Enticed (12 page)

When we made it to our table Zoe was enjoying the music and Salvatore jumped up to get more seats. He really was sweet. Steph beamed every time she looked at him. I noticed that he seemed equally smitten.

Oh well, good for them.

„Where"s Spence?" I asked.

„Getting jugs," Zoe said, bopping in her chair.

„What?"

„Drinks. Jugs of shots."

„Oh. It won"t work. The bar staff here are pretty by the book and he"s stil seventeen, isn"t he?"

„Yeah, but the boy"s got skil s." Zoe gave me a wink and went back to watching the dance floor. I didn"t imagine she would stay siting for long.

Sure enough, Spence came back balancing a stack of five shot glasses and a jug of something that looked so naughty I caught myself grinning stupidly. I"d forgotten how much fun it could be to just do something normal. And when that annoying voice from within cried out –
That"s because you"re not normal!
– I tuned it out.

„How?" I asked.

Dapper was a strict licensee. It was an all-ages bar and restaurant, but he kept a good eye on things. The only luck we"d ever had at drinking alcohol there was by smuggling it in.

„Glamour. It"s my thing." Spence waggles his eyebrows.

I laughed.

„Speaking of which," he said. „We," looking at Zoe and Salvatore, „were thinking it"s time to introduce ourselves properly. We figure since Steph already knows about you, we"re okay with her knowing about us too."

I saw Salvatore nodding – he clearly understood most things - as Zoe just rolled her eyes.

„Okay," I said, not sure where this was going.

„Alright then. I"l start." Spence mockingly out his right hand in the air. „Hi! My name is Spencer and I am an angel carrier."

Zoe wacked him on the arm so hard it would have broken if he weren"t Grigori. Spence rubbed his shoulder and looked at her ruefully. „You know I do bruise and I am stil breakable until I have a partner, as everyone keeps reminding me, so careful with the merchandise."

Zoe motioned as if she were about to hit him again.

„Okay, okay," Spence said, smiling but also shifting away from Zoe. „I"m from a Dominations Angel. I"m lacking in the parent department since they gave me up when I was born so I don"t know which one died, not that it matters. I have all the normal gismos, my sense is taste – and I"m never going to eat apple again – plus I can “glamour”. So far, just myself and things that I can touch but I"m working on pushing it further." He laid his arms wide to finish.

I couldn"t agree more on the apple comment. I didn"t think I would ever like them again either, which was a shame since I used to love the apple pie from McDonald"s.

„See, was it so hard to just get on with it" asked Zoe. „I"m from an Archangel, I"m minus a father and haven"t seen my mother in over three years. I have normal, my sense is hearing, plus I have an affinity with nature. I can manipulate it to assist me, mostly with motion.

Wow, I"d never heard of that. „That"s how you used the tree as a slingshot?"

„Yeah. I"m stil ironing out some of the kinks, but that"s the general gist."

I was surprised to hear that neither Spence nor Zoe had parents. I"d though things were tough for me with Dad, but at least he was there and I knew – as dysfunctional a family as we were – that he loved me,

„So, I guess I"l fil you in on Romeo, here, as well," Zoe went on.

Steph put her hand up. „Wait! He can speak for himself. I can translate for him." She looked at Salvatore and he nodded.

I was starting to gather that he could understand most things he heard in English. His difficulty was mainly just speaking it himself.

After he spoke for a moment to Steph in Italian – which sounded lovely, just hearing him speaking comfortably and in a normal tone – Steph turned back to the rest of us.

„Salvatore is by a Virtue Angel, his father died of …" Steph"s eyes opened wide as Salvatore went on. „Oh, I"m sorry," she said to Salvatore before looking back at us. „His father died when he was five days old in an aircraft crash – he was a pilot. He has all of the normal gifts that come with being Grigori, his sense is sight and he is a … seeker of lies. He says it is like what Griffin can do, but where Griffin it totally in tune with truth, in identifying its presence and delivering it, Salvatore is dialled into lies – to the layers of deceit that construct and surround them. Eventually, through his gift, he will be able to see the threads of one lie that has led to another and another." Steph looked to Salvatore nervously and he nodded in approval of her explanation.

„So to sum up," Zoe said, rolling her eyes and pointing at Spence, „Glamour." To herself,

„Nature." Then to Salvatore, „Lie Detector." Then she looked at me. „So? What"s your deal?

We already got the inbuilt wristbands figured out – what about the rest?"

I suddenly had stage fright. Not because I was scared to say but because I now had to admit that I didn"t know.

„Well … I … I stil don"t know much about my angel giver. My guides didn"t ...
wouldn"t
tell me. Griffin says I may never know."

I didn"t go into the other option Griffin and I had discussed – the possibility that I had come from an angel so high in rank that its identity could be withheld as its wish.

„I … well … My mother died giving birth to me. She was Grigori, too." I swal owed through the lump in my throat. „I have all five senses and I can sense exiles from a long way away if I"m trying," I said self-consciously, aware that I was editing as I went along. I hadn"t even mentioned to Lincoln and Griffin that on a couple of occasions, the airport most recently, I"d suspected my senses extended to something else. The night Onyx and Joel had attacked Hades was the other time I"d felt it. The only person who knew about that was Phoenix.

Salvatore moved forward in his seat, straining to understand everything I was saying. Zoe gave Spence an „I told you so," look.

„And," I went on," as for gifts, some of that is stil a little unclear too. I seem to be able to stop exiles from a distance – put them into the kind of lock mode most Grigori require contact for – more than one at a time, and when I was injured and didn"t have my dagger, I

… I was able to strip an exile"s powers even when he did not wil it."

Zoe, Salvatore and Spence exchanged glances. Steph"s gaze, like mine, was flitting between them, trying to work out what they were thinking. She was nervous for me, too.

Spence poured the lethal concoction from the jug into the five shot glasses and slid one out towards each of us. He looked at Zoe again and she shrugged and grabbed hers. He looked at Zoe again and shrugged and grabbed hers. We all followed.

„Well," Spence said, „fuck me." He drank.

With one more shrug from Zoe and a sigh of relief from me – we all drank … and drank.

„For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright, who art
as black as hel , as dark as night."

William Shakespeare

When I spotted Dapper working behind the bar, I excused myself. From the moment we"d entered Hades I had sensed at least one exile. He wasn"t as obvious as most and I got the feeling he was trying to be inconspicuous. The others hadn"t said anything, so I wasn"t sure if they could sense him.

On my way up to the bar, I walked right past the exile. He had ginger hair and a slim frame hidden beneath a well-worn leather jacket and was lounging on one of the sofas. I tensed instantly, bracing for the flight that should have been guaranteed, but the exile just watched me walk by and didn"t even flinch. In fact, he didn"t seem surprised to see me at all.

By the time I reached Dapper, I was a bit stunned. „Dapper!" I called, waving him over.

He rolled his head back and sighed when he saw me.

I leaned over the bar. This wasn"t the kind of stuff you wanted everyone to hear. He moved marginally closer after a moment.

„Have you had many exiles in here lately?" I asked.

He shrugged, moving back a bit.

„You
do
realised there"s one in here now?"

His eyes darted out towards where I"d seen the exile.

He knew exactly who was in his bar.

„There have been a few lately," Dapper admitted. „They don"t bring their troubles here and I don"t cause them any either. You make sure it stays that way!" He moved back, but not before adding, „And if I catch you drinking in my bar again, I"l take pleasure in barring you."

I gave him a sheepish grin and decided I could pick up this conversation later at a later, more sober, time. „I"l umm …" I started retreating.

„You
and
your friends!" he called out after me.

Unexpectedly, I was starting to like Dapper. Even stranger, I had the distinct impression the feeling was mutual.

Who would have thought?

-

I made my way back through the press of drinkers and past the ginger-haired exile again, still sitting back, sipping his drink. I couldn"t work out why he didn"t attack. I wondered if he was playing a game or is he had sensed other Grigori in the room and decided the odds were too strong in our favour.

Or … maybe he"s just having a drink.

But I didn"t believe that. There was something else, something I couldn"t put my finger on.

I considered approaching him, but fear of Dapper following through on his threat saw me return to our table instead. Spence was sitting alone, throwing back another shot. When he spotted me he wiped his mouth and smiled.

„Just in time," he said, lining up another.

„Okay, but last one," I said, increasingly woozy. „Have you sensed that there is at least on exile in here?" I asked.

Spence nodded. „Was just about to mention that," he said, slurring a little himself. „You wanna hunt?"

I shook my head. „We have an agreement with owner, no hunting on his property without life-and-death cause and," the part that had me so baffled, „the exile didn"t look like he was here for trouble."

Spence shrugged. „We have a few places like that in New York. They"re called “Sites of Neutrality”."

I turned around to check whether the exile was stil on the sofa, but couldn"t see him. I pushed my senses out and felt them drifting further away. He"d gone.

„Where is everyone?" I asked, refocusing on our table and realising we"d been deserted.

„Zoe"s gone to hit on the DJ. She has a thing for musicians."

„Oh my God," I said, laughing. „Does she realise the DJ is Steph"s brother?"

Spence, who was knocking back another shot, burst out laughing, spitting it all over himself. I jumped back to muss the splash.

„No way!" he laughed, wiping himself down. „Oh, this is so great. You couldn"t have planned it better."

I had to agree.

„How about Steph and Salvatore?"

Spence didn"t answer he just looked towards the dance floor, then to me.

„Good God," I said, as we gave each other a sorry nod.

Steph and Salvatore were already out there doing the dance of drunk rhythmless monkeys. They really were a match made in heaven.

„C"mon, you need to break loose!" Spence stood and headed for the dance floor. I didn"t need asking twice. I loved dancing.

We laughed and joked and then got into the music. We were having the most fun I"d had in ages. Spence made it so easy to just relax and I was glad to have a new friend. We approved of – only making us laugh more, to learn that we shared the same taste in music.

Then I felt it.

Not all of a sudden, but slowly creeping up on me.

I should have stopped. But I was hazy from the alcohol, so I wasn"t sure – or maybe I just didn"t want it to be. I looked at Spence to see if he was feeling it too. He was definitely feeling
something
. As I looked at him, I lost my way, remembering things I had told myself to forget. Touches and sensations that had taken me away from reality and enveloped me entirely. My whole body reacted, dismissing common sense, thrilled instantly by the sense of possibility.

Enticed.

Before I knew it, Spence had me in his arms, or I had him in mine. Both, I think.

Our hips moved together and we kept dancing as we closed the distance, but I wasn"t really moving closer to him – It was someone else I was drawn towards. His lips met mine and when I kissed him back, my body exploded, electricity coursing through it, lust, lust, and

… oh …

I couldn"t control myself, couldn"t stop myself.

Spence had his hands all over me. In my hair, down my back. Further. I tried to shut down, to find myself, even though part of me screamed to pull him closer. It took me a few moments, but the second I did, I pushed him away so fast he stumbled back a few steps.

When he caught his balance he looked at me, confused. He was himself again too. But I didn"t have time to explain.

I found him instantly – everything now fitting together.

I
had
felt him back at the hotel. I had known it deep down. I"d just tried to ignore it. I"d even felt him before things went crazy with Spence, I just wasn"t quick enough to admit it to myself.

He was sitting at the bar. Wearing all black. His dazzling hair, reflecting light that was not there. Our eyes met and the corners of his mouth slowly moved up as his eyes looked past me and beyond.

I turned – but I already knew.

Lincoln stood at the edge of the dance floor. Magda beside him, sporting a similar smirk to Phoenix. His green eyes shone, even from this distance. He had seen the kiss. I took a step towards him, desperate to explain. All I had to see was his drink to fall to the floor and he was gone. Magda too.

Well, if he wasn"t already in her arms, you just pushed him there, Vi.

I spun on my heels. Everything had happened in a few seconds. Spence had only just reached me.

„What was
that
?"

I didn"t stop to talk. I stormed right up to Phoenix. „What the hel do you think you"re doing? Are you so screwed in the head, that this is how you get you kicks? By hurting me?" I screamed.

Phoenix looked at me calmly. Patronisingly. He smiled „I"ve missed you. Your naivety more than anything else, I think. But that"s not to say I haven"t missed … other things," he swept his eyes over me.