The man loses his interest and purses his lips in annoyance. “Try smiling and maybe you’d have a chance of getting laid.”
Our favorite bartender—Pok—leans forward and hisses at the man. Pok, though I’m not exactly sure what he is, is not one to fuck with. The old man gets the hint rather quickly, grabbing hold of the man’s arm beside him. They shuffle away, opening up the seats for us.
“Thanks, Pok,” I say, giving him a small smile. Not too wide. A few months ago, I grinned at him, and he gave me his number. Pass.
“Anything for my girls.” He beams back, his stare lingering too long on my lips. “Same as usual?”
We both nod and then he heads off.
“Pok has it bad for you,” Loey says as we sit on our stools. “I mean, he seems like he’s a pretty cool guy. Maybe you should have called him.”
“I’m not looking to make snake babies with him.” I shudder at the thought of having sex with a giant beast of a man-thing like Pok.
“Not every sexual encounter leads to babies,” Loey deadpans.
My only one has.
“So? Any good news?” I ask my friend. “Did you find them all?”
Her brows pinch and she scowls. “No. The Shadowed Sanctum has to be hidden behind a cloaking spell or something. I’ve searched everywhere, Casti. Everywhere. I’m running out of options.”
The defeat in her tone has us both growing quiet. Pok returns, giving Loey and me the sewer special. It’s not really sewer water, but it’s neon green, smells like something you’d paint your house with, and burns like a motherfucker. It’s also a really great drink to loosen you up. Whatever they put inside doesn’t just give a relaxing vibe to humans, it’s universal in the way it affects supes as well.
“Do you think it’s someplace you’ve already been but just hidden really well?” I ask as I pick up my sewer special. I sip it and cringe. So gross, but a zing of ease shoots down my spine. Exactly what I needed.
“It’s possible. Maybe even probable. I feel like such a failure.” Her eyes fall to her drink. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m still doing this. It’d be much easier…” She trails off, her blue eyes darting my way.
To die.
Or specifically, let me kill her.
The thought of my friend dying hurts, but it’s necessary. I get it. Mercy be thy way. She’s a vampire. Her life—an immortal one if I don’t intervene—is driven by thirst and violence. She’ll never be the girl she was before she was turned. Loey, at the end of the day, is a bloodsucker. An animal. Evil running through her veins, forcing her to prowl Earth and other realms, guided first and foremost by her need to feed.
I made a vow to my friend to put a stake through her heart if her suicide mission to find the five maledictums doesn’t work, and unfortunately, it’s a promise I’ll keep because that’s what friends do for each other.
“When the time comes, you know where to find me,” I tell Loey, reminding her I can do this for her. I will do this for her.
“Put your stakes away, Casti,” Loey teases. “I’m not ready to die tonight.”
“Good,” I say with a smile, “because Mercy is going to drive me up a wall wondering if you brought her a gift.”
Loey smirks as she reaches into her pocket. “Like I would ever show up empty-handed. My girl loves her trinkets.” She hands me a small, thin bracelet with a murky white gemstone weaved into it.
I take it from her, feeling a slight buzz of magic that pulses through it. “This isn’t a regular bracelet from the souvenir shop up the street, is it?”
“Don’t insult me,” she sasses. “This bracelet nearly cost me my life to obtain.”
“It won’t hurt her, will it?” I know I can trust Loey, but with Mercy, I worry. She’s so fragile.
“Quite the opposite, Casti. It’s infused with opal-root.”
“Never heard of it.”
“That’s because it came from The Pale Province.”
I sit up, my brows furrowing. “The Pale Province? Do you have anything on them?”
“I’ll admit, I wasn’t going there for that purpose. I was seeking out the Shadowed Sanctum. Word on the street was the people there have a dark side that hides behind their seemingly angelic presence. It felt like a good lead.”
“Tell me about the dark side. What did they look like?”
“Just like them,” she says, leaning closer. “The pale-haired twins who took your family from you.”
My blood runs so cold, I almost have a taste of what it feels like to be a vampire. Quickly, hot rage chases away the sick coldness. “Were they vampires?”
“They had vampiric tendencies but leant more toward the fae family. Very earth friendly. Close-knit species that live peacefully under a royal family who’s ruled over their realm since the beginning of time. The Zargonians.” She motions toward the bracelet. “The opal-root is derived from an ancient tree within the castle of The Pale Province. It sits in the middle of a pond. The royalty who live there drink directly from the water source and their healers mine the stones from the pond to help the sick or injured.”