The bulking man at the door didn't scare me himself. He was human after all and the smell of sweet weakness rolled off him. It was Kare's reaction that made me nervous. The buddy style hug he gave the man, typical manly stuff, one arm hung casually across each other's shoulders and the other slapping the small of each other's backs. The human looked over Kare's shoulder at me when they did so and a glob of bile rose in my throat.
It didn't matter that he couldn't hurt me, I wasn't scared. If anything, I was disgusted. I knew what kind of man he was immediately. His ashy hair was slicked back to the point it looked wet and greasy (or perhaps it was just wet and greasy) and he smiled an easy, objectifying grin when he saw me. My eyes rolled on their own accord and I was sure he'd seen it from the dark glare he gave me, though it also seemed likely that his face was just like that.
Pushing past Kare who was talking admirably to the man-and how did the date with Lucy go? Ah, good, eh? And me? The romance department isn't my thing-I scowled, the smell of urine and alcohol ridden spew explaining straightforwardly where we were. Over my long life time I'd developed a taste for the finer things in life. This dank underground club-or whatever similar den of human filth it was-didn't seem to be fine at all.
"Oh, no. She's my younger brother's...mistress, at times anyway. Practically family, aren't we Sine?" I shrugged, my eyes darting down the dirt hallway to where obnoxiously terrible music was thumping and fluorescent lights bounded off walls. It didn't look nice but it was better than standing near the slobbering blob of human that was looking me up and down hungrily. Aw, sweetie you've no idea.
"At times? Now, what's that mean, little lady?" I twirled around to face him as he stepped out from his post at the doorway to stand next to Kare. Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I stepped closer to the man, arms crossed against my chest. He might've been bigger than me, in fact he dwarfed me, but vampirism was still on my side.
An arm wrapped around my shoulder tightly and I had to stop myself from jumping when Kare pinched at my shoulder hard. This one was off limits it seemed. The taste of blood was now fading from my mouth and while this man didn't smell particularly delightful, he didn't seem it either. Kare's little poisoning ensured that I would need to feed again soon and if it was going to be anyone I didn't see why it couldn't be this man.
"Listen, Harry, you might want to mind your own business right now, yeah?" Kare growled over my shoulder, there was a sense of something inhuman in the air and I had to wonder if Harry had consciously noticed it. He stepped back anyway and gestured for Kare and I to make our way into whatever trashy little whorehouse we were entering. As we stepped into the hallway and wave of second hand emotions washed over me. Kare visibly flinched and screwed up his nose. I could understand why.
It felt like happiness, on the surface, the drunken and high kind of whirling happiness that nothing could touch. Even that was just cheap but it was all the dirty feelings under it that had me wanting to leave. It felt like wanting and needing but in the worst way possible. It didn't feel lusty at all it felt like being taken advantage of. The place felt like the kind of happiness someone bought for their last night alive. Even that seemed too good and romantic. It felt cheap and dirty and like hell dressed up as heaven.
A few steps in the hallway and Kare decided that I didn't need to be guided-pushed-away from his stupid bouncer friend. When he moved his arm I noticed the soft silky fabric. It occurred to me then how much, then, we were going to stand out in this dank little place. I tugged on his sleeve and glanced down at the lights bouncing out the opened door. The music was something awful, thumping and unoriginal.
"That's not something to worry about. Only idiots go here so, you see, we don't need to worry." Kare waved me off as he spoke. I wasn't entirely convinced of that we went into the makeshift club. The sweet scent of human blood was completely covered up by the stench of human vomit, sweat and, worst of all, piss. It was assault on the senses and while I'd already gotten a whiff stepping into it nearly had me spewing.
Girls were dancing, ridiculously drunk against men who were staring at them with predatory eyes. I made particular note of that and it perked my happiness. It looked like I would be getting another feed tonight and from the looks of it I'd be drowning in blood.
Kare was greeting someone else and I tore my eyes away from the inebriated girls and man shaped pigs to send a smile to the witch-who from her possessive glances at Kare and jealous glares at me-was Alicia and the human man beside her. The human lit a cigarette, shoved it in his mouth and held out a grimy hand for me to shake. I stared at for a moment and once he drew it away I said the obligatory greeting.
The human, then, gestured to a little booth and although I didn't certainly didn't want to sit at the drink stained table, Kare and Alicia were already moving so I followed along behind them. Kare had brought me here for a reason-though I was still unsure what that reason was-and it was best not to upset someone like Kare if they wanted something.
The seat was uncomfortable, the cushiony top worn and providing barely any barrier between the seated and the hardwood beneath it. I wiggled about for a moment, hoping I could find some comfort but then Kare cleared his throat loudly and I stopped. "Alicia this is Sine and...Well vice versa."
"Yes, I did realise." Alicia's eyes narrowed at me as she gestured for a waiter to come to the table. She was twirling a hand nonchalantly but I didn't miss the threat. If she thought I was young enough to have not realised what that meant about witches then she was pretty stupid. I licked my bottom lip when she glanced back at me and I smiled as sweetly as I could. There was no need to antagonise witches. "This is Jason, by the way, he owns this place."
Once the waiter-if that was even an appropriate name came over Jason started talking to him, pulling him aside from the table a little. "The best wine for this lot. As much as they want. The prices aren't important. Trust me."
"So have you visited the council yet?" I said after a moment of awkward silence. Kare looked between Alicia and me questioningly. He really hadn't visited London in that long then. The American witch not knowing about all the council and society regulations was one thing but Kare? It had all been set up within years of the Families leaving for the new world. That was, what? The early eighteenth century? And he hadn't been back to the city-or the country for that matter-in all that time.
Alicia was look at him for answers, dark hair tumbling over shoulders with a questionable amount of fake tan. She squinted at him, lips pursed with anger and a small part of me worried she would cause a scene. Young witches, especially stupid horny young witches, were the worst kind. And they claimed we were the monster. At least we, along with the wolves and all the other demons running about had some sort of need for the destruction. "Excuse me?"
"The High Council? Of Magik, magik with a 'k' not magic. They're real pedantic about that, so keep it in mind." They'd been a society meeting once when a young wolf scribe had written it with a 'c' and received a biting lecture full of threat and insults from Ibraham and Agnes. Alicia still seemed confused-as confused as she could be through her little pout-though so I continued. "It a bunch of elders that run witch business in the city. They like when newcomers, even visitors, pay them a visit."
"Do I care?" Alicia snapped, flipping her head up dramatically and picking at her already cracked nail polish. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jason and the waiter disappear into the sweaty crowd, immediately swallowed up by grimy party goers who were high on whatever homemade drug someone had brought along. Something with plenty of rat poison and petrol, probably. Whatever they brought back I hoped it would have a high alcohol content-I'd need it.
"Probably. They don't take well to trespassers." I kept an eye at for the waiter-and, more importantly, the wine he would bring back. I'd wanted to talk to Kare, not spend a night with some spoilt little brat.
"I'm not a fucking trespasser though, am I? It's a fucking free country and I can come into this city whenever I want!" Kare rushed to hush her as she through her little tantrum, hands waving around in the air and standing up to lean across the table. For what seemed like the hundredth time in the last week I felt the urge to roll my eyes. This time however I did not resist. Alicia caught the action too, narrowing her eyes when she finally sat back down.
I smiled wide at her, this time genuinely. The oh-so-esteemed High Council of Magic wouldn't see it the same way as little old Alicia. If I was lucky they'd make her punishment public and I'd get to see her stupid little head removed from her stupid little shoulders. "You're being too human. A lot of our non-human citizens here still follow the old ways. That means hierarchy to your elders. As an elder who is pretty merciful, trust me when I say the council is not."
The waiter awkwardly appeared, a nervous smile on his face and a bottle of wine in his hand. He shoved himself out of the crowd a little bit and I had to wonder if he'd heard anything we were saying over the thump of music and sea of voices. He was cute enough for a human, blonde hair hung in loose curls and waves around his boyish face. The man-I figured he was in his early twenties-seemed to catch my looking and his smile validated.
"I'm sorry," he said as he placed the bottle on the table, gauchely showing us the label. It wasn't like a place like this would have many little groups sitting down for a bottle of their best wine. "We've had a bit of trouble with supply at the moment. This is the best we could get you at the moment."
"Well, personally, I love this wine. Kare? Alicia?" Kare shrugged and Alicia looked like she couldn't care less as she continued to pick at her nails and lean against Kare's shoulder. "Trouble with the supply? What, someone givin' you guys trouble? How rude."
The human laughed at that, a flirty sort of laugh rather than a simple courteous one. When he laughed his nose screwed up a little making him look younger and even less fit to be working in a place like that. He looked too good and innocent. Just too good. "It's a long story...actually it's more of a weird one you know?"
I cocked my head and shuffled over some, patting the seat beside me. He sat down, some of his uneasiness fading. "Nah, seriously though, that just makes it all the more interesting."
"It's not exciting at all." He stretched his legs out under the table and let out a small yawn before continuing his story. "Our usual supplier keeps getting attacked by dogs. Every time they come this weird...like feral huskies that must live nearby find their way over and attack."
"What was that?" Kare interjected, attempting to pull himself away from Alicia. I had to agree with him whole heartedly.
"The first time it happened," The waiter seemed excited then, all his previous nervous energy disappearing as he leant across the table like we were old friends catching up. "The guy thought it was a wolf. We didn't get our drinks and when Jason called the guy up he said he was attacked by a wolf. He's like fucked though, on drugs and stuff, so nobody thought much of it and Jason just told him to come back. Next thing you know he's attacked by two 'wolves'"
Somewhere through all that I'd mirrored his position and he had certainly caught Kare's, and even Alicia's, attention. Dog attacks on the supplier was just a weird sort of funny story. Wolf attacks on the supplier was an interesting turn of events, especially considering all the news about rogues in the city. "Has anyone else seen 'em, sweetheart?"
"Oh, aw, yeah. We've all seen them now. They look pretty wolfy but their dogs for sure. They like look at you in that knowing doggy way. Wolves don't do that." I doubted the boy had ever seen a wolf to know that but I nodded along regardless. The wolves and I were on bad terms at the moment, if I was on bad terms with the wolves then vampires weren't on good terms with the wolves. There was nothing like fixing up a rogue problem to sweeten up the werewolves.
"Where'd you see them usually?" Alicia and Kare bickered in the background and while I'd done my best till that point to shut them out, it was getting loud enough to catch us a few looks from the makeshift dancefloor. Kare noticed this first and reluctantly let her lean against him. I was tempted to pick up one of the breadsticks from the little basket in the centre of the table but thought better over it. Probably would be best not to eat or drink anything that I didn't open myself.
"Just out back, in the alleyway." Kare shooed the waiter away after that, much to my displeasure. I'd wanted to grill him some more but when Kare asked Alicia to leave too, I managed to forgive it.
Once again it was just Kare and I, sitting across from each other with my own sudden wave of grief mirrored in his eyes. He reached out cupping my hand in his own and I could just imagine Alicia's reaction. It didn't feel romantic, however, or even platonic. It was exactly like Kare had told the stupid bouncer-we were practically family. Perhaps Kare didn't actually feel that way but I certainly did.
"So the necromancers?" Kare asked the question before I could speak and holding back a groan, I tugged my hand back and pulled out my phone to see if Erek had sent any new information before I spoke. There was nothing, though that could've been due to the bad reception. The tapping of Kare's fingers on the table echoed in my brain as I attempted to shift through the information I knew.
"Paris. Erek said we have to go to Paris. It had a long itinerary apparently so we'll need to take care of that. Human sacrifice is involved in all but that's all good, y'know? Our real issue is getting the witches to agree once we find them." My heart skipped a little at the thought of that. Diplomacy between the species was difficult at the best of times and from what I knew of the French situation the witches weren't too happy with everyone else.
I took a sip of the wine the waiter had poured before leaving, immediately frowning. If this was their best wine-their most expensive-I'd hate to see the cheap stuff. Still I drank to calm myself. Kare followed suit taking a large swig of the drink and grimacing. "So we have to play the political game? Oh joy."
My eyes drifted across to the group I noted earlier. They'd been doing shots-vodka from what I could tell-and that sounded much better than cheap wine and boring company. I scribbled quickly on the napkin with a pen I'd tucked into one of the jackets pockets. "Oh joy, indeed. You know my address I presume-of course you do. Still, that's where you'll find me. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go save some damsels in distress, and besides that your little poisoning trick had me starved."