The Keeper's Vow (36 page)

“Of course. Kay, would you like to explain
why I just snuck out of my house at eleven at night?”

“Let’s go to a club, where they don’t card
us,” Katie said, feeling dangerous. She wanted to dance. She wanted
to feel sexy and she wanted boys to stare at her and shout things
as they passed.

Allison looked skeptical but the sly smile
didn’t go unnoticed. Katie started to walk toward the Bistro but
Allison stopped her. “Kay, we can’t go in there. They’ll call the
school if we take the elevator alone. That’s a guardian entrance.
We have to use another one.” Allison took her to the a large
warehouse that acted as a concert hall for bands. There was a
concert going on and a line of people showing their ID’s to get
in.

“Well there goes that plan,” Allison said,
sighing.

“Where is the elevator?” Katie asked,
thinking of something she never would have before her body felt
like it could fly.

“It’s behind the stage why?”

Katie grabbed Allison and took off to the
door. Allison screamed behind her but once Katie pushed through the
girl looking at ID’s she picked up speed. There were footsteps
behind them but as soon as they started pushing through the crowd
inside, the music and jumping bodies blocked them out.

Allison pulled on Katie’s arm. “Are you
flipping crazy?” Allison looked wide eyed but she was smiling just
as hard as Katie. They started giggling. “Come on,” she screamed
through the music. Allison led her to the back stage. No one was
guarding it—it must have been a local band on stage. The room
Allison led her to was locked. Allison knocked three times and
kicked it.

A guy opened it and looked them over.
“Bathrooms are on the other side.”

“Two tickets to Gray City, please,” Allison
said, pushing her way through the door.

“Oh,” the man said. “It’s
you
. Aren’t
you supposed to be supervised or something?” The guy had a long
thick beard, two gauges, and a nose ring with spikes.

“You gonna rat us out?” Allison said,
holding her ground.

The guy closed the door finally and locked
it. “Whatever, my shift’s almost over anyway.” He led them down a
hallway and to a small room. Katie could have burst into giggles.
They were doing
it
. Whatever
it
was, and it felt
good. The guy pushed a few buttons and told them to hold on. Katie
remembered the last ride and held on tight.

This elevator was much faster than the last
one but she was balanced and centered. This was what it felt like
when she drank blood. Was it worth the rancid taste?

She smiled.

The elevator opened and they were free in
Gray City.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

They stepped out
onto the street and Katie knew exactly where to go. It was like a
pull. He was definitely here and close. It was different down here
at night. It wasn’t as docile as it was during the field trip, it
was alive. More lights, more people, more cars, and more noise.

If she didn’t know any better, she’d think
she’d just stepped out onto the streets of New York City.

She watched as a man pushed a woman against
a wall of a short, yellow brick building. They were in the shadow,
but she could see them clear as day, making out. The guy even had
his hand up the girl’s skirt.

“Apparently things don’t change no matter
where you are,” Allison said, squinting into the shadows and
catching on to what Katie was looking at. “Some people just don’t
have the decency to get a room.”

Katie blushed. That night in her bed—how far
would she and Tristan have gone if no one had knocked on the
door?

As Katie walked through the streets, Allison
pointed out a pet store where vampires frequented for discrete
meetings (she learned from listening in on one of Wills
conversations), restaurants to find werewolves, and where
not
to go because fates were notorious for spiking drinks.
It was a better tour than the one Mr. Carver gave. This time she
she wasn’t wearing a dorky shirt that everyone glanced at. This
time, as she walked down the streets, she saw things. Things even
Allison hadn’t seen. The people with Silver eyes. They were most
definitely Vampires. They all smelled the same, (not that she’d
gotten up close and personal, it was hard to miss). Like stale
blood.

As they walked past a short, green, sunken
in building, she saw a shadow curled into itself—watching her. She
blinked—it was impossible, but silver eyes blinked back.

“That place gets busted every other month.
Fates lure drunk humans by the masses down here and
do
things to them.” Allison pointed at the green building. The sign on
it read
The Pony Express.

By the look on Allison’s face, Katie knew
that whatever they did, it was something wrong.

“Once I waited outside when Will went in and
a guy ask me if the fur matched the drapes,” Allison shook her
head.

As they continued into the heart of the
city, she didn’t see anymore living shadows, but there was a new
living buzz in the air. They stopped outside of a club blaring
electronic music. Flashing blue and red lights, lit up the
sidewalk. It was called
Hot Flash
.

He was there.

“You want to go in there? Looks good to me,”
Allison said, swinging her hips.

Katie stopped her. “Put makeup on me.” Katie
was starting to get nervous. What would she do when she saw him?
She’d made it this far she couldn’t go back yet. But what would she
say—what would
he
say?

When Allison was done applying her makeup,
Katie tried to make her shirt look less—shirty. It wasn’t working.
She tried to stretch the neck a little. It ripped.

“Crap, Kay. Who are you? The Hulk?”

Katie started to panic. Allison grabbed on
her shirt and tore it more. Katie almost yelled until she realized
what she was doing. It was genius.

When Allison was done her shirt looked like
it was supposed to be torn and showing a good deal of cleavage.
Allison the savior. Katie was ready. She didn’t know what she was
going to find in there, but she was ready to do it.

Getting in was just as easy as everyone had
made it out to be. They walked up to the door, the guy at the door
opened it, and they walked in—it might of helped that the guy at
the door was checking out her chest. As soon as she stepped into
the club she felt Tristan’s eyes on her. She couldn’t see him but
he was there and watching her. His confusion filled her. Allison
pulled her onto the dance floor and Katie let her. They danced to
the beat as she felt him closing in. She focused on the music. It
bounced on the walls and radiated from the bodies that surrounded
her. Bodies swayed around her and people shouted lyrics to song’s
she’d never heard. She moved her hips and found she was more bendy
than before. What she wanted her body to do, it did.

She wasn’t the only one to notice.

“You’re a good dancer,” a voice said behind
her. It wasn’t Tristan. She turned around to a brown haired guy
with deep brown eyes. He swayed behind her and smiled.

She smiled. When did
this
ever happen
to her. At school dances she always found herself dancing awkwardly
with Brian or as a group. Now, electricity flowed through her veins
and with each breath she floated above shyness.

He moved closer behind her until his body
was against hers. She put her arms in the air and he wrapped them
around his neck. She tingled—and liked it. Someone paying this
close attention to her body. She knew he was staring down her
chest. His hands gripped around her waist pulling her closer. She
was mixed with embarrassment and pleasure when she felt his
nether-regions pushing up against her.

It never escaped her that Tristan was there
lurking. She still hadn’t seen him. She didn’t have to.

“What’s your name?” She yelled behind her.
The song had change and they moved faster.

“Sean,” he said, in her ear.

“I’m Katie,” she said back, in her
throatiest voice. She felt stupid but he seemed to like it.

Allison raised her eyebrows at Katie then to
Sean.

Sean moved his hands from her hips to her
stomach and she felt dirty. Like she was cheating. How stupid. She
had no one to cheat on.

He moved his hands, higher and higher. She
stopped him and he took it as an opportunity to move them lower.
Just as she was about to add a little space between them, she saw
him. Tristan. A wave of heat and anger vibrated through her body as
he stared at her. To be honest, she couldn’t decide who’s heat or
anger it was. His or hers? Why were they always like this?

His face was unreadable, but she heard every
curse he was spewing in his mind. She wasn’t the only one trying to
look her best, he was wearing a black blazer over a white,
expensive-looking, v-neck. She didn’t even know he owned a blazer
aside from his uniform.

He marched toward her pushing people out of
the way.

He grabbed her arm but she pulled it away.
He squinted his eyes and looked her over.

“Hey, Man,” Sean said, stepping between
them. “Back off.”

“Katalina. What the
hell
are you
doing here?”

“I said back off man,” Sean said, looking
back at Katie.

“Say one more word and I’ll break your
face,” Tristan said, moving closer to Sean.

“Since when do you care what I do?” Katie
said. The electronic melody spread through her body making her feel
charged and ready for battle. She grabbed Sean’s hand and it felt
so wrong, but she wanted to make a point. She moved him deeper onto
the dance floor.

“Katalina!” Tristan’s voice vibrated through
her. The world, the music, and time stopped. Her heart ripped, as
torn as her mind.

“You know what,” Sean said, walking back
towards Tristan. “Nobody likes a sore loser—”

Tristan punched him in the face. Katie, and
group of girls shrieked as Sean backed into them.

“TRISTAN!” Katie screamed, but even she
started to drown in the wave of violence he was swimming in.

Sean swung back, in Tristan’s stomach.
Tristan took the hit and grabbed his face. Sean screamed as Tristan
forced him back and into the bar. People parted like a wave. Sean
slammed his fist into Tristan’s side, panicking.

Tristan’s grip tightened and Sean began to
spasm. Tristan let him go and kicked him into the bar. Sean’s face
had red burns scratched across them.

“Fucking untouchable?” Sean gasped holding
his face.

Three guys pushed passed Katie and grabbed
onto Tristan. He fought back kicking one into a concrete beam.
Allison grabbed Katie and pulled her back and away from the other
two guys trying to hold Tristan down. They couldn’t hold him. One
guy yelled in pain. “Get back, he’s an untouchable.”

Another guy with yellow teeth and yellow
hair pulled out a gun. “Look, Kid. Calm down or we’ll have to put
you down.”

Tristan snarled.

Katie pulled away from Allison and tackled
Tristan. They fell into the bar and Tristan’s head smacked against
the ground. He grabbed her and she thought he’d throw her of for
sure. He squeezed her and yelled, “Get off me, Katalina or I
swear—”

“Then stop,” she yelled back. “Just stop.”
She wouldn’t move until his breathing steadied.

A different guy walked up to them wearing
the same black polo as the other three guys. “Boss wants you to
bring up those three.” He was pointing at Katie, Tristan, and
Allison.

Katie contemplated running.

“Get of me, Katalina,” Tristan growled.

As soon as she got up one of the guys
grabbed her. It was the door guy.

Tristan charge him.

“Stop!” she pulled her arm away, but it was
too late. The guy with yellow hair shot him. Tristan’s body shook
and he dropped to the ground. They’d tazed him.

“This kid is a beast,” said one guy as
Yellow-hair helped pick-up Tristan’s body. Tristan was still
fighting, but they were able to hold his arms back.

The three of them were herded down a hallway
and into an elevator.

“I hope this is what you had planned when
you came here,” Tristan said, slurring his words. “I hope this is
exactly
how you planned it.”

“All right, Kid. Calm down,” Yellow-hair
said. They marched them down another well-lit-hallway covered in
marble tile. They stopped at the door on the far end and the guy
holding Katie knocked. He’d relaxed his grip on her.

What had she gotten them into? Katie looked
at Allison, she was just as terrified as Katie. The door opened and
Katie’s jaw dropped when she saw the man staring back at her.

It was Larry. Larry from the ice cream
parlor. Except he wasn’t wearing a blue polo with a fat cat licking
ice cream. He was wearing a tailored black suit and looking at
Katie’s outfit thoroughly disappointed. She blushed wishing she had
something to cover up her chest.