Blue Moon Rising (The Patroness)

by Natalie Herzer

  As I finally was able to stand up straight again something or rather someone caught my gaze. Kylian was standing at the top of the spiral staircase and he took my breath away. Outside that bubble of soft light created by the torches he looked dark and deadly. Feeling like a deer caught in headlights my mind struggled between fight or flight. Since I wanted neither, I only stood there. Feet planted on the ground, slightly apart. Ready for battle, just in case. Kylian came towards me with that lethal swing of his. Eyes glowing blue and raking over me, his nostrils flared in anger.

  I swallowed but didn’t drop my gaze. I didn’t know what had gotten into him, but let him be mad. I wasn’t one of his subordinates; he didn’t own me and had to understand that. I was an equal.

  Music had filled the air again, the passionate rhythm of a rumba, a perfect mirror of the tangible tension and emotion swirling between us. Instead of the little fighting I kinda had expected though, he shocked me as he pulled me into his strong arms and began to lead the dance.

  He didn’t come far, since I stood my ground, not moving an inch.

  “Dance with me!” Not a request.

  I didn’t budge. “Uh, what a charmer you are. I’m getting weak in my knees. Not.”

  He growled.

  Okay, that might have been not such a wise move. “Maybe, if you asked nicely.”

  I looked into his clear and bright blue eyes, and gasped when they were a soft brown again in the next instant. Had I blinked? One moment he’d been mad, his animal near the surface and about to explode, the next he pulled on calm like a jacket. That was kinda scary. Really.

  “May I have the pleasure of this dance?”

  “Okay”, I managed to get out. Not bad Maiwenn, at least it was a word. Kind of.

  And so we danced. While he held me in a close embrace, our hips connecting, I followed his lead. Everything drowned out, nothing else existed except for him and the irresistible rhythm we both were prisoners of. Guided by our feelings and instincts. All of it making this moment even more intimate than a kiss. Spellbound, I couldn’t do anything else but to glide with him over the rooftop, to stare into those stunning eyes, which now held little happy blue sparks dancing in their depths. I felt like I’d drown in them, getting lost I almost forgot where I was, who I was. Faint alarm bells went off in my head.

  Then I noticed golden snowflakes getting caught in Kylian’s hair and his long, dark lashes. My mind had a little trouble to put one and one together but I finally managed. Faery Dust, Pauline’s work. We looked up and saw a glittering cloud swirling above our heads. We’d stopped dancing, just stood there holding each other. Kylian returned his eyes to me and it was as if he looked right into my soul. Understanding and seeing me like no one ever had before, just with a look.

  Suddenly I heard the cheering of the others, who’d watched us dance. I pulled free from Kylian’s embrace and the spell we were under, a little embarrassed I’d forgotten about the little crowd. As I moved to the table to sit down for a while and get my bearings back, I found Viviane looking at me, her expression unreadable.

  “The night is full of surprises, it seems.”

  I shrugged, hoping to play it down, and sat in a chair beside her, sipping on a glass of wine. “It was just a dance.”

  Her laughter rang in the night. “If that’s just a dance, then what’s foreplay to you?”

  The wine came nearly back out of my nose.

  Still laughing, she said, “It’s late, I’ll go downstairs.” She stood, wishing good-night to the others and when she passed me Viviane softly patted my shoulder. “Be careful out there.”

  Putting my hand on top of hers, I nodded. “Will do. T’inquiete pas!”

  Viviane smiled faintly down at me. “You know I always worry.” She squeezed my hand one last time and then she was gone.

  The others were still dancing and chatting on the improvised dance floor. It’d been a really nice evening, reminding me of life and what it was worth – but all things had to come to an end and Viviane had been right, it was getting late.

  Kylian caught my gaze and came towards me. “My grandpa identified our vics. All went missing during the last week. He informed and spoke to the relatives, all of them had different times of disappearance, and nothing common pops out, so far.”

  Grateful for talking shop, a safe and not arousing subject, I wondered, “So they randomly and haphazardly snatched five shapeshifters off the streets? Highly unlikely if you ask me. There must be something they all have in common.”

  “Every victim was supposedly alone. But other than that, nothing. Some went missing during day, others during night.”

  “Any lead as to where they disappeared?”

  “Not so far. But grandpa’ll keep us posted.”

  I nodded, stood up and called out to Chastel and Pauline, “Hey guys, sorry for interrupting, reality is calling. We have to check out the second furry hang out.”

  They joined us at the table and together we began to clear it. Two trays and a wicker basket were lying beside one of the chairs, so we loaded and filled them with the dirty plates and the leftovers of our feast, and headed downstairs for the kitchen.

  Pauline was walking beside me, although her flapping, violet wings and light gait gave the impression that she was rather floating above the ground.

  “So where’s that hang out? What’s the plan?”

  “It’s a karaoke bar on Rue de la Roquette. We want to see or rather Kylian wants to smell whether the rogue has been visiting lately.”

  “A karaoke bar? Can I come?”

  Before I could say ‘no’ Chastel cut in from behind us, “Actually I think it’s not that bad an idea.” When I frowned at him, he explained, “It would be less suspicious, that’s all. Two couples, friends whatever, enjoying embarrassing moments are less likely to draw someone’s attention than a tough female with two bad-ass males at her side.”

  He had a point there. Dammit. But I wanted to keep my friend. In one piece. I liked Pauline and although I’d told her about the risks and dangers that living with me involved and promised her to keep all of that away from her as much as possible, I knew she’d like quite the contrary. She was an adventurous type. The fact that Pauline would follow a nearly complete stranger, even if he’d been her lover, into a foreign country, kind of gave it away. She had guts, that was for sure. And I had Kylian and Chastel with me to keep an eye on her in case things went wrong.

  “Okay. Under one condition, after we checked out the bar, you will go straight back home.”

  “Yes, I promise.” Promises still meant something in the magical community, so I believed her to do exactly as I said.

  In the kitchen we stowed everything away and after loading the dishwasher, Pauline suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me into my room, closing the door behind the two of us.

  “Huh? What’s going on?”

  She beamed at me. “We’re going to be undercover”

  Oh, for crying out loud.

  She saw the look on my face and corrected, “Kind of. I know that we’re only going to play two couples having fun in a karaoke bar. Nevertheless, we should actually dress like two girls on a night out to make it credible.”

  She turned around to open my closet and took a good, long look inside. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Pauline held up a mini-skirt.

  I shook my head, “No.”

  “Why? I bet you’ve got great legs hidden under your pants.”

  Still shaking my head, I explained, “I know you’ve got a point about dressing up. But this skirt isn’t practical. I need to be able to move. Remember, this isn’t a date for me, but my job. I’ll still be out patrolling afterwards.”

  She nodded. “Right. Okay, okay.”

  Smiling to myself, I joined her and together we rummaged through my closet. Soon it looked like a bomb had gone off in there, but I didn’t care. I enjoyed Pauline judging my outfits. Faeries had an innate talent for those things, so I just listened and nodded and grinned
. In the end we settled on a dark blue, linen pants and a white, tight top that left half of my back bare. I went into the bathroom, where I showered and dressed. I had just finished blow drying my hair when a knock sounded. Pauline announced herself, so I went to open it and let her in.

  When she saw me, she nearly gaped. “Wow! I didn’t know it would be curly.”

  Untamed my hair was a full, blond mane curling around my face and falling in waves down my back. So as not to ruin the effect of my top though, I draped the locks loosely over one shoulder.

  “That’s why I keep it braided all the time. It’s more-

  “Practical, I know, I know, and understand. But, God, it’s a damn shame. You’ve got great hair. How do you do that?”

  I had to laugh and wondered when I had stood with another woman in a bathroom to talk girl’s stuff for the last time. I was pretty sure that had never happened before. Well, it had been me to suggest for Pauline to move in, right the day after I found her dancing naked in a freaking fountain. I should have expected that living with her would be...different, and fun. To be honest, that’s why I liked her in the first place. “You look great, too.”

  She’d chosen a short, dark blue and silver-gray halter-neck dress, matching nicely with her violet wings. Her back was bare, so there was enough room for them to move and no need of making any slits.

  “How do you explain the wings when somebody asks you?”

  “Sometimes I tell them it’s a costume. Besides, if I tell them there aren’t real, they believe it. Humans can be strange sometimes with stuff like that.”

  I shrugged, and then tried to move in my outfit, testing some kicks. Not bad all in all.

  I managed to talk Pauline out of earrings but not the make-up. My eyes were the only part I really liked to experiment with, so I easily applied some copper, scintillating eye shadow and dark eye liner. A little grumpily I added a little blush and gloss. When I was finished I turned to Pauline.

  I grinned and shook my head at the same time, still not believing how much life had changed. “Okay, let’s go then.”

  After I quickly got Cutter, we walked into the living room where Kylian and Chastel were already waiting for us. They, too, were obviously game for the role playing. Chastel had changed his army pants against black jeans, accompanied with a black shirt. He really wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes.

  Neither was Kylian. He wore jeans and a white, linen button-down shirt, the sleeves of which he had rolled up his forearms.

  “Ready to...sing and patrol?” I asked, looking at each of them.

  Kylian opened the door and motioned with his right arm for me to lead the way. “If you promise to be a good girl this time.” I walked through the door and heard Kylian mutter under his breath, “I’ll take that back.”

  Turning slightly around I saw the corners of his lips curling into a wicked smile as he took in my bare back. I smiled sweetly at him, thinking that maybe dressing up from time to time couldn’t hurt.

  “Why?” Pauline wanted to know. She hadn’t heard his last comment.

  “They threw us out the door in the first hangout we’ve checked out,” Kylian explained to her, his eyes still on me.

  I cut in, “Us? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m quite sure that was only my ass being teleported, not yours. You strolled out of that club as if nothing happened.”

  Pauline arched her eyebrows and looked at me. “Why would they do that?”

  “Well, I’d say, birds of a feather...”

  His gaze finally travelled up, meeting my eyes. “Oh, so you being armed to the teeth in a place where weapons are not allowed and killing shapeshifters once in a while has nothing to do with it?”

  Although he said it playfully, he hit a raw nerve there but I didn’t let it show. “First of all, weapons are not allowed only because you don’t need them since you all are weapons. Secondly, I’m not killing shapeshifters, I kill rogues. And yeah, maybe it had a tiny bit to do with that little intermezzo.”

  “Are you guys ready or is there enough time for me to watch the UFC?” Chastel had his arms crossed over his strong chest and stood leaning against the wall, looking bored.

  “Yes to the first and no to the second. Let’s go!”

  Kylian and I lead the way and Pauline locked the door behind us, bringing up the rear with Chastel.

  Chapter 10

  La Rue de la Roquette was an old, long and narrow one-way street I often took, since it stretched all the way from the Place the la Bastille to the Père Lachaise cemetery, which always provided a good deal of work. The street buzzed with life; the sides were bursting with fashionable cafés and restaurants, good ones and bad ones, night-clubs, boutiques and galleries. Some of which sold ridiculously expensive or weird stuff, making me wonder as to how they were able to make their living. But a network of dark passages branched off and offered plenty of opportunities for the hungry shadows lurking in the night.

  Another reason why I patrolled this street so often was that in the 1830s two prisons were built on both sides of the street. The first one, for juvenile delinquents and the second one was used as death row. The Parisians nicknamed those prisons with regard to the gravity of the committed crimes, the good-for-nothings in La Petite Roquette and the murderers in La Grande Roquette. Although they didn’t exist anymore, they had left a good deal of work. Curses, ghosts or spiritual traps that rudely pushed you to take a trip down memory lane. Not really beneficial for the victim’s health, but for my business.

  The karaoke bar we were headed for looked like a regular Parisian café, but not in any way like those awfully modern ones whose range of colors only included lots of gray and a little touch of red. No, this one had atmosphere, with it’s nice bar and worn out wooden tables and stools.

  We settled down at a table for four, in a relatively acceptable position, not too far away from the door. After a little struggle with the boys I was allowed one of the two desired chairs that had their back to the wall, therefore permitting a good and thorough observation of the place. Kylian took the other one, which – if body language was anything to go by - kinda pissed off Chastel big time, though he stayed silent for the moment.

  We ordered our drinks; I took an orange juice since alcohol had proved to be a not so wise choice around Kylian, and Pauline took off, probably announcing her sing-readiness to the DJ and choosing a song.

  I scanned the crowd. Weird that this bar of all places would rank in the top three of the most popular furry hangouts of the moment. Not that it was bad, not at all, odd thing was just that there weren’t a lot of shapeshifters around. I’d bet that less than a third of the crowd was otherworldly, most of whom were faeries and vampires at that. Hmm. Well, with the Blue Moon coming up and the resulting excitement the shapeshifters might rather prefer the ambience of the first club Kylian and I visited.

  I couldn’t make out any threats among the guests, probably since the otherworldlers present knew that most of the clients were human. Besides, they were all here to sing and to have fun, and so I leaned back and listened to an old man performing ‘La Mer’. He had a beautiful voice, strong and touched with a trace of melancholy. It made me smile because it was also one of Viviane’s favorite songs. Maybe I should take her here some time.

  Pauline came back to our table, pulling me back to reality away from my ideas of playing Cupid.

  “And?”

  “Only two other songs to go.”

  Our drinks arrived and while grabbing for my orange juice I leaned a little forward and asked in a low voice, “Anything leaping to the eye?”

  “It’s rather quiet here, the atmosphere, not the music. A lot of humans.” Chastel pointed out, voicing my own observation.

  “Yeah, I noticed that, too.” I turned to Kylian, “I was wondering whether it could have anything to do with the full moon coming up. Is it possible that the shapeshifters would prefer other, say more private places these days?”

  Kylian nodded, “Yeah, sure. Besides, there�
��ve been a lot of shapeshifters in an out of here, but most scents are a couple of days old, which might confirm our theory.”

  “And what about the rogue?” Chastel asked, although we all knew the answer to that one. Kylian just shook his head.

  The DJ announced the next brave singer, but I wasn’t really listening, the matter at hand, of course, having more priority.

  Chastel leaned forward to keep things that weren’t meant for other ears at our table. “This is getting us nowhere. We should turn that city upside down, sooner or later we’ll find that Rogue or at least a useful trail.”

  He was right. I stood up and wanted to take my stuff when I finally noticed the applauding crowd. Looking up I saw a lot of curious eyes focused on me. Oh no.

  Pauline stood up, too, and whispered, “Um, we’re on.”

  My face probably a masque of horror, I hoped I heard her wrong. “Come again?”

  “Yes, I thought you liked to sing. You did it while we were gardening.”

  I took a deep breath. “Pauline, I don’t do singing.” Before she could interrupt I added with a little less panic in my voice, “You were the one singing. Me? I like to hum, that’s different. Singing in front of a crowd, that’s something entirely different. Can’t you work a charm or something? I promise I’ll make it up to you. We’ll come back here another time and we’ll sing together, but right now I have to go on patrol. Please?”

  I shouldn’t have worried. Pauline was my roommate and knew exactly what she’d gotten herself into by living with me, or almost. She wasn’t hurt about taking a rain check and immediately started to work a little charm, that let the DJ move on to the next on the list and gave us the opportunity to leave the bar unnoticed.

  Once outside I took a deep breath. Boy, that was close.

  “Okay, I’ll head home, as promised.” Pauline smiled and gave me a kiss on each cheek. “Be careful out there!” She then turned to the guys to say goodnight.