Page 26 of Because the Night

“Monica?” I angle my head to put myself in her line of sight. Not sure if screwing up my face and thinking hard enough to give myself a headache is necessary. But she does pause and stare back at me. “Go have a good night.”

“What?”

“Really push,” murmurs Henry. “Like I said…it’s not easy. Most of us don’t get this down for a decade or more. Push, Skye.”

“I am trying,” I say.

Her gaze shifts to Henry before returning to me. The woman’s smile is definitely bemused. “What’s going on?”

“Keep your eyes on me.”

“Okay.”

It’s like I imagine a link between us. My thoughts in her mind. My will taking over her. Which is a beyond gross idea if you think about it. But here we are. I push and focus, and it’s as if the world quiets around us. Something that might be down to my concentrating so hard. However, the temporary stillness feels a little like when I hear a word. I choose to take it as a positive sign. “Go have a good night, Monica.”

“You want me to go?” she asks uncertainly.

“Do what you like. Have fun. Take care of yourself, okay?”

A hesitant smile fills her face, then she jumps up and heads back to the bar. This time stopping next to a curvaceous Black woman with piercings and a shaved head. Hand in hand, they soon leave together.

Henry rolls his eyes. “All of the things we can do. The complete control we can wield over their tiny, dull little lives. And you tell her to go be merry and stay hydrated.”

“Do no harm, dude.”

“Sister. Oh my God. We’re apex predators. I am not sure if you actually had her, or she just liked the idea of taking the rest of the night off. Probably the latter.”

“We can’t tell if it’s happening?”

“No. It’s a subtle skill. You get to recognize the feel of doing it yourself when the connection is made. But apart from the blank stare on their faces, there’s no way of telling if a human is being compelled by another,” he explains. “Which is a definite downside to that little trick. Never mind. As Father has a habit of saying, practice makes perfect.”

“Right.”

He rises to his feet. “Back in a moment.”

As soon as Henry is gone, an athletic-looking man in jeans and a fitted button-down shirt sidles on over. He’s handsome, with tanned skin and a wide, white smile. In his mid-thirties at a guess.

“I don’t have any good come-on lines,” he says. “But can I join you anyway?”

I laugh. “Sure. Why not?”

“Come here often?” he asks with a comedic wince.

“Ooh. Now that’s a classic. And the answer is no. This is my first time.”

“I’m Aiden.”

“Skye.”

“Skye,” he repeats with a flirty smile. “Good to meet you. How do you like the place?”

“It’s great.”

And this is all so bizarre, a man like this one making eyes at me. Having the vampire benefits feels like cheating. Though, it’snot like I asked for them. Henry may have had a point. I need to loosen up and learn to have a little fun. It’s either that, or stay home and read books for eternity. Which actually doesn’t sound that bad, now that I come to think of it. But back to the here and now. I like having a pretty man smile at me.

“I own it.” He nods to the nightclub at large. “We just opened a few months back.”

“Really?”

---