“Nice knots,” the young shifter deer smiled at the laces working their way up my pants, making them fit the curves of my legs. “You’ll be working the cages later? Can’t wait.”
My face flushed, and I bit my lip. Time for Mr. Charming to get a wakeup call. Smiling wickedly at him, I flicked back a dark wave of my hair, showing off my pentacle and shield choker. “Not on your death, bucko.”
At the sight my DEC shield jewelry, he turned quickly back to his party, the antlers glowing for a second as they retreated back into his skull.
Laughter filtered beside me as my partner from the DEC saddled up next to me, weaving up his arm around my waist. For someone who spent half his time as a bird, nothing scared him. “I think you just set him back by three drinks.”
“Oh, go fly into a window. I’m never letting you do my make-up again. He thought I was a cage dancer. Gods, I told you it was too much.”
“He said that because, for once, you look hot. I don’t know why you don’t show it off more often.”
“Like you do?”
He let go of me and spun around, drawing the attention of everyone around us. His shiny, deep blue velour shirt and chains sparkled in the neon light, making him seem more like someone on a stage than standing in a cool Chicago night on the street. Adding to his already-over-the-top ambiance was his long, pale blond hair, reflecting in the low light to appear almost silvery white and soft as velvet. His slim shoulders and waist in his tailored clothes only contributed to his star appeal, leaving men and women staring at him with desire. “I don’t have to try. I know what I’ve got.”
I could see many mentally marking him as an easy target for inside the club, but I wasn’t worried. I’d been working with him for almost three years, and his flair and sass had made us instant BFFs. He was a bitch who could out-queen the best of them if he thought someone was judging him or me, but I also knew what he hid behind all that taste and androgynous charm. He had a mind that was always three steps ahead. Bird brain he was not, but he was quite happy to let most people believe it. I knew no one here would make his cut, but he was going to have a fun night tormenting the lot of them. Dammit–never go out with someone more beautiful than you; you always end up playing the ugly step-sister to their Cinderella.
“God, Lyle, you just don’t care, do you?” I asked.
He smirked and shook out his hair. “And where’s this mystery man you’d been hiding?” Lyle’s crooning voice rose above the crowd noise as he moved us away from the line.
A true smile spread across my face. He was one of the few people I could actually relax around and trust.
“He’ll be here soon,” I said. “Has to tend to his grand mistress before leaving, I’m sure. He’s so caught up in her glamor; I’m not positive he’ll actually show.”
Lyle gave me a mock wrinkled brow. “A glamorous mistress is the competition? Never fear, Ro–you are looking sharp. We’ll have her running in no time.”
Chucking him playfully in the arm, I put on a pretend-serious face. “Eww, she can have Dudley-Do-Right. Not my type.”
“Who is, Ro? You’ve turned down too many dates. You have got to get with someone soon or you’ll forget how.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. “So, that’s why you insisted on picking out my clothes? Jeez, Lyle.”
My phone buzzed against my thigh. Reading the caller ID–Will–I smiled again and opened the call. “Hey there, buddy, what’s up?” I leaned casually against the side of the building.
“Ro, Lilly says I have to go to bed at normal time tonight, but there’s a SpaceHawk marathon on, and I want to watch it.” A whine lanced through my brother’s normally cheerful voice.
Carson strolled up while Will continued, and, putting up a finger, I asked for patience with my eyes.
“Can I stay up, pleeease? I don’t have school tomorrow,” my brother continued.
I sighed and tried to sound sterner than I felt. “Have you finished all your work for Monday?”
“Yes.” Excitement and hope replaced the whine. “I did it right after dinner. All of it.”
My eyes brightened as my lips curled up. “Okay, you can watch until midnight if you promise both of us can sleep late in the morning. And by late, I mean at least until 8:00 a.m.”
“Promise.”
“All right. Done. See you later, buddy. Be good.”
“Love you, Ro.”
“Love you too, Will.”
Ending the call, I turned to the gentlemen. “Carson, hi. Sorry about that.” I pushed myself off the wall. “I’d like you to meet my partner at the DEC, Lyle Kits. Lyle, this is Dudley Do-Right from the great white north, A.K.A. Carson Holt of Canada.”
Lyle shifted on his hips with just a hint more movement than was necessary. Extending his hand, he smiled. “A pleasure, Monsieur.”
Carson bowed his head to Lyle and shook his hand gingerly. “A pleasure.” Turning his eyes to me, he took in my wardrobe. My clothes, the club with its thumping music, and the young crowd seemed to be giving him pause. Bingo.
“Well, Miss Brady…” Carson started. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Will you be ‘working’ this evening? Or is this purely social?”
Shaking my head, I playfully hip checked Lyle’s lean form between Carson and me, and split the alcohol tickets between the two guys. “Mr. Holt, haven’t you figured it out? In this environment, we’re always working, but we always hope for a quiet night of ‘pure social.’” I paused and surveyed his dapper attire. “Maybe you’ll be our good luck charm tonight?” With quick motions, I zipped the entrance bands on each of their wrists and turned to the club.
Nodding to Andy, I headed inside. Past the threshold, I forced myself to ignore the two mediums watching over the crowd and tried not to step through their invisible attack spirits. I hoped they had a tight leash on those things. A cold tingle on my right arm let me know I was only marginally successful.
The patrons were already in full swing. The mixture was evident. Mostly shifters were owning the dance floor, but some brave humans and a few low level vampires thrown in the mix. A few of the shifters were already in their animal forms, making the scene more wild kingdom meets midnight rave.
“Lyle, meet us at Michael’s bar after your sweep, if you would?” I asked.
With a dramatic bow, a ley line shimmer blurred his tall, lean form, leaving behind a brightly colored blue jay. Landing on my shoulder, he shook off the last of the effects, then took to the air and into the club.
Not wanting to lose my foreign charge in the mix, I slid my arm through Carson’s and led him to the far right bar.
The broad bartender, Michael, smiled at me and shook his brown bangs out of his eye. “Hey there, Rowan. Anything up tonight?”
Laughing, I tilted my head toward him so he’d hear me over the noise. “I was going to ask you the same question.”
“Quiet so far, but the night is young. What can I get you and your… date?” He leered at Carson with a knowing smirk across his face.
“Oh, oh no. No date. Not even close to a date. Usual for me.” Turning to Carson, I asked, “What about you, Mr. Holt?”
“Vodka martini.” He watched the bartender withdraw to prepare the order.
I put my back to the bar so I could observe those around us and still give Carson my attention. “So, what’s the night life like up in the frozen north?”
“I suppose that depends on the person and the time of year. Winter is, by far, a more active season, with eighteen good hours of darkness. We have a remarkable symphonic orchestra. Opera at the Four Seasons.” He paused and glanced at me. “But, personally, there’s this wine bar in Old Toronto called Oinomancy. Thursday mornings they have live music. It’s usually Alters and humans. I like to go for sunrise every other week or so to unwind.”
“Sounds lovely. When I’ve had a long night, like the bust the other day, and don’t want to bring that all home with me to Will, there’s a place that’s been open since before the Recla
mation. It’s a cafe right on the lake called Heartland. Something about the first light on those waters makes the fight worth it again.” Just remembering the feeling made my shoulders loosen a bit more. Mind over matter can do wonders.
Michael returned with a vodka martini and a highball of my working drink—Sprite with a cherry on top. The glass fooled most club goers without impairing my abilities. Carson seemed happy with the included lemon twist though he hadn’t specified it.
“Civilization, it seems, still thrives in Old Chicago,” he said. After taking a long draft of his drink, he gazed at the crowd but spoke to me. “Tell me about your job. Your DEC job, I mean. I can figure the other out…”
I took in his white, button-down top—two buttons hanging open, revealing just a small triangle of skin, sleeves rolled up, all tucked into his black pants. Somehow, I’d expected he’d show up in a suit or tweed or something else wrong, but he managed to appear like he belonged. There was hope for him yet.
Taking a sip of my drink, I raised my eyes just over the lip of the glass. “Do you live with her? Nadia, I mean.”
“Naturally. I don’t see how I could adequately discharge my duties otherwise.”
“You keep talking about these duties. Your duties, my job getting in the way of my duties to Devon… Exactly what ‘duties’ do you mean?”
“Administrative, diplomatic, social. I’m not entirely sure I understand the question.”
He took a long sip of vodka as I squinted in frustration. Seemed their relationship was nothing like Devon’s and mine. They acted more like the regular master/scion set up.
“We work closely in mapping our strategies,” he continued. “This requires an intense personal interconnection. At least, it saves a tremendous amount of time if I’m in continual contact. I receive communications and arrange her schedule. I’m also responsible for her protection while at home, which isn’t as critical where we are thanks to the efforts we made within the Toronto undead community. And I suppose there’s a certain need for companionship I fulfill. I’m only just beginning to recognize how a prolonged life can affect the mind.”
The whole scenario was so foreign. I could barely stand allowing Devon to make a dinner order for me, let alone devote every decision in my life to him. He impacted enough of them. There had been changes over the last three years, though. “Devon laughs now.”
Carson cocked his head. “Sorry?”
“Shahid told me that, before our ceremony, Devon had been very serious, very focused. He held his place in this city with an iron will. But since then, since I started, he laughs.” I shook my head. “Sorry; off topic. You’d wanted to know about my job. I do collections for the DEC. The Department of Energy Conservation monitors the vitae energy supplies of the country, the levels of blood needed for all the vampires out there. It makes sure everyone has what they need and medical extractions are maintained on schedule. Everyone gets free doctor visits and treatments, as long as they go no less than every three months for preventative care and leave a payment of blood. I don’t do that. I go after the prets who abuse the system and steal vitae. Humanity wouldn’t survive long here if we didn’t keep the prets in check. The supply would deplete too fast.”
Carson set down his glass and turned to face me. “I want to be very direct with you, here. I recognize my duty–my job description, if you will–has nothing to do with law enforcement, blood conservation, or system abuse. My world is negotiation. And I speculate the time spent forging agreements and détentes between the vampire lords of Canada has created an atmosphere that makes blood abuse a rare occurrence. But what works for us may not work for everyone. What I suppose I’m trying to say is… I know you don’t think much of me, but I don’t want you to think I don’t see the point in what you do. I just regret it’s necessary.”
I finished my drink in a long gulp. Shaking my glass with a smile to the bartender, I turned back to Carson. “Look at you. You’re here, comfortable in the trenches, and, let’s be honest, you shine much brighter than in the presence of the ‘lords.’ I don’t know what to think of you.” I rubbed my neck and turned back to the bar to get my new drink. “That’s why I wanted to see you away from them. Most of the scions around here are much more like you. Live with their vampire, devote only to them. They enjoy the pleasure and power of it. Don’t get me wrong—I understand that, between the two of us, I’m the freak of the scenario.” I was breathing harder than necessary when I finished.
“Hardly. You’re the one with a real, living and breathing brother to take care of. You’re the one who manages to divorce professional life from personal. You have an identity. You’re human. The rest of us? I suppose we’re something outside of human. I used to have a life like that. I haven’t seen any of them in a long time.” He took another slow sip of vodka. “Enjoy your time. Keep that distance. In time, though, you’ll be just like us. All of it is a literal matter of time.”
Carson squinted through the lights and artificial fog. “What in God’s name is he doing?”
Following his gaze, I saw what had got his attention: Lyle was doing repeated left flutter rolls. He did it to the music, but he wasn’t dancing.
“Shit.” I pushed myself off the bar. I threw one of Carson’s alcohol tickets to Michael for the Martini and moved us onto the floor. “I hope you can dance, Mounty-Man, because Lyle’s spotted someone we need to keep an eye on.”
Swaying my hips to the music and pressing into Carson like the other dancers, I scanned the floor below the bird’s acrobatics. A young, blonde co-ed was dancing with a man about her age. Her movements were stilted and boneless at the same time, like a marionette in the hands of a five year old. Her partner had moved closer to her and was enjoying her gyrations around him.
Devon, I hope you’re ready.
Yes, I’m prepared.
I pulled on more of the aura, and everything in the room became clearer, as did the vampiric pheromones the man was pumping out. The woman mewed as they hit her and nearly launched herself at him wantonly. Wrapping herself around him, she proceeded to do all but have sex with him in the midst of the crowded club.The show was embarrassing to watch, but others around them, affected by the same pheromones, were not far off in their actions. Being so close, I was feeling the tingling effects on me, somehow shooting from my nose to my groin. I shook my head to try and clear it.
“Great, just fucking great.” This had gone dangerously far already. I never should have let myself be distracted.
Carson had been trying to keep his distance as we danced while looking like a hopeless reject from the twentieth century. But as the pheromones hit him, he lifted my arms and twined them around his neck before sliding his fingers down my sides. I sucked in a breath and tried to pull away, but Carson just held onto me tighter, drawing me in. His forehead pressed against mine as his fingertips trailed up my arms to the sides of my neck. Goosebumps tingled on every inch of my body, and I leaned toward him, giving in–
No! I had to think. I pushed against him, the music throbbing and bumping through my ribcage as lights sliced through my pupils, sending shadows at strange angles too quickly for my brain to keep up.
Carson used the short distance between us to turn me around and pulled my ass against his hips, tilting them left to right. The feel of his warm breath against my neck sent my head swimming. I reached back, steadying myself by wrapping my hands around the back of his neck. I closed my eyes against the light, my thoughts against the music, the sweat… everything dulled my brain. I needed to watch.
Thought left me as he spun me around and pulled my chin to him. Something in his soft, deep eyes had changed. They were savage, lusty, hungry. He reached out for my shoulders and slid his hands along the silk front of my blouse. Enjoying the feel, I had the impulse to feel his ear with that shiny earring inside my mouth. I allowed him to draw me in further.
Something angry and animalistic welled up inside, growling from my subconscious.
Stop. Breathe, Rowan.
Breathe.
I sucked in a breath, but Carson’s fingers moved down my blouse to caress the skin just above the waist of my jeans. I tipped my head back and sucked in a moan.
Small talons pulled some hair from the top of my head, sending clearing shards of pain to my brain, and another growl rose from the dancers nearby. Something large, hulking, and furry loomed into view as the pain gave me a moment of reprieve from the pheromone’s effects.
The last vestiges of sanity cried out in my mind. Turning away from Carson, I clawed at the power from Devon to regain control as Lyle’s desperate wings flapped in front of my face.
Devon!
I’m here. Get that damn Canadian to stop pawing at you and hold onto something. This is going to hurt. Get rid of it fast.
I barely understood what he was saying when power, more than I had ever tried to pull before, flooded into me. Every cell screamed out, and the rush of it was heady. My body pinged on a new level, and I swore I could taste the music. But as things got clearer, the less sway the stupid pheromones held over my mind.
Behind me, Carson grew more aggressive. Roughly he turned me back to him, a losing battle raging in his eyes. He brought his face closer—and I palmed his lips
“I’m sorry,” I told him.
His eyes pinched in confusion, but his hands continued their task. In one motion, I flung him into the vampire as I yelled, “Lyle, hit the sprinklers.”
Carson hit the vampire and ended up on the floor. The vampire glowered at him, then jumped as water rained on the entire club, breaking the spell… and turning the orgy into a safer, wet t-shirt rave.
Relieved at the decrease in aggression, I moved to help Carson and watched the vampire slip into the back rooms with his enthralled Barbie still in tow.
“Thanks for that.” Carson coughed as he took my hand.
“No problem. Sorry if it was a bit rough. If you’ve got more in you, the fun isn’t over yet. He still has the girl.” I moved with renewed preternatural grace and sped for the back rooms.
he darkness of the back rooms enveloped me as I dashed with as much stealth as my boots would allow. He wasn’t getting away. After two turns around some storage boxes, I slowed as pathetic noises rang out from just ahead.
Of Scions and Men Page 5
