He glances at both of us and then dips into a sweeping bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Sly Devil, proprietor of The Black Lotus, safe house for all manner of paranormal and fantastical beings."
He gestures us to follow him, and as we enter, the door that seemed to have disappeared now slams closed behind us. It’s an ominous sound that rattles my bones. We follow Sly through the pitch-black hallway, walking nearly blindly until we reach a great hall that is lit by candles dripping wax everywhere. I shudder to imagine the safety violations present here, but I must admit the effect is startling. In the corner, a piano unaccompanied by any kind of musician plays a beautiful concerto in a minor chord. One wall is taken over entirely by an underwater tank, like the kind you might see at a zoo. Only instead of fish or sharks, this tank features a mermaid. She is beautiful in a vicious sort of way. Her green-and-blue hair flows behind her and her skin is a sheen of pale blue that is almost captivating. Well, until I see her spiked teeth that look like they belong on a shark and her eyes narrow in on us with a predatory gaze.
Sly notices my attention on the creature and smiles. "That’s Marasphyr. She’s a regular visitor to this establishment. Don’t concern yourself with her threatening demeanor. All guests here are safe on pain of death."
We continue through the hall to a smaller room that is no less impressive. It’s lined wall to wall with books, and I nearly die when I see them. Ignoring the dramatic couches in the center of the room and the table laden with mouthwatering food . . . and what looks suspiciously like goblets of blood, I head to the books and run my palm along the spines, my mind whirling with all the wonders contained within such ancient tomes.
Sly watches with something akin to affection on his face. "You appreciate literature," he says.
"Quite so," I say. "I am a librarian by trade."
He nods. "I sensed a kindred spirit in you. Have your pick, my dear. My library is yours."
I won’t lie, I nearly swoon right then and there. I know that isn’t very modern of me, but I have never in my life seen such books, and I’ve been in some of the finest libraries in the world.
I let my hand wander until it chooses a book at random. I pull it out and take it with me to the couch, where I sit next to Sebastian as Sly sits across from us.
Sebastian looks tense, and I can feel an edginess coming off him. He reaches for a goblet of blood and hands it to me. "You will need to feed on my blood soon, but this will suffice for now. You should also eat some human food."
My stomach turns now that I know what I’m consuming, but the smell is intoxicating. I hold the goblet and look to Sly before drinking. "I don’t mean to be rude, but was this blood . . . humanely sourced?"
Sly laughs. "You’re a charming creature," he says. "The blood was donated by willing humans who were more than fairly compensated. None were harmed in any way."
That’s good enough for me. I drink it down in one long gulp, my body soaking up the life force. It takes the edge off the hunger I hadn’t realized was so sharp and frees my attention to nibble on freshly baked bread spread with a soft cheese and fruit puree.
Sebastian sips his blood more slowly and turns his attention to Sly. "I need your help," he says plainly.
"Yes, I see that. But I do seem to recall you vowed never to return here again." Sly flicks his hand, and a scene from the past, built of smoke and light, appears. It’s Sebastian, Sly, and another man with pointed ears. He and Sebastian are arguing. Sebastian punches the man in the face and storms out of the room, vowing never to return.
The smoke dissipates and Sly waits for Sebastian to respond.
"I have stayed away for over a hundred years," he says.
I nearly choke on my bread. It’s one thing to know your new husband is a vampire. It’s another thing entirely to hear that a hundred years is just a fraction of his life.
"But things have changed. The Rendali brothers are back. They nearly killed Ember last night."
"Well, well. And so you chose to turn her to save her?"
Sebastian’s eyes harden. "Yes."
"I assume without permission from the council?"
"You know very well it was without permission. There was hardly time for that. She would have died!"
I have so many questions, but these men are clearly locked in some kind of battle of wills, and I’m loathe to interrupt.
"Is that why you married her? To circumvent the rules?"
He glances at me and then back at Sly. "The why is irrelevant. We are married, and therefore immune to any consequence from the council, as per their own bylaws."
"You always did know how to find the loopholes. You should have stayed, Sebastian. You would have gone far in the council."
Sebastian guffaws. "I have no interest in being part of that charade. But I do need their help in stopping this latest threat. To save Ember, I had to kill Billy Rendali. Now Steven is after us."
Sly whistles. "For a man who has vowed to stay out of it, you sure have stepped in quite spectacularly. This is indeed a complicated mess you’ve made, but I may have a piece to your puzzle. We captured a woman last night who has knowledge of what transpired." He looks to me with a nod of sympathy. "I believe you may know her."
He stands, and we move to follow him, but instead of heading to the door, he turns with a flourish and pulls out a wand. "Before we venture farther into this dramedy you two have created, I must fix these dreadful clothing choices."
He looks at me first, his expression thoughtful. "Normally, I’d pull out the finest gown for one as lovely as yourself, but you strike me as a more practical dresser." He flicks his wand and fairy lights take over my vision as they work my body over. It all happens in a flash, and I find myself standing in the most unusual outfit. I’m wearing a white V-neck blouse with a black vest laced in leather, a kind of skirt pant in black, and black boots. I feel like quite the badass, I must admit.
Sly nods. "Perfect." Then he turns his attention to Sebastian, and with a flick of his wand replaces his benign jeans and polo shirt with an outfit similar to mine but more masculine. We look made for each other.
Once our wardrobe is to his liking, we follow Sly into the bowels of this mysterious place. Through corridors and stone halls and down winding stone stairways until we reach what can only be described as a medieval dungeon with magical influence.
It smells of sulfur, urine, excrement, and body odor.
I gag as we walk through rows of imprisoned criminals, of which only a few look vaguely humanoid, until we reach our destination. It’s dark inside, and I can see only the edges of a human foot, soiled and bleeding.
Sly grips the bar of the door and calls to the prisoner. "You have a visitor, my dear."
The person within crawls forward, and it’s only when their face is pressed against the bars that I can see who it is.
"Molly?"
To say I’m stunned would be an understatement. Vampires? Magic doors? Mermaids? Other worlds? No problem.
Seeing my best friend shackled and imprisoned in a dungeon? I’m officially freaking out. I drop to my knees and face her, reaching for her hands through the bars, but she pulls away and spits at me.
"Molly? What’s going on?" I look up at Sebastian, but he just shrugs, clearly in the dark about this. So I look to Sly for answers. "Why’s she in here? Release her immediately."
"I’m afraid I cannot do that, my dear. She has violated our laws and must pay."
"What laws did she violate?" I look back to her. She’s red-eyed, her skin sallow, her hair a jumbled mess of tangles and dirt, turning her golden locks to a mud brown. "How did you get here?"
She glares at me. "You’re supposed to be dead! If you’d died like you were meant to, I wouldn’t be here at all. I’d be a god by now."
I fall back onto my heels, my hand dropping to my side. This isn’t the woman I’ve known for three years. The woman I’ve worked side by side with day in and day out. The woman I’ve shared meals and books with. The woman who helps me pick outfits for dates and who understands my obscure literary references.