Chapter 26
Rowan
“How much do you know of the veil and the world that lies beyond it?” Jules asked as she stared at the burger and fries on my plate.
Her question broke the chewing silence at our table.
It had taken us weeks to convince her to meet with us outside of Oubliette, away from prying eyes and ears.
She had been nearly the same ever since Violet had been drugged, bubbly and warm, but she refused to discuss anything while within the walls.
She met all of our questions and inquiries with deflections.
“Another time.”
“Not now.”
“Catch you later.”
Her elusiveness had been infuriating.
However, she had also been absolute in her efforts to ensure Violet stayed safe. That was, I assumed, in no small part due to me threatening to burn the place down if she didn’t inform her ‘clients’ to not eat the staff.
The proprietor sent Violet roses as an apology as well. It was a large bouquet that nearly filled the doorway of her dorm. I would have tossed it in the trash had Violet not objected.
When neither of us answered her question, Jules continued, brushing back her loose tresses. “After you were drugged, I assume Rowen informed you a little on. . . the nature of things?”
Violet stiffened next to me, her food mid-bite as she eyed us both warily. “Partially? Why don’t you fill us in? It has been several weeks now. . .”
Jules nodded. “You were slipped something exceptionally rare. Neither Succubi nor Incubi blood is allowed to be sold, and it is traditionally only shared with trusted partners due to its addictive nature.”
“That did not stop anyone from slipping it into her water,” I grumbled before finishing a fry.
Jules ignored my jab. “Regardless, the symptoms are typically alleviated through shared energies or auras. Solo practicing does little to subdue the symptoms.”
“Auras?” Violet asked.
Jules’s voice took on the cadence of Professor Wright.
“Auras are the energy fields surrounding all living things. Think of it as our life force, or an indicator of our vitality. A person can share their aura in a multitude of ways, but the primary method is through physical contact.” She motioned us closer and lowered her voice.
“Incubi and Sucubi feed on sexual energy. . . They are creatures of lust and desire. Therefore, alleviating the symptoms of their blood would require auras in that heightened sexual state.”
Violet’s face turned bright red. “Oh, the colors I saw. Good to know. How do you know so much about all this, Jules?” She was quick to change topic despite the glare I sent her way. She hadn’t mentioned anything about seeing auras.
That made Jules pause. “I work closely with the proprietor, Damien, on both sides of the veil. My skills, while currently dormant, are often sought after.”
I had to ask the obvious question. “These sought-after skills you speak of? What is it that you specialize in?”
Jules laughed. “I suppose fortune reading could be one way to look at it? Honestly, sweetie, I’d rather not go much more into it right now.”
I didn’t like how much she kept hidden, but I took what little she would give us.
As I pondered what question to ask Jules next, she shocked Violet and me when she said, “By the way, Damien wants to meet you both tomorrow night.”
My interest shifted from learning more about her to what she’d said. Beside me, Violet stiffened, her heart rate spiking. Our words collided in unplanned unison.
“Why?”
“Are you serious?”
After our voices crashed together, Violet laughed—real and unguarded at our stumbling—and her face lit up in a way that caught me unprepared.
My heart clenched, any earlier tension melting like the first thaw after an endless winter.
I gestured towards her with mock formality. “Ladies first.”
Her eyes locked with mine, that familiar spark of challenge flashing green and gold, before she mimicked my exaggerated gesture back at me. “Please, age before beauty.”
The comeback forced a smile across my face. I nearly laughed at the eerie accuracy of what she had unintentionally said. If you only knew just how much older I was. I grabbed a fry and chewed with deliberate slowness, holding her gaze, making a show of taking my time. “If you insist.”
But beneath our verbal dance, my body had shifted to high alert. The proprietor. Damien.
I narrowed my eyes on the petite blonde across from us. “Why does he want to meet?”
Jules shrugged, her shoulders shifting beneath the soft pink sweater she wore—meant to hide the lingerie beneath, though on Jules it only made her stand out more. “He did not explain why, aside from wanting to show you two Second Circle.”
Violet leaned forward, elbows on the table, energy sparking off her like static electricity. Her eagerness was palpable. “Second Circle?”
Fuck. Second Circle was where I had met my demon, followed by my ill-fated quest for the book. I definitely did not want Violet venturing there alone.
My response overlapped with Violet’s question: “I do not think that is wise.” As she asked, “Is that the underground club I see people disappear into?”
Jules shook her head with a small laugh, more to herself than us. “Easy, you two.” She paused, her expression shifting to wry amusement. “Meeting needs and desires is the proprietor’s particular skill, after all. Second Circle is where desire is made manifest.”
Despite Violet’s excited squeal, the way Jules said those words left me feeling like there was more she could not—or would not—say. Before I could press her, she pushed back her chair. The legs scraped against the diner’s tiled floor, the sound making my teeth clench and muscles tense.
“It’s getting late, and I need to head back.” She stood, gathering her purse. “See you for tonight’s shift?”
I looked at my unfinished burger, felt a moment of frustrated hunger, then wiped my hands on my napkin and rose. “I will escort you back.”
I need to question Jules about Damien without Violet around. I want to know as much as I can about him before we meet.
Violet’s offended look was immediate, her mouth twisting in a pout that almost made me laugh. “You are going to leave me here alone?”
“Yes.” I headed towards the door with Jules.
“What if somebody kidnaps me while you are flirting with Jules?” She called after me.
When I turned back, I was not surprised to see rebellion flashing in her eyes. As predictable as sunrise, her temper.
I gave Violet a firm look—stay—and headed outside with Jules.
The diner sat only a block from Oubliette, nestled on the far side of the shopping district. Chic in its retro design, all chrome and vinyl and neon signage promising burgers and shakes. I felt confident leaving Violet alone as long as she stayed within those walls, among witnesses.
Jules walked beside me, her silence heavy, her thoughts clearly tangled around Damien’s message.
The night stretched wide and empty above us, moonless—the kind of black that predators favored.
The promise of fall teased the lingering residue of summer as a breeze whispered between buildings.
It was colder than previous nights, autumn finally claiming its territory.
“Did your friend make it home safely?” I asked, keeping my voice soft.
Jules tensed, clearly taken aback. “Yes, after a long night of hedonism, she finally crawled back home.”
I chuckled at the image. “Back to her master’s domain, you mean?”
“Prejudice does not look well on you, Rowan.” She hugged herself against the chill, her arms wrapping tight around her middle.
My skin crawled with caution, hairs rising on the back of my neck the way they did when danger lurked close.
The leather of my jacket creaked as we walked.
I counted the soft, rapid flutter of Jules’s heartbeat beside me—one hundred twenty beats per minute, far too fast for a casual stroll.
Her pulse had spiked when she spoke of Damien earlier and had not settled since.
The rhythm was quick and irregular, a frightened bird trapped in her chest. The scent of her cotton-candy perfume mingled with the sharp tang of sweat beneath it, fear’s signature fragrance.
“For what it is worth,” I said, glancing at her, “I never thanked her for helping with Violet. Or you.”
She shrugged, the gesture small and almost dismissive. “I care for my girls like my own. Like family.”
“And yet that same family swims amongst the waters of sharks unknowingly.”
Jules sighed, the sound heavy with resignation. “I do not expect you to understand the balance, Rowan.”
“No, I do not think I will. Not when it threatens those I care for.”
“Folly is perennial, and yet the human race has survived.” She quoted Russell as our steps echoed down the alley across the street from Oubliette, the club’s neon sign visible in the distance.
I started to respond when two figures rounded the corner.
They slinked down the alley towards us, their strides fluid and unnatural.
The absence of heartbeats confirmed what I feared even before I saw their faces: vampyres.
My ears strained against the silence where their pulses should have been, that void of sound more alarming than a growl.
As they neared, their skin gleamed like polished alabaster under the distant streetlights.
“Jules, stay near me.” My voice left no room for argument. She startled at the command before she pressed into my side, her breath coming fast and shallow.
“They shouldn’t be hunting, much less so close to Oubliette.”
“Well, it seems they do not give many fucks, do they now?” I snapped, already mentally preparing for a fight.
Once the pair drew closer, I recognized them. The twins from the club. Their heterochromia gleamed in the streetlight with an unnatural luminescence that human eyes didn’t possess. The soft scrape of their shoes against the pavement created an eerie rhythm.
“Well, well, well,” the twin to my right said with a grin, his voice as smooth as polished glass. “Louis, what is this we have stumbled across?”