Blur

Chapter 10: Rough Night

Chapter 10

A Rough Night

Because I am not very sure of the route, I have to walk at sluggish, mundane human speed all the way to the club. It is an agonizingly slow walk and a huge waste of my time, but I have eternity ahead of me so I suppose I have time to waste. Once I reach town, it takes me several minutes to figure out which club Luca took me to last night. There are several clubs and, from the outside, they all look the same. If I knew the name of the place, it would not have taken me so long. Finally, after wondering in and out of clubs for hours, I find it. It is a small, red brick building with a brightly light sign pronouncing the name of the club in neon green letters as Midnight Mysteries. The name suits a club run by witches and staffed by vampires and werewolves.

I enter the club and realize that I have no idea as to how to find Vanessa. She might be awaiting the message, but I cannot risk waiting around all night to see if she is expecting me. I decide to try asking for her at the bar. The bartender is a young man with yellow flecks in his green eyes, a sign that makes me think he is a werewolf. He spins the bottle of wine in a show-off way as old men sit in front of him, sipping beers. "May I help you?" he asks when he notices me, giving me an interested smile, a reaction I have come accustomed to since I became a vampire and my appearance changed.

"Yes, I need to speak with Vanessa, please," I answer, setting my backpack on my lap. I had decided to bring it to hide the envelope in, of course I had to stuff a couple random items in it to make it look less empty and inconspicuous.

"What do you need Miss Vanessa for?" he asks, sitting the bottle down and studying me closely, suddenly serious.

"Honestly, I do not know. I am just a messenger," I answer truthfully.

"Oh," he says, but he doesn't move, he just continues studying me. "Oh!" he repeats, with more enthusiasm as he reaches for a wine glass and a different wine bottle. "You're one of those," he mumbles under his breath. "Do you want any kind of alcohol mixed in with this?" he asks in a low whisper.

I sniff the air and the fragrance of the glass' contents invades my nostrils and I recognize it as the life force of vampires. Not knowing what it would taste like with anything mixed in with it, I decide to decline his offer, "No thanks. And I actually did not request a drink."

"It's on the house for special visitors," he answers, handing me the glass and disappearing through a side door. When he returns, Vanessa is not at his side like I had hoped she would be. "I am so very sorry. Vanessa is not available at the moment. I can take a message if you would like."

"The message is for Vanessa only. I cannot give it to anyone else nor can I leave until it is delivered," I tell the bartender.

"I suppose you can wait but she is very busy tonight so it may take quite some time," he warns me as he returns to his work after refilling my glass.

I do not move from the bench as I wait for Vanessa, worried that the bartender will not tell me when she is free again. I shift uncomfortably what must have been a thousand times and the bartender gives me several suspicious glares. I check my phone, but that does not seem to make the time go any faster. 5 minutes pass. 20 minutes pass. An hour passes. Two hours pass and I start to get very agitated and grumpy.

Several couple men try to flirt with me through the course of the night, adding to my agitation. With a particularly persistent man who refuses to give up, I bare my fangs just to get rid of him. The annoying bartender snickers at my troubles a couple of times, grinding on my patience until I hiss at him. At some point or another, all of the others at the bar finally realizes they should leave me alone and they all move to the other end of the bar.