I’m inwayover my head.
SUCCUMB
Amara
Thank Goddess, my first few shifts at the club aren’t too bad. It takes a while to get used to the pounding, bone-shaking music, and the sweaty closeness of all the people in the club. But once I settle in and get used to the smells and the noises (and the ridiculous drinks that everyone orders), it’s actually tolerable.
“White Russian, please,” says a girl in a bright pink tube dress. Her hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail, her long neck on display. I wonder if she’s doing it purposefully to attract a vampire, or if she even knows that’s a possibility. I always wonder if the people who come to Hemlock Haven know that they’re visiting a witch coven, or if there’s just something about the magic of the place that draws them there. Maybe the Succumb club is the same way.
I bend down to get milk from the mini-fridge underneath the bar. When I come back up, there’s a man standing directly behind her.
My breath catches in my throat. It’s not Tudor Thornblade, but he’s definitely a vampire. His pale skin has a sickly pallor and his eyes have a deep lifelessness that I’ve never seen in someone who’s heart still beats.
“Let me get that for you,” he says slickly, his eyes flicking to me for just a moment. Composing myself, I mix the drink.
The girl smiles sheepishly and takes the glass from the bar. “Thanks, do you come here often?”
“On occasion,” he grins, flashing his protruded canines.
Fighting against my discomfort, I quickly set up the credit card machine and place it on the counter in front of him. Barely looking, he taps a jet black card against it.
“Let’s find somewhere more comfortable, shall we?” he asks. The girl follows him with nervous delight toward the row of curtained booths along the side of the club. I watch them go uneasily. But it’s not like there’s anything that I could do. Vampires feed on humans all the time, especially in clubs like this. Lots of people actually enjoy it, if you can believe that.
I’ll never understand it. For witches,especiallygood witches like me, allowing a vampire to drink your blood is extremely taboo. Being close to so much blood-sucking is making me feel antsy. I’ll have to do a grounding ritual when I get back to my apartment. I check my watch. It’s only 11:43pm. The night is still young.
I stifle a yawn. Back in Hemlock Haven, I would have been in bed by now. Tucked in with a nice book and some herbal tea.
I can’t wait to finish this mission and go home. But I have no idea how long I’ll be undercover. Given how suspicious Lavinia is, it could bemonths. I don’t think her fears are founded, at least I really hope they aren’t. After all, I haven’t even seen Tudor, or any of his progeny. They must not come down to the club that often. Maybe I can just lie low for a while, spend some time in the city, and call it a vacation. It might even be good for me to get outside of my comfort zone.
A bachelorette party descends on the bar and orders a round of vodka shots. They down them quickly, then demand another round. After I pour them all, I realize that I’m getting very low on vodka. It’s the drink of choice tonight, it seems.
I look around for the barback, but he’s nowhere to be found. He’s a smoker and he always takes really long breaks. The other bartender is mixing old fashions on the other end of the oval bar.
There are no other customers waiting to order drinks, so I figure I can go to the back of house and get another case of vodka. It’ll give me a break to stretch my legs. I check to make sure my bag is securely stashed under the bar and I open the hinged counter before merging onto the crowded dance floor.
After attending two hundred years worth of pagan witch celebrations, I’m no stranger to sweaty, drunken debauchery. But I have to say, this is something else. People are packed into the club likesardines. It takes a lot of elbowing for me to make it through the crowd.
Miraculously, I emerge from the dance floor unscathed. I’m about to head for the back of house where the extra liquor is kept when I hear a strange noise. It’s almost a moan, but not a pleasurable one. It’s a desperate, aching cry, just quiet enough not to be easily heard over the pandemonium of the club.
My senses sharpen immediately. The sound came from one of the curtained booths that line the side of the club. I hurry in that direction, weaving through bodies of people flirting and dancing closely.
“Hey, watch it!” someone shouts as I push them aside.
But I don’t care. I follow the noise to one of the booths. It’s big enough for a small party, with a table and couch for…well, you can imagine what. Following my instincts, I pull aside its heavy curtains.
The blood freezes in my veins. It’s the girl from earlier. She’s seated on the lap of the vampire who bought her a drink. A long, thick trail of blood stains her pink tube dress. Her head is tilted unnaturally to the side, her eyes lolling back into her skull. His mouth is pressed firmly to the side of her neck as he sucks the blood from her limp body.
“What are you doing?” I say sharply. “Stop it! You’re draining her!”
He stops drinking to look at me. His fangs are covered in the girl’s thick, crimson blood.
“Mind your own business,” he says. “If you don’t want to end up just like her.”
With a cheeky wink, he goes back to drinking.
I stumble backward, trying to process what’s going on. My stomach is slightly queasy. It’s been a long time since I’ve witnessed something like this, and it stirs up painful memories.
“Wait, you can’t go in there!” says a voice behind me. Of course, this vampire has a little gang to back him up.
