Martinis with the Devil

by A. A. Chamberlynn

  Pimples stammered and continued on. I had to admire his dedication. “W-we’d love for you to visit our church. N-newcomers welcome.”

  Since the forces of Heaven and Hell had revealed themselves to humanity, there had been an explosion in church attendance, so it surprised me they even bothered to go door-to-door anymore. “You said you’re with the Pure Club? That’s for those committed to staying human, hmm?” I looked back into the room at Quinn and smirked. “I’m afraid it’s a bit too late for us.” I batted my eyelashes. “But would you boys like to come in? I was just getting ready to eat, and I always love company for breakfast.” I giggled at my own lame pun.

  The boys darted glances at each other, and Carrot Curls reached up to loosen his starched white collar. “P-perhaps we’ll just leave this bible with y-you, miss.” He stretched a shaky hand out.

  “Oh, no thanks. It won’t really help with my problem, you know, eternal damnation and all. But thanks so much for stopping by.” I winked and closed the door.

  “Why? Why do you never tire of it?” Quinn chastised, but a smile tickled the edge of her mouth.

  “Oh, dearest Quinn, my devotion to torment them should be at least as strong as their devotion to bother people in their homes. Don’t you think?” I sunk back in my barstool, watching Quinn over the breakfast bar, and plunked a bite of cereal into my mouth.

  “They’re just impassioned young people, doing what they think is right.” She poured a bright yellow liquid into a vial of purple bubbles. “They have to be very committed to even attempt their kind of work in Belltown.”

  I snorted. Belltown, aka Helltown, Seattle’s most “suped” up neighborhood. “And that’s why I love you. You can forgive the burning of millions of witches throughout history at the hands of religion. Such a kind soul.” I leaned back and propped my feet up on the countertop.

  “What are you two bickering about?” Riley shuffled through the room. He yawned and stretched, his cocoa skin rippling over his muscles.

  “Bickering?” I asked with mock innocence. “What makes you think that?”

  “Z’s just harassing the door-to-door Pure Clubbers again,” Quinn answered.

  “You’d think they’d mark our place as a no-fly zone, you know?” He headed into the kitchen. “An Irish soul stealer, a witch, and a gay werewolf. We’re pretty much lost causes.”

  “Don’t forget a vamp doggie,” I said, finishing off my cereal. I let out a low whistle and Malakai lumbered into the room, wagging her tail. “There’s mommy’s princess. You would have loved a nice teenaged snack, wouldn’t you?”

  Quinn rolled her eyes.

  “How about a nice juicy steak, instead, huh Malakai?” I put my cereal bowl in the sink and got out a raw prime rib for Malakai, which I dropped into her bowl. I scratched her behind the ears before rejoining Quinn and Riley on the sofa.

  “That’s what you’re really going to Hell for, getting your old BFF to turn that dog immortal,” Quinn teased. “That would get the church all fired up for sure.”

  “And PETA,” Riley chipped in.

  “Screw you guys,” I said with a laugh. “You try going through eternity with everybody around you dying every two seconds. At least we didn’t make a vamp kid or something.”

  “Sure, whatever,” Quinn said.

  “I’m with Zy on the whole Pure Club thing, though—I hate those creeps,” Riley said. “I get that lots of people freaked after Evo, but that doesn’t give them the right to hunt supes down like animals.” His eyes went a little wolf on that last sentence.

  “They don’t all do that,” Quinn said. “Most of them just want to celebrate their humanity. Humans being the “endangered species” and all now.” She rolled her eyes a little.

  “I saw that!” I pointed a finger at her. “See, even you think it’s a bit ridiculous.”

  Quinn blushed. “Well, what’s the estimate—like a couple million humans turned since Evo? But there are still almost eight billion of them. Some people are alarmists is all.”

  “Speaking of this whole human/non-human thing, you said you were going to tell us more about this job offer from the HR,” Riley said with a pointed look.

  “What’s there to talk about? I’m not interested in working for him, especially since people are all riled up about these new DNA sensors all the businesses have to have. Even though it’s the government that mandates those, the HRs support them, and I’m not exactly going to be popular with my patrons if I start working for one of them.”

  “If I got to work with that delicious angel, I wouldn’t care,” Quinn sighed.

  “Agreed,” Riley said. “He brings new meaning to heavenly.”

  “Whatever, guys. It’s just not happening.” I listened through a couple more rounds of arguments, mostly revolving around abs, pecs and gluts, before they finally gave up. Plus, I diverted their attention to our night-off activities. One of my other managers was running Noir for the evening. “So what are we doing later tonight?”

  There aren’t many places to go when you’re a supernatural bartender, and therefore pretty picky about your hangout. “One-Eyed Willie’s?” Riley suggested.

  “Yeah, that’s cool,” Quinn agreed. “Willie hired a new waiter that’s pretty tasty. I wouldn’t mind getting to know him a bit better.”

  Riley snorted. “How exactly do you define ‘get to know better’?”

  “Bite me,” Quinn said, narrowing her eyes. She held up a bottle of hot pink goo. “You guys better help me finish bottling this stuff while it’s fresh.”

  “Sure,” I said, grabbing a bottle. “But you’re buying the first round.”

  The thrum of the Porsche’s engine hummed under my skin, from belly button to collarbone. Seattle flew past in ribbons of black sky and rainbow lights. I could smell the tang of bay air on the wind rushing past us. Despite the magnetically controlled roadways which measured the distance between cars and your speed, I chose to navigate myself rather than let the auto-pilot function take over. It just took all the pleasure out of driving if you didn’t do it yourself. Another one of the gov’s great ideas to preserve fragile human lives. At least they’d outlawed gas-powered cars. That had actually been a smart move.

  I pulled into the parking lot by One-Eyed Willie’s at Pier 55 and got out, running a hand over my hair to smooth it back down. Quinn was doing the same with her long platinum strands, except she added a punch of magic to curl the ends.

  Riley pulled up behind us on his silver Ducati, sans helmet. He was a total adrenaline junkie. “Is mine okay?” he asked, delicately poking at his dark brown hair.

  “You’ve got enough hair gel in those spikes to intoxicate a small pixie,” I said, one hand on a denim-clad hip.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, sauntering toward the door.

  A comforting barrage of scents hit me as I stepped into the dim lighting of the bar. Vodka, blood, leather, limes and a pinch of lust. I was right at home.

  “Zyan!” yelled a deep voice over the murmur of the crowd. A lanky surfer dude with shoulder length brown hair made his way across the room. He looked just like any other muscular, dreamy surfer guy—except for the single eye in the middle of his forehead. “Long time no see.”

  “Hey, Will,” I said, wrapping him in a hug.

  He waggled his eyebrow at me. “Maybe tonight I can finally convince you to go on a date with me.”

  “No, I like you far too much to date you,” I laughed. “My romances always end badly.”

  He grinned. “Whatever. I’ll wear you down slowly. For now, how about drinks on the house?”

  “Sure.” I smiled and followed him to the bar.

  “A drink for my girl, Zy,” he called to one of the bartenders. “Wanna try our new Mermaid Tear martini? It’s as dirty as they come.”

  I grinned and nodded and Will hollered instructions to the bartender. Turning to survey the scene, I could see Riley had claimed one of the leather sofas in the middle of the room. Quinn had wasted no
time in tracking down the cute new waiter and was leading him back to their table. “I think Quinn may abduct your new staff member,” I said to Will.

  “Oh, Lucas? Yeah, he’s part Fae. All the ladies are barking up his tree.”

  “Did you know people can get faerie blood injections now, to make them more beautiful?” Will’s eye widened. “Yep, it’s the latest cosmetic craze.” Those were at least legal, unlike vamp and were-blood injections that had replaced steroids for performance obsessed athletes.

  “Maybe I need to get some of that,” he said with a chuckle.

  I punched his arm. “Don’t be silly, you’re already gorgeous.” But I knew it had been harder for some supernaturals, like the Cyclops, to come out of the closet. The vamps had been the first, and everything changed after that, in ten short years. The worldwide shift, called Evolution, or Evo on the street, when even the forces of Heaven and Hell had finally revealed themselves to humanity.

  “It looks like you may need to chaperone the two of them,” Will said, pointing to Quinn, who had pulled up her black dress to reveal the tattoo on her thigh.

  “Yeah, that might be a good idea. I’ll catch you later.” I grabbed my drink, made my way through the crowd and dropped down on the sofa next to Riley. Some of his friends were sprawled out on the couch opposite us.

  “What’s up, Zy?” asked Dan, a werepanther. The other two on the sofa nodded in greeting.

  “Nothing much.” I leaned back and took a sip of my drink.

  “You met the new vamp in town?” Dan asked.

  “There are new vamps in town every day,” I laughed. “I lose track.”

  “Oh, you’d know if you met this one,” piped in one of the other weres, Alicia. I’d been told she actually turned into a dolphin. Pretty useful for coastal living, I guess.

  I raised a questioning brow. “How so?”

  “Well, he’s an old vamp, first off. Really old. And he’s been asked to join The Assembly already. Connected with all the right supes.”

  “Then that’s why I haven’t met him yet.” The Assembly was comprised of a bunch of powerful, rich supes who thought they could make rules for the rest of us. “I hate bureaucracy.”

  “It’s weird though, because he’s been showing up at a lot of the usual hangouts too,” said Dan. “You know, where us normal supes chill. I’ve never seen another Assembly member step one toe inside any of our places.”

  “Well, he hasn’t come by Noir,” I said, “So he’s obviously lacking in good taste.”

  “For sure,” Riley agreed, clinking his glass against mine.

  I felt a draft of cool air and glanced over at the door, which had opened. A tall figure stood there, all windswept black hair and electric blue eyes. Eyes which were locked on mine.

  Of course they were locked on mine. He’d have felt me from miles away.

  “Well, speak of the devil, there he is.” I heard Dan’s voice on the periphery of my consciousness, as if from miles underwater.

  Suddenly it all made sense. The new vamp in town. The attacks on the HR, by someone skilled enough to break through the angelic forces.

  He wasn’t the devil. He was much worse. Someone I hadn’t seen in nearly two hundred and fifty years.

  My ex. More specifically, my first ex, the vamp responsible for the loss of my soul.

  CHAPTER THREE

  If you ever love someone, really, truly love them, then a part of you always loves them, even if they screw you over majorly. As in, promise to love you forever and then abandon you at the first possible opportunity, because as it ends up they’re a vampire and everything you shared was just a game. So, when I saw him standing there, this tiny part of me still loved him, even as a wave of black rage devoured every ounce of humanity still left in my body.

  “Zy.” Quinn’s voice, a frightened tremor riding it. “Zy, what’s the matter?”

  He was standing next to me in a heartbeat, like only a two-thousand-year-old vamp can do. I hadn’t even seen him move. “Kaitlyn.” His voice swirled down my ear, low and intimate, for only me to hear.

  “I haven’t gone by that name in a long time, Alexander,” I said.

  Quinn’s eyes darted back and forth between me and Alexander, and Riley stood up next to me, muscular arms crossed over his chest, frenetic shifter energy rolling off his skin.

  Alexander glanced at each of them dismissively. “I’m glad you’ve made friends. You seem to be doing quite well.”

  “No thanks to you,” I growled, my own power flaring up.

  “I can’t imagine what you mean,” Alexander purred. “We had a gorgeous time together.”

  “Cut the bullshit. You played me, when I was practically a child.” My hands clenched into fists so tight I felt trickles of blood running down my palms where my fingernails bit through my skin. Beside me, Riley let out a deep growl, his eyes going wolf.

  “Call off your dog,” Alexander said with amusement.

  “Go fuck yourself,” I spat.

  “Is there a problem here?” I could feel Will standing behind me. As distracted as I was, I hadn’t heard him coming.

  “Yes,” Quinn answered.

  Will fixed Alexander in his gaze. “If you’re not a friend of Zy’s, you’re not a friend of mine. Get lost.”

  “You’re the owner of this place? A Cyclops? I guess society really has gone to Hell,” Alexander sneered.

  My blade sang as it slid out from behind my back and sliced through the air toward him, but he was gone. Only his laugh lingered on the air, caressing my skin just as he’d intended. “Son of a bitch.”

  “That’s your ex?” Quinn asked in a shaky voice.

  Will and Riley’s faces bore matching looks of shock.

  “I’ve gotta get out of here,” I snapped, stalking toward the door. “Thanks, Will,” I called over my shoulder.

  I strode down the pier, the cool night surrounding me. When I got to the end, I took off my red strappy heels and hurled them out into Elliott Bay. I punched my hand into one of the rough hewn wooden posts, which splintered and fell into the water. My knuckles bled a little, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything but the molten desire for revenge that bubbled inside me. How could that asshole show up after more than two centuries and pretend nothing had happened? He’d known I was here in Seattle. He’d known I was in the bar before he stepped foot inside, a convenient attribute of having fed on my blood. He had to pay for what he’d done.

  “Zy?” Quinn. Brave girl.

  I didn’t answer. I couldn’t formulate coherent words.

  “Are you going to be okay?” I saw a ball of light form in her hand so she could see her way in the dark. The light hit my face and she stopped. After a moment, a moment she probably spent contemplating how safe I was to be around right now considering the murderous look I undoubtedly had on my face, she came and stood next to me.

  We didn’t talk at first, just listened to the sound of water sloshing up against the dock. The rhythmic melody slowly eroded my rage. Which sucked because then I had room to think about things I didn’t want to think about. Things I had forced from my memory for a long, long time.

  “You’ve never told me about when you became immortal,” Quinn said finally.

  She was right. We’d known each other for almost a decade, and I’d never spoken of it. “I don’t want to talk about it now, either,” I said, my voice lifted away on the wind.

  “Okay.”

  We lapsed into silence again for a few minutes. And then, I heard myself talking. “I was seventeen. Lying in an Irish meadow picking flowers. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen was sitting next to me.” I stopped, and heard Quinn’s heart pounding. Or maybe it was mine. “He asked if I was an angel, because I looked so peaceful and beautiful sleeping among the flowers. He’d made a crown of flowers while I slept, and he laid it on my head. I never stood a chance. He was so handsome and so smooth. We talked for hours that first day. I was in love with him
by the end of the afternoon.

  We saw each other every day for almost half a year. I felt like I was constantly walking in a dream when he was with me. And I felt like I would die when he was gone. Then one day he told me he loved me, and asked me if I wanted to spend my life with him. When he bit me, it hurt at first, but then… it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt in my whole life. Wrapped up in his body, his kisses searing through me…

  He didn’t turn me into a vamp. I thought we were going to get married, and then he would. But my father had other plans. He beat me for disgracing the family and promised me to someone else, a man four times my age. I knew Alexander would stop it, take me away from everything. But he disappeared. I kept waiting. And waiting. The wedding came and went, but still he hadn’t returned. My husband was a terribly cruel man, and hit me all the time. I began to waste away. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was happening to me, but I knew. I’d lost the will to live, as pathetic as that is. That’s when she came.”

  I paused, my body going rigid as the memory crept over me like spiders. Quinn stopped breathing.

  “Olga. Red hair like a river of flame, gray eyes like the waves off of Galway.” I shivered as her name fell from my lips. “I knew who she was right away. There were legends, folktales passed down through all the villages. Tales of a beautiful girl who fell in love with a beautiful boy but was married off to another against her will and died of a broken heart. The next full moon she rose from her grave and sucked the life force out of her father and husband. And so Anam Gatai were created. Some of the legends call us Dearg Due, blood drinker, but blood is not enough to satisfy us.

  “Anyways, I guess Olga wanted company, because she started turning other poor girls into immortals like her. She pressed her lips to mine and I felt my humanity slipping away, my life floating out of me, my soul flying away piece by piece. And because my tale was particularly heartbreaking, being as how the man I loved was just fooling me and actually a vampire, she gave me extra power.” I forced a bitter smile. “I guess there’s a silver lining to everything. And I did get revenge on my father and husband. Oh, and it was sweet.”