Bad Omens

by Lorraine Kennedy

  What I felt from the woman was similar but much much darker. This was telling since it’s pretty damn hard to get darker than a vampire. I also felt as if she were shielding her aura from prying eyes, namely my prying eyes.

  When her gaze locked with mine, everything changed. I suddenly felt as if worms were eating their way into my brain. My own shield went up and the woman flinched. I wasn't surprised. My psychic shield tends to work like a mirror. Whatever she’d been sending in my direction came right back at her.

  Touché bitch!

  I offered the woman a wicked smile, daring her to try it again.

  I wasn’t totally opposed to inflicting a plague of boils that might or might not kill her, but at the very least, she'd wish she were dead. First I’d have to get the hex right, but now I was determined to do just that.

  How dare the floozy try to crawl into my head!

  My shielding talent was definitely improving. I figured that was partly because I’d kept a constant shield around my emotions while living in Los Angeles. When I was in Raven Point, I already knew there were people who might read me. When I was in the city, there was no way to know if someone was human or just pretending to be.

  As soon as the woman started speaking, the roar of the crowd settled to a steady buzz.

  “Thank you for joining us for this month’s Wicked Games. Remember, we hold the games once a month, here in the Tomb of the Damned. You don’t want to miss what we have planned next month.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder what they had planned next time, maybe a puppy eating contest perhaps.

  Someone placed a hand on my shoulder. Since it was completely unexpected, I was startled, maybe even to the point of losing by bladder, but I refused to act on instinct. Resisting the urge to start swinging, I turned around to face the perv who’d just put their hands on me.

  I very quickly swallowed back the ass chewing I’d been ready to deliver.

  I was pretty sure I recognized the perv as a certain Federal Agent whom I liked to call Agent Snoopy. The makeup on his face gave him an undead look, kind of, and his hair had temporary die in it to make it look black. I could tell it was the temporary stuff because it was flaking off.

  “Are you crazy? Why are you dressed like a vampire? It isn't Halloween.”

  “I’m not dressed like a vampire,” he said in a low voice. “I'm just trying to fit in.”

  “Like I said, you're dressed like a vampire.”

  “What are you doing here?” he asked. He clearly had no intention of arguing with me about his new undead look.

  “I could ask you the same question. Seeing how I was born in Raven Point, I probably have more business here than you do,” I pointed out.

  Linking his arm with mine, he led me away from the crowd and straight into a dark, dingy corner, the extract kind of corner that I don’t like. Bad things happen in dark corners.

  I didn’t put up too much of a fight. Secretly, I kind of liked the way he took charge, but mostly I didn’t protest because he was a federal agent.

  “I’m working,” he whispered. “What are you doing here?”

  Tossing him a sour look, I pulled away and crossed my arms across my chest. “I’m working too. Just because you have a badge doesn't mean you are the only one who can be working.”

  His eyes grazed over me from head to toe. There was a funny expression on his face.

  “That kind of work can be dangerous, especially here,” he said, his disapproval more than evident.

  It took a few seconds for his words to register, partly because I’d had a drink before leaving the house, but mostly because I can be just plain clueless sometimes.

  “What kind of work would that be?” I asked, narrowing my eyes and daring him to say it.

  “You know what I mean,” he grumbled as he glanced toward the exit.

  He was anxious to get out of an uncomfortable situation – a situation that he’d brought on himself. I wasn’t going to let it go so easily.

  Why was it that some men always assumed the worst of a woman?

  Because of my tight leather outfit, Agent Snoopy decided I was a working girl, and not the legal kind either.

  Drawing in a deep breath, I placed a hand on my hip in an effort to keep from smacking him. My hands do tend to have a mind of their owns at certain times, such as when someone insults me.

  “Maybe you could be more specific,” I told him, leaning in a little closer so that the blades flying from my eyes could cut him to shreds.

  If only it worked like that.

  He shifted his weight; obviously uncomfortable with the way our conversation was playing out.

  “What are you here for?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “I’m looking for clues in my baby sister’s disappearance, which is something you should know about seeing how you’re the FBI.”

  The surprise on his face was laughable, in a way. He didn’t know a thing about Ember's disappearance. In fact, it wasn’t even on his radar, let alone the FBI’s radar.

  I thought that the FBI handled all child abduction cases, but maybe not in Raven Point. That shouldn't have been too surprising since crimes in Raven Point could be quite different than what the FBI normally dealt with.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, a frown creasing his forehead. “I haven’t heard anything about it.”

  It also made sense that he wouldn’t know much about my sister's case since he’d been assigned to a human trafficking case. Still, was it too much to ask that the FBI at least be aware of Ember’s disappearance?

  “As long as we’re talking about places we shouldn’t be, may I point out that it’s odd for the FBI to be in Raven Point? What are you doing here?” I asked.

  A cloak of secrecy slid over his face. “We're in Raven Point far more than you know. Since you don’t actually know anything about me, I could be from here too. Raven Point isn't much different than the rest of the world. There are monsters everywhere.”

  I didn’t miss the laughter in his eyes and it annoyed me, big time.

  He was baiting me but I had no intention of biting. Maybe Raven Point was just a fancy place for odd people, but I liked to think the Zones existed on a different vibration. Otherwise, I couldn’t live outside the Zone and still walk down any street at night without being paranoid that some creature might be watching me.

  Of course I knew there were monsters everywhere, both the paranormal kind and the human kind, but it was nice to know that the authorities mostly kept track of them. That didn’t mean there weren't creatures living in cities all over the world, but mostly they were law-abiding citizens and had learned to live with others.

  “What are you doing here, at Wicked?” I asked.

  “I’m running down a lead,” he admitted.

  “Well that’s what I'm doing here too.” Spinning on my heels, I left him to his dark corner.

  Putting Agent Snoopy and his pompous attitude out of my mind, I scanned the crowd for the woman in the red dress. She’d disappeared.

  I did find a chamber called the Feeding Cavern. Needless to say, I bypassed that one. If there were any real vampires at Wicked, I totally intended to keep my blood supply in my veins where it belonged.

  Giving up, I stopped a waiter wearing black leather, embellished with chrome spikes. “Can you tell me where I can find Mr. Petrova?”

  “He spends most of his time in the VIP section,” he said as he picked up several glasses from an empty table. “You can’t get in there without an invitation.”

  “I have an invitation. Where can I find this VIP section?”

  True, I didn’t exactly have an invitation to the VIP section but that was a detail I didn’t intend to share with the waiter.

  There was a good amount of skepticism in his eyes but to his credit, he didn’t bother me with more questions. Instead, he pointed me toward a dark tunnel-like hall. “Take the stairs to the bottom level.”

  Bottom level?

  How many levels could a conver
ted train tunnel have?

  Chapter 12

  Sure enough, I found a staircase. Maneuvering the stairs was somewhat sketchy considering the only illumination was from a hanging red light bulb. Red lights seemed to be the preferred color at Wicked, though I’d spotted a couple chambers with black lights.

  The stairs appeared to have been cut into the earth and then lined with brick.

  Getting out during an earthquake would totally suck. The entire nightclub would be a deathtrap.

  Why was I thinking of earthquakes at a time like this?

  My mind was wandering, which could only mean one thing; I needed more caffeine and less tequila.

  At the bottom of the stairs was a labyrinth of tunnels. All the chambers I found were closed off with heavy metal doors.

  Was this the VIP section or a prison?

  If this was how they treated their special guests it was definitely better to stay on the main level. I’d been expecting fancier décor or perhaps a better house band. So far, there was nothing but tunnels and closed chambers.

  Just as I was ready to give up, a shadow stepped out of a dark alcove.

  The people at Wicked sure did have a way of appearing out of nowhere.

  The offending shadow sent my heart into overdrive. I reached into my back pocket for the mini canister of pepper spray that I’d brought along for my little adventure. It was still there.

  The figure stepped into the red tinged light and chased away any fear that I’d had that the shadows might actually have come to life. Still, he did have an uncanny resemblance to a certain killer clown that had always terrified me.

  But that was impossible. That murderous clown hadn't even been real.

  I figured it must be costume night on the lower level.

  “You are not supposed to be down here?” he said.

  Was I imagining the slight growl in his voice too?

  There was a red sheen to his eyes that I found extremely disorienting. But to be fair, I wasn’t sure if the red glow was real or a product of the obscene red lighting.

  At this point, anyone with half a brain would have run for the exit, but I am the curious type. There was also the fact that I was more convinced than ever that the people at Wicked knew something about Ember’s disappearance. It was too much of a coincidence that the owners of such a bizarre place also lived near to where a child had gone missing.

  No way was I going to swallow any coincidence nonsense.

  Squaring my shoulders, I glared at the odd clown. “I’m looking for Mr. Petrova. He invited me here,” I added, hastily.

  The clown pointed down the tunnel. “Take this tunnel as far as it will go. You will find him there.”

  “Umm, thanks. I guess.”

  Without waiting for a response, I continued down the tunnel. It seemed to go on forever before I spotted an orange glow. One thing I knew for sure was that the glow at the end of this tunnel wasn’t the inviting type. It looked as foreboding as the rest of the club.

  And there was music, though it was some really dark stuff. As I drew closer to the orange glowing light, I could hear the chatter of conversation.

  Damn, they sure did hide their VIP chamber pretty well. The average patron would never just stumble across it unless they were really lost.

  I felt sorry for anyone who got lost in the maze below Wicked. Who knew what kind of crap was going on behind all the closed doors?

  Maybe Ember had been right. Maybe there really were serial killers in Raven Point.

  A shudder made its way up my spine but I pushed on, putting one foot in front of the other. The unease gnawing at my insides warned of something I really should avoid, but I’m stubborn. I was also convinced Petrova knew something about what had happened to Ember.

  I stepped through the bone and skull archway and into what I can only describe as a living nightmare. Or more accurately, a production meant to simulate a nightmare. The walls of the massive chamber were on fire.

  Of course it was a hologram but it was perfection. It looked so real that I actually had to reach out and touch the fire to see for myself that it was only an illusion.

  In various areas, scantly clad women danced in what appeared to be fire pits. The VIP area was obviously meant to simulate Hell. What VIP in their right mind wanted to go to Hell?

  There was no explaining the warped tastes of some people.

  I was done with this place. All I wanted was to find Petrova so I could dig into his psyche and hopefully get some kind of idea what happened to my sister.

  I examined the crowd but saw no one that could have easily been labeled as the boss. But since there were so many people, I could have easily missed Petrova, even if I’d known what he looked like. The couples on the dance floor obviously had one thing on their mind since they were all pawing at each other.

  “Are you looking for me, Love?” The deep, silky voice swept over me like a warm caress.

  Something wasn’t right. There was too much noise for the words to have been so clear, even if someone had been standing right next to me.

  And then there was the laughter – a deep, sensuous laughter that was as tantalizing as it was strange. The laughter vibrated through my skull, sending shards of pain into my eyes.

  It would seem that some bizzaro maniac had found his way into my head.

  Realizing this, my shield went up as I searched the swarm of people for the culprit. There was no one obvious. In fact, I was beginning to doubt that anyone even realized I was there. They all seemed to be in their own little world.

  A flash of sparkling red caught my eye. The woman from the arena was in an alcove, sitting on a chair made of bone.

  Why did these people have such a fascination with bones?

  I thought the theme was a bit overused. To think that when I'd arrived I’d been worried about finding a coffin room seemed silly now. I would have been totally down with a coffin room as long as it didn’t have bones in it.

  Pushing through the dancers, I made my way to the strange chair that might have been some kind of throne.

  The woman looked up as I approached but said nothing, apparently waiting for me to introduce myself.

  “Hello,” I said, offering a pained smile. I didn’t like the woman and I really hated pretending to be civil to someone I didn’t like.

  Okay, I know I’m on the critical side but I really am a pretty good judge of character. I can usually tell within the first couple minutes if I am going to like someone or not. This woman was definitely not someone I was going to like, ever.

  Still, if I wanted to find the elusive Petrova, I would probably have to be nice.

  “I’m looking for Mr. Petrova. Do you know where I can find him?” I offered a frozen smile that I was fairly sure wasn’t fooling anyone.

  “Are you now?” The woman returned my smile with her own artic grin.

  “I'm his new neighbor, Destiny Summers,” I explained. “He invited me to Wicked so we could have a chat.”

  “Oh, yes!” she said, her eyes widened in mock excitement. “He did mention that one of his neighbors had called on him.”

  Wow! This woman was full of herself. It had been a long time since I’d been tempted to get into a good old-fashioned catfight, but suddenly, it was a chore to keep from whopping her upside the head.

  “Do you know where I can find him?”

  I was getting sick of this lady and was anxious to get this done and over with. I’d spent so much time searching for this Petrova character that I was starting to wonder if it was worth it.

  Maybe he was just an eccentric old fool with way too much money and nothing else to do with it but toss millions of dollars into a hole in the ground.

  “He’s occupied at the moment. Unless it is important, I’d hate to disturb him,” she said before sipping some kind of black liquid from a crystal goblet.

  Yuk! I didn’t even want to think about what she might be drinking.

  “It is kind of important. I’d like to speak with him
about something that happened in the neighborhood recently.”

  “I see,” she said before pursing her lipstick caked lips together in a frown that sure didn’t promote a good attitude.

  She motioned to someone behind me. A short, thin man with what I can only describe as a dead face stepped forward. His angular features gave his face a skull-like look.

  Nope, nothing creepy about this guy!

  Where did they get their VIP clientele? The graveyard?

  “Rod. Will you take Miss Summers to Damian, please?” The woman did add please, but it was very much a command and not a request.

  Nodding, the man motioned for me to follow. Before I knew it, I was back in the tunnels. I was beginning to think I was stuck in a bad dream with no way out. I hated those kinds of dreams that seemed to go in loops.

  He stopped in front of the only normal looking door I’d seen so far and knocked.

  “Come in!” A voice called from behind the door.

  I recognized the voice as the same one I’d heard in my ear a few minutes before. That meant this Petrova character had access to power that the normal person didn’t. From everything I'd seen so far, that wasn’t a good thing.

  Rod pushed the door open and stepped into a large chamber that actually appeared quite normal, like an executive office. I was impressed that it wasn’t covered in bones and red light.

  “Master, you have a visitor,” The bag of bones named Rod said.

  I tried to see around him but somehow, he seemed to know when I was peeking and would shift positions.

  “Oh yes,” a deep male voice replied. “Miss Summers. I’ve been expecting her.”

  How had he known it was me?

  I didn’t have too long to contemplate that particular dilemma. As soon as Rod stepped out of the way, I saw all the CCV monitors so he’d been watching me the entire time. There was also a TV playing reruns of a certain sexy vampire series – a series that had been cancelled way before its time. Now I had to find some other sexy show to make me drool on Sunday nights.