A loud babble washed over me when we turned the corner and I was disappointed to see a huge queue outside the front of the club. To my surprise, the others walked straight past so I followed them uncertainly. Broch and Kalen spoke with the bouncers at the door for a few minutes and then we were all waved in, much to the annoyance of the other people in the queue. Once we were in, I threw a questioning look at Kalen.
"We know that bouncer and a few of the other staff," he explained simply. I nodded, figuring it must be because he and Broch now worked in the entertainment business, doing something I didn't understand.
The club was amazing. An enormous light, that covered the entire ceiling, lit up the black walls and melted into a different colour every few seconds. A huge bar stretched in front of an equally long, glass drinks cabinet and music pounded out from floor to ceiling speakers that were dotted around the room like columns. The dance floor was raised a few steps and surrounded by a chrome barrier in the centre of the room. It had four exit points and all around it were large booths where people could sit and talk. There seemed to be hundreds of people in the club as groups were reflected in wall mirrors, creating a kaleidoscope effect.
We wove our way through the crowded room and over to the bar. Kalen ordered three pitchers of cocktails. When I turned around to ask Miranda what was in the cocktails I realised she wasn't there. I looked quickly through the dense crowd hoping to spot her curly blonde hair somewhere. Gabriel tapped my elbow and pointed to a booth where Miranda was waving furiously at us, clearly very happy that she'd managed to snag one of them so quickly.
As I followed Gabriel over to Miranda, I felt a hand fondle my arse. I turned sharply to face a guy with dirty, brown hair and strange coloured irises. I flicked my eyes over him dismissively, making sure I was as cold as possible without saying anything, but then followed Gabriel a little more closely.
The pitchers went down a lot quicker than I thought they would and before long Kalen and I headed back towards the bar. Seeing the queue, we changed tact and dragged Miranda onto the dance floor, leaving Gabriel and Broch in the booth. After a rather energetic bout of dancing, I wandered over to the chrome barrier at the side of the dance floor, a little away from the others, trying to grab a breath of less sweaty air.
I felt a hand on my arse again. Grabbing it quickly, I bent it back from the thumb, making the wrist click. I turned around and glared at the same guy from earlier. "Did you not get the message? I'm not interested," I told him bluntly, glaring at him.
"Why? Too busy with Kalen and co. over there?" he said.
"I'm not interested in you," I repeated sharply, ignoring the anxiety I felt when he mentioned Kalen, and tried to push past him. He was like a brick wall.
"But you're looking so damn... edible," he said, licking his lips. I raised my hand as a barrier between us and he encircled my wrist in an iron grip.
"Let go of me. I don't want to hurt you, but I can if you don't leave me alone."
"Surely one dance won't hurt?" He smiled menacingly, and I took a step backwards against the barrier, surprised and a little unnerved by how pointy his teeth were
"I don't want to. Just leave me the hell alone!" I said, raising my voice and feeling dread settle over me - if this guy didn't leave me alone soon, I knew Kalen would defend me, but I didn't want a fight to break out.
"Sweetie, all I'm asking for is one little dance," he persisted.
"I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to," Kalen said, digging his thumb into the nerve point of the guy's wrist until he let me go.
"Well, Kalen, I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to bring her sort here, perhaps it's just your arrogance getting the better of you," he said.
"We were told you were out of town. I don't want to fight with you Zeph," Kalen said coldly, his blue eyes flashing in an unfamiliarly dangerous way. I looked at this Zeph guy again and suddenly felt unsafe; I'd never seen Kalen this riled up before. Another figure stepped up behind Zeph and I sighed with relief when I saw he was a bouncer.
"Is this one bothering you Sir?" he asked Zeph as he nodded towards Kalen.
"No, it's just a small misunderstanding," I answered quickly, my eyes flicking between Kalen's and Zeph's faces. Zeph smiled maliciously at me and I fought the shudder that tried to snake down my spine at the sight of those teeth.
"No, there's no problem, at the moment," he paused and looked at me pointedly, "this lovely young lady here was just about to dance with me." I looked at Kalen's face and wished I hadn't – he was furious.
"My group of friends are this way," I said, trying not to let the fear creep onto my face as I walked away from the bouncer. In the pit of my stomach, I could feel that there was something very wrong about Zeph.
I followed Kalen back over to Miranda, aware with every step that Zeph's eyes were on me as he walked behind us. Miranda stiffened when she saw Zeph and I realised she clearly knew something about him that I didn't. Thinking about all the trouble we could get into if a fight broke out, especially as I was in the club underage, I turned to face Zeph.
"One dance and then you are going to sod off," I spat at him. The gleam in his eyes immediately irritated me.
"Feisty one you've got yourself here Kalen," he laughed before grabbing my waist and putting his face uncomfortably close to mine.
His fingers slowly started to slide down over my jumpsuit, making my skin crawl. Luckily, our dance didn't last very long. I felt a presence behind me and then Zeph's hands were forcibly removed from my body. A chest was pressed against my shoulder blades and Zeph was thrown backwards aggressively. I twisted round trying to get Kalen to calm down and found my face inches away from Broch's. His arm wrapped around my waist as he stepped to my side.
Zeph regained his balance and tilted his head as if re-examining the scene in front of him. "Brochfael, I didn't realise you were here," he paused, glancing at Kalen, "although with your lap cat about I should have guessed."
I was confused by Zeph's words and looked up at Broch. He stared intently at Zeph and loosened his grip on me, but left his arm draped protectively around the small of my back. I glanced at Kalen and the others but they stood still, staring at the scene in front of them. By this point, the music had stopped, the dance floor was starting to empty and people were being ushered to the exits by staff while bouncers in black were coming over to us. Realising that this all seemed a little dramatic for a scuffle on the dancefloor, I attempted to understand what on earth was happening. I also tried to move but Broch's fingers pressed a little harder into the flesh at my hip, warning me to stay put.
"Zeph, what are you trying to achieve here?" Broch asked calmly. I was glad that he seemed to be trying to talk to Zeph, now that the slimy guys hands were off me.
"Nothing, Brochfael, just a little fun, just a little... mischief," Zeph replied with a leer in my direction. I met his eyes coolly, trying to work out why he kept using Broch's full name and how on earth he knew it.
"In that case, we'll be leaving," Broch said, nodding at Kalen and the others. They started to move towards the exit but one of the bouncers seemed to blur and was suddenly in their way. I gasped.
Zeph tilted his head to the side, like a predator analysing prey, and a sly smile slid onto his face. "She doesn't know, does she?" he chuckled. I felt Broch tense at Zeph's words and saw a flicker of worry dance in Kalen's eyes.
"This is a mistake Zeph. I'd advise you to stop before you do something stupid," Kalen said with a voice of ice.
"But the fun's just starting."
The air around Zeph started to shimmer and my eyes widened in surprise as his face began to shift and flow. His chin and ears became pointed as his eyes grew unnaturally large for his face. A blue tint stained his lips, like bleeding ink, as they pulled back into a cruel smile and he stuck out a forked tongue. I cringed into Broch's arm.
"Stop!" Miranda called out but he ignored her. I couldn't take my eyes off Zeph as he turned around, revealing enormous, twisted horns, like those of a ram, sprouting from his head. He finished his dramatic 360 turn and in one smooth movement inclined his head to me so I could see the harsh silvered points of his horns in the light.
"What the hell..." I whispered.
"Underwhelming reaction I have to admit. No scream? No shaking?" Zeph asked, showing his pointed teeth through indigo lips.
I felt everyone's eyes on me and was thankful for Broch's arm around my waist. I took a deep breath, "So you're what? Some sort of mutant goat-man?" I asked, my voice surprisingly steady and filled with contempt. I immediately realised that had been exactly the wrong thing to say.
Zeph's eyes narrowed and Broch shoved me behind him as a glass exploded against the wall about level with where my face would have been. If it wasn't for Broch's blindingly quick reactions, I definitely would have been unconscious on the club floor. However, his movements caused the quietly tense atmosphere to disappear and there was suddenly a flurry of activity happening too fast for my brain to follow.
Kalen shot into action, punching the nearest bouncer in the chest so hard that his body flew into a mirror a few meters behind him. While cracks spread like grasping tentacles in the glass, the bouncer sprung back to his feet in another blur. At the same time, Miranda joined her hands together like a prayer and chanted under her breath. A cloying fog spread out from her across the floor of the club, curling and building higher around our legs, ankles, waists and carrying on upwards.
"Gabriel, get her out!" I heard Broch shout before he launched himself at Zeph. The air began to shimmer again and Broch's skin appeared to take on a green glow as he whipped his leg around to smash Zeph in the hip. Zeph wasn't there. He'd jumped backwards inhumanly fast to avoid the shot. The fog was still building as I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and jerked away. Gabriel grabbed my wrist this time and yanked my arm, so I stumbled after him.
I made it down the steps of the dancefloor and realised the fog was almost as high as my chin. Twisting my head, I could see Miranda still chanting above me on the dancefloor, sparks twinkling in the thick clouds that surrounded her. Miranda's face shimmered and her skin was glowing so brightly it was almost painful to look at. I blinked and searched desperately for Kalen, pausing when I couldn't see him. Gabriel tugged painfully on my wrist but I held my ground, eyes darting urgently around the room but the fog was too thick for much to be visible. There, something moved and I stepped forwards, only to be yanked back by Gabriel as a fist flew through the space my chest had recently occupied. A hand locked around my other wrist and I screamed.
"What the hell Ana? Get out of here!" Kalen shouted. I cringed when I saw his face - long black pupils stretched vertically in his irises and two, wickedly, pointed teeth jutted out of his mouth out like fangs. I jerked my wrist out of his grasp in shock and ran to the exit with Gabriel. As we got to the doors, two bouncers approached us and the air shimmered around Gabriel.
"Get out of my way," Gabriel spat and surprisingly the bouncers stepped back with alarmed expressions. He marched and I toppled between them, bursting through the huge glass door and spilling out onto the path. My legs went weak but Gabriel's effective hand held my elbow and deposited me against the wall. I started to slide down it.
"Catch your breath." He looked back at the doors, "We have to move."
His cold hand grabbed my elbow again and he started to march me down the street like a misbehaving child. I gathered my wits a little and yanked my arm out of his hand. After a brief pause, I carried on marching down the street next to him. I kept putting one foot in front of the other repeating a pattern in my head - heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe - and managed to stomp steadily down the street in my stupid stilettos. Once we'd walked about a hundred yards I stopped, yanked off the shoes and turned to look at Gabriel. He stared back at me.
"We need to keep moving," he said coldly.
"I'm not going any further until I know they're safe. What the hell was that in there?" I asked him.
"It doesn't matter. We need to keep moving."
"I'm not going until I know they're okay," I seethed.
He didn't respond but instead slid his phone out of his pocket and turned away from me, "Yes, taxi?"
I was shaking. The adrenaline was still rushing through my body and I could feel the blood pumping behind my eyes. A blinding pain shot through my head and I pressed my fingers to my temples, dropping down into a crouch near the floor. Gabriel bent down next to me.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"I don't know... It hurts!" I groaned through gritted teeth, trying to breathe slowly. I opened my eyes to look at Gabriel but completely white eyes stared back at me. We jerked away from each other. After a moment, the pain in my head subsided and the white seemed to bleed out of his eyes to reveal his irises and pupils, but I could still feel myself shaking from the encounter.
"You're like them aren't you?" I asked him, standing up slowly as if I was near a wild animal. He mirrored my actions, looking at me with a confused and wary expression. A shout came from down the street and I saw three figures burst out of the nightclub doors. Gabriel waved and they began to run down the street towards us.
Kalen, Broch and Miranda paused in front of us. "I told you to get her out of here," Broch said quietly.
"She wouldn't leave."
"Are you all okay?" I asked with a harder edge to my voice than I'd meant.
Kalen watched me cautiously but I looked at the others as soon as our eyes met; his eyes were still wild and his teeth feral. Miranda caught the wordless exchange and gently said, "We're all fine Anastasia. Are you okay?"
I looked at this tiny woman before me, and then each of them slowly before turning and walking away. After a few steps, Kalen came after me.
"Ana, I need to talk to you."
I stopped walking but didn't turn around. Holding my hands together so he couldn't see them shaking, I took a deep breath, "What was that?"
Kalen stepped around in front of me, putting his hands on the top of my arms but I couldn't look at him. "It's a long story Ana. We're different to you, but it's complicated and we need to get you out of here..."
"What are you?" I asked, looking him in the eyes, relieved to see his pupils were back to normal. He couldn't hold my gaze and I stepped away from him. "Damn it Kalen, what are you?" I hissed.
He looked shocked but didn't reply.
"You know what, screw you," I continued angrily and went to step around him. He moved his arm out so quickly it blurred and I cringed away.
"Ana, we're Seelie," he said in a broken voice, trying to read my expression when I stared at him dumbfounded. Moments passed. "Say something?" I could feel his eyes on me. I could feel the eyes of all the others behind me and hear them whispering, hear my name being said in hushed, hurried voices. I felt numb.
"I don't have anything to say Kalen. I don't even understand what you just said. I just want to go home," I eventually said in a hollow voice and he let me push past him. I began to walk home, but he followed a few steps behind me, keeping his distance. We hadn't walked far, but the longer we walked in silence, the angrier I became.
I wheeled around and shouted, "Leave me alone!" He looked shocked and hurt and I took a deep breath, "I just need to be on my own Kalen. I need to process whatever the hell that was."
"I need to get you home safe, Ana; Zeph is Unseelie - he could have you followed to get to us."
"This is so messed up," I fumed under my breath and stood by the side of the road, glaring at the traffic.
A taxi pulled up, startling me, "Hello love, did you order a taxi for Gabriel?"
I looked back down the road at Gabriel who was watching us. He gave an awkward thumbs up and I opened the taxi door and slid inside the back seat. Kalen tried to get in after me but I simply shut the door and gave the driver my address without so much as a second look at Kalen or the others.
I sat in the taxi in silence. Luckily, it was only a short drive and after paying up I was able to walk inside my house, lock the door behind me and then slowly slide to the floor to start crying in peace.