The Styles Brothers

Chapter Nine: Koi

I weaved through the crowd of dancing bodies, swatting away strangers' hands that wandered where they shouldn't. Ascending the steps to the second floor, my eyes almost popped out of my head.

It was like an entirely different club. The second floor was the same layout as the first, but the flashing lights were multicolored and a different type of music was playing.

The partygoers were different as well. All of them seemed to be of angel blood, each of them indescribably flawless, sparkling wings beating to the tempo of the song.

"Oh, hello!" I heard a voice and turned to see a petite, auburn-haired angel with iridescent orange wings that beat excitedly.

"Hello," I replied, feeling quite self-conscious.

"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new?"

"Um, I'm just.. visiting?" I tried. "I'm half human, half angel. I'm from the Sixth Realm."

She crinkled her button nose. "Half human, huh? I wondered why you didn't have wings. Why on earth would you want to live in the Sixth?"

I realized how young she looked; she couldn't be a day over sixteen. But then again, I was in no position to judge the age of an angel.

I frowned. "Earth is nice."

She giggled, her wings flapping. "Sure, sure. I'm Velvet," she shook my hand.

"Elen- I mean, Victoria," I smiled.

"Let's go get something to drink," she squealed, skipping off in the direction of the bar. I followed, squeezing through the packed angels until I arrived.

"They make human drinks, if you like," Velvet gestured to the bartender. My mouth dropped.

He was devastatingly beautiful, even more so than the room full of angels behind me. His hair was dark brown and cropped, with flawless skin and strangely turquoise eyes framed by dark lashes. He didn't have wings, but the megawatt smile he flashed me more than made up for them.

"Hi," I said, turning up the charm as I slid onto a bar stool.

"I'll leave you two alone," Velvet giggled again, sensing the chemistry, before patting my shoulder and flitting off.

"I'm Koi," he said, pouring a glowing green liquid into a shot glass, before sliding it down the bar and into the hand of an older angel.

"Like the fish?" I smiled.

"Bingo," he winked.

"I'm Victoria."

"So where are your wings?" He inquired, setting his elbows on the bar and leaning towards me.

"I'm only half angel," I said, leaning forward as well. "And half human."

He stood straight again. "Half human, aye? I've got the perfect thing," he muttered, ducking under the bar as he rifled through clinking glass.

"Here we are. I heard humans like this kind of thing. Am I right?" He held out a bottle of vodka in my direction.

I nodded. "The stuff of legends."

He smiled. "Let's put heaven's twist on it, shall we?"

I watched as he poured half of a shot glass, before topping it off with a sparkling pink liquid.

"What's it called?" I studied the shot, the pink swirling amid the vodka.

"How about the Victoria?" He asked with a cheeky smile, handing me the shot before filling one for himself.