Theresa held her gaze, but again, her tone stepped down a notch. “You will hold your interference to what is in Heaven’s interests?”
“Chica, I want my guys to live their lives and go to Heaven when they die just like everyone else here,” Rachel said, gesturing to the angels floating up above. “If they gotta fall down and go boom, I’ll fucking weep, but I’ll toe the line and let nature take its course just like every other angel’s gotta. Even with Jason. Even with Alex.”
She stepped in closer, her stare growing deathly cold. “But if this situation brings in a whole bunch of vile supernatural bullshit into this city that I’ve been busting my ass to clean up, and if I find out you could’ve warned me but didn’t, I will pull every feather off your wings and cram them up your ass one by fucking one.”
Chapter Six: Party Fouls
“So thanks again for getting us tickets to this, by the way,” said Molly as they slipped through the crowd at the ballroom entrance. Plenty of partygoers occupied the hotel’s passages, but not so many as to make movement through the hallways difficult.
“It is my pleasure,” Lorelei shrugged. The demon leaned in and said, “Please stay close to me and do nothing to draw attention. We can speak with one another, but keep a thought toward being unobtrusive. I have some talent for hiding in plain sight as long as no one does anything unusual.”
“Is that how you make it through a crowd when you look like that?” asked Molly with a bit of a smile.
“Normally I prefer to be noticed,” Lorelei nodded, sharing her grin. She reached out to touch her two companions, both on the hand and only fleetingly, but the two witches both sensed the enchantment. “I draw pleasure and some small energy from the lust of others, but my interests are not on random strangers tonight. You have my full attention. I am glad to have yours.”
With that, she turned and led them away. Onyx nudged Molly forward, making the redhead blink away her reverie. Molly turned to find a knowing smirk on her lover’s face. “She knows we’re both staring,” Onyx murmured.
“Yeah. Well.” Molly took Onyx’s hand, squeezing it as they followed Lorelei. Her eyes went straight to Lorelei’s swaying hips. “There’s a lot to stare at.”
Onyx didn’t reply; she just squeezed back and nodded.
Lorelei felt their stares and their lust. She knew better than to acknowledge either… yet. “The ladies’ rooms will doubtlessly be occupied,” she said, turning toward the elevators. She pressed the button to summon one. “Fortunately, I’m the sort to plan ahead.”
“You rented a room?” Onyx asked. “You live less than a mile away.”
“I always prefer to keep privacy readily available,” Lorelei smiled. Once inside the elevator, Lorelei ushered her companions inside and pressed the button for the fifth floor.
“I must ask,” Lorelei said now that they were truly alone, “are the two of you on your guard tonight?”
The witches shared a serious glance. “Our defenses are up, yes,” nodded Molly. “They don’t exactly confiscate wands as weapons here, either. We’re prepared for trouble if it comes up. You think there’s going to be any?”
Lorelei shook her head. “Nothing immediate or violent, no,” she frowned. “No one who would harm any of us would expose themselves in such an open environment, and we should see them coming, anyway. But I thought I should ask.”
Molly’s eyes slid toward Onyx. The other young woman shrugged. “I kinda figured I should have my eyes open extra-wide. Most supernatural types would stick out in a crowd to me tonight. Magic, werewolves, all that. I never make guarantees, though.”
“Of course. I have perfect faith in you,” Lorelei assured her. The door opened. She led them to a room close to the elevator. “Did anything about Amber seem odd to you?” she asked, slipping the card key out of her top.
“Jason’s date?” Onyx asked.
“Only that her costume looks bad ass,” Molly said as Lorelei brought them inside and closed the door. She turned to see the demon looking her up and down, and felt her breath catch under that gaze.
“Not to sound catty or put her down,” Lorelei said coolly, “but if we’re to talk of costumes, I much prefer yours.”
The redhead in the sea witch dress blushed. She looked down at her tentacles and her fishnet skirts. “Thanks, but I want hers, too.”
Onyx had never seen Molly blush before, let alone made it happen. It would have given her a tiny stab of jealousy, had the moment come from anyone else. Instead, Onyx just grinned at Molly’s reaction and logged it as something to tease her about later, and opted to stay on Lorelei’s chosen subject. “What’s on your mind?”
“She’s inquisitive but shares little about herself,” Lorelei explained. She crossed the room to take one of the seats at the small table near the window. “While that alone would not raise my concern, she seems quite guarded. Careful. Always aware of her surroundings.”
Molly leaned against the dresser. “Has she known Jason long? Was she friends with anyone else in the group before they met?”
Lorelei shook her head. “He has known her for only a week. He clearly wants to push things further along with her. I would be happy for him, but the events that brought us all together aren’t exactly matters I’d want him to share with someone when they haven’t moved past casual dating.”
“Kinda have to run that risk with all of those guys, though, don’t you?” suggested Onyx. “Molly and I know enough to keep supernatural stuff quiet, but… You have talked to them about that, right?”
“Of course. Moreover, they all have some inherent sense of it. They know how hard it would be to explain certain aspects of their lives. No, I am less worried about Jason deliberately revealing too much, and more that Amber suspects something. It would explain her wariness.
“I want to like her. I can see why Jason is attracted to her, and she seems to get on fine with everyone, but…” Lorelei’s voice trailed off. “Trust does not come naturally to me. I am quite practiced at establishing a friendly atmosphere, and at maintaining a friendly tone, but actual friendship is… new. I am unused to it.”
Onyx broke the silence that followed. “We’ve never talked about that. The other night at your place was nice and all, but that was all small talk and business. Nothing personal.”
“No,” Lorelei agreed.
“So, on that note,” Molly spoke up, trying to smile through her trepidation. “Onyx and I want everything to be above-board. All of it. We dig Alex, he’s said you’re okay with fooling around, but…”
“But there is a difference between hearing that from him and establishing an understanding with me,” Lorelei finished, “and presumably Rachel?”
“We already talked to her,” Onyx nodded. Molly snorted, and then the two both found themselves giggling. “That was an experience.”
Lorelei smiled knowingly. “She always is. I trust she was as reassuring as she was jarring.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” Molly smirked.
“But you wish to know where I stand, and to hear it from me directly.” Lorelei paused. “Unlike Alex, you have some understanding of supernatural matters. You have embraced them. You know that not everyone or everything lives within ordinary mortal sensibilities.”
“Ordinary mortals don’t always do that, either,” frowned Molly.
“No, indeed,” Lorelei smiled warmly. “I have very few friends. I wish dearly to count you among them-regardless of what passes between you and Alex.”
Onyx felt her girlfriend’s eyes on her. Though Molly shared many of her concerns, the redhead took things as they came. Ultimately it was Onyx who needed everything out in the open from the start. “What if it gets serious?” she ventured.