Reign of the Vampires (29 page)

Garon stared at her with an air of malice she’d never experienced. “You will become my mate,” he threatened. “One way or another. Even if I have to ruin you to make sure no one else will have you.”

“I’d like to see you try. Believe me when I say this is a war you will not win.”

Garon chuckled. “Really, Danika? Your last minion tried to kill you. Your current minion was turned. Your distress is obvious, yet your guardian is nowhere to be seen. Can I assume that not all is going well in your paradise? Shall I go on about your failings?”

There was a ruckus outside. Mason appeared in the doorway.

Garon stared from Danika to Mason.

“I have nothing further to say,” replied Danika. “When the kings arrive next Friday, I will tell them of my decision to decline your offer. You may stay until such time, but I neither want to see you, nor may you to set foot in my home again. Are we clear?”

“You’re making a mistake,” Garon said in a dangerously low voice.

Danika held his stare. “That’s my decision nonetheless. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’re going clubbing for the night.” Danika spun on her heels and walked out with Mason and William in tow. She didn’t stop till she was by the entrance.

“I don’t know that going out is the best thing right now, Danika,” said Mason.

“I have to get out of this house.” She opened and closed her fists several times, while pacing. “Besides, I need to focus some of this newfound energy and rage on something other than paperwork.”

Siad entered from the lower staircase. “Do you need some help, Lord Danika?”

“Yes, Siad, thank you. I need to have a car brought around, please. Oh, and Siad? Lord Garon will be leaving momentarily. After he’s gone, change all the combinations to the house locks. And please make sure everyone is made aware that he is not permitted on my home lands until he arrives next week with the three kings. And if for any reason anyone lets him in, they’ll be cast out from the coven.”

“Of course, my lord,” said Siad.

Danika threw open the front door and stepped into the bright night sky. Despite the pounding anger inside her, she felt like the old Danika. The one she had been before her parents’ deaths, as if she could conquer the world. And tonight she was going to start by finding out once and for all what was going on in her city.

* * * *

The first Vampire bar was called Midnight. Their financials were good, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but every club needed checking.

Mason tried to keep away from her on the other side of the car, but Danika felt his anxiety, mixed with need; he wanted her. She watched Mason stare out the car window as they sped past the busy nightlife. Vamps went about their lives, as if the virus had never even happened.

The car came to a stop in a valet spot outside a two-story black building with a metallic blue sign that read “Welcome to Midnight.” The valet rushed up to the car to open Danika’s door, but Mason was out before the valet reached it. At the sight of Mason, the vamp backed up a pace. Mason surveyed the scene, as Danika surveyed his rear. Stepping aside, he held out his hand to her. She rose from the car, small gasps and whispers came from the would be customers that waited behind a rope, trying to get into the club.

The smell of the city hit her full-force. The blood, sweat, bodies, and food mixed together caused her to wrinkle her nose. It was one of the reasons why she preferred to keep to her own kind. With Mason in front and William behind her, the three walked toward the building.

“M’lord?” called the valet.

Danika turned.

“Did you want me to park your car?”

“The car stays,” Mason said.

“Of...of course,” he replied.

Danika stepped to the large vampyr bouncer waiting at the side of the rope. She smiled as she approached.

“Welcome, Lord Danika.” He moved the rope and opened the door for her.

“Thank you.” The sounds from inside were almost deafening. The music thumped and boomed in her ears. The décor was total black with holographic lights twinkling in the ceiling like tiny stars. The bar wrapped around the entire landing of the club. Young Vampires, vampyr, and vamps all mingled, and a few older, established Vampires sat at large, round plush tables, sipping wine. They raised their glasses to Danika when they noticed her. Danika acknowledged them with an incline of her head. After scanning the scene, Danika took a seat at the bar, closest to the exit, with William beside her. Eyes watched her from every angle. It didn’t take the bartender long to notice her, as well.

“What can I give you, my lord?” he asked.

“Do you have any human?”

“We keep a small private stock of human in the back. I can get you a glass if you’d like.”

“Nothing more fresh?”

He furrowed his brow at her. “No, m’lord, I’m afraid we don’t keep blood slaves on staff here.”

“Pity.” She pouted and then waited.

The bartender’s eyes shifted from Danika down the bar and back. “Did you want me to get you a glass, Lord?”

“Do you perhaps have a private room that we might be able to utilize?”

“I’m sorry, we don’t have private rooms here.”

Danika stood from her chair and headed to the exit.

Mason stepped out into the night, holding the door open for her. She breathed in deeply and a somewhat familiar scent hit her. She looked around to see where it was coming from, but it was gone again.

* * * *

They stopped at three more clubs, all to no avail. The novelty of clubbing was wearing off when they pulled up to the fourth club. It was newer, and owned by the New Life Corporation. Danika had never heard of the company before, which surprised her when William told her about their current holdings in the city. They owned two warehouses down by the Navy pier, as well as another down south of city center. They also owned a small office building on Wabash Street. Their exact business was undetermined, and the owners hadn’t been introduced to Danika as far as she knew. She made a mental note to ask Chase about it.

The club wasn’t like the other four they’d visited. It sat next to the boarded up University Club. The threadbare green awning on the University Club was a weak testament to the beautiful building it had once been. Danika remembered having visited it with her parents years earlier.

She turned her gaze back to the club they’d come to investigate. There were no lines outside, no bouncers, and no cars, just a simple brass plaque on the brick building next to the entrance. The sign read “The Trade House.” Danika thought it an odd name for a club. As she approached the walkway, an electric charge trickled over her skin. She stopped dead in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?” Mason asked.

“I don’t know,” she said.

Mason stepped forward and was hit with a jolt of electricity hard enough to make him stumble. He tried again, and again was hit with a jolt of electricity. She felt his anger rising.

“It’s fae magick,” he spat. The look of disgust on his face was apparent.

“I thought the fae were extinct.”

“Not extinct. But I did think they’d all returned to their own realm after the outbreak.”

Danika looked at Mason hard for a moment. “When this is all over Mason, I think you and I need to have a very long conversation. In the meantime, William will come with me on this one.” She nodded to William and they stepped to the walkway and under the red awning.

“No.” Mason moved forward a third time. The muscles on his neck and arms bulged and he held his breath. He pushed against the unseen barrier as if he tried to push through solid rock. After a minute, he forced his way through the magick shield, but was knocked to his knees. He cried out as his body convulsed. Danika and William lifted him under the arms, dragging him back to the sidewalk. Paul jumped up and helped pull him to the car.

Mason looked worse for wear. His color had drained and he’d begun to sweat. His muscles twitched and spasmed.

“Put him in the car,” she said to Paul. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Mason tried to protest, but she put up a hand. “It’s obvious you cannot enter. William and I will go. If I find anything, I’ll come out and we’ll call for Neeman, all right?”

His feelings of protection and jealousy poured into her. He leaned on the car, catching his breath, his eyes a fiery blaze. She wanted to comfort him, and have him comfort her in return.

“Don’t make me come in there after you,” Mason replied, his breath evening.

Danika nodded to William, acting more confident than she felt, and the two crossed the barrier again, to the entrance. A rush of warm air escaped, and she smelled the faint scent of blood. She peered inside, and saw nothing but complete darkness; not a sound emanated from within.

“We can call Neeman first,” William suggested.

“Why?” she asked. “This one looks tamest of all.”

She stepped into the small entry area, the door closing behind William. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. They walked a few steps to a curtain. William pulled back the plush blue velvet. There was no loud music, no crowds, no dancing; simply the soft sound of Chopin playing.

The entire interior was a light-colored satin. The walls were papered in a striped, metallic champagne. Champagne-colored, round seating poufs were scattered all around the club. A crystal chandelier hung from the low ceiling in the middle of the room. On the far side were more curtains, each a different color, but all plush velvet like the entrance.

A tall, thin vampyr attended to several different Vampires at a light blond wooden bar on the left side. Behind the bar hung a massive shelving system. Encased within a cooling system were rows and rows of bottles of blood. Not Savor, but actual human blood. It reminded her of her own blood freezer at home. William squeezed her arm, and she turned to see a small Asian human in a red kimono rushing forward. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun.

“My apologies for making you wait, I am Chin Lee. What might I offer you?”

“I’m afraid this is the first time for my fledgling.” Danika tried to sound at ease. “Would you mind showing him around so he can make his choice?”

“Of course, of course,” Chin Lee replied with a smile. “Over here, we have the bar. Our bar is stocked with every blood type available, and a scent sampler can be offered for you to help with the choosing. Especially since you’re a fledgling, I’m sure you are not yet aware of all the fragrances available to your palette.” Chin Lee smiled at William.

Danika stepped behind William, her eyes scanning everything, as he followed Chin Lee across the room. Chin Lee pointed out different features of the club and different entertainments that the club had to offer. Danika watched the bar patrons. There weren’t many, but she recognized each of them in turn. They were all lesser Vampires and vampyr from Chicago and the surrounding areas. The sideways glances she got from them confirmed their uneasiness at her presence. When she turned her back, she heard several of them exit.

Danika’s neck prickled and she was about to tell William they needed to leave, when Chin Lee turned her attention to the velvet curtains. Danika’s skin chilled and her anxiety rose at an alarming rate. She wished Mason were with them.

“Here is where we offer private affairs,” Chin Lee continued. “Each room is designed with a different theme.” Chin Lee pulled aside the first red velvet curtain. Inside, the room had a red lounge chair, as well as a plush red rug. There was a small red table with a white, old-fashioned telephone on it. Next to the phone stood two golden menus. Danika’s gut clenched at the thought of them. A red curtain hung on the opposite side of the small room, which blended in so easily that Danika didn’t notice it at first. The room was enhanced with a deep musky essence that made Danika’s fangs ache with need. She coughed and covered her mouth, afraid her fangs would elongate.

“This is Passion. Inside you’ll find a menu with whichever passion you might desire. That passion will be carried out to your every detail.” Chin Lee let them have a moment to look inside, then closed the curtain with a smile, and walked to the next.

It was a deep, bluish purple. The inside was a deep blue with stars twinkling on the ceiling. A plush, deep-blue sectional and matching chair waited in the room. Again there was a table and phone. The room smelled sweet and savory; the distant sound of trickling water and birds emanated from inside.

“This is Fantasy. Every fantasy is listed on the menu and is provided and guaranteed to meet your expectations.”

Letting the curtain drop, they proceeded to the next room; it had a white curtain, and everything inside was perfectly white. The same as the other two, only this one had simulated sunlight inside. Danika’s heart leapt. She’d never felt sunlight before. She wanted to walk inside and stay forever. The room was quite warm, and instead of carpet on the floor, there was white sand, pure as a virgin beach. The scent of vanilla and honeysuckle floated out as did the distant sound of crashing waves.

“This is Bliss. Again, every delicacy you can imagine is yours for the asking.”

Finally, they walked to the last, black curtain, set further apart from the others. A door peeked out from underneath it. Chin Lee approached the curtain, but she did not open it.

She smiled brightly. “This is the Pain room. However, it is reserved for our more mature clientele. No one under the age of two hundred is allowed in, I’m afraid.”

Chin Lee led them away and motioned for them to sit on the poufs. The bartender came over with two fresh goblets of blood. Chin Lee handed them to Danika and William. Danika wondered how much the cleaning bill was for this place. She scanned the room. Most of the patrons had already left. Her mind told her it was time to leave. She sipped her goblet of blood. It was warm and fresh, no more than a day old. That was a rarity in and of itself. It had a spicy aftertaste that was mild, but not unpleasant.

“If you would like to secure one of our private areas, there is an upfront fee of five thousand dollars. A deposit against anything you might purchase, as well as any damages left behind. If you’d like to use the bar area, you’re welcome to do so.”