Bathe In Fire - Shadows of the Night 2

Chapter 27

Hi!

New week, new chapter! I hope you like this one. I'm wiped out, so I'll keep it short. Read, vote, let me know what you think :D Thank you so much for reading!!

Lara

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Chapter 27

Zack and I walked into the club in silence, both of us clad in black, as usual. The rest of the team was probably doing the same in other clubs in this part of the District. Alexander had left us to go to another club. And I had already thanked the great three witches for that. Three times.

If we witnessed any uncommon actions, or in the best case, found our targets – the distributers of the drugs or the vampiric murderers – we were supposed to alert the others instantly. The other team members would be on the spot within minutes and we had a higher chance of catching the bad guys – whoever they were.

I, however, was distracted. I had something else in mind. I had information I couldn't share with any other team member, and I would do my best to use it. I had to get as close to The House as possible without letting on that I knew about it in the first place. If the drugs were distributed in and around The House, this was our best bet to catch someone selling the substance red-handed.

The Ulrean Club was our third club this night. Zack had agreed to tackle this one next without knowing that it was the one closest to The House's current location. Maybe I could even sneak out and check out the area around the old warehouse. With the help of second sight I'd be able to spot random vamps within seconds.

One glance was enough. The Ulrean Club wasn't one of those common clubs we had roamed in the past few weeks. In fact I had never been there before. Imagine the jaw-drapper when I found that it didn't have skeletons in the closet – metaphorically speaking. It looked just like any bar, any shabby bar, to be precise. There was no fancy decoration, no flashy lightshow, no exclusively dressed vamps or troublesome bouncers who thought they could play god and get away with it.

I frowned. Maybe I would begin to develop a liking to clubbing after all.

Zack and I parted ways, trying to blend in with the other guests, me walking straight up to the bar. The thing almost looked like a raised altar. It was the ideal spot to overlook the whole club. I ordered a beer and let my elbows rest on the worn wooden counter, concentrating on the action on the dance floor. And there was a lot going on. People were moving to the hard rock music – or trying to, however you looked at it.

Half an hour later and I was bored out of my mind. My beer still stood at the counter, untouched. I had feigned taking a few sips, but hadn't really gulped down anything. No alcohol for the witch on duty. Zack walked past me once, not dignifying me with a look. It was the agreed sign that nothing had happened so far. And really there hadn't. There had been at least a hint of danger or bad boyishness in the other clubs. Here everything felt so... normal.

My eyes brushed over a young vampire leaning against the wall in a corner. I don't know why exactly, but something let me linger on him a bit longer. Maybe it was the way he held himself, his position against the wall, or the expression of his pale face. The way he looked... Something about him bothered me. There was a sense of familiarity I couldn't seem to get rid of. I tensed. Had I had a run in with him while I was prowling the streets to find Maria's killer?

I watched him closely, moving my head with the beat. He started talking to a young girl. A Goth. She was dressed in a black skirt and an equally black tank top. There were metallic spikes all over the cloth and somehow it made her body look even more fragile and skinny. The vampire came closer, and leaned into her. Was he going to bite her? Not that I hadn't seen that show before. But ... no. He was merely whispering into her ear.