Skyborn(32)

       
           



       

As I stepped through the doors, I let my eyes roam over the space. The  most prominent thing in the bar, aside from the blaring music, were the  cages hanging from the ceiling with dancing half-naked girls in them.  Except these girls didn't look fully aware and semi-bored like the ones  at Eva's. They looked  …  drugged, in a trance, eyes half-lidded, bodies  moving as if they were on autopilot. Off to the left was a secluded  lounge area with plush leather couches and black lights to set the mood.  To the right was the bathroom and a set of double doors guarded by two  large men; straight ahead was a long bar that took up the entire length  of the back wall.

I started the herculean task of wading through the packed crowd and  under the cages of half-naked dancers to get back to the bar. As I  squeezed my way through, the crowd tightened and my body smooshed into  the guy in front of me. I was the kind of person who liked my own space,  so having my breasts pushed up against some strange dude's back had my  dragon on edge and my inner feminist ready to smash some testicles.  Especially after what had happened at Eva's club.

"Excuse me," I piped up, because the crowd had pressed together under  one of the cages, where the girl had just removed her bikini top.  Fabulous. This was a freaking strip club. People were pushing in on me  hard now and I was in a full-on panic, my breath coming in gasps, and I  felt lightheaded. If I didn't extract myself from this situation right  away, I might faint.

I took my elbow and placed it between the shoulder blades of the guy  whose back was assaulting my chest and I pushed. Hard. "MOVE!" I roared  and I felt my dragon trying to come to the surface as my panic grew.

Shhh, we're safe, I told her, and luckily the guy jumped forward two  feet and I was given an opening. I shot out of the crowd panting and  finally made it to the bar. I stood there a second, just letting myself  calm down, not letting the fear overwhelm me. If my time with Logan and  the pack had taught my anything, it was that when my dragon felt I was  safe, she stayed in her cage-the cage being my human skin. The problem  was I didn't feel safe without Logan, without the pack.

Dammit, why did I always run from my problems? It was a horrible  character trait of mine. If I couldn't see a way out of something, I  ran. My college boyfriend broke up with me sophomore year and I totally  changed classes, and nearly majors, to avoid him and his new perfect  girlfriend. Mom died and I abandoned our lease that I could no longer  afford, left our house, sold all of our possessions but for a few  sentimental pieces, and I ran.

I was a runner.

Maybe I should at least turn on my phone and see if by miracle of  miracles Logan had texted me saying he didn't care I was part monster  and I was still "family"-and that, P.S., Dom didn't want to behead me.

"Are you the pretty little redhead looking for me?" a powerful, gritty feminine voice called from behind me.

I spun around with wide eyes and my gaze fell on a woman who was tall  enough to be a basketball player and thin enough to be a model. The  combination was a bit unsettling-not so much her body type but the  crooked nose and beady-eyed glare.

"I'm Jeanine." She nodded, as if I had asked. Her hair was blond and  curly, cropped short at the back of the neck. I liked to think I was a  good judge of character, and this woman was giving off a major creeper  vibe. Great.

"Hey. I'm S-Stacey," I stuttered, deciding at the last minute to change  my name. If I was going to start over, I might as well start now.

She raised a well-manicured eyebrow as if she didn't buy my name bit and nodded.

"Well, Stacey, my consultation fee is two hundred, and then whatever else you need on top of that … " She held out a hand.

Damn. I tried not to gape. Two hundred just to talk with her?  Reluctantly, I reached in my clutch and pulled out two one  hundred-dollar bills. I had a feeling this thousand dollars cash wasn't  going to last me as long as I hoped. I noticed two large males standing  just beyond Jeanine; one of them was talking into his wrist cuff like  CIA agents did in the movies. Something told me Jeanine was a  well-connected woman.

She pocketed the two hundred and then ticked her head at the far wall,  asking me to follow. I gave a shaky breath and headed after her. While  we walked, I concocted a story in my head about leaving an abusive  boyfriend and pack. That I was in need of hiding and that my old pack  had a powerful sorcerer, so I needed some type of cloaking spell so that  no one searching for me could find me. I was making my way through the  crowd that seemed to part for Jeanine and her two henchmen, when I saw a  man that made panic rise up fresh within me. The druid. Steven. He was  here, and he was combing the place as if looking for someone.                       
       
           



       

Oh. Shit.

In one quick maneuver, I pulled my red hair to one side and popped up  the hood on my jacket. Then I twisted my hair back so that it was all  covered and kept my head down. What were the freaking odds that this  bastard was in California at the same club as me? My dragon was  positively swirling, gliding across my skin, threatening to break free.

Maybe I should just forget this whole sorcerer spell thing and get the  hell out of here? I was about two seconds from doing just that when  Jeanine flicked her wrist and the heavily-guarded double doors swung  open on their own, nearly knocking the two guards out of the way. Only a  faint trail of yellow announced that she had used magic. This woman was  powerful.

Her henchmen walked into the dimly-lit hallway and she followed, turning  back for the first time to look at me. "Keep up," she growled, and I  had a decision to make. Leave this place or go through with it quickly  and then get my butt to Colorado? After two seconds of internal freaking  out, I ran to catch up before the doors closed behind me and my  decision was made. The second they sealed shut, I realized that what I  was doing was completely stupid.

Like epic levels of stupidity.

What the hell was I thinking, coming to a supernatural bar, in a  different town, with no one to make sure I didn't get chopped up into  pieces or descaled? Ahead of me, Jeanine stopped short of a large ornate  wooden door. One flick of her wrist and it flew open. I gulped. The  doors opened to reveal a neat and sparse office, nothing like Eva's  cluttered mix of bottle and jars. Hers held a large wooden desk in the  center, with two chairs, one behind and one in front of it. Then it had  wall-to-ceiling shelves with black, closed-lidded boxes and no labels.

Jeanine gestured for me to sit, and when I did she simply leaned on the  edge of her desk, towering over me rather than taking her seat.

"Alright, pretty thing. What can I do you for?" Her eyes were gleaming as I gathered my thoughts.

"I'm in some trouble. Left an abusive boyfriend in another pack. I'm  afraid they will look for me so I need a spell that  …  makes me  invisible?" I didn't actually know if that was possible. I very well  could be wasting my time and my two hundred dollars.

She leaned forward, her lips turning up to sneer. "Anything's possible with magic, dear."

She held out her hand and gestured for me to take it, I reluctantly did.  The moment we touched, I felt my dragon clench and freeze. Jeanine's  eyes flashed yellow and her mouth popped open slightly.

"You've already got a complex spell on you," she stated in an airy  voice. "I know this work." Then her voice went deadly. "Eva," she  declared with malice.

I ripped my hand back and held it to my chest. How the hell did she know  Eva? Oh God. Leave it to me to pick the one place that had ties to the  people I was trying to run from.

She waved a hand. "Relax, I'm not going to call her. I despise that  woman and will gladly do any spell that will piss her off." She grinned,  showcasing a full set of teeth.

"Okay," I said in a nervous squeak. Something about the feeling she gave  me when she touched me made me wonder if not all sorcerers were created  alike. It made me wonder if maybe this sorcerer dabbled in the dark  forces  …  if there was such a thing.

She stood and began to rummage through some of the boxes. "Normally this  type of complex spell would cost you, but I'm going to give you a  discount because it will enrage my nemesis."

Shit. I liked Eva. She'd gone out of her way to help me, and now I was  unknowingly siding with her sworn enemy? Fail. Fail on so many levels.  This rabbit hole was getting deeper and deeper, and now I was afraid I  just had to go through with it because I couldn't crawl out. I just  needed to get to the other side.

"So  …  how much?" Because she hadn't stated a price yet.