I heard the sound of laughter and talking, drunken slurs and fumbled footsteps. I could see the area we were headed to, and it was the complete opposite of Beetee’s quaint little hostel. The pathway we were on morphed from stone to brick, gray smokey mist and red lights danced and played along the ground. The laughing got louder, and the rhythmic beat of club music thundered into my ears. It wasn’t loud enough for me to be bothered by it, but it was there. The sound of breaking glass caused me and Reese to turn our heads, trying to locate where the sound came from.
It smelled like smoke with hints of jasmine in the air. The smells seemed to linger around even with no wind in sight. The smoke would come and go in puffs that burned my lungs, but the jasmine gave this misleading sense of comfort as if tempting you to delve deeper, forget your troubles and justremain.
“Don’t mind that. If you acknowledge every fucking sound here, we’ll never get anywhere. Just act natural, if that’s even possible for you,” Elise informed, grabbing both our arms, and pulling us away from where we were frozen in place.
I looked from my left and right, noticing that there were less trees here and more buildings. Each of them were close together and filled with people. Every single building was some version of a bar or tavern. Some were low key, not so flashy with tables littering the front and canopy umbrellas overlooking the tables. Others were much louder, and patrons were tumbling out, hanging off of each other as if it didn’t matter whether they had known each other forever or they’d just met.
“Welcome to Devil's Playground.” Elise lifted up her arm as if she was putting this place on full display.
“I’m sorry, is that…” Reese pointed to two females making out on the side of a building. They were deep into each other, and their hands had disappeared from our view, more than likely down each other’s skirts. When we passed, they didn’t pay us any mind, as if nothing else mattered.
Dani laughed. “If you are shocked by that, maybe you should have stayed behind.”
“I’m not shocked. I can handle a little public display of affection. I just wasn’t aware it was going to be so…public.”
Dani and Elise looked at each other with amused expressions but didn’t say anything more. Dani looked so in her element, I was a little jealous of this place, seeing as it had her so comfortable. Her shoulders seemed to relax as she walked, that moment with Yuri and the hellhounds felt so far away right now. Even I had to admit, my dark thoughts were simmering, but they were throttled by a different feeling now that we had stepped into Devil’s Playground, an overwhelming feeling of unbridled desire.
I really needed to focus. I needed to—
“Watch it.” I heard someone say right as my shoulder hit something hard and I had to catch myself from falling backwards. I turned around to face a man about my height, with long dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail. He had a scar down the side of his face and his dark eyes seemed to glow with the way the lighting hit them. He had the temperament of a demon; it was something you just felt and once that feeling hit it didn’t go away. He had a cup in his hand that was empty, but then I took in his wet shirt and realized that the contents of his drink was now soaking through, causing the material to stick to him. It smelled like beer. His thick eyebrows turned down when he realized he had caught my attention. “You made me spill my drink. Youhave something to say, pretty boy?”
I narrowed my eyes, a little thrown off by the hostility. “Not really, since you ran intome.”
He stepped closer to me, getting in my face. “You made me waste a perfectly good drink, so I suggest you fix it.”
“I’m really not comprehending how I’m the problem here.”
The guy had a friend with him, a man with cropped dark hair, who stayed behind him, watching this unfold. The man in front of me pushed at my shoulder. “Ah, you don’t see a problem? Ha, Rio, pretty boy doesn’t see a problem.” He turned his head to acknowledge his friend.
His companion cracked his knuckles. “How about we make a problem, then huh.”
The one with long hair looked over my shoulder. “What are you staring at?” His tone was forceful.
“If I’m being honest, not much at all.” Demons or not, Reese always opened his fucking mouth. “You should be so lucky to be as pretty as he is.” I swiveled my head around and glared at him.
“The fuck did you just say?” Rio said, his eyes turning to angry slits.
“Nice move, Blondie,” Elise remarked.
I felt my arm being yanked forward, his fingers applying pressure to my skin, harder and harder as if he was trying to break my bones right then and there. “Your friend needs to watch his fucking mouth, or I’ll make sure that pretty face isn’t so pretty anymore.” He used his other hand to clamp his fingers under my jaw, pressing my cheeks into my face.
I used all my strength and pushed forward, shoving him off of me. I readjusted my shirt and looked over my shoulder where Reese had a confused expression on his face. We had been here two minutes and already this was turning into a bad idea.
Reese stood next to me. “Walk away, tough guy. Get yourself a new shirt.”
The man laughed a deep, menacing laugh. “How about I shut that mouth of yours, so you never speak again.” He barreled over to Reese, but Dani stepped in front of him. “How about you turn around and leave us the fuck alone.”
Her voice had a sweet venom in it, like she was trying to have composure, but it was cracking.
The guy looked down at her and chuckled. He wiped down his shirt. “Getting girls to fight your battles? Figures.”
Dani gave him a less than pleasant smile, turning around, while Elise gave them both her middle fingers and started walking again. I started tofollow them, but our new friends’ voices rang out again. This time what he said made my shoulders stiffen.
“You watch yourself next time I see you. You and your two whores.” He spit it out and laughed, like he had said the funniest thing in all the realms.
I turned on my heels, ready to throttle him to the ground, when something flew past me and instantly had him by the throat. He gurgled and choked with the grip she had on his neck.
“Such bad manners. We should really fix that.” Dani threw him to the ground as she flicked her eyes to me. Her brown irises were gone, her eyes now drowning in black. “It’s quite funny that you think whore is a word that would hurt me. So bold of you, yet so stupid.” Her black shadows came out of the ground and wrapped themselves around him, holding him in place.