Chapter 23
It’s midday, a couple of hours since I left the castle and Alex. When I first pull up to the structure, I’m not sure where I am. I take in the dark ambience of the windows, the grunginess of the building and the ones that surround it. Flowing in and out of the entrance, are people dressed in gothic-styled clothes with Greek hieroglyphics on their skin. I realize why I’m here.
“Laylen.”
I climb out of the car, stuff the keys in my pocket, and step up onto the curb. People are lined up in front of the door like it’s a fancy night club. There’s even a bouncer with arms the size of my body and tattoos covering his bald head. Knowing I probably won’t get in, I try anyway. Tipping my chin up, I stride with confidence for the velvet rope.
The bouncer gives me a once over and then stares at my eyes. “You Gemma?”
My confidence falters. “Yeah.”
He unhooks the rope and steps aside. People waiting in line shoot me dirty looks and some even bare their fangs. Inside, the air reeks of cigar smoke, sweat, and rust. There’s a mob of people chatting in a slender hallway with blood red walls and an ash black floor. I pat my empty pockets, wishing I had brought my cell phone.
There are vampires, witches, and fey all over the place. My first instinct is to shield my eyes with my hand. Back when Stephan ruled, my violet eyes were a dead giveaway I was the star. You’re not the star anymore, though. You are a normal girl. One that will rule the world.
I shake the disturbing thought away and weave through the crowd of people. The end of the hall opens up into a large dancing area and a bar. I’m verging nineteen and wonder if I’m old enough to be in here. Although, if I’m not, I don’t think anyone would care.
A woman no more than a few years older than me, wearing a bright pink dress dances on the countertop, holding a margarita glass. I think she might be dinner with the way a row of vampires watch her, dressed in their black clothes, mouths watering.
One of her high heels suddenly snaps and she nose-dives to the floor. The vampires lunge out of their stools, plummeting for her.
The floor vibrates under my feet as a large group of people sway to Deftone’s “Change.” I turn to head back, overwhelmed by the amount of people, most who aren’t human, when someone rams into my shoulder.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” The women in the florescent pink dress stands beside me, pinching the stem of the margarita glass, the rim chipped and the base cracked. There are bite marks on her neck and blood stains the tip of her auburn hair. “I apologize for my misstep,” she shouts over the music. “But I’m supposed to take you somewhere.”
I shake my head, backing through the crowd. “Um… No thanks. I’ve gotta go.”
“No, no, no, no, no.” She drops the cup to the ground and it shatters. “I’m not going to hurt you, but you have to come with me, okay?” Without permission, she takes my arm and leads me through the crowd.
I consider bolting, but curiosity keeps me going. There’s a stack of stairs that spiral to the ceiling. We wind up, the railing wobbling with our movements. The top merges with a hallway where the music dissipates the farther down we go. At the end is a door.
She lets go of my arm. “This is a really great place, isn’t it?” She walks inside.
Smoke swirls around in my head and cold crackles my body. Laylen told me once that vampires like the cold temperature. I assume the men sitting at the elliptical shaped table are vampires. They hold cards in their hands and have stacks of poker chips in front of them.
I hug my arms around myself and stand in the doorway, gawking at them like an idiot. “Why did you bring me here?” I whisper to the girl, only to realize she’s moved to the opposite side of the room.
She places her hands on the back of a chair. The person who occupies it has their head tipped down, scrutinizing the cards they were dealt. She cups her hand around his ear and whispers something to him. When he peers up, I about buckle over.
“Laylen.” My jaw drops.
He grins lazily, his blue eyes burrowing under my skin. I shiver, heart knocking. My body centers to him. Suddenly I need to be near him. But not too fast. He needs to know he belongs to me, not the other way around. He grabs the back of the girl’s head and slowly brings her neck to his lips. Sinking his teeth into her skin, he drinks until she stumbles. He releases her and wipes his bloody lips with the back of his hand. I want to run—find Aislin and Alex and tell them Laylen’s having another meltdown. But my legs keep moving until I’m right beside his chair.
He dismisses the girl with a wave of his hand. “Hey beautiful,” he says with a charming smile.
I smile back. He sets the cards face down on the table and pulls me onto his lap.
The man beside him waggles his eyebrows at me. He’s young, no older than Laylen, with spiky black hair and eyes like a storm. My hand takes on a life of its own and I reach over and slap him on the face.
His fair skin reddens. He tosses the cards on the table and the room hushes. “Who brought this little bitch in here?” His anger makes me feel powerful.
“What do you think?” Laylen asks me. “Should I make him suffer? Or kill him?”
“Make him suffer,” I answer, tracing my finger along his jaw. “Forever.” I slide off his lap and wait.
“He can’t hurt me, little girl.” The vampire snaps his fangs at me.
Seconds tick by while Laylen studies his fingernails. “What’d you think? Has it been long enough?”
I tip my head back and laugh. “Sure.”
Like lightening, Laylen clobber’s the guy, sealing his hand around the guy’s throat.
“Please don’t kill me,” the vampire begs, clutching Laylen’s hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Say it to her,” Laylen growls, his fangs pointing from his deep red lips. “Not me.”
“I’m s-sorry,” he stutters. “I didn’t mean it. I swear I didn’t.”
Laylen glances at me. “Is he forgiven?”
I tilt my head and stare at the vampire. Tears streak his face as he looks pleadingly into my eyes.
“Please don’t kill me,” he sobs.
I pat him on the head and he shuts his eyes, his shoulders quivering. “Let him go,” I tell Laylen.
Laylen obeys and backs away. The guy cowers back and ducks under the table, rocking and cradling his legs. The rest of the room scoots back from the table. Rising to their feet, they bow their heads.
“What happened to them hating you?” I ask Laylen. “What did you do to change it?”
His mouth curves to a grin. “I brought you here.” He gestures at the room. “This is all for you, Gemma. They respect you, because they know who you are.”
I take in the somber scenery of the room. “And who am I?”
“You’re the Queen’s connection to the Human Realm,” he says. “You’re the one who will free her.”
My gaze runs along the line of vampires. “And who are they?”
“They’re your Lost Souls.” He twirls a strand of my hair around his finger.
I run my fingers along his lips and hook my pinky through his lip ring. “And who are you?”
He licks his lips and my finger. “I think you already know that.”
I draw my hand back. “You’re Alexander Avery’s connection.”