Dark Realms (71 page)

“Look,” I pointed at the stage. “I wonder if
they’re playing again?”

“The club would have
charged us an arm-and-a-leg to get in,” she replied.
“
Venom
doesn’t
play for free.”

“I suppose. Too bad. We might have gotten
information from them. About Melody.”

“Chances are we wouldn’t have been able to
get close to the band even if they had been playing tonight. I’m
sure their security is tight.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”

A new hip-hop song began to play. “Come on,”
hollered Susan as the volume increased. “Let’s get a drink.”

I followed her to the bar, still nervous
that we were going to get caught and land in jail.

“Well hello there,” said a hot bartender
with light brown hair, green eyes, and a lazy smile. “Looks like we
have some fresh blood here this evening. Excellent. So, what’s it
going to be, lovely ladies?”

Susan smiled. “I’ll have a
Cosmopolitan.”

“Great choice,” he turned to me. “And what
about you? Same?”

I shook my head and ordered a diet soda.

“Sure you don’t want to add a little rum for
fun?” he asked, leaning forward with a twinkle in his eyes.

“No, that’s okay.”

“
Suit yourself,” he
replied, and then began mixing Susan’s drink.

“So, Brian,” said Susan,
staring at his name tag. “I heard
Venom
was playing last night. Did
they put on a good show?”

“It was phenomenal,” he said, shaking her
martini in a silver decanter. “Too bad you missed it.”

“Why is their equipment still here?” I
asked, nodding towards the stage. “Are they going to play
again?”

A guy standing next to me, wearing a long
black leather jacket, turned around. He had dark hair and eyes so
blue, they looked like tinted contacts. “Sorry to interrupt,” he
said. “They are actually playing a song tonight. Just one.”

“Really?” I asked, perking up.

“Yep,” replied the stranger. “It’s the club
owner’s birthday and he’s going to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to
her.”

“That’s awesome,” I replied, handing Brian a
twenty-dollar bill. “Does she know?”

“No,” he smirked. “So, keep it hush-hush or,
I’ll have to kill you.”

Susan snorted. “Really, Ethan? You seriously
think that old line is funny?”

My head whipped around. “You know him?” I
mouthed.

“Susan, humor is not one of my
strong-points, which is why I never attempt it.”

Brian burst out laughing. “Leave it to Ethan
to try and freak out the ladies. Don’t listen to him, he loves
messing with young girls.”

“So, I’ve heard,” replied Susan, taking a
sip of her drink. She licked her lips and set the glass back on the
bar. “I’d also heard that you left town, Ethan.”

He took a sip from what appeared to be a
‘Bloody Mary’. “Is that right. From who?”

“Nikki.”

His face softened. “Nikki... So, is she
still working at the diner?”

Susan pushed her hair behind her ears. “I
think you already know the answer to that.”

“You’re right. I do. Maybe I should pay her
a visit,” he replied, tossing back the rest of his drink.

I hated tomato juice and watching him slam
it down made me shudder.

“
So, tell me… do you know
where she is right now?” he asked, licking all of the red juice
from his celery stick.

“I don’t know. She might be working,”
replied Susan, watching him closely. “Enjoy your drink much?”

He dropped the celery back into the glass
and then shoved it towards Brian. “More than you know. Brian, I’m
taking off. Tell Faye I’ll be back later if she asks.”

“She’s gonna be pissed when she finds out
that you flew the coop on her birthday,” replied Brian.

He smiled cockily. “She could never stay mad
at me.”

“Famous last words,” he replied.

Ethan smirked. “I’m seriously not
worried.”

“Right,” said Brian.

“Excuse me… Ethan? Uh, when is Slade
supposed to sing?” I asked, as he turned to leave.

He turned around to face us again. “About
ten minutes from now. Remember what I said- don’t tell anyone. It’s
a surprise.”

“I won’t tell,” I replied.

He stared at me for a minute and then
reached into his pocket. “Here,” he said, writing something on the
back of a card. “Bring this free pass upstairs to the V.I.P. room
after he’s done. You can meet the band.”

“Seriously?” squealed Susan.

He winked. “Seriously.”

“So, is this like a bribe?” I asked.

“
Yeah, I guess it is.
Plus,” he grinned wickedly. “Something tells me that Slade will
thank me later.”

“Ethan,” said Susan, who I noticed was
finished with her Cosmopolitan. “You know, I have to say… I was
wrong about you. You’re a really, really nice guy.”

“Well, thank you Susan. Brian, why don’t you
get them both another drink while they wait for the show to start.
On me.”

“You bet. You sure you don’t want something
stronger than that?” asked Brian, pointing towards my untouched
soda.

“No, this is fine,” I answered, picking up
the glass and drinking through the little straw.

“Come here you big lug,” said Susan, opening
up her arms. She was obviously feeling no pain after that stiff
drink. “Give me a hug.”

I knew it had to have been my imagination,
but it almost looked like his eyes were glowing an eerie orange
color when she threw her arms around his neck, and gave him a
friendly hug.

Must be the lights in the
club
, I thought.

He stiffened up and stepped back. “Gotta go.
Have fun, girls. Enjoy yourselves and Susan, party like a rock star
tonight.” He nodded towards me. “Your friend…ah…”

“Chelsey,” I offered.

He
grinned
. “Chelsey
,
is obviously your sober-ride tonight. Take advantage of
it.”

She put her arm around my shoulders. “I
believe I will. Hey, say ‘hi’ to Nikki for me.”

“Will do. Have fun tonight, girls,” he
replied, walking away.

Susan removed her arm from my shoulders as
Brian set another cocktail onto the bar. “I don’t know about you,
but Ethan could use a little more vitamin ‘E’ in his life.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Come on…. the guy is paler than my mom’s
Pitbull,” she said, taking a sip of her second Cosmopolitan.
“Pugsley.”

“At least he doesn’t smell like Pugsley,” I
replied.

“Actually, he smells like candy,” she
replied. “Always. It’s kind of a weird smell for a guy, but yummy
all the same.”

I agreed.

Chapter Six

Slade

“Let’s move as soon as this song is over,” I
said to my drummer, Liam, as we stepped out of the dressing room in
the back of the club and headed towards the stage.

“I think we should stay one more night
here,” he replied. “Relax and have a few beers. Head out in the
morning and sleep the entire day while on the road.”

“You just want to snuggle up to the club
owner,” said Jimmy, who played bass.

Liam smirked. “Can you blame me? The woman
is sexier than hell. I wouldn’t mind getting a piece of that before
the night’s over.”

Sean, our keyboardist, snorted. “God, you’re
such a dog.”

Liam grinned. “I won’t deny that.”

“I’d stay away from Faye,” I said, smiling
at two girls who were staring at us with open mouths.

“Oh my God, that’s
Venom
!” shrieked the
shorter one, fanning herself quickly. “Oh my God… oh my
God!”

“I love you, Slade!” yelled the other one,
throwing me kisses.

I waved and kept walking.

“Why not?” asked Liam. “You want her for
yourself, bro?”

“Not at all,” I said,
grimacing at that notion. Even though I had to admit that
she
was
a
beautiful woman, Faye was also very dangerous. I could see it in
her eyes. “She’s just not the kind of woman who has a one-night
stand without expecting something more.”

“Hell, I’ll give her more the next time I’m
in town,” he laughed.

I grinned. “Căcănar”.

“What’s that?” he
asked.

“I think he just called you an ‘ass’,”
replied Bradan, our other guitarist.

“At least I
get
ass,” said Liam.
“Slade is too good for most of our fans.”

“Sorry, but I’m not
interested in using our
fans
for sex. It’s not my thing and you should really
refrain from doing it, too,” I answered.

He snorted. “Hey, I’m doing both of us a
favor. They get to go back and brag that they slept with a member
of the band, and I get to relieve some of my pent up… anxieties, by
putting a smile on their pretty little faces. Nothing wrong with
that.”

“Nothing,
if
you’re human,” I
replied quietly. “But every time you have sex with one of those
girls, you risk losing control.”

“I have more control than all of you
combined,” he said as we entered the main part of the club.
“They’re much safer with me than with you. Remember, I’m not like
you cretins.”

He was right about that. Liam was a Lycan,
while the rest of us in the band were all vampires.

Chapter Seven

Chelsey

Less than ten minutes later, there was a
sudden burst of commotion in the center of the club.

Susan sucked in her breath and smiled. “Oh
my God, there they are!”

I turned towards the stage
as the band,
Venom
, emerged from the crowd and stepped onto it.

“Wow,” I replied, feeling a little
breathless myself. I couldn’t see much, but I had to admit that it
was a little exciting to know that they were actually there and
going to sing.

“Let’s go,” said Susan, grabbing my arm.

“
Where?”

She looked at me like I was clueless.
“Hello?! By the stage.”

“Are you kidding? We’ll never get close,” I
said, pointing. There were already dozens of people fighting to get
closer and more appearing from other parts of the club. To me it
wasn’t worth the fight. “No way. Susan, people are going to get
trampled and I, for one, am not going to be one of them.”

Her shoulders slumped. “You’re right.
There’s no way we’ll get near them. Jesus, would you look at all of
the people there already? It’s insane. Where in the hell did they
come from?”

“Some of them were in the basement,” said
Brian, pouring pink shots for a couple of girls who didn’t look
much older than us. From the way they were embracing and kissing
each other, they were obviously more than just friends.

Embarrassed, I quickly looked away.

“The basement?” said Susan. “What’s down
there?”

“Private parties,” he said, with a sly
smile. “I’ve never been to the basement, personally, but I’ve heard
things are pretty intense down there.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “If
you know what I mean.”

I
didn’t
know what he meant and wasn’t
sure if I wanted to ever find out. “Let me get this straight,
you’ve been here for a while and you’ve
never
been down there?”

“It’s very elite. Even for
the employees that work here. I guess you could say that most of us
haven’t ever seen the basement. You need a special invite from
Faye, even
if
you
work here.”

“That’s really bizarre,” I replied, shaking
my head. It made me wonder if my cousin had somehow ended up down
there.

The lights dimmed even lower in the club and
I watched as a tall dark-haired guy began to speak into the
microphone on stage.

“Good evening, everyone,” he said. “Sorry to
interrupt your partying-”

“We love you Slade!” screamed one of the
lesbians standing next to us. Then, both she and her girlfriend
lifted their tops and flashed the band.

My jaw dropped.

“Classy,” mumbled Susan.

“Wow, well, thanks,” replied Slade, still
staring towards us. “You’re making me blush.”

The two girls giggled and lowered their
tops.

Slade began talking again. “The real star
here tonight is that very lovely lady who invited us to come and
play at her club. Now… a little birdy told me that it was a special
occasion, and we just knew that we couldn’t leave Montana without
wishing her a wonderful birthday. Everyone give it up for Faye
Dunbar!”

The crowd began to clap as one of the glass
windows opened up in the balcony, where a group of people sat,
drinking champagne and watching the stage.

“Stand up Faye!” hollered someone in the
crowd.

An elegantly dressed woman sitting in the
balcony stood up and waved.

“Happy Birthday, Faye!” hollered a group of
people in the back.

“Thank you!” she answered, beaming down at
everyone.

“
Faye, Birthday Girl, this
song is for you,” said Slade as the band began to play the familiar
jingle.

Slade put the microphone closer to his mouth
and began to sing. His voice had a rich, deep timber and it gave me
goose-bumps. I suddenly wished that I could get a closer look at
him, but from the distance we were at, I could barely make out
Slade’s face.

“God, is he gorgeous,” said Susan, stirring
her drink.

“I wish I could see him better,” I pouted,
squinting my eyes.

“You still need glasses, don’t you?”

“Probably. They’re not that bad, though.
It’s just the lighting in here.”

“Right… You know, maybe I should drive home
tonight?” she said, smirking. “I’d like to wake up tomorrow in some
place other than the coroner’s office.”