Page 45 of The Goddess is Fierce
Oscar was probably the most responsible out of all of us. He had a fairly good idea of what he wanted to do when he graduated and he had a backup plan if he changed his mind. I mostly only ever saw Oscar in his uniform, dodgeball clothes, and comfortable clothes to hang out in.
Oscar going clubbing was an entirely different story. He went full punk. His hair was spiked, and he had eyeliner on. Ren also had eyeliner on, but he looked like he literally just walked off a manga that Oscar drew with him as the main character. They both looked insanely hot.
Then there was fucking West. He spent way more time on his hair than he did on what he was wearing because he was West and a lion. West told all of us spending four hundred dollars on new jeans was stupid when he could buy a pair that were already broken in and just as nice at the thrift store. West still bought stylish clothes, he just didn’t pay out the ass for them. West was just wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, but he had the whole hair thing going on that I didn’t.
Drake looked like a fucking rock star. Did everyone own eyeliner except West and me? Drake looked dangerous and sexy. He looked like his whole body was venomous, played goalie, and he was a damned musical prodigy. I knew George loved me for me, but fuck, that wasn’t fair.
We met everyone in the common room. Dexter and Michael were already waiting. Those two were adorable. Michael looked like Dexter’s bodyguard and Dexter looked like a pixie about to go to a vampire rave.
Those weren’t exactly the same thing as a ghost speakeasy, but the principle was the same. The location was top secret, you had to be invited, and if there wasn’t a token, you had to know the password to get in. The vampires generally didn’t care if you brought someone like the ghosts seemed to, but they expected you to bring someone cool. If you invited someone to the ravethat brought the vibe down or attracted the attention of the cops, you’d never get invited to another one.
I’d been to vampire raves. I knew what to expect. I’d had my nuts punched enough to be terrified of pissing off a ghost at the speakeasy. It honestly hurt like a bitch and hurt my feelings every time Bethany flew out of the floor, shrieking, to assault my dick.
I finally had eyes on my girlfriend. Ah, fuck. She looked hot as shit and I felt underdressed and boring. George went around hugging all of us before we left.
“I feel like I dressed wrong for this,” I whispered as I squeezed her.
“You can be neurotic with me. I couldn’t figure out what to wear, so Azren dressed me. That shirt makes your eyes pop and your ass looks amazing in those pants,” she said, pinching my butt.
Yeah, that was enough for me. I didn’t need to be extravagant. She told me ages ago she loved my eyes and she once flicked my ass with her fingers after I’d fucked her at a moon orgy and told me I had the butt of a ballet dancer. I didn’t know what that meant, but she said her old babysitter was a dancer and her coven was all ballet dancers. George assured me it was a very good thing.
George explained Azren got a token, too, and they’d be meeting us at the speakeasy with Baldur. We walked to Grimsbane Auditorium. It was one of the bigger buildings on campus. There was a door covered by ivy by the back garden. I only knew that because when we got close, the ivy parted to show us the door. You couldn’t tell it was there unless the ivy moved.
Oscar and Mags conjured lights as we walked down this dimly lit, narrow staircase. We practically had to walk single file because there wasn’t enough room. There was a solid brick wallat the bottom. There was blood magic on the wall. I couldn’t sense what spell had been used, but I could smell the blood.
West had gone down first. He pulled his token out.
“Shit, mine didn’t come with instruction. Is there a magic word? I don’t have to bleed for this, do I? I’m a very sensitive lion. Maybe someone else can bleed.”
West wasn’t sensitive. He just liked being dramatic. I literally watched him act like he was going to lose his whole arm over a paper cut.
“Try waving it in front of the door,” Mags said. “There’s blood magic on the door, but I don’t think it wants yours.”
“Yeah, but then I’ll look like a dumbass and I’m sensitive about that, too.”
“Fuck me,” Mags growled. “You’re lucky you treat George like a queen.”
Mags pushed past West and waved the token in front of the wall. This super ornate wooden door magically appeared in the wood. Shit, did we just walk in? I wasnottrying to piss off any more ghosts. Mags took one for the team and knocked.
The door swung open and a massive ghost stuck his head out.
“No need to knock, friends. The token means you can just walk in. I’ll be on the other side of the door and I’ll know if you’ve brought someone we didn’t invite. I’ve been told you’re VIP. Pearl is going to be taking care of you tonight. She’s a sweet girl, but she’s special. She might get at least one order wrong. If you make her feel bad about it, I’ll haunt you for the rest of the semester.
“When we set up the speakeasy, they taught us how to make the foods they were serving at them. We have no idea what they taste like. Back in our day, lobster was prison food. It’s frankly fucking weird it’s a delicacy now. We haven’t updated the food menu, but we do change the drinks. Pearl will take care of you.And remember, be nice. We’re all fond of Pearl. We’llallhaunt you if you upset Pearl.”
Officially consider me Pearl’s new best friend. She could fuck-up my orders all night and bring me drinks and food I hated. I’d finish it and pretend I loved it. I’d kiss her spirit ass all fucking night because a ghost haunted my dick once and I had no intention of repeating that.
I finally got a good look at the speakeasy. The lighting was dim, and I was loving the vibes. There was a small stage up at the front and there was a band of ghosts playing instruments and singing. They were all dressed in Puritan garb because that’s what they were wearing when they died, but ghosts weren’t completely frozen in time if they were stuck here. They could watch and learn as time passed.
These ghosts happened to have a thing for jazz and they were really good. I didn’t take the Puritan era for having a single ounce of soul, but the succubus up there at the microphone was killing it. My parents said classical was the only appropriate music for people of our station, but my grandfather really loved jazz and introduced me to it. It wasweirdseeing her up there doing Nina Simone proud dressed like that, but I was digging it.
The VIP section was pretty private. It was a booth off in the corner where we could see the stage and everyone else, but no one could really see us. Azren and Baldur were already there. Damn, they looked good, too.
Pearl came over to take our order. She used to be a werewolf, and she had an intellectual disability. I was a little mad the bouncer thought any of us were going to be mean to her. That shit wasn’t cool, even if she was a ghost. Pearl looked embarrassed as fuck.
“We’ve had so many people in here before and some of them have gone on to become pretty famous. This is the first time we’ve hadgodsin our speakeasy before!” she squeaked.
Pearl looked absolutely terrified. I had a feeling she’d be scared of literally any god, not just Azren. I knew Azren and George could handle this. Azren just gave her that serene smile they always had.
