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18
Katy
“Hey, beauty,” Livvie says, bumping up against me affectionately, her shoulder knocking mine. The club is buzzing already, and it’s not even ten PM. We’re crowded behind the bar, and it’s not the glitzy glam of the VIP night, but instead an open-free-for-all. Tonight, the velvet ropes are cut, and everyone, anyone, from Uptown Detroit, and the surrounding areas are welcome in as long as they fit.
The floor is packed, lights gliding along many heads, polished hair swept into up-dos, bodycon dresses pressed up against hot guys in tight t-shirts, and we’re doing brisk business behind the bar.
“Watch your back,” Angel calls in my ear, barely audible over the bass-line pounding from the speakers. He gives me a grin and a wink, and then disappears, his tray balanced easily in her hand, as he slides around the crowd, making his way toward the VIP room at the back. I shake my head and smile at Liv, who’s got two hands full of booze bottles, dragging shots along the edge of the bar for a group of excited women, their silky form-fitting dresses glittering under the lights.
“Busy tonight!” Liv shouts, and I nod, leaning over the bar-top to hear the next order. We’re on double-time, and I haven’t stopped moving since we opened. The bar is packed with bodies, and the air is hot, thick with the smell of alcohol and the faint scent of cologne, perfume, and sweat.
It’s a busy night, but it’s a good night, the kind of night I’d expect at the end of summer. People are here to see their friends, or hook up, or get drunk, and the vibe is intoxicating. I haven’t seen Hadrion since I talked to him yesterday, and he agreed to think about me going to the Underworld, to open the gates.
My mind has been spinning on it all day, and I’m still not sure if I can do it. I don’t even know what exactly I’m doing, what the gate looks like, where it is, nothing.
But I figure that’s details.
If there’s a key, there’s a gate, and that means a place to go to find the entrance to Hadrion’s kingdom.
“Katy!” Liv’s voice snaps me out of my reverie, and I shake myself.
“Sorry, I was thinking,” I tell her, and she raises her eyebrows.
“That’s all the more reason not to space out,” she chastises me, and the man in front of me waiting to give me his order smirks.
“Hey baby,” he purrs, leaning forward, “it’s okay. I won’t tell your boss.” My hand goes to the key, and I feel the heat rise in my cheeks. Livvie’s gaze goes sharp, and her lips press together, before she gives the guy an overly sweet smile.
“What are you having?” She asks, butting in and pushing me out of the way with a firm, but gentle hand. He eyes her up, grinning wider.
“You?” He asks, and she scoffs, grabbing a bottle of beer from where we keep them under the counter, in a big trough of ice. She snaps off the cap and slides it across the bar to him.
“Take that and fuck off,” she says, jerking her chin up. He rolls his eyes and takes the beer.
“Bitch,” he mutters, before melting into the crowd.
“Don’t let them grab at you. Where was the last place you worked, anyway?” She asks quickly, before going to the far end of the bar to do more shots for that group of glittery girls. My face burns with embarrassment. I don’t like her to think I can’t handle myself. I can. Hop’s may not have been... ever as hopping as this place is, but I’m no stranger to dealing with drunk patrons.
“He didn’t grab me,” I protest as I follow her, but Liv shakes her head.
“He’s just getting started, and his next move would have been a grab, pinch, or snatch. We don’t ever let them get that close. Stay on high alert, always,” she says, pointing down at my end of the bar. “Now go, you have a line-up.”
Embarrassed, I slink back toward my post and fall into the easy rhythm of pouring drinks, handing out napkins, and taking tips. It’s an hour before I get a breather, and it’s only because Angel has taken a turn, and is working the middle between me and Livvie, his broad shoulders and tight shirt attracting the ladies’ attention.
“I’m taking a break,” I yell at Angel, and he nods, waving me off. There’s a small lull and I’m going to take full advantage of it.
I take a swig of water and duck around the corner to the tiny hallway that leads to the storeroom. The music is dulled back here, and I lean against the wall, letting out a slow breath. My head tips back and I close my eyes. The gate.
The door? The gateway? Is it a real door? Or is it... magic? My hand lifts up and I palm across the feeling of the key where it lays under my shirt. I didn’t feel like having it out on display today, not after realizing exactly how powerful it was. Should I even be wearing it in the club?
My eyes open and unfocused, I stare at the opposite wall, not more than four feet from me.
I’m wearing the key to the entire afterlife around my neck.
And my mother passed it down to me.
What the ever-loving fuck is my life?
“Are you taking your break already?” A low, rumbling voice startles me, and my eyes pop open. Hadrion is standing at the end of the hall, in his dark suit, a frown on his face. But it’s concern, not anger, at the sight of me resting here. I glance around. It must look pretty weird for me to be in a hallway leading to a storage room, and not in the back office.
