Cataclysm (21 page)

Athen looked over at me, his eyes blazing with intensity, as I scanned the dance floor, watching the bodies writhe to the pulse of the dance music. Under normal circumstances, I probably would’ve enjoyed being here with Athen, but this underlying sense of darkness changes everything. Opening my mind up to all three of them, I let the conversation flow.

“
Under normal circumstances, I think I’d like this place
,” I floated my words out to Athen, Cyril, and Arie doing my best to grin as the words hit their psyche.

“
Oh, yeah?”
Athen tossed back.
“Let’s see about that!”

And before I knew it, he lifted me out of the booth and spun us to the dance floor with LMFAO blaring throughout the club.

“
Gotta look like we’re into it. You know
?” His eyes glimmering as he placed those thoughts for only me to hear.
“One thing I didn’t want to ask back at home, but judging by what this place is crawling with is...”

Stopping him, I put my finger to his lips and smiled. I grabbed his hand and wrapped my fingers around his, leading them to one of the places I hid my knives.

“
I’m pretty creative,”
I channeled to him. I let his fingers gently touch my thigh, before whisking his hand away.
“Garters do wonders.”
A smile spread across his lips. He reached down and slowly began kissing me. With every kiss, the energy between us began growing more intense. The softness of his lips began the intoxicating effect that I couldn’t afford to indulge in, not here.

“Athen, I don’t think I can handle anymore,” I spoke into his ear. I thought the spoken word might have more impact. “I’ve got to stay focused. We’ve got to stay focused.”

His lips moved closer to my ear. I expected words but got nothing except his lips gracing my flesh once more, creating a tingle that ran through me.

“No matter what we’re facing, we need to remind each other of what we are fighting for. Don’t you agree? You and I both know you could handle this place in your sleep.” Athen said, backing up and taking in every inch of me with his eyes. The desire he was creating within me was almost uncontrollable. It wasn’t distracting me any longer. Rather, it made me stronger.

I no longer felt embarrassed, I felt empowered. We were in the middle of a dance floor surrounded by the newly-turned and mortals, and there was no longer a drop of fear in me. Love was my endless arsenal that would get us through anything.

“Never mind that,” I laughed, feeling the confidence pulsing through my veins. “Let’s not jinx it! Now get back over to me and dance. We don’t have much time before we have to get started.”

He pulled me towards him once more, and our bodies moved to the rhythm of the music. Having his body so close to mine was my own personal sanctuary. Placing my head on his shoulder, I breathed in his whole being, and I wanted more. Closing my eyes, I felt his lips against mine, and I wished tonight wasn’t going to end with the mission we set forth. I yearned for a time when we could do what normal couples get to do.

His kisses were more forceful, and I knew the weight of the evening weighed heavily on him too. Holding him tightly, I felt his fingers run up and down my spine. We were the only people on the floor who weren’t jumping up and down, but I didn’t care. I wanted to be held by him in this very moment. There was no telling how quickly these things could change, and we wouldn’t get the opportunity again.

As the music switched to the next song, Athen released me from his embrace. I knew now was the time. I looked back over at Arie, who was snuggled up to Cyril in the booth, probably thinking the same thing as I. We had to steal our affections when we could, no matter the place.

We made our way through the crowds of mortal and immortals, dancing as one. The poor humans having no idea what they were dancing up against. Every once in a while, I’d accidentally step on someone’s foot or try my best at dodging a group of clubbers dancing.

“
Almost there…”
Arie reverted back to channeling.

I didn’t blame her. This place was deafening.

“
Thank God,”
I replied back to her.
“So you’ll still go in first, and I’ll keep check out here?”

“
Yep, let’s stick with that and then we’ll switch.”
She still seemed confident in this plan, and if I stuck to what I learned back on the farm with the mass turning, I should be fine too.

I followed her down a hallway that was painted black and had only one light fixture at the very end. There wasn’t a line, so that was promising. I had visions of myself trying to keep lines of people out of the bathroom. Some girls appeared behind me, giggling away. I could feel their emptiness. There was no soul to be found. They had to be newly-turned. The anxiety all of sudden started to creep up on me. I hoped our plan, to try to turn them here, was going to work. Glancing behind me, I saw their vacant eyes staring right back at me. They were definitely new and positively weak. Arie should have no problem.

As the demons followed behind us to the women’s bathroom, we all piled into the pitifully small space. It was one of the few places that didn’t have the brain juggling noise echoing through it from the pound of the music. I almost wished I could stay in here the rest of the night.

“Oh, shoot! I forgot my purse,” I sighed, catching Arie’s stare. Our plan seemed almost too easy. “I’ll be right back.”

I headed out the door to barricade it for Arie. It should only take her a couple of minutes to complete what needed to be done.

Standing alone in the hall, I listened intently, hoping to catch some sort of clue to how our first attempt might end. Arie’s mind was completely silent, and I heard nothing. I started to get butterflies as each second ticked by. Leaning against the wall next to the door, I heard another group of demons giggling. Looking up, I saw the three of them coming towards me. I hoped I would be able to keep them out of the bathroom just long enough.

“I hate waiting in lines!” one of the demon girls whined. She had light brown hair, tight leggings and a top with more holes in it than fabric. She looked pretty wobbly.

“I’m sure it will only be a sec.” I smiled. “There’s some crazy stuff going on in there anyway. You don’t want a part of it. I’m sure.”

“Oooh, sounds like fun!” The other brunette squealed. She looked about as vacant as her counterpart, but she was in a dress and could, at least, stand upright.

Trying hard not to roll my eyes, I just smiled and hoped Arie would be finished quickly.

The door jiggled and sprung wide open, with Arie in the middle of the two girls as they leaned on her. Arie’s eyes were huge with victory and shimmering even in the dark light. It was hard for me to hold back my smile, as she moved by me. Athen came charging down the hall, moving the girls to our booth while they completed the change.

Their skin already began to cast a different glow. Their process was far from being complete, but at least, we were well on our way. With the club’s revolving doors, we’d have a fresh supply all night. We became the predators and Azazel’s newly-turned demons, the prey.

“I’m gonna go prop open the back door, and once we see them start to come in, we’ll take off,” she said, jumping out of the booth, she marched down the hallway where the back entrance was located.

Looking at Athen, I recognized an excitement running through him. As he glanced from one being to the next, I could tell he was eager to see how the white demons would make their entrance. There was a mini battalion of them just waiting for the word.

In an instant, I saw a green glow bouncing down the hall towards us. They were three in a row, as they strolled towards the dance floor. There was an intensity surrounding them that I recognized. It was the same as when we were back on the La Connor property. Cyril signaled one of the white demons and pointed to the newly-turned, white demons who we left at our table so that they could be taken care of.

The goal was to slip as many of the dark demons out the back as possible, without alerting the mortals to anything too odd. The darkness of the club with the lasers bouncing everywhere already provided a sense of chaos, so hopefully the process would be smooth.

The white demons in front of us, grabbed two female minions who blended in so well, I could’ve missed them myself. They whisked them through the crowd of white demons who continued to enter in. An enthusiasm began to explode inside of me, as I saw the ease with which these changes were happening.

One dark demon after the other was being hauled out of the club, not even making a disruption. I was in complete awe at the ease of everything, which was being executed. We were going to be ready for this next battle.

Reaching the door felt like a victory in itself. The fresh air landed on my skin, at the same moment, that I began hearing the shrieks and screams of the minions, off in the distance, who were about to meet their new destiny.

Watching our troops walk into a hot bed of activity in the club last night was invigorating, but it was also frightening. This thing was real. The main fight was almost here. We all knew it, and we all had things we needed to do before we buckled down. The club invasion was a success. Many were turned, but I needed a reminder, a gentle mortal reminder, to keep me energized and engaged with the mortals who mattered.

Athen had gone to visit with Tom and Becky to clear up some loose ends, and I decided I wanted to try to escape a little. Cyril and Arie dropped me off at a Farmer’s Market in Seattle, while they want off to check out a local art exhibit.

The street had been barricaded and taken over by the liveliness of local vendors’ displays, with customers scurrying through. The many colorful canopies, spread along the street in neat little rows, was quite a wondrous sight. The season’s last harvests were displayed beautifully for all to see. The brilliantly colored orange carrots, beets carrying the deepest of burgundies, and rainbow chard begging to be cooked were spread everywhere. The flower vendors had their best dahlias in vivid reds, oranges, and purples waiting to be purchased.

The parents pushed their children around in strollers or chased them away from the candy vendors, while couples delicately placed samples out for the other to try. The community spirit was exactly what I needed after last night. These reminders, of what we were fighting for, did wonders for my soul.

Making my way to the end of the street, I happened to see a group of men hassling a woman across the block. I called out to the woman, who yelled back for help. I scooted through the barricades and attempted to follow where I saw the woman being taken by the group. My heart was racing, and I hoped I wasn’t too late.

Making my way down the street, I turned down an alley where I saw the woman last. My heart dropped, as I realized it was a trick. These were demons, and I fell right into their hands. I instantly opened up my mind, hoping to channel for help to Arie and Cyril, but it might be no use.

My body was being pulled and dragged in several different directions. A door scraped open, as they pushed me into a dark building. Silence was all I heard, until the words that crushed my spirit reached me.

“Ha! Azazel and Lilith were so right! You will look perfect shackled by your wrists and ankles! Don’t you think, Renny?” The chilling statement brought fire to my world.

“Yeah, he was totally right. Her wrists are nice and dainty. Hope they don’t get too scarred up from the tightness of the metal,” another demon said.

The anger was spreading. I knew I was outnumbered, but this was not how I wanted to end things. Not before I had a chance to take out the major players.

The harshness of the cement on my cheek, as my body was scraped across it, spread a pain like no other. The flesh wound wasn’t the source of my agony. It was the thought that I might not be able to fight another day. It seemed like my world was in slow motion, as my body crashed against the cinderblock wall from them tossing me across the room. My fingers grasped for anything to help pull myself up. My fingernails dug their way into the concrete material, as I felt the demons begin the circle around me.

I could feel the blood trickling down my neck, but I couldn’t let it become a distraction, like I couldn’t let the pain of my fingernails separating from my flesh bother me either.

The cackling began from the onlookers. My breath was no longer my own. I was fuming and no longer myself. If I was going to go down, it wouldn’t be without a fight. One of the demons jumped onto the table next to me, his dark eyes peering down at me.