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New York, New York
Charlotte felt breathless and off-balance, like the earth was shifting underfoot Her life had been nothing but upheaval since the night that Cortez&039;s lackeys had dragged her froht her back, and then tried to mold her into his own monster, as he had done with so many others She had escaped his influence and tried to start life over, persuading herself that her dreams were still possible And then the dark influence of Navalica had lured her to Massachusetts and she&039;d one since then had been just as drastic as those thrust upon her by Cortez, but this ti
Her life had becoh it twisted her around and threw her about so quickly that her thoughts blurred, Charlotte e she could live an ordinary life after all that had happened to her The things that had been done to her were haunting They had taken root inside of her and would never let her be at ease She understood, now, that her only path to peace of mindar
When Cortez had been destroyed, perhaps then she would no longer feel so haunted And if it didn&039;t work - if her ghosts remained - at least the son of a bitch would be dead
A static-fuzzed voice crackled in her ear &039;Charlotte, are you all right?&039;
She blinked and glanced around the alley, wondering where the TFV soldiers were hidden Not that she expected to see theht seem surreal to her, but to them it was just another day&039;s work If her heart still beat like a human&039;s, it would have quickened Still, ordinary heartbeat or no, she felt sohten in anticipation
It was just after nine p but so, turned away fro that housed the dance club Once upon a tiround search, it had metamorphosed over the years first into a bookstore and then a restaurant, both called The Vault, after which - for six years - it had been nothing but a crun either at the front of the building or in the side alley, but the barely legal crowd of aloof well-financed club kids knew just where to find it
The place was called Faux, and as far as Charlotte knew it had earned the name without irony One online writeup of the club called it the place &039;where nobody is who they seem&039; To Charlotte it sounded like the perfect cover for a vampire bar, or some other kind of occult operation, but apparently the people who ran the club were just that - people
With or without the owners&039; knowledge, though, Faux was the perfect hunting ground Bored, disaffected, rich kids with plenty ofout for themwhen they vanished, it took days for people to start looking for thes in their system, bled out from slashes on their wrists, vampires were far from the first suspected cause of death It wouldn&039;t be hard to find an inhu for one in particular
&039;Charlotte?&039; Oain, checking out the corners of building roofs and the sleek yellow sports car gliding down the alley All she kneas that she had backup, but they ht have been in dumpsters or darkened s or already inside the club, for all she knew
&039;Going in,&039; sheand their cell phones to shoot her a wary glance, then gave identical lazy sneers before looking back down to their phones She suspected they were texting friends, trying to figure out who they kneho could get theether but hardly aware of one another, tugging down the he the peeks of ass and crotch that they hoped would get theh
This was Faux
Charlotte crossed the alley, aware of eyes on her Soed to club kids who stood in line, wondering who the hell she thought she alking right up to the door as if there weren&039;t two dozen people behind an invisible velvet rope, waiting for a chance to be judged Charlotte knew she looked good, knew the red dress and her red hair and her intricate, ornate tattoos would earn her a second look But that was only to get her to the door, toout of the ordinary
The tall, powerfully built black man who stood beside the aze His head was shaved bald and he had a golden ring in each ear; Charlotte found him deliciously handsome, and it surprised her as she drew nearer to see that he had kind, intelligent eyes This wasn&039;t just some bruiser Doorht it was the only one that mattered - the one that could cost hi away his round Several people bitched loudly as she strode up to hiarded her curiously enough that it amounted to a question: who are you? Or, more accurately, who do you think you are? It was, after all, Faux
&039;Hi,&039; she said brightly, cocking her head Wetting her lips Lifting one corner of her estive smile &039;I&039;m Charlotte&039;
Despite himself, the door for Danny Rouge&039;
The delicious, kind-eyed doorure you for one of them&039;
&039;Donors?&039; she asked Men and women illfully offered theenerosity and others out of fetishistic sexual interest, had earned a dozen nickna which the Vatican sorcerers had attempted - and failed - to exterminate all Shadows, only to be destroyed themselves
&039;That&039;s one word,&039; the door her
&039;Send the bitch packin&039;,&039; someone called from the line
&039;Back of the line!&039; shouted another
The huge, handsonored them His enormous hands were still crossed in front of hiht Charlotte was there for, he re was different about her She liked hi the coquettish act
&039;Marcus&039;
Charlotte licked her lips, letting her fangs slide out She sood look
&039;I don&039;t want to kill you, Marcus I just need Danny Rouge&039;
Marcus nodded appreciatively Fearlessly &039;We&039;re on the sae, check the vault&039;
He stood aside to let her pass, provoking a flurry of angry and envious shouts One guy broke away fro toward the otta be fuckin&039; kiddingto snatch the back of her dress to pull her back &039;This bitch waits in line like every-&039;
Marcus grabbed him by the throat, lifted him and hurled him backward, where he sprawled at the feet of the three peekaboo girls with their cell phones Charlotte had paused to watch, but she hadn&039;t come here for the entertainment She let the door slam behind her and ventured into the wall of sound inside Faux
Music thumped so loud it felt like a physical assault, felt like she had waded into a rushing streah a computer to be smoothed into synthetic, soulless music Charlotte hadn&039;t known Nikki Wydra, but she had heard herthat would have h she was only nineteen, Charlotte didn&039;t much care for this synth-pop dance crap either
People swar and so to hold a conversation, which was next to iant and desperate men who tried to touch her or draw her onto the dance floor She saaitresses but they weren&039;t what she wanted Searching the crowd, she focused on a wory, hopeful expression - one she had seen before
Hus in her throat
Riding the wave of sound and flashing lights, Charlotte glided toward the woman A hand touched her aruy wearing a hyena&039;s grin He started to speak but faltered and backed up a step Perhaps he&039;d seen the brutality in her eyes, her falanced away, head hung like an admonished child, and she left him there No one else tried to touch her
The wo and searched Charlotte&039;s eyes, ure out if her prayers had been answered Maybe twenty-four, she had a killer body and a lovely face, with high cheekbones and full lips, but even with the gold eyeshadow, the desperation in her eyes would have drivenoff about her
&039;Hi!&039; Charlotte said brightly &039;What&039;s your name?&039;
&039;Velvet,&039; the woman replied, wary but hopeful
Charlotte wasn&039;t sure if it was a stripper stage name or the product of cruel parents, but either way she had to fight not to roll her eyes
&039;You knohere the vault is, Velvet?&039; she asked &039;This is in&039; madhouse in here&039;
&039;I knohere it is,&039; Velvet replied &039;They don&039;t just let anyone in, though It&039;s like a club inside the club, y&039;know?&039;
&039;They&039;ll let me in Maybe you want to co her cheeks so hts and the ue as she nodded and led the way,dance beat When they reached the thick of the crowd, Velvet reached back and took her hand Many eyes tracked their progress toward the rear of the club, past grinding dancers and bar counters packed six deep Two pretty girls wearing an air of urgency, hand in hand - theto watch thediverted
The vault still had a door, a huge, heavy thing that Charlotte figured was mostly for orna open, and it made her think of the rock that had been rolled away from Christ&039;s to the entrance into the vault He wore a paisley vest over a creah not the handsoh, but his huge hands were knobby and ugly Undaested a life of violence delivered but very little received A dangerousher hair and cocking her hip as she looked at hi look, but that caured the blood-slut had been turned away from the vault before As a Shadow, Charlotte had no fear of the sun, but Cortez&039;s vaht They believed in the old ways enough to burn, so they hid froue vampires liked caves and hidden places The vault was perfect
Charlotte took Velvet&039;s hand and started through the vault door
The bouncer reacted instantly, reaching out to grab Velvet by the ar as the bouncer swore and Velvet called her a bitch The two of the her precious seconds to take in the layout of the vault The small rooundy booths and loveseats A private bar at the far end served only expensive tastes There were fewer than thirty people in the space, but the air felt heavy and the h muffled - from small speakers in the corners The place smelled of sweat and perfume, of old booze and desire
Charlotte scanned faces, searching for Rouge Several guys had their backs to her, but one of the hand slammed down on her shoulder
&039;Where the fuck do you think you&039;re-&039; the bouncer began
Charlotte turned, backhanding hih to crack his cheekbone, then took his hand, pivoted and hurled him into a wine rack Bottles shattered and red wine splashed down on him like a shower of blood His nose was bent and she realized she had broken it That was all right with her A man who lived so violent a life as to have such hands should not have been left unscarred by it
She spun back around, scanning again for Rouge Velvet ca with a dark, erotic fervor Charlotte had just revealed that she herself was the very thing Velvet desired
&039;Oh, my God,&039; the woman said &039;That was so hot&039;
Charlotte searched faces; ued, and one or tere as openly hungry as Velvet&039;s One guy had already turned away
Danny Rouge
People shied away as she crossed the vault The bouncer tried to rise but slipped down again into the wine rack debris,at the new cuts he received from broken bottles Not all of the red on hi to her,with her in the midst of all of this, but Charlotte couldn&039;t hear her The song of her own blood was in her ears, the rown louder in the months since she had been turned She wouldn&039;t kill humans for their blood - not now - but the thirst for it reh her in moments of imminent violence with such force that it h, to danceto kill
The good neas that killing didn&039;t always make her a monster Soe,&039; she said, standing beside the booth where the vampire sat with a trio of club kids Charlotte couldn&039;t have described the sure she was directly in front of hi up
&039;Re&039;
The vaht as well have been His hair was the yellohite of cornsilk and his eyes were blue-tinted ice Rouge had alabaster skin, but when he had freshly drunk of human blood, his cheeks became mottled with patches of pink, as if he were embarrassed She had seen hie lolled his head back and studied her, brow furrowed
&039;If you&039;d come in here all quiet and ured you wanted back in Cortez&039;s good graces, ood word But this&039; He gestured at the bouncer: nobody had gone to the bleeding et to his feet and begun to stueant O in her ear &039;Don&039;t set him off in there Get him out of the vault, out in the open part of the club If we try coh the door, on&039;t be able to surround-&039;
&039;I&039;ood at meek,&039; Charlotte said
&039;So what&039;s your deal? You just want to end it? Suicide by fang?&039;
&039;I told you I have a question&039;
&039;Charlotte, listen -&039; Oe was curious in spite of hionna ask it?&039;
Charlotte nodded No ust in her face &039;Where can I find Cortez? I know he&039;s got a place in New York, that part of the coven is here Where&039;s the nest?&039;
&039;That&039;s two questions&039;
Rouge shot from behind the table, his limbs a blur His companions barely had tiether in a flurry of blows and slashing talons Vampire versus Shadow Vampire versus vae tore at her, stronger, older, , snarling and snapping
O in Shots rang out in the club and people screa dance beat The people in the vault cowered and wept as Rouge and Charlotte crashed into the bar and then into a wall of wine racks, driving each other into the broken bottle necks over and over, digging at flesh and shedding blood The pain seared her but she welcoe snarled
Stronger Bigger
Charlotte laughed and let her flesh shift and flow, let her bones twist and grow She rose, towering over hi, and then she opened her e blinked in surprise, hesitating for a second, and she swept one huge pan and tore off the left side of his face
Cortez was foolish to stick to the traditions With a little practice, a little focus, Rouge could have shifted as she did, but as a wolf or a rat to the thousand beasts and e threw a punch, driving his talons into Charlotte&039;s chest Bone broke and skin tore, and she kneas going for her heart His fingers found it, closed over it, squeezed Had he done so little hoht he could kill her?