AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After a shower and fresh change of clothes, I head to my next engagement. The Midnight Society is hosting a social hour mixer at the Winchester. Attendance isn’t mandatory; however, since Lyra’s been avoiding me the past two nights, I’ve decided to go. I have one purpose in mind.
It’s time I draw a line in the sand. The Owner needs to know Lyra will not be dying.
The event has long since started by the time I arrive. Many of the vapid dregs I detest most are in the middle of sipping their martinis and chatting away about whatever inane topics come to mind.
I spy Mr. Newton and Mr. Kimura sneaking off with the girls they have rented from the Midnight Society’s Market. The girls twitter like birds as they’re led away in their skimpy dresses and lacy black masks. It’s the start of what will likely be an orgy long into the night.
Nolan and Klein flag me down from where they hover by the bar. They’re polar opposites in how they greet me. Nolan wears his usual pompous grin. Klein appears to have smelled something repugnant if the flare of his nostrils are to be believed.
“Hello, gentlemen,” I say. “How’s the mixer going?”
“Better now that the real party has arrived,” answers Nolan with a chuckle. “What brings the most antisocial member of the club out? The last time you voluntarily showed up to one of these… actually, there was no last time.”
“That is because I’d rather saw off my left foot than participate in forced socialization with the likes of the Vandersons.”
Nolan winks. “Touché, my friend. I was just telling Kleiny boy here he might have better luck with the ladies tonight.”
“Will you shut that trap of yours?” Klein snarls.
I eye the disfigured brunet with cool indifference. “Is that so, Klein? Which woman will you have tonight? The girls from the Market are a sure bet.”
“I told him to go for Celeste. Cousin or not, she’s just as sure of a thing. Lord knows there isn’t a penis in Easton that hasn’t been inside at least one of her holes.”
Nolan’s crude joke finally cracks through Klein’s sour mood. He shares a laugh with Nolan. I ignore both. They’ve pointed out a glaring detail about the mixer that I’ve happened to miss.
I glance around. “WhereisCeleste anyway?”
Klein shrugs. “Does anyone really pay attention to where she goes?”
“The girl’s probably in the bathroom snorting a line,” Nolan says. “That, or fucking one of the waitstaff.”
“Again,” Klein adds.
Nolan sips from his drink with a furrowed brow. “Though I don’t think I’ve seen her tonight. She might’ve skipped out. She’ll be devastated when she learns you attended.”
“Where is the Owner?”
“Indulging in a cocktail in the private parlor, of course. Would you like a word?” Nolan asks. His furrowed brow fades and a slow grin comes to his long face. “Don’t tell me this is about the prostitute girl. Celeste was telling me how you’ve fallen in wuv with her.”
Klein’s bad mood returns. He juxtaposes Nolan’s grin with a scowl. “She’s supposed to be dead. If you won’t do it, I’ll hire someone who will.”
“I’d say it’s best you stay out of the matter, Klein. That is, if you don’t want the rest of your genitals lopped off. Excuse me, gentlemen.”
I leave them with my gruesome warning hanging in the air. The club security attempts to stop me from entering the private parlor until they recognize who I am. They give an apologetic nod and step aside.
The Owner sits in a tufted armchair made of lush velvet. Despite how comfortable he appears, nursing a drink in one gloved hand, his sense of authority has gone nowhere. The all-black tailored suit and large gold bauta mask in the shape of an owl establish this is no casual affair. He is still acutely tuned into the business of running the club.
“I expected you to come.”
“I only did to inform you of what will be happening.”
“Sit. Do tell.”
I forgo the chair he’s offered and decide it’s best to rip the bandaid off. No sense making this exchange any longer than it has to be.
“The girl will be kept alive,” I say. “She has no real awareness of the club’s innerworkings and poses no threat. It does not make sense to bring her harm. Therefore I will not be eliminating her.”
“I thought we were clear. There is no choice.”
