Emilia Vos & The Swipers' Tale

Part 2: Red Light

Emilia's favorite part about this job currently twirled around ice cubes in her glass. A mixture of vodka with some other fancy additions that Jayden paid for. Free alcohol is a nice addition to being a walking meat bag to attract some fanged douche bags.

Her eyes scanned Red Light. The mods weren't kidding when they said to dress fancy. This club was a series of vampires in suits and fine dresses split up into different tables. The covens did not even feel the need to hide that they got along anymore. All the big ones were mingling and flashing their coven emblems of Morelli, Vincent, Petrova, Constantine, and Dashkov. Emilia stood at the bar waiting for Petrova to flash theirs. Then she could have some real fun.

A satyr galloped past her with two drinks in his hands as he made his way to the dance floor. A few others danced around near the DJ's booth. A pack of werewolves claimed the edges of the dance floor where a few tables stood. One of them leered at the satyr as it passed them to join its friends.

A few humans lingered on the other dance floor edges. Emilia could not decide if they were here out of morbid fascination or by accident. She could not seem too interested in how the covens or werewolves reacted, or her cover would be blown. So, she shifted her eyes away and hoped no one disappeared in the night.

Emilia took a long swig of her drink at the last thought. Her gaze fell on a group of young men in suits sitting in the corner. Even in the dim light, she could see the forest green Petrova emblem flash on their ties. They probably worked at one of Petrova's businesses in Westminster. She flashed them a coy smile before turning her head to the dance floor—no need to look desperate. Plus, the satyrs just found a witch to create a little light show why they danced around.  These were the creatures she liked.

Emilia clicked the side of her glass with her nail. A subtle tell of her impatience, but if she timed the habit correctly, it appeared as if she really enjoyed the music.  She glanced to see if any of the Petrova men were watching her before slowly moving her body.

In the shadows, their pale skin looked less sickly. Emilia swallowed some bile while recalling a few of the vampiric cadavers they dissected in her Biology of Creatures course. Their lack of buttholes still bothered her for some reason. Did it just collapse inwards after centuries of not needing to poop? Is there a specific timeframe between when they do have a butthole and do not? Her professor actually seemed pleased with the idea of aging vampires based on the gastro-esophageal systems, but it made Emilia gag.  And now, every time she saw a vampire, she wondered: Does it still a butthole?

Emilia took another swig of her vodka to finish it before turning back to the bartender. Her arm motioned to get the bartender's attention before it was pushed down lightly by a pale hand. Emilia followed the hand and eyed the charcoal pinstriped suit with a forest green tie before meeting a pair of pale blue eyes. She could tell from the soft flicker that he wore colored contacts to hide the red rims. Dating mystical creatures might be some people's fetishes, but it did not mean one had to be careless when certain rules had to be followed.

"You don't need to wait for a drink here." His smooth voice almost purred in her ear.

She let a soft shutter roll through her body. Emilia hoped he mistook it for excitement.

"Where should I get my alcohol?" She turned to him with hooded eyes and a welcoming smile.

He motioned back towards their booth. "At our table."

"I don't usually drink with strangers," Emilia responded, leaning back against the bar.

The dark-haired man extends his hand to her. "Paul."

"Nice to meet you, Paul. My name is Annie." She smiled, shaking his hand.

Emilia went through the mental rolodex of Petrova clan members' names Jayden had given her and could not recall a Paul. So, he either decided to use a fake name or was someone they had not been expecting. Part of her did not want to find out which one it was, but that would mean leaving Jayden. She wouldn't abandon her partner again.