The War of Gods (A Welcome to the Underworld Novel, Book 3) by Con Template

was this club empty?
    A cold chill hit her, and she painstakingly acknowledged that perhaps this club wasn’t as empty as she thought.
    Silence descended over the room.
    Akin to waiting for her grand entrance, the earsplitting music was switched off. Nothing but the multitude of swaying lights filtered into her senses. The sudden hush frightened Yoori. Now that the music was gone, she concluded with certainty that she wasn’t alone.
    She could hear them.
    She could hear all of them breathe around her . . .
    “ Well, if it isn’t the Queen herself.”
    The voice that originated from the upper level of the club scared the hell out of Yoori.
    She whipped her head upward, alertness engulfing her.
    A dark canvas greeted her eyes. Although she could not make out the silhouette of the owner of the voice, it was clear to her that whoever was in here with her had been waiting a long time for her.
    Her senses livened.
    Initially, she couldn’t hear them over the music. Now that the distracting sound was taken away, she could hear people breathing and moving on the balconies of the club. Every now and then, as the strobe lights lit up the world above, she could see figures standing on the balcony’s circular curve. She could literally feel their eyes on her.
    Cursing under her breath for the terrifying situation she was in, Yoori made a move to run out. She halted when she noted that there was a tall figure standing in the hallway she had walked through. Like an imposing statue, he blocked her path. Darkness pooled over him until the swaying light hit his face.
    “You . . . ”
    Yoori backtracked when she realized that he was the same “officer” who re directed her and eventually brought her here. She exhaled knowingly, everything becoming clear to her. All along, it had been planned for her to enter this deserted club.
    Yoori moved through the darkness, nearly tripping over objects she couldn’t see in her quest to find another exit.
    Footsteps followed her, causing her fear to amplify.
    She wasn’t dealing with ordinary gang members. Considering the big production they put on, it was evident she was dealing with a group of highly trained individuals. They were well accustomed to redirecting and inconveniencing an entire city to get to the target they wanted. And tonight, she was that target.
    Yoori nearly stumb led over a chair as she continued to navigate through the sea of darkness. From what she could gather from the swaying club lights, the furniture all around her were covered in white cloth. The dust from the cloth collected on her fingertips. The club was abandoned and from the amount of dust that lingered on her fingers, Yoori surmised it had been abandoned for quite some time.
    The white cloth slid off the table as she moved by. When the blue and red club lights landed on the surface of the table, it revealed intricate engravings that had bullet holes in it.
    Yoori’s head started to pound at the sight of the bullet holes.
    Screams from a distant past filled her head.
    Visions that didn’t feel like her own inundated her mind. In those visions, she saw amputated fingers, pools of blood, and corpses piled atop one another. The screams and the vision shook her, nearly causing Yoori to collapse. She struggled to breathe amidst her fear.
    She inspected the room, speculating about the significance of this place. Leaving became second priority. The only priority was figuring out why she was lured here in the first place.
    “What do you want?” Yoori cried, trembling after several figures jumped from the balconies above.
    Eight of them fell onto the dance floor, landing on the pavement like cats. They crouched down, like they’d done this many times before, and with ease, stood up. The man who impersonated a police officer strolled onto the dance floor to join them. Now, there were nine of them in total—five men and four women.
    “Aw, ” a mocking female voice piped up from behind Yoori. “She looks