Walk Into The Light - Shadows of the Night 6

Chapter 3

Hi,

Okay, so in this chapter we'll get to a part I loved writing! It's a face-off between two people that don't really see eye to eye and have a common history. Guess who it is? Any ideas?

Thank you all for reading! :-)

Lara

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Chapter 3

ANDY

The ride with my bike had messed up her hair, but to the unsuspecting bystander she still looked more like a scholar than anything else. Giuliana frowned at the building, hands on her hips. The motion made her dark green coat look like an old-fashioned Superhero cape.

I suppressed the urge to palm my face. Even if I got her past the bouncer, we'd stand out like a pair of clowns at a funeral banquet.

"Are you serious?" She turned to me.

I shrugged. This was the Crimson District. What had she expected? Pink ribbons?

We were standing in front of Ryon Club, the head vampire's very own bar and nightclub of choice. Staring at the opulent stone carvings and gargoyle-like monstrosities at the outer wall and roof, she exhaled and let her hands fall to her sides, as if in in defeat.

"And he owns this place?" She said, lowering her voice.

"Yes, he does," I said.

Ryon Club would be one of the first addresses the Force would have gone to, if they had been looking for Alexander. The second obvious choice was the Blood Line Hotel, but I understood the head vamp used it for more formal meetings. Besides, I didn't expect him to receive either us or the Force with open arms. Ryon Club it was.

I scanned the street in second sight. There was no sign of members of the Force. Was it pure happenstance or just an odd detail that didn't add up in the equation?

My hands twitched as we made our way up the furry red carpet, a nervous spasm I couldn't seem to get rid of. Adrenaline was leaking out of my system and I was going to crash at some point in the near future.

Not now, Varner.

I moved on, walked past lines of vamps trying to get inside the club for an hour or two – before the first blush of dawn made the city look like a setting in a cliché movie. The crowd at the end of the line thinned as we approached the entrance.

Damn.

It was the same bald-headed bouncer from a few hours ago when I tried to get into the club for the first time. Before I entered the first time, I saw him throw out a fully grown vamp single-handedly. The way he moved was like a visual business card. I was pretty sure he had, at some point in his human life, been a professional wrestler.

I marched up to him, Giuliana keeping pace with me quietly.

The bouncer looked straight ahead, legs spread wide, massive forearms folded in front of his chest. Not with a single wink or look did he acknowledge our presence. Same posture as last time. Same fucking attitude.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.

We'd done this dance before. The first time I tried to get into Ryon Club I learned two things. One, there was a considerable number of humans who'd risk a lot to spend a night with Alexander or one of his high-end customers. Two, for that reason alone the bouncer didn't like humans trying to get into the club no matter what their business was.