“You’ll take Jacob’s spot as flyer until I can fully train you to take Skye’s spot as lead warrior. Cool?” Drea asked me as we power walked to Wild Ones Club.
I stopped right in front of the club and looked at her in surprise. “You want me to eventually be lead warrior?”
Drea cocked a grin and lowered her voice. “You can open and close portals, Tatum. Heck yeah I do.”
Marlow pointed to the door, looking at the device in her hands. “We should get in there. The dark energy is amplifying.”
Yikes.
Without waiting another second, Drea passed the rest of the people in line and stepped up to the bouncer, handing him her ID with a couple folded hundred dollar bills. “You wouldn’t make a pretty girl like me and my friends wait in this long line, would you?”
The bouncer’s gaze went right to her cleavage, and for a split second I saw a coiled dark snake around his neck. It reminded me of the snakes around the necks of the Shades I’d met at Shade Academy, and that made me shiver. I was starting to see a pattern with these. Although it seemed I was the only Watcher who could see them, they only appeared to be on people who weren’t the most morally outstanding citizens
He grinned. “Come on in, dollface.”
After barely glancing at our IDs, we were inside.
The stench of alcohol, sweat, and sulfur assaulted my nose the second we stepped into the place. The deep heavy beat of drum and bass rattled my chest as the music blasted through the speakers. The club was dark and lit only by black lights that made people’s eyes, teeth, and colored clothing glow, but little else.
I flicked my gaze to the stage, where a DJ stood under a flashing neon sign that readBlackout Night.
Great. It was going to be impossible to see shadow demons here.
I glanced at Drea. The slightest bit of fear flickered across her face, but then it was replaced with determination. “Jacob,” she called the male Lumen over. “Find a way to get the lights on.”
Jacob nodded and then disappeared into the crowd as Drea turned to Marlow. “Marlow, start scanning people. Give us a signal if you find the demon.”
Marlow inclined her head to the dance floor and then she was gone.
Drea chewed on her lip as she looked at Dash.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her. I couldn’t help but feel like there was something more going on than just finding this level four.
Drea looked at me, the whites of her eyes glowing in the black light. “If a level four goes unchecked feeding off the wrong human, it can cause big problems.”
I swallowed hard thinking of the demon who’d fed from Stella back when the diner I worked at was attacked. My life as a waitress seemed like years ago, but in reality that was only last month.
“What kind of problems?” I yelled over the music.
Dash leaned forward, pressing closer to me. “Shootings, gang fights, crimes of passion, everything you hear about on the news.”
Terror rushed through me. Were they saying that most of the awful stuff humans did was influenced by demons?
Spurred on by that revelation, I scanned the club until an idea hit me. I jerked my chin toward the back of the room. “I’m going to flirt with the DJ. If stuff starts to go down, I’ll have a good vantage point from the stage and access to the microphone.”
“Brilliant,” Drea said, even as Dash frowned. Drea’s blessing was enough for me, so I quickly blended into the crowd before Dash could stop me.
Bodies pressed against me, and I was jostled back and forth as I tried to reach the packed stage. I didn’t have time to change from my funeral attire, but even so the black dress I wore wasn’t too bad looking. My braided hair hung over my shoulder, and I wore light makeup. Hopefully, it was enough to entice this tool behind the turn tables to allow me into the booth.
Work it, Tatum.
I wasn’t proud of using my looks to get my way, but in emergencies a girl has to do what a girl has to do.
When I reached the DJ booth, my eyes fell on the black snakelike shadow around the dude’s throat. Two bouncers stood at each end of the stage, blocking people from going up.
Not ideal.
My gaze flicked back to the snake around the DJ’s neck, and I suppressed a shudder.
