the 10 and got onto the 17 that ran straight through Phoenix. We weren’t on it long before he pulled off to take me to The Jackalope in Downtown Phoenix.
On the corner of 2nd and McKinley there was a strange abandoned building, surrounded by several small lounges, a parking lot, and other little pieces of the Phoenix nightlife. The roadside parking was full, and so was the parking lot. On a Friday night, everyone was out and about. I smiled, blinking several times as I saw the building come into view. The glamor recognized me as a supernatural and revealed its secrets. Humans were turned off by the building—no one wanted to go near it or thought to try to buy it. It was just there, standing the test of time with the bustling city around it.
To me it was The Jackalope, the only supernatural bar in Phoenix worth visiting. Even with the glamor gone from my vision, it wasn’t much to look at—black walls, sealed windows, only a single story tall, with a neon sign with its name and mascot. There was even a warning posted on the door to ward off trouble and trespassers. It was considered the seedy bar for supernaturals in Arizona, the place to go to get drunk and do something stupid. No self-respecting supernatural would come here, nor would they let anyone they were responsible for come near it.
Carter pulled up to the front door and smiled at me.
“It’s good to have you back, Kaliya. Call me sometime, and we’ll go have drinks at my place. It’s a lot nicer than The Jackalope.”
I made a face. “Your place sucks. Literally. I’ll see you soon, though. That’s a promise.”
He didn’t stop laughing as I got out, pulled my bag from the trunk, and slammed it shut. I knocked on his car with my knuckles to let him know I was done, and he hit the gas, screaming down the street and going back to his own Friday night destination, probably the blood club that his nest ran.
Wasting no more time, I strolled into the bar, throwing my pack over my shoulder. I couldn’t go home if I didn’t get my keys from the owner, who knew me well enough to keep my car from getting towed while I was gone. He also kept it from getting broken into. The amount of favors Paden and I owed each other was uncountable, so we’d stopped trying years ago. We had a set of rules we followed, and one of those was I could leave my car at the Jackalope for any reason at any time, give him the keys, and leave with the expectation everything would be fine when I got back. He never failed me.
“Hey, look who’s back!”
I waved silently at the bartender, not stopping for chit chat. Glenn was cool, but I was just trying to get home. I couldn’t get caught up in a round of drinks, not upstairs.
“Who’s that?” someone asked softly. My sensitive hearing couldn’t miss the exchange, so I listened in as I walked through the bar.
“Oh, that’s right, you’ve never seen her. That’s Kaliya Sahni, Tribunal Executioner.”
“The naga?” someone else asked in a gasp. “I heard she’s like the last of her kind or something.”
“She’s the last female, a nagini. Don’t get in her way, she’ll fucking kill you. They’ve taken bodies out of this place before when someone has tried to fuck with her.”
I knew the last voice, gritting my teeth as I realized Martin was around. What the scrawny werewolf was doing upstairs wasn’t my business, but it was unusual. Upstairs was for people just looking to drink, but types like him were never in The Jackalope just looking for a drink.
Then again, neither are types like me.
I ducked into the back hallways of the bar, trying to control my temper about what he was telling people about me, and found the bouncer in the back. It was hard walking away. If there was one thing I hated, it was being the topic of conversation, especially that conversation.
The last nagini. Like anyone really needs the reminder that my kind are going extinct.
“Welcome home,” the burly fae said, nodding at me. Before I could say anything, he touched his ear and spoke into a mic on his shirt. “Kaliya is back, boss, and on her way down.”
“Any reason he needed a warning?” I asked softly, looking around to see if anyone was listening. I also noted Deacon didn’t move