by Izzy Shows
“You OK?” A voice spoke behind me, rich and smooth. I felt my shoulders tense in anticipation of another attack, squeezing my eyes shut because I just couldn’t handle another one. “Whoa, that does not look like you’re OK.”
I frowned, opening my eyes and looking around. A man with naturally tanned skin, dark brown shaggy hair, jeans, and a loose button up shirt stood there. His head was tilted to one side, eyebrows pinched together and eyes slightly widened in concern. He looked genuine, but I still ran the usual perimeter check of my mental shields—no interference. Good. I pulled in another breath. So, with that out of the way I only had to worry about being hit on.
“I’m fine,” I said, smiling tightly at him. “I just don’t do so well in crowds.”
His face relaxed a bit and he lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah, most people who hate loud crowds frequent bars and clubs. Makes sense.”
“Haha,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I know, it’s ridiculous, and it was a bad idea. I should probably go home, but…” I gestured helplessly at the crowd back inside. “I promised a friend I would come and give it a shot.”
“Remind me to thank your friend,” he said with an appreciative glance at my body. I blushed, reverting to my normal personality instead of the arrogant woman I’d assumed when I put on the costume. I didn’t feel awkward in the clothing anymore, I had worn it long enough now that it wasn’t on my radar, but I just couldn’t keep up the façade.
“I’ll let her know you like the get up.” I levelled a look at him, not quite glaring, but enough so that he would know I didn’t appreciate the gawking.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. You’re just…breathtaking, captivating…Gods, that sounds ridiculous, I’m sorry.” He shook his head, reaching a hand up to scratch at the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
I felt myself relax then, his comments had been almost natural, they didn’t feel forced and didn’t make me feel like someone was trying to pick me up, and that was just a refreshing change of pace from what I’d gone through inside. I didn’t lower my shields though; I wasn’t an idiot.
“Yeah, a little ridiculous, but thank you for the compliment, however false it likely is,” I said with a grin. I knew there was nothing at all about me that was captivating, as he’d said, so it sounded like a load of crap to me. But it was nice crap, the kind of thing that someone said because they were trying to talk to you, not just trying to sleep with you.
“It’s not false, and for your information, it’s not a line either. If that’s what you were thinking. I don’t…uh, I don’t interact much around here either.” He shrugged his shoulders, looking back at the dance scene behind him before turning to me.
“Then why are you talking to me?” I asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“Because, you’re not our usual clientele.” He was so matter of fact, his voice almost deadpan, and I thought I might have seen something flicker in those brown eyes of his. My breath caught in my throat for a moment; had I been found out? No, I hadn’t said anything that would give myself away, there was no way he knew what I was, who I was.
“What makes you say that?” I asked, lifting my chin.
He eyed me for a moment, looking appreciative, and his stance was not aggressive. It didn’t seem that I had anything to fear from him, so why was I nervous now?
“Because you wear your clothes like armour. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful, and the effect…well, I’ve already spoken about that. You’re intriguing, and I’m sure the others feel it too. I feel safe guaranteeing that no one is approaching you because they think you’re an easy mark, they’re doing it because they can’t wrap their heads around what you are. An enigma. You’re dressed to kill, and the way you move, so self-assured, practically lethal, it’s believable. I’ve only ever seen a few move like that, and they were not to be fucked with.”
I swallowed at the appraisal, looking away from him. He had seen through me, or partially anyway. Because I could kill, easily, but so could anyone else in here. They all possessed the lethality that made us so dangerous to the mundanes, so I didn’t see why that would be intriguing about me. I looked back at him and managed a smile.
“That’s quite the interesting theory, but I assure you that it’s wrong. I’m no one special, just a girl who got roped into coming to a club,” I said.
He took a step closer to me. “But you aren’t, are you?” His voice dropping to a murmur. “Because you wouldn’t be here, at this club, if that’s all that you were. You wouldn’t be at my club if you didn’t have some secret you were keeping from the world.”
I backed up until I was pressed against the railing. “I have no sec—” The words wouldn’t come out, the lie would not be told, and I pressed my lips firmly together in aggravation. “What do you mean your club?” I asked, hoping that the segue would appear natural, as if I had interrupted myself to ask that question.
“It’s…my club,” he said with a laugh. He stretched out his arms and rotated his body to emphasise the words. “I’m sorry, I thought you knew that. I’m the owner.”
“Oh.” My eyes widened. “Oh, no, I had no idea.”
He grinned at my apparent discomfort. “I told you, I don’t normally talk to the people here, and you aren’t the type that we usually get. I didn’t mean to mislead you.”
“No, it makes sense now, I suppose I just wasn’t connecting the dots.”
“I’d like to assume that’s because of the powerful effect I have on you, but it’s far more likely that you’re just a bit distracted by the people here.”
I smiled. “The people are overwhelming.”
“Ah,” he said, pressing a hand to his chest. “Wounding my ego.”
“I’m sure you’ll survive.” It was easy to fall back into the relaxation from earlier now that I knew why he’d been so curious before, so analytical. He was the owner of the club, and if he didn’t spend a lot of time interacting with his clientele, then he probably spent a lot of it observing them. Of course he’d be able to pick out my anxiety, it was probably written in every movement I’d made.
“So, have I earned a name?”
“Hm?” I asked, pulled out of my thoughts again.
“Your name,” he said, laughing. “I was trying to get a proper introduction.”
“Oh! Sorry, my name’s Blair.”
“Pleased to meet you, Blair. I mean it, it’s refreshing to meet someone who isn’t quite the same as everyone that comes in here. I’m Geoff, by the way.”
I bit my lip, smiling at the compliment. “Nice to meet you too, Geoff. So, what are you doing out here?”
“Oh, I don’t believe in micromanagement. My bartender, Jaegon, is more than capable of keeping everyone in line and happy. I don’t come here too often, but I wanted to check things out tonight, make sure everything was still running smoothly. I’m glad I did, I’d hate to have missed out on knowing you. I came out here to get a breath of air, I assume the same as you.”
“You’re right, I couldn’t quite cut it in there for more than a few minutes.”
“Confession?”
“Ooh, go ahead.”
“I saw. I was hoping you’d come out here so that I could talk to you.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
“Like I said, you’re intriguing, even before you speak. But especially so after you do.”
“Well, thank you.” I blushed, not quite sure what to think of that.
“So why do I get the feeling that there’s more to this ‘friend roped you into coming’ thing? It doesn’t seem the kind of thing you’d give in to, feel free to tell me if I’m completely wrong on that. Just not the vibe I was getting,” he said.
I looked at him and then back to the ground, chewing at the inside of my lip. I was debating telling him the truth about me, about why I was here. He was the owner of the club, and that meant that he was in the best possible position to know if something was wrong. If something looked fishy, I doubted that he wouldn’t be a
ware of it. It was a huge risk, since as the owner of the club there was also the high chance that, as he would be more in tune with the clientele and was specifically the person who catered to them, he would toss me out on my ear. And that was the ‘good’ outcome of being found out by someone antagonistic to me, there was also the chance that he would rough me up. Or kill me.
I had my shield rings, my wind chain wrapped around my wrist and fingers. I had the force tattoo, I had the shield tattoo. I could make it out of a fight, I was certain of that. But I was also certain that Carmen would have it in for me if it came to that; it was the last thing she had wanted, and she had explicitly told me not to do that.
“I’m looking for someone,” I said at last.
He lifted his eyebrows, but otherwise didn’t look surprised. He nodded for me to continue, clearly aware that there was more to that story.
I looked around us, we had a good space bubble, there were only one or two other people in the courtyard with us and they were a good distance away.
“A vampire, I’m looking for a vampire. There have been several deaths, unsanctioned by the Baron, and I’m investigating. I came here to see if anyone knew anything about it, or if the guy was here at all. I knew if I showed up in my usual gear that no one would talk to me, so I was hoping that if I fit in a little…maybe I could learn something from an innocent conversation.” I shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal, as if I hadn’t just trusted him with information that I wasn’t supposed to share.
He looked thoughtful, contemplating what I had said. It was several moments before he broke the silence.
“You didn’t have to tell me all of that.”
“No, I suppose I didn’t, but you are in the unique position of being able to tell me the most useful information.”
“Hm,” he said, nodding his head with eyes narrowed. “You’re a Wizard.”
I blinked, staring at him but not answering. I hadn’t said that, I hadn’t even implied that. I wasn’t a Wizard, I didn’t have the title, but I did have the power. I chose not to speak, it hadn’t been a question, and it would only discredit me to point out the inaccuracy.
“I’m sorry that I don’t have more information for you, but there’s not been anyone in here that has broken my rules, and I’m not aware of anyone coming through here who’s been violating any community laws. No one’s told me anything to that effect, anyway. But…” he paused, and now it was his turn to look down at the ground.
“But?” I asked, stepping forward, curious.
“I’ve always believed a secret told deserves a secret in return.”
I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my lips. “I like that.”
“Will you keep it?”
I traced an X over my left breast, nodding my head.
He leaned close to me, so that our cheeks were inches apart, and I felt his breath feather against my ear. “I’m a Wolf.”
My eyes widened and I reflexively stepped to the side so that I could snap my head around to stare at him, jaw dropping. “You’re a what?” I gasped. No, that wasn’t possible, they didn’t exist, they’d been wiped out, eradicated, killed. No one had seen or heard from a Wolf in eons, and there was no way that I was standing here, talking to one. Fred had described them like savages, said that they would rip me to shreds if I came within a few feet of them, said that they could tell…my secrets. He had known when I was lying. He had known that I wasn’t what I said, that I didn’t fit in with the clientele.
Oh Gods, that made sense. He’d know that I was magic.
“But you’re not supposed to be alive,” I whispered.
He winked at me. “And yet here I am.”
I kept staring at him, into his eyes, seeing the flecks of gold that marked his brown eyes and realising that he had to be telling the truth. Who would lie about that? I swallowed, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, and had to look away from him. I felt his hand at my wrist, drawing my attention there and then back up to look at him again. His eyes were concerned.
“I’m not going to eat you, Blair. That’s not how it works,” he said, his tone as earnest as his eyes.
“Then why are you so OK with the people you have here? Because they want to eat people, it’s obvious in everything that they do, they would love it if you changed your rules and let them gobble up whoever they wanted. But you’re not going to eat me, even though I’m clearly the type of person who hunts these people,” I blurted the words out in a rush, trying to make sense of everything that was happening now.
“It’s about control. I can control myself, and that didn’t happen overnight for me. I had to work on it for a long time. They can learn to control themselves too. That’s what I’m doing here. I’m operating within the grey areas, yes, but I do that because I’m trying to improve the community, help it to evolve to keep with the changes that happen in the world around them. So many of them are used to killing whenever they want, and obviously, that doesn’t work anymore. There’s too much communication in the world for that kind of thing to be allowed, so they need to learn to change their habits.”
I nodded, starting to understand. He had created this club as a training centre, but hadn’t told the participants that was the goal. Part of me disliked the dishonesty there, but I had to admit that if it worked, it was genius. I didn’t know that it was working though, considering the case I was currently working. Maybe that was unfair; there was nothing that said the vampires I was hunting had ever come here.
“I need you to keep my secret, Blair. It’s a big one.”
“I’ll keep it,” I said, without missing a beat. “I was never not going to keep it. I appreciate the trust. One question, though.”
“Fire away,” he said, smiling. He had visibly relaxed once I’d said I would keep his secret, which was good to see. I felt better, too, with all the information out in the open.
“Can I come back to see you, if I have any other questions, or leads?”
He laughed. “I was hoping you’d want to come back for other reasons, but yes, you are welcome here. Actually,” he said, reaching a hand into his pocket and pulling out a card. “Take that. My number. You can call me; we don’t have to meet here.”
“Thanks,” I said, tucking it into my shirt—I didn’t have any pockets and hadn’t thought to bring a handbag. “Now, I think it’s time I went back in there and tried to find some information.”
31
I made my way back into the club slowly, letting myself adjust to the crowd to avoid being overwhelmed. The music pulsed, speeding up my heart rate to match, and in the middle of the crowd I started to feel it. The same feeling that had taken me at the club with Shawn—the call of the crowd. The desire to be a part of it, to join the herd mentality that kept them dancing and pushing against one another, and generally enjoying things. It’s a heady feeling, and one that normally I would fight, but this was what I was here for, this was what I needed to blend.
So, I let the feeling take me, guiding the sway of my hips, jumping with the crowd when the song called for it. I tilted my head back and laughed, because it was fun and who knew that it could be? Dancing by yourself might sound lonely to those that frequently engage in this type of behaviour, but to me it was so…freeing to spend a moment just enjoying something by myself.
The moment was short lived, though, when a tall man with chocolate hair and sparkling blue eyes walked towards me. For a moment, I faltered, the thought that I was in his way and he was going to plough through me flitted through my mind, but his eyes were intent on mine and I realised that he was coming to me. I lifted my chin and gave him my most alluring smile, my hips maintaining the swaying rhythm of the fast-paced song.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more captivating woman,” he said when he was finally in front of me.
“You’re too kind,” I said with a girlish laugh, tilting my head down slightly so that I could look up at him from beneath my lashes.
“May I have this dance?”<
br />
“Only if you promise to stop acting like such a gentleman.” My eyebrows bounced up and down and I grinned, aware of the implied invitation in my words. This was the point of being here, fitting in and finding out information. I had played more than a few men in my time to get the information that I wanted, and this would be no different. I turned around so that my back faced him, looking over my shoulder at him as I arched my back, keeping up the dance as I did so.
He was against me in a moment, wrapping his hands around my waist and pressing his hips against my backside. I was acutely aware of the invasion of my personal space, and how different it was to the way Shawn had pressed against me. I couldn’t help but to compare the experience, and it came up sorely lacking. The chemistry with Shawn had been palpable and intoxicating, this man’s presence was more of an annoyance that I put up with, the chemistry manufactured to deceive him.
I was surprised that it was working, I would have thought it would be harder to do in a club like this, where everyone was trying to play one another and get inside each other’s head. But perhaps it was the fact that I was relying on normal human tricks to get through, rather than defaulting to the heavy handed magical approach.
“So, what are you?” I turned my head to the side so that he would be able to catch my words, my voice breathless and eager.
“What do you mean?” He laughed, his hands exploring my hips and stomach.
“You know what I mean. What are you? What uh, can you do?” I had to fight to keep my voice light, to not snap at him to be such an idiot. At least he couldn’t see me rolling my eyes.
“Ah, I’m a vampire. What about you?”
I lifted my arms above my head, my chest rose and fell to the beat of the music as I rolled my hips forward and backwards. I turned my head farther so that I could wink at him before I turned back.
