The bar area was dimly lit, filled with dark-colored woods and even darker-colored furniture. A large group was clustered around the bar running the length of the back wall. Couples paired off among the couches and chairs scattered throughout the space. Raelyn moved to an open spot at the edge of the balcony and looked down at the crowd. She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to be separated from the chaos below.
“We’ve got a great view from up here.” Julian moved to stand next to her, his warm hand returning to its former spot on her lower back.
Away from the bulk of the crowd, the energy in the room returned to manageable levels. Raelyn enjoyed the feeling of his warm hand tracing circles along her back. Julian’s auraless state helped to calm her senses, his gentle touch eased the tension in her muscles. He was exactly what she needed.
“You’re perfect.” Heat flooded Raelyn’s cheeks at the slip up, and she wished the floor would swallow her whole. Her words tumbled out in a rush, struggling to fix the mistake. “I mean, the view, of you standing there, it’s perfect. No, no, your view, that you have, from standing there, it’s perfect.”
Damn it, will her traitorous mouth never learn to shut up?
Julian chuckled.
“Thanks, Country Girl,” he turned to push a strand of hair behind her ear, his gray eyes shining with amusement in the dim light. “You’re pretty perfect too.”
He leaned forward and his lips met her own, his tongue seeking entry. Any embarrassment that she had was quickly replaced with the heat of her desire. She parted her lips, eager for the connection. The kiss was deep and sensual, their tongues warring for dominance. Her toes curled inside her boots, a tingle of excitement coursed through her veins. Her hands reached out and brushed against his firm chest. The beginning chords of a song carried in the air. People moved to peer down at the stage. The lead singer for the opening act greeted the crowd.
She whined when he pulled away.
“I should go grab us some drinks.” His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb tracing her lower lip. “What do you want?”
Raelyn was fairly certain that the hostess had mentioned a drink special for the evening. What was it called? Pony Whiskey? Pink Pony? Pony Sour? Show Pony? Too distracted to remember the exact name, she simply asked for the house special instead.
“I’ll be right back.” Julian kissed her once more, then moved towards the bar.
Raelyn barely stopped herself from following that fine ass as he walked away.
◆◆◆
Bobbing her head along with the beat, Raelyn took a sip of her drink. After almost chugging down the first, she was determined to pace herself once Julian got her a second one. The mixture of whiskey and cider was balanced with citrus and something sweet that she couldn’t place, then topped off with autumn spices. Julian stood behind her, pressing his front to her back, his arms wrapped around her waist. His auraless form shielded her from the auras of people standing to the right and left. His chest vibrated as he hummed along with the beat.
The opening act was energetic and she easily succumbed to the enthusiasm radiating from the band members on the stage. The crowd seemed to feed off of the band’s energy. The room filled up with the warm colors of joy and happiness. To protect herself from becoming blinded by the brightly colored auras, Raelyn kept her eyes fixated on the stage below. She’d never been able to stay in a crowded room long enough to watch a live performance before, and she didn’t want to miss a thing.
The shifting yellow and orange auras of the band members reflected their happiness and enthusiasm for performing in front of a live audience. The drummer was placed in the back, the front man in the middle, with a guitarist and bassist on either side. A fifth member was stationed farther to the left, sitting in front of a keyboard. In front of each band member was a microphone. Short, wide, black boxes that she assumed were speakers were lined up in a straight row along the front of the stage. Two more speakers stood on tall stands on either side, facing out to the crowd. Overhead a large scaffold ran the full length of the stage. Various lights shined patterns down below, moving in unison. The backdrop of the stage was black, and displayed the band’s name in blue and purple script, the letters highlighted with a white outline.
Fascinated by the set-up, Raelyn’s eyes darted to and fro, trying to take everything in. The speed of the guitarist’s fingers on the strings. The moving arms and feet while the drummer kept the rhythm, then changed it. The lead singer’s commanding presence on the stage. The sweat pooling on the forehead of the bassist, most likely from the heat of the lights overhead. The changing lights and colors coordinating with the moods of the songs being played.
Raelyn looked up at the lighting truss. Something small and brownish gray moved along the shiny metal, stopping at one of the hanging lights at the far end.
Is that a squirrel?
Raelyn squinted, but was too far away to tell if her guess was correct. The animal moved over to the next light. A few moments later, it moved again. The action was too deliberate to belong to that of an animal.
Raelyn leaned over the railing, seeking a better view.
No, it wasn’t a small animal on the lighting truss, it was a hand. A member of the stage crew must’ve found something wrong with the lighting and was working to fix it.
Yet, something about the flurry of activity just didn’t feel right to Raelyn. Thankfully, she had a way to settle her unease.
She stared at the dark spot, seeking the aura of the person working above the stage. The sounds and colors of the room faded away. Slowly, a fuzzy haze surrounded the hand. The colors were dark, plum mixed with gray, the edges rimmed in black. She searched the space around the hand, looking for the outline of the body that it belonged to.
The person might be partly hidden in the darkness, but surely she’d see at least a little more than just one of their hands, right?
The hand moved to another light. Raelyn tried to see past the shadows, looking for any glimpse of the body that belonged to the solo hand.
“I’m going to grab myself another drink, do you want anything?” Julian’s voice interrupted her concentration.
“No, I’m good,” she absently replied, unwilling to break eye contact with the moving hand.
“I’ll be right back.” Julian kissed the top of her head.
The hand moved to another light, and the lighting truss shifted downward minutely. Raelyn stretched her senses further, pushing past the building nausea in her stomach.
What are they doing?
The hand moved out of the shadows and Raelyn got her first unimpeded view of the appendage. The hand walked on the tips of all five fingers, the digits moving in a manner similar to a spider walking on multiple legs. The hand was angled upward, the wrist pointed to the ceiling. And that’s where the appendage ended. Startled, she gasped out loud. Almost as if it heard the noise, the hand stopped all movement.
Raelyn stared at the hand in disbelief.
The appendage appeared to stare right back. Which was absolutely one hundred percent impossible.
Because it was just a hand. A hand that didn’t have any eyeballs, or even a human body attached to it. There was no way that it was really looking at her. It was just a hand. An animated, disembodied hand.
Raelyn felt sweat roll down her back. She swore that the bodiless appendage was watching her, judging her in some way. Locked into a stare down, Raelyn refused to waver or to submit.
Something very wrong was going on here. A sensation crawled across her skin, vile, sinister, and somewhat familiar. She’d felt this way once before, with the seventy-six-year old corpse from the other day.
Breaking the stalemate, the hand flipped over, palm facing the ceiling. The fingers slowly curled into a fist, all fingers except for one, the middle finger, which pointed straight up to the ceiling.
Raelyn gasped at the obscene gesture.
Apparently satisfied, the fingers flattened, and the hand flipped back to its former state. Pushing off
from the fingertips, the hand jumped into the air, landing with enough force to strike the lighting truss hard enough to crack it. The sound of fractured metal echoed throughout the room like a gunshot. The lights loosened from their places, aiming for the unsuspecting band members down below.
“Look out!” a voice screamed.
Raelyn thought the voice sounded an awful lot like her own.
Metal parts from the lighting truss tumbled down next, crushing anything in their path. The band members disappeared underneath the shower of black and silver metal.
The room turned into chaos. A metallic smell filled the air. Multiple voices screamed. The emotional state of the crowd shifted to one of panic. People pushed and shoved past those too frozen in shock to do anything. Security guards cried out, trying to bring calm and order to the stampede of patrons heading towards the exits.
A tidal wave of fear and hysteria overloaded her senses. Dazed and confused, Raelyn’s fingers lost the grip on her cup, the drink falling to the floor.
The bodiless hand jumped from the top of one head to the next, moving towards Raelyn so fast it seemed almost supernatural, and she was powerless to stop it.
Chapter 15 - Julian
Everywhere around Julian it was chaos. People rushed towards the exit, pushing and shoving to get there first. By the door the bouncer barked orders, trying to control the masses so that nobody got trampled. Julian struggled to move in the opposite direction of the crowd. He felt like a salmon swimming upstream, moving against the current. He ignored the frantic screams and shouts as he weaved a path away from the door, his mind focused on only one thing, finding Raelyn. Thankfully he spotted her standing near the railing of the lounge area, right where he’d left her.
“Raelyn,” he called out. “Over here.” Julian waved his hand in the air to get her attention.
She ignored him, transfixed by the sight below. “The hand,” she muttered. “It’s coming.”
Julian stumbled when someone’s shoulder collided with his own. He pushed the guy towards the exit and continued to move, his eyes focused on Raelyn. When he got close enough he grabbed Raelyn by the wrist. His demon mark burned white hot for a second, then promptly fizzled out. The demon master turned around, searching for the cause of the momentary flare-up. The mark on his back remained silent. If there was something there before, it was gone now.
“Raelyn, let’s go,” he tugged urgently on her wrist.
“It stopped moving when you got here,” she murmured softly, confused. “And now it’s gone.” Sweat pooled on the Raelyn’s brow, and her breathing was irregular. Julian touched the pulse point on her wrist. The beat was rapid, and her skin was cool and clammy. She was going into shock.
He had to get her out of there, now.
“Come on.” He guided Raelyn out of the building, keeping a firm grip on her shaking wrist. They stepped outside the bar at the same time Hineker pulled up to the curb in the black Range Rover. Sirens wailed in the distance, the sound drawing closer with each passing second. People gathered together on the sidewalk, and the frantic energy from the crowd climbed to a crescendo.
Julian pulled Raelyn towards the waiting SUV. She stumbled, muttering in a voice too soft for him to hear. A moment later she whined, a high distressed cry of a creature in pain.
He stopped moving and turned to face Raelyn.
“Are you ok?”
“It’s too much,” she whimpered, trying to cover her eyes with her free hand. “It’s too many.”
Julian had no clue what the distressed woman was talking about, but clearly she wasn’t going to make it to the SUV on her own.
“It’s ok,” he soothed. ”I’ve got you.” He picked her up and carried her over to the open door of the SUV. She buried her face into his chest, her entire body trembling.
Julian stepped into the backseat with Raelyn cradled in his arms. Keeping her on his lap, he rubbed her back, moving his fingers slowly up and down in a calming gesture. She tightened her grip on his shoulders and buried her nose into the side of his neck.
“Hineker, take us to the hotel,” Julian ordered.
The demon nodded, and put the vehicle into drive. He expertly weaved through the traffic, driving away from the chaotic scene in silence.
Julian had many unanswered questions, but right now his priority was taking care of Raelyn.
◆◆◆
By the time the Range Rover pulled up to the hotel, Raelyn’s shaking had been reduced to intermittent trembles. Her breathing had evened out and her grip on Julian’s shoulders eased. She picked her head up when Hineker opened the passenger door.
“Where are we?” she looked at Julian, blinking in confusion.
“My hotel,” he answered. “Can you walk?”
She nodded and exited the vehicle on her own. Walking side by side, Julian kept Raelyn next to him, just in case.
Upon entering the lobby, the man behind the front desk cheerfully welcomed them back. At the early hour, the hotel lobby was mostly empty and the trio entered the private elevator with no further interruptions.
Raelyn leaned against the wall, staring listlessly as numbers flashed on the screen, indicating their ascent to the penthouse suites.
Unwilling to break the heavy silence in the air, Julian took her hand and squeezed, offering his support with the silent gesture. She squeezed back, conveying her thanks.
The trio entered the penthouse. Hineker walked over to one of the side rooms while Julian led Raelyn to the large living area. “Sit anywhere you want,” Julian gestured to the lavish furniture, letting her pick where she wanted to sit. She immediately sank into one of the dark leather couches. Guessing that she might like some space, Julian sat down in one of the nearby armchairs.
Hineker approached the two humans carrying a silver tray with glasses of milk and honey.
“Would you like a drink?” He offered the tray to Raelyn. “It’s good for relaxation.”
“Thanks,” she said, accepting the glass.
Hineker served Julian next, then moved to stand behind his master. Julian could sense the demon’s impatience for the questioning to begin.
With each sip of her drink, Julian watched the tension in Raelyn’s body fade. She curled up into the plush leather, her small form a sharp contrast to the oversized furniture. She looked worn out and emotionally drained, as if all of the world’s problems had been dumped upon her at the same time, and she was responsible for fixing everything.
Julian wanted nothing more than to scoop her up into his arms and wipe that drained look off of her beautiful face. But his job as a demon master took first priority. Something had happened back at the bar, something demonic. The brief flare-up of his demon mark had confirmed that.
Raelyn’s recent behavior suggested that something had frightened her, badly. The sudden destruction and chaos could certainly do that to a person. But, there was also the slim possibility that Raelyn somehow knew something about what had happened.
Whether she did or didn’t was the question here, and it was up to Julian to find out the answer. Seeing no way to ease into it, he jumped head first into the conversation.
“Raelyn, what happened?”
She stiffened at the question and glanced back and forth between Hineker and Julian. Fear flashed through those amazing China blue eyes. The demon master frowned. What was she hiding?
“I need to ask you something first,” she hesitated. “It’s going to make me sound a little strange.”
“Ok,” he replied, uncertain if he should be wary or not.
“Do you believe in the supernatural?” She took a deep breath, as if to brace herself for his answer.
Julian raised an eyebrow. She was right, the question was a bit odd.
“I probably believe more than most,” he answered smoothly, curious what she would say next.
Was it possible that this woman had a gift?
Raelyn’s fingers traced the rim of her glass. Her brow furrowed in concentration. Clearly sh
e was debating what she should say next.
Julian restrained the urge to reach out and rub away the crease that formed in between her eyebrows. Instead, he shifted in his seat, prepared to wait.
Unfortunately, Hineker wasn’t.
The demon crossed the room and stood behind Raelyn. He raised his right hand and Julian’s back began to burn.
“Hineker,” he snapped at the red eyes shining in the dimly lit room. “Leave us.”
The demon nodded. “As you wish, Master.”
The burning sensation on Julian’s back quickly disappeared. He kept a watchful eye on the demon until the creature had completely exited the room.
Hineker was many things. He was old, powerful, and intelligent. He was also impatient and sadistic. The demon favored torture to get fast answers out of their suspects. But Raelyn wasn’t a suspect, she was a victim who just suffered a traumatic experience. He wasn’t going to allow the demon to hurt her.
Based on Raelyn’s earlier reactions, he decided that it might be best to take a conversational approach with Raelyn, rather than try to continue with rapid fire questioning.
Julian studied the woman before him. The drink had relaxed her, but she still wasn’t comfortable with him. And why should she be? After all, she barely knew anything about him. He’d have to change that.
An encounter with a gifted individual was always a delicate situation. Often misunderstood, they typically learn very quickly to be cautious about telling others about their special gift. If Raelyn was the same way, she’d never confess to anything if she was fearful of facing rejection. Which meant if he wanted her to share anything with him, then he’d have to lead by example.
Julian took a deep breath and gathered his courage. The death of his father wasn’t something that he talked about with anyone, ever. Even though it’d been years, and he’d long accepted his fate, thinking about his family’s curse never brought up pleasant memories. He kept the emotional pain buried, opting to focus on his day-to-day duties instead.
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