Witch (Supernatural #2)

7: To Those Who Wait

To Reward, verb.

1. to recompense or requite (a person or animal) for service, merit, achievement, etc.
2. to make return for or requite; recompense.

***

There wasn't a crown for any of us, but Noah paid for a round of drinks at Pulse, so I didn't complain. Of course, it's easy to pay for other people's drinks when it's not actually your own money. Grandma had been generous; she obviously had no idea what was appropriate to give to two teenagers. She obviously had no idea it wasn't exactly appropriate to send them to a club either.

Noah and I both had two hundred dollars worth of bills in our wallets. Grandma had slyly slipped us the money, telling us to go have fun. Apparently, we deserved it. Luckily for her, Pulse didn't serve alcohol, neither did we use magic to spike the drinks. She might have had a big problem on her hand come morning. Still, two hundred dollars! That was a lot of money. And a lot of drinks.

Pulse was an amazing place to celebrate. It was dark with pink lights that flashed in time with the beat of the music. There was a large dance-floor where people jumped up and down; there were stools at the bar and a few seats along the walls. The other rooms, away from the dance-floor, were more like lounges. The music could still be heard, but here, people sat on couches to have a conversation. To laugh and to relax. Or, in our case, to celebrate. We had taken up an entire lounge, greedy hands constantly reaching into the chips and peanut bowls as we went over every detail of our individual races.

After a while, Noah and Jamie went to go order drinks. When a bartender brought them over on his platter, I was in for a surprise. Every drink at Pulse was pink. You wanted a Coke Zero; it was pink. You wanted a virgin mojito; it was pink. Even the water coming out of the tap was pink, as I would discover later. It was so weird. In fact, I wasn't convinced if the glass in my hand actually contained my Coke Zero or not.

Ken noticed my hesitation and told me, "It's magic." He said it in such a way that anyone listening might think it was a harmless comment. Humans referred to things as being magical all the time. Coke being pink was magic. Except, when our eyes met, I understood that it was actual magic that had changed the color of my drink.

"Are you serious? How is this even..." I was shocked. Magic so out in the open; I had never seen anything like it before.

Ken grinned and leaned in so that he wouldn't have to shout to be heard. "This was the place where the kidnapped supernaturals were held. From what I gathered, a mastermind criminal was behind it. He found a way to turn our blood into a drug for humans. When the hellhounds took care of him, the club couldn't shut down; that would have been suspicious. So, a couple of warlocks took over the place. They spell the drinks pink because that was what the drugs used to do."

I nodded though I wasn't entirely satisfied. There had to be more to the story. Besides, how could the hellhounds be okay with this? They had to make sure anything supernatural remained secret. Yet they allowed all this magic to be out in the open. What if a human got a job here? How would they explain it then?

Tess jostled me as she reclined in her laughter. My drink sloshed in its glass, nearly going over the rim. She glanced at me and apologized, still laughing. I smiled; who cared about the whats and the hows. I had earned myself three ribbons today! I was allowed some stress-free time. No questions, no worries. Only amazement at my pink drink. It tasted like Coke Zero and that was all that mattered.

"Tell us, Isla," Rose suddenly called over the chatter and the laughter. She caught my attention right away. For some reason, I felt a sense of unease bloom in my stomach. "How do you swim so goddamn fast? What's the secret? Did you have an energy shot?" I laughed, relieved that it was nothing serious. So, I told her the truth; remaining focused on the lyrics, and getting the crown. That, and the adrenaline of the competition. Jamie shot me a look, but I didn't have to worry about him catching me in a lie. Magic had nothing to do with it; I was just that good. "Well then, I think Coach will have to put on some music during practice."