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Authors: E.J. Stevens
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time that I’d participated
wholeheartedly. But my passion for inflicting pain and fear had burned out
many centuries ago. Now, as I sensed the suffering perpetrated in the
adjoining rooms, I had the urge to be sick. I brought a handkerchief to my
face, recoiling at the stench of blood, excrement, and offal.
With the details plucked from my magical surveillance, and
my observations from the adjoining club, Puck’s newest business enterprise
became immediately clear. He’d used his position running the nightclub to gain
access to the storage rooms and cellars and had converted this space into a
vile den of iniquity. He’d created a bordello for vampires and other depraved creatures
whose tastes ran toward tormenting their prey before they feasted.
I was somewhat surprised to find that I was appalled by the
very idea. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Jinx was not so very different
from the humans who lay drugged, tortured, bleeding, or dead in the rooms beyond.
In fact, Puck had tried to drug Jinx this very night.
That mistake would lead to the trickster’s downfall; Puck
was going to pay dearly. I gripped my walking stick in a white knuckled fist,
my ungloved hand leaving scorch marks on the polished wood.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of
burnt wood and blood, and turned my attention to the energy of the ley lines
that converged all around me. Club Nexus was located at a magical nexus point
where powerful ley lines intersected, a fact I now found fortuitous.
I reached out and plucked at the humming threads
close-at-hand and smiled. These would do nicely. I latched onto two ley lines
with my will and gasped as the energy jolted into my body. The experience was
akin to biting down on a live wire while climaxing; it was not something a corporeal
body, even that of a demon, was meant to withstand for any length of time. I
drew in a considerable dose of power and, with a panting sigh, let go of the
line.
I opened my eyes, unsurprised to see flickers of crimson
flame dance along my fingers and up and down my sword cane. I’d drawn heavily
on the ley lines, becoming a conduit of immense power. Now that power needed a
place to go.
My hand tightened on the cane and I welcomed the heat rising
within me. Puck had chosen the wrong mortal woman to snare in his tangled
web. I lifted my chin high, thrust out my chest, and strode into the room
beyond.
The room was dimly lit, but I could see that the vampire had
continued on into an adjoining room where, judging by the screams and
whimpering, he was enjoying himself immensely. I shifted my focus to the one
man who remained in the room. The vampire, and those like him, would be dealt
with, but first, I would devote myself to protecting Jinx by learning the
complete nature of Puck’s filthy game. I grinned, and a lick of fire and the
hum of barely contained energy danced along my lips.
The source of my fury was standing dead ahead.
“Ah, Puck,” I said, raising an eyebrow as I made a show of
taking in my surroundings. “I thought you might be up to your old tricks. Catering
to the bloodsuckers now, I see.”
“Everyone has needs,” Puck said with a shrug. The faerie
smiled wide, but no sign of levity reached his calculating eyes. “And the
undead have deep pockets. You can’t blame a guy for trying to make a living.”
I lifted a handkerchief to my nose and grimaced, maintaining
my grip on the sword cane with my right hand. A weak, rattling, whimper rose
from a nearby room and I hurried on. Vampires could move quickly and it
sounded as if the Southern vamp was not a man of restraint.
If I didn’t finish my business with Puck swiftly, the human
source of those cries would be beyond my ability to render assistance. My mind
conjured the image of a vampire sinking his fangs into pale skin decorated by a
familiar rose tattoo, the phantom likeness juxtaposed with the soundtrack of
wholeheartedly. But my passion for inflicting pain and fear had burned out
many centuries ago. Now, as I sensed the suffering perpetrated in the
adjoining rooms, I had the urge to be sick. I brought a handkerchief to my
face, recoiling at the stench of blood, excrement, and offal.
With the details plucked from my magical surveillance, and
my observations from the adjoining club, Puck’s newest business enterprise
became immediately clear. He’d used his position running the nightclub to gain
access to the storage rooms and cellars and had converted this space into a
vile den of iniquity. He’d created a bordello for vampires and other depraved creatures
whose tastes ran toward tormenting their prey before they feasted.
I was somewhat surprised to find that I was appalled by the
very idea. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Jinx was not so very different
from the humans who lay drugged, tortured, bleeding, or dead in the rooms beyond.
In fact, Puck had tried to drug Jinx this very night.
That mistake would lead to the trickster’s downfall; Puck
was going to pay dearly. I gripped my walking stick in a white knuckled fist,
my ungloved hand leaving scorch marks on the polished wood.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of
burnt wood and blood, and turned my attention to the energy of the ley lines
that converged all around me. Club Nexus was located at a magical nexus point
where powerful ley lines intersected, a fact I now found fortuitous.
I reached out and plucked at the humming threads
close-at-hand and smiled. These would do nicely. I latched onto two ley lines
with my will and gasped as the energy jolted into my body. The experience was
akin to biting down on a live wire while climaxing; it was not something a corporeal
body, even that of a demon, was meant to withstand for any length of time. I
drew in a considerable dose of power and, with a panting sigh, let go of the
line.
I opened my eyes, unsurprised to see flickers of crimson
flame dance along my fingers and up and down my sword cane. I’d drawn heavily
on the ley lines, becoming a conduit of immense power. Now that power needed a
place to go.
My hand tightened on the cane and I welcomed the heat rising
within me. Puck had chosen the wrong mortal woman to snare in his tangled
web. I lifted my chin high, thrust out my chest, and strode into the room
beyond.
The room was dimly lit, but I could see that the vampire had
continued on into an adjoining room where, judging by the screams and
whimpering, he was enjoying himself immensely. I shifted my focus to the one
man who remained in the room. The vampire, and those like him, would be dealt
with, but first, I would devote myself to protecting Jinx by learning the
complete nature of Puck’s filthy game. I grinned, and a lick of fire and the
hum of barely contained energy danced along my lips.
The source of my fury was standing dead ahead.
“Ah, Puck,” I said, raising an eyebrow as I made a show of
taking in my surroundings. “I thought you might be up to your old tricks. Catering
to the bloodsuckers now, I see.”
“Everyone has needs,” Puck said with a shrug. The faerie
smiled wide, but no sign of levity reached his calculating eyes. “And the
undead have deep pockets. You can’t blame a guy for trying to make a living.”
I lifted a handkerchief to my nose and grimaced, maintaining
my grip on the sword cane with my right hand. A weak, rattling, whimper rose
from a nearby room and I hurried on. Vampires could move quickly and it
sounded as if the Southern vamp was not a man of restraint.
If I didn’t finish my business with Puck swiftly, the human
source of those cries would be beyond my ability to render assistance. My mind
conjured the image of a vampire sinking his fangs into pale skin decorated by a
familiar rose tattoo, the phantom likeness juxtaposed with the soundtrack of
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