Club Nexus (Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective) (6 page)

My nickname?  Yeah, it was more than just a catchy moniker. 
Me and Lady Luck have never been close.  In fact, we were fast becoming
frenemies, which was the likely cause of my attraction to the demon speaking
below.

I recognized Forneus’ voice, but I was too far away to make
out the words. 
If I could just get a little closer…
  I teetered on one
platform sandal and sighed.  If I was going to go tiptoeing through the dark, I
probably shouldn’t be wearing these shoes.

I slipped out of my platform sandals and grimaced as
something crunched beneath my feet.  But stepping on spiders and cockroaches
was the least of my worries.  I needed to find out what Forneus and Puck were
up to, preferably without twisting my ankle or taking a tumble into the
basement below.

With my bad luck, I’d break my ankle
and
my neck.

I grabbed the old, splintered railing and began my slow
descent down the stairs.  Goosebumps dotted my skin and I shivered as a heavy
quiet seemed to swallow the basement.  The cries and whimpers had stopped.  That
should have been an improvement, but the dead air was even worse than the
sounds of torment.

Forneus’ voice broke the silence, followed by Puck’s
laughter.  I shuddered at the ghoulish images that conjured up.  Were they
hurting innocent people down here?  I didn’t want to believe it, but Ivy had
seen Puck try to dose my drink and though Forneus was smoking hot, he was still
a freaking demon.  And demons were evil, right?

I paused as I ran out of stairs.  I’d reached the lower
basement level, and though a faint light shone from the room beyond, I couldn’t
make out much of the chamber I was in.  I inched forward, keeping my hand on
the wall. I didn’t have supernatural eyesight like Forneus or Puck.  If I
wanted to see what was really going on, I’d have to get closer to the light.

I started forward, but jumped as a shadow broke away from
the wall.  Entering the room beyond, the dark shape became a tall, blue-skinned
faerie woman.  Huh, that was odd.  It was the same chick who’d been tending
bar.

I’d wondered where the faerie and vampire had disappeared to,
but I’d assumed the two had come down here together.  In fact, I had some
pretty icky ideas when I’d seen them sneak off into the basement.  Thankfully,
whatever the faerie was up to, it didn’t include getting naked with a vampire. 
There are some things I just didn’t need to see.  If what Ivy had said about
vamps being dried out corpses was true, vampire sex was definitely on my list
of things to avoid at all cost.  A girl can only handle so many nightmares.

I was startled from my musing as the faerie woman leapt into
the room beyond.  I hurried to the corner she’d vacated, hoping for a better
look.  The bartender charged toward Puck, yelling and laughing maniacally, arm
raised above her head.  There was something shiny clutched in her fist, some
kind of weapon, but she never had a chance to stab anyone.

Faster than my human eyes could follow, a vampire came
rushing out of an adjacent room.  A door whipped open and suddenly he was
there, standing between the woman and Puck—the woman’s bleeding arm held in the
vampire’s fist.

I leaned against the wall, knees weak.  I took a deep
breath, trying to slow my racing heart, and blinked away dark spots in my
vision.  There was at least one killer in the next room.  I could not pass out.

I placed shaky hands on my knees and gulped in air.  When I
finally trusted myself to stand, I lifted my crossbow to my shoulder and peered
around the corner.  A lot had happened while I’d struggled to stay conscious.

Puck lay bleeding on the floor, something metallic jutting
from his chest, and the vampire was holding the faerie woman upright while he
feasted on her jugular.  It was the same vamp I’d seen earlier, though he’d
lost his hat and the look of calm, southern charm.

I didn’t know what kind of mess the faerie had got herself into,
but no one deserved to become some vamp’s chew toy.  Heck, he’d torn off her
arm and was sucking on the faerie bartender’s neck like a toddler with a god
damned sippy cup.

I tuned out the slurping sounds and ran into the room. 
Forneus’ eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but grin.  For once, I’d surprised
the unflappable demon.  But I couldn’t revel in the moment; it didn’t seem wise
to keep the sounds of feeding at my back.

I swung the crossbow around to point at the vampire.

“Move away from the girl, douchebag,” I said.

The slurping stopped and the vamp tossed the woman aside
like a crumpled up juice box.  I glared at the vampire, careful to keep from
looking him directly in the eye, and my finger twitched on the trigger mechanism
of my bow.  Who died and gave him the right to treat people as if they were
disposable?

Oh, right.  He did, and then he rose again.  Well, the
bastard should have stayed dead.  One dead vamp, coming right up.

The vampire was rushing forward before I could finish
pulling the trigger.  That doesn’t mean I didn’t get off a shot.  I hit him
square in the chest.  Too bad I’d loaded for demons.

A wooden bolt would have paralyzed the vampire, but the
metal I shot him with didn’t even slow the guy down.  I was going to die and I
wasn’t even wearing shoes.  There was something tragic about facing death in
your bare feet.

Thankfully, it wasn’t my day to die.  One second I was about
to have my heart ripped out and the next I was shoved against the wall.  The vampire’s
claws had been so close to my chest, I was scared to look down.  I took a
breath and felt the front of my dress, surprised it wasn’t covered in blood.  My
shoulder hurt like hell, but I was alive.

I stared across the room where Forneus stood over the
vampire—the vampire who had just tried to kill me—the demon’s walking stick
thrust through the vamp’s chest.

Forneus had saved my life.

I’d finally got my answer.  Not all demons are evil.  When
it mattered, Forneus had risked his life to save my own.  As I’d often
fantasized, there was the trace of a good man under that bad boy exterior.  The
demon was no Boy Scout, but then, what would be the fun in that?

I gazed into Forneus’ worried stare and warmth spread
through my body.  As he came closer, my hands twitched, aching to grab hold of
his powerful arms, and then run them along his chest, his back,…

“Are you alright?”  he asked.

I nodded, blushing painfully, and pushed away from the wall.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” I said.  I pointed at the faerie woman’s
corpse crumpled on the ground, like a fallen ragdoll, just a few feet away. 
“But I can’t say the same for her.  We need to get her to a hospital.”

Forneus winced and looked away.

 “I’m sorry, my dear,” he said.  “She’s dead.”

 “Um, okay, and him?” I asked, pointing toward the vampire.

Forneus had creatively used his wooden walking stick to
stake the vamp through the heart, but I was pretty sure that didn’t mean the
bloodsucker was dead.  It takes a lot to kill a vamp.  But I suppose if
paranormals were easy to kill, then Jenna and her Hunter friends would be out
of a job.

“Oh, he is still very much alive…as alive as any undead
creature ever really is,” he said, walking over with measured steps to stand
over the vampire.

 “You’ve been a very naughty boy,” he said, glaring down at
the vampire.  “I’m sure the Vampire Council will be interested to learn of your
arrogant disregard for the law.”

The vamp’s eyes flicked to what I’d come to think of as “the
torture room.”  I’d only caught a glimpse of the room as I chased after the
faerie woman, looking for potential threats.  Forneus walked over to investigate,
but I stayed put.  One glimpse into that room was more than enough.

Forneus’ shoulders tightened and he pulled the door closed.

“Yes, the Council will be very interested indeed,” he said. 
“Too bad they won’t have a chance to punish you for your crimes.”

He spun on his heel, flame dancing along his fingers, and
returned to loom over the vamp.

 “Say hello to Lucifer for me,” he said to the vamp.  “I’m
sure the two of you will soon be well acquainted.”

He pulled the walking stick from the vamp’s heart and placed
a fiery hand on his chest.  Within seconds the vamp was replaced by flames and,
finally, ash.

Forneus looked away, brushing vamp ash from his hands and
tugging on a glove he pulled from his coat pocket.  I wanted him to look at me,
to give me the chance to show him how I felt.  He’d saved my life and given me
hope that my feelings for him were more than misdirected rebellion.

“Thank you,” I said.

I stepped into his arms, hands sliding across his chest.  I
licked my lips, tilted my head back, and looked him in the eye.

 “For what?” he asked, voice uncertain.

“For killing that creature, for looking out for me, for
saving my life,” I said.

I reached up to touch his face, letting my fingers linger as
I slowly traced his lips, jaw, and neck.  He was like a puzzle I’d only just
started to figure out—the separate, distinct parts of him coming together for a
complete picture that overwhelmed the senses.

Forneus sucked in a breath and I hesitated, pulling back
slightly.  Had I somehow offended him?  Had I gone too far?  Did he think I was
only doing this out of some sense of duty, to thank him for saving my life?

 “I am always at your service,” he said softly, leaning
closer.  “If you will have me.”

I could feel a slow smile touch my lips as my breath
quickened.  I pulled him closer and rose on tiptoes to meet his scorching gaze.

 “Yes, Forneus, I will,” I said, letting my lips brush
against his.

Forneus groaned as I slanted my mouth across his, heat
flowing between us.  His hands moved in slow circles down my back, pulling me
closer.  My lips parted and our kiss deepened.

It was a good thing Forneus was immortal, because I could
kiss the man forever.

But all good things come to an end.  I heard Ivy bust into
the room, swearing, “Oh hell, no.”  Forneus and I broke apart to see Ivy and
Torn both rush into the room and take in the grisly scene.  I reluctantly stepped
away from Forneus.

Ivy narrowed her eyes and focused her attention on me.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I nodded, pausing to catch my breath.  That had been one
amazing kiss.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I said.  “Thanks to Forneus.  You were
right about Puck.  The guy was an asshat.  I didn’t catch all the details, but
I’m pretty sure he was drugging and selling girls to sicko vamps who got off on
torture.”  I bit my lip and stole a glance at Forneus.  “I saw that
girl…hanging in the other room, but I appreciate what you tried to do.”

“I only wish I’d arrived sooner,” he said.  He reached out
and took my hand.  “I would have preferred to have saved the girl and to have
kept you from seeing the depths of such depravity.”

I gave his hand a squeeze and looked searchingly into his
eyes.  How could I have been so blind as to think this man was a monster?

I wanted to pull him close and forget about my friend’s
stares and the corpses littering the floor, but something latched onto my
hair.  Pain seared through my scalp and I gasped.  A true monster had me in his
grasp and my crossbow was out of reach.

I felt the bite of a blade against my neck, and then
everything went black.

T
he ogre glared
at me from beneath his unfortunate simian brow, waiting for my response.  His considerable
bulk blocked the entrance to Club Nexus and one sizable hand twitched over the
gun strapped to his barrel-like chest.  Subtlety was not an ogre’s strong
suit.  Speaking of suits, this creature’s taste ran toward pimp chic.  The
fabric was cheap and shiny, reflecting light from the single working bulb on
this street.

“Forneus, Great Marquis of Hell,” I said, focusing on the
bouncer’s beady eyes and avoiding being blinded by his hideous taste in fashion.

The ogre leaned forward, sniffed at the air with a nose the
size of a Volkswagen Beetle, and grimaced. 
Unpleasant oaf.
  Apparently,
he didn’t care for the aroma of fresh brimstone.  Of course, I could mask the
sulfurous scent of Hell, but where would be the fun in that?  The ogre examined
me from head to impeccably dressed toe.

“Don’t get many demon lords here,” he said, furrowing his
substantial brow.

“No, I daresay you wouldn’t,” I said.  “Not with that witch
working with the Hunters’ Guild to maintain their so-called peace over the
entire city of Harborsmouth.”

The ogre spat, narrowly missing my shoes.  Now it was my
turn to grimace.  The cretin had utterly appalling manners.  Dressing an ogre
in a cut-rate suit does not a gentleman make.  Before the vile creature could
cough up any more distressing substances, I waved toward the door and forced a
smile.

“May I enter?” I asked.

A clipboard materialized from thin air, but I was
unimpressed.  I’d been using the same trick with clients for eons.  I tapped my
foot, careful to avoid the pile of phlegm that rivaled the size of most
cats—perhaps it actually was a cat?—as the ogre consulted his magical guest
list.

Finally, the hulking faerie stepped aside and muttered, “You
may enter.”

I smoothed the front of my waistcoat, tugged at my gloves,
and took up my ebony walking stick.  The ogre didn’t check the polished wood and
therefore did not discover the sword hidden within its shaft, which was for the
best.  Weapons were not entirely forbidden inside the club, just unauthorized
bloodshed, but I preferred to keep my secrets.  You never know when you’ll need
a little surprise up your sleeve or, as in this case, inside your perambulatory
accessory.

Plus, the hidden blade was made of cold iron.  Iron was the
one weakness of all fae creatures, a vulnerability that would leave any faerie
who touched it powerless.  If the ogre tried to handle my sword, he’d get a
truly unpleasant surprise.