The Waking (The Upturned Hourglass) (32 page)

INDULGENCE

When Valie and Noah reentered the main room of
Heart and Veins
, a band had ascended a stage on the far wall; they were blasting music from mounted speakers and amps while multicolored lights flitted from the two singers in the front to the three instrumentalists in the background. The presence of the musicians would have seemed like an ordinary addition to a truly strange place except it was apparent that all five members of the band were Vampyres with their fangs extended and red liquid—that did
not
look like stage-makeup—dripping from the sides of their mouths. As Valie tore her eyes away from the repulsive scene, she found herself examining the growing crowd at the base of the stage. The blood smeared on the necks and chests of some of the girls told her more about Vampyre interaction than she had ever wanted to know.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Valie murmured, knowing the Lycan boy beside her could hear, despite the chaotic sounds of the club.

“We can step out—“

Noah was cut off by a big bear hug from a young man—who looked no older than Noah, though his frame was much less svelte—with a small bush of wavy brown hair and a
significantly freckled face. The boy had so many freckles Valie couldn’t tell what his true complexion would have looked like except for the rosy cheeks that rounded when he smiled.

“Noah!” the boy exclaimed. “Good to have you back!”

“Put me down, Keys!” Noah half-growled as he struggled out of the embrace. The youthful, embarrassed look on his face made Valie laugh.

Keys laughed, too. “Sorry. I just haven’t seen ya in so long! Where ya been?” Upon taking notice of Valie, the kid cleared his throat formally and apologized again, “Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t see ya there.
You a friend of Noah’s? I’m Keith Maynard, but everyone just calls me Keys.”

“Keys, this is Valie. Valie, Keys. Now, we were just about to—“

“Come have a drink with me!” Keys exclaimed in a boisterous tone. Without hesitation he whisked Noah and Valie off to the stools at the bar and ordered three of what he called ‘his usual.’ The action made Valie wonder how often this boy came to the club. How old could Keys be?

“So Valie?
Are you a Lycan, too?”

Valie nearly choked on a peanut she had grabbed from a bowl on the counter. Being on the alert for anyone suspicious of her presence, she was wound up tight. The youth’s blunt question surprised her and it took her more than a moment to respond.

“Umm. . . .” She looked to Noah who walked rigidly beside her. The boy’s defensive posture was not in response to Keys’ query, however, it was to their new destination. Keys was leading them straight to where others of Isaac’s pack sat boisterously talking amongst themselves. With that threat looming, Valie doubted Noah had any more of an idea of what her cover should be than Valie did herself.

“No. No, I’m
a. . .moth,” she finally said. She didn’t know if moths actually interacted with the Occult on the kind of level she was pretending to, but it was the only cover that came to mind.

Thank you, Luci,
she thought.

“Oh! So you’re human then!” Keys exclaimed excitedly.
“I’ve never met a moth before. I’ve met just about everything else there is to meet, but not a moth. I’m a warlock, by the way—though, I guess you probably sensed my magick already, huh? That’s so cool. . . .Anyway, I’m not
technically
a warlock, yet. I’m a warlock-in-training.”

“Ha! Keys a warlock?” a nearby Lycan said in too loud of a voice. It boomed over his companions’, slowly silencing the occupants of the few tables surrounding them. “Kid, if you believe anything this kindergartener tries to sell you about his little arts-and-crafts, then you’re just asking for trouble.”

Valie noticed Noah’s hackles raise as the man spoke, but he said nothing. Keys was the only one to come to his defense.

“Shut up, Marcum,” Keys halfheartedly commanded. “You know perfectly well I can—“

Before the kid could get the words out, Marcum had completely dismissed him with a heavy wave of his hand. The man turned his attention to Valie.

“So did I see you walk in with our very own Mr. Haden a few minutes ago?” he said with a smile that put Valie immediately on edge. “He’s special, that one. Our leader practically thinks he’s the prodigal son returned.” The otherwise kind words were spoken with open derision that told Valie all she needed to know.

Marcum didn’t like Jack, so Marcum wasn’t going to like Valie or the two boys accompanying her.

“Is that right?” Valie replied vaguely as she glanced around at the rest of the Lycans. Most had returned to their conversations, though a nearby few honed in on the exchange between the newcomer and the obvious bully of their group. One of them, Valie recognized as Sam from earlier. He looked at Marcum cautiously as if ready to step in should the need arise.

“So who are you that you’re so welcome among us?”

“Just a friend passing through.”

“A
friend
? Is that all?” Marcum laughed. “And here I thought we had an interspecies scandal on our hands.”

Valie had to stop herself from overreacting to the Lycan’s comment. She was, after all, a product of just such an interspecies scandal.

“Yes. Just a friend.”

“Jack doesn’t find many
just-a-friends
.”

Valie shrugged, refusing to be baited.

“Are you staying long?” a woman beside Marcum asked. “There’s going to be a killer initiation bash tomorrow night. If you’re into Lycans and you are ‘just friends’ with Jack, you should come!” The short-haired woman smiled warmly.

Marcum seemed anything but enthusiastic about the idea of Valie coming to what seemed like an entertaining night of Lycan revelry, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he turned to Noah and spoke sternly, “Don’t forget that you and the others have to be there. No bowing out.”

Noah slowly nodded as if even that concession pained him. He was noticeably uncomfortable with the Lycans around him which reminded Valie that Jack had mentioned the boy didn’t fit in with the rest of the pack. He was too young. It was true; Noah looked at least ten years younger than the rest of the group which, knowing that Lycans aged slower than humans, meant that there was most likely an even greater age gap.

With the wolves’ attention momentarily off of her as they began to chat about the apparent blow-out party scheduled for the next night, Valie turned back to Keys who stared dismally down at the tabletop like he wished he was anywhere but there.

“So what kind of training do you do?” Valie asked, trying to keep the spotlight off of her as they sat on the fringe of the Lycanthrope mob.

The boy started to speak in his usual, animated style, but he suddenly hesitated and spoke more reservedly. “I’m not really supposed to talk about it. It’s against the Craftsmen’s code to reveal what they may or may not teach apprentices. . . .Personally, I don’t see the big deal. It’s not like anyone but warlocks—and witches, of course—can work the kind of magick we do.”

Valie smiled and reassured the boy, “It’s okay. I wouldn’t want you to break the rules. Though, can you at least tell me why they call you ‘Keys’?”

Keys laughed, making his round cheeks grow redder. “It’s cooler if I show you,” he said with an impish grin that made
Valie wonder what she may have just signed herself up for.

“Three double-sunsets,” the bartender declared as he waltzed over to the table and set down three small glasses in front of them. The liquid in all three glasses faded from a cherry-red color to orange to pink to a striking blue and then back through all the colors again until it had returned to cherry.

“Cool, isn’t it?” Keys said. Valie nodded in agreement. “It tastes as good as it looks. It’s not the same as alcohol, either. It just gives you a bubbly feeling for a little while, like a sugar high, but better.”

Noah—who had remained so silent, Valie wondered if he even liked Keys—slid his drink past the girl to Keys’ awaiting hand.

“Lycans don’t drink Vamp drinks,” Noah explained in response to Valie’s inquisitive look.

“I only order him one of my usual so I
seem
polite,” Keys said as he downed his own drink and added, “At least, before I drink his.”

Valie whisked the liquid around in her glass and sniffed. It smelled harmless enough, like licorice. She took a few sips, emptying half of the glass. It had a funny flavor—a mixture of melted
popsicle and chocolate, with an unpleasant zing at the end that left Valie’s throat burning. The aftertaste was horrid. She coughed spasmodically.

“Valie?”
Noah asked uncertainly, but the girl barely heard him as the sounds in the room began to buzz and blend together.

“Feels awesome, doesn’t it?” Keys said enthusiastically.

Valie tried to say that she felt anything
but
awesome except she couldn’t articulate the thought. Her mind began to feel strange, foreign, and slow, as if her thoughts were glued in place. Colors were magnified to an intensity which hurt her eyes. Everything seemed clear and brighter than in daylight. She vaguely noticed as Noah took her shoulders and shook her lightly, trying to get her attention.

“I wouldn’t do that,” a man said in a dark, mocking tone. Valie tried to focus on the owner of the voice, but her vision blurred with every movement around her. Finally, her eyes
settled on an unattractive, rat-looking Vampyre sitting at a nearby table.

Noah looked at him coldly, but addressed Keys who looked worried and confused. “What’s it done to her? What does the drink do?”

Keys held up his hands and began to stutter about ‘not knowing’ and how the drink ‘wasn’t supposed to do anything bad.’

The Vampyre laughed, raising the hairs on the back of Valie’s neck. To her ears, the sound echoed until it rocked her spine. Her pulse began to speed up as her head spun to catch up.

“It intensifies sensation. Just give it another moment or two. It shouldn’t take long to affect your human,” he snarled with a smile.

“Intensifies sensation,” Noah muttered and turned back to Valie who was leaning sideways off of her stool. Promptly, the boy righted her and held on.
“Keys? Keys!” He startled the boy out of his mild panic.

“Y-yeah?”

“Can you stand here and keep an eye on her? I need to get Jack. Hold her upright and don’t let anyone—and I mean
anyone
—touch her, okay?”

“Sure thing, Noah.”
The unsure boy obligingly took Noah’s place. Valie swayed precariously during the exchange.

“Whoa,” she managed to breathe. Keys steadied her and watched as Noah ran to the back of the club.

“Girl can’t hold her liquor!” Marcum laughed loudly making the others around him laugh, too.

“Be quiet, Marcum,” Sam said in an authoritative voice.
“Keys? Are you okay?”

The kid was practically shaking as he tried to keep Valie upright.

At that point, the bartender came back over, having noticed the change in mood.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

Valie—whose mind was now so muddied, she could barely understand what was happening around her—took one look at the fanged, red-eyed Vampyre and, with an unexpected rush of adrenaline, jumped off the stool and whirled away from the counter. Her chest heaved in panic. The room began to spin. 

Suddenly, she hit a wall, or at least a cold, solid object that made her jump back and scream. She turned to find the Vampyre who had spoken to Noah only moments before, now standing and looking down at her with a keen expression.

“Fun, isn’t it?” he sneered. “I bet I could make it even better.”  He grabbed hold of Valie’s wrist. She tried to yank it away, but the drink made her sluggish and powerless.

“L-let her go,” Keys weakly protested, taking a step closer, but immediately three Vampyres jumped to each side, ready to step in should the boy try to intervene. Even under the influence of whatever Valie had consumed, she knew the odds were against him.

“Release her, leech!” Sam growled as he stepped to Keys’ side. A few other Lycans stood at his back, ready for any action they might catch from the Vampyres. The red-eyed comrades of the first, offensive Vampyre immediately hissed at the wolves, daring them to come nearer to the girl and her captor.