Page 4 of Sin and Salvation

I scowled as they looked away again, stifling their giggles. Well, fuck them and their pretty sequined mini-dresses. I hadn’t exactly had time to dress for a flight on foot across Concordia.

My escape had only been made possible by that one small window of opportunity. After three years of keeping me in his tender ‘care’, Maxime had finally slipped up and left me alone near an egress.

The line moved both slow as a snail and too fast for my liking. Soon enough, the pretty demons had been admitted to Club Onyx, and the bouncer was looming in front of me.

He looked me over from top to toe, crossing his arms over his chest. He wore nothing under his black leather vest, and the wordsBLOOD IN, BLOOD OUTwere tattooed across his stomach in black gothic lettering.

“You here to mop the floors?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t remember hiring a cleaning lady.”

I managed to look up long enough to take in the fact that someone had drilled a hole through one of his horns, and he wore a massive silver hoop through it.

“I’m not… I’m here to see Crow.” I dropped my gaze again, praying he didn’t see my bare feet.

“What do you think Crow wants to do with you?” he asked, snorting with derision. “You want in, go make yourself presentable. The Prez comes here to see pretty pussy, not whatever this shit is.”

He gestured, making it clear that all of me was the shit he referred to. Shame burned high on my cheeks.

“Please, it’s important.” I paused, debating how much to tell him.

Telling them I belonged to Maxime could go one of two ways. Either I’d be a valuable informant…

Or I’d find myself on a trip to Lake Calleis with a brick tied around my ankle.

The bouncer sighed, interrupting my thoughts. “Look, girl, this isn’t acceptable for Club Onyx. Not while the Prez is in. Come back tomorrow night all cleaned up, and we’ll see.”

I opened my mouth to speak, then swallowed and nodded. A thick lump had formed in my throat.

This had been a stupid plan. I hadn’t accounted for the fact that I’d have to jump through a window, abandon my shoes, and run for miles in the rain on bare feet before coming here.

It hadn’t occurred to me at all that I might get turned away.

I raised a hand to pull my hood back up, which had slipped as I turned away, and the bouncer suddenly frowned. “Hey, wait a minute.”

A tiny spurt of hope fluttered in my heart. “Yes?” I tried not to sound too eager.

“Take your hood off. Let’s see that face.”

My hope was replaced with unease, but the bouncer’s scowl wasn’t so harsh anymore. Maybe… just maybe there was a chance.

I exhaled, and pulled my hood back to reveal the little white horns all succubi possessed. My hair was a mess, which wasn’t likely to endear me to him.

But an unreadable expression flashed in the bouncer’s eyes as he stared at me, and his lips twisted. “All right. You can go in. You’re cute enough, I guess.”

I stared at him, and he shifted in place. “Well? You want in or not?”

I nodded mutely, and he pushed open one of the doors for me.

Another blast of bass music roared out, and I managed to squeak out the tiniest, “Thanks,” before I slipped inside.

The music enveloped me, and for a moment, I felt like there was a chance everything would turn out okay. I’d made it in, and that was what mattered.

But from the crush of bodies, all of them glittering, oiled, perfect, I knew I needed to fix myself before I went looking for my quarry.

The ladies’ bathroom was close to the doors, and I locked the door behind me. The walls were mirrored, and I stood over the cracked porcelain sink and took in my appearance.

I finger-combed my hair back into place as best I could, wiped at the some of the eyeliner smudged down my cheeks by the rain, and wet a napkin to run over my feet until they were acceptably clean. I couldn’t do much about the shoe situation, so this would have to work.

“You can do this, Venus,” I told myself, meeting my own eyes in the mirror. They were a brilliant aquamarine, and one of my best features.

---