: Chapter 21

“Stop tugging,” I said, slapping Eliana’s hand away from her neckline.

“I feel sick,” she said, staring at the Roost’s red double doors.

“No, you don’t. You feel nervous. There’s a difference.”

“Let’s go back to your place.”

“No way. I want to see the boys fall all over themselves when they see you in this.”

“This” was a tube dress topped with capped sleeves. And, it was a far cry from the typical, prim mid-calf sundresses Eliana usually wore. We both knew the dress would cause every head inside to turn. The material clung to every curve that Eliana owned. And that fact was freaking Eliana out.

I met her nervous gaze. Her makeup looked flawless and natural. The quiver in her glossy lips didn’t convey any sense of “I am succubus, hear me roar” but rather damsel in distress. I thought the latter would prove more potent in this crowd.

“You’re going to knock the socks off of everyone in there. There’s going to be fighting and mayhem because of you. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to throw in a few punches in defense of your honor.”

She snorted, my words erasing the look of fear in her eyes, as I’d hoped.

“You can’t fight tonight. That dress wouldn’t survive.”

The dress I wore, a black tube that barely reached below the curve of my butt cheeks and the top of my boobs, didn’t need to survive more than one night, anyway. I never planned to wear the dumb thing again.

“We’ll see,” I said, reaching for the door.

We walked into the Roost together, the beat of the music rattling my rib cage. No sultry singers swayed on the stage tonight. Everyone was crammed onto the dance floor.

As I expected, it didn’t take long for people to start noticing us. Not that we dressed so seductively compared to the rest of the crowd. I was pretty sure the girl wearing the dress with the opaque panel over her boobs won the seductive, yet tacky, dress contest.

Eliana leaned in to talk so I could hear her.

“I see Ashlyn at the back table. Let’s go talk to her.”

I nodded and let her lead the way. It wasn’t like we were at the Roost to actually socialize. It was about appearances. Eliana needed to look like she was socializing and trying to become more like a typical succubus.

Before we made it to Ashlyn’s table, Fenris stepped out from the mob on the floor.

“Ladies,” he said, holding his arms out wide. “What a spectacular sight. Come dance.”

“Thank you, but we wanted to talk to Ashlyn before she has to go,” Eliana said.

“Tell me you’ll dance with us afterward, then.”

Aubrey chose that moment to step from the crowd. The annoyance that had simmered in the back of my mind flared into full anger. I’d witnessed Aubrey’s meanness and certainly thought her level of bullying and bitchery qualified as wicked. But wicked enough for this much anger? No. There was more to Aubrey’s story, and I really wanted to know what…after I punched her teeth in.

I stepped toward Fenris, who was unaware of Aubrey closing in behind him.

His arms wrapped around me. Aubrey’s eyes widened. Deciding this a better punishment, I wrapped my arms around Fenris in return and ran my fingers through the hair on the back of his head. Chest to chest, I looked up into his amused gaze.

“Get rid of your dead weight, and we’ll dance with you all night long,” I said.

“Bitch!” Aubrey screeched.

I laughed, and Fenris made a sound that fell somewhere between a groan and a sigh.

“Troublemaker,” he said softly before releasing me.

He turned to Aubrey, his hands up in a placating manner. She didn’t even spare him a glance. She flew at me, knocking him to the side.

I grinned widely and widened my stance, ready for her. Her curled fingers, now tipped with vicious claws, swiped through the air at my face. I leaned back, avoiding the strike, and swung hard, connecting with Aubrey’s left cheek. She snarled and snapped her teeth at me. Dancing out of the way, I waited for my next opening then planted my fist in her ribs. Instead of my anger being alleviated, it burned brighter.

“Come on, Aubrey, tell me your sins,” I said softly. “Tell me what wicked things you have planned.”

She growled and tried coming at me again. This time Fenris wrapped his arms around her and pulled her off her feet. Slim arms encircled me. I sighed and didn’t try to struggle like Aubrey did. I didn’t want to hurt Eliana or lose the meager coverage of my dress.

A shrill whistle pierced the air. I turned my head and looked at Trammer, who was glaring at all of us.

“Break it up or take your animalistic hides outside where you belong.”

“Come on,” Eliana said in my ear, tugging me toward the rear of the building.

While Trammer gave Aubrey’s still struggling form a final disgusted glare, Eliana and I took a seat at the table near Ashlyn. The moment Eliana released my hand a flood of anger robbed me of breath. I froze in the act of sitting and looked up at Trammer, who moved toward us. No, not us, but Ashlyn. I tensed, liking that he would never see me coming.

Eliana gripped me with more strength than I thought she possessed and dragged me down beside her. We’d barely settled into our seats when Oanen strode through the crowd, straight toward us. My stomach dipped at the sight of him even as the sound of Trammer’s voice needled at my insides. Eliana kept her arm wrapped around my bare shoulders, muting the shit storm of rage that wanted to break its way in.

“Five minutes alone and you managed to fight,” Oanen said, looking down at me.

I shrugged like it was no big deal, which it wasn’t. The move drew his gaze to my bare shoulders. The look in his eyes changed, and I recalled the time that I’d thought that look was a detached study of me. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

He held out his hand, and my pulse jumped.

“Come.”

I glanced at Trammer, who was waiting for his niece to gather her things, then shook my head at Oanen.

“I can’t leave Eliana right now.”

He cocked his head at me, and his hand slowly returned to his side. He stood there in silence as Trammer and Ashlyn moved toward the front door. As soon as it closed, he offered his hand again.

Eliana released me and gave me a shove.

“Go. I’ll be fine alone for a bit. Good practice,” she said.

I hesitated a moment then lifted my hand to Oanen’s. The first touch of his warm fingers against mine made me shiver. He saw it but didn’t comment as he helped me stand. Holding my hand in his, he turned and led the way toward the dancers. I really didn’t want to dance.

He didn’t stop in their midst but pushed his way toward the stairs to the second floor. The whole way up the stairs, I could barely concentrate on each step because his thumb kept moving over my knuckles. If he didn’t quit it, I’d trip soon.

Passing the bar, he moved to a door at the far end. Cool night air brushed my face as soon as he pushed it open. We stepped out on a metal landing then went up the stairs that led to the roof. Gravel crunched under my heels, and I looked over at the neon sign for the Roost.

Oanen stopped walking and turned toward me.

“I was getting dressed right here. Even with the loud music and a layer of tar and gravel, I could hear your voice when you told Fenris to get rid of Aubrey.” He swallowed and looked down at my hand, which he still held.

“Do you care for him?” he asked quietly.

“Fenris?”

“Yes.”

With my insides going wild, I studied Oanen’s tense face.

“Fenris is just a friend. Friends are all I can do.”

He looked up, his intense gaze pinning me.

“Why? You’ve learned a lot this past week. You’re no longer in the dark about who you are.”

“Exactly. And that’s why friends are all I can do. Because of what I am. What I’ve learned this last week has only made things clearer for me. Getting close to anyone is dangerous. Except for maybe Eliana.”

“You’re afraid of hurting someone.”

“I’m afraid of hurting someone I like.” More importantly, I was afraid of someone I liked hurting me.

“Maybe the person you like just needs to understand the rules and not do anything wrong.”

His words made my chest ache worse. His thumb brushed over my knuckles again, and I realized he was only doing it to my right hand. The one I’d used to hit Aubrey. The soothing gesture swayed me further. Dangerous territory.

I turned my head away and looked at the building’s sign, trying to gain some mental distance from my distracting physical reaction to Oanen.

“Would you be willing to fly me to Trammer’s house?” I asked.

“Now?”

I took a long, slow breath and let go of my regret.

“Yeah. I think now would be best. Since the moment I arrived in Uttira, that man has pissed me off for no explainable reason. I need to find out why.”

“Okay.” Oanen released my hand and turned toward a low set of lockers just behind the sign. He opened one and took off his shirt, throwing it inside.

I took a moment to stare shamelessly at his muscled torso. Was I being stupid for saying no to that? Probably. But it was safer this way.

Turning my back to him, I listened to the soft rustle of clothing as he stripped for flight. At the soft scratch of his claws on the gravel, I faced him once more. He dipped his shoulder to me, an elegant gesture that drew me closer. At the last minute, I kicked off my heels.

“Eyes forward. My dress is way too short for this.”

He made a quiet noise then turned his head toward the sign. I lifted my leg over his broad back and settled in behind his wings, his downy feathers caressing my thighs.

“All set,” I said.

He turned his head and bumped my leg with his beak before beating his powerful wings. Within seconds, we were in the air, circling over the buildings.

It didn’t take Oanen long to find Trammer’s house. He set down not far from the driveway. I quickly climbed off and stepped back, but Oanen didn’t return to his human form. Tucking his wings, he walked beside me as I crept up the driveway.

Like at the siren’s house, I peeked through windows until I found the pair. Ashlyn sat in the living room, reading a book. Trammer moved around in the kitchen, preparing an obviously late dinner.

“What are you hungry for, Hun?” he asked, his muffled voice barely reaching me through the window.

“I’m not really hungry,” she said absently and without looking up.

“Ashlyn, you need to eat.”

“I did eat. I had fish sticks today.”

He stopped moving around in the kitchen and ran a hand through his greying hair.

“That’s not enough. You need to eat dinner, too.”

“I know Uncle Tram. I will.”

He came into the living room and sat across from her.

“I’m worried about you,” he said gently.

She closed her book and looked up at him.

“Why? I’m fine.”

He shook his head.

“I want you to stay away from Megan and Eliana. They’re trouble.”

She gave him a doubtful look.

“I like Eliana. She’s nice.”

“How can you say that after what those monsters did to your father?” Trammer asked, not unkindly.

“I thought that was an accident,” I whispered to Oanen.

He bumped me lightly with his head, likely a warning to be quiet.

“You need to let go of your anger,” Ashlyn said from inside. “I did. It was an accident. Human or other, we all make mistakes.”

Again, Ashlyn struck me as a truly nice person. Like Eliana.

Trammer stood, his face flushed. He didn’t yell at her, though. He patted her shoulder and went back to the kitchen. She watched him go with a sad look in her eyes then picked up her book once more.

I didn’t understand how someone, who obviously cared so much for another person, could be making me so angry. Seeing that they were settling in for the night, I backed away from the window and turned toward Oanen.

He dipped his shoulder, an invitation to take flight again. I barely paid attention to the houses passing beneath us. My mind dwelled on the puzzle of Trammer until Oanen landed on the Roost’s roof.

I quickly slid off Oanen’s back, and feathers abruptly vanished as he shifted to his human form. I squeaked, and turned around again, his soft chuckle teasing me.

“What were you hoping to see back there?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. Something wicked? There has to be a reason Trammer makes me so angry,” I said as I picked up my shoes. “I mean, sure he’s carrying a grudge for anything non-human because of Ashlyn’s father’s death, but that doesn’t scream wicked killer. If anything, it screams just the opposite because the people dying are human.”

The muted thump of the music didn’t cover up the sound of Oanen dressing again.

“I don’t know, either,” he said. “His dislike for us is why he made a good candidate for human liaison. He’s less likely to be corrupted by any of us.”

“How long ago did Ashlyn’s father die?”

“About a year.”

The music suddenly grew louder as the main entrance to the Roost opened below. A long, catcall-whistle pierced the air.

“You are looking fine tonight,” a male voice said.

“Of course I am.” Heels clicked on the sidewalk. “I’m surprised you haven’t been run out of here already. You must be sneakier than most.”

Oanen frowned and moved toward the edge of the building. I followed, and we stared down at a man dressed in jeans and a leather jacket who spoke to a girl wearing skintight black pants, hooker heels, and a revealing top. My temper flared looking at both of them.

As we watched, the man reached into his pocket and produced a small baggie.

“Since you’re looking so fine tonight, how about I give you a free sample?” he asked.

“I have a better idea.” She started singing about how he wanted to give her all his money then go slam a car door on his pecker. Oanen stepped back from the ledge as the guy began to hand over his money.

“I need to go tell my parents there’s another drug dealer here. There’s something about Uttira that seems to attract them.”

A car door slammed, and Oanen flinched at the sound of the man’s hoarse yell.

“Have Eliana take you home,” he said a moment before he shifted, ripping his clothes right off.

Unable to help myself, I looked over the side of the building once more. The sobbing man clung to the side of the car, his pants loose around his waist.

The siren had done Uttira a favor, but I still wanted to punish her for stealing from the guy. How messed up was that?