Annia, still dressed in the same black denim she’d worn to the Guild, rolled her eyes at my clubby getup. “You planning on taking someone home tonight?” she asked, arching a dark red brow.
“No.” I batted my eyelashes and looped an arm around her waist, clinging close. “But we’re a lesbian couple now, and I have to look the part. You’re the stud, and I’m the femme.”
Annia snorted. “Would have been nice if you’d filled me in on the plan before we got here. Are you going by a different name, then?”
“Nadia.” The name popped from my lips, and it took me a moment to remember that it was the name the Chief Mage had given me when we’d gone similarly undercover at a bar in Solantha’s Maintown. Warmth spread through me as I remembered how casual he’d been, looping his arms around my waist and sitting me down in his lap as if I’d actually been his girlfriend. He’d glamoured himself up to look like a young human college student, and he’d played the part so well it had been a little disconcerting.
“Alright Nadia.” Annia’s lips twitched with laughter as I squeezed her arm, and she tugged me a little closer to her body, playing the part. “Let’s do this.”
We walked into the club, a black-painted cinder block building on the corner of the street, and were assailed by a haze of cigarette smoke. Instantly, I broke into a coughing fit, and held up my hand, my eyes watering. I hated cigarettes with a passion – I was ridiculously sensitive to the smoke and it always had this effect on me.
“Get it together,” Annia hissed in my ear. “People are staring.” Sure enough, a few of the patrons seated around the various round tables set up throughout the space were turning to look at me, their eyebrows raised as if to say ‘What? You’ve never been around smoke before?’ I wanted to bare my teeth at them and tell them to fuck off, but that didn’t go with the sweet, girlish persona I was affecting, so instead I turned and buried my nose in Annia’s jacket to try and regain my composure.
“Nice,” she muttered, but she stroked a hand across my back comfortingly.
“Can I get you ladies anything?” The bartender asked. “Maybe some water for your girl?” He gazed pointedly at me.
“Oh yeah, that’d be great.” Annia tugged me over to the bar, and I forced myself to pull my face away from her jacket and sit down on one of the stools. Fortunately, the smoke happened to be coming from a group sitting in a corner at the opposite end of the room, and the smell was less pungent here. “Can you get a glass of water for her, and a scotch for me? I could do with something strong to get me started.”
“Coming right up.” The bartender smiled at Annia, then served up our drinks. I forced myself to sip my water slowly instead of gulping it down – being ladylike really wasn’t my thing. Why did I decide to do this again?
Oh, right. For the victims.
“Not really sure what I’m supposed to do now,” I muttered to Annia, feeling a little put out. “I’m going to have a tough time blending in around here enough to ask questions.” I should have thought this through a little better.
Annia grinned at me over her half empty glass. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it, sweetheart,” she said, putting an arm around my shoulder and planting a kiss on my cheek. “You just sit next to me and look gorgeous, and I’ll do all the talking.”
I scratched the side of my head with my middle finger, and Annia nearly choked on her drink. We finished up at the bar, and then she led me over to one of the card tables. I eyed the heavy money pouch at her hip enviously as she withdrew a handful of coins to buy chips from the dealer – Annia had really been cashing in on the bounties lately.
As Annia suggested, I sat next to her and looked pretty while she played with the big boys, going through several rounds of Mad Jack at this table, and then moving on to another one to play Seven Card. I simply batted my eyelashes at the men, cooing and praising Annia every time she won a round – which was quite often, to my surprise. Annia might not’ve been a regular around here, but she was definitely no stranger to playing cards. Between her good looks and her natural gift of gab, she got the men to relax and chat with her despite the fact that she was taking their money.
“So,” Annia finally said to the man next to her after they closed out another round. “My brother gave me some betting tickets awhile back that I never ended up using, and I forgot what they were for. Think you might be able to help me out? I’m looking to find something new to spend my money on.”
“Sure.” The man took the tickets from Annia, but the smile from his face faded as he stared down at the tickets. “You said your brother gave these to you?”
“Yeah.” Annia arched a brow. “There a problem with that?”