Page 54 of Soros
They stared at me when I pushed the wooden leg from the bed into Hanna’s hands before moving on to the next leg. Once the second one was free, I moved one of the beds away and began banging the wood against the wall. The vibrations made the old paint on the ceiling crack and drizzle down, but I kept going.
“They’re going to hear us,” Hanna cried with fear in her tone.
That didn’t stop me from continuing to bang the wooden leg against the wall. Nothing seemed to happen, and so I worried there might be a supporting pillar. Moving a little to the left, I started in a new place.
“What if that wall is holding up the ceiling, and it collapses on top of us?” Veronika asked from behind me.
I kept banging until my arms hurt but the other girls were still too afraid to participate. Looking back at Star, I saw that she had returned to sitting as a statue on the bed with her eyes closed.
Afraid of interrupting her concentration, I didn’t ask if she had managed to create a connection to Nerix, but I sincerely hoped that was the case.
CHAPTER 20
Secrets
Soros
“We’ll need a search warrant or an invitation to get inside,” the detective driving the car told us as we hurried back to the night club. “Hopefully, we’ll get a search warrant in a few days. It seems you have friends in high places.”
“They will invite us inside,” Lios said without revealing that we intended to use mind clouding on whoever opened the door.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” the gray-haired detective in the passenger seat said, but none of us paid attention to him.
The moment we got back to the night club, I banged on the metal doors. The same guy with the rotten attitude opened.
“I already told you that I don’t have time for this shit. Do you have a warrant?”
Looking into his eyes, I let my voice soothe him while enveloping him in a feeling of friendship. “It’s good to see you again. Wouldn’t you like to invite us inside and show us around?”
His face softened and he smiled a little, revealing that he lacked a few teeth in the back of his mouth. “Where are my manners? Of course.” Stepping back, he opened the door wide. “Come in.”
I walked in with Nerix and Lios but as the detectives tried to follow, the bouncer shut the door in their faces. It didn’t bother me as we didn’t need them to interfere.
“What is your name?” Lios asked the man.
“Carlos.”
“What happened to you? Did you get hurt?” Lios asked him. Only then did I notice tiny bloodstains on Carlos’ neck.
“No. Why do you ask?” He avoided looking at us.
“I see blood on your skin.”
Dry washing his hands, Carlos ignored the comment. “Let me show you the club. It’s not very glamorous but our clientele likes it rough. We are known to attract an audience who enjoys underground bands. We cover rock from the softer bands to heavy metal. This is the bar area and over there you have the stage. It’s not big, but hey…” He shrugged. “It works.”
“Are you alone here?” I asked and looked around.
“More or less. We’ve had a change of management today and the new boss is talking to the staff in the back.”
“Do you like your new boss?” I asked and noticed how he flinched a little.
“Sure. He’s… ehh… a man of action, which is probably good for business.”
“Tell us about your business,” Lios said. “Is it only drinks and music?” Giving Carlos a warm smile, he added, “You can tell us every secret you have.”
“Well.” Rocking back on his heels, Carlos explained, “I actually never told anyone that I used to wet my bed until I was thirteen. Also, I tell the guys that I need to wear an XL condom, but in reality, I’m below average in size. And if I’m honest, I don’t like heavy metal that much. I would never tell the others this, but when I’m alone in my car I prefer to listen to country music and pop.” Carlos scratched his neck and exclaimed, “I’m not sure why I told you that.”
“Your secrets are safe with us. Now, tell us about this place. What secrets do you know?”
