Page 15 of Magic Pussy

She'd felt Luke tense the moment she'd entered the club, and now she knew why. Something, something very powerful, that they should be wary of, had taken her little sister's mind and body. That thing was talking to her now. Now Rain was aware of the issue, she could almost feel, see, the presence of the nefarious force.

So, she forced a smile, and said, "What a marvelous idea!"

They soon returned to the bar. Keeping the conversation centered on trivial things, she somehow managed to last a good hour without punching Pseudo-Sara in the teeth.

Luke and Rain watched her retreat and the moment she'd left the club, both of them sighed in relief.

Rain held his gaze for a long time, without saying anything. There were too many eyes, too many ears around them, and they didn't know what they'd walked into. The presence Rain had identified around Sara hadn't entirely disappeared. It could still be paying attention to them, using the eyes of someone else in the club.

It could be anyone or everyone.

Rain paused. The moment she'd said, that a little voice corrected, no. There was one person too stubborn to get possessed here.

“There’s something wrong. I can feel it, almost taste it. And it’s time to ask someone who will give me answers. Wait for me a minute," Rain said, before striding resolutely toward the owner of the club.

She planted herself in front of Charles, who wasn't surprised at all. If anything, he seemed to have been waiting for her.

"What do you think about the DJ, Rain White?"

"It's Phillips, and you should fire him. Potentially shoot him, too."

Charles' smile showed his fangs again. "Funny, isn't it? How there are about three hundred young people in here, and yet no one is complaining about the seventies disco tunes."

It was. They acted casual, normal, but something was missing.

Soul.

"Tomorrow. Meet me in front of the cemetery on foot around midday. I'll take you and your man on a little walk," the vampire told her, before turning, getting up from the stool where he'd sat since she'd arrived, and heading to the back of the club, disappearing behind a door with a red "private" sign.

So, he had really been waiting for her.

Rain couldn't help but ask herself if it was a trap, but one fact remained: she didn't have a choice if she wanted to know what the fuck was going on. She was going to have to play the vampire's game.

She returned to Luke and downed her beer in one go.

"Shall we get back to the hotel? I'm getting a little tired," she lied.

She just wanted out of this place. Luke jumped on the suggestion.

"Hell, yes."

They walked slowly, taking in the heavy city air. In many ways, it hadn't changed. There was still jazz and food, colors and magic.

But there was no doubt in her mind that this wasn't the New Orleans she'd left.

The Vampire

The cemetery where Rain had agreed to meet the bloodsucker felt a little too alive for a place where the dead were supposed to be at rest. Although it was empty, Luke would have sworn that he heard whispers.

"How long is the sucker gonna make us wait?" he asked, somewhat nervously.

"Are you afraid of ghosts?" Rain asked, smirking.

He shrugged. "Not afraid, no. Understandably concerned, though. This is a witch burial ground, isn't it?" he guessed. "You guys take powers from those dead folks underground. To me, that seems to suggest they're pretty damn strong."

"You aren't wrong," said Rain. "But they need a living thing linked to them to be able to do anything. Linked by blood, most of the time, although a fatedmate bond does the trick too."

"That's what your little ritual is about, right?"

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