Sacrifice Me (5 page)

What would it be like to just be myself around
people? What would it be like to meet an entire world of people who
were like me?

Dangerous or not, it was exciting.

And if I could make some good money in the
process, I was all in. At least until graduation. I could make
anything work for the next eight or nine months.

“Well, you know I’ll support you no
matter what you want to do,” she said. “I just hope you
don’t disappear on me.”

“I have to work,” I said. “There’s
no getting around it. But you know I’m always going to make
time for you.”

Katy smiled and before she even opened her mouth,
I knew what she was thinking. We hadn’t been friends for the
past three years without me learning how to read her boy-crazy
smiles.

“Hey, maybe I can come hang out with you at
the club. That guy I was dancing with, Marco? He was gorgeous. I
wouldn’t mind seeing him again.”

I rolled my eyes and downed the last of the Pepsi.
“I doubt I’ll be able to hang out much while I’m at
work,” I said. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I
really didn’t want her coming back up to that club. Not if it
was really as dangerous as Rend said.

“I don’t want to get you in trouble or
anything, but maybe once you get settled, I can get some of the other
girls together and come out there sometimes on the weekends.”

“We’ll see,” I said.

She pouted and I could tell I’d hurt her
feelings. She wouldn’t understand why I wanted to keep her
away, if I couldn’t tell her the truth about the place. This
was exactly why I hated not just being honest. Lies and half-truths
complicated everything.

But, there was no way I could tell her the truth
this time. Not without admitting what I was.

And that was something I just wasn’t ready
to do. Not when I still didn’t completely understand it myself.

“Let’s watch a movie,” I said.
“I need to veg out for a while. Your choice.”

Her face lit up. “Deal. You start the
popcorn and I’ll pick the movie. Meet you on the couch.”

By Saturday morning I felt much better, but a
twinge of headache still lingered behind my eye.

I had no idea when they were expecting me back to
work at Venom, but I had voluntarily taken Friday off to sleep and
lounge around the apartment. I considered it a birthday present to
myself.

Besides, I didn’t have Rend’s phone
number and when I tried to look it up, I couldn’t find a
general number for the club either. In fact, I couldn’t find a
single mention of the club on the internet anywhere.

Weird, right? Most clubs had a website, but even
if they didn’t, there should at least be some reviews and
mentions of it somewhere. I couldn’t find as much as a mention
of it on twitter. Not a whisper. It was as if the place didn’t
even exist.

I considered just going about my normal life and
waiting for Rend to call or come by and insist I show up for work. If
he’d wanted me there, he should have left a note or something
when he brought me home.

If he brought me home.

But I knew he wasn’t going to let me off the
hook altogether. He'd said my life was in danger, and after
everything I'd seen, I kind of believed him. Plus, I really did need
a new job, so after hours of telling myself I wasn’t going to
go in, I got dressed and decided to head downtown anyway.

It had absolutely nothing to do with wanting to
see Rend again. Nothing.

Or so I told myself.

I was glad to see my car was parked in its spot
outside in the dorm parking lot. Of course, that just made me wonder
again exactly how I got home the other day. I certainly didn’t
drive myself, but whoever had brought me back knew exactly where I
normally parked.

I shuddered.

I didn't like the idea of someone knowing so much
about me when I was still so much in the dark about them.

I took the 'L' to the club instead of taking my
car. This time, though, instead of the club being deserted, the
bouncer was already sitting in her spot in the tunnel.

I started to reach for my ID, but she waved me
off.

“Franki, right? Rend told me you might be
coming in today,” she said.

“Hey,” I said. “Selena, right? I
wasn’t sure if I was supposed to come in or not.”

“Good memory,” she said, her
Australian accent thick and beautiful. “It’s good that
you’re here. It’s going to be a busy night, so we can use
all the help we can get.”

“Is Rend here?” My voice made this
little crack when I said his name and I scrunched my nose. Dammit. I
definitely did not want anyone to know that I was attracted to the
guy, but it was going to be obvious if I didn’t get my shit
together.

“Not yet,” she said, an eyebrow raised
and a knowing smile on her face. “He’ll be in later,
though. Azure's here. She’ll tell you what you need to do.
She's kind of in charge around here when Rend's not available.”

“Thanks,” I said, cursing the blush
that warmed my cheeks and neck. I was glad that she, at least, had
not bothered to tell me just how off-limits Rend was for a girl like
me.

The lights inside were on full blast like they had
been yesterday, but this time there were at least ten other people
rushing around to get things set up. I wondered if it was always like
this on a Saturday or if there was something special going on
tonight.

Azure stood at the end of the bar talking to the
guy who had been dancing with Katy the other night. Marco. I made my
way over to them and they both got very quiet, very quickly. A dead
giveaway that they’d been talking about me. Great.

“Hey,” I said, forcing a smile.

“Well, if it isn't sleeping beauty,”
Azure said. “We missed you the rest of the afternoon Thursday.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said. What
had Rend told them? Had she seen him carry me out of here? “I
wasn’t feeling well.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, exchanging a look
with Marco. “I’m glad you’re here tonight. We could
really use a few extra hands.”

“That’s what Selena said. Is something
going on tonight? Or is this just normal for a Saturday?” I
turned to Marco and held out my hand. “You’re Marco,
right? I’m Franki, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, carino.”
He took my hand and kissed the top of my knuckles. He had a
thick Spanish accent.

“We have a few special guests coming in
tonight,” Azure said, but didn’t elaborate.

I had a feeling special guests in this type of
place meant something, considering almost everyone here was special.
I was dying to ask Azure about her own powers and to find out if all
the staff here was some kind of witch or demon, but now wasn’t
the time.

“What do you need me to do? I have some
experience bartending and waiting tables.” I assumed I’d
be back behind the bar with her or serving out on the floor. Of
course, thinking about that shot she’d served me on my
birthday, I doubted I would know the recipes for the drinks here.
Still, I was a fast learner and a hard worker, so I knew I’d
figure it out.

She turned her head sideways and studied me with a
strange smile on her face that made my stomach tighten. “I have
something else in mind for you tonight.”

Marco stiffened and leaned in toward her. “Azure,
be careful. You heard what Rend said. He’s going to be—”

“Rend put me in charge,” she said,
cutting him off. “Follow me.”

Marco ran a shaky hand through his hair, but stood
aside to let her pass. I followed Azure back toward a set of long
black curtains near the bar. She hadn’t shown this part of the
club to me the other day, and I had no idea what she had in mind for
me. The way Marco acted, though, I got the feeling it wasn’t
going to be something fun.

She pulled the curtain aside and walked into a
small, dark room with a plush, burgundy velvet couch and shiny black
tables. A crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the room, throwing
bits of light around the room.

It was slightly more elegant and intimate back
here than the rest of the club. “What’s this room?”

“This is where Rend likes to bring some of
his more important clientele. Especially when they have some private
business to discuss.”

I swallowed nervously. So, why the heck did she
want me back here? I didn’t like the idea of being hidden away
in a place where no one could really see what was happening. It may
have been decorated nicely, but it felt just as ominous as the back
alley.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be in
here,” she said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “The
dressing rooms are back this way.”

“Dressing rooms?”

“Yeah, we need to get you in something more
appropriate,” she said. She didn’t bother explaining
herself, which I was starting to understand was a theme of hers.

She led me back through another doorway that
opened into a large dressing room adorned with mirrors, racks of
clothes, and tables where makeup and hairspray and brushes and things
were set out. There were already five other girls inside getting
ready, and all I had to do was take one look at what they were
wearing to want to turn around and head back out again.

“Do you need me to help them get ready?”
I asked, which was my little way of saying I couldn’t even
imagine that she wanted me to actually put on one of these costumes.

The girls in the room were dressed in tight
spandex outfits that looked straight out of Vegas or something. Thigh
high boots, thick makeup, low-cut necklines. Nothing too revealing,
but none of them completely clothed either.

Azure put her hand on my shoulder like she owned
me. “We had one of our dancers call out sick tonight, and we
really need someone to fill her spot,” she said. “I think
you’d be perfect.”

I didn’t even tell her what I thought of her
idea. I simply turned around and walked out the door.

She caught up with me in the middle of the posh
sitting room.

“Franki, sweetie, wait up,” she said.
She grabbed my wrist a little tighter than she should have.

I wrenched out of her grasp. “First of all,
don’t call me sweetie. That’s so tacky. Especially when
you know I’m upset,” I said. “Second of all, I
agreed to work here thinking I would be running errands, cleaning up
or serving alcohol or whatever. I did not sign up to be a stripper.”

She smiled a sickly sweet smile, giving me such a
clear view of exactly what kind of person she was. “These girls
are not strippers.” She lowered her voice and leaned in closer
to me. “You’d better not let them hear you call them that
either. They are dancers, that’s all. It’s very
hands-off, trust me.”

“I don’t trust you as far as I can
throw you,” I said, returning her smile so she could understand
what kind of person I am.

Her smile disappeared and her eyes widened. “Rend
told me you need this job.” She put her hands on her hips to
show me just how serious she was about telling me what to do. “I
don’t think you want to upset him by walking out that door. You
have no idea what he’s capable of when he’s upset.”

This chick had no idea what I was capable of,
either.

“I don’t answer to Rend, and I
certainly don’t answer to you,” I said. “Now, if
you want to give me a job I’m comfortable with—one that
doesn’t involve getting half naked in front of a crowd of
strangers—I'm one-hundred-percent on board. But if you tell me
to walk back in that room and play dress up, you can both go to
hell.”

She didn’t say anything for a long moment.
She just pressed her lips into a tight line, her nostrils slightly
flared as she stared me down.

I turned again to go, ready to walk out and leave
this place in the dust, but my entire body stopped working. My feet
froze in place. I literally could not move a muscle. I could breathe,
but not so much as blink my eyes or swallow.

Fear rolled through my veins as I struggled
against whatever magic was holding me. No matter how hard I tried to
move my arms or speak out, I was completely helpless.

Azure walked around me slowly, taking her sweet
time to make her way into my line of vision. Her smile was back, but
this time it was ringed with a sort of joyful mischief.

“I realize you’re new,” she
said. “Not only to Venom, but to our whole world.”

She lifted both hands to dramatically indicate the
world around her. In my mind, I imagined what it would be like to
grab her by those arms and body-slam her.

“For that reason, and that reason alone, I’m
going to take it easy on you instead of turning this whole thing into
some kind of living nightmare,” she said, as if being unable to
move my entire body wasn’t nightmare enough. “You are
here because you need protection. I get that. As long as you work
here, none of the big bad boogeymen will bother you. But it’s
extremely important you understand that the second you walk out that
door and leave us behind, you become free game for all those unknown
evils that got a whiff of your scent the other night. And trust me
when I say they will come looking for you. Until Rend gives you his
mark, you're still fair game.”

Saliva gathered in the back of my throat as hatred
grew in my chest.

“Unless you want to come to a very nasty end
by tomorrow morning, you should stay here and accept the gracious
protection that Rend has offered you, despite his better judgment,”
she threatened. “As it turns out, the job we have open tonight
is as a dancer, so that’s what you will be doing, do I make
that clear?”

Of course, she knew I couldn’t answer her.
If I could have, the answer might have come in the form of a punch
straight to her throat.

She laughed. “So much anger in those pretty
blue eyes,” she said. “You really need to try to get that
under control before you damage this room like you did Rend’s
office yesterday. He would not be happy about a mess in here with his
friends coming into town.”