by J. E. Cluney
As if he sensed the change in me, he cleared his throat.
“So, you think your body is still with you?”
“To be honest, I don’t know, it has to be, since I’m not the same as other ghosts. I’m only half ghost or something. Or some hybrid version of one. And surely that has something to do with my body. How it disappeared with me.”
Disappeared with me. That’s what Alex had told me. He’d been holding me in his arms after trying to turn me in order to save me, and I vanished completely. The following night, I was back in the office, completely confused and ghostly.
I swallowed as I looked out the window. I hated thinking about my body. I felt like I was me, but like a piece was missing. All these strange powers and how some of my senses were failing, things were definitely different. But getting answers seemed next to impossible. Maria hadn’t been able to get any idea from the spirits or her contacts, and even Alex had come up with nothing.
Despite what had happened, he’d promised to help me understand everything and do all he could to help me.
The conversation flatlined as Alex focused on driving, and I tried to ignore the looks he gave me wistfully.
I scolded my own body for its reactions to his interest. I really needed to get laid, it’d been weeks.
“You sure you’re up for this?” Alex murmured as he drove into the warehouse lot, breaking the silence.
“They’re not going to see me, you won’t either unless I want you to. So I’m not worried. Besides, I want to help Millie move on. We need to find this bastard,” I spat.
“And we will, but I just want you to know, these fights are pretty full on, brutal as well. And these people are… well… for lack of a better term they’re a gang. They’re not good people,” Alex said bluntly.
“Really? I thought they’d be sweet men hugging kittens and painting rainbows,” I said sarcastically.
“You are quite a wonder sometimes,” Alex shook his head with a smirk.
“So are you. I’m still waiting for my bonus for the James Daven thing,” I raised an eyebrow at him.
He grimaced at the reminder. “We all have our moments,” he mumbled.
“Yeah, I know, I got to experience it,” I muttered as I looked out the window. That was a low blow, I knew it, but I couldn’t take it back now. I did instantly regret it after our rather normal conversation earlier.
Alex was silent for a few moments as he navigated the assortment of cars to find his own spot.
“You know, I never wanted to hurt you, Ivy. I would never have…” he sighed, knowing an explanation was futile. It wasn’t the first time he’d tried to explain himself.
“You still did,” I murmured.
“I was barely alive, they torched me, I wasn’t myself. I had to feed, it was pure instinct. I tried to save you,” Alex’s voice was low.
I could feel the guilt and self-hate pouring off of him.
Good. He deserved to feel like shit for what he did. But a tiny part of me felt bad. Bad for always reminding him and not being able to forgive him.
“I’m sorry,” he sighed as he ran an exasperated hand through his ruffled hair. “Anyways, we’re here.”
I mumbled in response and pushed out of the car before he tried to continue.
We had work to do.
Alex led the way to the warehouse, a single lamp outside lighting the door.
A bouncer stood watch, and Alex strode over to him in his suit, which the bouncer didn’t even blink at.
Businessmen must be the normal clientele. Or he just didn’t care how anyone dressed.
The bouncer stared hard at him, taking in his perfectly tailored suit and polished look.
I flinched as he snapped his head forward, revealing his fangs at Alex.
Alex didn’t move a muscle as he returned the gesture, revealing his own set of deadly teeth.
The sight made me shudder at the memory of them tearing into my neck, and I instinctively touched my neck as if expecting to find blood there.
“You know the rules?” the bouncer grumbled as he moved his burly body aside.
“Of course, mate,” Alex said in his strong Australian accent as he pushed through the door.
The bouncer looked right through me as I slipped in through the door, groaning as it swung through my invisible form.
I still hated passing through objects. It was such a weird sensation.
Inside, I followed Alex through a bustling crowd of vampires and werewolves. You couldn’t quite tell the difference, although many of the vampires weren’t trying to hide their fangs, letting them protrude for the entire world to see like a trophy.
I eyed the bar off to the side, fascinated at the nightclub atmosphere. The crowd was drinking, and I tried to ignore the glasses of red liquid that many of the obvious vampires held.
I followed Alex, groaning and shuddering as I was walked through over and over. Those that passed through me would shudder with the evident chill of my form, but that was all they’d sense. Even the vampires felt the chill of the dead despite their own unbeating hearts.
I kept in step with him as he weaved through the crowd, heading straight through to the other side where the ruckus was.
I stared wide eyed at the two large cages on either side of the room, one had two vampires fighting it out, their swift, barely visible movements sending their opponent stumbling away. It reminded me of those cages that you see on occasion with motorcycle riders in them, riding on the walls of the cage. These were a fair bit bigger though.
Vampires were immensely strong and fast, while werewolves, although strong, were only faster than the average human.
On the other side, the fight ensuing looked to be a vampire and werewolf matchup.
The vampire was restraining himself from using his speed, but he didn’t hold back as he punched the werewolf directly in the face and sent him flying. The crowd around the cage roared at the blow, and I jumped as Alex appeared at my side.
“I can see you, can anyone else?” he murmured, barely audible over the deafening crowd around us. I preferred the other end with the bar; it was more chilled and relaxed.
Not filled with the stench of alcohol and sweaty werewolves, since vampires didn’t sweat. And it was so crowded here too, everyone squished together around the cages to see the fights.
“Just you,” I said as I scanned the crowd for a black British man.
There were plenty of African American supes here, but I couldn’t figure out if they were American or British, it was too difficult to discern.
“You said that Millie said he was bald, that eliminates almost all of the men here. And that bald man is a were’, I can smell him from here. And that’s Henry, he’s African American,” Alex said as he pointed out the two men.
“Henry hey, you know him?” I asked, curious to their relationship.
“I know him,” Alex nodded, not even hinting at how.
“Care to elaborate?” I rolled my eyes. He was so dense sometimes.
“No,” Alex stated as he continued scanning the room.
“Good talk,” I muttered.
“You should head out the back where the boss man is at. He’ll have his entourage out there with him, you might see him there.”
“The boss man?” I smirked at his choice of words.
“His name is Philip, a vampire over 500 years old, he runs this show,” Alex turned to me, his blue eyes steely.
“You seem to know a fair bit about this place,” I narrowed my eyes. He knew too much, even for an attorney with connections.
“Head out that door, it’ll take you downstairs, this warehouse is just a cover for the more… extreme stuff he deals with,” Alex said.
“Really, great, should I be worried?” I asked as I rubbed my arms. I knew about some of the men Alex went up against in court.
Gangs were hard-core.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to go down there.
“They won’t see you,” Alex reassured me.
>
“You know you look like an ass talking to nothing, right?” I tried to lighten the situation.
“ I know. I don’t care. Just focus on finding the man. Ignore everything else that is going on around you, you can’t do anything here. Philip runs one hell of gang, they’re untouchable,” Alex warned me.
“What might I see down there?” I swallowed, shifting uneasily at the serious tone in his voice.
“They’re traffickers of all sorts,” Alex softened, his arm twitching like he wanted to reach out and reassure me. “If it’s too much just come back and I can try to get down there.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can find,” I breathed, hating the way my voice rose at the end.
“Stay out of sight,” he instructed.
I rolled my eyes at the stupid reminder.
I pushed past him, not wanting him to see me taking my shaky breaths.
“Relax girl, you’re dead, they can’t hurt you,” I tried to assure myself.
But I was more worried about what I’d find down there.
Traffickers.
Did he mean of people?
I glided through the closed, locked door, past the giant bodybuilder of a bouncer and down the dank staircase.
The cries and voices down here would have been drowned out above in the warehouse, but down here, it was sending shivers down my spine.
I passed a room where a group of burly, biker-like men were counting stacks of money and what looked to be narcotics.
Did supes use general narcotics too? I couldn’t see why not. Now that I thought about it, I distinctly remember a few cases I’d worked on with Alex, apparently the narcotics for supes were stronger and in higher doses. We’d had to handle a case where a human had gotten their hands on some and died due to the higher dose.
I floated past them when I was sure the black British man was not among them, and continued on.
What I saw in the next room made me stop as I caught my breath. If my heart were fully beating, it would’ve been hammering at the gut-wrenching sight. Instead it was probably pounding at a regular speed. A hell of a lot more than was normal for me now.
Two men were chained up, bloody and torn open, barely alive as they growled at the two men before them.
“We paid good money for these wolves, and they’re shit. Worthless in the cage,” said the bigger man, built like a tank.
“We’ll have to use them as bait for Richo’s fights,” his lanky counterpart chuckled.
“Have you seen the new one? He put up a good fight earlier. Richo doesn’t want these guys,” the big, red headed man grinned as he looked over at his partner.
“Yeah, he’s got potential, unlike these,” the lanky man spat at the two men before him.
“Worthless shits,” the bigger man snapped. “Philip has made the call, sorry guys.”
I winced and covered my mouth as the man stepped forward and in one quick movement snapped the neck of the closest chained man.
He hadn’t even had the chance to defend himself.
I whimpered at the cruelness of it, at how easily the vampire had done it. I sometimes forget that vampires were known more for their brutality than anything. The older they were, the less human they became. That was my understanding.
I was lucky that Alex had clung to his humanity, and Danny was still young in vampire years.
“Is that really necessary?”
I practically screeched as Alex walked through me, and I managed to keep myself unseen as he shuddered and glanced back in my general direction knowingly.
“Who are you?” the bigger man stepped forward and bared his fangs.
“Alex. Well, Alexander Dawson,” Alex gave the two men and the terrified chained man a charming smile.
“And we should know who the fuck you are?” the lanky man snapped as he bared his fangs as well.
Alex’s smile dropped, as if he’d expected them to know who he was.
Arrogant prick. He was going to get himself killed.
I stepped outside of the room, holding my breath as I made myself visible.
I gritted my teeth, hating my plan, but it was all I got.
I stepped in after Alex, fully visible to all of them.
All eyes fell on me as the two vamps eyed me carefully.
“We’d like to buy the ‘wolf,” I stated.
“You want to buy him?!” the lanky man scoffed as he turned to his partner.
His partner, on the other hand, was giving me an inquisitive and interested look.
“Oh seriously, are you really considering this?” the small man snapped at his companion.
“We’ll leave it up to Philip, they’re his fighters,” the bigger man shrugged.
“How the fuck you get down here anyway?” the lanky man asked.
“I know Philip,” Alex gave them his dazzling smile again, but I could sense his surprise at my intrusion.
He should be thanking me for saving his ass.
“Go let Philip know that there’s some buyers interested in the wolf, see if he’s willing to talk to them,” the bigger man instructed his companion.
The other man muttered and shot us both dirty looks as he exited the room.
I eyed the remaining ‘wolf, who was watching us carefully with hooded eyes as he crouched against the wall.
I eyed the metal dog bowl near him, and my stomach twisted. How cruel could they be?
I’d been quick to think that money was the way to deal with everything down here. Surely that was why most people got into such dark business dealings like this? Money. And power.
My eyes moved to the deceased man, and my stomach churned at the unnatural angle of his head. At least it had been a quick death.
“What’s your name?” Alex asked the burly man.
“Fuck off,” he answered, revealing his fangs. Vampire. Vampire dirtbag. That was his new name then.
“Suit yourself,” Alex muttered as he crossed his arms.
I clenched my jaw as I tried not to look around too much, avoiding the eyes of the chained wolf, Dirtbag, and the body.
Wasn’t someone going to move him away?
We waited quietly, and I withheld from shifting uneasily under Dirtbag’s scathing gaze. I couldn’t tell if he was undressing me with his eyes or fantasizing about ripping my throat out. Maybe it was a little of both.
Alex gave me a reassuring half smile as my eyes fell on him. But the smile faltered as he looked back at Dirtbag with a deadly gaze. After a moment, even the opposing vampire had to look away, unable to stand the look of contempt from Alex. Did Dirtbag know that Alex was stronger? Was Alex older than this big vampire? Questions I’d likely never know the answers to. But the way Alex stood close to me, I felt as if he’d protect me no matter what. At least he was here if anything went wrong. Not that I should be glad for his company considering out of the people in this room he was the only one who’d hurt me, and it wasn’t like they could really hurt me. Didn’t stop me from feeling apprehensive though.
Dirtbag’s friend returned with a scowl and nodded at us.
“Philip will see you, and can someone please get this mess cleaned up?!” he shouted out the last bit into the hall.
Dirtbag led the way and I sidestepped to let another vampire flit into the room. He began unchaining the deceased ‘wolf.
I caught the eyes of the remaining ‘wolf, a glimmer of hope evident.
I don’t know why I’d jumped in to save his life, but I wouldn’t let him die. If he was down here chained up, I doubted he was here willingly.
I couldn’t let an innocent man die. Supernatural or not.
“Ah, Alex, it’s so nice to see you again,” said a tall, athletic looking man, similar in build to Alex, around his height too at roughly six foot. His fair hair was cut short, and his thin, beardless face unnerved me, the way his green eyes scrutinized us. He looked like your average businessman, nothing like the sleazy, bald headed man I’d pictured.
He stood behind his desk in his
small office, his eyes piercing into us.
“Philip, it’s been a while,” Alex stood tall and firm, and I tried to mimic his calm, strong composure as I stood before the man with the undeniable essence of power and fear surrounding him.
The way he looked at us, like we were merely fish in a pond made my blood boil. He had no respect for us at all.
His bodyguards stood around idly, glancing between each other and giving us cautious looks and disapproving sneers.
“Alex, you were a remarkable fighter all those years ago, are you here to return to the cage?” Philip drawled, and his gravelly voice made my skin seethe.
Alex had been a fighter?
I tried not to glance at him in surprise, wanting to remain emotionless and strong before these power hungry men.
“No, instead, I have an offer for you,” Alex’s voice was smooth and businesslike, and I couldn’t help but curve my lip up in admiration of his perfect demeanor in their presence.
I just hoped I was able to act the part well enough too.
“Oh really, and what might that be?” Philip revealed his stark white teeth in the luminescent lighting as he leaned on his desk, planting both hands on the mahogany wooden surface.
“I want to purchase that ‘wolf fighter you were going to put down, these two know which one,” Alex flicked his head at the two men from earlier that stood beside us. Dirtbag and Lanky Ass.
Lanky Ass seemed edgy as he shifted uncomfortably before his boss.
“Really, which one is it?” Philip turned his attention to his two men.
“Percy,” Dirtbag said gruffly.
“Really? You want to buy that worthless sack of shit? He refuses to fight in the ring until he’s beaten down a few times. Only knows how to defend himself, barely. He’s useless,” Philip raised an eyebrow at Alex. “Why?”
“My reasons aren’t of your concern, I’ll offer you five thousand dollars for him,” Alex threw his offer out.
Philip laughed, he actually laughed at the offer, his disgusting, mocking laughter filling the room. I wanted to punch him in the face, if it weren’t for the crushing sense of feeling out of place and tiny in this roomful of men.
