Page 166 of Shadowblood Souls
We walk over with a casual air that Andreas doesn’t even need to remind Jacob to maintain. The kids don’t glance our way until we veer off the sidewalk into the courtyard.
They pause, eyeing us, and the fat beetle they were prodding trundles away.
Andreas slings his hands in the pockets of his slacks and aims a warm smile at the two of them. “We’re a little lost and were hoping you might be able to help. Any idea where we could find a man by the name of Rollick?”
“He owns a hotel around here, we heard,” I put in.
The boy’s face pales. He flings himself away from us so fast I don’t have time to react, and then he’s vanished by the hedge.
The girl scrambles up too, but there’s a flicker of curiosity in her expression that stops her from outright fleeing.
“Please,” I say, taking another step toward her. “We won’t bother you any more than this.”
Her gaze darts over me, and she hugs herself. “Beach Bliss,” she spits out, and takes off in the same direction her partner went.
Jacob prowls after them with a huff of frustration, but Andreas already has his phone out. His thumb whips over the keypad, and a wider grin curves his lips.
“Beach Bliss Hotel and Nightclub,” he says, raising his head. “It’s just a twenty-minute drive from here.”
On the outside, the Beach Bliss Hotel fits perfectly with the other hotels along the prominent beachfront strip where it’s located. All white-washed walls and sleek modern styling, it stands a little taller than its nearest neighbors, though hardly a skyscraper at ten stories.
Its street-facing front glows with scarlet neon in the dwindling daylight. I can’t help thinking that color choice seems a little ominous compared to the pinks and blues on either side.
Even from across the street, my ears catch the pulsing of rhythmic music from the nightclub section that fills one half of the first two floors. More vivid lights flash through the otherwise dark windows.
It might be early in the evening, but the party appears to be in full swing already.
In the short while we’ve been watching, we haven’t seen anyone go in except for a few obvious travelers dragging wheeled suitcases. Either the club-goers are all hotel guests who’ve already checked in, or there’s an outer entrance beyond our view, maybe on the beach side.
“So…” Zian says with a doubtful expression. “We just walk right into the place?”
Jacob draws his already rigid frame up a little straighter. “Walk in, look for anyone monster-y, ask them how we’d speak to Rollick. Simple enough.”
He glances at Dominic, who’s still in the car, eyeing the hotel through one of the open car windows.
“I’m coming too,” Dominic says. “I shouldn’t be too noticeable in the club lighting.”
He gets out, the sleeves of his trench coat rolled past his elbows to allow him more relief from the heat. The air is just starting to cool as the sun sinks out of view.
We set off across the street and skirt the side of the hotel, picking up our pace when we spot a trickle of patrons heading into the building from a patio around back. Just in that first glimpse, the quiver of supernatural awareness wriggles through me.
I don’t have time to figure out which of the figures triggered the sensation before they’ve stepped out of view. Thankfully, it looks like the club dress code is awfully loose—there’s a woman going in with just a sarong over her bikini and sandaled feet, and a couple of men in khaki shorts and tees.
My tank top and cargos should blend in just fine.
It doesn’t appear that security is particularly tight. No one is vetting people right at the door, although I do spot a couple of big dudes in professional-looking uniforms standing off to the sides just past the doors.
Because it’s early, the dance floor is only about half full, and most of those people are simply talking in clusters and maybe bobbing a little with the rhythm rather than outright dancing. I have to suppress the spring that wants to come into my step at the emphatic melody winding around me.
We’re not here to dance. We have a mission—one that’s all our own.
My gaze skims over the drifting groups, and my feet stall beneath me. Zian jerks to a halt too.
Inside… this place doesn’t look normal at all. The quivers hitting me are melding together into an electric shock.
At least a third of the people I glance at set off that reaction in me. It might be closer to half.
The whole club is packed with monsters.
