Her Blood Sings: Episode 01 (4 page)

Evie arrived at Moonlight a little after
one-thirty. Tamara’s friend, who obviously had the hots for her,
was more than glad to let her and her two friends cut in line and
get in the club. A woman in a pretty gray dress that reminded Evie
of those pinup military uniforms of the 1940s checked their IDs and
stamped their hands. Then, she gave them an A-list Hollywood smile
and wished them a lovely evening.

Evie stopped just inside the nightclub.
Something felt
off
.

“What is it?” Lucy asked, her face full of
concern.

Evie tried to force her lips to smile.

“What is it, Evie?” she repeated.

“Nothing.” Evie shook her head for emphasis.
“Let me go to coat check, ok?”

Lucy glanced around, uncertain. “Is he-”

“No. I didn’t see him.” They didn’t say Dan’s
name, as if calling the devil would bring him to their doorstep.
“I... I don’t know." She shrugged. Her smile came more easily now.
"This place is a lot to take in, I guess.”

And Moonlight really was a lot to take in.
The place looked like something out of a Georges Méliès fantasy. It
was very
Alice in Wonderland
on the moon. Everything was
pale, pearly white and soft blues in the hall. The inside of the
nightclub per se was even crazier. The walls were black - or at
least they looked black - with tiny lights twinkling like stars.
The bar was a wall of light with pretty decanters tainted by
jewel-toned liquids. The furniture was either shiny black or
burgundy. The dance floor was pearly white.

But the best feature was, by far, the staff.
They were all jaw-dropping gorgeous. Even Tamara and Lucy were
dumbstruck. The women wore knee-length pinup dresses in shades or
ivory or red, tittering on impossibly high heels. The men were
dressed in black slacks, white shirts, and red velvet knee-length
coats and top hats. They acted, each and every one of them,
absolutely unattainable.

And, for some reason Evie couldn’t shake off
the bad feeling. This place and its staff creeped her out.

She tried to act sensible, to tell herself
she was being silly, that she had to enjoy herself. But she knew
she was probably bullshitting herself. Something started nagging at
her the moment she'd crossed the threshold. It was like she
couldn’t run away from this place fast enough. She'd most likely
run from that place as soon as she could, hop in a cab and go
home.

“So, what do you want to do first?” Lucy
asked.

“Dance,” Tamara said.

Lucy turned to Evie, expecting an answer.

"Let's dance," she said.

Evie followed Tamara and Lucy with a renewed
sense of purpose. Maybe some time on the dance floor would help
melt this pesky nagging away. She promised herself she’d have fun -
even if it killed her.

God, I’m lame! - Evie thought - I have to
force myself to have fun.

They found a spot on the dance floor that was
relatively empty and started dancing. Evie found herself relaxing a
little. She felt safe in the throng of moving bodies. Her heartbeat
slowed a little and her hands weren't clammy anymore. Evie closed
her eyes, feeling relief course through her body. She tossed her
head back and let the pounding sound of the music drown her
thoughts. She caught herself wondering why she wasn't on the dance
floor every chance she got. She lifted her face, feeling the
droplets of sweat trickling down her neck. A waft of cool air
blasted, making her shiver and smile.

Evie froze. That nagging feeling had
returned.

”Do you girls want to get something to
drink?” she asked Tamara and Lucy.

"I'll stay," Tamara said. For a second it
looked like she was going to say something else. Then she looked at
Evie, shook her head, and smiled.

"I'll go with you," Lucy said, to Evie.

Lucy and Evie ordered two beers and showed
their stamped hands. The stamp was a clear reference to Georges
Méliès: a moon sticking its tongue out, a rocket sticking out of
its eye.

Evie leaned against the counter and rolled
her shoulders back, trying to work some of the tension off. She
caught Lucy watching her with knowing eyes while she took a lazy
sip of her beer.

“What?”

“You have to relax, Evie,” Lucy said. She and
Evie made their way to a nearby table. “How long has he been MIA? A
year?”

“Ten months and three weeks,” Evie said. “Not
that I'm counting the days or anything.”

“Have you ever considered the possibility
that he’s gone for good?”

Evie took a deep gulp of her beer.

“He could be dead,” Lucy said.

Relief ran through Evie at that thought.
Then, she felt sick to her stomach. How could she feel glad about
someone dying?

“How many people has he pissed off?" Lucy
asked. She didn't seem to notice Evie's foul mood. "Maybe you’re
not the only girl he stalks.” She shrugged. “It could happen, you
know.”

“I would know about it. He still has family
back home.”

“What
do
you know?” Lucy finished her
beer. “Have you heard anything from him?”

“No one knows where he is.” Evie sighed and
watched her hands. “Come to think of it, his mom sold the house and
moved away. No one knows where she is, either.”

“See? Ding-dong, the son of a bitch is dead.”
Lucy looked through the bottleneck of her beer, trying to conjure
some more beer into it. "No mother would willingly become
unreachable to her kid."

“Maybe he's dead,” Evie said, ignoring the
thrill those words sent through her.

"That's the spirit," Lucy said, smiling
brightly. "I'll get us another round."

After Lucy left for the bar, Evie closed her
eyes, trying to drive away that nagging fear that was always in the
back of her mind.

“Hi,” a deep voice said at Evie's right
side.

Her head snapped. She saw nothing but
well-defined chest in a charcoal T-shirt. She looked up. Chiseled
jaw and a dazzling smile met her. His skin was so pale it almost
seemed aglow against the bar’s white light. His hair was short, a
bed head style that sent all sorts of dirty thoughts racing into
Evie's mind. His lips were cherry red. This guy was good-looking
enough to rival Moonlight’s staff.

Half of Evie wanted to run and hide. The
other half wanted to jump this guy and hump him until she died
exhausted and happy.

“I’m Chris.” He offered his hand to her.
“Your name?”

Evie gave his hand a limp shake. She hid her
hand behind her back as soon as possible.

“What’s your name?” he asked again.

“Evelyn.”

She took a step back and looked at the bar,
searching for Lucy. She was talking to a tall, dark haired guy who
was also bizarrely good-looking. What was wrong with this place?
Evie turned back to the bizarrely good-looking guy next to her. He
was giving her a funny look. Did he say something and she hadn't
answered?

“Excuse me?” she asked, forcing herself to be
polite.

“I was asking if this is your first time at
Moonlight.”

“Yeah. First time.” She threw another glance
at Lucy. She was giggling. “You?”

“First time, too.” He glanced at Lucy.
“Friend of yours?”

“Yeah.” Evie took a deep breath and plastered
a big, fake smile on her face. “I should check on her. Her
boyfriend is very jealous. Big, mixed martial arts fighting,
jealous-”

“It’s cool,” he interrupted. “She’s with my
brother.”

Evie tried to side step him. He took a step
as well, standing in front of her.

“Listen-” Evie narrowed her eyes, trying to
remember the guy's name.

“Chris,” he volunteered.

“Listen, Chris-” She cleared her throat and
squared her shoulders. She still looked tiny next to him. “-You’re
insanely gorgeous-”

“Thank you.” Another swoon-worthy smile.

“But I’m not interested.” Her smile became a
shade brighter when he deflated a little. “Have a good night.”

Evie sidestepped him and walked at a brisk
pace towards Lucy and Chris’s brother. She was batting her
eyelashes and giggling like a cliché out of a cheesy romance novel.
Evie had to call Lucy three times before she acknowledged her
presence.

“I think I’m going to leave.” Evie waited a
moment, but Lucy just stared at her with a blank look on her face.
“Lucy!”

“Ok. See you tomorrow.”

And, just like that, Lucy turned back to the
tall, handsome man standing in front of her. Evie stopped for a
moment, looking as dazed as her friend did. Lucy never ditched her
for a guy. In the rare occasion when Evie had to leave home alone,
Lucy would put her in a cab and ask her to send a text when she got
home, just to let Lucy know she was OK.

“Lucy,” Evie tossed an accusing glance at the
man standing next to her. He didn’t look a thing like Chris.
Instead of blonde, his hair was dark chestnut. His eyes looked
black in the dark nightclub. He was one long, lean line. “Is
everything OK?”

“I’m fine.” She huffed an impatient sigh.
“I’m talking.”

“S-Sorry,” Evie stuttered. “I’ll see you
tomorrow.”

She turned to leave. Out of the corner of her
eye, she caught Chris frowning at her. She didn’t stop to wonder
what was up his butt. She didn’t even acknowledge him. She just
marched towards the lobby.

“Wait a minute,” Chris said, hurrying to
catch up with Evie. When she didn’t stop, his voice turned sharper.
“Evelyn!”

Evie stopped at coat check to get her jacket.
She slipped it on and sighed in relief.

She turned and Chris was there, crowding her
personal space. He looked like she had disappointed and annoyed
him. Well, Evie was pretty annoyed at him herself right now.

“What are you?” he asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Evie asked.
"Are you asking what is wrong with me? What's wrong with
you
?"

He leaned closer, giving Evie a scrutinizing
once over. She took a step back, giving him the stink eye. Now that
they were in the well-lit lobby, Evie could see him a little
better. His hair was dark blonde and his eyes were cornflower blue.
He was even more handsome than he had seemed inside the dark
nightclub. But she didn't swoon like she should, apparently. Evie
looked around, trying to see where security was. She couldn’t spot
anyone. Her gaze shifted to the door. A couple of cabs were waiting
outside for anyone leaving Moonlight. Evie used to run track in
school. She was pretty sure she could outrun this guy and get in a
cab before he reached the door.

He gaped at her.

“You are not interested.” He sounded baffled.
“At all?”

Evie snorted at that. Who did he think he
was? She started to leave, but he raised a finger, a silent gesture
for her to stop. And his surprise was so absurd that she was
stunned into compliance.

“Let me try something.”

“Why?” Evie crossed her arms across her
chest.

“Because I have to know, ok?” He sighed. He
looked a little defeated.

Evie arched an eyebrow at him.

“I promise I won’t touch you.” When that
didn’t work, he added, “Please.”

She sighed and nodded.

He looked deep into her eyes and said
nothing. What was he trying to do? Was this some kind of Jedi mind
trick? For a moment it kind of worked, because Evie saw something
in his eyes. It was like a hint of gold amidst the cornflower blue.
She felt something in him pull at some dark, deep part of her she
always struggled to keep down. Her lips parted. She wanted to ask
him how he was doing that. But she didn't.

Her heartbeat picked up. She closed her eyes,
telling herself to snap out of it.

“Are we done here?” she asked.

He gasped. This was clearly not the response
he was expecting.

“Well, that was-” Evie sighed. No point in
playing nice anymore, was there? “-pointless and weird.
Goodbye.”

She walked as fast as she could without
breaking into a sprint and got into the first available cab. She
made it home and closed the door behind her. Evie thought of
sending Lucy a message, but didn't.

When Evie started closing the living room
curtains, she thought she saw something outside, dashing so fast it
blurred.

She frowned, opening the window to look
outside. She couldn't see anything wrong, so she went to bed.

Irving Murray was staring at his laptop. His
small apartment was deep in darkness, the only light coming from
the cool glow of the computer screen.

His eyes traveled the expanse of cream wall
behind it, where sheets of paper were taped alongside post-its in
bright color with notes scribbled in haste. He had enough data as
it was to take his case to the Order's Grand Master and his council
of generals. He had emails and pictures. These were just copies,
obviously. He had everything in his laptop and in an external hard
drive he had hidden someplace safe. But what would they do with
everything he had gathered?

He huffed in frustration. They would probably
pat him on the head and send him on his way, only to dump his hard
work in the trash and never think of it again. The Order had bought
into the supernatural's propaganda of peaceful coexistence. They
didn't want to get their hands dirty and they were not letting
anyone else do it, either. If only he could get someone to take a
leap of faith, do something big. Then, the supernaturals would find
themselves in a position where they would have to reveal their
true, disgusting nature. Then, Irving would have an in with his
former peers.

Glory was just outside his reach. He could
almost taste it.

Irving caught a glimpse of himself on the
dark computer screen. His smile died on his lips. He was in his
underwear and undershirt staring at a wall covered in pieces of
paper and photographs. He was glancing at a screen hoping a kid who
was over two decades his junior would come talk to him. Irving
could feel his colleagues judging him, could imagine them thinking
he was a lunatic. The Order leaders would lock him up faster than
he could say
Order
and throw away the key. Irving sighed and
got up. He walked on the carpeted floor and shivered when his skin
made contact with the cold kitchen floor. He got a beer from his
nearly empty fridge. He considered slumping on his old, worn couch
and watching some TV.