Oye shook her head in disbelief. “I never imagined you and Alek being a thing. You spent more time trying to kill him for touching you than eyeing him for sex.”
“It’s our thing, he tries to hit on me, and I try to kill him. It’s called flirting,” she joked.
Hearing this, Oye’s expression showed she clearly questioned her intelligence. “If that’s your thing.”
“Look, I don’t say anything about you and your murderous, psychopath warlock.” Lanias snapped.
“Actually, you did, you had a lot to say.”
Rolling her eyes at that, Lanias pointed at the door. “Why don’t you leave me to see just how much my being here has screwed up the club.”
“Fine, I can tell when I’m not wanted.” Oye said, rising to her feet she made her way toward the door. Only to stop to throw over her shoulder, “I don’t know what you’ve been through since you disappeared. But try not to take it all on your shoulders, let me and Sabina help.”
Softening, Lanias lowered her hand. “I hear you.”
“Good, now just make sure you listen,” Oye teased, pulling the door open and leaving.
Lanias watched her go, suddenly feeling tired.
Why did it feel like everyone thought she was going to jump off the cliff once they turned their backs?
She wasn’t the type to put herself in danger.
“I don’t have any plans, but it doesn’t mean I can’t put safety measures in place.”
With that, she left the office and headed down toward the Nerium.
As the dayswent by Tiller kept getting reports of attacks, but when they went to investigate there was nothing left but the overwhelming traces of power the Surrem left behind. Their attacks were short and cruel, as if they wanted to keep everyone in the city on edge.
The Blue Jays were looking into it, but they had no information about the Surrem. So, at best they could only record the attacks as terrorist work from a rogue warlock.
But when Raijin went to the sites, he knew the origin of the magic signatures. Their attacks seemed random, one minute attacking a group of demons, then later attacking a few shifters. The damage was extensive, but again there was no one else to take the blame.
Everyone was on edge, and Lanais was growing very irritated. She felt like she was being circled, cornered. Soon even her club suffered from the continued random attacks, as Beings wanted to visit less and less.
Though it galled her, she left it to the Jackals, with Alek included; to patrol the streets. She continued going to the Shade attempting to draw out the enemy.
At one point, she started working, as she went from floor to floor taking inventory and accounting for the loss of customers. Her instincts told her this was the quiet before the storm, but every time she watched another person weeping at the loss of their loved one on TV, she felt intense anger course through her body. They were cowards, what God? What True One? They were killing people that had nothing to do with their fight, if they wanted her, they should come for her in the open.
She was growing more impatient, and if the enemy didn’t show up soon, she was going to take things into her own hands. It was a statement to her patience, when something occurred a week later. Once again confirming this plan with Lanias in mind was a waste of everyone’s time.
“Hi,”Lanias called to Chelsea who stood behind the counter, “Did the delivery of the mystics arrive?” Chelsea, one of the bar girls, glanced at the clock on the wall. “Yeah, it should be here already.”
Lanias thoughtfully tapped the countertop. “Yes! I’ve been dying to know if that brand is actually worth all the hype,” she said, heading to where they picked up deliveries.
“I’ll send a few of the girls to you when they get here to help with stocking.” Chelsea called after her as she walked away.
Call her crazy, but Lanias had gotten swept back into the rhythm of her club. She hadn’t forgotten about the Surrem, but the only way she wouldn’t climb the walls in restlessness was focusing on the functioning and managing of the Shade. Though Alek complained when she took account books to bed.
But she enjoyed it when he got irritated and pushed her books from her lap and distracted her. She grinned. It was a win-win situation. She got some work done before he gave her the good dick she was so very appreciative of.
Love was a beautiful thing.
Walking through the kitchen, she stopped when she smelled something burning. Pausing, she gave a look around but didn’t see anything. She felt a ripple of trepidation run down her back.
“Hello?” she called out, but the staff who should have been preparing for an opening didn’t answer back. As she fullyentered the room, she saw no one immediately she materialized a dagger in her hand. Grabbing it, she slowly made her way forward. “Chef?” Just as she turned the corner, she saw the passed-out people on the ground. She took a step back in alarm.
“It’s almost pathetic how easy it was to infiltrate this place.”
