“You need to eat something before you try shifting again,” Addie said pointedly. “If you keep going on like this, then you’re going to be in for a world of trouble. Let go of the idea that you’re more human than animal and learn to be a good shifter.”
My lip curled at her command, but there was no punch of arcana behind it. Addie was simply giving me a reality check, one that she clearly wanted me to take seriously. However, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her undermining advice. No beast would get the best of me, and I would have appreciated her trust on the matter.
“Lead the way, then.” I opened my door and stepped out into the night.
Addie threw her hands up and followed suit. She didn’t take the time to see if I was following. Instead, she stormed down the street towards an unassuming building with music thrumming inside. Could everyone hear the music? Or was it just me and my new hearing?
As much as I hated it, Addie was right. I had to finally come to terms with what I’d become. I was leaning on this new power a lot lately, yet I still clung to this idea that I was still human with a few quirks. That wasn’t the truth of the matter at all.
When I reached to open the door for Addie, I had to control my strength or else I would rip the door off the hinges. We stepped inside, and I immediately cringed at the music volume. It made my eardrums ache and my heart shake inside my chest.
On top of it all, the air smelled of sweat and blood. The combination roused my beast again. It lifted its imaginary head—a weird visual that happened in the back of my mind even though the creature was still trapped deep inside me—and growled at the smell. There were predators all around us. My guard went up and made me want to pull Addie into me.
We pushed through the thumping dancefloor. Gleaming red eyes turned towards us. When snarls graced their pristine faces, I growled in warning and put a hand on Addie’s shoulder. She was stiff beneath my touch, like she could tell what was happening, but had chosen to ignore it.
Vampires, I thought.Huh.
We made it to the other side of the dancefloor and greeted a man standing by a door that readEmployees Only. He was the tall type with broad shoulders and an empty-headed grin. I noticed the sharp teeth at the corners of his smile. If that didn’t give him away, the smell of death and blood on him would have.
The man’s smile never faltered despite the way every other vampire glared at us. He gave us a warm greeting before warning Addie that the door beyond him was off limits.
She tilted her head sweetly. “Could you go upstairs and tell Luca that a friend of Vi wants to speak with him?”
“You know the demon child?” the man asked rather incredulously.
He looked like someone said there was a celebrity on the premises. Excitement filled his big eyes.
“She’s not a demon, Cassius,” a deep, male voice said.
Addie startled. I yanked her closer to me without thinking. Her back hit my chest. She reached back for me, grabbed my shirt, then let go like she’d needed that split-second to gather herself before launching ahead again.
“Luca,” Addie said, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
This vampire looked more like what I’d expect. Perhaps it was my experience with old videogames centered around vampires that made me think so. He was tall and lithe, almost feminine in his grace. A veil of long, platinum hair fell past his shoulders. It was neatly captured behind his ears as if it didn’t dare let a strand fall out of line. He looked us up and down with soft emerald eyes.
I noticed a hint of derision when he looked at Addie, but it didn’t last long. His shoulders dropped as if releasing a sigh. He looked away, shook his head, and turned back with a fake smile on his lips.
Straightening, I rose to my full height. The vampire barely paid any attention to my unspoken warning.
“I guess I can’t hate you too much if Michael thinks we’re both abominations,” Luca said, finally.
“How is he doing, by the way? I haven’t seen the archangel in a while.”
Archangel?
The Archangel Michael?
Luca let out a laugh that rang true for once. “He’s not an archangel anymore. Remember? Vi bound him with Lucifer’s Shackles. He won’t find his way out of that puzzle for a long while. It has been fun to watch him suffer, though. He’s working as a delivery man for a pizza place on the east side of the city.”
Addie chuckled.
“Wait,” I interrupted. “We’re talking about angels? Like, actual angels?”
Luca turned his attention to me again. “Is he new? He smells like animal and grave dirt, so I know he’s not human.”
“Ah, about that. Maddox is…new here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. That was one way to describe my status.