“How do you know my name?” she interrupted.
“Do you know the meaning of quiet, witch? Do you? All you need to know is that I need the Hematilly Periapt, and you are going to find it for me. Now no more fooling around with the vampire. Find. It. Now!”
“But…but I don’t know where it is. I don’t even know what it is. Please just leave me alone,” she pleaded.
“Listen to me, little girl. Asgear gave it to you. I don’t give a shit what you have to do, but you will find it.” He released her and shook his head. She was the only one who could find it. “Now go to your vampire,” he ordered.
“But how will I find you if I get it?” she asked. She felt braver. He hadn’t hurt her. There was something about him; she couldn’t put her finger on it. He was powerful. Lethal. Yet he hadn’t attempted to kill her or even bite her.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Samantha. I will find you, so you’d better keep looking,” he threatened.
Samantha looked up the hallway, and could see Luca’s back to her. Readying herself to scream, she glanced back at the stranger, and he was gone. Vanished. She ran up the hallway, and embraced Luca tightly. “Luca, Luca. He was here. “
Luca growled. “Who was here? Who touched you?” An uncontrollable rage filled him at the thought of another man’s hands on Samantha. Luca signaled over to Étienne and Xavier, who sensed something was wrong. They immediately came over to find out what had just happened.
“Are you hurt? Look at me. Tell me everything.” Luca wanted to know every detail. This bastard had almost burned them to death, and now he was here in the club. How the hell did he get past him?
Without giving Samantha a chance to answer, he barked out orders to Étienne and Xavier. “Go down the hallway, and search for the man. Scent her first.”
“Where did he touch you Samantha?” Luca asked through gritted teeth.
“He put his hand over my mouth, and pinned me to the wall, but he didn’t hurt me. He wants the periapt. I told him I didn’t have it, but he thinks Asgear gave it to me. He’s a large vampire; I could see his teeth. At least as tall as you, Luca, so maybe six-five. Black eyes. I don’t remember much else; it was dark,” she quietly finished.
Xavier and Étienne leaned in, sniffing her dress. Samantha rolled her eyes upward, trying not to notice two strange vampires that she hadn’t even been formally introduced to, within inches of her breasts. She huffed as they backed off and went down the hallway.
“We should go home,” Luca suggested. “This is too dangerous.”
“Excuse my French, Luca, but no fucking way.” She had come this far and was not leaving without at least checking that room. “I’m telling you, he is not going to leave me alone until he gets that damn periapt. I’ve had enough of this shit tonight. Vampires looking for amulets I don’t have and then disappearing into thin air. Seriously? Enough.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Let’s go to the room and then we’ll leave. Please Luca,” she begged.
Xavier and Étienne were back within minutes. “There are no vampires down there that match his scent. He’s gone,” Étienne said.
“Listen up. We’re going down to the last room on the right, the one that Dominique was silvered in. Étienne, you go ahead of us. X, you bring up the rear. No stopping for shows or looking around. We’re going to move fast and then get outta here. Understood?” he asked.
They all nodded and one by one passed through the red-beaded curtain, making their way to the room. Samantha held onto Luca for dear life, hearing screams of pleasure and pain as they crept down the darkened hallways. Finally, when they reached the room, they found it occupied by two very naked humans. The man had the woman bent over a spanking bench and was entering her from behind.
Samantha’s mouth gaped open at the sight, while Luca strode in and interrupted them. He bared his fangs and roared. “Out!”
The people froze mid-coitus, the blond woman’s mascara-streaked face staring at them defiantly. Luca knelt down to the man, who appeared not to have heard his order, and glowered. “I said get out. Now move! Move! Move! Move!” he yelled.
The couple scrambled around for their clothes. Upon seeing Étienne and Xavier’s exposed fangs, they stopped looking for clothes and ran out the door. Samantha grinned. Vampires are scary when they’re angry.
Luca slammed the door behind him, scanning the room. “This room’s all we’ve got, so let’s tear it up. There’s got to be something here. Xavier, check all the floor panels. Étienne, you check the walls and light fixtures. Samantha, you’ve got the sofa. I’ll take the equipment,” he instructed.
They spread out and started searching. Samantha was more than grossed out by the plastic-covered sofa. She shuddered to think who and what people had done on it. “Gloves,” she called out, finding a box of surgical gloves on a small table in the corner that also housed towels, sanitizing wipes and a bowl of flavored condoms. Snapping on the latex life-savers, she began to rip the cushions off and delved into the cracks, looking for a clue.
Xavier inspected the heavily worn, oak floor planks. While the floor appeared well used, it presented as if it was in good condition. Aside from a few squeaks, he couldn’t find any loose boards.
Étienne scrutinized each brick in the wall, running his fingers along the grout. Not one stone was wavered. Save a few high hat lights, there was no other illumination in the room. Each one was tightly mounted and left no room for an opening.
Having already examined the Saint Andrew’s cross and spanking bench, Luca moved on to the massage table. On first glance, the padding looked clean and uncracked. Running his fingers underneath, he felt only smooth particle board until he came upon a section that was worn. Losing patience, Luca flipped the table upside down, exposing its warped underside. He noticed that one of the corners did not seem to evenly match the rest of the seams; it was slightly raised. Digging his fingers into the juncture where the particle board met the padding, he tugged until it popped. What the hell? Someone had put chewing gum inside the backing as makeshift glue. It had hardened into nothing more than a small tacky spud, yet it had held tight.
Luca peeled back the panel until he spied a flattened cocktail napkin. He carefully removed it and called the others over. “Got something. A napkin. Looks like there’s writing on it, but it doesn’t make sense. Samantha, take a look.” Luca surmised it was not a foreign language, and sincerely hoped it wasn’t nonsense. It simply read, “NIJE QN QSMGIOT.”
Samantha gently took the tissue paper into her hands and unfolded it. Her eyes widened in surprise, unexpectedly realizing she’d written it. “Oh my God, Luca. I wrote this; it’s my handwriting. I know what this is; it’s a code. A code to conceal a message. Knowing me, I probably created a cipher. My co-workers and I sometimes play encryption games with them. You know, create codes and see who can break it. I wouldn’t have used something easy, though.”
“Can you break it?” he asked.
“Probably, but I need to think about how I created it, and I can’t think in here.” She fingered the napkin and held it to her chest as if it was made of gold. This clue could give her back her life. Excitement coursed through her body; she could feel the tendrils of magic stirring under her skin.
“Let’s go everyone, we’ve gotta get out of here,” Luca ordered. “The back door. It leads to an outside alley. Although it looks like someone decided to lock it up good, since the last time we were here. Stand back while I break it.” Luca went over to the door, the same one Samantha had used to leave after she’d silvered Dominique. Obviously management wasn’t crazy about people using it as an exit, so they’d put a chain and lock on it. Whoever thought a chain would stop a supernatural was a dumbass, Luca thought. He knew a simple steel chain wouldn’t keep vampires from breaking it, so why bother? Luca wrapped the steel chain around his fists, grunting as he broke it apart. He kicked the door open, and they all took off down the alleyway.