Sterling (34 page)

“Remi, I’ve asked you here to gain your intuition. You know Hannah, our intention, and Adam being the challenger. What I didn’t explain...”

“Yes, that it is to the death of course. That intent is quite clear.” Remi waved a hand, as if he had already seen the elephant in the room before we even came in.

“You must know then the outcome is not certain, Adam is well trained but Samil has centuries of technique. If Adam wins we don’t know what they’ll do with Samil’s power.”

A waitress came to our table and set down four small glasses filled with a milky green liquid. As the men began to slowly sip their drink, I dipped my nose in the glass smelling something sickly sweet. I took a small taste and turned my nose as I set it on the table.

“Not to your liking?” Remi asked, watching my reaction with mild interest and a blank expression.

“No it’s fine. Just reminds me of Kryptonite.” I caught a smile hovering at the corner of Adam’s lips as he lifted his glass in a toast to our inside joke.

Remi tilted his head and his straight brown hair fell away from his face, allowing me to see his eyes more clearly. They were pronounced with a wonderfully rich orange hue and a well defined black rim around the outer edge of the iris. I looked down at my drink; he was very charming in every gesture but something about him intimidated the hell out of me behind the façade of calm and collect. It was not unlike having a conversation with a grenade.

“Justus, friend, what I can tell you of the outcome is this: there will be a decision made on Adam’s fate. The Council will deny a proposal.”

“Will Adam be the victor?”

“That I cannot tell you.”

“So you
do
know.”

“I may. We both know that fate is not without its sense of humor as its cruelty. To intervene with fate can bring consequences if not change the path entirely. I must be selective in what I reveal. This is one situation where I cannot offer much.”

“Fuck mate, what
can
you tell us?” Simon blurted.

Justus cleared his throat but Simon protested. “I’m sorry, but what the hell was the purpose of coming here if we can’t get a little edge on this? If I knew it would be a total waste of time I would have knocked boots with that sweet little blonde standing over by the—”

I hit Simon on the arm with the back of my hand and he slouched in his seat glancing away.

Remi leaned back and his lashes softly kissed as he looked between all of us.

“All of your efforts for this Mage are not in vain. She will save many lives in the course of her life.” His eyes washed over me with strange familiarity. “Silver, the Breed do not live an easy life. You must be strong for it, but never harden on the inside or you will lose your humanity. It would be a great loss.”

The table quieted, it seemed as if everyone was afraid to interrupt that thoughtful piece of advice. But I needed a real drink.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

Elbowing Simon to move his ass, I hopped up out of my seat and noticed Remi was standing up as a gentleman might. I smiled, and Simon suddenly flew up out of his chair followed by Adam.

“Too late now,” I said rolling my eyes as I walked off.

The wall behind the bar was shelved with liquor bottles illuminated by blue lighting inside the paneling. The bar top was a rich mahogany, and underneath there were soft lights that lit up the stools and floor. I tried to capture the bartender’s attention with my eyes as he mixed a cocktail for an older lady in a black hat. I heard a woman laughing so loud it reverberated off the walls.

“Over here!” someone shouted.”

“That one is itching to mark me. See how he looks at me?”

“You are a new one.”

Ignoring the conversations around me, my fingers tapped on the wood as I admired the display of alcohol bottles.

“Learner, I’m talking to you. It is impolite to not look at someone in the eye who is speaking to you.”

Who the hell?

I turned to my right and my eyes raked over a man with a cool and steady gaze. His inky black eyes appreciated every inch of me, with calculated precision in every place they stopped, and he was taking the scenic route.

I turned away. “Bartender, Vodka and Tonic?” He nodded and gestured he would be with me in a moment.

The man next to me was a Vampire as I spied another glimpse of him in the mirror. Unlike the stories, he did cast a reflection. I recognized him from when we came in; he was the one with noticeably long straight hair who showed me his fang.

The very edge of his pinky brushed against my hand as he cupped his glass and I felt no sensation of energy as I would with anyone else, including human. I was unnerved and looked down at his drink to see the contents were not thick and red in color, but amber.

“Shy?”

“No, I’m just not interested in conversation.”

“Well then…that makes two of us,” he implied suggestively as his tongue traced the corner of his lush mouth.

He cinched closer and I stepped to the left bumping into a pudgy woman sitting on the stool. The bartender was busy stirring a tall glass and I leaned over impatiently.

“I can guarantee that you would not forget a night with me.”

This guy wasn’t flirting, he was propositioning.

“That’s a little direct. I’m not sure what kind of women you usually pick up but I’m not one of them, so you’re just wasting your time.”

“I am a direct man, and let me assure you that no time would be wasted with me. What we can do together goes beyond any binding you have felt. I can make you curl from your hair to your toes.”

My fingernails impatiently tapped on the bar. My first impression of a vampire and I wasn’t impressed; if they were all egomaniacs I wasn’t going to have any problem staying away from them. Good thing Vampires had reflections because if I didn’t know better, I’d guess the mirrored ceiling above his bed was providing him with daily affirmations.

I turned my back to him and watched a blonde fuss with her hair as a very handsome man stepped closer as if his intent was to cage her in the corner.

“I’ve never seen eyes quite your color, would you mind if I had another peek?”

The woman next to me was listening with baited breath and her painted brows rose, as she was anxious to hear my answer.

“Tell me, what brings you to the Red Door if not for coupling?”

There was something disturbing about his eyes, I wasn’t sure if they were naturally black in color or if his pupils were fully dilated, but it gave me the creeps. I caught a whiff of perfume when the woman next to me leaned in.

“Someone told me the cheese fries are out of this world.”

His eyebrows lowered, perplexed.

I was leaning over the bar when a blast of wind came up behind me. I jerked my head back and saw Simon holding the Vampire’s wrist. It hovered over my arm as if he meant to touch my hand to gain my attention.

“The lady isn’t interested.”

Simon growled, but his tone changed abruptly to non-threatening pleasantries. “Hands off like a good vamp, run along now. Plenty of lovely lasses to go around. Or did I mean…asses? Either way.”

The man merely shrugged and gave me a long teasing smile as Simon released his grip. He found a new victim—a woman sitting alone at a table twirling a long straw in a short glass. For a fraction of a second, Simon gave a hateful look at the Vampire before he turned away.

A tap on the wood made me jump when the bartender set my drink down. “Oh, thank you,” I nodded at him. He winked and went to another customer.

I took a fast sip as Simon leaned in. “I seem to keep coming to your rescue. You should stay away from those blighters, nothing but trouble.”

I reached around and tugged at his collar. “Sure you don’t have a red cape in there?” I asked facetiously.

“Let’s find out, shall we?” His dimple winked and I took a short sip from my glass.

“I’m a big girl, Simon. I can handle myself. I would have put him in his place.” I bumped the corner of a table with my hip as we walked back to our booth spilling some of the drink on my wrist. Simon concealed a laugh.

“Did you flash over there? Justus said we aren’t supposed to do that,” I said remembering his warning about public display.

Simon slipped his hands into his jean pockets and gave me a crooked smile, “What happens in Red Door, stays in Red Door. Breed only club, there are exceptions to the rule.”

My glass slid over to my spot at the table as Remi once again was on his feet, waiting until I was settled. Once he took his seat, his conversation with Justus continued. That man would undoubtedly get some exercise if he had lunch with the ladies auxiliary.

Adam was unusually quiet and his eyes roamed around the room observing some of the patrons. When they stopped just over my shoulder, I turned in my seat to see what caught his eye. A shapely woman with short blonde curls stood in front of a tall lanky man. Her hands were placed directly on his chest beneath his shirt, where I could make out a soft red glow.

“What are they doing?” I whispered at Simon, who took a quick stretch to look.

“Well
that’s
completely inappropriate. Those are Sensors, they lift your emotions. Eh, they also sense the ones left behind, which makes them particularly good trackers,” he said, facing front again. “Of course their specialty is recall.” He took another disapproving glimpse. “They really should be doing that in private quarters.”

The vodka passed my lips as Justus and Remi were laughing in their own conversation.

“In English?” I insisted.

Simon threaded a finger through his hair to enable him to see me more clearly through those glasses.

“They retain emotions. Ever wished you could relive that one great orgasm? Oh no, don’t give me that shocked look, Silver. They can pull any feeling from you that you experienced, and allow you to live it all over again. For the right price, of course. Because they store those feelings, they also sell them to others. But most go to them as sex traders. It can be fairly intense.”

“Ohhh,” I gave with a round O. “Well, guess it cuts down on STD’s.”

Adam spit out some of his green swill shaking his head.

I touched my fingers on the tip of my cold glass and slid the vodka towards him. “Here, need something to wash it down?”

He took the glass and Remi followed me with his eyes. Nothing went past him unnoticed.

“Silver, there is something you want to ask me,” he said. “Please speak.”

All eyes at the table shifted gears and rolled in my direction. I adjusted my skirt apprehensively. “What about the second Mage?”

“What second Mage?” Adam ground through his teeth before Simon cut him off with a raised hand.

Remi’s eyes admired his empty glass before he replied. “I’m afraid the benefactor is where your concern should be. Samil plays an important role, I would be curious to know if the other potentials are like you. But the benefactor, gentlemen, that is who you need to find. He is playing with darkness. Silver; you will never be safe now that he knows what you are. He is powerful and protected.”

“Who is he?” Adam demanded.

I took the drink from him and gulped down a swallow, feeling the burn as I swallowed my nerve.

“There was a guy who came in and stole my light every night. I don’t know his name. I only know what he looks like, maybe what his energy feels like.” I gripped the glass so tightly that I wondered if I had the strength to shatter it. “With Samil, I always knew what to expect. But with him…” I bit my lip as my mind flashed back to the basement during his nightly sessions. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

My fingers pressed into the table reaching for the keys Simon had been playing with a few inches away. I curled the tips inward and pulled my hand, as I did the keys jingled and began to slide towards me. When I heard a gasp, my attention diverted.

“What?”

Remi gave a knowing smile while Justus blurted out, “That’s impossible. Silver, we can manipulate energy from living objects, but a Mage cannot move them.”

“Ever? I thought you said everyone has a gift…”

“Not this kind.”

“Try the glass,” Remi suggested.

I raised my hand focusing on my glass, willing it to move, but nothing happened.

“You see,” Remi confirmed, “she only has the ability with metal. Although I suspect there may be limitations you will need to test.”

“That could come in handy,” Simon muttered.

“He could do it too, you know. The other Mage, after….”

Justus’s hand went over his mouth and the crease in his eyebrow deepened; he had a habit of rubbing his chin whenever he was thinking. “You think he can retain that ability or will it fade?” His head turned to Remi and his inquisitive voice was low.

“The energy would increase ones power, but the gifts rarely transfer. The retention of course is temporary. However I wonder—” His voice cut off as he pulled his glass closer. “Gentleman, let’s be aware of our surroundings.”

Justus and Simon gave a nod as they withdrew from the topic. I realized they never used the word Unique and were careful as to how much detail was discussed—prying ears, I suspected.