Drown Under Earth - Shadows of the Night 3

Chapter 3

Hi!

Hope you had a great weekend! This one is super long, and a certain someone will be making his grand entrance. Let me know what you're thinking! :D

Lara

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Chapter 3

Crimson District's light seemed even stronger and brighter than usual. I had trouble focusing on the various club signs framing the main street. Modesty was an unknown term in this part of the city. The neon signs blinked in shrill colors of all kinds, a testimony to the exotic amusement and heavy drinks offered. It was an offer that seemingly appealed to all the races. Vampires, humans, shape shifters, and witches – you name it. No matter who or what, you would find them within the perpetually moving crowd of customers. A never ending party. A world that in truth did not exist, but for a few hours you could pretend it did.

I risked a glance at my watch. It was almost three a.m.

Trust me to be late.

Ryon Club was exactly as I remembered it to be. Even though the building was set back from the street, there was no way you could have overlooked it. The blue neon sign was one of the biggest in this nightlife area. Chic and vanity blended into one hell of architectural accomplishment. Just like its customers, its exterior emitted a suggestion of elusiveness and eternity. The blend of posh glamour and old style was an alluring promise of amusement for the undead, and for the undead only. Yeah, you heard right. Ryon Club was confined to the non-breathers among us. I found out on my disastrous first visit – the hard way.

Metaphorically speaking, I had put on war paint of a sort. I was ready for whatever the night would bring. My long brown hair was in a ponytail, dancing down my back in small messy waves, my feet happy in the coziness of my favorite sneakers. Tight black jeans hugged my legs like a second skin, my hips concealed by the long, loose T shirt I decided on tonight. Black and with a huge skull printed on the back – yeah, it was perfect. It reflected the way I felt. Sadly, the detail would be hidden by my leather jacket. Unless Alexander demanded my presence in a hothouse, the skull would be my very own, private amusement for the night.

I had applied make-up, dark eye-liner, and mascara to frame my brown eyes in a quite unusual masquerade. All for the show starring New York's current head vampire. This night's episode might be the last one, if the master vampire made his threat of punishing me a painful reality. The grand finale, so to speak.

Maybe it wouldn't come to that, maybe. Hopefully.

I readjusted my ponytail. All in all I looked like any female Tom, Dick or Harry. Which was a good thing, I decided. Inconspicuousness around the city's walking dead was a necessary evil. If word got out that I was Alexander's human servant for real, I could kiss my occupation at the Circle goodbye. To be on the safe side, I hid my aura, though most of the undead visiting Ryon Club probably weren't powerful enough to notice my magic and sense what I really was.

My 'appointment' with Alexander was later than usual. One would have thought some of the vamps would have started to crawl back into their coffins by this time. Nope. Three a.m. was one of Ryon's peak hours.

Two queues of vampires formed in front of the club. The undead were waiting in motionlessness, as if they were pale columns aligned for the sole purpose of decorating the entrance. I walked on determinedly, my feet treading softly on the dark velvet carpet leading up to the doors.

I passed rows and rows of immobile waiting customers. Vampires that didn't need to breathe to survive. All they needed was blood, and cheap entertainment. I was used to being given the evil eye by now. If it was a bad night, somebody would leer at me.