Hunter: Crossroads

Chapter 9

I smelt the woman next to me before actually looking at her. Her perfume was sweet, like donuts and sugar, and was so strong she must have been marinating in it for weeks. The longer she stays, more of that sickenly sweet smell begins to waft over me. What had initially made me want to get some kind of desert, now sparked a headache. At least it was still better than the wet-dog smell the shifters that had been coming up to me had. How many times did they have to be told no to get the hint I wasn't interested?

"It's so busy here!" I think she meant to complain, only she sounded like she was about to start a pep rally. "Is it always like this?"

It then occurs to me that I'm the one she's speaking to. Looking up, hot pink lips grab my attention as her sequined jacket fights for second place. She's bright, sparkly and looks completely lost. This wasn't a sequined jacket, or as I noticed looking down, a sparkly boot kind of bar. No wonder the werewolves were hovering around this end. Normally they stayed out of my personal space, knowing better than to try their cheesy pickup lines on the Valkyrie and me. That didn't seem to apply tonight now I had the attention of their new chew toy.

"Yes," I answer, putting my phone away. "Cute shoes."

"Thanks!" She smiles wider. "Do you come here often?"

"More than I'll admit." I couldn't get a read on her. She wasn't mortal, but there were no clues to confirm why I knew this. Most of my usual alarm bells were silent. Odd.

"Let me buy you a drink?"

"I'm good."

"You're sitting here all by yourself, looking sad. I couldn't help but notice you. Plus, like me, you seem to have missed the all-black memo. Cute jacket!" She giggled, extending her hand, complete with rainbow glitter nails to stroke at the faux fur. 

Maybe that was also why the wolves were lingering. Did this jacket remind them of their furry cousins or whatever else they fancied? 

"I'm Barbie." There was something that came through then that had the back of my neck tingling; her voice was too strained now. Unnatural even.

"Of course you are." I raise an eyebrow, as Eric appears.

"Who's your friend, Ellie?" He purrs, winking at Barbie as he interrupted my moment with the come to life doll.

"Her name is Barbie. Have fun." She could be Eric's problem now.

I slip away, heading towards the staff only door that hid his bedroom. The jingle of bracelets and shaking sequins slows me down and looking over my shoulder, Barbie is right there.

"Are you following me?" I ask cautiously.

"Where are you going?" It's more a demand than a question.

"I'm staff." Glancing at the sign on the door, her eyes widen before she giggles.

"Oh, explains why you rejected my offer of a drink. That's it, isn't it!" She giggles again, twirling one long chunk of hair extension around her finger. "You seem the type to break the rules. What harm will one drink do?"

Was she flirting right now?

"Did you need something or does this come on normally go for you?"

"Depends if it's working. Surely we can be friends?" Her perfume gets stronger. "Maybe even more than friends, Ellie. "

Not a vampire.

Definitely not a werewolf.

I had a tiny suspicion she was a demon.

My head hurts; the more I try to think about it, the worse the pain. I reach for the door, yet she's there taking my hand in hers. Her fingernails tiggle my palm as she attempts to link our hands in a super tight handshake. My vision darkens, and she takes us behind the door and into the very familiar yet small corridor. I can hear Zane talking, Cain laughs and Barbie does a shit job at hiding her surprise when she hears them too. Her eyes change, the normality of them altering to be completely red. Her rainbow nails extend into claws, and tiny fragments of her costume slip to reveal what's underneath.