stupid rushing into their
private room with fear written all over my face. And I didn’t
want to give Azure the satisfaction of seeing me freaking out.
I glanced over and was relieved to see that she
wasn’t paying any attention to me. If I totally lost it,
though, she’d see it. Everyone would. They would think I was
crazy.
I had to pull myself together.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus on
the music. Whoever was out there in the darkness was just watching
me. They couldn’t touch me here in this cage in front of
everyone. As long as I worked for Rend, they couldn’t hurt me.
After a few minutes, I was able to push the dark
feeling to the edge of my consciousness and focus on the music again.
Still, all sense of freedom was gone now. I was in survival mode,
which was much more like my normal state of being. Instead of giving
myself up to the potion running through my veins, I was fighting
against it.
When Lyla finally came to tell me it was time for
us to go on a break, I nearly jumped out of the cage and kissed her
on the mouth. I wanted to get out of there and off display for a
while.
“You doing okay?” she asked as we
pushed through the crowd and made our way through the front doors and
out on the street. “You don’t look like you’re
having fun.”
I bit my lower lip. Should I tell her about the
strange feeling? She seemed cool, but Azure had seemed fine at first
too. I didn’t want her telling everyone the new girl had some
panic attack over nothing.
“Do you ever get the feeling someone is
watching you?” I asked.
She laughed. “Everyone is watching you,”
she said. “It’s part of the job.”
“No, that’s not exactly what I meant,”
I said, trying to figure out how to put words to the feeling. “I’m
talking about someone… specific. Someone dark.”
Evil. The word was on the tip of my tongue, but I
didn’t dare speak it.
She lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “Did
someone talk to you? Try to get inside your head? You have to just
ignore those guys. They’re harmless, really. No one would dare
lay a hand on one of Rend’s girls,” she said. A smile
crept across her features. “Not without permission, anyway.”
“No, no one came up to me or anything,”
I said.
“What then?”
I wrapped my arms around my body. Despite the late
summer air and the heat of the shot running through my veins, I was
shivering.
“Nothing, I guess,” I said. “Just
a feeling I got when I was up there.”
“You want another shot of Dragon’s
Breath?”
I laughed. “Is that seriously what it’s
called?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yeah. All
the drinks here have crazy color-themed names,” she said.
“You’ll eventually learn what they all are and what they
do. The base drink is Red Dragon, but Rend’s special mix for
the dancers is called Dragon’s Breath.”
“Can I ask you something else?”
“Sure,” she said, finishing her
cigarette and immediately lighting another one.
“How long has this place been here? I tried
looking it up online and it’s like it doesn’t even exist
at all.”
“Oh, gosh, Venom has been open for about
sixty years, I guess?” She looked up, as if the answer were
written on the sky. “Maybe sixty-five?”
“Oh,” I said, surprised. “I got
the impression this was Rend’s place. You know, that he started
it. How long has he owned it, then?”
She shook her head and tossed her cigarette onto
the ground, stomping it out with her heel. “Girl, you have so
much to learn, I can’t even begin to know where to start.”
I tried to ask her what she meant by that, but
before I could, she was leading us back into the club.
Selena gave us a wave as we walked past the crowd
waiting to get in. I smiled at her, but that smile was wiped right
off my face the second we walked back inside. I hadn’t realized
it, but the darkness was gone when we were outside. Walking back in
was like walking into a cave of fear.
I
private room with fear written all over my face. And I didn’t
want to give Azure the satisfaction of seeing me freaking out.
I glanced over and was relieved to see that she
wasn’t paying any attention to me. If I totally lost it,
though, she’d see it. Everyone would. They would think I was
crazy.
I had to pull myself together.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus on
the music. Whoever was out there in the darkness was just watching
me. They couldn’t touch me here in this cage in front of
everyone. As long as I worked for Rend, they couldn’t hurt me.
After a few minutes, I was able to push the dark
feeling to the edge of my consciousness and focus on the music again.
Still, all sense of freedom was gone now. I was in survival mode,
which was much more like my normal state of being. Instead of giving
myself up to the potion running through my veins, I was fighting
against it.
When Lyla finally came to tell me it was time for
us to go on a break, I nearly jumped out of the cage and kissed her
on the mouth. I wanted to get out of there and off display for a
while.
“You doing okay?” she asked as we
pushed through the crowd and made our way through the front doors and
out on the street. “You don’t look like you’re
having fun.”
I bit my lower lip. Should I tell her about the
strange feeling? She seemed cool, but Azure had seemed fine at first
too. I didn’t want her telling everyone the new girl had some
panic attack over nothing.
“Do you ever get the feeling someone is
watching you?” I asked.
She laughed. “Everyone is watching you,”
she said. “It’s part of the job.”
“No, that’s not exactly what I meant,”
I said, trying to figure out how to put words to the feeling. “I’m
talking about someone… specific. Someone dark.”
Evil. The word was on the tip of my tongue, but I
didn’t dare speak it.
She lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “Did
someone talk to you? Try to get inside your head? You have to just
ignore those guys. They’re harmless, really. No one would dare
lay a hand on one of Rend’s girls,” she said. A smile
crept across her features. “Not without permission, anyway.”
“No, no one came up to me or anything,”
I said.
“What then?”
I wrapped my arms around my body. Despite the late
summer air and the heat of the shot running through my veins, I was
shivering.
“Nothing, I guess,” I said. “Just
a feeling I got when I was up there.”
“You want another shot of Dragon’s
Breath?”
I laughed. “Is that seriously what it’s
called?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yeah. All
the drinks here have crazy color-themed names,” she said.
“You’ll eventually learn what they all are and what they
do. The base drink is Red Dragon, but Rend’s special mix for
the dancers is called Dragon’s Breath.”
“Can I ask you something else?”
“Sure,” she said, finishing her
cigarette and immediately lighting another one.
“How long has this place been here? I tried
looking it up online and it’s like it doesn’t even exist
at all.”
“Oh, gosh, Venom has been open for about
sixty years, I guess?” She looked up, as if the answer were
written on the sky. “Maybe sixty-five?”
“Oh,” I said, surprised. “I got
the impression this was Rend’s place. You know, that he started
it. How long has he owned it, then?”
She shook her head and tossed her cigarette onto
the ground, stomping it out with her heel. “Girl, you have so
much to learn, I can’t even begin to know where to start.”
I tried to ask her what she meant by that, but
before I could, she was leading us back into the club.
Selena gave us a wave as we walked past the crowd
waiting to get in. I smiled at her, but that smile was wiped right
off my face the second we walked back inside. I hadn’t realized
it, but the darkness was gone when we were outside. Walking back in
was like walking into a cave of fear.
I
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