Page 10 of Edge of Darkness

Connie felt for him. It was obvious Kage was struggling, even though he tried to hide it. Having his mate hurt was bad enough, but Connie couldn’t imagine growing up thinking he was an only child only to find out he had a sibling who was damned and determined to destroy him.Andhad targeted Kage’s mate to maximize the damage.

They didn’t stay long since they didn’t want to impede Austin’s recovery. The sun was setting as they drove away from the Dominion.

“Are you hungry?” Hudson asked.

“I could eat.” Connie was a dragon. There was never a time when hedidn’twant to eat. “What do you have in mind?”

Hudson stopped at a red light and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Hmmm. Club Nomadic is open.”

“Feeling energetic, are we?” Connie gently poked Hudson in the ribs. “Sure you’re up to it, old man?”

The light turned green, and Hudson accelerated. “I’ll dance your ass into the ground, then later through the mattress.”

“Oooooh, a challenge. I like it. Yes, let’s go play with the vampires—see what they have going on tonight.”

Club Nomadic was a well-known queer club that was very popular with the hip, trendy set. The building was located downtown, right in the middle of San DeLain’s nightlife, and was owned by a vampire, Raven St. Clair, who was the Master of the City.

Hudson availed himself of the valet parking and followed Connie to the entrance. There was a line snaking around the building, but fortunately someone must have given the bouncer a heads-up because he and Hudson were immediately escorted inside.

Hudson laughed softly at the song playing—Bite Meby Enhypen, a South Korean boy band. “These vampires, I swear.”

“I’m shocked you know the song.”

“I don’t, but there’s no mistaking the lyrics.”

Connie had to laugh. “I forgot you know Korean, along with several other languages.”

“Even if I didn’t, parts of the song are in English. So why don’t you come over here and bite me?”

“I’ll take you up on that later,” Connie said, winking.

The outside of the place looked like any other modern building, but inside was another story. Club Nomadic was an intriguing conglomeration of Goth Victorian and steampunk, with vampire-like elements thrown in for good measure.

There were exposed brick, concrete floors tinted black, open stairwells heading up to the second and third floors, awnings throughout, and private nooks enclosed with long, velvety drapery.

Heavy, ornate black leather furniture was scattered throughout for people to sit and visit. Tables had low lighting to eat by. Black, ornate chandeliers hung throughout the building. Décor pieces were made from vintage leather, driftwood, old lanterns, and wrought iron.

A rolling fog creeped along pathways and onto the dance floor. The massive bar filled the entire back wall and had a huge mirror behind it. The vibe was creepy, but sexy.

Dress ran the gamut from Goth Victorian, to steampunk, to regular clothes, which he and Hudson wore. But clothing wasn’t what made Club Nomadic interesting—it was the vampire element.

Everywhere Connie looked, there were humans wearing fake vampire teeth and red contacts. Some wore makeup to make themselves even paler than what they naturally were.

Well, the humans had it partially right. Vampires did have fangs and pupils that turned red, but their forehead and brow area thickened when they took their true form.

There was a television show from the late 90s that accurately depicted vampires. Raven had not been happy, but the show had been so popular there wasn’t much he could do about it.

That was not the only television series that correctly portrayed certain paranormals. The gargoyles also got in trouble with a TV show, but it was a cartoon that time.

But what wasreallysurprising were the vampires who showed their true nature in the club. Of course, the humans thought the vamps were wearing prosthetics and makeup—it kinda went with the whole vibe of the club. What they didn’t know was that there was no makeup, and that vampires were real. They didn’t know they were among predators.

That was half the fun.

A vampire in his true form nodded to them, then handed them a black wristband, which meant they were paranormal. No wristband meant the person was human.

“Have a good evening, King Hudson and Sir Conrad.” The vampire bent his head slightly out of respect to Hudson.

“Thank you,” Hudson said.

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