2 Chapter Two

Sitting in the passenger seat of Amber's shiny, new, cherry-red Fiat I stared to feel uneasy about the situation. One of the stories from the Old Country that my mother used to tell me about my great aunt, one of the most powerful witches, she used to tell me. My aunt had gone through a lot in her lifetime, none of us knew if she and her sister were still alive, or at least my mother would never tell me out of respect for them. My aunt and her sister were twins just like Amber and Phenelope are, they were born with the same gifts that my cousins were born with, though it was different because one of the twins was born blind, and the other born with the gift of foresight. My mother never told me the extent of their powers and how they grew in fear that my cousins would suffer the same fate as my aunts did.

I looked over to see if Amber's aura was still seething with anxiety, and it seemed worse now than it was before we got into the car, I considered asking her if she wanted me to drive but the expression on her face told me that she knew where her destination was and she was dead set on not wavering. So I keep my eyes on the road thinking maybe the flow of the passing cars would calm my nerves, but no dice. Despite the flying car lights and the stench of the night life crawling around this part of town, I of course felt a familiar feeling of a type of home, or what ever the feeling of being home felt like. It was something The Crowns never wanted us to get use to in case of a mass extinction, even nothing like that had happened in hundreds of years.

"I know she's in trouble Willow I can feel it, I don't know how to explain it but I know that she's in pain somewhere and I can't help her and it's killing me." Her fear was almost tangible, I could feel it myself, the panic and sorrow that she was that was coursing through her.

"I know what you're feeling right now Amber I really do, but we can't loose our heads here, we need to be as clear minded as we can be, for Phenelope. And if all else fails, I know you don't want to but, we might need to tell my mother and get the coven involved in this. It may be bigger than we even know." I said as more memories about my mothers story started to surface in my mind, but it didn't seem like a good time to tell her what was going through my head. The last thing I need right now was for Amber to get completely freaked out and not even be able to focus on the road ahead.

"You seem to know where you want to go but you haven't told me yet, and I know you're worried, I really do, but please tell me that you're not thinking about going to that bar. You know that place is bad news." I said trying to make my tone less anxious than it actually was. I always thought that The Grave was named ironically because any human that went in usually never came out. Either they were kept as a midnight snack, or the kind of brainwashed slaves that would make the Stockholm syndrome look like a rosy vacation.

"You know that is the last place that I would want to look but I know that she has been there, I can sense her, it's not a fresh scent but it's strong enough to where I know I can get some answers." I knew she was determined, but I never thought that she would start her search here, and to think that Phenelope had been anywhere near here made my stomach turn "and plus, you seem to feel pretty comfortable at the moment so I have a good feeling about whats going to happen."

"You have no idea what you're talking about, I just don't want to end up in the worst part of town with no protection and then something bad happens, you know this isn't our territory Amber." I said with a little more confidence then I actually had.

But she just kept looking forward, not phased by the sights we were about to approach, makes me wonder if she herself had maybe been out in this part of town too, but I knew better. She may like messing with peoples heads but she's not dumb, neither her or Phenelope could last 10 minutes in this part of town.

I watched as the cars passed by us in a blur, mostly only catching a glimpse of the spaced out street lights every half a mile or so. By the time we hit the main road to the club, I started to notice more and more things that were familiar. Not that I would ever want to tell Amber this, but I knew this side of town very well, the buzzing neon open signs, the flashing lights, and ladies of the night wondering through the streets with a flirtatious purpose. It wasn't a part of my past that I was proud of, but then again it's that age old saying about what someone doesn't know doesn't hurt them. Well if my family knew what I had done in the early years of my training I would probably be forbidden from ever returning to the outside world, some things were just better left unsaid.

When it came to my past things were defiantly better left unsaid, but I couldn't help but find myself wanting to tell Amber everything, though everything would include why my past was better left in the past. The neon lights and traffic light started to become more far and in between, and I knew that we were about 7 miles from The Grave, another thing noticeable was the fact that some of the human clubs that I use to cruise were long closed, with yellow and black caution tape on every one from end to end.

I started to wonder what had happened but as the we were approaching the valet for The Den, my mind wondered else where, my eyes darting from side to side in the passenger seat, looking far more concerned than I should have in this particular spot. Amber and I hadn't even reached the bouncer of the club before my hands started to shake and a cold sweat broke out over my face. Though I kept my eye straight and my posture in defiance, I could tell that the bouncer noticed something off about Amber and I, "Are you with her, or do I need to kick your asses to the back of the line?" he said his fist crunching as he cracked his knuckles.

Amber just looked at me with an expression that I kind of expected from her, pure fear; I just kept my eyes dead set on his while pulling up the sleeve to my left arm, which in a matter of 3 seconds a tattoo that somewhat symbolized two snakes intertwined with a large staff in the middle of both of them, started to appear, with the vines and smaller branches making a circle around the whole tattoo. Amber once again just looked at me dumbfounded, even though I couldn't bear to look her in the eyes right now, my body language told the bouncer that I belonged here and he had no right to turn me away. The bouncer took one look at the tattoo and immediately apologized for his hostility and removed the rope hook from the pole that kept the entire line from just running the bouncer over. Not that it would happen anyway, I could smell wolf on him, which means that the club had defiantly upped security sense the last time that I was here.

As I was walking past the bouncer, Amber took hold of my arm, I could tell that she was far more scared now that we were at the club than when we were in the car. All I could do to keep her calm was wrap my hand around hers, trying to assure her, but no good would that really do because no matter how much more powerful we are than these wolves, we were far more outnumbered then they were. And I knew any Alpha would have the power to and influence to do just about anything up. We would be killed on sight just by most of the wolves here, but thankfully they knew who I was anyway, and of course they all knew we were high society Witches, and Vampires aren't the only ones that get hungry. I could also tell that there had an increase and also a huge change in the staff, which is probably my fault.

My guess what some of the old ones were to fearful and decided to ditch town, or the message I left behind for them last time finally registered a fuck-off response. Still the saying always goes 'keep your friends close but enemies closer'. and in this case, all I could hope for is the the Alpha and I can see eye to eye and get this information that Amber and I needed.

Walking into The Den really made it easier to make note of my surroundings, in case of a much needed quick escape. And if the whole dance floor wasn't so packed full of sexually hungry and possibly very drunk or even under the influence humans, it might be a little easier to detect just how many wolves were here. Even through all the liquor and the overwhelming smell of sex in the air, I was still able to pinpoint certain musk. An Alpha; different ranks of wolves have different scents, and I knew this one from my past, one that I would never forget, not in 100 lifetimes.

I grab a hold of Ambers hand and keep her close to me, and as we approach the swarm of people my powers were almost too strong around this type of charged energy. No wonder why it always felt good to me, as Amber and I quickly slip through the mass of people I try to avoid eye contact with the wolves in the room. I can't give off the impression that we were here for the"big man" so to speak. The Alpha was never to be disturbed, but because of my past here, they paid no mind, other than the occasional familiar nod.

The closer she and I got to the long steel staircase, we could both feel the unmistakable power of the Alpha just seeping though the walls and floors. We approached the staircase and there were two much bigger bouncers waiting for anyone trying to catch a glimpse or of course the little wolf groupies from freaking out who they were really glossy-eyed over. but with the tattoo still revealed the bouncers just looked and both moved two steps to both sides. Probably because they thought I was bringing her to the Alpha for a snack, never a part of my life I was proud of, but it served me right in this particular moment. Walking up the stairs I could feel Amber's fear and anxiety but it wasn't something I could focus on right now and what I knew was on the other side of the door had me mentally preparing for the onslaught of either extreme.

Death. Or answers.

avataravatar
Next chapter