Page 22 of Grave Throbbing
"Good." Key took another long drink of blood, trying to drain his cup as fast as possible. He liked the mixture, but tonight wasn't about savoring his meal. They needed to move as fast as possible, so they could scope the alleys and exits before anyone else had a chance.
Key was surprised to find the deep purple light still in the sky. That meant he'd awakened the moment the sun went down. He wasn't a morning, or evening, person, so that was rare.
Greed scouted Fanglory's perimeter before they went in. Harley was older, but he admitted he was a bureaucrat, not a fighter. If they needed him to wield a pen for them, it would be mightier than the sword, but Greed's silver daggers in her boot sheathes had cut plenty of vampires down to size. She'd never killed, though. The punishment for killing another vampire was death.
The punishment for Key biting another vampire was also death. Empress Marcella's favorite sentence was yanking a vampire's heart out through their chest and stabbing it to ash with silver. There were so many ways the night could end badly for all three of them.
Key had to try, though. He had used his paralyzing bite on Dobbins to get Greed away from him. If he stopped trying, Dobbins would cage Greed for the next decade and take Key's paralyzing bite from her hide one cut at a time. Would she have any mind left after that kind of agony, night after night? Key didn't want to find out. If they all ended up dead, it was a better punishment than what Dobbins had promised.
Inside, the club was thumping with bass from the huge subwoofers in every corner. The music was holiday themed, with songs like "Monster Mash," and "Bring me to Life," mixed in with the theme songs toThe MunstersandThe Addams Family. Greed already had a line halfway down the inner wall to the glory hole room. Not that they were late. Harley had gotten them to work a few minutes early, even with their extra security checks.
Key led Harley to the night's assignment boards. Instead of leading one of the attractions, Key was the night's inner door guard. That put him in the hallway from the haunted house exit to the bar. Instead of a pirate, the position required him to dress like stereotypical Dracula in a high-collar cape with red lining and wearing a tuxedo shirt and bowtie beneath it. He led Harley to the dressing room where most of the others had already donned their costumes and were putting finishing touches on their makeup.
"They're all human?" Harley asked.
"Seasonal workers usually are," Key replied. "The vampires work downstairs."
"You're a vampire." Harley's bemused frown melted Key's heart. He politely turned his back for the second it took Key to don his costume.
"I don't have the best job record," Key said when he was fully dressed and seated at the makeup counter. "Until I prove I'm dependable, I work up here. They only hired me because Greed gave me a good reference. This is a great place for vampires to work, if they'll keep me on."
Harley frowned and opened his mouth to argue, but Key's boss appeared out of nowhere. "You're with the council?" she asked Harley.
"I am."
"You can't be here. We had an agreement. No security inside."
"Do I look like security?" Harley scoffed.
"You look like trouble," she said, giving him a once-over. "You'll stay with Key?"
"Yes."
"If I see you downstairs, you'll be escorted out."
"Understood." Harley dropped his head in a slight bow.
Her expression softened as she met Key's gaze in the mirror. "I put Key upstairs to keep him safe. I would have tucked Greed away, too, if she'd let me. Every vampire in Boston is here tonight. It's too hard to keep track of everyone." She patted Key's shoulder. "Good luck."
Key focused on his makeup to calm his nerves. He layered on the foundation that looked like whitewash and then applied thick black mascara and eyeliner to emphasize his eyes. Harley couldn't look away when he was finished. Too bad the effect would be lost in the dimly lit hallway.
"This is it?" Harley asked when they arrived. The only light was the red exit sign above them. A large sign on the door they'd come through read, "No entrance unless you are over twenty-one and already have a wristband."
Key assumed his usual position, standing off to the side of the podium and resting his elbow on the slanted wood top.
"Is that thing hollow?" Harley's wicked grin was amplified by the red light.
"So?"
"We could have some fun while we wait."
Key was surprised to find Harley on his knees, searching the inside of the podium. He dusted a few spiderwebs from its depths with his pocket handkerchief, because of course he had a pocket handkerchief. Then, he slid inside, facing out.
"What are you waiting for?"
"You can't be serious," Key said.
"I haven't tasted you yet."
