by Sarra Cannon
“Hey,” I said, forcing a smile.
“Well, if it isn't sleeping beauty,” Azure said. “We missed you the rest of the afternoon Thursday.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said. What had Rend told them? Had she seen him carry me out of here? “I wasn’t feeling well.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, exchanging a look with Marco. “I’m glad you’re here tonight. We could really use a few extra hands.”
“That’s what Selena said. Is something going on tonight? Or is this just normal for a Saturday?” I turned to Marco and held out my hand. “You’re Marco, right? I’m Franki, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, carino.” He took my hand and kissed the top of my knuckles. He had a thick Spanish accent.
“We have a few special guests coming in tonight,” Azure said, but didn’t elaborate.
I had a feeling special guests in this type of place meant something, considering almost everyone here was special. I was dying to ask Azure about her own powers and to find out if all the staff here was some kind of witch or demon, but now wasn’t the time.
“What do you need me to do? I have some experience bartending and waiting tables.” I assumed I’d be back behind the bar with her or serving out on the floor. Of course, thinking about that shot she’d served me on my birthday, I doubted I would know the recipes for the drinks here. Still, I was a fast learner and a hard worker, so I knew I’d figure it out.
She turned her head sideways and studied me with a strange smile on her face that made my stomach tighten. “I have something else in mind for you tonight.”
Marco stiffened and leaned in toward her. “Azure, be careful. You heard what Rend said. He’s going to be—”
“Rend put me in charge,” she said, cutting him off. “Follow me.”
Marco ran a shaky hand through his hair, but stood aside to let her pass. I followed Azure back toward a set of long black curtains near the bar. She hadn’t shown this part of the club to me the other day, and I had no idea what she had in mind for me. The way Marco acted, though, I got the feeling it wasn’t going to be something fun.
She pulled the curtain aside and walked into a small, dark room with a plush, burgundy velvet couch and shiny black tables. A crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the room, throwing bits of light around the room.
It was slightly more elegant and intimate back here than the rest of the club. “What’s this room?”
“This is where Rend likes to bring some of his more important clientele. Especially when they have some private business to discuss.”
I swallowed nervously. So, why the heck did she want me back here? I didn’t like the idea of being hidden away in a place where no one could really see what was happening. It may have been decorated nicely, but it felt just as ominous as the back alley.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be in here,” she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “The dressing rooms are back this way.”
“Dressing rooms?”
“Yeah, we need to get you in something more appropriate,” she said. She didn’t bother explaining herself, which I was starting to understand was a theme of hers.
She led me back through another doorway that opened into a large dressing room adorned with mirrors, racks of clothes, and tables where makeup and hairspray and brushes and things were set out. There were already five other girls inside getting ready, and all I had to do was take one look at what they were wearing to want to turn around and head back out again.
“Do you need me to help them get ready?” I asked, which was my little way of saying I couldn’t even imagine that she wanted me to actually put on one of these costumes.
The girls in the room were dressed in tight spandex outfits that looked straight out of Vegas or something. Thigh high boots, thick makeup, low-cut necklines. Nothing too revealing, but none of them completely clothed either.
Azure put her hand on my shoulder like she owned me. “We had one of our dancers call out sick tonight, and we really need someone to fill her spot,” she said. “I think you’d be perfect.”
I didn’t even tell her what I thought of her idea. I simply turned around and walked out the door.
She caught up with me in the middle of the posh sitting room.
“Franki, sweetie, wait up,” she said. She grabbed my wrist a little tighter than she should have.
I wrenched out of her grasp. “First of all, don’t call me sweetie. That’s so tacky. Especially when you know I’m upset,” I said. “Second of all, I agreed to work here thinking I would be running errands, cleaning up or serving alcohol or whatever. I did not sign up to be a stripper.”
She smiled a sickly sweet smile, giving me such a clear view of exactly what kind of person she was. “These girls are not strippers.” She lowered her voice and leaned in closer to me. “You’d better not let them hear you call them that either. They are dancers, that’s all. It’s very hands-off, trust me.”
“I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you,” I said, returning her smile so she could understand what kind of person I am.
Her smile disappeared and her eyes widened. “Rend told me you need this job.” She put her hands on her hips to show me just how serious she was about telling me what to do. “I don’t think you want to upset him by walking out that door. You have no idea what he’s capable of when he’s upset.”
This chick had no idea what I was capable of, either.
“I don’t answer to Rend, and I certainly don’t answer to you,” I said. “Now, if you want to give me a job I’m comfortable with—one that doesn’t involve getting half naked in front of a crowd of strangers—I'm one-hundred-percent on board. But if you tell me to walk back in that room and play dress up, you can both go to hell.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. She just pressed her lips into a tight line, her nostrils slightly flared as she stared me down.
I turned again to go, ready to walk out and leave this place in the dust, but my entire body stopped working. My feet froze in place. I literally could not move a muscle. I could breathe, but not so much as blink my eyes or swallow.
Fear rolled through my veins as I struggled against whatever magic was holding me. No matter how hard I tried to move my arms or speak out, I was completely helpless.
Azure walked around me slowly, taking her sweet time to make her way into my line of vision. Her smile was back, but this time it was ringed with a sort of joyful mischief.
“I realize you’re new,” she said. “Not only to Venom, but to our whole world.”
She lifted both hands to dramatically indicate the world around her. In my mind, I imagined what it would be like to grab her by those arms and body-slam her.
“For that reason, and that reason alone, I’m going to take it easy on you instead of turning this whole thing into some kind of living nightmare,” she said, as if being unable to move my entire body wasn’t nightmare enough. “You are here because you need protection. I get that. As long as you work here, none of the big bad boogeymen will bother you. But it’s extremely important you understand that the second you walk out that door and leave us behind, you become free game for all those unknown evils that got a whiff of your scent the other night. And trust me when I say they will come looking for you. Until Rend gives you his mark, you're still fair game.”
Saliva gathered in the back of my throat as hatred grew in my chest.
“Unless you want to come to a very nasty end by tomorrow morning, you should stay here and accept the gracious protection that Rend has offered you, despite his better judgment,” she threatened. “As it turns out, the job we have open tonight is as a dancer, so that’s what you will be doing, do I make that clear?”
Of course, she knew I couldn’t answer her. If I could have, the answer might have come in the form of a punch straight to her throat.
She laughed. “So much anger in those pretty blue eyes,” she said. “You really need to try to get that under control before you damage this room like you
did Rend’s office yesterday. He would not be happy about a mess in here with his friends coming into town.”
She walked over and pulled back the black curtain leading into the bar.
“The other girls will help you find something to wear.”
With that, she disappeared into the next room, releasing me from whatever hold she’d placed on me.
I doubled over, coughing and rubbing my eyes. A slight breeze flew across my back, blowing the hair off the back of my neck. I closed my eyes and forced several deep breaths. She was right about one thing. I needed to calm down. I could not let myself lose control again.
Not because Rend might get upset, but because I needed all of my energy and wits about me if I was going to survive this night.
Worth Saving
I sat down on the expensive velvet couch and took a minute to think this through.
Yes, okay, I wanted to leave. No doubt about it. But that witch Azure had a point, whether I liked it or not.
Rend had basically said the same thing to me about those guys in the alley, not to mention all the others of their type who frequented this club. For whatever reason, showing up here the other night put my life in danger. I needed Rend’s protection now, as much as I hated that. If I walked away, I’d be on my own.
I was, admittedly, shocked at how well I held my own with those three out back that night, but in the end, they had me. And what if they came with more than three, next time? I could be putting Katy’s life in danger, too, and that thought was really what sealed my fate.
I had no choice. I needed this job in more ways than one.
As much as I hated the idea of having to dance around in front of an entire club full of people, I’d worked at questionable establishments before, and I could do this if I had to. Hell, I’d once willingly worked at a bar that made the bartenders wear hot-pants and sports bras. At least here she’d said there was a strict no touching policy. That would be a step up from that other place.
I stood up, resolved to make the most of this. I had been kicked when I was down before, and I always had the same philosophy when it happened. Pick myself up and find a way to walk back out there with my head held high, like I was the one in control.
And that was exactly what I was going to do now.
I straightened my shoulders and took a deep breath, then walked back into the dressing room with a confident smile on my face.
“Hey,” I said, strutting in and walking straight to the rack of clothing. “I’m Franki.”
“Hey, Franki,” several of the girls called out. One girl with short brown hair and a banging body stood and came over to introduce herself.
“I’m Lyla. That’s Cherish there with the green shirt, Misty in blue, Peri, and our resident redhead is Shay,” she said. “You must be the new girl Rend was telling us about.”
“That’s me,” I said. “Azure said you guys were short on dancers tonight and that maybe you ladies could help me find something to wear.”
Lyla thumbed through the rack of clothes and picked out a sequined pink number that made me question my decision to stay. As politely as I could, I scrunched my nose and shook my head.
“Something a bit darker, maybe?” I suggested.
I caught sight of a studded black outfit as she pushed through and pulled it out. It was basically a one-piece leotard with several revealing slits along the sides, but I liked the silver studs. It was more my style than most of the other things I’d seen pass by.
“What about this one?” I asked, holding it up to myself in the mirror.
“Love it,” Shay the redhead said. “What size shoes do you wear? There’s a pair of kick ass black leather boots that would look amazing with that.”
She got up from her seat in front of the mirror to go dig them out of a box for me.
“Seven, I think,” I said.
“Perfect,” she said with a smile. “These are eights, but just stuff some tissue down in the toe and they should fit fine.”
I looked around for a private place to change, but quickly realized that this room was as private as it got.
“We’ve seen it all before,” Cherish said with a laugh.
I wondered if that was her real name or not, because it wasn’t doing much for my confidence that this wasn’t a group of strippers.
“Have you ever danced before? Like, in public?” Lyla asked.
“No. I’ve worked at a lot of clubs and bars, but nothing like this,” I said.
“I could kind of tell by the fact that your face is pale as a sheet,” she said with a laugh. “It’s not as bad as it seems. The club is dark and no one is going to mess with you. We’re more like decoration, really.”
“Great,” I said, trying to act happy about being a decorative accent in a room full of blood-thirsty vampires.
“It’s really one of the best jobs in the place,” Peri said. She was short with really long brown hair braided into one long braid down her back. She looked like she was about fifteen years old, but I knew she had to be older to be working here. Or at least I hoped. “The pay is great and all you have to do is have a good time.”
“You better start getting dressed,” Lyla said. “We have a staff meeting in half an hour before we open.”
I slipped my shoes off and put them under one of the tables. I felt a bit nauseated looking down at the skimpy black outfit, but remembered that I was supposed to be owning this like it was my choice. Not Azure's.
I can do this.
I undressed as fast as I could, relieved when I realized the others were too busy finishing up their makeup to pay attention to me.
I slid the black leotard on over my underwear, but quickly realized there was no way I could wear my bra with this thing. I unhooked it and slipped it off, feeling incredibly naked in this stupid outfit. I had never been more grateful to have freshly shaved legs.
Lyla whistled as I laced up the boots. “Wow, you look amazing,” she said. She walked over and lowered her voice. “Are you using?”
I gave her a sideways look. “What do you mean? Like drugs?”
She looked at me like I was crazy. “No, silly. Magic. Glamours?”
“What’s a glamour?”
All five of them turned to look at me.
“You’re kidding, right?” the girl with the green shirt said. Misty, I think, was her name. Her skin was dark and smooth and flawless, and her eyes were a deep lavender.
“No, I’m uh, totally new to this whole thing.”
“A glamour is just a spell a lot of witches use to alter their appearance,” Misty said. “Like plastic surgery or something, without the surgery.”
My eyes widened. “You can do that?”
“Wow, Rend wasn’t kidding when he said you would have a lot to learn,” she said. “You never played around with stuff like that when you were a kid? Your mom never taught you about glamours?”
I shook my head, making an effort not to flinch at the mention of Mom.
“Watch,” Misty said. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again. The deep lavender color of her eyes had been replaced by a bright green that matched her shirt.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
“We don’t really have time to show you how to do it now, but if you get a chance later, we’ll have some fun with it,” Cherish said. “Shay here doesn’t even really have red hair. She’s really a brunette, but she keeps it red now all the time. I think it suits her.”
“Thank you,” Shay said with a little curtsey. “Me too.”
“We’ll help you with your makeup real quick and then we need to head out front,” Lyla said. “Rend hates it if we’re late for staff meetings, and I’m sure everyone will be dying to meet you.”
My stomach flipped at the thought of the whole staff meeting me when I looked like this, but I had to find a way to embrace it. Fast.
“I just want to do some dark eyeliner, nothing too dramatic,” I said. “I’m not really much of a heavy makeup pers
on.”
A few of the girls laughed, but I stood my ground when they tried to smear my cheeks with pink. I managed to get out of there with a light foundation, very dark eyeliner, mascara and a little bit of pink lipgloss.
“You really have some of the most gorgeous blue eyes I’ve ever seen,” Shay said.
“Before you know it, she’ll be copying them,” Lyla said with a laugh.
“You’re welcome to them,” I said. “They kind of run in my family.”
Not that I knew much about my family. My mother had refused to ever talk about them and she never, and I mean never, talked about my father. But I knew I’d gotten my eye color from her. She’d once slipped up in a moment of melancholy and told me that most of her sisters had the same bright blue eyes. It was the only time she’d even told me she had sisters and when I’d asked her about it, she got angry and told me to mind my own business.
“You ready?” Lyla asked. “It’s time to go.”
“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
I was grateful not to be walking out there alone. I positioned myself right in the middle of the group, trying to blend in and match their level of confidence. I had no idea how long they’d all been doing this, but they seemed to have no problem with what they were wearing. And to be honest, they all looked incredible. I hoped I looked like I belonged with them.
We walked together through the black curtain and out into the main part of the club. I sighed with relief when I saw that the harsh lights had been turned off and the place was back to the black and neon glow of the first night I’d been in here. The darkness made me feel a little bit more comfortable.
Azure was leaning against the bar, no doubt just waiting to see if I’d come out with the others like a good little girl. Every fiber of my being wanted to avoid her eyes, but instead, I met her gaze head-on, challenging her with a confident smile.
The anger that flashed through her eyes was all the reassurance I needed that I was doing the right thing by owning this instead of curling up in the corner like an abused kitten.
Her mouth dropped open a little as I passed, and my smile grew larger.
