I came unstuck from where I’d stopped to marvel at the soundproofing.
She gave me a once over as I walked towards her. “Try to keep up. I don’t have all night to babysit.”
Yeah, yeah. I got it. Don’t fall behind.
She led me down a twisting corridor. What was it about the supe community that made them turn their businesses and homes into places that defied the physics of the universe? The last club I’d been in, the one where I’d met Kat, had also used magic to increase the size of the place, adding more rooms, higher ceilings and the like. Theoretically it could be a whole world unto itself.
For all I knew an entire clan lived here.
How Liam expected me to find my way to him was beyond me. Without a guide, I would be lost.
Kat opened a door and gestured me inside. “After you.”
I hesitated before proceeding her into the room. It was like stepping into a whole new club. One that had nothing in common with the public one. Instead of the tropical oasis of the normal side, this place was much more subdued.
Wood paneling covered the walls. Wooden beams made grid patterns on the ceiling and black lights completed the look. The small bar had a wooden top and the floor was covered in places by a cream colored rug. There was also a cream colored couch against the wall. Despite being a wood box, the place managed to defy the hunting cabin look gone wrong and pulled off an old world charm that said money, class, and taste.
There were several people decorating the chairs and couches, each more beautiful or handsome than the last. It was like standing at a convention for all the pretty people. I did not fit. I was pretty enough. Before becoming a vampire I had my share of guys trying their pickup lines on me, but I had nothing on the people in this room. When God was handing out looks, he’d wasted his best stuff on the people here. I mean, really, was the good looking trait a check box when these guys decided who to turn into a vampire?
Talk about boring.
A woman in a black dress beckoned Kat over. She was delicate, with perfectly arched eyebrows and a petite nose on a finely boned face. Her blond hair was swept up into a chignon. Her face was the sort great painters of the past would have had a brawl over to determine who got the honor of painting her.
Her earrings, amber drops on long chains, brushed her shoulder as she tilted her head.
“Kat, darling, it’s so good to see you again. What is this you bring us?” Her low voice matched the rest of her, managing to sound both beautiful and superior at the same time.
I hated her instantly, not liking the way she looked me over like she was imagining what I would taste like. That may not have been far from the truth as I strongly suspected this woman was a vampire.
I had a feeling all of the people in this room were vampires. That was a cheery thought.
“Just a clanless looking for the enforcer,” Kat replied.
I glanced at her, not surprised when she gave me a cool look. In retrospect, it probably hadn’t been a good idea to follow Kat. I thought the threat of Liam would keep her from trying anything, but I’d been wrong. From the looks of it– big time.
The woman stood gracefully, circling me in a slow gliding movement. Her eyes had about as much feeling in them as a shark’s.
“This is the clanless we’ve been hearing so much about?” she asked, no surprise in her voice.
My back twitched. I did not like news of me making the rounds.
“She’s so young,” a man in the corner said.
A woman seated at the bar closed her eyes. “I can barely feel any power signature on her.”
Another power I was missing. I could feel power coming off someone but only if they were using a lot of it. Right now, the only power I felt in the room radiated from the woman treating me like prey. It had a cold bite to it, leaving me feeling an oily residue on my psyche where it brushed mine.
The woman took a seat and picked up her drink. The red liquid in the martini glass left a slight stain on the glass as she took a sip.
I took a breath, the smell wafting to me. Blood, but mixed with something. It had a slight burn to it that said alcohol. I was betting vodka.
A blood martini. How appropriate.
“I’m not seeing Liam in here,” I finally said. “Did you get lost?”
The woman at the bar chuckled softly.
Kat gave her a look that should have bludgeoned her, but bounced off without phasing its intended victim.
