by Anna, Vivi
After draining the glass a second time, she turned a few pages. That’s when she saw it.
The Gate.
While she stared down at the advertisement, her heart skipped a few beats. Hands sweating, the glass nearly slipped from her fingers. Setting the drink down, Eden leaned close to read the ad.
The Gate was a club downtown. A hip, alternative place that catered to all-night ravers. Chills ran down her spine. This was too much of a coincidence.
Something wanted her to follow the clues.
* * *
After eating Chinese takeout, Eden found herself standing in line to get into The Gate.
Among a motley collection of Goths, punks and bohemian chic, she stood out like a pimple on a perfect, pale face. With her black tank top, worn jeans and black combat boots, she appeared more grunge than subculture, which wasn’t really all that cool since grunge had officially died with Kurt Cobain.
As she waited, she searched the crowd in front of her and behind for Lilith Grae. Although there were plenty of girls with long black hair and pale complexions, she didn’t see Lilith.
The line moved and Eden found herself at the front. Two beefy bouncers manned the door like sentries to an army base. One of them glared at her when it became her turn to go through.
“No cops allowed,” he grunted.
The people pushing at her back suddenly moved away as if they’d been told she had an infectious disease.
“I’m not a cop.” She added softly, “Anymore.”
The bouncer looked her up and down, then held out his hand. “Wallet.”
Digging into her back jeans pocket, she slid out her leather billfold and handed it to him. She ground her teeth as he rummaged through it, inspecting her driver’s license, then glancing at her. She could’ve taken him down in a matter of seconds if she had wanted. She’d taken down bigger and faster men during police training. She was a firm believer in it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. And she had a lot of fight inside.
After sliding two twenties out of it, the bouncer tossed her the wallet. He stuffed the money into his pocket and unhooked the rope from the line, gesturing her forward.
“Go ahead, sweetheart.”
She muttered a few choice curse words as she passed him.
The club was a massive, raucous menagerie of strobe lights, neon and writhing bodies. Eden could smell the sweat from the doorway.
The place was packed with wall-to-wall tattoos and metal studs, and she had to push her way through to the bar, which was up on a platform away from the throng of dancers. Two large birdcages hung on either side of the bar—girls in skimpy leather outfits danced and gyrated inside. Despite the view, it would provide a good position to survey the club.
After shoving through, she realized there were no available stools at the bar and absolutely no room to maneuver to get a drink. After several attempts to push through, she was about ready to give up when a rail-thin girl with pink cornrows fell off her stool and landed on her back right at Eden’s feet. Eden stepped over her and slid happily onto the seat.
One of three bartenders gestured to her. “What do you want?”
“Scotch, rocks.” Then she groaned. “No wait. Cranberry soda.”
The bartender smirked, then grabbed a short glass, slammed some ice into it, and poured in the juice and soda. He handed it to her. Instead of putting money into his waiting hand, Eden gave him a picture. The picture of Lilith Grae she’d downloaded from the missing persons’ website.
“Do you recognize her?”
Glowering at her, the bartender didn’t look at the photo. “No.”
She glared right back. “Just look at the damn picture, please. I’m not asking for anything but that.”
Slowly, he glanced down at the photo. Eden knew he was really looking. Not like some people who just glanced and never really saw.
“She used to work one of the cages.”
Eden took the photo back and gave him some money. “What happened to her?”
“She quit obviously.” He yanked the money from between her fingers.
“You better be back with my change.”
The bartender scowled at her but did return with a few bills and some coins.
Satisfied, she took a sip of her drink and swiveled on her stool to survey the crowd. It was like looking for a grain of sand on a beach. Lilith would blend well with the pack. Eden would never be able to pick her out among the dyed black hair and pale complexions.
Obviously, this had been a wasted venture. What was she thinking? She wasn’t, was the issue. Draining the rest of her drink, Eden decided to just let the police do their job. They were good at what they did. They would find the woman.
“Are you looking for someone?”
Startled by the booming voice, Eden jumped in her seat. A man sat next to her. A huge man. The stool looked as if it would break any second under the strain of his enormous mass. He wasn’t obese by any means. Just big. Like a bodybuilder on massive doses of steroids.
He was wearing a black T-shirt and camouflage cargo pants and was holding a cigarette. The seams on his pants and shirt looked as if they’d rip open at any moment.
“I’m sorry? Are you talking to me?”
He tapped the ash off his cigarette and turned his head to look at her. “I’m looking at you, aren’t I?”
Her heart slammed in her chest so hard she had to gasp for breath. His eyes were as black as soot, the pupils red. Eden looked up at the lights overhead. It must’ve been a reflection off something, like a cat’s eyes glowing in the night.
“I’m just sitting here having a drink,” she said as she picked up her glass and jingled the ice.
“Ahuh.” He tapped the ash from his smoke again. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
“It’s my first time.”
He grinned and gray tendrils of smoke curled out of his nose and mouth. “I like first-timers.”
Bile rose in her throat. She hadn’t seen him take a drag off his cigarette, so where was the smoke coming from? Parched and shaky, she instinctively reached for her glass, then remembered that it was empty. But as she clasped it in her hand, she felt the cool, refreshing liquid inside. Her glass was full again. Shivers rushed down her spine.
“I have a message for you, Eden Swain.”
Fear wiggled its way into her body, like a worm burrowing into black soil. Her throat tightened. “How do you know my name?”
“Go home, get drunk and forget everything you think you know about Lilith Grae.” He stood to leave. “If you don’t, you’ll be sorrier than you’ve ever been in your life.”
“Wait. Where is she?” Eden grasped his arm before he could turn away. His flesh burned like a hot plate against her skin. She yanked her hand back and swore. “Fuck me!”
Cradling her hand to her chest, she looked down at it. A black scorch mark covered her entire palm. Smoke was actually rising from it and the stench of burned flesh invaded her nose.
She looked up at the huge man with a renewed sense of awe and fear. It wasn’t normal for skin to sear; he wasn’t normal.
Leaning down into her face, he said, “You can’t help her, Eden Swain. You’re not worthy.” More smoke snaked out of his nose and mouth as he spoke, as well as the putrid smell of rotten eggs.
Eden’s stomach roiled and she had to bite her lip to stop from retching.
With the pain of her burn still registering, she watched as he walked away. He moved through the crowd easily. She supposed that didn’t surprise her since he was such an enormous man, easily seven feet tall, but it wasn’t as if people were consciously moving out of his way. In fact, it seemed as if nobody even acknowledged his presence.
They didn’t stare or gawk as he moved past, but just sort of drifted out of the way as if pushed gently by an unseen breeze.
Eden couldn’t let him walk away—she had too many questions. Even though fear coursed through her, she had to try. F
or the woman. For herself.
Leaning over the bar, she snagged a cotton rag, put the ice from her drink into it and wrapped it around her hand. It hurt like a bitch, but she sucked it up and jumped off her stool to follow the mammoth.
Because he was so tall—easily head and shoulders, maybe even nipples, above everyone—it was easy to track where he was heading: to the washrooms.
Leaning against the wall outside the men’s room, Eden waited for him to come out. Other men gave her strange looks as they brushed past her, but she ignored them. She was beyond caring what anyone thought of her, or question what she was doing.
She was even more determined to locate Lilith Grae. The giant’s warning just affirmed her decision that she was on the right track. Obviously, there was more going on than simply a missing woman.
After ten minutes, Eden was through waiting.
She pushed open the door and marched in. There were two guys at the urinals. Ignoring their indignant protests, she continued on to the three closed stalls.
Eden peered through the crack in the first door. A young man in leather nearly fell off the toilet. She moved to the next one. This time there was a couple, a man and woman, getting their jollies—they didn’t even notice her intrusion. The third and final stall was empty.
“Where the hell did he go?” Eden spun around the room, looking for another exit or a utility door or employee entrance. There were none. She glanced up and saw a small barred window. No way that anyone could fit through that, especially not a man weighing at least two hundred and fifty pounds of solid flexed muscle.
“Damn it!” she yelled.
The washroom door swung open again. Two beefy bouncers stomped in; she recognized one of them from the front door.
He grinned. “It’ll be my pleasure to show you the way out, sweetheart.”
Chapter Five
The bouncers escorted Eden out of the club, but they couldn’t force her off the street. She stood on the other side of the road, leaning against someone’s car, and kept watch on the place. Something was going on inside the club, something nefarious or something unnatural. Either way she’d wait here all night to find out. She couldn’t let this lead disappear.
After two hours of sitting, Eden stood and flexed her legs. Her ass had gone numb. As she walked around, the prickly sensation radiated over her butt and down the backs of her thighs. She hated that feeling.
Something stirred in the alley a block over. A pop bottle rolled out of the mouth and onto the street. Vigilant, Eden watched, waiting to see if someone emerged. A flash of something pale rushed into the lane. She couldn’t be sure, but it had the look of a man, although it could have just been dogs rummaging through the garbage bins.
Big dogs the size of humans?
A sudden urge to make sure crept over her. What if it had something to do with the giant from the club or with Lilith?
After looking both ways to make sure no one was observing her, Eden sneaked along the sidewalk and ducked into the alleyway. It was practically barren except for a big green garbage bin that stood against one wall about halfway down.
Keeping her eyes forward, she bent down and unsheathed the knife from the strap on her calf just above her boot. She flicked the blade open and stepped down the alley, her back to the brick wall opposite the bin. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but she was of the motto forearmed is forewarned—with armed meaning literally with weapon.
As she crept, she listened for any out-of-place sounds, except she could barely hear over her own labored breathing and pounding heartbeat. Dread was pumping through her veins like a toxin. Maybe coming down the alley hadn’t been a very bright idea.
A sudden breeze whipped through the alley, sending pieces of papers and trash into a swirling dust devil. Eden shut her eyes as it whirled around her, peppering her face with dirt and debris. Almost as soon as it formed, it was gone, entombing the alley with dead silence.
Eden’s skin crawled. Someone or something was staring at her—she could feel it on her flesh like a thousand scurrying cockroaches. With her thoughts working overtime, Eden decided to turn and go back the way she’d come. There was nothing here. Even with the minimal light, she could see down to the end. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself as she rushed along the wall to the opening of the lane.
Glancing once more behind her, she stepped out of the alley and onto the sidewalk with a sigh of relief. She flicked her blade closed and tucked it into her pants pocket. Shaking her head at how foolish she’d just been, Eden started to walk back to the car to continue watching the club.
She managed two steps before she was quite literally swept off her feet.
A black hood was thrust over her head and she was picked up under the arms and yanked into the air. Her feet flailed, seeking anything solid to touch on, but found none. She was being carried somewhere high.
As pure terror surged over her, she clawed at the felt hood over her face. She couldn’t get enough air. She was going to suffocate.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The dark-chocolate-rich voice came at her ear.
“I can’t breathe.”
“Yes, you can.”
His voice was soothing and she could feel a little of her panic leak away. Slowly, she let her hands drop. As she did, they brushed against the arm holding her around the chest. Wide and strong. And hairy?
“Where are you taking me?”
“We need to have a little talk.” The second he literally growled the last word, he tossed her.
She landed on her ass.
Which was probably a blessing since she couldn’t see. If she had tried to land on her feet she might have twisted her ankle or worse.
Cursing, she yanked off the hood and looked around to get her bearings. She was on the rooftop of a building. A high building by the looks of it.
Gravel bit into her palms as she gained her feet. Dizzy, she stumbled sideways and nearly landed on her butt again. A pair of strong hands held her up. Not the same hands that had dropped her to begin with—these were not hairy.
Shrugging off his hold, she swung around to give him a piece of her mind. The words lodged in her throat. She nearly choked on them.
He was beautiful. There was really no other way to describe him. Not in the effeminate way some men were pretty, but flawless like a statue of pale marble carved by the most talented of sculptors. His skin seemed to glow, as did his eyes.
Oh, and he was naked.
“What is going on? And who the hell are you?” She tried to not look at his other amazing parts. “And why the hell are you naked?”
“None of those things matter.” He walked around her as he spoke, and she got a glimpse of his extraordinary ass. “What matters is that you listen very carefully to what I say to you now, Eden Swain.”
“You know you’re the second asshole today who’s tried to tell me what to do.”
He stopped in front of her and arched a brow. “Who else has spoken to you?”
“Some big dude in the club.” She lifted her hand, the one still wrapped in a dishrag. “He gave me a little souvenir to remember him by.”
“What did he tell you?” His eyes fixed on hers and she had the sudden urge to fall into them, to surrender herself to the fortitude in them.
“To go home and forget about Lilith Grae.”
“Considering the source, those are wise words.” He began circling her again. “After tonight, do not concern yourself with this matter. Go back to your life. Do not get involved.”
“And what if I tell you to take a flying leap off this building and continue to do what I want?”
He smiled but there was no joy or humor in it. “You talk tough, but you would not be able to handle the consequences of your actions.” His eyes glinted like stars in the night sky. “You think you live in hell now? You have no clue what that truly is like.”
Without thinking, Eden used her injured hand to snag his arm as he walked around her. Pain seared
through her and she grimaced. “You don’t know me. You have no clue about my life and what I’ve had to deal with.”
He covered her hand with his own. “I know more than you realize, Eden Swain. Your soul bleeds all around you.”
Tears sprang to her eyes with the description of the emotional torment she’d been going through. How could this stranger see right through her, to the very essence of her being?
He was no ordinary man—it was evident in everything about him.
“I do not tell you these things to hurt you. I say them to keep you from more harm.” He squeezed her hand, then let his own drop. “Searching for Lilith Grae will only bring you more pain.” Giving her his back, he walked toward the edge of the building.
As he walked away, she noticed his long bone-white hair fluttering in the breeze. He had a graceful way of walking, majestic like an animal. Which of course was crazy. When he reached the edge, he turned and looked at her once more.
“Heed my words. Save your soul.”
“Wait!” She rushed after him. “Is she safe? Can you at least tell me that?”
He paused as if pondering whether to give her the information or not, as if it wasn’t a good idea. “Yes, she’s safe.”
He stepped up onto the ledge and jumped off the roof.
Eden ran to the edge. When she looked over, he was nowhere in sight. Not falling to his death, not gliding down with a parachute or hanging from a helicopter. He was just gone. Evaporated into mist.
But there was movement in the street below. It looked like a giant dog striding down the road. A dog or a large, pale wolf. Exactly like the one she’d seen trailing behind her the other night. Which was impossible, wasn’t it?
Vertigo made her head swim and she stumbled back. But it was more than the fear of heights that made her mind muddled. Her whole life she’d been able to figure things out. Algebra equations and word anagrams were as easy to do as playing tic-tac-toe. She’d always been skilled in solving problems. But now, she had no clue how to figure this one out.
Everything she’d experienced since the woman’s disappearance was beyond her scope of logic and reason.
