The sky was overcast. The weather felt thick and oppressive. Thunder rumbled in the distance. It looked like there was going to be a storm.
Gabriella squeezed the side of her bracelet. I heard her voice deep inside my head, as if she were my own internal voice. “Can everyone hear me?”
We all nodded.
“Okay. This should be pretty straight forward. Humans are going to enter a Pandemonian bar within the hour. They are going to get attacked. We stop that attack. Any harm to a human by a Pandemonian or hybrid constitutes a violation of the treaty, so agents will come in after we’re done and shut the place down. I would prefer to avoid a mess if I can, so let’s try for arrests. Unless they engage us directly, in which case anything goes. Trojan are on standby if we need them. Is everyone clear?”
Everyone agreed.
“Okay, press your belts,” commanded Gabriella. I watched as everyone in the team apart from Rachel pressed the button on the side of the buckle. A shimmer of light rolled up their body. Rather than disappear, a silvery hue surrounded them, like an aura. Guess the Invisibility does only work on humans.
I pressed the button.
The main street was crowded with people. Business people on mobile phones, harassed mothers trailing kids, and teenagers in hoodies all battled their way along the pavements. When they reached us, each person stepped around as if we were an obstacle in their path, but didn’t give it a second thought.
A multi-storey car park stood at the top of the road. We entered at the ground level and followed the ramp down several stories. At the bottom, only a few cars were dotted around. We ran forward and crouched behind a white van plagued with rust.
Gabriella leaned around and pointed towards a door at the end marked with the words: Maintenance, staff only. “According to the Coven, that’s where The Black Tap is.” The door looked so normal; it was hard to imagine what supposedly lay behind it. “Okay Midnight, you wait here and keep an eye out for the victims. If I call, you teleport in ready for a fight.” “No worries.”
“Del and Rachel, you go in first. Get a drink and find a seat. Do a body count. Alex and I will follow after and cover the entrance. No one act until I give the order. Okay?”
Everybody nodded. Delagio stood up and offered out his hand to Rachel. “Ready honeybunch?” he said with a wink. She rolled her eyes and took his hand Like a happy couple, they strolled up to the door. It opened and they disappeared inside. We waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Gabriella turned to me. “Okay Alex. Are you ready for this?” I breathed in deep. My nerves were tingling with anticipation. “I think so.” Midnight patted me on the back. “Don’t worry mate. You’ll do fine.”
Gabriella encircled her arm around my waist. I draped mine around her shoulder and together we stepped out from the protection of the van. Each step we took made my heart beat a fraction faster. “What if someone recognises us?” I said in a low voice.
“They won’t, as long as we stay calm and keep the belts switched on.”
The sound of Gabriella’s knock was loud and hollow. A few seconds later the door opened an inch and a set of silver eyes stared at us. My stomach clenched. I tried to look as nonchalant as possible. Gabriella gave a slight nod. The gesture was mirrored and the door opened. The bouncer, a large Mexican looking Vampire with an impressive black Mohawk moved out of our way and we walked inside.
For a temporary bar, The Black Tap was impressive. Crimson lanterns cast a rich red glow over everything. The bar had been carved from chunky black mahogany. A lush red carpet stretched from corner to corner. To our right were several booths — with leather seats the colour of fresh cream. A magnificent mirror with a flamboyant gold frame filled an entire wall. The corners had been shaped into Dragon heads. On the furthest wall a fire crackled in a stone hearth, surrounded by black sofas and leather beanbags. In the middle stood a couple of pool tables, lined with black upholstery. Hidden speakers played chilled music with a rich bassline.
The bar was quite busy. Like at the feast, clusters of Pandemonians stood chatting and drinking odd substances from glasses. In one booth, an Oni was laughing at something a Vampire had said. His mouth resembled a Venus Flytrap waiting to snap.
Behind the bar were a few barmen and women. The woman was moving in little dipping motions. As we approached I saw that this was because she was hovering, silvery wings beating behind her. A barman with long wavy hair came over and smiled. I hated to admit it, but he was very good looking. It seemed to radiate from him. His eyes were the colour of gold and he used them to stare at Gabriella with a look that could only have been lust.
“What can I get you?” he said, ignoring me completely and speaking only to her. His voice was the vocal equivalent of stroking velvet. It took me only a few more seconds to understand what he was. Incubus. Gabriella looked at me. “I’ll have a beer,” I said. “One Blackheart beer and a vodka on the rocks please.”
The Barman winked at her and set to work. He used a metal opener to flick the cap off my beer and snapped it with the base, sending it flying straight into the bin. He slammed the bottle down in front of me and then proceeded to flair with the vodka bottle. He spun the neck between his fingers, rolled it along his arm and flipped it up with his elbow. He caught it and then spun it on the flat of his hand, all the time his eyes never leaving Gabriella. I could feel the anger growing in my stomach as I watched him show off. He spun the bottle into the air again. Before he could grab it, Gabriella snapped her hand out like a snake. When she lowered it, the bottle was still spinning on her middle finger, which was aimed at the bartender.
“Sorry, but I’m thirsty,” she said with a fake smile. “Could we save the theatrics for someone else?”
God, I love this girl.
The bartender’s cheeks went red and his looks seemed to diminish as if they were connected to a dimmer switch. He made the drink in silence, only speaking again to ask for the money. His voice had become gruff. Once paid, we settled down in one of the booths near the entrance.
“Incubi are like Machines — always trying it. At least Succubi show a bit of class. They annoy the hell out of me.” She made a disgusted face and took a long sip of her vodka. I looked at my beer. The label depicted a Skinshifter standing over a fearful, bleeding man. The word Blackheart was printed underneath in bold letter. I peered inside. The beer was the colour of Guinness. I took a swig and coughed as it seized my chest.
Gabriella laughed. “Strong isn’t it? Made in Pandemonia. You’ll get used to it.”
In a corner table, Rachel and Delagio were canoodling as if the world around them didn’t exist. So I was surprised when the Kinesist's voice appeared in my ear. “Thirty two includin' the bar staff. We may need Trojan for this one.”
Gabriella pretended to rub her arm, letting her pinkie activate the bracelet. “Understood,” she whispered. “Let’s see how this plays out first.”
“Okay boss.”
I leaned forward, rolling the bottle between my hands. “So what’s the deal with those two anyway?”
Gabriella smiled. “They have a pretty volatile relationship. On and off.” She took another sip of her vodka and crushed a bit of ice between her teeth. “Mainly off.”
I glanced over again. Rachel was running her hand along the nape of Del’s neck, smiling as he whispered something into her ear. Either they were on again, or just very good at their jobs. I couldn’t tell.
“So what do we do now?”
“We wait for Midnight’s call. If Sophia was here, she’d be able to use magic to sense the person causing the trouble, but we’re going to have to play this one step by step. Although my money’s on the silver fox to your three O’clock.”