Obsidian Son (The Temple Chronicles Book 1) (34 page)

We must have looked startled at his knowledge of Gunnar’s name because he smiled wider. “As I said, we follow news of you, and any of your known acquaintances.” He frowned at Tory. “But she is not familiar to me.” He smiled very politely as he reached out a hand. “Miss…”

“Officer Tory Marlin,” She answered after a look my direction. “And yes, that works perfectly fine, but I do not understand why we should waste time putting on non-prescription contacts.” She argued.

Her last comment rolled off his shoulders. “Pleasure to meet you, Miss Marlin. Now, if you will please follow me I will show you the reason for the contacts.” His eyes sparkled with anticipation. He led us up a flight of stairs, and I could feel the bass thumping from deep inside the building like the erratic heartbeat of some monstrous beast.

He led us up to the second floor, past two sets of security, and then stopped at a bar. He beckoned the bartender. The man jumped to comply. As he neared, I abruptly halted, instinctively grasping at my core of power to restrain him with cords of magic so he couldn’t move. My eyes darted around, making sure no one had noticed. The bartender looked terrified. I leaned over the counter. “Who are you?” I growled, staring into his horizontal pupils. The pupils of a dragon.

The man looked about to soil himself. “I can’t move! Why can’t I move?”

“I’m a wizard, and am holding you still.” I smiled back, pleased at the fear that I had caused the sneaky dragon. I wouldn’t give him the chance to even attempt mind-games on me tonight.

His face paled, and Clyde looked mollified, as if suddenly realizing that he had done something to risk his job, but not knowing exactly what I had done to immobilize his bartender. “It’s the contacts, Master Temple. That’s what I was trying to show you. Everyone is wearing them. It’s required by the wishes of the patron sponsor for tonight’s dance competition.” I blinked, and then looked around. One by one, I realized that Clyde was right. Everyone had the same horizontal dragon-eyed pupils. I shivered, understanding now how dangerous this situation had become — that we could very easily be outnumbered if everyone looked like a dragon. We wouldn’t be able to tell regulars from freaks. And that was probably the fucking point. I was suddenly interested in who this patron was, fearing that the Dragon Lord had been working one step ahead of me.

I let the bartender go, waving him away. Instead of resuming work, he darted towards the restroom, holding the rear of his pants without embarrassment. I shook my head. I guess I had literally scared him shitless. That was a first.

A lingerie-clad hostess glided up beside Tory and Gunnar, her dragon-eyed contacts shining an icy blue, leaning in close to help them put in their contacts. A minute later, Tory and Gunnar had each donned their disguise, and were studying the crowd, ready for anything. Gunnar shrugged at my look, fiery-red dragon-eyes turning to me. “If we’re the only ones without the contacts, it will be pretty easy to pick us out in the crowd.” I nodded, but was still angry. I hated being one step behind.

“Who is this patron, and where are your contacts?” I asked Clyde as I slid on my own pair. They looked bright green in the case. I had worn contacts before in several Halloween costume contests, so knew how to do it fairly easily.

“Since I am normally outside, I wasn’t wearing them. Same with the bouncer downstairs. Didn’t want to ruin the surprise for the guests.” He answered. “The patron, although I’m sure it is just a nickname, is called Raego. Perhaps he’s a DJ, or a rising Rap star hoping to gain favor from the city. He is running a bit late, but said he would be here soon. He requested that if the Master Temple should arrive, he might be granted a few moments of your time. If it wasn’t too much trouble, of course. It seems you caused quite the stir at the Eads Bridge this afternoon. It’s all over the news. Archangel, they’re calling you.” Clyde said neutrally, no doubt itching to ask more. I said nothing, letting him think what he wished. The fucking news again. My secret was no more. Oh well, nothing to be done for it now.

Raego? That was the name of the black dragon that the dragon hunters warned me about. They would owe me big time if they were somehow able to bag him tonight after I tipped them off to this location. But how had he known I would be here? Had the Dragon Lord been lying to me? Was the Dragon Lord really Raego, and had someone followed us here? Or were the two working together?

“I was on the news?” I asked. Clyde nodded slowly as if I were daft.

“Did you really slay a… dragon? They say you’re a wizard.” He asked as if embarrassed at the question. Then his eyes trailed back to the bartender who had run to the bathroom, and his shoulders tightened, as if suddenly believing the man’s fear.

“More than one, but the news only heard about the one on the bridge.” I basked in the shock on his face. “Perhaps I could spare a moment or so. I am meeting a client here myself, but if Raego arrives before I leave, then I might say hello.”

“Well, I will direct him your way when he arrives. It’s been a real pleasure meeting you, but I need to get back to the front. If you need anything, anything at all, just tell the waitress ‘Archangel.’ And she will supply…
whatever
you or your party desires.” The implication was heavy, and for the first time, I wondered what kind of club this was. Or was I reading too deep into things? Maybe I should have researched the place before telling my client I would meet him here. I had heard the name of the club through passing conversation and advertisements around town, and it had simply been the first place I thought of. Plus, I knew it had a rooftop bar. Always have a secondary escape option.

Maybe a little more research would have been smart.

Tory and Gunnar had moved over towards a balcony that overlooked the main floor below, and I saw their dragon contacts wide and clear as they watched the show below them in amazement. As I saw what had caught their attention, my eyes widened too. It was like Cirque De Soleil meets Hustler magazine. Three separate stages stood below us, with shiny steel poles climbing up to the ceiling above my head. As I followed the pole up, I realized that a nude woman was hanging by her thighs, arms outstretched, breasts hanging freely, and kissing the neck of a guest on the same level as me. She was thirty feet above the first floor stage, barely holding on to the pole, and still seducing people on the floor above. The guest folded a twenty-dollar bill and tucked it inside a feather collar around the stripper’s neck.

I shook my head, and noticed that Tory looked downright ravenous as she watched. I pinched her arm and she gasped, flushing red as she met my eyes. “Sorry, just incredibly… impressed.” She said, but didn’t sound convincing. I shook my head with an amused smile. Glancing back down, I saw a dance floor full of bodies writhing and thrashing to the music. Dragon eyes everywhere. I noticed a few strippers here and there, enticing couples into better positions, fueling their libido, but remaining just out of grasp of too-eager hands. Bouncer’s stood positioned through the room, ready to be anywhere at a moment’s notice. I saw one stripper leading a young couple off to a back room, and shook my head in disbelief. A dance club,
and
a strip club. Who knew?

I pulled Tory and Gunnar’s sleeve away from the railing. “So, I guess I didn’t research the locale very well. I had no idea it was a strip club, I swear.” Gunnar frowned at me, not believing a word. “Seriously. But let’s go up onto the roof. Perhaps it’s more G-rated up there. That’s where I’m meeting my client anyway.” They nodded, following me as I searched for the roof access to the top floor of the club, where hopefully nudity would be frowned upon by neighbors across the street, if not discouraged outright by the cold weather.

I found the door, and climbed up a narrow set of wooden stairs, my posse in tow behind me. We exited onto a wooden dance floor sheltered by a glass ceilinged area with couches and divans around the perimeter where couples cuddled up beside each other or strippers performed lap dances in public view. Jesus. I felt like a prude. Don’t get me wrong, I
love
the female body, and I have even visited a strip club or dozen, but I was focused on business tonight, and I had a female guest with me, making everything slightly more uncomfortable, even though Tory seemed to be enjoying herself just fine as she studied several of the dancers acutely.

Heat lamps dotted the roof, keeping the air tolerable, and hidden speakers thumped loudly with different music than downstairs. I scanned the tangle of bodies, even peering around the shoulder of a dancer writhing upon a black-clothed man in one of the plush chairs. Her breasts almost hit me in the face as she turned into me, startled at my cold-fingered touch. Her dragon eyes instinctively startled me, as she looked me up and down. “Care for a dance, love?” She purred.

I shook my head. “No, I was just looking for someone.”

“I could be
someone
,” she whispered sensually. I shook my head again and strode away. Scanning the dragon-eyed people around us, I began to feel nervous. This was bad. Very, very bad. There was no way for me to spot a real dragon before it was too late. And with Raego picking the dress code, odds were that he wouldn’t be alone, and that he had probably sent some dragons here ahead of time. Why else the disguises?

We grabbed drinks, asking the bartender if he had seen anyone that might fit my client’s description. He shook his head, and offered us a free dance with anyone we chose as soon as he realized who I was. I declined, although Tory looked disappointed at my choice, arguing that we might fit in better if we looked like we were having a good time.

“So good a time that we won’t see a real dragon come up behind us and snap our necks?” I retorted, quietly but severely. She sighed, nodding agreement, and we continued searching the roof for my client. I began to feel stupid that I had never pressed him harder for a name. I mean, he was paying me a lot of money, and I had procured a book for him; a very, very dangerous book, apparently. But I had let him get away with not answering the question.

In the future, I would have to remedy that. It would have made things easier if we could have passed out a name to the over-eager waitresses who never seemed to be too far away to suggest luxuries we might enjoy while we wait. Some of those luxuries promised to be quite strenuous. “Would you care to take your pick of two dancers to one of the private rooms?” One asked. I shook my head, the pain from not getting release from Indie’s affections earlier threatening to cripple me like a fist in the gut. “How about three, Master Temple?” Again, I somehow managed to say no, and we found a seat on one of the couches.

We chatted idly, eyes searching the crowd. It was unsettling to see so many dragon eyes around me. Even when I glanced at Gunnar and Tory I would flinch instinctively. After a while, we finally began to relax, and that was when Aphrodite and her sisters came to play with the mortals.

Chapter 34

T
he five goddesses swayed over to us, eyes for no one else. Two sat beside Gunnar after scooting him over to a separate chair wide enough for three. One sat on either side of me, and the last sat directly in Tory’s lap. It happened so fast that none of us could even protest. They were experts, and only prior knowledge let me realize that they weren’t
actual
goddesses, but just extremely talented dancers. They wore just enough to tease, and little enough to lock your eyes in search of straps or buttons that magically seemed to hold the sparse fabric in place.

Tory’s eyes were wide as the dancer leaned down and licked the hollow of her throat, but that was all I had time to notice before my own strippers dove upon me without abandon. One leaned in, her rose-scented hair cloying my nostrils as she licked my earlobe. Her lacy top brushed my cold drink and she moaned at the contact, the sound muddling my brain.

“Mmmm…
Archangel
is here to take care of us. Whatever shall we do?” She asked the other, wrapping her arms around my neck as she settled herself firmly in my lap. She used one hand to place my own upon her smooth rear end, able to cup the entire naked cheek in one palm.

That was it. The wizard was officially useless.

The blue dragon-eyes of the woman straddling me made it all the more alluring as she arched her back, leaning backwards to the second woman, who promptly reached out and gently grabbed a pleasant handful of breast. Her green dragon-eyes met mine as she did so — sexual hunger filling her gaze. They parted, staring into each other’s eyes hungrily. “I say that we should do
whatever
the
Master
wishes of us.” They turned to face me, as the one on my lap slowly continued to lean back until her spine rested on my knees, gravity pulling her breasts slightly to the side as her hands gripped my ankles and she ground her panties into my abdomen.

We had attracted quite a crowd. I managed to notice the dancers with Gunnar in various Chinese acrobatic positions across his body, and I saw one dancer fiddling with a fuzzy handcuff type bracelet in her hands as the other smothered his face with her chest, throwing her head back with a laugh. Gunnar was surprisingly enjoying himself, which was totally out of character for him. The thought scattered to nothing as my own duo regained my attention with well-placed bite-marks on my thigh.