Chapter 10: •Naturals•
Quinn:
I appeared at the front of Naturals, a club for only supernatural beings. It was the last place anyone would go in search of me. Though it was dark already, I wore a baseball cap to hide my appearance.
Strolling into the club, my eyes scanned the large room. The loud music blasting in the air drowned out the conversations of people. The dance floor was packed with sweaty bodies, dancing to the beat of the music. Taking my eyes off the dance floor, I moved towards the bar. At every table I passed, people's eyes were fixed on me because of the cap I was wearing.
Naturals was a different world at night. It was a place where all creatures of the night hung out freely without the fear of being noticed for who they are. As such, hiding one's identity was seen as a strange act. As safe as it was to take off my cap, I didn't trust anybody there.
Getting to the bar, I slid into a bar stool, ordering a glass of scotch. A few minutes later, the waiter slid the glass filled with the liquor towards me. I gulped it down, requesting a second one. Again, he slid the glass filled with scotch towards me. This time around, I took a sip from it.
After setting the drink down, I turned in my stool, to scan the people in the room. I needed help and I was sure of finding a suitable person at Naturals.
I wanted to get out of town and needed cash and a place to stay. But unfortunately, I had no place to stay. As for the money, I had a little at home to keep me going for a while. Moving out of town and staying at a motel or even a hotel wasn't a wise choice. I needed a place far away from people. Something in the middle of nowhere.
While my eyes scanned the room in search of someone who could fulfill my needs, a body slumped into the barstool next to me. I dragged my eyes away from the crowd to see who it was.
Damon Graves. The CEO of Voxel enterprises and a fucking billionaire.
He might be just who I need. I thought to myself.
He ordered a scotch and fixed his gaze on me, his lilac orbs staring intently into my silver ones. Using that opportunity, I mentally scanned him with my eyes, seeing into his past to know if he could be of help. From what I found, his record was clean. He didn't mingle with the humans and wasn't interested in their selfish acts.
He was in fact, the perfect man.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?". He asked after a while of staring at me. Raising the glass of his drink to his lips, he sipped from it.
"I must be the ghost then".
That was technically the truth. While I'd been in the church cell, Gonzalez must have spread the rumor of my death in the war.
Without mincing words, I hit the nail on the head.
"I need your help".
"I do not help ghosts". He replied, taking his eyes off me.
The man knew I wasn't a ghost. It was how he easily recognized me. One thing I didn't like about his kind, cambions. They notice all beings.
"You know I'm not a ghost".
"Why should I help you?" He asked without sparing me a glance. "For all I know, you could kill me. Your kind and my kind do not associate. I am the evil you seek to kill".
He was right. Cambions were the offsprings of demons and humans. I was very much against demons and their offspring. But I needed his help and again, he could be trusted. "I do not kill the good ones. Just those that are tainted".
"The abilities of the angelic being in you must be dull then". He taunted. "I'll help you on one condition". He said after a while. "You don't involve me in whatever you're running from".
His condition was an easy one but I was surprised he agreed to help me without asking what was after me. He didn't even inquire about my supposed death. The man was a strange fellow.
"Easy". I accepted his condition. "I need a place to stay in a secluded area away from humans".
"Meet me here tomorrow. This same time". Downing his drink, he walked out of the club, never sparing me a glance.
I stayed a while, enjoying the little freedom I had at Naturals before leaving for home.
The next night, I was back at Naturals at the same time he'd said. I sat at the bar, nursing a glass of scotch when a blonde slid into the stool next to me. "Margarita". She called her order to the waiter.
While the waiter prepared her drink, she turned towards me, eyes studying my appearance and trying to make out the face covered by the cap.
"You shouldn't be hiding your identity is the only place you're free to be yourself". Her velvety voice filtered into my ears through the loud music.
From the corner of my eyes, I took in her appearance. Her eyes were a glowing golden yellow. With the eyes, I could tell she was a werewolf. Apart from the glowing eyes, she also had a nice rack. Courtesy of the strapless top she was wearing, a fair amount was left to be appreciated.
It had been a long time since I felt the touch of a woman. If I wasn't in pursuit of freedom, I would have taken her home for a night of pleasure but that was the least on my list at the moment.
"Maybe my appearance is a great turn off". I finally responded.
"Try me". She smiled coyly, wrapping her manicured fingers around my biceps to cop a feel while she eyed me with interest.
"I'll have to think of your offer, next time".
The smile fell from her face and she rolled her eyes.
"Your loss then".
And she had never been more right.
Taking her drink, she left, wandering into the dance floor. I checked the time on my Rolex wristwatch to see it was almost midnight. A scowl marred my face in annoyance. The man was making me wait and I wasn't finding it funny.
A while later, while I was having my third glass of scotch, he strolled into the club.
"Took you long enough". I gritted out.
"I wanted to be sure you're in dire need of it as you claimed". He smirked.
Fuck you! I raged on internally.
Dipping his hand into the breast pocket of his leather jacket, he brought a set of keys and a piece of paper that he placed close to my hand.
"It's in the middle of nowhere just as you requested. It'll just be you, nature, and wildlife".
I nodded my head curtly, in appreciation.
"When you leave, leave no traces of you behind".
"I won't". I assured him. I understood his reasons perfectly. He couldn't risk being connected to me. His identity as a human would be questioned.
"You owe me. I'll collect my pay when the time comes".
Again, I gave him a curt nod.
Gulping down the last of my drink, I pocketed the keys and the paper that contained the address and strode out of the club into the night. A light breeze was blowing. Instead of going home at once, I decided to take a walk in the dark.
There was no harm in that.
Naturals were located in a quiet part of town, close to the woods. I strolled into the dark streets, moving quietly to avoid attracting attention to myself. My walk was interrupted when I saw someone slipping from an alley. The street was dark, the only source of light being the moon that wasn't full. But with the help of my night vision, I was able to tell it was a female. She
mustn't have noticed me because she continued walking in the darkness. While she walked, something about her seemed familiar. My sensitive ears picked on the distinct sounds of her footsteps.
They reminded me of the nun from the church. But there was no way it could be her. The church was almost a mile away from Naturals. There was no way she could've gotten out so late in the night with the heavy security.
Concluding it wasn't her, I continued my walk, quietly to avoid alerting her. But the familiar sounds of her footsteps nagged at me. In the end, my curiosity won.
"Hey". I called out to her. At first, she ignored me but when I called again, her steps halted.