Tammy flicked a piece of lint off the lapel of her pale gray silk jacket and adjusted the weight of the Ruger handgun nestled in a holster against her ribs. Her club, Night Haven, catered to a wide variety of people, alive and dead, and she wanted to make sure she was prepared should anything untoward happen.
The club was stylish and elegant, the perfect place to impress the someone special in your life. It was popular with patrons of all ages as well. The outer door, resembling the front door to someone's suburban home with its frosted cut-glass window and brass doorknob, sat square in the middle of Night Haven's chalet-style facade. It opened into a short foyer. The foyer, carpeted and lit by recessed ceiling lights, ended in an open doorway. The doorway centered on a metal line where the wooden dance floor and the carpeted seating area met, neatly halving the sizeable room within. To the left of the doorway was the dance floor with its stage and DJ booth twenty feet away, against the far wall. The flooring was buff, honey colored parquet done in a diamond pattern. It was protected by layers of clear, glossy enamel that gleamed in the overhead lighting.
To the right of the doorway were the bar and the carpeted seating area. The bar itself, started two feet from the doorway and extended parallel to the front wall ten feet before terminating five feet from the far wall. It was made of solid mahogany and shone with years of gentle cleaning and polishing of the wood. Occupying the rest of this carpeted area were fourteen tables with four comfortable chairs apiece. There was plenty of room between them for mingling or simply standing around. Light came from the massive chandeliers hanging on chains anchored to the two-story high ceiling. Each one dripped with pear shaped prisms which danced light off the walls and each other.
Speakers, attached to chains embedded in the pale wine colored walls, crouched in the corners of the room. Each was huge, black and state-of-the-art technology. Straddling the line that separated the room roughly into halves was a staircase made of clear plexi-glass. They led up to the suite of offices one-story above the dance floor. The offices covered two-thirds of the area above the dancers, and a pillar of wine colored concrete supported the fourth corner. Underneath the offices, attached to the bottom, hung small chandeliers, copies of the larger ones. They hung from chains as well, and they managed to clear eight and a half feet from the floor.
It was a simple yet artistic layout , and Tammy was very proud of it. Tammy's eyes swept possessively over the gaudily dressed crowd who were enjoying themselves in her club that night. She smiled with satisfaction as she mentally counted heads.
Business is definitely good tonight. she thought to herself. I should see a profit for this month almost certainly.
She could feel the energy of the crowd like a living thing. She reveled in it, feeling energized. Moving through the seating area, a movement from the foyer caught her wandering attention. She frowned at the newcomer who, by his dress, was clearly out of place in her establishment. The man, for he was clearly male, was a thin Caucasian. He was dressed in a white tee shirt, black jeans held up by a black studded leather belt, and a pair of dusty biker boots finished off the whole outfit. The ensemble was a marked contrast to the more stylish clothing worn by the other patrons of Night Haven.
Tammy disliked the way his limp blonde hair simply hung in thick strands about his bony shoulders. She definitely didn't like the bloodshot whites of his washed out blue eyes her mage sight allowed her to see clearly from where she stood across the room from him.
Damn junkie! She thought. I don't need the likes of him in here ruining my reputation for a classy place.
She stepped over to one of her bouncers who was positioned close by.
"That's Blake." he told her, seeing the look of inquiry on her face before she cocked her head at the newcomer. "He's been warned about hunting in here. A minor mishap that Alex took care of and didn't think you needed to be told about. It really wasn't a big deal."
He shrugged apologetically, and Tammy only nodded. "Thanks Edward." she murmured, continuing to watch the blonde.
He headed for an older man surrounded by a bevy of men and women, all of them young and beautiful. Tammy recognized this older man as one of the regular patrons of her club. His honey gold skin and tawny hair, styled in waves about his face and shoulders, highlighted his distinct feline features.
Tammy couldn't help admiring the light brown casual sports coat he wore over a lovely tan turtleneck. The coat was neatly buttoned over his middle in an attempt to minimize the girth, which was decidedly out of proportion with his average height. She couldn't see that this maneuver was helping any, but the coat still looked good.
Tammy glanced over yet another man in the club. This one lounged at the solid mahogany bar directly across the room from her, and he had an air of command about him. Standing well over six feet tall, thin as a rail and dark as rich Columbian coffee, he wore a sapphire blue silk shirt, white dress pants and shiny black dress shoes. His jet black hair was cropped close to his head, and several gold earrings hung from one ear. As his startling green eyes met hers, Tammy smiled inwardly at her best friend. She cocked her head at Blake who was almost to the feline man now.
"Watch him Alex." she bade her friend in a whisper, knowing his keen vampiric hearing would allow him to hear her.
Alex nodded in reply before allowing his gaze to slide away from her to the man in question. Tammy mentally shrugged off the seductive tingle of Alex's immense preternatural power just as it sent tiny bolts of lightening along her spine, raising the short hairs all over her body. She casually strolled closer to the two men she was watching, so she could hear their discussion.
"Is she here, Claw?" the blonde man, Blake, asked the older gentleman. His voice was husky with the drugs in his system and his own, barely controlled, eagerness. "You said you'd bring her with you."
"Easy now, Blake. Seela is here, so chill. How's about a drink with me, to seal our little deal?" the feline man, Claw, replied, his voice a silken purr.
Blake shakily sat down across the table from Claw. "Does she really handle well?" the young man demanded. Claw poured him a shot of golden whiskey and grinned broadly, showing pointed teeth.
"My kind has a higher tolerance for pain that yours, and they're much harder to kill as well." he assured Blake, sounding smug and superior. "I can guarantee you'll enjoy many long hours of pleasure with her."
Blake snatched up the glass before him and downed the contents in one gulp, his body trembling all the while. "I'd like to get her and go now." he said, glancing around nervously.
Standing at a table nearby, Tammy noticed the distressed looks on the faces of the group around Claw. She wasn't too keen on how they kept touching each other, almost as if seeking reassurance from the contact. She knew they were shape-shifters from their visits to the club in the past, and she recognized their movements as fear. One young woman in particular looked scared to death, and those nearest her stood close by, protectively.
Seela drew those around her closer as Claw held up a hand. Terror froze her body, and she moaned softly. A small part of her noted the club's owner, Tammy, moving to a table closer to the group. She looked like, to Seela, she was just greeting the customers seated there. Her spirits fell further, no help would come from her.
"It's time to go, Seela." her leader, Claw, announced now. She looked up from where she had just hid her face in the chest of a thin young man, and she brushed curly dark red hair over one of her narrow shoulders with a shaky hand.
"No, Claw." she moaned, despair written on her fine and delicate features.
Those around her shifted nervously, and their nervousness tasted salty on her tongue. The heavy set man made a fist with his still raised hand, and his anger crashed over her like a wave. She cringed, wide-eyed. "Don't defy me, Girl." he snarled, never looking at her." You're mine until you leave this club with Blake, and I will not tolerate disobedience, not even now."
Horrified, Seela fell to her knees beside him, unmindful of the way her gold halter dress rose high on her thighs. "Please, Claw!" she pleaded with him, on the verge of tears. "Don't make me go with him!"
