Chapter 12
12
Braxton escorted me down one of the lantern lit streets of the Dark District. He had his hands shoved in the pockets of his black jeans, his shoulders huddled in his leather jacket. He had added some pomade to his unruly brown hair, adding a bit of bad boy sophistication to his normally scruffy appearance. The stubble on his cheeks remained, but that was a constant for him, no matter how dressed up he got for a job. Sometimes his mercenary work would take him to posh locations, but he was always still just… Braxton.
He looked over at me as we walked past restaurants and other storefronts illuminated with soft yellow lights. Most of the businesses didn’t open until sundown. “You’re sure showing a lot of skin for someone who doesn’t want to get bit.”
I looked down at my crimson silk camisole and tight black jeans, then looked at Braxton in his heavy leather jacket. “That’s what I have my werewolf bodyguard for.”
“I’m only one man, Eva.” But he was grinning. He knew that I knew that he would watch my back.
My messenger bag twitched. It didn’t exactly go with my outfit, but Ringo couldn’t fit in any of my other bags comfortably. As I had predicted, he had insisted on accompanying us. He’d claimed he wanted to earn his keep, which sounded a lot like he was intending on staying with us long-term. I wouldn’t burst his bubble just yet. With how things were going, I might not survive long enough to get to that point, so why put him through it?
We reached Crimson Kisses, distinguishable only by a carved sign depicting a pair of smiling red lips, tiny fangs barely visible. Braxton opened one of the tall wooden doors decorated with crescent moons of stained glass, holding it open as two pale women with bite scars on their necks walked in ahead of us, leaving a heavy trail of floral perfume in their wake. With the sun just setting, most of the vampires wouldn’t have arrived yet. But there would be plenty of admirers waiting for them when they did.
Braxton continued holding the door as I walked in ahead of him, stopping just inside to take it all in. White candles dripped their wax across the surface of tall tables lining one side of the room, and at the other side was a gleaming bar, entirely edged with intricately carved moons and stars. It looked like it had all been carved by hand, which wasn’t surprising. Vampires had all the time in the world to work on things.
There were only a few patrons sitting at the bar or at the far tables, but things would fill up soon. I never understood the appeal of being a blood donor, but maybe it was worth it for the pampering and mind tricks. Though I didn’t intend to find out. From what I’d seen, most vampires treated their donors like favorite pets.
I chose a stool near the end of the bar, not far from the door. I steadied my bag with Ringo inside on my lap as I sat. Braxton took the only stool to my right, between me and the wall.
The sole bartender currently on duty sauntered our way. She wore a green satin shirt, clinging to her body. Brown leggings and brown boots completed the look. Elves didn’t always dress so… elven, but I imagined it got her a lot of tips in this place. Every vampire in the joint would want a taste, though I didn’t see any marks on her bare neck or wrists. Red hair fell down her back to her waist, the front pinned back to show her pointed ears. She gave us a dazzling smile, her green eyes glittering, though her attention was mostly on Braxton.
She leaned her hip against her side of the bar. “What will it be?”
Braxton ordered some terrible sweet concoction. I ordered a beer. I was what one might call a lightweight , and I wanted to keep my wits about me. Couldn’t be too careful when dealing with vampires .
When the elf returned with our drinks, I stopped her with a raise of my hand. “Can you tell me when Lilith will be in?”
Her brow furrowed. “Not for another thirty minutes or so. After dark.”
It seemed pretty dark out to me, but I knew it was different for vampires. They preferred it to be pitch black. Midnight was best. “Why do you suddenly look worried?” I asked.
She smoothed her long fingered hands across the bar and leaned closer. “I’ve never seen you around here, and you don’t have the look of a regular donor about you. You may want to rethink waiting around for Lilith. She’s not so bad herself, but the company she keeps—” she shook her head. “Just, reconsider.”
“I need to ask her a few questions.”
“Questions always come with a cost.” She gave me a meaningful look, then walked away.
“Well now I’m extra excited about this,” Braxton said at my back.
Shaking my head, I sipped my beer. It was too bitter, but I didn’t want to earn another warning from the elf for not being able to handle my drink. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked Braxton here after all, but he should be all right. Werewolves were naturally resistant to vampire mind tricks, and I could usually shift out of any magical hold someone put on me. Of course, that wouldn’t do me much good with a physical hold. Those, I would just have to do my best to avoid .
I took another sip of my beer, letting my fingers linger on the cold glass. It was way too warm in the establishment, and I had a feeling I knew why. Heat would bring everyone’s blood to the surface. Tasty .
I could feel a few eyes on my back, but I stayed put. I wanted my answers. I wanted to find out why those two angelics had tried to kill me, and if Sebastian had somehow put them up to it. If he had, that meant he’d manipulated the entire bargain and it was null. I needed to find out more.
My senses tingled as the first of the vampires filtered in. They probably lived nearby and didn’t have a long journey just as darkness fell. I had noticed apartments above the bar. Maybe they were reserved for the nocturnal. They wouldn’t mind the late night noises down below.
I spared them a quick glance, not wanting any of them to read my interest as, well… interest.
We sipped our drinks and waited, and no one bothered us. I didn’t need anyone to point out Lilith when she finally came stalking in. The first thing I sensed was her power, something akin to magic that all vampires accumulated with age. I swiveled my stool to watch her. She was stunning, nearly six feet tall and slender like a willow tree. Curly black hair fell in a velvet curtain around her slender shoulders, clad in a black sheath dress with a lace overlay. She had gone only two steps past me in her silent high heels when she stopped and turned. Her dark eyes looked me up and down like I might be good to eat.
Her expression said she knew what I was, but she didn’t speak it out loud. Maybe she didn’t want any of the other vampires coming in to know. It looked like Sebastian had been right on the money about her interest in me.
I expected her to go behind the bar, she was a bartender after all, but instead she slid onto the stool next to mine.
She completely ignored Braxton as she spoke. “A celestial with a goblin in her bag?” She lifted one perfectly drawn on brow. “How curious.” Her eyes scanned my bare neck. “What brings you here?”
Her voice held a thick accent from somewhere far away. I couldn’t tell how old she was, that wasn’t one of my gifts, but I suspected she was ancient. She just had that feel to her.
I gave her my best winning smile. “I’m actually here to talk to you.”
Her slender brow twitched. “Oh really?” She reached out a well manicured hand, running a red lacquered nail across my wrist.
I fought the urge to pull away. I wanted her interested in speaking to me, but not that interested.
In my peripheral vision I spotted a male vampire with bleached blond hair and a studded jacket coming our way .
Lilith snapped her head to one side as he reached us. “Mine,” she said simply.
He lifted his hands and backed away. Braxton not so subtly scooted closer to my stool.
With her attention back on me, Lilith traced a light line down my wrist with her nail, drawing goosebumps to the surface of my skin. “And why are you looking for me?”
I hadn’t really come in with much of a plan other than finding her and asking her my questions. Maybe I should have played up the flirtation a bit more, but I didn’t want to get in too deep.
I lowered my voice. “Two angelics tried to kill me the other day. Someone told me you might have information on why.”
Her brows lifted and she withdrew her hand. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.” But for just a moment, her expression had given her away. I’d surprised her, and she knew something about it.
Flirtation it was. I boldly reached back out and slid my hand over hers. “Please, I just want to know who they are.”
She hesitated, glancing over at the elf behind the bar who was looking our way. I couldn’t read the look that passed between them. Lilith gave her a slight nod, then turned back to me. “You should leave this place. Count yourself lucky for surviving, and do not ask about this again.” She pulled her hand out from beneath mine .
“Wait.” I reached for her.
Her gaze shifted as the door opened, but I couldn’t see who was coming inside. Her eyes widened, then suddenly her mouth was on mine, her hands cradling my cheeks. She had slid from her stool, shifting her body to block my view of whoever had entered.
She broke the kiss, but kept her mouth near mine. “They can’t see you with me. Just play along. I’ll get you out.”
I sensed Braxton at my back, close enough to hear her words with his werewolf hearing.
I gave a slight nod, and she kissed me again. Her mouth tasted incredibly minty, and I wondered if it was to cover up the taste of blood. Her hands found my waist, guiding me from the stool. “They are past us,” she breathed. “We are going to move toward the door now.”
I nodded again. She turned me around, holding my back against her chest. It was lucky she was so tall—she completely blocked me from view. Though I desperately wanted to know who she was blocking me from.
I caught a glimpse of Braxton as he followed us toward the door, then opened it for us.
“ Lilith ,” a man said, but she hurried us outside.
As soon as we were out in the street, I gasped the cool night air with panic gripping my chest. My body broke out into a cold sweat.
Keeping her hands on my shoulders, Lilith hurried me away from the entrance of Crimson Kisses. “You need to run. And do not come here again. ”
“Wait, but why? Who was that? Why am I in danger?”
“Lilith!”
The three of us turned as four men poured out into the street. I didn’t recognize any of them, but I could tell that the one who’d shouted was a vampire. He was shorter than I had expected given his deep voice. He wore a black shirt and black jeans, making his pale skin even paler.
He pointed a stubby finger our way. “Unhand the girl.”
Lilith pushed me behind her. “Run!” she hissed.
She didn’t have to ask me twice. I staggered back, but Braxton grabbed my arm, steadying me. I took one last look at the four men, memorizing their faces, then we ran.
We ran through the streets of the Dark District, past antique lanterns and little black streamers still left up as decorations from some past event. There were a few people loitering about, but it was early for the Dark District. Most wouldn’t be out until midnight. The vampires chasing us were just glimpses of darkness in the shadows.
“Why are we being chased!” Braxton shouted.
“I don’t know,” I panted, my lungs already burning.
I nearly crashed into a woman coming out of a doorway. She screamed, then stumbled back inside. We caught a few odd looks as we ran, but no one tried to help us. The number one rule of the Dark District is to never interfere. Anyone who walked these streets did so at their own risk.
I didn’t have time to shout out a warning as a vampire dove for Braxton, knocking him from his feet. He rolled, flinging the woman off him to smack into one of the street lanterns. She crumpled to the ground, then scraped her hands across the sidewalk, pushing herself up.
Her fangs glinted in the yellow lantern light. “My quarrel is not with you, wolf. Give me the girl and walk away.”
Braxton blocked me with his body. “You need to run, Eva. I’ll hold them off.”
I shook my head, though he couldn’t see it. “No way.”
He turned his head just enough for me to see his face as it started to go furry. Shit, he was shifting to protect me. “I’ll be fine.” His voice had gone all deep and gravely.
I staggered back as another dark shape darted between us, then my eyes caught up to my brain and I realized it was Lilith. “Go,” she ordered. “They want you. I will help your friend. Go across a boundary where they cannot find you.”
Crap. Braxton’s arms were elongating, going full wolfman.
Lilith flashed her fangs at me. “ Go ,” she hissed, and this time there was a hint of compulsion to her words. “I will protect your friend.”
Shit, I could not hang in a fight between vampires and werewolves. Another dark shape appeared. It was the shorter man who had originally ordered me apprehended. Realizing that they would try to chase me rather than wasting time on Braxton and Lilith, I turned and ran.
Now that I wasn’t keeping up with Braxton, I shifted slightly. It wouldn’t help if someone got a firm hold on me, but it would make me more difficult to grab. I wouldn’t be exactly where they thought I was. I couldn’t help a glance back at the sound of fighting. It seemed Lilith had brought some friends. I watched long enough to see a female vampire breaking free and heading my way.
I ran harder, my muscles screaming at me. The Dark District was on the eastern edge of town. Most of the boundaries were pretty far away from each other. It wasn’t like the angelics were going to set up shop next to the goblins. There would only be one boundary anywhere close.
And that was the Bogs. Great.
“Duck!” my messenger bag shouted.
Ringo. I had completely forgotten about him. Tucking the bag close to my body, I rolled just as a vampire sailed over my head.
My shoulder hit the ground too hard, sending a shock through my chest. I shifted slightly again, staggered my feet, and kept running just as the vampire righted herself and came after me.
I veered around a building just as she grabbed for me again. I shifted again, feeling her fingers scrape across my arm.
Several people were coming out of a back entrance of an establishment. I ran right into them, pushing my way through. They shouted after me, then there were more shouts as the vampire reached them.
Not willing to risk another glance back, I kept running. The path leading to the Bogs was in view. I put my head down and sprinted despite my body’s protests.
No one chased me down the long path. Maybe I would get lucky and they wouldn’t leave the dark district. My heart leapt as I neared the gates, then my elation plummeted. In front of the gates stood three vampires.
I slowed to a jog, then stopped, barely able to stand straight as I tried to catch my breath. My shirt was soaked with sweat. They must have heard what Lilith told me and came ahead. Two men, one woman, all dressed in black.
The woman spread her arms and tilted her chin down, framing her face with her long blonde hair. “You will come with us now.”
I looked at the gates behind them. If they were open, I might make it through. Once I crossed the boundary, they wouldn’t be able to follow me .
But they were closed tight. There wasn’t time for me to mess with them.
“We have to try,” Ringo squeaked, his little head poking out of my messenger bag.
He was right. If I tried to run anywhere else, they would capture me. Maybe they didn’t want to kill me, but whatever they wanted I was sure it wasn’t good. Not with how Lilith had tried to get me out of there. I didn’t have time to think about why she was helping me. I just desperately needed to get into the Bogs. It was a thought I never imagined I’d have.
I shifted my feet. None of them were moving from in front of the gates. They didn’t want to risk me getting through. I’d just have to charge in and hope my shifting was enough to keep them from grabbing me.
I ran. They spread their arms, ready to catch me. At the last minute I threw some leftover costume jewelry from my bag into the woman’s face. It only distracted her for a split second. I reached the gate, but it was already opening. Not questioning my luck, I shifted to run through, but one of the men grabbed my arm. Faster than I could follow, Ringo scurried out of my bag and up my chest. His teeth sank into the man’s hand. The man ripped his hand away, nearly flinging Ringo from me. I caught him with both hands, shifted, then rolled across the boundary.
Mud coated me, and stray cobblestones bruised my body. I ended up in a heap, curled around Ringo, panting as I looked back across the boundary .
The three vampires all stood there, enraged. The woman smacked her hand on the invisible barrier, making it flash for a moment with green light. I was lucky none of them had any goblin blood, or else I’d be screwed.
Shaking, I sat up. “What do you want from me?”
One of the men spit on the ground. “The master says to bring you and we bring you. But you don’t look special to me.”
Great, so they didn’t know either.
I got to my feet, still clutching Ringo. I gave their angry faces one last look, then turned and started walking. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I was stuck in the Bogs until sunrise. Unfortunately, the night was still young.