiet. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a set of double doors fixed into the wall at the end of the concrete hallway. Loud, boisterous voices were floating out from under the door cracks.
“This club just opened, you idiot. We have to lay low for a while,” said a deep-throated male voice.
“But, boss, we can make double what we’re bringing in if you let the girls work a little magic on the customers,” said another male voice, his voice a bit higher.
Jonathan peered through the crack and saw four men standing around in a large, empty room. Two of them were Seth and Malachi. They were not the ones speaking, but they seemed to be listening intently, almost waiting for orders.
Jonathan didn’t think they looked too ragged, like Malina said they did. Maybe they had grown healthier since getting off the island. Regardless, they were going to be keeping a close eye on the shapeshifters. Jonathan looked back at Jason and Tyler and held up four fingers, signifying the amount of bodies in the room. They both nodded.
“It’s not just the girls we could get busted for. It’s the coke, Shawn. You can’t be running dope through here right now. Cops, both the humans and the nonhumans, are already watching us. I’ll say it again, we need to lay low,” said Deep Throat. Jonathan could see he was an overweight man in his late twenties who was most likely the one in charge.
The other guy, Shawn, replied, “Okay, boss. But we can do this without getting busted. I got some real slick girls who know what they’re doin’. Been doin’ it a long time. They can turn tricks and deal
dope and the customer don’t even know he’s lost a couple of grand in one night.” He laughed at his own perversion.
“Do not underestimate the Immortal cops,” Seth chimed in. “You don’t want to get busted by them.”
Malachi was nodding vehemently.
Shawn waved him off then turned back to the boss. “I’ll make you some good cash, boss. I won’t let you down.”
The heavy man shook his head then looked at Seth. “Those Immortal cops can’t bust us for dealing dope and prostitution, can they? They only protect the faeries and the humans, right?”
Seth also shook his head. “We can’t break human laws, it’s in the Treaty.”
“Shit,” he mumbled.
Seth let out a dramatic sigh. “I wish Sheena was here. She’d know what to do.”
Shawn shook his head. “We don’t need help. I got this, trust me.”
Deep Throat stared intently at Shawn for a few long seconds. “You keep it on the down-low. I’m not kidding here, Shawn. You screw this up and I’m washing my hands of you, got it?”
Shawn smiled wickedly and said, “Of course, boss.”
When they saw the group begin to disperse, Tyler, Jason, and Jonathan scurried back down the hall, up the stairs, and through the curtain. They quickly found their way to a dark table in the back and sat. Less than a minute later, Seth, Malachi, and Shawn strolled past, not even noticing them.
“What was that all about?” Jason asked.
Jonathan had a finger to his mouth. “It’s pretty clear they’re up to their old tricks.”
Jason tapped the side of his thumb on the table. “I could tip off Portland P.D. about the drugs and hookers.”
Jonathan shook his head. “Probably not safe to put human cops in harm’s way. Those shifters can be nasty customers if backed into a corner.”
Tyler’s eyes got big. “They shift in front of humans?”
Jonathan fixed him with a steely gray stare. “Yes, Tyler, they do.” He let out a sigh. “You need to do Island Duty, man. I’m gonna talk to Malina.”
“My hospital residency isn’t over yet,” Tyler simply replied.
Jonathan looked at him and said nothing.