Rogue (Relentless Book 3) (8 page)

“You’re actually smiling,” Jordan said as we walked to the car. “I told you you’d like that last place.”

“You were right. It was time for a change.”

She gasped dramatically. “What? Did... did you just admit I was right? I feel faint.”

We laughed as we dropped our bags in the trunk. It struck me that this was the most normal outing I’d had in months, and the first time I had ever gone shopping with another girl. And I was actually enjoying myself.

Jordan started the car. “Hotel?”

“Actually, we have one more stop.” I pulled a slip of paper from my pocket and read off the address I’d written down last night.

“Where are we going?” Jordan asked.

“It’s a surprise. You’ll like it.”

“Really?” Her face glowed with excitement. “Are we going to kill something nasty?”

I snorted. “Out of all the things we could do in LA, you come up with that one?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “You said I’d like it, and you always seem to find the bad guys. Or they find you.”

“Well it’s not that, but I’m pretty sure you’ll like it even more.”

It was her turn to snort. “More than killing things? Doubt it.”

“Bloodthirsty much?”

We pulled up in front of a two-story pawnshop with bars on the windows and colorful graffiti across the brick front. Jordan leaned forward, peering at the building. “A pawnshop? Is this some kind of payback for the dresses?”

“Nope.” I grinned because I couldn’t wait to show her what waited for us inside. “Come on.”

The shop was empty except for a middle-aged employee sitting behind the counter, playing solitaire with a deck of cards. The balding man gave us a dismissive glance and went back to his game. I walked up to him and tapped the counter to get his attention. The tag on his shirt had the name Rick on it.

“Hi, Mr. Garrett sent me.”

Rick’s bald head jerked up. “Mr. Garrett?”

I took a business card from my back pocket and slid it across the counter. The man’s eyes followed it and as soon as he saw the name, he straightened up and gave me an ingratiating smile.

“Of course. Come with me.” He ducked out from behind the counter, hurried over to lock the door, and put up the closed sign. Then he motioned for us to follow him to a set of stairs leading to the basement. “You don’t look like Mr. Garrett’s usual customers.”

“Sara,” Jordan hissed in my ear. “What is going on?”

I tossed her a grin over my shoulder before I started down the stairs. “You’ll see.”

At the bottom, Rick crossed the basement and entered a combination to unlock a heavy door at the other end. He flipped a switch just inside the door and waved us in.

“Wha –?” Jordan’s mouth fell open and her eyes grew round. She whirled to face me. “Is... this for real?”

I couldn’t contain my laughter. “Enjoy.”

She flung herself at me, almost knocking me over. “You are the most amazing friend in the whole fucking world!”

“Uh, Jordan, you’re crushing my ribs,” I wheezed.

“Sorry.” She stepped back, and I could have sworn I saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes before she turned away. The happiness on her face was worth the extra diamond I’d given Garrett for access to the contents of this room. Jordan had been such a great friend to me at Westhorne, and then coming with me on this journey to God only knew where. She’d earned this.

I let my gaze roam over the large array of weapons covering every bit of wall space in the room. One whole wall held nothing but guns, from handguns to semi-automatic weapons and even a grenade launcher. Seriously? Who the heck needed a grenade launcher in Los Angeles?

I followed Jordan past the guns to the interesting stuff. Garrett had not been exaggerating when he’d told me about his supply of weapons. I saw swords of every shape and size, daggers, staffs, whips, axes, throwing knives and stars, and things I had no name for. There were half a dozen crossbows of different sizes, flamethrowers, and enough ammo to arm a platoon.

Rick followed us into the room, talking on his cell phone. He hung up and gave me a smile. “Mr. Garrett says you’re all paid up and to take what you agreed on.”

Jordan stared at us. “Seriously?”

I nodded. “Within reason. And no guns.”

She let out a squeal and headed straight for the swords, just as I knew she would. Jordan was a purist when it came to weapons. In her mind, nothing but a finely-crafted sword was good enough for a warrior. I watched her lift a beautiful katana from the wall and heft it in both hands, getting a feel for it. Her movements were practiced and smooth as she sliced the blade through the air.

“Perfect!”

“Don’t you think you should get something smaller? That thing will be kind of conspicuous if you carry it around.”

“Can’t I get two? Pretty please. I
have
to have this sword, Sara. It was made for me.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Fine. Go crazy.”

Leaving Jordan in a blissful haze, I went to pick out some weapons for myself. I avoided the swords because I’d be more likely to cut my own head off than someone else’s. I already had my silver dagger, but it never hurt to have an extra. I chose two smaller ones that I could tuck inside a boot or under my clothes. My power was my real weapon, but it wasn’t strong enough yet to kill a vampire. I could incapacitate them for a minute, but I still needed a blade to finish them off. 

It had struck me as odd that I hadn’t sensed a single vampire since we got to LA, but I knew they were here somewhere. A city this size was bound to have a lot of them, and with my track record, I’d be meeting some sooner or later.

A small black crossbow caught my eye and I picked it up. It was light and tiny compared to the other crossbows on the wall, and it felt good in my hands. “How do you use this thing?”

Jordan came over and showed me the basic workings of the weapon. She inserted a small arrow, cocked it, and fired at a target hanging on the far wall. The arrow hit the target a few inches off center. She cocked the crossbow again and gave it back to me. “Give it a try.”

I lined up the small scope with the target and pulled the trigger. The arrow whistled through the air and embedded itself an inch from the bullseye.

“Not bad.” Jordan loaded another arrow into the crossbow. “Take another shot.”

My second arrow nicked the bullseye. My third one hit dead center. My fourth one bounced off the center one and skidded across the floor.

“Damn, you have crazy aim.” She took the bow and hefted it in one hand. “It’s small and light. If we had some silver-tipped arrows, this would be a great weapon for you.”

“It’s too big to conceal.”

She pointed at the sword she had been admiring. “So is that, but I’m getting it.”

Rick interrupted us. “I believe there are silver-tipped arrows in the ammo chest.”

Jordan grinned and nudged my shoulder with hers. “Every girl needs a few accessories to go with her new outfits.”

Forty minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of our new hotel where we’d left the boys earlier. Between the two of us we managed to lug the shopping bags and a large black duffle bag full of weapons to our room. Jordan dropped her bags on the floor and flopped down on her bed while I knocked on the door of the adjoining room to let the boys know we were back. Roland raised an eyebrow when he saw all the shopping bags, but he soon forgot them when I showed him and Peter the contents of the duffle bag.

He held up a belt of small throwing knives. “What are you going to do with all of this?”

Jordan sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “A girl can never have enough weapons.”

“I really hope we don’t need to use any of this,” said Peter as he poked around in the bag.

I picked up one of the small silver daggers I’d gotten for myself. “So do I.”
But it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.

*     *     *

Blue Nyx wasn’t like any of the other nightclubs we’d driven past on our way here. There was no flashy sign to attract clubbers and no lineup outside the door. It was a nondescript brick building with a plain steel door bearing no decoration. In fact, if it wasn’t for the small blue letters painted above the door, we would not have known we were at the right place. We couldn’t even hear music until we stood in front of the door, and even then it was very faint.

Jordan tried the handle and found it locked. She rapped on the steel door and took a hasty step back as the heavy door swung outward. I think we all gasped as the biggest man I’d ever seen towered over us. He must have been seven feet tall with a blond buzz cut and dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt that stretched across his massive chest and arms. With his flat nose, wide forehead, and small dark eyes, he reminded me of a picture of an ogre I’d seen in a book at Westhorne. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did have ogre in his blood.

“Holy crap, you could bench press a bus,” I blurted.

His thin lips twitched, and his gaze settled on me before sweeping over my friends. I wasn’t sure what he was checking for, but he looked satisfied by whatever he did or didn’t see. He stepped back, still holding the door open with one hand, and waved us in. We had to walk under his arm, and he was so tall none of us had to duck. That seemed to amuse the bouncer because he chuckled. I looked up and caught a flash of fang.
Definitely ogre.

We walked down a short hallway where another bouncer, almost as big as the first one, stood in front of a second door. “Talk about security,” I muttered to Jordan, who nodded.

At first glance, Blue Nyx was like the nightclubs I’d seen in movies. There was a crowded dance floor and a long bar where three bartenders rushed to fill orders. Waitresses in tiny black dresses maneuvered through the tables and couches that surrounded the dance floor, carrying trays of colorful drinks. In one corner a DJ sat on a raised platform surrounded by equipment while loud music pumped through the club’s sound system in synch with the colored strobe lights. A staircase curved upward to the second floor where people milled near the railing, talking and watching the gyrating bodies below.

Even before my eyes had time to adjust to the lights, I knew this place was nothing like those other clubs. My senses were assailed by the different kinds of magic that permeated the air, filling my nose and raising gooseflesh on my arms. Magic pulsed with the music like a living thing and made me want to move with it. It was a heady sensation.

My power twitched, wanting to break free, and not just because of the other magic. There were demons here.

But not just demons. Scanning the dance floor, I could barely keep my jaw up at the sight of the diverse group of people. Tall, slender elven women with long blond hair and pointed ears rubbed against faerie males. A nymph in an almost transparent dress did a slow sensual dance, surrounded by five men who could only be dwarves. A werewolf couple was engaged in a heavy make-out session, oblivious to the people moving around them. At least, I suspected they were weres based on the hair I saw sprouting along their arms. Four gray-skinned mox demons danced in a small group at the edge of the dance floor, and a vrell demon who reminded me of Kelvan danced with a blue-haired girl who raised her hands in the air and shot blue sparks from her fingertips. There were other people who I suspected were demons and a number of humans too, and they all moved together in a mass of sweaty, undulating bodies.

My face grew warm just watching the dancers, and I didn’t even want to imagine what was happening on the couches in the darker corners of the club. I looked at my friends to gauge their reactions and found Roland and Peter gawking at the nymph while Jordan looked the faerie males up and down. I shook my head. “Roland, if your tongue hangs any lower it’ll be on the floor.”

He gave me a goofy grin. “Why don’t we have clubs like this back home?”

“Or men who look like that?” Jordan said with a gusty sigh, still staring at the faeries.

I followed her gaze, but when I looked directly at the faeries, their outlines blurred for several seconds. One second they were muscled with blond hair and handsome faces, and in the next they were slender and blue-skinned with long black hair and pointed ears. Once I focused all I saw were the blue bodies. It hit me what I was seeing and I let out a laugh. “Um, Jordan, you know that thing where I can see through glamours? Trust me, those guys aren’t your type.”

She slanted a look at me. “You’re kidding.”

“Not unless you like your men blue and pointy-eared.”

“Pixies? Shit. That is so wrong.”

“You can’t trust a faerie.” I smirked at her. “Trust me.”

She punched my arm. “All right, smartass, let’s go find this Adele chick.”

I had to nudge Roland and Peter twice to drag their eyes away from the dance floor. “Men,” I muttered, even though I was beginning to suspect the magic I sensed in the room might be partly responsible for the promiscuous behavior of the people there.

Roland showed off the dimples that had charmed many girls back home. “Come on, Sara. Live a little.” He looked over his shoulder at the nymph. “Try something new.”

“No, thanks.” All I was interested in was talking to Adele and finding out if she knew where Madeline was. The club scene was not my thing, even if the people in this one were fascinating. I just wanted to get what I came for and leave.