23
Zeph
“I’m not sure where I expected us to end today, but I didn’t think we’d wind up here,” Ro yells in my ear over the thumping bass of the club.
We’re back at Second Circle, where Silver is supposed to be meeting Ember again. This fucking place is a nightmare, and it’s about to burst my eardrums. I don’t know how anyone can stand it. The smell of sweat and booze and perfume is almost enough to make me gag. But no one else seems to give a shit. They’re all gyrating and practically fucking each other on the dance floor.
And that’s not including the people whoareactually fucking at the edges of the rooms. Or the vamps chowing down on their prey in the next room. My skin crawls at the thought and I’m tempted to say ‘fuck this shit’ and head home.
But I don’t.
There’s one thing, one person, stopping me from leaving.
The damn enigmatic little witch who has me wrapped around her pinkie. She’s currently doing the rounds, trying to absorb as many types of power as she can while people have their guards down. She’s looking for a way of freeing those people from being stuck as living statues while she waits for Ember to show.
Who knew that sex clubs would be a place where people use a ton of their magic? Not me. I figured they’d be too distracted.But Silver dragged us down here, saying that she’d never had to fight her magic so hard as when she came here for the first time.
It’s not the first place we’ve headed to today either. After spending hours trying every technique we could think of to break the trapped people free, we eventually persuaded Silver to take a break.
We headed straight to a flea market under a bridge close to the edge of town, which was nasty. Pretty sure I saw a bunch of rats chowing down on something as we passed one of the filthy alleyways. But Silver knew her way around. As well as being somewhere people use a bunch of their magic without realizing, it was also a good place for eavesdropping on conversation, trying to find out if Simpson and his cronies had owned up to their part in creating the living sculptures.
I mean, from what Ember said, it’s clear they’re the ones behind it. What’s surprising is that they haven’t come right out to claim ownership of the living statues.
There’s also every chance that whoever cast the spell is feeling pretty damn pleased right about now, and they might want to go somewhere to celebrate.
“I hate this place,” I grumble. I’m trying hard to ignore all the half-naked bodies in front of me, keeping my gaze laser-focused on Silver as she makes her way through the crowd.
“Huh, I’m surprised,” Ro says. “Thought you might be into it, considering you woke up with someone’s hand on your ass this morning. I figured you’d fit right in.”
I glare at him. “That wasyourhand, asshole. Again. Your unwelcome paw touching my ass.”
He just shrugs and grins, entirely unrepentant, and I shake my head at him.
“You think she’s all right?” he yells in my ear.
“I think she’s working herself to exhaustion again, and she’s gonna need to take a break before she passes out on the floor,” I reply.
No fucking way am I letting that happen. On this floor especially. I can’t imagine how many bodily fluids are stomped into the laminate.
“You think it’s going to work? That she’ll find a solution here?”
I shake my head, focusing on our witch as she winds through the crowd. She’s not exactly dressed the same as everyone else here—in jeans and a t-shirt, just like the rest of us—while the rest of the room is practically naked. But that doesn’t stop the lecherous gazes running over her.
It’s a true test of my control. I can feel something bubbling up inside me and I’m about five minutes from going full caveman on her ass and throwing her over my shoulder.
Maybe we should try it. I reckon Silver might be into getting flung around like a rag-doll. It wouldn’t be too difficult to prop her up against a wall and bury my tongue between her legs.
... fuck. And now I’m getting hard.
This place is messing with my head.
“How long do we give her before we pull her out?” Ro asks. We’ve already been here almost an hour, and I was fit to leave after all of a minute had passed.
