Page 52 of Destined to Fight

Thelma cut her off. “Right this way.” She lifted the counter so they could walk through it. Then she led them through a curtain, holding it aside.

They all stood in a little room with little chocolates and candies lining the walls. Thelma pushed through them, stared at the back wall, and chose a candy to pick up. When she did so, the back wall and all of its candies simply disappeared, leading them farther into the depths of the shop.

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Kade led the way through the back of the chocolate shop, not fazed in the slightest. Kelly looked around in the darkness, searching for some detail that told her where they were going next and came up empty-handed.

When Kade stopped, Kelly almost ran into him, but she looked forward just in time.

They all stood there, in the long dark hallway, for what felt like ages. Then, there was a click, the sound of metal scraping against metal, and more clicks, and then the door in front of them swung open.

“Good evening, Master Keegan.”

Kade gave the man who held the door a curt nod. “Charles.”

As they walked into the room, Kelly took notice of the heavy-duty door. It looked like the door to a bank vault with huge rods that locked into the wall. It was at least a foot thick and appeared to be solid metal.

They walked into a somewhat small lounge that looked like it had last been updated in the 1920s. A beautifully stocked bar lined one wall, with quaint booths against the other. Small tables with high-backed chairs on either side of them made a row down the middle.

Charles closed and locked the door behind them, then led them to a booth in the back corner of the lounge. Kade and Fabian stood, waiting for Kelly to take her seat. When she finally realized they were waiting for her, she sat, scooting to the back corner where she could see everything. Kade slid in next to her, and Fabian sat across from them.

“Luther will be with you shortly.” Charles announced before departing.

“Thank ye, Charles,” Kade said politely.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, but Kelly couldn’t bear it any longer.

“What is this place?” she asked Kade.

“It is a safe haven for Arcane,” Fabian answered. “In the case of emergency, it can be locked down so that it is impenetrable to any and all races. It also serves as neutral ground and has a longstanding rule that there will be no fighting or arguing between Arcane on the premises. If you know the password, you are guaranteed to leave unharmed. They also provide privacy for all conversations that take place between members.”

She was about to ask how they took care of the privacy part when a beautiful woman who looked to be in her forties came to their table.

“Luther said he’d be right over. I’ll silence the booth after he arrives. Can I get you folks anything to drink while you wait?”

Kade and Fabian both stared at Kelly expectantly.

“Oh, um, I’ll have an old fashioned, please.” It was her favorite, and this place just seemed like the type of establishment where one would order a nice mixed drink.

“Organic O negative, please,” Kade followed.

“Negroni for me, please.” Fabian smiled genuinely as he ordered.

The waitress smiled and left them alone.

“They serve blood here?” Kelly couldn’t help her curiosity.

“Aye, most Arcane establishments do.”

She was never going to get used to this. Ever.

The waitress brought their drinks to the table more quickly than any waitress Kelly had ever dealt with before. She was truly impressed.

Staring down at her glass, Kelly was mesmerized by the intricacies of what was usually a simple drink. She was staring into its depths when presence prickled at the back of her neck. It wasn’t something she could describe if anyone asked her to, but she could feel someone’s power.

Kade’s hand touched her leg under the table in reassurance. She looked up to him for an explanation and caught sight of a man approaching out of the corner of her eye.

The man made his way to their table with a confident stride. He was dressed in what had to be an extremely expensive black suit, complete with a pocket square to match his platinum tie. He wasn’t tall or muscular; he looked like a normal, well-dressed businessman, but he somehow managed an extremely commanding presence.

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