Page 8 of Reine's Salvation

Chapter Four

Rein took a swig from his beer and stared at the bottles lined up on the shelves behind the bar. What the hell was he doing here? He should be home, in bed.

He snorted. Yeah, like he could sleep. When was the last time he’d slept a full eight hours? Better yet, when was the last time he’d slept anything more than four hours? Every night he would close his eyes and attempt to ignore the memories for a while, but eventually they would return.

He sighed and took another gulp. The bottle was empty, much like his life. When Leslie died, his life had taken a definite turn for the worse. Still, after she was gone, he attempted to honor her memory. He didn’t give into the overwhelming grief. He threw himself into his work. Every day he battled to save a human life, a life that could have been Leslie’s. Then, he lost his arm. For months he struggled to stay afloat. He thought he’d been doing all right, but clearly the Academy thought otherwise or they wouldn’t have sent him here.

Sadly, responsibility was too ingrained in him to stop him from working. He’d taken a few walks through the center of town. He’d seen nothing outlandish, just humans going about their business, from shopping to cooking, to dating, flirting, and fucking.

Reine waved at the waitress at the end of the bar to bring him another beer. This restaurant-bar, however, held an appeal which he found difficult to explain. Sure, the staff was friendly and the food good, but he was certain there were other places in town that matched it. Yet, every night men and women came intoLance’s Bar and Barbeque and filled the dark blue-booths and wooden stools.

Reine would sit quietly on one of those stools at the bar and observe them. In and out they came. At around eight on Monday and Wednesdays, the older ladies, led by Cassidy Jones, would come in to eat and gossip. Occasionally, they’d play tarot cards and chatter about how people’s lives and relationships were failing. Macy came in with her group of friends on Fridays. The girls, who looked to be in their mid-thirties, would sit at the booth nearest to the TV and complain loudly about how all men were jerks. The men, meanwhile, would ignore them and watch whatever game was being shown on the flat screen.

“Here you go, beer boy.”

Reine looked up at the waitress. Then there was her. He’d heard someone call her Misty once, but he found the name so odd, he figured he’d heard wrong. She was the life and soul of the place. She worked every other night, and he could almost swear the venue was more packed when she was around. Misty, or whatever her name was, took friendly to another level. She was on top of everything, speaking with customers, bringing out orders, and all the time smiling as if she were the happiest person on earth. She was good-looking, too, so seeing her prance around was more a pleasure than a hindrance.

Reine took a sip of his drink, aware she hadn’t left to tend to another customer.

“How about some peanuts?” she said while pulling over a small plate.

“Thanks.”

She nodded but kept staring at him. Every few seconds her mouth would open as if she wanted to speak, but then her tongue would dart out between her teeth to lick her bottom lip.

Reine set down his bottle and scowled at her. If her presence didn’t annoy him so much, he would find her gestures comical.

“What do you want? Don’t you have other customers to take care of?”

Why wasn’t she leaving? He had to admit one of the things he liked about coming here was that so far no one had bothered him. He’d sat here every other night and no one had asked him his name or had come to chit chat with him. Sure, he’d gotten a few curious glances, but he’d solved them with a quick glare.

“I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mystique.” She laughed, the sound more a nervous chuckle than anything remotely pleasant to hear.

“You’re fucking kidding me.” Reine drank deeply, without losing sight of her. Her ponytail bobbed up and down as she nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s the reaction I usually get. What’s your name? I mean, well, you’ve been coming for some days now—”

“Mysti!” Someone shouted her name from the other end of the bar.

“Coming.” She waved at the customer and then turned to look at him again.

“I’ll—”

Reine quirked his eyebrows.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, sounding breathless.

“Please, no need to return any time soon,” Reine called after her. She laughed and hurried to the other client. Reine shook his head. He watched her tend to a few more clients. She was too nice to everyone, too happy. How could someone live life with that attitude? She leaned over a table and he caught himself staring at the curve of her ass. Reine tapped the bar countertop with his fingers. This was new. When had he last appreciated a woman’s figure?

He kept his gaze trained on her as she helped out around the restaurant. Her hips swayed almost hypnotically as she walked around the place, as comfortable as a ballet dancer on a stage. The black jeans she wore hugged and accented her curves. Reine licked his lips, and his cock twitched. He had to stop ogling her or she’d think he was interested and she’d be back.

Mystique stopped to speak to a guy named Sam. He would come in here with his boys almost every day. They’d play a game of darts or watch the TV. Occasionally, they’d order food, but most of the time, they just drank and acted like loud, obnoxious children.

Reine watched as Mystique reached over the table to pick up some dishes and the back of her t-shirt lifted slightly, revealing pale flesh. Damn. A sweat broke out on Reine’s brow. What was it with him tonight? It was just a little bit of skin. He ran his fingers through his hair. When was the last time he’d had sex? Maybe that was the problem. It had been way too long. He thought about what Max had told him a few weeks earlier. Maybe it was time to move on. Leslie would understand. Mystique bounced by him and he groaned silently as the idea of restraining her on his bed jumped to his mind. With her boundless energy, she’d strain the ropes while he tormented her with orgasm after orgasm. His cock swelled. Fuck. Reine took a sip of his drink. He needed to calm down. He tore his gaze away from Mystique, and that’s when he saw it.

The shadow of the Inferum appeared from seemingly out of nowhere. It crawled forth through the room, invisible by all except him. It was small, barely another shadow in the room. No one would see him. No one would even sense him. The creature’s sunken eyes searched the room looking for a victim. Its webbed feet moved noiselessly across the restaurant. Finally, it found its target. Its sunken eyes glowed as it rushed forward toward Sam. Reine wanted to cry out, but there was nothing he could do. He was powerless to fight the Inferum at that moment. He was in disguise in the human plane. He had no wings and no weapons to draw. He was just one more human.

Almost as if it had sensed its presence, the horrific creature looked at Reine and bared its teeth. Reine ground his teeth together. The Inferum provoked him. The creature looked toward Mystique and smiled. Blind fury slammed against Reine. Not her. He jumped to his feet. Sins and Hell, he would run the creature through with his sword. He would make sure it never hurt anyone.

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