Midnight Blue-Light Special
Page 18
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The entry hall was decorated to match the door: green canvas tent fabric draped with strings of Christmas lights and little triangular banners obscured the walls and ceiling, making it seem like we were heading into the big top. Even the floor was covered in a layer of sweet-scented sawdust, reinforcing the carnival theme. I had to admire it as a cost-cutting measure. The cedar shavings were probably saving Kitty a fortune in air fresheners, and she could buy them from the Abatwa who lived under Broadway, which would save her even more. If you need a corner cut, talk to a bogeyman.
Ryan was on duty at the interior door, less to check the work of the first two gatekeepers and more to make it clear to any drunk businessmen looking for a little grab-ass that we were a respectable establishment that would kick your nuts into your nasal cavity if you so much as looked at one of the girls wrong. He blinked when he saw me come walking down the hall. He blinked again when he saw Dominic walking behind me.
“Verity?” he said, an uncertain note in his voice. “You’re on the ground. Are you okay?” His eyes flicked to my feet, not-too-subtly checking for a limp.
Dominic snorted. “You really were serious.” He stepped up next to me, offering Ryan a nod. “Hello again.”
“Twice in one night,” Ryan said, with a nod of his own. “You’re becoming a bad habit, De Luca. Very? Is this guy bothering you?” From his tone, he was hoping I’d say yes, giving him the excuse he wanted to kick Dominic’s ass.
I didn’t have the heart to tell Ryan that in a fight between him and Dominic, he was probably going to lose. Sure, he was a shapeshifting badass who could turn into a giant raccoon-dog-monster-thing and render his flesh practically impermeable, but Dominic was a heavily armed monster hunter. And when it’s supernatural powers versus cold, hard steel, I vote for the knives every time.
“He’s not bothering me, but we’re here to bother Kitty,” I said. “Do you think you could get somebody to take the door for you? I’d sort of like you to be there for this.”
Ryan blinked again. Then he nodded. “Sure. Why don’t you head on back, and I’ll see if I can get one of the other bouncers to come take over. Can Istas come, too, or is this a private party?”
“Istas should be in on this meeting, I think.” Istas and Ryan represented most of the club’s serious physical defenses. There was no reason not to include them as early as we could.
“Okay. We’ll be right there.”
I reached out to squeeze his elbow, offering a small smile, and led Dominic past him into the Freakshow proper.
The entry put us onto a low catwalk about five feet above the floor, providing a brief but panoramic view of the chaos below. I must have spent half my waking hours in the Freakshow, but that was as an employee. Now I was seeing it the way that a patron would, and that changed everything.
Girls in circus-themed outfits slithered through the crowd, in some cases literally, their cryptid attributes out in the open for everyone to see. Maybe some people thought the wings on the gargoyle girls were prosthetics, or that the sirens were into dyeing their hair, but the harpies? The bogeymen? It took an incredibly charitable—and potentially intoxicated—mind to mistake them for human women. On the stage, Jahi the wadjet was involved in a complicated dance with his snake dancer, Maibe. She gyrated her hips to the beat, seeming entirely unconcerned by the fact that she wasn’t wearing much beyond a fourteen-foot cobra.
Humans mixed freely with cryptids everywhere I looked. It was exactly the sort of scene the Covenant of St. George was dedicated to preventing. “We are so screwed,” I said, in a hushed tone.
“Almost certainly,” Dominic agreed. “This will trigger a purge of Biblical proportions.”
I shot him a look. “Way to be encouraging there, buddy.”
“I’m not here to be encouraging, Verity. I’m here to make sure you get through this alive. If that means a few more lives are preserved in the bargain, then so be it.” Dominic shrugged. “I am learning to accept your idiosyncrasies.”
“What’s sad is that for you, that’s really sweet.” Istas was passing through the crowd, heading back to the bar with an empty tray. I trotted quickly down the stairs, moving to intercept her before I could lose sight of her. “Istas!”
Istas turned at the sound of her name, a quizzical look on her face. The impression of utter confusion was assisted by her hair, which was up in two carefully curled pigtails, with clips of bright blue artificial hair wound through her natural glossy black. “Verity? I thought your shift ended.”
“It did.” I jerked a thumb toward Dominic. “He came to get me. It’s been an interesting night. Think you can take your break and come back to Kitty’s office? Ryan’s going to be there in a minute.”
Istas’ confusion faded, replaced by guarded hope. “Is this meeting a prelude to carnage?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid it probably is.”
“I will be right there,” Istas assured me, and turned to finish heading for the bar, a definite spring in her step. I sighed, shaking my head, and motioned for Dominic to follow me to the employee door on the far wall.
“She seems excited about the prospect of a slaughter,” murmured Dominic as we walked. His voice was barely audible above the thudding music coming from the club speakers.
“Yeah, well, that’s a waheela for you. She likes introducing people to their insides. Only when they deserve it,” I hastened to add. “I’ve never seen her actually get violent with someone who didn’t, you know, try to sacrifice me to a snake cult. Or grab her tits while she was bussing tables.”
“Absolutely equal crimes,” said Dominic, with the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
“They are if you ask most cocktail waitresses,” I said. The employee door at the Freakshow was never locked, since most people, even drunk, weren’t stupid enough to follow the monsters into their lair. I pushed it open, holding it for Dominic. “After you.”
Kitty was still using her uncle’s old office, since it was well located and already had a desk and a functioning computer. Bogeymen aren’t as inclined toward penny-pinching as dragons are, but there was really no point in remodeling if it wasn’t necessary. That wasn’t all that she’d kept of her uncle’s. I stopped in the hall, sighing as I saw the solid bank of darkness that blocked the office door.
Ryan was on duty at the interior door, less to check the work of the first two gatekeepers and more to make it clear to any drunk businessmen looking for a little grab-ass that we were a respectable establishment that would kick your nuts into your nasal cavity if you so much as looked at one of the girls wrong. He blinked when he saw me come walking down the hall. He blinked again when he saw Dominic walking behind me.
“Verity?” he said, an uncertain note in his voice. “You’re on the ground. Are you okay?” His eyes flicked to my feet, not-too-subtly checking for a limp.
Dominic snorted. “You really were serious.” He stepped up next to me, offering Ryan a nod. “Hello again.”
“Twice in one night,” Ryan said, with a nod of his own. “You’re becoming a bad habit, De Luca. Very? Is this guy bothering you?” From his tone, he was hoping I’d say yes, giving him the excuse he wanted to kick Dominic’s ass.
I didn’t have the heart to tell Ryan that in a fight between him and Dominic, he was probably going to lose. Sure, he was a shapeshifting badass who could turn into a giant raccoon-dog-monster-thing and render his flesh practically impermeable, but Dominic was a heavily armed monster hunter. And when it’s supernatural powers versus cold, hard steel, I vote for the knives every time.
“He’s not bothering me, but we’re here to bother Kitty,” I said. “Do you think you could get somebody to take the door for you? I’d sort of like you to be there for this.”
Ryan blinked again. Then he nodded. “Sure. Why don’t you head on back, and I’ll see if I can get one of the other bouncers to come take over. Can Istas come, too, or is this a private party?”
“Istas should be in on this meeting, I think.” Istas and Ryan represented most of the club’s serious physical defenses. There was no reason not to include them as early as we could.
“Okay. We’ll be right there.”
I reached out to squeeze his elbow, offering a small smile, and led Dominic past him into the Freakshow proper.
The entry put us onto a low catwalk about five feet above the floor, providing a brief but panoramic view of the chaos below. I must have spent half my waking hours in the Freakshow, but that was as an employee. Now I was seeing it the way that a patron would, and that changed everything.
Girls in circus-themed outfits slithered through the crowd, in some cases literally, their cryptid attributes out in the open for everyone to see. Maybe some people thought the wings on the gargoyle girls were prosthetics, or that the sirens were into dyeing their hair, but the harpies? The bogeymen? It took an incredibly charitable—and potentially intoxicated—mind to mistake them for human women. On the stage, Jahi the wadjet was involved in a complicated dance with his snake dancer, Maibe. She gyrated her hips to the beat, seeming entirely unconcerned by the fact that she wasn’t wearing much beyond a fourteen-foot cobra.
Humans mixed freely with cryptids everywhere I looked. It was exactly the sort of scene the Covenant of St. George was dedicated to preventing. “We are so screwed,” I said, in a hushed tone.
“Almost certainly,” Dominic agreed. “This will trigger a purge of Biblical proportions.”
I shot him a look. “Way to be encouraging there, buddy.”
“I’m not here to be encouraging, Verity. I’m here to make sure you get through this alive. If that means a few more lives are preserved in the bargain, then so be it.” Dominic shrugged. “I am learning to accept your idiosyncrasies.”
“What’s sad is that for you, that’s really sweet.” Istas was passing through the crowd, heading back to the bar with an empty tray. I trotted quickly down the stairs, moving to intercept her before I could lose sight of her. “Istas!”
Istas turned at the sound of her name, a quizzical look on her face. The impression of utter confusion was assisted by her hair, which was up in two carefully curled pigtails, with clips of bright blue artificial hair wound through her natural glossy black. “Verity? I thought your shift ended.”
“It did.” I jerked a thumb toward Dominic. “He came to get me. It’s been an interesting night. Think you can take your break and come back to Kitty’s office? Ryan’s going to be there in a minute.”
Istas’ confusion faded, replaced by guarded hope. “Is this meeting a prelude to carnage?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid it probably is.”
“I will be right there,” Istas assured me, and turned to finish heading for the bar, a definite spring in her step. I sighed, shaking my head, and motioned for Dominic to follow me to the employee door on the far wall.
“She seems excited about the prospect of a slaughter,” murmured Dominic as we walked. His voice was barely audible above the thudding music coming from the club speakers.
“Yeah, well, that’s a waheela for you. She likes introducing people to their insides. Only when they deserve it,” I hastened to add. “I’ve never seen her actually get violent with someone who didn’t, you know, try to sacrifice me to a snake cult. Or grab her tits while she was bussing tables.”
“Absolutely equal crimes,” said Dominic, with the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
“They are if you ask most cocktail waitresses,” I said. The employee door at the Freakshow was never locked, since most people, even drunk, weren’t stupid enough to follow the monsters into their lair. I pushed it open, holding it for Dominic. “After you.”
Kitty was still using her uncle’s old office, since it was well located and already had a desk and a functioning computer. Bogeymen aren’t as inclined toward penny-pinching as dragons are, but there was really no point in remodeling if it wasn’t necessary. That wasn’t all that she’d kept of her uncle’s. I stopped in the hall, sighing as I saw the solid bank of darkness that blocked the office door.
