by Kyanna Skye
Her eyes took in the sights of those that had chosen to attend tonight’s festivities. She could see wolves, vampires, one or two Gargoyles, a warlock, a triad of mages that she couldn’t identify, a whole slew of Kelpies, dark elves, and other creatures of the night. Some of them wore faces that she recognized while others were just as unknown to her as the human rabble outside.
It didn’t surprise her that she could not identify many of them. Not everyone in the immortal’s community was on friendly terms and one was just as likely to recognize an enemy as they were a friend. But the prior was more likely as immortals tended to be envious of one rival tribe or another and for whatever reasons seemed good to them.
But signs of such rivalries would not be found here she knew. Not if those that held on to such grudges wanted to keep their innards internal. It was widely known – and heavily enforced – that peace was preferred in this place. And to those who violated such a rule, the transgressors would not live long to show off their daring.
Not if the owners were watching… and even when they weren’t.
She made her way past the gatherings of people in the club. Some of them were engaged in what looked like friendly conversation while others were clearly involved in some kind of business dealings. Others simply played at light hearted pass times; cards, dice, drinking games, darts, and some even tattooed one another right in the open using means known only to those of the twilight world in which they all lived.
She paid it all no heed. Her mind was set on her own business tonight and she couldn’t wait to get to it. Dawn was still hours away but she knew that she had only until sunrise to make good on her claims. And the sooner she got to it, the better it would be.
She wound her way through the crowds of people, ignoring their dancing and their banter as they went about. Some tried to offhandedly engage her attentions but she ignored them. One or two of them, men and women both, attempted to pull her onto the dance floor but she bypassed them entirely.
The feeling of so much free magic within this place was almost as intoxicating as the drinks that were served here. Her skin tingled… her hairs stood on end… part of her felt the compelling need to dance, but not in the manner to which so many were currently engaged. It was that kind of power that had drawn her here… power that could be sampled only once every month.
Her eyes searched the club, looking for the right people that she needed to accomplish her business. She saw most of the usual L.A. denizens of the undying variety within the club. Most of which she had no real care to deal with.
She stretched out with her senses, looking for the real power here. She closed her eyes, tuning out all of the sounds and distractions. It was as if she were listening to a symphony orchestra and listening for one particular instrument as it struck one particular note. It was simply a matter of patience…
The sound of glass breaking so close to her head shattered her thoughts just as it did the vessel that had clearly flown across the narrow space near her. She opened her eyes and found the shards of glass near her feet. She noted the remnants of what looked like it had once been a beer mug with some of its contents still frothing as it seeped into the highly packed dirt floor of the cavern.
“Bastard!” screamed a loud voice.
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw where the upset in her concentration had come from. And what she saw there was both amusing and terrifying.
She saw two men, both of similar height, but each from a rival pack of werewolves. One of them wore a head of rust-colored hair while the other wore a scalp as white as a sheet of paper. Both looked to be in their thirties or forties, but such things were hard to be certain of given the deceptive nature of immortals. But both wore tattoos on their necks that branded them as members of rival packs and they sat at a table. Though the redheaded one was on his feet now and looking thoroughly upset; his aggravation did not seem to upset the rest of the party-goers around him.
Maybe I was wrong about how well everyone knew the rules of this place, she thought, thinking that maybe these two and their hot tempers were just what she needed to find the owners of this place.
“Bastard!” screamed the same voice again, which she now saw belonged to the red-headed wolf.
“Peace now,” replied the white wolf and more calmly.
“Peace?” Red retorted hotly. “We had a deal! And you back out at the first sign of trouble! I’ve seen mongrel bitches that had more gumption.”
White crossed his arms patiently. “You need to calm down, boy.”
“Boy?!” Red cried, his anger rising. “I’m a hundred and seventeen years old!”
The wolf across the table shook his head and slowly got to his feet. “Let me know when you get to twelve hundred years,” White said, picking up his beer mug and drinking the last of its contents in one go. “Maybe we can do business then. Until that day, have a good eternity.”
White turned to go.
Red, looking thoroughly outraged, turned his eyes back to the empty beer mug on the table and reached out to grab it. Calypso didn’t need to be psychic to know what was about to happen next.
She took a cautious step back as Red seized the glass and wound up his pitch for the departing wolf’s back. But his arm never began its descent.
A hand reached out and grabbed the younger wolf’s arm, freezing it solid as if it were bound by iron restraints.
The pup turned to look at who had just stopped him from expressing his rage. His eyes fell on upon a youthful face, attached to a youthful body. A boy of perhaps twenty or so stood there. His hair was raven colored, his skin was fair, but the muscle that rippled underneath his shirt gave testimony to the kind of power that the youth possessed.
“Who the–?” Red began.
“I’ve never noticed you here before,” said the Raven-haired youth to the young wolf. “So let me make this clear: you broke one of my beer mugs. You’ll be expected to pay for that and I’ll be willing to let this incident slide.” His tone changed, becoming g more mature and warning-like. “But if you try to get a big hairball started in my place… your ass is going to become an appetizer.”
“Let go of me!” Red thundered, attempting to pull himself free, but his arm remained as immobile as it had a moment before.
“Not until you understand the house rules,” the youth said, his voice even more stern than it was before.
“I said—!” Red tried one last time.
The youth’s eyes flared with anger and in an effortless move he pulled the wolf off of his feet and dangled him three inches off of the floor as though he weighed nothing at all. It wasn’t an overly impressive sight, but considering the wolf was at least four inches taller than the youth… and because the boy’s skin suddenly glowed as if it were being cracked by fire within his body.
Red’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized the danger that he was in. Calypso smiled at the pup’s predicament. He realized that he had been stomping his feet too hard and that he’d just stepped on the wrong toes.
“Oh shit,” the pup said, his voice nearly as squeak.
The boy that held him smirked as the fire-like radiance of his body faded back to normal. “Good… you understand now, don’t you?”
Red said nothing, but nodded his head fervently.
“Well then… I’m going to let you down now,” the boy said judgmentally. “And if you insist on causing problems, I’ll devour you right here. Or… you can make your way out of my place and maybe make a small donation for that broken glass before you get to the door.”
Red again nodded. “Sure… anything you say.”
The boy held the wolf aloft for only a moment more; looking him over contemplatively, before gently lowering him back to the ground. Once the wolf’s feet touched the earth he slowly circled around the boy that had held him and speedily ran for the exit, reaching for his wallet in his back pocket as he went.
Calypso smiled and with a daring that most wouldn’t have hoped for she appro
ached the boy that had just ended a dog fight before it had even begun. Peripherally she could see that some of the people – mostly women – were watching the strangely handsome youth with a clear intent. She couldn’t help but smile at herself as she came closer to him, knowing that she was entering into their fields of vision and doing what they hadn’t dared do themselves.
She clapped her hands.
The youth turned to look at her. For a brief instant their eyes met and she felt the heat of his body even from five paces away. But his look remained casual, as if he was seeing an old friend for the first time in years.
“You know,” she said when she came into arm’s length of the boy; “I never do seem to get tired of seeing that.”
“Calypso,” the boy said familiarly, crossing his arms as though he held nothing but mild disdain for her. “I’m not surprised to find you here tonight.”
“It’s good to see you too, Zeph.” She shrugged innocently. “And it’s a full moon… all the fun people are out tonight.”
The youth, Zeph, sighed. “You’re here about our business, I assume?”
She nodded her ascent.
“Very well then, follow me.”
She obeyed, very much aware of the gravity of the stares that she was attracting from other patrons as she walked off after the handsome youth. Some of those glares she knew were hateful ones… others were jealous… others were downright amazed. If there was one thing that could be said about the magical community, it was that lesser power always envied greater power. And everyone that was worth the magic in their blood knew that the boy she now trailed held an ultimate power. And if she were to literally clap her hands to get his attention… Oooh! What kind of power she must hold!
The idea made her smile mischievously.
She followed Zeph through the crowds, some of the patrons parting when they saw him coming while others gave him simple nods of familiar acknowledgement. She stayed close until they passed through the largest of the gatherings of people until they came to a bar that had been erected on the far side of the massive cavern. The bar itself was like most others, equipped with the occasional stool or chair where more than a few patrons had planted themselves for a drink.
“Pull up a stool,” Zeph said, pulling a couple of bottles from off of the shelves behind the bar and pouring a mixture of them into a glass before passing it to her. “We’ve got a few minutes at least to wait.”
She took the offered drink. “Where is he?”
Zeph knew who she was talking about. “Knowing him… he’s either completing one last business transaction before he settles for the night…”
“Or…?” she prompted.
“Or he’s getting the meeting room ready,” Zeph said, mixing his own drink and sipping from his glass generously.
She took a mouthful of her own drink. Some kind of gin and vodka by the taste of it and bland, but it didn’t much matter since the effect was the same. She had a look around the monstrous cavern that Zeph protected. “Lots of people in here tonight, I see.”
“As you so keenly observed, it’s a full moon. And that’s when all of the fun people come out,” Zeph said as he polished off his drink and poured himself a second. “Nights like these even the humees tend to notice things are wrong.”
She laughed. “I remember reading about that somewhere. They believe that when a full moon rises it does something to the chemicals in the brain that encourage strange or abnormal behavior. It’s how they derive the word lunatic.”
Zeph smirked. “No shit… I’ve never heard that one before.”
She could sense the venom of irritation in his voice, but she didn’t care. She took another mouthful of her drink. “So how’s business been since last month?”
“You would know… if you came in more than once a month.”
“Hey, it was your brother that made this arrangement. I just follow through with it is all. Besides, it’s an honest question.”
Zeph shrugged as he took another drink. “Kind of slow, really, but it usually is between full moons. Tonight… tomorrow… day after… it’ll be pretty much like it is now. And then it’ll calm down.”
She nodded. “That’s good,” she said with another drink from her glass.
“What about you? Anything fun and interesting going on in the life of the Wisps?”
She chuckled. “The usual… a few gambling debts between players… a couple of shattered relationships… nothing to write home about, really.”
Zeph looked indifferent. “Sorry to hear. But how many of those debts are yours, might I ask?”
She licked her lips at him mockingly. “I don’t owe debts… I collect them.”
“Whatever you say sweet cheeks,” he said, about to take a drink from his glass before he held as if struck by a sudden thought. He looked off into the distance, almost mindfully, as if he were looking through all of the people to someone that had called his name and that only he could hear. It was only a moment before he looked back to her, though she already knew what he was about to say. “He’s ready for us.”
She smiled and finished her drink. “I’ll follow you.”
She walked with Zeph through the many gatherings of people inside the great cavern towards the deepest parts of the overlarge space. The one area that she knew was most heavily protected was at the far end of the cave where a honey comb of smaller caves lived. Few of the caves were ever actually used, she knew, but their purpose meant nothing to her and she had never bothered to find out. But there was only one cave that was of any interest to her… or the club’s owners.
When they arrived at the far end, there were several large creatures that barred her way though they allowed Zeph to pass without any difficulties. She knew these creatures, simply referred to as “Brutes”, though they had many different parentages and names that they were known by. They stood taller than most men, wide as an ox was long. Their bottom lips were large, almost ape-like, with large tusks protruding from out of their lower jaws. Each was dressed in something that looked like a chainmail vest that made them look more than a little intimidating. It was a pair of these that moved to keep her from following Zeph any further.
The pair of them silently looked down on her, crossing their arms like bouncers in a club keeping unwanted rabble out. And neither showed any sign of wanting to let her pass so easily.
“It’s alright boys,” he said to the pair of Brutes. “She’s with me. She has an appointment with my brother and me.”
The Brutes didn’t need telling twice by one of the club’s owners and they stepped aside, allowing her to pass like bouncers would a V.I.P. She felt slightly elated for the preferential treatment as she passed them by.
They entered into a small rocky corridor beyond the watch of the Brutes and as if the tunnel were swallowing the sounds of the club behind them, the noise of song and revelry began to fade away, becoming more of a din than an actual noise.
They rounded a rocky corner, illuminated by torch light, passing out of sight.
Zeph reached out and took her hand, pulling her close to him. His mouth planted on hers with such intensity that it hurt. But not as much as when he shoved her up against the stony wall, thrusting his pelvis against hers.
She responded to his passion, feeling her tension growing within her. She had waited a month for just this kind of reaction from Zeph and now that she could finally indulge herself she felt the walls of her self-control beginning to crumble as if they were made by sand and being washed away by high tide.
She welcomed the intensity of his kiss. Her tongue slipped over his lips, exploring his mouth. She felt the heat of his body, the warmth it generated was unnatural even for an immortal. For a brief moment, even though her eyes were closed, she could see the flaring of light from within his body.
He was hot.
He was ready.
His hands snaked around to her ass, gripping it firmly through her leather pants. He squeezed it, as if he had never felt such a thing befo
re and he hiked her leg up so that it hooked around his leg. He began to grind his pelvis suggestively against hers and she felt herself growing wet from the simple gesture.
His hands found her breasts, massaging them over her leather vest and he squeezed them almost to the point of where it hurt. She moaned softly under his touch, not wanting him to stop, but enough of her senses remained to keep herself in check.
“We can’t… not yet…” she said breathlessly, breaking their kiss.
His mouth claimed hers again, silencing her for a moment before he countered with. “Yes…. we can.”
“But… Zack,” she whispered.
“He won’t care,” Zeph replied, kissing his way over her chin and down her neck. “You know he won’t.” He slid down between her legs, kneeling before her, his hands still caressing her bosom over her clothing. His fingers began to fumble with the buttons of her vest and it took a great amount of effort to reach up and stop him.
“No, no,” she said softly.
He stopped, looking at her.
“We… we have to wait…” she said, feeling her hormones raging and the heat of her own body making her quiver. “Just for a few more minutes,” she promised.
Zeph looked crushed, but didn’t remove his fingers from the fasteners of her clothing. The look on his face confirmed for her that he had been longing for this almost as long as she had and that he was not willing to give up a few stolen moments so easily.
All she could do was stand in silence, hoping that he would see the merit of her argument without her actually needing to make it. Zeph was more impulsive than his brother, she knew and that was one of the things that attracted her to him. But there was a procedure to be followed here and one that she did not wish to forego so easily.
It was only a moment before Zeph freed the clasps and gave her breasts one final squeeze as he rose to his feet, facing her evenly. “Alright,” he softly and even a little breathlessly, “a few more minutes.”
