Page 6 of Under Dark Skies

The back stairs that led to his office were a soft, velvet red. He could see them from where he stood at the bar, and they flashed bright in a wash of a silhouette every few seconds. Sol often came down from his perch at the beginning of the night to survey the scene. Rafe hoped he was right on time.

As he ordered his second whiskey neat, Rafe watched a large, beckoning frame descend the stairs. Security beside him was just as big, but Sol had an arrogance about him that was difficult to miss. He walked toward the bar, his hefty entourage trailing behind him.

Rafe took his opportunity.

“It’s been a whole Sol.”

Sol had been walking past Rafe when he had perked up from hunching over the bar. His security team literally flexed their muscles, turning to scowl at him. When their eyes met, his face shone with recognition. He laughed, then waved his cronies away.

Rafe pretended to be more in the bag when he was actually sober. It took a lot for him to get severely intoxicated—he was over 100 years old, and had a high tolerance—and of course, would never drink too much while he was on the job.

“It’s been a while indeed, old chum.” Sol smacked him on the back, then ordered a whiskey of his own.

“Say, over a few decades or so?” Rafe raised his glass and grinned. He was older than Sol, and had always felt a severe jealousy seeping from his aura due to this fact. It prevented them from ever actually forming any kind of bond.

“Who's to say?” Sol takes a large gulp from his whiskey. Rafe guesses he has a high tolerance too.

“So what brings you to my glorious abode tonight young Rafe?”

Rafe shrugged, stared into his glass like it was an abyss.

“I’m thinking about change. Things honestly stay the same too much. Maybe a change is as good as a rest.”

Sol nodded, and didn’t say anything. Rafe continued his monologue uninterrupted.

“Humans think its interesting to live this long. The truth is, you just end up seeing the same thing over and over again. Do you believe that?”

Sol twirled his whiskey in his glass. He too stared into the abyss of his own thoughts.

“I think change is a good thing. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.”

Rafe sighed. “I’m getting a little tired of these old dogs at the council. When you get older, you don’t really change. You just maintain the same old version of ‘order’ and expect everyone to follow suit.”

Sol smiled, then shot his whiskey back. Rafe hoped that would spill some truth out of him.

“I share similar sentiments. What makes you bring them up?”

Rafe shrugged again, doing his best to look lost and forlorn.

“Humans are fucked up. Everything that I’ve seen from my investigations points to that eternal truth. I don’t really know what I believe anymore. They used to fight amongst themselves. Now they seem to fight us.”

Sol drummed his fingers on the bar. He took a small card from his jacket pocket, straining the fabric with his biceps. He placed it down in front of Rafe. “I’m a bit busy tonight, but I’m thinking you should give me a call and we can discuss this further.”

He clapped him on the back once more, then leaned in close to whisper. “Change is coming my man. Change is coming.”

Sol walked away with a wide grin to the vibration of the music. His security followed, keeping their eyes on Rafe until he was out of eyesight.

Rafe decided to shoot back one more glass of whiskey. He felt uneasy, but more than comfortable deciding to send Griffen a message to personally warn him.

Seven

Layla

Layla decided to go home instead of to the hideout that Rafe had suggested. She figured that if she suddenly changed her routine, whoever was watching her would know that something was up. Whether it be PEACE or the Lycan Legacy, it wouldn’t matter—she’d be fucked either way.

So after barely sleeping, she got up for work. It was the closing shift, which she wasn’t nuts about, but at least it gave her something else to focus on. She enjoyed being with her friends, she enjoyed her job.—it really wasn’t hard at all.

But when she got there she found herself stuck in her mind, like she was writhing around in a big glass orb while everyone else moved around her.

---