Page 48 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse
The dance floor was larger and more crowded, and the light system was completely out of this world. I had been to many nightclubs, but none that resembled this one.
My jaw hung open as I looked around. The entire place seemed to glimmer with light, even the dancers’ skin was aglow. The floor was like standing on top of a swirling galaxy. I fought a feeling of vertigo and had to look up. Another fast galaxy hung three stories above me. Circular galleries surrounded the dance floor, their railings made of glimmering glass that swam and shifted with the rhythm of the music.
But most awe-inspiring of all was the people. All manner of Skews were in sight. Shifters, vamps, Fae, mages, witches. The shifters had some of their animalistic features on display. I saw fangs, claws, tales, dappled fur, pointed ears, curved backs with bony protrusions, forked tongues, and a dizzying array of many more wild traits. A few of the vamps levitated in the air as they gyrated. Only really ancient ones could do that, and the sight of them and the thought of what they could do to me made my blood run cold. Then there was the Fae… so stunning, enough to rival Drevan, though not quite.
“See, notinHades,” Drevan whispered behind me, bringing his lips close to my ears so that I felt his warm breath.
I wrapped a hand around my Periapt as if it would offer me more protection from potential clubgoer demons, then whirled on Drevan as my astonishment was swept away by the reminder of what he’d done just a few minutes ago.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demanded.
“Shh, shh, shh,” he shushedme in three bursts, pressing a finger to his full lips.
He then grabbed my elbow and pulled me along, guiding me to a corner of the club. As if he were parting the seas as he’d done at The River Café, the people in front of us cleared a path. The path led to an empty leather booth that seemed to just be waiting for us, unmolested. After forcing me to sit, he made a strange gesture in the air, then sat down.
I was still recovering from this second sudden change of scenery when a plate of fancy appetizers and a couple of drinks appeared in front of us.
“Quit!” I ordered. “None of this is going to save you from the tongue lashing I’m about to give you.” I inhaled deeply and started. “You fucking bastard. How dare you throw my friend over the railing? You could’ve killed him. As it is, you might have scarred him for the rest of his life. And you allowed Jenna and Benjamin to see you like…” I put both arms out to represent wings. “And I mean… you… you have…” I flapped my arms like a chicken. “Since when?!”
“Since I was in the womb.” He picked up a cracker, loaded with what looked like caviar, and popped it in his mouth.
“Why wasn’t I informed?!”
“Sorry, I forgot to ask Khargon to hand over my curriculum vitae. I’ll make sure to correct that.”
“Black wings,” I said numbly, remembering the spectacular sight, the way each magnificent feather had shone like sharp glass under starlight.
“Do you have an objection to their color?!” he asked, sounding angry, a hint of red in his eyes. “Because I’ll have you know, they are rare and desirable among my kind. Not even Father has them.”
So notthe thing I wanted to be thinking about. Lucifer’s wings.
“I just never thought… demons had wings.”
He sighed in frustration. “We’ve already been over this. I’m Nephilim. Nephilim have wings. And some demons too. Seriously, what are they teaching you at the league?”
Of course, I knew that Nephilim had wings. I just hadn’t added two and two together.
“Forget about the stupid wings,” I spat.
He raised a thick black eyebrow. “You brought them up, not me.”
“Whatever.”
He rolled his eyes.
“What you did to Sage,” I continued, “that was just the worst thing you’ve ever done.”
A smile quirked his lips. “Far from it.”
I opened my mouth to continue my rant, but a woman appeared out of nowhere and fell to her knees in front of Drevan. He blinked, startled, and leaned backward.
The woman’s hands were pressed together in supplication. “Please,” she begged, “how can I convince you?”
Drevan’s mouth twisted in distaste.
“Fuck me, I will make it worth your while.” She placed one of her hands on Drevan’s knee, then slid it up toward his crotch.
He snatched her wrist and pushed her away. “Go, leave me alone,” he said, though not unkindly. The slight glow that had appeared in his eyes dimmed slowly until it disappeared entirely.
