Hell's Gate: Amelia (5 page)

“There was something I wanted to tell you before you left.”

“S-sure,” he stammered.

“I really did appreciate you rubbing my feet last week and your attentions. I haven’t felt anyone touch me in such a manner for a long time. I’m sorry if I scared you. I don’t blame you for running away.” She leaned up and brushed his cheek with a kiss before backing away.

His heart sank, but he was still too overwhelmed to say anything else. Instead, he moved away and found his way back upstairs. The club was still slamming with people. The music did little to ease his nerves. At the bar he ordered a shot of whiskey and drank it straight down.
Then another.
The bartender eyed him, but he slapped down another ten and she slid him a third one.

“Hey, Barry.
You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You okay, man?”

He glanced over and saw Travis standing next to him.
“Fine.
Travis. Having a good time?”

His coworker nodded.
“This place fucking rocks.
You ever get laid from one of these chicks?’

Barrett clenched his fist by his side and slammed his glass down. No one was going to say anything about this club. He couldn’t imagine Travis going after Amelia or any of the other people. Not everyone here was perfect, but that didn’t mean Travis could come in here and rock his one sense of normalcy. “No. And I suggest you don’t try to either. If you disrespect anyone here, they will throw you out.”

“Dude,” he hit his shoulder.
“Chill.”

Barrett spun around and punched his coworker in the face. Travis staggered backward into another man. He didn’t care that no violence was tolerated at the club. Barrett’s world had been turned upside down. What was real and what wasn’t real didn’t matter anymore. He went to swing again when he felt something painful stabbing his chest. When he looked down, there was a silver blade sticking out of his flesh. The wetness of blood stuck to his fingers when he touched the wound. People rushed around him. Falling to the floor, he saw Amelia on the edge of the throng who had gathered around him. Before his vision failed him all he saw was her reaching out to him.

Chapter Five

Amelia tried to rush toward Barrett, but
Tig
grabbed her arm and shook his head. A tear slipped down her cheek. The music had cut off. All was quiet in the club. She hadn’t heard it so hushed in a long time. It reminded her of a cemetery. The cold of the grave washed over her skin. A gray haze descended over the world.
Tig’s
grip on her arm wavered, and then she couldn’t feel his fingers on her anymore. She dropped to her knees and slid a few feet toward Barrett and reached out to him. Her fingers passed through his arm and then she was able to grab it. It was cold and firm.
Please. Please don’t die. Please don’t become like me.

The paramedics rushed in and placed him on a stretcher. She sat with her back against the bar and watched them take him away.
Why did you have to come back here?
Amelia ran her fingers through her hair and prayed Barrett would live.

“You care for him.”

She looked up and saw a woman with blonde braided hair, in a flowing white dress. She appeared to be an angel or what Amelia imagined an angel would look like because she had never seen one. The woman lifted Amelia’s head so she could gaze into her hazel eyes.

Those eyes saw right through her. Amelia nodded.

“Yes. I cared for him. He wasn’t supposed to come back here.” The sadness in her nearly stopped her already slow beating heart.

“Sometimes men, no matter what species, don’t listen when it comes to their hearts. They do anything to prove a point.”

“Will he be okay?”

“That’s up to the goddess to decide. Come, there are things you and I must discuss. And the rest of these people are wondering why I’m talking to thin air.” The woman offered Amelia her hand and she took it.

She followed her through the club until they came to Leah’s office. The other woman entered and Leah was leafing through a large, black book.

“Honey, will this affect business? The last thing we need is a death in the club.”

“No.” The other woman smiled. “The spells on the property will make it so that the human population will think something happened, but nothing tragic.”

Leah closed the book and then looked at Amelia. “Well, that’s a relief. I don’t need the publicity right now. Amelia, I’m sorry about your friend.”

“Thanks, but I hardly knew him.” She let out a breath and studied the Spartan office. Besides the large desk and the two filing cabinets, there wasn’t much of anything in the room. The only comfortable adornment was the plush, Oriental rug on the floor which filled the space. She had never gone in the office when Leah wasn’t there.

“Really?
Tig
said you two were kissing. Barrett’s a regular. I’ve never seen him so smitten with anyone before. Either way, he’s a nice guy.
On to business.
The reason I had Honey bring you here was so we could talk to you. She’s the witch who enchanted your ring. Plus, she was here reinforcing the wards in the club. I noticed some things were coming in that shouldn’t have been here. I wanted to know if you were going to be keeping your room on the second level.”

Amelia nodded. “I was hoping I could. It’s nice to know I can relax somewhere when I don’t have to be mingling with the people here.”

“Okay. Since you are, we’re going to have to figure out a work schedule for you. If you stay here, then you have to pay your own way. It’s the way I work with all my boarders.”

“How can I do anything? I’m dead.” She blanched.

Leah glanced at Honey. “Well, technically, during the night and when you wear the ring, you’re
alivish
. The ring is tied into the energy of the club. Hell’s Gate sits on a nexus of
leylines
. I build my spells using that energy. Some people say the club glows because of all the energy flowing through the bricks. That’s what makes it so you’re semi-alive. Feel warm and have a heartbeat. That’s the reason you can only be corporeal within the walls, and the magic is stronger at night.”

Amelia nodded. It sounded logical. When she had come to the club it did have a glow from what she remembered. “Okay, so why do I still phase out if I focus on something too hard? Wouldn’t that make it difficult for me to work for you, Leah?”

“You’re still a ghost. The ring doesn’t rob you of the very essence of your being. If you want to fade away, then you will. I am sure you can work something out. Well, I have to be going. Leah, call me if you or the pack needs anything else.” Honey smiled. Leah waved at her and then turned her face toward Amelia.

Amelia tried to smile, but her thoughts were fixed on Barrett. The more she thought about him, the more she realized that she did have feelings for him. It wasn’t just an attraction, there was more there. The thought of not seeing him again shredded her heart and shattered her soul. Maybe she was falling on love. Still, being with him would never work. She was dead and couldn’t leave the club. Besides, he knew what she was and didn’t want to be with her anyway. Leah squeezed her hand and brought her back to reality.

“Look, I know you’re worried about Barrett. We can figure out the work thing later. I’ll talk to
Tig
about setting you up on the house account so you can order food or clothes.
Essentials, nothing too extravagant.”

“Thanks.” Amelia sobbed. The brevity of Barrett’s situation hit her. It was the right thing to tell him who she was. But that didn’t stop her from longing to feel his lips on hers once more or even have him trail his fingers along her legs. Maybe even suck her toes.
That will never happen now. I pray he lives and gets on with his life. He deserves to have a good woman and doesn’t need me.

“Why don’t you get some rest?”

Amelia nodded and then left the office. She went down to her room and sat on the bed. She sat with her back to the wall, feeling the firmness against her spine. It helped remind her that she, too, was real. Time passed, but all she could do was stare at the blank gray walls. This was the world she lived in. The one she had drifted in for almost a century.

Amelia studied the wall long enough that she had come to see the pattern in the paint. It was a wolf baying at the moon. She could see the mountains behind it. The cliff the wolf stood on looked over a lake. Every detail was burned into her mind. When she blinked, the world snapped into view. Amelia shivered. A chill moved over her limbs. Her arms and legs were stiff from sitting so long. She stretched and stood up. Music from above shook the ceiling and the need to be among people came over her. She went upstairs. There she went to the bar and stood before Lila whose hair was now neon green. It was pink just the other night. The bartender smiled when she saw her.

“Hey, Amelia.
Where you been?
Tig’s
been asking about you.”

“How long was I gone? I phased out for a while. I was thinking about Barrett and noticed the wolf on my wall.”

Lila’s expression showed that more time had passed than she expected. Her lips were set in a straight line, but her eyes showed her frown. “Sweetie, Barrett was stabbed two months ago.”

Two months.
She slumped against the bar. Lila gave her a drink and she didn’t think twice about throwing it back. The burn hit her throat and she shivered from the impact of it.
Maybe
Tig
has info about Barrett.

“Is
Tig
here tonight?”

“Yeah.
He’s in his office. Wait—”

“Thanks.” Amelia bounded off toward the back where his office was. She knocked and was about to go on when she sensed something behind her. A cold breeze slid along her shoulder.

She turned and Barrett was there.

“Amelia.” He smiled.

It took a second for her to realize he was there. When it sunk in, she threw her arms around him. He took her into his embrace and squeezed her.

“It’s good to see you.”

“You too.
I—”

“Amelia, I thought I heard you. I wanted to talk to you a minute.”
Tig
came out of his office.

“Sure thing.”

“It’s about Barrett.”

“What about him? He’s right here.”

Tig
glanced where Barrett was standing. The corners of his mouth tightened. “Sweetie, Barrett died a month ago. He survived the stabbing, but he slipped into a coma and never recovered. I’m sorry. I know you cared about him.”

Amelia looked from
Tig
to Barrett. “But he’s right there. He’s standing next to me.”

“No. He passed on. If he was here, then Leah would know. I would have seen him.”

Barrett rested his hand on Amelia’s arm. It was firm. She felt the warmth of his fingers pressing into her skin.

“He can’t see me. No one can, except you.”

“Is it true what he said? Are you really dead?” Amelia asked.

He nodded. “I remember being in the hospital. And then I was here. I’ve been searching for you. I even went into your room, but I couldn’t find you. I needed to find you.”

“Who are you talking to?”
Tig
asked.

“It’s Barrett. He’s right here. He said he was in the hospital and then he was here. He says that no one can hear or see him. Only I can.”

Tig
rubbed his jaw. “Hmm…I’ll have to talk to Leah about this. She won’t be in until later. Why don’t you take him back to your room and get acquainted? I’m sure you need to talk.”