Rose closed her eyes. It was becoming harder and harder for Malcolm to see her as something dangerous. She was expressive and sensitive, and it was impossible to reconcile that view with the Champion Authority’s mandate on monsters.
“I was someone, before all of this,” said Rose. “I was a confident woman. Some type of professional, a doctor, or a scientist, maybe. I think… I was happy. Really happy.”
She shook her head and sighed as though the toll of trying to remember was too much for her.
“Never mind,” she said. “How about I get started on our dinner?”
“I’ll help you,” said Malcolm. “We’ll cook together. As a team.”
A slow smile spread across Rose’s face, and she gave a small nod.
The dinner they made was incredible, either through their teamwork or Rose’s precise ingredient selection. Malcolm found himself staring at her afterward, the two of them eating side by side on the couch, the only place available to sit in his spartan, bachelor apartment.
“What?” asked Rose. “Why do you have that look on your face?”
Malcolm chuckled and shook his head.
“No reason,” he said.
That seemed to satisfy her, even though it shouldn’t have. She smiled back at him and seemed to think for a moment.
“I want to take you out,” she said. “To the bar we saw before. I want to help you find your… monster.”
Malcolm felt a small spark of excitement.
“Tonight?” he asked.
“Right now. If the lead doesn’t end up panning out, we can at least have some drinks, and maybe some fun.”
Malcolm hesitated.
“…Alright,” he said. “But I am kind of, well, technically under the drinking age.”
Rose frowned a little at him.
“I figured you were younger than me, but I didn’t realize that you were that young,” she said.
“I’m 19,” said Malcolm. “Why? How old are you…?”
He trailed off, realizing not only that it was rude to ask for a woman’s age, but that he’d already been through this once before with Tapestry.
“28,” said Rose, grinning. “And I used to have a thing for younger guys in college.”
She winked at him. Malcolm was both insanely turned on and curious. She’d remembered both the fact of her age and that she’d once gone to college, apparently without even noticing on her part.
How much more will she remember? And will it change her when she does?
They left the apartment and headed back toward the bar they’d seen earlier. It was a cloudy night, and some of the fog had descended to ground level. Rose wore a baggy hooded sweatshirt and kept the hood up and her hands in her pockets, concealing her skin everywhere but her face.
At Rose’s advice, Malcolm wore a long sleeve t-shirt with sleeves baggy enough to keep his stabilizer concealed. He hadn’t considered how a monster bar would react to a champion showing up uninvited. There was also the risk that one of them might recognize his face from the media coverage, but there wasn’t much either of them could do about that.
Malcolm slowed to a stop as they neared the bar, trying to get a sense of the place from what they could see outside. Terri’s Tavern had a single bored looking bouncer, a big black man with rippling muscles. He was wearing sunglasses at night, and Malcolm knew that it wasn’t in solidarity with the 80s hit song.
“Come on,” he said to Rose. “Let’s give this a try.”
He walked across the street confidently. Rose had her arm looped through his, but she kept her face angled diagonally toward the ground. Malcolm nodded to the bouncer as he drew near and acted as though he had every right to head straight down the stairs.
“Hold up,” said the bouncer, in an impossibly deep voice. “Members only.”
“Uh…” Malcolm fumbled for an excuse. Rose lifted her head up and pulled back the hood, and the man’s expression changed instantly.
“Oh,” said the bouncer. He brought his sunglasses down slightly, and Malcolm saw glowing red irises behind them. “Never mind. He’s with you?”
“Yeah,” said Rose.
The bouncer eyed Rose up and down, trying and failing to be subtle about checking out her body.
“Yeah, er, you both can go right on ahead, then,” he said.
The bouncer grinned, and Rose pulled Malcolm forward. They headed down the stairs and through the door at the bottom.
CHAPTER 27
Terri’s Tavern was a cozy place, and a little larger than it looked from the outside. The floor was polished wood, and lightbulbs hung from the roof in imitation lanterns. There was a bar, several sitting tables, a pool table, and a jukebox. And about a dozen monsters milling about.
Rose pulled off her sweatshirt and hung it on the coat rack. No sooner than it had left her shoulders did someone whistle from off in the corner.
“Oh, who is this?” called a man’s voice from the corner. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”
Malcolm tried to keep his anger in check as he saw Rose scanning the room for the offender. It was a demon sitting at one of the tables. His hair was an odd shade of orange, almost the color of cheese whiz, and he had a more impressive physique than any human Malcolm had ever seen.
It wasn’t just that the demon had bigger muscles than an ordinary man, but it was that he had more of them. They were stretched over one another, as though instead of growing, another layer had been added. The demon wore an A-shirt for good measure, and waved to Rose with one of his powerful arms.
I could totally take him.
Rose shrugged and raised an eyebrow at Malcolm.
“It’s as good of a place to start as any,” she said. “At least we know he’s willing to talk.”
“I somehow doubt he knows anything that’s going to help us,” said Malcolm.
“We don’t know that for sure,” she said. “Come on.”
She took him by the arm and led him over to the muscle demon’s table. The demon was far less subtle about checking Rose out than the bouncer had been, making appreciative noises as she drew closer.
“Where have you been all my life?” asked the muscle head.
“Right.” Rose rolled her eyes. “I’m Black Rose, this is my friend Malcolm. Can we ask you a couple of questions?”
“Bicep,” said the demon, his attention completely on Rose. “You can. But you’ll have to let me buy you a drink first.”
Urge to kill… rising.
“Hey, buddy, that’s the oldest line in the book,” said Malcolm. “We’re just here looking for somebody. Do you mind being cooperative?”
Bicep stood up, smiling as though he’d been hoping for a fight that night. Rose cleared her throat, set a hand on Malcolm’s shoulder, and leaned in close enough to be heard at a whisper.
“Let me handle this. Go hang out at the bar for a little bit. This guy is clearly drunk. I’ll be able to get him talking easier if I’m by myself.”
Malcolm gritted his teeth. He knew that she was right, and forced himself to keep in mind why they were there.
“Alright,” he said. “Just… be careful.”
Bicep saluted him as he walked away. Malcolm sat down at the bar, fighting the urge to stare at Rose and the muscle demon openly.
She knows what she’s doing. I’m being ridiculous.
Someone sat down in the stool next to Malcolm. He glanced over and saw a woman who looked like she’d stepped out of another century. She wore a huge, frilly pink dress, low cut enough to expose a generous amount of cleavage. Her blonde hair was long enough to be unwieldy, and hung in a long braid over one shoulder.
“Hi,” she said. “Buy me a drink?”
“Uh…” Malcolm shrugged. “Sure.”
He waved to the bartender, a short, chubby brunette with glasses. She hurried over, smiling as she pulled mugs down to set in front of them. Malcolm wasn’t sure if he was surprised by the fact that she didn’t card him.