Later that evening, I got to work on my mission. Through a quick search with a demon friend of mine at the IRS, I found Flint Meadowdash’s place of work. And as I appeared in the alley next to the gay strip club, I realized I’d never been in this establishment before. “Maybe it was new,” I said to myself, adjusting the miniskirt to make sure most of my ass was covered.
Strutting around to the front entrance, I bypassed the line of men waiting to get inside and stepped up in front of the bouncer. He was a Praetorian—built from lava and ash and created solely to serve as a protector. I outranked him quite a bit and that was going to help get me inside. “Hello,” I cooed.
He stared down at me from his seven-foot height and grunted. “Why are you walking through the door?”
Referring to me not blinking into an unknown building, I simply smiled. “Because I wanted a chance to meet you,” I said, rubbing my hand along his chest.
Several men in line started complaining. But the Praetorian ignored them and gently removed my fingers from his muscles. “You’re not my type,” he whispered with a small smirk.
I followed his eyes over toward the other men and shrugged. “You’re not mine either,” I said. “May I?”
He nodded at my question, allowing me to pass by without paying a cover, despite the complaints from the humans stuck outside. I climbed the stairs and sauntered past a few men and women standing near the entrance. The strip club advertised itself as high-end and classy, and my first impression agreed with that statement. I’d spent many years of my life dancing in these places and this one was by far one of the cleanest. The ceiling was three floors high with balconies lining the ramp that circled down to the main stage. Shaped like a catwalk, the dancer’s floor stretched out at least a hundred feet from the entrance, leaving enough space for three poles and multiple strippers to perform at once.
I weaved my way through the packed crowd, trying to reach one of the many bars along the edges. Once I finally got my drink in hand, I turned back toward the stage just in time to hear, “He’s the man with a plan. The master of pleasure. And the one that keeps you coming back for more. It’s Fliiiint.” The announcer shouted his name like he was a WWE wrestler and the crowd went crazy. Dollar bills flew through the air. Men pushed each other trying to get closer to the stage. And as soon as the lights went out, a sharp beat started thumping. Dancing to a song called Chocolate, the spotlight illuminated the man who’d just stepped through the curtain.
Flint Meadowdash.
The faerie who had a spell to track angels.
As the men cheered and threw their money on the stage, Flint owned the entire catwalk by himself. His dark skin, shaved head, and stunning cheekbones were highlighted by the eyeliner and glittering eyeshadow he’d added to his face. Fit as a professional dancer, only a pair of sequenced suspenders covered his chest and held up the gold booty shorts that showed every single one of his defined muscles. He must have been wearing contacts, as his purple fae eyes now looked like the yellow of a tiger’s. In a pair of clear platform boots, Flint danced his heart out. One pole after another faced his assault while the men admired his amazing flexibility. A part of me was jealous for his moves and wished I’d looked that good. But the other part of me simply stood there and enjoyed his awesome performance.
At the end of the stage, Flint dropped to all fours and started dry humping the floor while giving his fans a sultry smile. Men screamed his name—some of them passing out. The crowd parted to allow the bouncers to pull away the men on the ground, and when it did, Flint’s eyes found mine.
I’d never met the fae before, but he studied me like he’d just seen the queen. He flipped his hand in the air and the DJ turned up the music, spinning it to a different speed. Flint stood, ignoring the men stuffing money in his pants, and beckoned me to the stage. I shook my head and crossed my arms.
He pouted, and then whispered something to one of the bouncers near the stage. The man turned, grinned at me, and stomped my way. Flint continued his performance all the while watching what was about to go down with me.
“Flint want’s you on stage,” the bouncer yelled into my ear.
“No.”
“Come on.” He grabbed my arm and I immediately showed him my strength by standing put. The man gave me an inquisitive look before he finally dropped his hand from my bicep. “Please?”
I laughed. A polite bouncer. “I don’t dance anymore.”
“Flint said you do.”
I glanced up on the stage only to see Flint wink at me. God dammit. I needed his spell, and if I had to dance with him to get it, then I would. It wasn’t like my whole existence depended on it or anything.
With a groan, I unzipped my skirt and slid it down my legs. The bouncer watch with his mouth hanging open as I took off my sweater until I only wore my bra, thongs, and stiletto ankle boots. “Do you mind?” I asked, handing my clothes to him.
With a robotic move, he let me lay my garments on his arm and helped me make my way through the crowd. Flint cheered when I reached the stage, giving me his hands to lift me up. In one quick move, he had me up on the stage in front of the entire club.
“Everyone, please welcome Bella!”
They all cheered, even the gay guys, and the energy from them helped egg me on. The beat was perfect for a walk, so I made my way to the pole half way down the stage. Grabbing hold, I swung my head back and bent in half. Side to side I let my hair flow back and forth with the beat. When I stood up, I noticed that a group of women had gathered near me. Flint raised his brows a second before pulling himself up on the pole and executing a perfect split as he hung upside down.
“Showoff,” I grumbled. Knowing I couldn’t do that, I slid down to the stage and crawled over to the women. Beautiful and drunk, the three closest to me started shoving money down my bra. One of them squeezed my nipple, but I let it go. The adrenaline rush of performing and pleasing had taken over and I didn’t care if I usually had a no touching rule. Swinging my hips around to face the outside of the stage, I pushed up onto my heels and bent over in front of the crowd. With a shake, I showed them all what I might have to offer. The women threw more money at me, and Flint laughed loud enough for me to hear.
He made his way toward me, strutting to the beat and holding onto his suspenders. “You’re a natural,” he cooed.
“I’ve been up here before.”
“I can tell.” Flint suddenly wrapped both of his hands on my ass and pulled me against his hips. He pushed me backward and dipped me around to the other side like a choreographed dance. The crowd cheered, so when I snapped my head back up, I kicked my leg out to the side and let it land on his shoulder.
“Oh,” he breathed, running his hand down my thigh.
I slapped it away and grabbed his crotch, squeezing just hard enough to get him excited. Everyone clapped while Flint laughed, playing to the crowd like he did this every night. Dropping my leg, I snapped his suspender, and started to walk off the stage toward the curtain. Being sure to shake my ass on the way out, I blew Flint a kiss before disappearing backstage. I heard the customers chanting “Bella!” as they clapped, but I didn’t plan on going back out there. Flint got the show he wanted, and now it was my turn to get what I came here for.
His bouncer was waiting for me backstage with my clothes. Giving him a smile, I dressed myself before Flint bounced through the curtain and let out a shout. “Holy shit, that was awesome.” Jumping down to greet me, he pulled me into a quick hug and then held me back at arm’s length. “I’d heard you were good.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. The infamous Soul Snatcher twins. You two are a legend in my world.”
I glanced around the room, “This world?”
He laughed and slapped me on the shoulder. “Yes, this one. And maybe the homeland too.” With a wink, he directed us past the other male dancers and led me to his private dressing room. The guys all gave him compliments as we strutted through the backstage holding room, and Flint seemed to eat up every single piece of attention.
When he finally closed the door behind him, he plopped down in his chair and swiveled it around to face me. “So, to what do I owe this honor?”
I leaned against the counter on the opposite side and crossed my arms. “I’ve been told you might be able to help me.”
He chuckled. “I can do a lot of things that help a lot of people.” With a snap of his finger, an apple appeared in his hand. He bit down into the juicy piece of fruit and gave me another wink. “What is it you need?”
“I have to kill an angel.”
Flint froze, staring at me with apple juice running down his chin. Then he laughed. And laughed some more until I thought he was going to die from the convulsions. But when he saw my serious face, he finally stopped. “Wait, is this for real?”
I nodded. “It is.”
“You know what I am, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, then you know that I can’t help you kill another living thing. If I do that, I’d be signing my own death sentence.” Flint visible shivered, the words haunting him more than he insinuated.
“I’m not asking you to kill him with me. I’m asking you to help me find him.”
With a sigh, Flint set his feet up on the only other chair in the tiny room. “Oh, well, that’s different. That I can do.” He winked at me again and tilted the apple toward me. “For a price.”
“What do you want?”
“World peace and happiness for all.” When I narrowed my eyes at him, he dropped his feet and leaned on his knees. “I’ll take that dagger you have shoved in your boot.”
“What?”
Flint cackled, and I swear his face briefly took on a different shape. “You heard me, Soul Snatcher.”
“But I thought faeries couldn’t touch iron.”
“We can’t,” he grinned. “But that’s Satan’s steel and I want it.”
I briefly thought about Mammon’s reaction when she learned I gave up the dagger. But then I thought about the consequences of my failure should I not kill Jericho. I would be a slave to the serpent demon and our lives would be exposed to humans. Those two options sounded much worse than a lecture from Mammon, so I pulled out the dagger and tossed it to Flint. He jumped in the air, catching the blade and turning it over in his hands.
“Excellent!” he cheered. “So, where is this angel you need to find.”
“He’s in the city, or at least he was.”
Flint closed his eyes and spread his arms. A few seconds later, a blue light surrounded his body and he levitated several inches off the floor. Tiny bolts of lightening shot across his skin while his lips murmured something I couldn’t understand. And then, just as quickly as it happened, Flint dropped back to the floor and clapped his hands together. “He’s still in the city.”
“How do you know?”
Jumping forward and giving me a kiss on the lips, Flint grinned and tapped the side of his head. “Fae magic, my little demon.”
He said another quick spell which opened a portal to some type of storage area not connected to this building, or at least I didn’t think it was. Flint stepped through as I watched him pull out a bunch of different ingredients from lavender to dried rats and a giant egg while he danced around the shelves. Suddenly, he started tossing me the ingredients and told me to make a pile in his dressing room. I complied and several minutes later, the portal snapped shut and Flint handed me an old piece of paper.
“This can only be performed with a new moon, so you need to wait until tomorrow night.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but stopped when Flint pressed his finger to my lips. “If you want to do this right, you have to follow the rules.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Is there something special I have to do?”
“Nope,” he said as he piled the ingredients in a shopping bag that read Hot Stuff on the side. “Start an hour before sunset. Oh, and you might want to use one of your older pots to cook this in.”
“Why?”
He held his nose. “Very stinky.” His nasally voice made him laugh. “Now, run along and go get your angel.” Flint started shoving me out the door but then suddenly stopped. “Why do you have to kill him, anyway?”
“To protect our secret from the humans.” It was a shortened version, but it was an explanation all the same.
Flint bobbed his chin. “Good. We need to stay in hiding.”
“Thank you,” I said with a small smile.
“Go forth and conquer, demon.” He was already playing with the dagger, ignoring me and the news I’d just revealed to him.
Go forth and conquer. Okay. I would. I had to.
Jericho the Angel had no idea what was coming for him.