Chapter 23: Vicious Bonds: Chapter 23

I smell her before I can see her.

“Quiet,” Hannie whispers, her hand still covering my mouth. My heart thunders in my chest, but not louder than Killian’s feet as he stomps past the opening.

Finally releasing me, Hannie steps past me, peeks around the corner of the opening, then moves away. As she turns to look at me, her irises shimmer gold and she releases a sigh of relief.

“He’s gone.”

“Are you sure?” I hear Juniper ask, but I can’t see her. Hannie walks past me to flip a light switch on, and we’re in some sort of warehouse with mannequins inside. The mannequins are headless, their bodies made of steel.

Yeah,” Hannie breathes. “I saw him turn a corner. We can get to Tomán’s this way. Come on.”

She walks through the warehouse made of brick and metal and out a backdoor, but not without keeping watch. Down an alley we go, and I hear people hollering, men bellowing. My heart beats a little faster, and I don’t miss the way Juniper rests her hand on her gun as we approach. As her shirt lifts and she moves a step ahead, I notice another weapon tucked between her back and waistband. This weapon looks like a thick, metal stick.

Finally, we round a corner, and relief sinks in when I see the houses ahead. They’re beautiful homes, simple, white, clean. All glowing gold with decorative lights. One house in particular stands out most. The roof is sleek and gold, so shiny the moonlight reflects off it.

The bass of music increases as we approach the house, and Hannie fluffs her hair as she walks up the white stairs, stopping when she approaches a man dressed in all white.

“Hannie, my love. Took you long enough,” the man says, a pompous smile riding his lips.

Hannie grins, running a hand over the man’s shoulder. “These are my friends.” She gestures back to us.

“Not Vanorians?”

“No, Blackwaters. They’re cool.”

The man looks us all over, hesitant. “Not sure if that’s wise tonight, Han. We’ve got Rippies coming in and out of this place.”

Hannie sighs, then stands on her toes and whispers something into the man’s ear. Whatever she says makes him reveal a smile worth a billion watts, and he steps aside to let us pass.

“You know the rules,” he says to Hannie. “No powers from the Gilded. Tomán has his at rest tonight.”

“Of course.”

Sauntering into the house, Hannie tosses her spring-like black hair over her shoulder, and when I look back, the man is watching her, licking his lips. I have no idea what she said to him, but it must’ve been good.

The music grows louder, livelier, a mix of folk and pop as we enter. People stand everywhere—on the stairs, in the living room, the kitchen. It’s like an American house party, but with people who are dressed ten times better, and look like gods and goddesses. I’ve never seen people dressed so nicely, with their gold jewelry and shimmery clothes. It seems custom here. If not dressed well, you’d stand out like a sore thumb.

Juniper hooks an arm through mine, and I look at her. “You all right?” she asks as Hannie is whisked away by a petite woman who is thrilled to see her.

“Yeah,” I breathe. “All good.”

“Don’t go dobbing on me to Caz in that head of yours.”

I laugh. “Trust me, he’s the last person I want to talk to right now.” My chest tightens after those words, making me short of breath. I don’t know what the feeling means. Maybe it’s from all the running we just did?

I let the feeling roll over me, shaking it off. It seems to only happen when I talk shit about Caz…or maybe my body is realizing the lies and reacting to them. Truth is, it wouldn’t be so bad to talk to him. Too bad he’s an asshole.

We enter the kitchen, where there’s a beautiful display of drinks on a waist-high table. The tablecloth drips with silver and gold, the glasses lined up neatly, some of them stacked. An ice sculpture is in the center, a swan with the beak of a crane. It’s all so beautiful that I don’t even want to touch it, but Juniper swipes a glass for herself, and I follow suit, picking one up and sipping it. The alcohol is sour, and my face puckers.

“What the hell is this?” I ask.

“Vinnel,” Juniper says. “Disgusting, but it really puts you in your element.”

“It’s really gross.” I place the glass back down. “Is there anything else to drink? Some wine?”

Juniper turns for another table, picks up a gold goblet and a steel bottle, and pours red liquid into the goblet. She carries it to me. “There you are, miss prissy.”

I take the goblet from her, sticking my tongue out before giving it a sip. “This is much better.”

“So, are there parties like this in your world?” Juniper leans against the wall, casually sipping.

“No.” I take a thorough look around. A guy in the corner is blowing fire into the air from his mouth with a bronzed liquid. Three women are belly dancing—one in the main living area, one in the kitchen, and another outside. A gay couple makes out by the back door, their tongues lodged down each other’s throats. A group hovers over a bar counter, sniffing gold dust up one nostril. When they inhale, their eyes sparkle like stars have exploded in them, and they grin. “Nothing like this.”

“Vanorians know how to party. I will give them that.”

“What made you want to come out tonight?”

Juniper shrugs. Sips. “I don’t know. Just needed a little fun, I suppose. It’s always so serious in Blackwater. Always about business and bloody rubies. Sometimes it’s nice to not think about any of it.”

“I get that. It’s the same with my job. I take days off, just to lie in my bed and read…or drink…or get high.”

A laugh bubbles out of Juniper. “You’re basically the female version of Caz, only he gets lifted off red tablets.”

“What are red tablets?”

“They’re a medicine created by Mythics that cures someone’s aches and pains. Caz has a sensory issue—doesn’t like to be touched much—so he has to take them, but they come with lots of side effects. The main one being that if you take too many, you’re lifted higher than the clouds.”

“Oh.” I shift on my feet. “Well, regardless, I’m sure he’s ready for me to get out of here.”

“Nah.” Juniper pushes off the wall, chugs the rest of her drink down, and then grabs another glass. “If he is, it’s only so he can be serious Caz again. It’s all he cares about. Seriously, it’s better that he’s out of Blackwater right now. That place will end up driving him mad if he lets it.”

The kissing couple is now making their way outside, stripping out of their clothes and slinking into a glittery pool. I can’t help watching them as they sink under the water, lip locked and tongue tied, then re-emerge, their hair shimmering in the night, like its coated in glitter.

“Do you date anyone?” I ask, turning to Juniper.

“I don’t date,” she says, waving a dismissive hand. “Waste of time, especially with Blackwater men. But I do get laid here and there by a guy who works at Blackwater Tavern.” She grins, taking pride in that. “Only thing is he’s the equivalent of a wolf in heat, so yeah, he’s suitable in bed, but downright awful with women.”

I swallow a mouthful of my drink and turn my head as Juniper does to focus on the people in the wide-open living room. The song changes to some kind of folksy song with a lot of bass, and I spot Hannie still chatting with the petite woman, both of them laughing, joyous.

A guy walks into the kitchen just as I’m about to take another mouthful of wine and bumps into me. I gasp as my drink tips over, spilling onto my shirt, sinking into the material. He brushes past Juniper to grab a drink, chugs it down, and then grabs another. Juniper looks at my shirt, her eyes stretching, before turning to him.

“Excuse me, love. Did you not feel yourself bumping into my friend here?” she asks, her head going into a slight tilt.

“No, Juniper—it’s okay.” We are standing in the way of the drinks. “Let’s just move.”

“We will. After he apologizes to you.”

“Oh, fuck off,” the man snaps. “I’ve had a long night.”

Juniper sets her empty glass on the table, then squares her shoulders, facing him full on. “Let me guess. You’re not a Vanorian. You’re a Rippie, and you think women are beneath you, so you talk to them any way you want.”

The man turns, nostrils flaring, reddening at the edges.

“Juniper.” I tug on her arm, my heartbeat ratcheting.

“I said. Fuck. Off,” he growls, stepping closer to her.

Juniper gently pulls her arm away from my hand, and before I can even blink, she’s drawing her gun and pointing it at the center of the man’s forehead.

The man tosses his hands in the air, his grimace transforming into sheer panic, while bystanders watch the encounter, their eyes wide with worry. Some of them back away, trying to get out of the room, as if they sense something very bad is about to happen.

“Would you like to repeat those words?” she asks, pressing the barrel to his forehead.

“H-how the hell do you have a Blackwater gun?” the man demands.

“Oh this?” She smiles as she studies the side of it. “I own it, and I do love to use it. Now, do me a favor.” She pulls the gun away and walks around the man, pointing it at the back of his head. “Apologize to my friend, and we’ll squash this.”

The man’s hands are shaking, his face turning redder, but not from anger. From fear. She nudges the back of his head with the gun. “I—I’m sorry,” he mumbles.

“Louder. I couldn’t hear you.” She presses the barrel harder into his head.

“I’m sorry!” the man bellows. “Damn!” He moves away and Juniper steps back, a satisfied smirk on her lips.

“There,” she says, tucking the gun back into her waistband, “See how easy that was? It’s not hard being kind to women.” She grabs another drink and then presses a hand to my shoulder, ready to guide me to another part of the room.

“You fucking bitch!” The words come out in a roar, and the next thing I know, glass is shattering over Juniper’s head. She buckles forward, stumbling, and I gasp as the shards trickle off her dark hair. She freezes, stunned, and the house falls quiet, minus the music.

Then, her whole upper body vibrates with rage, from her head to the tips of her fingers. Her face crumples into a deep frown.

In one swift motion, Juniper snatches her gun and swings her arm behind her, shooting the man in the head.