The Melody of Lost Souls

Jan the Barbarian

THE SCUMMY AND cheap hotel is better known as the Dive. That's not its real name, but it is one. A dive, that is. The real name is The Jupiter Inn. Although the 'J' in Jupiter has been gone for so long, it might as well be called the Upiter Inn. It has kind of a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

It's in the heart of the city, the heart that bleeds black. It's not a particularly nice neighbourhood, with crime up the wazoo, but it was the best place to get any kind of drug you wanted without the police jumping all over you. I bet the police kept a blind eye because they also liked to sneak a little something now and then, you know what I'm saying?

During the day, the neighbourhood isn't terribly dangerous, especially considering many business people are out and about. It's a strange blend of society downtown is. On the one hand, you have some comfortable, professionally dressed men and women striding down the street with a purpose. On the other, you have homeless and impoverished people dotting the street looking for handouts while those same professional people ignore them. Some even turn their nose down in disgust and leer at them. Maybe make some remark about how the city has gone to shit. And then carry on their way as if they didn't just verbally slap some poor homeless person.

Downtown life gets my blood going.

We approach the Dive, and Eli looks up at it warily. Ever since Selena has decided to show up unannounced again, Eli has been jumpy. He thinks walking behind me hides his twitchiness, but it doesn't. I know his eyes are doe-like as he scans the street, and his skin is paler than usual, which brings out the green in his eyes. The way he sucks on his cheek adds ten years to his features, and I wish we could go back to the moment we were lying curled up in bed together.

I don't blame him for being scared. Selena deciding to camp out in his apartment is the worst-case scenario. Well, the worst, worst-case scenario would be Jason and his crew showing up on our doorsteps and shooting us dead. But, you know, Selena hanging around is still pretty bad.

The hotel is on top of an unkempt bar called the Dock, where all unsavoury types frequent. Dan and I used to go there all the time. What can I say? They had all the good drugs, and the bouncers never bothered checking IDs.

I found out about his room by accident. Before Eli had come busting into the room, two of Rin's buddies started reminiscing about Dan (more like how good his drugs were)--now that I know he stole them from Jason, that makes sense--and how he used to deal out of the Dive. I'd asked how they knew that, and one of them just shrugged and thought Dan lived there. So, I went to the bar, nosed around, and discovered that he did have a room he liked to rent a lot more than I would have thought.

I'm not surprised that Dan kept a room here, considering how much he loved the place. It was the furthest thing from his life he could get, and no one knew about it except for him and me. Except I didn't even know about the room he kept, and while I know it shouldn't bother me, I can't help but wonder how much he trusted me. He had more secrets than I ever thought imaginable.