McDougal's Pub made you think of olden times pub's when electricity hadn't been invented. The outer appearance of course looked like a modern day bar but once you stepped through the door it changed. Walls made of cobblestone, sconces hung from walls flickering flames alight them, chipped wooden tables scattered throughout and a metal chandelier with large candles hung in the center of the entire room. Tonight there wasn't going to be anyone other than the SPARC members frequenting this place so as of right now it was completely silent.
Now that I thought about it, I think Cece would be one of the 'lucky' human's who get to see the place without it's glamour. My magic had covered her as we'd stepped through the threshhold so I knew she could see the place as it appeared. Finn McDougal stood behind the counter cleaning a glass mug as if not noticing us. Of course his good natured looks made me more weary of him, which meant Cece was standing behind me just in case.
"I appreciate the deal you made with me, Finn." Word of advice: Never say thank you to any of the fae, it was as binding as a deal.
He finally looked up with his molten gold eyes and gave me a smile. For an instant I could've sworn that his teeth gleamed with a predatory light but then again I might've been overthinking it.
"Anytime you want to make a deal with me, feel free. I'm more than happy to be of service."
Cece followed my steps as we made our way to the bar to sit on two wooden stools set in front of Finn. He was one of those men that you couldn't decide whether he was handsome or not. It wasn't as if he was bulky nor lanky, nor were his features sharp or soft, his hair and eyes were neither vibrant nor dull, and that was EXACTLY why I didn't like him or trust him. His glamour was so strong that I hadn't met anyone as of yet who could see past it. For all we knew he could be one of the slaugh with multiple arms, eyes, legs, and pitch black skin so dark that he'd melt into the night unseen after tearing your throat out.
Of course that could just be me projecting about the fact that Finn freaked me out and Cece seemed pretty damn calm compared to how I felt. She actually gave him a smile back. I'd have said she was hit with magic but I knew the rules of McDougal's. One of them was that no one could use magic on others inside that would effect the body or the mind. Then again Finn was the one who had made the rules so who was I to be 100 percent positive he hadn't smacked my bestie with suggestive magic?
"Has anyone else arrived yet? Oh, can I get some blood?"
Good thing about a Fae Pub that was neutral grounds was that they stocked up on anything needed. Such as blood for Vampires.
"You both are the first to arrive. Blood coming right up. And for the lovely lady?"
His voice held no accent. I couldn't even place where in the states he'd have picked up that inflection and still couldn't catch the trail. Cece giggled, actually giggled which had my mouth popping open in shock.
"Just water."
She knew that it was always best to stick with water in the presence of a fae. Thankfully she hadn't been knocked completely stupid by Finn's smile to forget that. He flashed her another smile before turning his back to us. Before I could smack Cece with some sense the door to the pub pushed open and Brent walked in, followed closely by Gary. Both walked with an unnatural graceful gait as energy simmered around them. I could practically see their wolves.
Finn set a capped bottle of water in front of Cece with a glitter in his eye before he pushed a large beer mug full of blood to me. Maybe I'd looked thirstier than I felt. It always amazed me how well stocked places like these were. Of course this wasn't the first neutral grounds 'pub' I've been to but that didn't make it any less interesting. McDougal's though was the only one that seemed to blend the old with the new best. Technology melded with rustic in a beautiful collaboration, as the beer taps were a testament to.
Reptilian blood coated my mouth. Thankfully Finn hadn't played any kind of games and given me Fae blood to ingest. The high fae would never willingly give blood but there were always bastard children willing to give their blood for quick cash. Unfortunately Fae blood was very much like heroine for Vampires and put most into a suspended high for the duration of their night- that is until they died at dawn.
There was a lot of dead creatures in Finn's bar- which I grudgingly pretended I couldn't see. Surprisingly I had managed to get Cece and I here in one piece without jerking the steering wheel into oncoming traffic. There was that one time we scraped a golden sedan but that was because I'd sneezed half the northern winds from my lungs. In that moment I was almost positive Cece had gone deaf for a solid 10 seconds as she floundered around. Plus, she hadn't really noticed the 'almost' collision which was a blessing. If she had, there would've been no end to her making jokes at me. Although to be honest she had hounded me all the way here about her being sure that an ear drum had popped.
"Here's the keys to the doors of your new building and all the paperwork you need to fill out for transferring ownership over to you."
Surprise lit my face before I asked, "Couldn't you have taken care of that instead of doing it the old fashioned way?"
Probably shouldn't mention 'old' in any sentence referring to Finn unless he take offence. Thankfully he didn't seem to mind as he continued to polish the bar counter and gave me a response.
"Of course I could've snapped my fingers and had everything done. This way, the humans as well as you have legal documentation. Our deal is also among that paperwork. No need to sign it since it's bound to your word."
Cece popped open her water bottle and took a sip as she glanced at the folder filled with papers. Finn pushed a ripped page from among the pages towards me and tapped on it as he indicated it was the address. Any building that was owned by Finn, even if it changed ownership, was under his protection. Everyone knew that he wouldn't give up any of his belongings without a deal made. Which meant if you fucked with his business, you were dead. Business in this case encompassed more than property though, it also included the individual who had made the deal with Finn.
I pushed the paperwork off to the side as the door to the pub opened. Gary and Bret glided in with liquid grace as their wolves energy heated and thickened the air. Funny, I hadn't noticed how empty the pub felt. Magically speaking. Surprising since Finn was the epitome of magic and could possibly level the entire City with merely a thought. That was me speculating though.
Once the guys realized only the three of us aside from them were there the energy toned down. A tension slipped out of them. It always surprised me how much the supernatural community disregarded me or didn't see me as a threat. I was a vampire and a mage which meant half of me was something these two should've abhored and been on guard about. Thankfully though they didn't seem to care. Which worked in my favor since I had to play peace maker.
"We were going to apologize for being late but seeing how no one yet has arrived aside from the both of you, I believe the apology is unnecessary. Candy wanted me to let you know that she still wants to be a part of," he paused as he mulled over his choice of words, "SPARC? Yes? Our Alpha mentioned that is what you have chosen to call this endeaver."
Bret had a Russian accent so a lot of his words sounded almost uncertain. I really liked him though. His hair was gelled in a swarthy way that made the blonde nearly white even with the flickering candle lighting. But his eyebrows were thick and black in comparison, which made me wonder if the carpet matched the drapes. Eyes nearly black peered back at me but held a bit of warmth in their darken depths.
Gary wore a clean cut suit that brought out the rich mocha color of his skin which in turn made his vivid green eyes clash. The last time I'd seen him was shortly after being severely injured trying to save my brother from a ShadowMancer. Sadly he still wore his 'all business' attitude which made it slightly difficult to tease him. He merely nodded his head in our direction but didn't speak. Man of few words.
"Yeah. Cece and I decided to call this task force SPARC. I'm happy that Candy still wants to be a part of this even though she must have other things she probably would like to do."
Gary shrugged his shoulders. Probably because I'd accidently landed my eyes on him when I had finished my sentence. It was Bret who spoke up though.
"No. She believes what you've created is important. Our city is more secure if we all are to work together. Alpha Cane has informed us already about the situation with the Fire Coven. Do you have any leads on who could've killed them so efficiently?"
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Finn turn his back to me. It was so strange that I got distracted from what Bret had been asking until Cece knudged me with her elbow.
"As of right now, any leads or discussions about what happened, will be held off until the rest of the members join us. It's just easier than having to explain what's going on more than once. Feel free to get anything to drink or eat though while we wait."
Gary didn't answer but took up a seat to my left without a word before tapping the counter. A mug of beer and dried meat magically appeared in front of him as he settled an elbow between the both of us, effectively cutting off my view of his face. Bret took a seat next to Cece and began chatting her up. Since they'd already been acquainted at the office for the past week, it wasn't that surprising that they'd become friends. Finn leaned back against the wall across from me as he peered back at me with those eery eyes. Those eyes were red but barely any red was seen because of how blown his pupil was, swallowing up the entire iris almost completely.
It felt like every time I'd planned on talking to Finn something interupted my train of thought because as soon as I opened my mouth the door opened again. Immediately the atmosphere changed. Gary sat up straight while releasing his wolf enough for his green eyes to change to his wolf's eyes. Bret also tensed in his seat next to Cece, which could only mean the Vampires had arrived. I wasn't all that surprised that the Mage's were going to be the last to show up considering the fact that an entire Coven was just murdered. I'm almost positive that the Fire Coven would've been the ones to supply members for joining SPARC had this not happened. It was all the more reason why we needed SPARC even more though.
One of the most picturesque women I have ever laid eyes upon walked through the door. Her skin was a bronze color that seemed to glitter underneath the lighting. Eyes so blue they nearly looked white peered back at me through perfectly combed bangs that settled close to her eyebrows. Waves of dirty blonde tresses fell in a waterfall to her waist in a loving carress. She wore a short sleeved white cotton dress which fell to above her knees. This woman had curves in all the right places, plump lips which glistened and beckoned for a kiss, and held innocence close to her skin. So close so, that I knew it was a facade. Dangerous. My senses were screaming to stay at a distance from her.
With Finn I at least knew he was a tricky son of a bitch. He gave no facade that he was anything but what he was but this woman wore naivete as a cloak. I'd love to have poked her with a stick much like a rattlesnake but I didn't feel like trying to see who was stronger tonight.
An asian male who reached her shoulder walked in behind her. At first I thought he was short but when I glanced down I realized the woman was wearing monstrous high heels. Her legs went on for miles. Or so it seemed.
They both made their way towards where we sat but the wolves stayed sitting. Instead of being rude like they were being, I decided to stand and greet the Vampires. Normally it wasn't that big of a deal to meet other Supernatural members in the City but technically Cece and I were asking favors. With the way the wolves were reacting to the vampires I began to worry whether I could handle an altercation in a way that wouldn't incite any further conflict. Where was my brother when I needed him?
"Thank you both for joining us. My name is Sloane and this is my best friend Cece. The handsome silent man over there is Gary and the suave talkative one there is Bret."
Instead of trying to shake their hands like humans did when meeting another person, I held a fist over my chest before splaying it out across my breast. This was a gesture of goodwill to another Supernatural when first meeting. A lot of people no longer do this because of the possibility of being deceived by the opposite party. I trusted Dimitri enough to handle his Vampires if they tried to attack me though so I wasn't concerned about being hindered by this promise. If I were to attack the Vampires now though, this promise would debilitate me for a year or longer. Most cases the Supernatural creature had different symptoms depending on their species. Since I was a Hybrid it was uncertain what the promise would do to me if I broke it.
"My name is Samaria," the woman responded with a gentle smile allowing her sharpened fangs to poke out in an adorable way, "This is Hikaru, Dimitri's third. I'm his second. It's nice to meet you Sloane.. Cece."
Everything she said sounded as if she genuinely was happy to meet us. Goosebumps spread across my arms and down my back. It was almost a disaster when a shudder tried to escape from me before I plastered a smile on my face. Hikaru at least didn't seem to give a shit whether I liked him or not because he gave me only a sereptitious once over before looking away. I'd been so worried about showing my disgust I nearly didn't realize the snub she'd given to the wolves or the hesitation she gave before saying Cece's name. Cece didn't seem to mind and just gave a smile back before nodding her head.
Before the Vampires could take up seats near us, two Mage's walked into the bar. How'd I know they were the Mage's we were waiting for? Because one was someone I actually got along with where as the other was a complete bitch face that I'd rather have dropped off the end of the earth than show up to the SPARC meeting.
"What are you doing here Vivian?"
I'm sure even the dead could hear the snark that laced my tone. The literal dead that were sitting at tables that is. Vivian was her usual haughty bitchiness with her skin tight black dress on that was way to short for a typical business meeting. She wore a longer sheer covering on top of it that fell to her ankles with two slits up the sides stopping just below her armpits. The dress left little to the imagination and it reminded me that her boobs were just a little to large for her tiny frame. Cece and her were similar in size yet one looked perfectly proportioned where as the other was to top heavy.
Vivian sniffed at me before she answered my question but she kept her eyes a little to the left of me over my shoulder. "Master Robert has asked of me to attend this meeting to represent the Mage's in our time of need. So here I am. I've found it distastful to be in your presence as well, no need to be concerned."
It was almost as if she knew exactly what to say to make me want to scratch her face off. Cece cleared her throat next to me, probably because my fist had clenched with the little patience I held for this woman. I'm sure it was just as awful for her though to be near this woman who obviously wanted my brother with a passion.
[A/N:The Mage guy that is very accepting of other species and is easy going. I forgot his name so I'll replace it with Lucas for now. Change it later when I find out his name.]
Lucas stepped forward to cut off a bitchy retort from me, "Since we're all here, how about we begin to discuss what you and Cece had in mind for this business. Vivian and I have also been asked by Master Robert to bring back any information you may have on the Fire Coven problem."
"Thanks, Lucas. I'll get to that after everyone takes up a seat and orders something from Finn. I'm sure Samaria and Hikaru are hungry since they haven't been awake long."
Samaria smiled so big that two dimples appeared on each cheek, giving her an adorable child-like appearance. She almost skipped to a chair across from the bar. Hikaru followed closely behind her but with a stealthy movement. I realized his feet made no noise as he glided across the cement flooring. Vivian and Lucas walked to another table that had an elven ghost sitting eating elf wafers out of a large leaf. It surprised me that the ghost had ghost food to be honest but it surprised me more when he vanished as soon as Vivian plopped her tiny ass down.
Candles flickered as the energy in the room increased, creating a wind that wasn't caused by an open wind. Suddenly an ice cold wall slammed into everyone making almost everyone choke from the suddenness. The only person who hadn't reacted was Cece, which I only knew because I could see her bewilderly looking at each of us as we tried to regain our bearings.
"That's enough of you lot disturbing my place. Keep a tight lid on your powers or I'll be forced to help you myself."
Finn spoke up from behind the bar as everyone straightened back up from their hunched positions.
"Let's get straight to the facts," I began as soon as everyone gave me their attention, "Last night the entire Fire Coven was slaughtered after being teleported without clothes from their homes. All of them died close together and didn't have enough time to fight back. Or it could be possible that the person who summoned them had their powers sealed. If it can kill that many people undetected, it's likely that it can kill anyone else in the City. I'd like it if everyone could work together and help investigate this matter. Right now we have no clue what species did it. If anyone has seen something similar to this before, it would help a lot."
"Fae," Finn said nonchalantly from behind me yet again. I finally turned to look at him because he'd given some valuable information.
"What do you mean 'Fae'? How can you know that?"
"Easy. You said your Fire Coven disappeared and died suddenly. A strong enough Fae can distort the elemental magic to break down natural energy and transfer it somewhere else. It's a dark magic so most Fae won't use it because sometimes the bodies don't appear in the exact way they were before. It would explain why they were naked since the clothing they were wearing was probably not made from 100% natural occuring life forms."
"That makes no sense though. All the fae, especially those with Highborn blood stay in their homeland. Why would one come to our City to kill an entire Coven?"
Finn gave me a dry look, "I've left my homeland for your City as well. Why not try asking around to see if anyone has seen an unidentified Fae as of late. I haven't seen anyone fitting the criteria but I'm sure someone has."
Vivian interjected, "Regardless of whether a Highborn Fae has stepped foot into our City, they've slaughtered an entire Coven they need to be stopped."
"Sure you're not just scared that you'll be next," I automatically asked before I could stop myself. Damn it. I was supposed to be peace keeper and here I was starting fights. Taking deep breaths, I began to control my temper the best I could. Here's to hoping my brother decided to pop up any time now.
All Vivian did was give me a raised eyebrow. Clearly I was being childish... I wouldn't refute it. Anyone who had been tormented growing up by another person was allowed to act childish and spiteful in the bully's presence.
"So we should let everyone know to look out for any new faces of the Fae variety," Cece stated matter of factly. When I looked over she had a pen and paper that she was writing on. Looks like one of us was writing down information.
"There was a man who came to the District less than a week ago. I have never seen him before. He had angular cheekbones like most Highborns but I couldn't see his ears because of his hair."
Samaria's voice was sweet and innocent, teasing all of our ears as she gave her bit of information. It surprised me that this innocent girl was in the District but then I remembered she was a bad ass Vampire. The thought shook me out of the mini trance I'd been put in, which earned Samaria a glare. Her only response was a sweet smile back at me. What a bitch.
"Can you have a few of your Vampires search the District for any hint of where this guy can be reached? That way we can investigate whether he's the one we're looking for. In the meantime does anyone else have any information similar to Samaria's?"
When all I got was silence I held back my disappointment before continuing, "I've brought you all here today, although some may wish they were otherwise engaged, because our City constantly has problems with the Supernatural community. Humans can't solve our crimes and they definitely wouldn't be able to take down an unruly Supe either. I'm not going to have you guys come in unless we have a dangerous case that I need your abilities for. What I want though is for each of you to find a group of less powerful individuals in each of your communities to help with simpler tasks; such as a drunk Werewolf close to shifting in a human bar et c. Things that would be easily handled would be passed on to the right individual."
I turned to Samaria and Hikaru before I asked, "I'm not sure if you guys would be willing to but could you ask Dimitri to get cellphones for your Flock? It would be helpful to be able to reach everyone with a mass text if only Vampire's are involved. It would cause a lot of mixed battles if a Vampire is being unruly and I were to send a Werewolf to handle it."
"We will ask our Master," Hikaru responded. Most of the older Vampires didn't understand the new technology or didn't want to know. I wasn't really sure which but it would be kind of funny to see them try to work out how to operate a cellphone.
"It would also be beneficial if they had a phone to get in touch with other members of SPARC if they are in danger but you guys can't get to them."
It was mostly an after thought but as soon as I'd finished saying it I felt kind of stupid.
"Dumb ass," muttered Vivian from her perch to my right. I gave her the death glare she deserved.
Samaria gave me a response that wasn't really necassary, "We communicate telepathically through the bond our Master has with us. It would be unlikely that one of our flock would be in need of another species help."
The underlying meaning wasn't lost on me but I chose to just shrug my shoulders and let them be.
After I had given them the only information I had on what had happened to the Fire Coven, and seeing as how no one else had any helpful information, Cece took over for me. She began to outline what we had in mind for SPARC and everyone's responsibilities. There were a few people who obviously didn't like it, mostly just Vivian, but they grudgingly stayed quiet. After we'd briefed everyone on what was going to happen and where we'd be, the meeting was ended.
Cece and I were the last to leave Finn's pub. We made sure that no fighting broke out even though if it had, Finn would've probably half killed the person who dared. On our way out the door, he called out to Cece. How'd I know it was to Cece and not me? Well because he said 'I hope to see you very soon' in a rather suggestive way. Of course my best friend the smart ass that she is... didn't say anything and instead turned beet red. I ignored her and walked towards the car. At least Jared had opted out of the meeting. Wouldn't want to see how his wolf would react to Finn hitting on his mate. Regardless of whether he admitted it or not, she is what she is.
A/N: I know I randomly put in an Author's Note in the middle of this chapter but I couldn't find my notes of Characters. I'll have to go back to my first book and figure out that guy's name. Sorry for the inconvenience.