May’s next words destroyed her warm fuzzy feeling. “What are you going to do, handcuff yourself to her?” May shook her head. “She’ll be safe in her apartment with the doors locked.” She looked at Brianna and then at Jack. “Come on. We don’t have very much time. It’s almost midnight on Halloween night. If he can’t kill Brianna, he’ll kill someone else.”
Mamie Hoya spoke up. “She’s right. But I’m coming with you and Jack, May.”
There was a pause, and then May nodded. Her expression was, as usual, inscrutable.
“Hey, if you’re going why can’t I go?” Brianna asked.
“What’s all this about?” Dee came back to the table. He had to speak loudly, the noise in the club was getting louder as the music cranked up and people started dancing.
May looked pointedly at him, so Jack cleared his throat and said, “We have to get Brianna to a safe place. The Heart Taker has left her a poem. And May, Mamie Hoya and I have to go on an errand. Somewhere,” he added, not sure what else to say.
Dee gave Brianna a shocked look and said, “My office is a safe room here in the club. It was here when I bought it, and I left it like it is. If you want to stay here you can.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going to lock myself up in some closet and wait until he comes to get me. I feel safest with Jack. I’m coming with you.”
“Where are you going?” Dee asked. Jack.
“I don’t know.”
May tapped her long fingernails on the table. “Only Jack and Mamie Hoya can come with me. Jack because he’s a zombie, like me, and Mamie Hoya because she’s a spirit talker. But you two,” she pointed at Dee and Brianna, “will not be welcome.”
Brianna felt all the warm fuzzies dissolve to be replaced with the urge to take May’s perfectly made-up face and shove it into the nearest wall. “I’d like to see you try to stop me,” she snarled.
Jack took her hand, “Brianna, can I talk to you alone, in Dee’s office?” He didn’t give her time to reply. He pulled her to her feet and dragged her across the club. Halfway across the dance floor, she managed to dig her heels in and stop. “No, I won’t go. You’re going to try to reason with me, and I don’t want to be reasonable,” she shouted.
“Please, Bree.”
“No. And don’t call me Bree! I’m not a cheese!” She felt like crying. Damn him.
“Come on. Just a talk.”
She pushed her lower lip out. He wasn’t going to get her into that office without a fight.
Just then a group of women saw Jack and surrounded them, and Brianna suddenly found herself the object of a collective stare of envy and downright dislike.
“I just wanted to say you were incredible,” said a woman wearing little more than a green bra and shorts, with several lengths of ivy twined around her arms and neck. When she rubbed up against Jack and cooed at him, Brianna wanted to take the ivy and pull it tight around her neck.
Another woman, in a black witch’s dress complete with pointy hat and broomstick muscled her way to Jack and gave him her card. Several other cards followed.
Jack let go of Brianna’s arm and signed an autograph, then another. More women pushed toward them.
Brianna felt very out of place amid the sexy or scary costumes. She looked down at her pink taffeta dress and wondered what had possessed her. She hadn’t had the heart to really dress up, and she’d just grabbed her old prom dress, a plastic play crown and scepter, and a stiff tulle petticoat to fluff everything up. She felt dowdy. A gorgeous creature in a leopard outfit slunk through the crowd and fastened herself to Jack’s arm. Brianna froze. Jack’s bad arm. He didn’t seem to notice.
Biting her lip, Brianna took her scepter and goosed the leopard woman, who let go with a shriek.
“So sorry,” said Brianna. She grabbed Jack’s good arm and pulled him away. “All right already. I’ll go to Dee’s office with you.” She thought she saw him grin but decided it couldn’t be. Men weren’t that tricky, she thought.
When Jack closed the office door behind them, the noise ceased. The door was soundproof. “This is the safe room,” said Jack. I want you to lock it behind me and only let Dee in.”
“No.” Brianna sank down onto the orange couch and stared up at him. My God he was gorgeous. And stupid. How could he think of leaving her all alone here?
He nodded. “I’m sorry, Brianna.”
She blinked and tears ran down her cheeks. “I lost you once,” she said.
“I know. I’m sorry about that too.”
“I can’t bear to lose you again.”
“You said you weren’t in love with me.” He brushed the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs.
“And you listened.” She sniffed. “Shows how much you know about women.”
“I thought you had a crush on Jeffrey.”
She gave him what she hoped was a withering look, although it probably just came out watery. “He’s married.”
“Yeah well, I’m dead.” He looked suddenly lost, like a little boy. “There’s no future for us—and none that I can see for myself, but I want you to have a future, Brianna.”
She swallowed. There was a lump in her throat that made breathing difficult. And despite herself, even though she sternly told her hands not to do it, she touched his shoulders, sliding her hands around his neck and drawing him to her.
Their mouths met hesitantly. Her lips were damp with tears and faintly salty. His were firm and tasted of beer and the lemon drops Mamie Hoya kept handing out. She pressed closer to him and a low groan, born in his throat, escaped his lips.
“Bree,” he whispered.
“Don’t call me Bree,” she said, slipping her tongue into his mouth and teasing with it. She kissed his mouth, his chin, and ran her lips lightly down his throat, pressing a long kiss into the soft hollow there, where no pulse beat.
Another tear escaped her eye, but she didn’t raise her head. She pushed his shirt open and kissed his collarbone, first one then the other. His scars were fading. She didn’t know how that could be, but she ran her fingers lightly across them, following the dark line of hair that snaked from above his navel down into his pants.
She pulled her scratchy tulle skirt off, and then tugged at the taffeta dress. “Unbutton me,” she ordered.
He took a shivery breath and obeyed. When her buttons were all undone, he pushed her dress off of her shoulders and then turned her around and pulled her to him. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. That was the truth. She had no idea why she was seducing him. It didn’t matter. Her eyes were squeezed shut. She felt the soft couch beneath her, and part of the stiff tulle skirt, and her scepter digging into her back. A soft warmth enveloped her. She sighed.
His lips brushed against her temple. The faintest whisper came to her. “I’m sorry Brianna.” Then … nothing.
She waited for his kiss. Eyes closed. Then his words sank in. Sorry? “Jack? What did you mean?”
Nothing. Her eyes flew open. The room was still lit, the door was locked. A blanket covered her. And Jack had gone.
Chapter Sixteen
The Shores
Costumed revelers flooded the streets that night. They moved in tightly-knit groups, talking and laughing in loud voices. Jack, Mamie Hoya, and May didn’t attract more than passing glances from the people around them. Jack had on his regular jeans and a white shirt, but he’d taken his vampire cloak and a woman in a bridal gown had pressed a top hat into his hand, so he wore that too.
May moved quickly in her high heels, avoiding the crowd on the sidewalk by walking in the street. Mamie Hoya darted along right behind her, one hand brushing along on the parked cars as if counting them. Jack didn’t move very quickly; in fact, he felt drained. What was Brianna going to think of him? Would she hate him for the rest of her life?
He had no idea what had come over her. One minute she was pushing him away, the next minute she was tearing her clothes off. He’d thought of several possib
ilities. She had been turned on by his stripping and it had nothing to do with him personally. By her own admission, she got hot when guys took their clothes off. Or maybe it had just been fright or nerves?
He had nearly lost his head and then she’d shut her eyes. Suddenly, all he could think of was, “Why are her eyes closed? Is she afraid of me? Is she horrified to see me?” Those thoughts had run through his mind and chased him right out of the room.
She was going to kill him. Well, not really. He was already dead. And anyway, it was still early, so he’d have a long time to worry about it tonight.
Mamie Hoya said he looked peaked, and handed him a banana she took from her bag. “Eat this, I brought it for you,” she said.
Touched by her solicitude, he devoured the banana and felt marginally better. At least his headache had gone. He started to think about Brianna again but stopped himself. He would have time later to explore his thoughts and emotions. Now he had to concentrate on what May wanted to show them. She kept saying it was important. A zombie without a heart should have no trouble staying focused, Jack thought. But each step he took away from Brianna was torture.
“Where are we going?” he asked May, as they came to a busy intersection and turned down a narrow street with hardly any traffic. There were fewer people around, and most of the streetlights seemed to be broken. At the end of the street they turned into a dark alleyway.
May pointed to a small sign high on the brick wall. “Here we are. Remember this place, Jack? It’s called Cheery Alley. The place we’re going to is called The Shores, and it’s a sort of bar.” She stopped and looked at Mamie Hoya. “You know where we’re going, don’t you?”
“I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never been there before,” she said.
Jack didn’t think the alley had any cheer at all to it. Garbage was strewed along the ground, and a cat uttered a mournful yowl from somewhere ahead.
“It’s right here.” May pointed to a turquoise door set in a brick wall. She knocked once and waited. The door opened, and Jack couldn’t stifle a gasp.
The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen stood in the doorway. She had skin the exact shade of dark chocolate and her face was perfect in its symmetry. Her shoulder-length hair was braided with pale blue and sea-green glass beads, and she wore a silver choker around her long neck. Her eyes were enthralling—like dark honey—and then Jack saw she carried a white cane and stared straight ahead of her. She was blind!
“Three tickets,” said May.
“Hello, May.” The woman’s voice did not sound particularly friendly. A man appeared behind her. He was a giant of a man, with vivid blue tattoos on his pale arms in the shapes of snakes and lizards. He wore a sleeveless tee-shirt to show them.
“Who do we have here, Tasha?” he asked the woman in the doorway.
“You know May. And there is another zombie with her. Two undead. And a spirit-talker.”
The man took two red tickets and a blue ticket from his belt and handed them to Tasha. “If you want them to enter, you can give them these,” he said.
Jack thought they were being a bit dramatic about everything, but he couldn’t help being impressed by Tasha. Was she really blind, or was it an act? Hard to tell. She handed the tickets to May and stepped aside with a slight bow.
May nodded back and strode into the club. Jack and Mamie Hoya, after a glance at each other, followed. The bouncer was even bigger than Jack had thought. The top of his head barely reached the man’s clavicle. For a minute they stood in the crowded vestibule, and then May said, “Right in front of you, Jack. Go on.”
Jack stopped staring at the man’s tattoos and noticed a flight of narrow stone steps leading down in a tight spiral. Carefully, he descended the staircase and arrived at another door. This one had just a slot in it, and May put the tickets into the slot. After a second, the door swung open revealing a blonde woman in the doorway. She had hip-length platinum blond hair and icy blue eyes. She smiled, and showed sharp fangs.
“Welcome to The Shores,” she said. And her eyes suddenly flashed a deep, ruby red.
The music was soft, the lights dim, and shadowy figures sat in booths along the wall. In the middle of the room was the dance floor, and it was empty. There were a few people at the bar. People? Jack wasn’t so sure. He looked at Mamie Hoya. She gazed around, an interested look on her face.
“So this is where they go,” she said.
“Shall we sit down?” Jack asked, pointing to an empty booth.
“Not there,” said Mamie Hoya. “There are some spirits there.”
Jack looked closer and noticed some faint shadows. “Have you ever been here before?” he asked her.
Mamie Hoya shook her head. “Sally told me about this place, that’s how I knew about it.” She turned to May. “Can you see ghosts?”
“All undead can see them, though some ghosts are more clear than others, and some undead see better than others.” She shrugged. “There’s an empty table over in that corner.”
As they passed the bar Jack saw several spirits, and the rest were … Jack looked carefully, trying not to stare. “Are they all mutants?” he asked.
“Mutants, yes, but mainly the undead. This bar caters to an unusual clientele.” May waved to someone who waved back, and she nodded a greeting to the bartender, who gave her a grave smile.
They sat and Jack took his hat off and looked around at the décor. The booths were surrounded by a nearly transparent gauze curtain. You moved it aside to take your seat. There were candles in the middle of the tables, and the wall sconces were very classy, like chandeliers. There were gray walls, a polished stone floor, dark brown wooden tables and chairs. There was nothing aggressive and no loud music. Soon Jack found himself relaxing into his comfortable chair.
“I come here to unwind,” May said, “and I thought you would appreciate it.”
“No humans except spirit-talkers are allowed,” said Mamie Hoya. “That’s interesting. Why are spirit-talkers invited in?”
May said, “Because the undead aren’t necessarily able talk to spirits. Some undead can’t even see them. Spirits sometimes need to tell things to humans, and that’s why spirit-talkers are welcome here.”
A waitress came over. She was a mutant, with bright green eyes and a feral smile. “What can I bring you?” she asked. She did a double take when she saw May, and Jack swore he saw her pupils narrow like a cat’s. Then she blinked and her eyes went back to normal. “May. How nice to see you here.”
May looked at her and smiled back. Jack was sure that if smiles were knives, both women would both be dead on the floor.
“I’ll have an iced-tea with a side dish of candied ginger,” said May.
“I’ll have a hot tea with lemon and a piece of pumpkin pie,” said Mamie Hoya.
“And I’ll have a Virgin Mary and a BLT,” said Jack.
When the waitress left, Mamie Hoya said, “she didn’t look too happy to see you, May.”
“I killed her boyfriend.” May shrugged.
Jack said, “And you dare show your face here?”
“He was a bad guy,” said May. “He was a murderer. It’s against the laws of humans and of mutants too, in case you didn’t know.”
“But there are human laws that can take care of killers. You shouldn’t take justice in your own hands.”
May sighed. “It’s not like that. Soon you’ll understand what I mean.”
The waitress came and served them. May said, “Put this on my tab.”
“Sure.” The waitress didn’t leave though. She stood and looked at Jack. “Are you the one the Heart Taker killed?” she asked.
“How do you know that?” Jack frowned, looked around, and noticed for the first time that everyone was staring at him.
“He scares us,” was all she said. She turned and walked away.
“Why is everyone looking at me?” Jack said.
“You’re a famous victim,” said May. She sniffed. “You’ll see. In the undead community
there is a rather strict hierarchy. The eldest usually command the most respect. You can guess that a thousand-year-old vampire mutant has got to be either wise and powerful or completely insane. In the insane case, I usually get called in.”
“Called in?” Mamie Hoya put her tea down and looked at May.
“When you’re finished I want to take you to one more place. Then you’ll understand better. And the next higher ups on the ladder are those killed by famous killers, like Jack the Ripper or Dracula.”
Jack couldn’t tell if she were kidding or not. “Tell me more about the undead community. I didn’t know there was one.”
“When you’re alive, you don’t know there is one,” said Mamie Hoya.
“It’s not something we advertise, as you can imagine,” said May.
“Am I welcome here?” Jack asked.
“More than welcome. You’re a celebrity, like I said. If you’d stayed with my father, you’d have found all this out by now.” May could make an accusation sound like a laundry list. She didn’t sound as if she cared one way or another about anything.
Jack wondered about that. Was she so cold? Or was she simply a master at hiding her feelings? His food came and he ate, realizing he was famished. Afterwards, he wiped the crumbs from his mouth and said, “Is Halloween an important day for the undead?”
May nibbled on a piece of ginger and looked pensive. “Not any more than the winter or summer solstice. For some it is important, for others it’s the one time of year they can go out in public and not be stared at.”
Mamie Hoya pushed her empty plate aside. “Why don’t you show us the other place now? The one you wanted to show Jack?”
Jack offered to pay but May shook her head. “It’s on my tab. Don’t worry, you can pay another time.” She stood up and waved to the bartender, who nodded in her direction. Then they left, but from another door in the back.
“This is the exit door,” said May, pointing to the old, oaken door set with iron hinges. There were strange, swirling carvings in the wood.
They stepped out into an alley. Jack looked around, and behind him was just a plain brick wall. “Where are we? This doesn’t look like downtown.”
Jack the Stripper Page 13
