"Can I ask a question?" I blurted out as I put on my seat belt. Finally I could put on a seatbelt. "Why are we going to meet designers or architects in the middle of the night?"
"Is she for real? Where did you say they found her?" Maritza chimed in.
"That's enough, Maritza. She is new to this world." Graven spoke to her like she was a child. Both scolding her and trying to calm her down at the same time.
"Which world is that?" Maritza snipped back. "I'm sorry if I sound rude, I just don't understand what is going on and you know I worry about you Graven.
"Both actually," I replied. " I completely understand your apprehension Maritza and respect it. I have the same concerns about everything going on around me. I am new to both the club scene and the supernatural one. Is that what you would call this- supernatural?"
I didn't have a clue about social cues or what types of stereotypical references would be considered offensive. I knew what you should never say in the human world. There must have been a set of rules that applied to these less than human breeds.
"I would surmise that it really depends on who you ask. There are some people or breeds that are much more sensitive to what they are referred to as. Us gargoyles we have a thick skin. Most of us don't care what you call us. We are super and natural so it works for me." Graven turned the key in the ignition and pulled away from the hotel courtyard.
"I have so much to learn. I still can't believe that Gargoyles exist."
"We are here to help guide you. Time right now is not on our side so you will need to trust us to help protect you right now. We will do our best to educate you as we go. My main objective at this time is to keep you alive and out of the hands of The Taker." He put a heavy emphasis on we. I saw him look at Maritza through the rear view mirror. His eyes were telling her to make sure she understood what was at stake.
"Our meeting was scheduled at the last minute because our guys finally got the approvals we have been waiting for from the Santa Fe Building Department. Final inspections are scheduled for Monday morning. If we need to have anything changed we have a very limited amount of time to get the work done. Not to mention there are some people that are a little more nocturnal than others, if you catch my drift." Maritza tried to explain to me while Graven kept his eyes on the road.
"Didn't you say no vampires?" I asked Graven.
"Who said anything about vampires? You do know that is a myth that makes for a great on screen story. True, they may have been inspired by some real life historical events, but there are no blood-sucking vampires that turn into bats that can only come out at night. Maybe one day you will hear or read about the truth behind the rumors."
"You can tell me all about it tomorrow when we go shopping." I turned around the front passenger seat to look at Maritza. "Do you have a shopping plan set up for us? I am not big on shopping, but since I have no clothes and just got done spending more than two weeks in the same outfit, I look forward to having some clean clothing of my own."
Before she could answer I gave Graven a tap on the arm, "You must be glad you don't have to take me anymore."
"Who said I am not taking you? You are not going anywhere without me, besides I like shopping. I need some new jeans, I was thinking about a pair of overalls for working in the barn, what do you think?"
"Yeah, right." Maritza and I said at the same time and started laughing.
Before we knew it we were downtown. Even sitting in the truck driving, the vibe around us was noticeably different. We came down into a more industrial and over developed part of the city. I had not been old enough before I went off to college to go out to bars and clubs, but I knew enough that I didn't belong on this side of town, at least not after dark.
Graven pulled down a dimly lit alley to what I hoped was the rear entrance to the club. I had been in more back alleys in the past month than I had my whole life. I was beginning to think there was something special about them I was missing.
He put the truck in park, but never turned the ignition off. Someone opened my door and held out his hand to help me out of the truck. He then did the same for Maritza. Graven handed the tall, dark, and fairly handsome guy his keys. He drove the truck off and never said a word.
I was going to start expecting valet service everywhere I went with this man. He opened the large grey metal door. Unlike his other club that I had been to, this back door opened up directly onto the dance floor.
I was expecting the place to be brightly lit so we could walk around to make a visual inspection, but that was not quite the case. The lighting was set for active club hours. The main dance floor area we walked into was dark, but illuminated by various colored lights strategically placed in creative locations. There were some similar elements that had been incorporated into the space that had the same feel as Black Reign.
Instead of the back wall having a back lit waterfall and stage, the rear wall was covered in large river stone with a stream of water flowing over them. It too was lit and the colors faded in and out giving the water a mystical feel. The ceilings had the same white fabric sheets that were also lit up, mimicking the feel of giant fluffy clouds.
At the center of the dance floor a spiral staircase lead up to a second floor. Looking up, I could see there were balconies on one side that overlooked the dance floor. The staircase did not end there, it continued up to another level, but from that vantage point I couldn't tell where it let out.
This club was a much smaller scale than Black Reign. There were two long bars on either side of the dance floor. They were lit only by the glow under the display of liquor bottles behind the bar and rope lights covering the front of the bar, probably to make sure no one danced their way into it in the dark. Then again, if this place turned out to be as popular as Graven's other club, it would be a challenge for anyone to get close to the bar.
There was one very skinny girl behind the bar. She had pin straight blue-black hair down to her butt, she wore a very well filled black sequin halter-top. Her skin was so white and creamy she reminded me of a porcelain doll.
We walked further across the dance floor to the bar where three men stood, clearly waiting for our arrival. The man closest to us was tall and thin with a high top fade that was reminiscent of a time before I was born. I wondered if he thought his plaid pants looked cool.
The man to his lower left looked like he ate his fair share of meatball Parmesan sandwiches. He wore black slacks and a button up shirt that was opened at the collar, he had a thick gold chain on. A gold pendant in the shape of a devil's staff hung down into his chest hair. He was like a creepy version of Danny DeVito.
The man that stood the furthest from us was tall, at least as tall as Graven, he too was broad, but was in average shape, his light hair was all over the place and he had on a pair of sunglasses. They looked like the three stooges from another portal.
"Graven," the meatball took one step toward us first and held out his hand to Graven, "glad you could make it on short notice."
"Of course. I always take care of my business." Graven held out his hand to the other two characters and shook hands. "Gentlemen, I hope this evening is finding you well so far."
"Very well," the tall man spoke. "You remember Tobias? He will be giving us a sample of his music expertise tonight. We expect him to be our resident DJ on the weekends. That is if you give the go-ahead tonight. I thought you might want to talk before he started to spin."
"What is he spinning?" I whispered to Maritza. We were still a good foot behind Graven and the other men.
"Records, silly," she whispered back. "Oh, man, I am going to have my work cut out for me with you, huh?"
"Gentlemen, you know my CEO Maritza Martinez. And this lovely creature here is my partner." Graven put his hand out to me and curled me in closer to him.
I could feel my cheeks blushing. I don't know what the heck he was talking about. Did he mean his partner at work or partner like his girlfriend? It was a strange way to refer to a person. I know that
he gave Ziona the impression that I would be interested in him romantically. She of course would hear about us being together.
We really had not had time to discuss in detail what Ziona thought Graven was up to with me. For that matter, what she thought I knew or thought about him. I know she wasn't keen on letting me go. She was also going to expect Graven to hand me back over to her along with the knowledge of what I was capable of.
"She is a lovely treasure." The tall skinny guy made my skin crawl right off the bat. I could not even begin to understand his style, if that was what he called it. He looked at me like I was a giant pork chop, but carried himself more like an overly feminine cop. He was mixed up in the head for sure.
"Pleased to meet you all." I wrapped my arms around Graven's strong chest and held on to my lifeline like I was about to drown.
"Tobias, why don't you go throw down some records and get this place lit up so I can do a walk through and get a vibe for everything."
"Yes, sir."
"Girls, would you care to join us? I would like to see what you think. After the tour you ladies can make sure that all the bar details are ready for us to open.
"Barmaid if you would please, a round of drinks for everyone." Graven swirled his hand around the air over the top of the bar. "As soon as the music is pumping we will walk. It will help me to get in the mood."
I still stood wrapped in his arm. He looked down at me, "Would you care for a beverage?"
I looked up into his smoky eyes. I wanted for them to swallow me whole and make all of this chaos go away. Instead, I watched Tobias grab a coke and head for the staircase.
"I guess, why not." I turned to the bartender. "Can I please have a tall Anejo and ginger." I wasn't much of a drinker, but we always had tequila in the house at college. Jean and I would have drinks from time to time while we stayed in our room studying. Our other housemates went out and partied all the time.
"Watch out, Graven, you got a tequila drinker," the meatball snorted.
Graven just looked at him with no response. The two remaining men ordered their drinks and while the bartender was fixing them for us the music came on. The bass was booming so loud I could feel the vibration of the music coursing through me. I looked down into the drink she handed me and saw the ripples dancing across the surface from the electronic beats.
"I guess that is our cue," Graven announced.
Mr. Tall and Mr. Plump suggested that we start the tour at the front entryway of the club. We grabbed our cocktails and followed in line to where the party would begin. Graven kept me at his side the entire time we walked over.
"So tequila, huh?" he quietly asked me. His lips were curled up in the corners. "I might have taken you more for a White Zinfandel kind of gal."
"I am offended." I feigned an angry face, which almost had me start flat out laughing. "College work can take a toll on you. Even us more reserved tree-hugging hippies like to kick back a drink from time to time. I don't drink often so why waste it on junk?"
Graven nodded at me.
"Life is too short to waste it on things that don't count toward our happiness or the happiness of others."
"That is true, but I think that you are going to be surprised how long life can be for some of us. Optimism gets lost along the way sometimes. The lines between right and wrong can get blurred very easily. Even the best of us do things we know are wrong for what can prove to be for something much more right than ourselves," Graven replied.
I was about to reply when the short guy started talking to us. "I just want to say thank you to Graven and Maritza for inviting us to work on this project together. We know how important this project is to you and your investor." He started playing with the pendant hanging from his neck. "Randal is going to talk about the architectural and interior design elements. I will show you how it will all come together behind the scenes at the end of the tour."
"Thanks, Frankie. If we step outside for a minute, you can see we have not hung an awning or a sign. The only thing at this time that lets people know where to go is that the door is painted Red. We decided to incorporate the red theme in subtle various ways throughout the club."
We re-entered the club through the front door, it was then that I noticed the small booth where people would pay their admission for the night. It was where the club goers purchased their ticket to a good time.
Once we made it past the ticket booth we needed to take a hard right through a pair of black drapes. There were small velvet R's and I's overlapping in a pattern to represent Reign Industries. I could tell Graven liked the little attention to detail by the way he ran his fingers over the letters as we walked by them.
After walking through the curtains, we followed a dark hallway that was lit only by a red glow illuminating the walking path. Red and white strobe lights flashed as we walked down the corridor allowing our body to know we had just left one ordinary reality on the street and were about to walk into something totally different and exciting. In the corridor the music was not completely clear, but you could feel the bass resonating in your chest.
I knew there was no one in there, but I got excited. I felt butterflies dancing around in my stomach with the anticipation of a crowd and the excitement the night could have in store. I could feel the muscles in my legs wanting to take me out on that dance floor and get lost in the music.
After two turns we reached the end of the corridor and it opened up to the dance floor. At that point they had everything going, the fog machines, the lights and the music. I was amazed at how much they were doing for the three of us to come check the place out.
"Here is where I want to show you, something special." We walked to the back of the club where the flat-water feature streamed down the stone wall. The closer we got, I realized that the feature jetted out about forty feet into the room. And the bottom ten feet or so was without stones. The water streamed down into a seamlessly integrated box that was about three or four feet off the ground. "There are doorways on either side of the wall. They lead to two private rooms. The wall separating them can be retracted to open the space for a large party.
"Your VIP guests that are in here can see out into the club and watch the scene from here or head out onto the floor to mingle with the others club-goers."
The walls of the room were painted black with a silver sheen. The walls surrounding the room had built in bench-like leather seating areas. Red glowing glass cubes were scattered around the room for people to put their drinks on.
"These, we had custom fabricated and make the perfect place for table service. Your hostesses can drop bottles of liquor or party foods here," Frankie continued.
The rooms were spacious enough that plenty of dancing could be done in there, especially if the wall was lifted. I couldn't imagine how much they would be charging for access to this type of a room.
"Your security detail was here this morning finishing the installation of all the cameras. There is not a part of this building that does not have eyes on it. You won't find a blind spot anywhere, inside or out. The walls in these rooms are set up with projectors so you can stream live feed of the dance floor in here or your guests can put on a sports game or the news if need be."
"People don't come to my clubs to watch sports, Frankie," Graven stated.
"That might be very true, but they have the option and no one on the dance floor or anywhere else in the club can see what is on the screen. Whatever you want, it can do. We have set it up so that if they want something extra incredible it is capable of 3d projection. You could take it over the tops for the right guest." Frankie gave him a 'you know what I mean' look.
The tour continued as we climbed the stairs to the second floor. It was a smaller space that had a small roped off area protecting tiny tables that overlooked the dance floor. Frankie pointed out that it also had the most bathroom access, good to know, but not that exciting. What I wanted to see was where the rest of that spiral staircase lead to.
Randal didn't chime in at
any point. I was surprised he seemed like he might not have a filter for his crooked mouth. I avoided looking his way, but felt his eyes glued to my butt.
As we made our way up the staircase there was a thick layer of fog streaming straight across the club, giving the illusion that we were about to rise out above the clouds. I was nervous we were going to bump our heads on a ceiling. Instead we walked out through open double doors to an outside space.
The music was different up there. I wondered how Tobias was playing music in the two spaces at the same time. It did not sound like a cd or a record just playing. The music had a unique vibe to it. I could hear the layers of different compilations mixing and blending to create a unique sound. Out on the rooftop the music was much more ethereal and not quite as loud.
"We had this special plexi-glass wall built up around the roof. You can see out and it helps to prevent the noise from escaping the space. We don't want to have any issues with local noise ordinances," Frankie continued.
"That has never stopped us from trying, now has it?" Randal snapped his fingers in the air. I looked at him and hoped that my face didn't look as surprised as I was by his flashy move.
We all walked over to the sides to look out through the glass wall. It was a wild sensation because the glass went straight down to the floor. It felt like you could have walked or fallen right off the edge of the roof. In the far corner of the roof was a gently lit bar. The ten-foot station looked like there was room for two bartenders to accommodate any size overflow that came out. The only other lighting was sparkling lights adorned on some tropical plants spaced out next to the small sofas.
The sofas were the color of smoke. Not the inviting smoky color of Graven eyes, but the thick smoke that steals the last bit of oxygen out of a burning room. I got the chills as I had flashes of Graven and Anton fighting in the middle of his burning office.
"So what do you think?" Randal asked Graven and snapped my attention back to the present moment.
Graven turned to me and nuzzled me in a little bit closer. It was exactly what I needed to let it go. He also was making it very clear that I was his. Maybe he noticed how Randal was eyeing me up. I don't know what his relationship was to these men, but I felt safe in Graven's arms.
Betrayed: Breaking the Darkness Series Book Two Page 10
