Page 9 of Found In Destruction

Mal spinning Diana around on a dance floor as she laughed and smiled. Strobe lights. Disco balls. Men in leather. Someone wearing cat ears. Flannel. Sweaty bodies crammed in a dark small space, writhing, dancing, jumping.

“New York City, Garment District, probably mid 1980’s, if the fashion is anything to go by,” Lucifer said, his deep voice cutting through the ringing in my ears. “They’re at Swallows. Michael and I used to go clubbing there all the time. It’s where we met Diana’s mother.”

I opened my eyes, returning to the here and now. That place wasn’t safe, for so many reasons. It was dark, crammed. An absolute security nightmare. If her magic destabilized, she could hurt someone.Or someone could hurt her.Paranormals stayed hidden for a reason.

And what if some Leather Daddy Diana and Mal home? They look incredible and probably get hit on all the time,Voice said.They give off that two-for-one special vibe.

Shut the fuck up,I growled at him. I didn’t want to think about either of them moving on. They were both mine, and nothing would change that, even me being an epic failure.

“Okay, let’s bring her home,” Lucifer encouraged us as he squeezed my hand.

He wasn’t an overly affectionate or mushy man, unless it was toward Diana, but even that small gesture was more assurance than my actual father ever gave me. It was hope. Faith. Respect. He really believed we could pull this off, and so did I.

The room shook like an earthquake, shifting piece by piece like blocks as the room around me disappeared, changing into a dark, badly lit backstreet. The raucous noise of voices, jeering, and music came from the building we were behind. This must have been the club they were dancing in tonight.

“We need to make ourselves blend in. What do you suggest we wear?” Azazel tugged at his tank top and joggers.

Two men, clad head to toe in leather and a woman in fishnet stockings walked by, laughing at something the shorter man said.

“Okay…” I mumbled, trying to think of what to wear. Leather wasn’t a hardship—I looked good in everything. Seriously, I could walk into the club in a burlap sack and still turn heads.

Walk in naked, and you’d break some necks,Voice cackled.Snap, crack.

I snapped my fingers, and Feathers’ mouth dropped. Black biker boots, with black, low slung leather pants and a matching vest. The whole outfit put my carved chest on display…and my abs, all the way down to my victory belt. I added in some pierced nipples for fun, because I haven’t had them pierced in a few hundred years.

“This?” I turned in a circle. “Or this?” I snapped again, and my pants were replaced by leather assless chaps. Poor Azazelwas going to get dehydrated if he kept drooling like that. We needed him on his A-game.

“Put your ass away, now,” Lucifer grouched. “For fuck’s sake this is serious!”

“Fine.” I changed back to the leather pants, and added a black bandanna around my forehead, to keep my curly hair out of my face.

You like what you see?I linked Azazel.

Huh?he said, not paying attention to what I was saying one bit as his eyes roamed up and down my body.

My eyes are up here,I teased, tipping his chin up so he wasn’t staring at my victory belt any longer.I can give you a much closer look later. Let’s go get LG.

Lucifer changed into a black blazer, a crisp white tee, and black jeans. Feathers opted for parachute pants and a matching windbreaker, because why not? We’d probably never get another chance to wear this style again.

Did we look ridiculous?Yes. Was it worth it to get Diana home safely?One hundred percent.

When we walked into the club, we followed Lucifer’s lead. It was packed wall to wall with people dancing, gyrating, and doing much more scandalous things in dark corners of the club. Rainbow banners and strobe lighting decorated the rafters. The bar stools were upholstered in ROY G BIV fashion, complete with glitter legs.

“This was the hottest LGBTQ club in the 80’s and 90’s. It moved to Brooklyn in the early 2000s,” Lucifer said. “They have a really good mango margarita.”

We made our way to the bar, taking a red, orange, and yellow stool respectively. A lady with a bullring in her nose and strong gothic doll vibes got us our drink orders.

“I feel Diana. She’s definitely here,” Zaz whispered to me.

I used to envy him because he got to share something as profound as a soulbond with her. But right now, I was so thankful he had some kind of link to her, period.

“The best plan of action is to sit here and blend in. They’ll come to the bar eventually and we’ll close in on them. The extra people will serve as camouflage,” I reasoned, sipping my tropical tequila punch. The alcohol in this was strong enough to level a mortal after two.

We sat at the bar, doing our best to blend in. After a half hour, we finally saw Michael. He led a gorgeous red headed woman and a tall, black haired man to the bar. They were laughing, touching each other in ways that made it clear that their little trio would eventually move to somewhere more private. Michael whispered something in the woman’s ear and her pale skin pinked, from her cheeks all the way to her collarbone.

Michael’s got some serious game,Voice said, astounded.Get it, grouchy feathers.Seems like when it comes to men, he has a type…

I took another look at the man Michael was with…he did resemble Lucifer. They had the same dark hair, stubble, and height. But whereas Lucifer had a built physique, this man was slimmer, with compact muscles. A low growl came from my left, and I realized that Lucifer noticed too. He got up from his seat, his entire body tensing as smoke billowed from his ears. He was going to completely blow our cover.

---