You Are So Not a Fallen Angel

Chapter 24

For all its ‘hot and exclusive’ status, the inside of the club was much like every other club I’d ever snuck into. It was crowded, it was dark with a few strategically placed spotlights, and it was loud. Really loud. Vibration in your ribcage sort of loud. There was a light-up dance floor, probably a nod to retro chic , upon which a load of hipsters in skinny jeans were gyrating to the latest in electro sludge. At the far side of the room was a door, where a secondary crowd had assembled, jostling to get served. There were tall tables around the sides of the room, where you could rest your elbows and your drink, but there was nowhere to sit down. This was not a place for talking, or cuddling.

Lorris didn’t leave me much time to look around. He pulled me through the throng to the bar. Somehow, he managed to get served immediately. He shoved a drink into my hand.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he yelled in my ear and vanished into the crowd. I rolled my eyes and retreated to one of the table. It was sticky and wobbly, but it meant I didn’t have to hover awkwardly on the edge of the dance floor, like a wallflower.

I took a sip at my drink and almost spat it out in disgust. The taste of artificial strawberry mixed badly with the vodka, and the sugariness set my teeth on edge. I shoved it to one side and wondered how long it would be before Lorris returned. I could venture out. There had to be someone who was willing to dance with me. But I didn’t want to repeat the performance of this afternoon. Plus I was beginning to develop a headache, and the pounding of the music wasn’t helping. I closed my eyes and imagined myself a long, long away from here. What was the point of coming all the way to a different country, just to go to the same sort of lame place you found in every town in England? I’d wanted amazement and romance, not this.

“Did you miss me?”

I opened my eyes and Lorris was back, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

“Did you see your friend?” I asked, glancing over his shoulder, just in case Aubin or Ivan had turned up. It wouldn’t have surprised me if they had. Lorris nodded. “Can we go now?”

“Not yet.” He beckoned to me. Reluctantly, I followed him. I was feeling very strange now. My legs felt like they weren’t properly connected any more, and my head was wobbling on my neck.

He threaded his way to the centre of the room, pushing aside the other clubbers. There was a small group of people right in the middle, and Lorris slipped among them without difficulty. I squinted at them, trying to work out if they were mortal, but the changing light made it too difficult and I had to give up. Lorris put down hands on my waist and tried to get me to move. There wasn’t much room, and someone’s elbow kept poking me in the side, so I shuffled my feet a little and made a few vague gestures with my arms. Around me, the people were going crazy, shaking their heads and gesticulating madly. What music were they dancing to? I couldn’t hear anything anymore, just the beat of my own heart. My pulse was racing, and I was hot, so very hot. I closed my eyes, but it didn’t make any difference. The world kept spinning, the faces blurred into a huge, indistinct mass.

“Make it stop,” I moaned, clutching at Lorris. “Make it stop.”

But Lorris wasn’t there anymore. He was gone, replaced by a huge beast, hairy and grotesque. I screamed and back away. I stamped on someone’s foot and they shoved me away, screaming abuse in my wake. I fought my way through the crowd, but they had solidified into a wall, and they were keeping me in, keeping in with the beast.

“Let me through!” I shoved and pushed and barged and finally emerged on the other side. But that wasn’t enough. I need to leave the building. Leave the city if possible.

I searched for the door, desperate to get outside, but it had vanished. I was sealed in, trapped in this horrible basement forever.

“Eliza!”