EIGHT
“Oh, my god.”
It seemed like a pretty bland statement to express what she was seeing, but Delaney couldn’t come up with anything else. Her mind felt as if it were being assaulted with an entirely new world, her senses overwhelmed by the inundation of new things that weren’t supposed to be possible.
She thought briefly about turning around and sneaking back out the way she had come, but she knew she wasn’t going to do that. For starters, she had a feeling she had already been noticed by at least a few of The Blood’s patrons. That would make slinking off and then back into the back rooms to make her escape close to impossible. Unless she was very lucky, she would be followed.
It seemed like the kind of place where people might want to keep an eye on any newcomers which was exactly what she was. An interloper. So, there was the practical element of the matter. Then there was the other part. Now that she was on the inside, now that she could see the adventure Augusten Grady had sent her on, she didn’t think she would have been able to give it up for the world.
Her body was all but vibrating with the energy of the place and it felt as if her eyes wouldn’t ever be wide enough to take in all her surroundings. It was almost too much to take, and she could feel her heart starting to beat too wildly, as if in protest of the strain it was under.
The inside of The Blood looked nothing like the outside of it suggested. Delaney had been expecting to see something austerely industrial, which was an overly popular look at the time, as far as she was concerned. It was definitely not what this place looked like, aside from the exposed piping of the ceiling.
Everything else was plush and rich and full of texture. From the pipes on the ceiling hung elaborate, expensive looking chandeliers that acted upon the dim lights inside the bar as prisms. It gave everything an even more surreal look than it already had, which was saying a lot. There were little seating areas arranged sporadically throughout the vast first floor of the building with couches and chairs made of fine leather and thick, rich velvets.
The floor was covered with large, expensive rugs that gave an extra bounce to the step. The bar itself was made from deeply hued mahogany with a bar top carved out of large slabs of limestone. It looked like there were genuine fossils contained in the stone, with edges crusted in some kind of gem.
There was a slightly unstable looking stairway leading up to a second floor and a bouncer much larger than the one she had encountered in front of the building standing guard in front of a velvet rope. The club wasn’t packed to capacity, but it was active. There seemed to be people everywhere, milling around as they laughed and drank and danced.
At first glance Delaney might have mistaken the place as a normal, albeit more edgy than others, club. She would have been wrong. Some of it was just a feeling the place gave her, evidence that would never hold up in court but was good enough to satisfy her. Then there were the patrons themselves. They were all beautiful. They were beautiful in a way most people would not only never be, but that most people would never see with their own eyes.
They looked like they had come straight out of a movie, or maybe that she had somehow walked onto a movie screen without even realizing it. It was beyond intimidating. It made her feel queasy, and she walked herself directly to the bar before she lost all her nerve and had to leave after all.
She wasn’t quite sure how it would work in a place like this, what kind of drinks they would offer or even if they would distinguish between vampires and humans, but she was willing to take that chance. If she was going to do this, she was going to need a cocktail.
“Can I help you, sweetheart?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Can I help you? You know, with a drink? Do you want something to drink? That’s what I’m trying to ask you. It’s my job.”
“Oh! Oh, sure I’m sorry. I-I’m just nervous I think.”
“First time here?”
“Yes. That obvious?”
“Honestly? Yes.”
“Awesome. Hence the need for the drink. Um, do you have any kinds of specials?”
The bartender looked her up and down, a slow grin forming on his face. It was another one of those smiles that looked like there was something hiding behind it, something she could feel but couldn’t quite understand. It made her nervous, but it also excited her. It excited her so much that she could feel a tingling starting in the tips of her toes and creeping up her body until her inner thighs began to quiver.
She could also feel her face heating up in a truly epic blush, but she did her best to control it. There was nothing she could do to stop it, she knew that from past experience. The bartender just stood and watched, that wicked smile playing across his lips, like he could read her thoughts as easily as if it were a book.
“It’s a Saturday night, sugar, no specials. But seeing as it’s your first time, how’s about I give you the first one on the house? Vodka soda, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Yes, but how the hell’d you know that?”
“Let’s just call it a lucky guess. I’ve got a knack for knowing what people are gonna want to drink. It’s my gift.”
“Like your superpower.”
“Yes, like a superpower. I believe I like the sound of that.” The bartender threw his head back, his thick blonde hair falling over the back of his shoulders and his mouth opening enough to reveal that he had the same sharp teeth as the door guy. She drew back slightly, aware that he was one of them, but she didn’t plan on going anywhere.
She seemed to be getting used to the idea of these vampires actually existing rather quickly, her initial fear replaced with an almost greedy kind of excitement. She could see how this place could easily turn into a kind of a drug, something she would only want more and more of as time moved on.
“Here you go, sugar, on the house, just like I said.”
“Thanks. Hey, can I ask you a question?”
“You can,” he answered with one eyebrow raised, “but don’t count on me answering it.”
“Where is it that you’re from? You don’t sound like you’re from around here.”
“That’s because I’m not. I came here from Louisiana, a little place outside of New Orleans.”
“So, that’s where you’re from?”
“It’s where I was from before I came here. I was from other places before that. I’ve moved around a lot. Let’s just leave it at that. Now can I get you anything else? I’ve got other individuals to serve.”
“No, that’s fine. Sorry to pry.”
“Don’t worry. You ain’t the first and I expect you won’t be the last. Now, have yourself a good time, sweetheart, but try not to have too good of a time. That’s the way you get yourself into trouble. Especially in a place like this.”
Delaney opened her mouth to respond, but there was no reason to. The bartender was already on the move, off to serve a little cluster of girls who were all made up to look like they had come straight out of The Matrix. There was a whole lot of black latex and darkly painted nails, dark eye makeup and piercings.
She could tell they were human, not some of the vampires, but they were seriously beautiful nonetheless. They looked like the kinds of girls who belonged in a place like this. Delaney was positive that she, in turn, did not. She glanced down at her ripped jeans and white boyfriend t shirt, topped off with a ratty pair of converse she’d had since she was in high school. Her hair fell in thick waves around her shoulders, falling into her face repeatedly no matter how many times she tried to stop it. She felt like she looked unforgivably plain.
Being that way was probably the best way for her to hang out in The Blood without being noticed by much of anyone, which would help her to get a good look at what was going on around her. The thing was, she was starting to realize, to really realize, that she didn’t want that kind of adventure.
She didn’t want an adventure composed of observation, she wanted experience. She wanted to see what it was like to get as close to a vampire as she could, to play with fire. She wanted to feel what it was like to be taken into one’s arms, to trust him with her life regardless of how reckless doing so might be. Some part of her had wanted this from the time when she’d been old enough to want a man in that carnal sense.
She’d wanted something different, something more than what your average woman got. She wanted to play with fire. Being around these superhuman beings now, however, she wondered if she would be something that any of them would want in return. She’d never been the type of girl to question her looks, never had any real insecurities at all, but being around all of these gorgeous people was enough to plant the beginnings of some.
She took a long sip of her drink, then coughed violently.
“Good lord!”
“What’s the matter? Too much for you to take?”
“What? No, it was just stronger than I expected it to be. I only planned on getting a single, and I’m guessing this is closer to a triple. Not that I’m complaining or anything, because I’m not. It was nice of the bartender to give it to me.”
“I bet he did. Looking at you, I just bet he did.”
“Um, thanks?”
“Don’t take offense. I don’t mean any. I’m just paying you a compliment. I don’t see anything wrong with paying a compliment to a beautiful young woman. I think one should always do just that.”
Delaney hadn’t even looked at the guy she was talking to yet. She was too busy trying to get a hold of herself and waiting for her eyes to stop blurring from the intensity of the liquor. She could smell him, though, which wasn’t something she considered to be a good thing with a guy who wasn’t right next to her. He was wearing some cologne she didn’t recognize and from the scent of it, he’d lathered it on like lotion.
Jesus, couldn’t he smell himself?! Didn’t he realize no girl alive was interested in someone who smelled that strongly of patchouli and cedar and the alcohol it was mixed in? But then she looked at him, really looked at him, and saw that he might not be so in touch with girls who were alive.
“Well, will you look at those eyes. Beautiful, just beautiful! But then I’m sure you hear that all the time, a girl as beautiful as you are.”
“Oh, um, no. I mean, sometimes. I mean thank you. Thanks.”
“But of course,. And tell me, is this your first time here? It is, isn’t it? I can tell just by looking at you.”
“It is. But what do you mean you can tell by looking?”
“Let’s just say I’m a very perceptive man. I’ve got a way of reading people. It serves me well.”
Delaney gave a little start, then hoped this guy hadn’t noticed. Something about the way he said that struck her as funny. It probably wouldn’t have if it had been the first time she’d heard someone in the club say it to her, but it wasn’t. What it was, was eerily similar to what the bartender had told her.
There was every possibility in the world that it was just a coincidence, but something in her told her that was bullshit. This guy talking to her now was one of them, he was a vampire, and whether she was supposed to be able to tell so easily or not, she could. Her body responded to them in a way it just didn’t to people. It was like she had a sixth sense about it, like the animalistic part of her knew a predator when she saw one.
The thing was, and she couldn’t tell if this was a problem yet or not, she didn’t want to get away from the predators. She only wanted to be around them. That being said, she wasn’t so much interested in the one she was currently talking to. This was actually a relief. At least it was a sign that she wasn’t just some nutty vampire groupie, which was good. She hadn’t so completely drunk the Kool-Aid that she didn’t have the ability to express preference. And if she was in a position to be expressing preference, it was not to have this man near her.
“Did I say something to upset you? Not my intention, if I did. I would never want to upset such a pretty thing.”
“No, I’m good.”
The man reached out to brush the hair out of her face and she reflexively jumped back, ducking so that she was out of his grasp. She saw his lip curl a bit, revealing the points of teeth she was already starting to become strangely used to seeing. Apparently, this guy wasn’t used to being turned down. Either that, or he had been turned down more than he could handle and wasn’t going to take it anymore. Whichever it was, for just a moment she caught a glimpse of who he was underneath the overly genteel veneer and it wasn’t good. In her humble opinion, it wasn’t even close to good.
“Are you sure you’re good? Because, if you don’t mind me saying so, you seem a little jumpy. Perhaps you’ve heard a little bit too much about our little establishment. Perhaps you’ve let it get to you? Rattle your nerves? Please, don’t let it. I’ll make sure nobody hurts you. I’ll take very good care of you. The best care you’ve ever had, I expect.”
“Seriously, I’m good. Just getting my bearings.”
“I bet I could help you with that, too.”
“Why, do you like, own this place or something?”
“No, he doesn’t.”
Delaney was in the process of trying to avoid another attempt at physical contact from her unwanted admirer when the sound of a male voice interrupted the both of them. Even before she looked to see who he was, she was beyond grateful. He could have been a seventy-year-old man with three-inch-long fingernails and she would still have welcomed the intrusion. Hell, she would’ve bought him a drink and had a conversation.
Anything to keep her from being stuck with this man for any longer than necessary. Who would have thought that the creepy guys who came on too strong existed in the world of vampires as well as the world of humans?
When she actually did look up, however, she saw that this guy was anything but an old man. He was, instead, the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen in her life. Not one of the most, not maybe the most, but the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen in her life. He was probably a good six inches taller than her, towering above most of the other people in the room.
He had thick hair that fell across his forehead casually and bright, intelligent eyes looking out at her with such intensity that she couldn’t maintain his gaze. She had to look down and hope that this guy didn’t sense how crazy nervous him even standing there had made her. Her companion, on the other hand, seemed to be far less impressed with his arrival.
“Who asked you?” the pushy one snarled, lashing out in what Delaney was pretty sure was his normal way of behaving. “Who asked you to come over here and interrupt at all? We were having a perfectly lovely conversation, just getting to know each other. No need to insert yourself. No need to be so bloody rude.”
“Not being rude, just waiting for a drink and happened to hear her question. I thought I would be polite and give her an answer. You know, just in case you didn’t remember the right one.”
“Didn’t remember? In case I didn’t remember?! Of course, I remember! I know who owns the place.”
“Do you?”
“Well... no, not exactly. But I know it isn’t me. Now why don’t you go ahead and shove off, will you? Leave us back to our conversation.”
“Of course, not a problem. I just want to check one thing first.”
“What? What is it, what?”
“I want to check and see if she really wants you here talking to her in the first place.”
“I don’t think it’s any of your business.”
The man snarled with the words and, for just a split second, he looked exactly like a monster. Delaney wanted to take another step back, but she was already pushed right up against the bar. She couldn’t go anywhere, couldn’t do anything to get herself away from this stranger who looked like a madman.
She was sure he was going to consume her and that there would be nothing she could do about it. It was the crazy good looking man’s arm that stopped it from happening. He extended it in front of the angry stranger’s chest almost casually, like he was hailing a cab or something instead of stopping a man from coming after a woman.
Stop him was exactly what he did, though, stopped him as if the guy had hit a brick wall. He snarled again, his hair falling in front of his face and making the slightly dishevelled condition of his clothing all the more apparent. Not only were they dishevelled, they were also strange, like he had gotten them out of a costume box at a theatre and made the decision to wear them on a dare.
They didn’t look like they belonged in modern day Austin. She wasn’t sure where they belonged, but it wasn’t there. Still, despite all of these mounting oddities, the handsome stranger didn’t seem to be even slightly miffed or thrown off. For him, it looked like this was just a normal Saturday night.
Delaney wondered to herself what kinds of things she would grow used to if she started frequenting The Shade and then had to suppress a laugh. There wasn’t even anything funny! She just couldn’t control it. The angry man who’d been trying to chat her up bore his teeth, exposing the full extent of the weapons he was equipped with.
“Something funny here, little girl?”
“No! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just... I just do that sometimes.”
“I’ll wipe that smile off your face, see that I don’t.”
“See? That’s kind of what I thought. It definitely didn’t look like the two of you were getting along and I think it’s time for you to move on now.”
“I’ll tell you when I’m ready to go.”
“No, I don’t think so. I think you’ve proved that’s a decision you can’t make for yourself.”
The movie star looking rescuer lifted his chin, grabbing the attention of someone Delaney couldn’t see, and in no time flat there were two guys there and ready to take hold of the strange, angry vampire. Behind them came the door guy from out front, who looked at her with widening eyes and an expression of bewilderment.
“Hey! It’s you!”
“Um, yup. It’s me.”
“How the hell’d you get in here? I watched you drive off!”
“I don’t know, I just did.”
“Sorry about this, Jack, for real. I’ll get her out of here. I swear, I don’t have a fucking clue how she got in here. I watched her drive off after talking to me for a spell. Should’ve known she was bad news, the way she just run off like she did.”
“No, she’s not the problem. He is. In fact, he was pushing this girl around when I decided to step in. Not the kind of hospitality this place wants to develop a reputation for giving, I don’t expect.”
The door guy’s eyes bulged out even further, so huge now that the awful image of them just popping out of his head swam into Delaney’s mind and made her feel momentarily sick. She took another long sip from her drink and was surprised to hear the sound the straw made as the last of the liquid was sucked out of the glass. She was mostly just jangling ice cubes at that point, which wasn’t going to help her nerves any.
“No, sure, you’re right. Not the kind of hospitality. Sure, you’re right. Come on, Lucas, you gotta come with us.”
“But you just said it! She isn’t even supposed to be in here! The little bitch should be the one leaving here, not me!”
“The way Jack says it, you were just fine with her being here, up until she turned you down. Come on now, you can either come with us willingly or I’ll have these big ol’ boys drag you out. Your choice, but I’d go with the first one if I was you. Save you the embarrassment. Maybe next time you come in, people won’t remember this scene so well.”
“The next time I come back? Like hell I’ll be coming back!”
“All right, sure. That’s your prerogative. Come on now.”
And with that, the beefy bouncers took the man whose name turned out to be Lucas by both of his arms and led him towards the exit. Delaney stood there, feeling floored, without any clue what to do with herself next. She felt like she couldn’t even look at the guy who had come to her rescue.
For starters, she couldn’t remember his name, even though the door guy had used it only a couple of seconds ago. She knew she needed to say thank you, that saying thank you was the appropriate thing to do, but she felt frozen in place. She knew that the longer she stayed quiet the worse it got, but she couldn’t make herself speak. If her mouth had been filled full of concrete, it couldn’t have been any more silent.
“So,” the man said in a light conversational tone that gave no indication to the fact that he’d just been in an almost fight, “from the looks of it, you could use another drink.”