“Agnes Concepcion, please. I told you he’s just a friend. Go back to the others.” Celia watched her until she disappeared into the growing numbers taking up the dance floor. We were already at capacity, the bouncers on duty letting too many clubbers in. “It’s getting too crowded and my tigress is on edge. Do you want to call it a night?”
“Nah. I need to keep an eye on Dan. What was his excuse for not dancing with you? It might have worked to his advantage to be seen with a cutie like you.”
She gave me a small smile. “He said he’s afraid that if he dances with me, it’ll ruin his chance to hook up.”
“Did you tell him his suit has already done that for him?”
She laughed. “No, I didn’t want to hurt—”
Celia tensed as my hackles rose. A sudden chill overtook the air around us. She slipped off my lap. I stood, releasing the throaty growl rumbling my chest. Gray mist crept its way from the exits and crawled along the floor, thick enough to blanket the feet of the dancing patrons. The humans continued to bump and glide against each other, their steps growing louder as the music faded and the hairs on my arms curled tight against my skin.
The air grew denser, tightening my chest. Something had entered the club from all directions. I didn’t know what the hell it was, but knew we needed to get rid of it—fast.
“Do you feel that?” Celia whispered.
I nodded and motioned to the vamps. They’d stopped dancing and straightened, their keen sights taking everything in. “Your girlfriends felt it, too.”
“Can you tell what we’re dealing with?”
“No. But it’s nothing good. Looks like the spirits aren’t done for the night.”
Chapter Six
Celia pulled a cell phone out of her back pocket. “My phone’s dead. How about yours?”
I yanked out mine. “Yeah. The paranormal activity must be interfering with the electrical equipment.” The flashing strobe lights flickered in and out and music reached an abrupt end. I reached for her hand again. “Come on, let’s take a look around.”
We made our way through the crowd of sweating bodies. Celia stopped and tugged on my arm. “Bren, look.”
I hadn’t noticed the clubbers’ eyes. They stared expressionless at their partners, despite how hard their bodies moved against each other and to the beat of music that no longer played. “Shit. Their souls have been numbed.”
“What?”
“A poisonous spirit can paralyze a weak soul—especially if their prey is intoxicated. Think of a snake that’s bitten a rat. Makes the rat easier to eat.”
“Jesus,” Celia whispered taking in the swarm of drunk humans. “There are a lot of rats around here.”
Speaking of which. The she-vamps slinked their way around the bodies, charging to Celia’s side. “We have to get you out of here.”
The ice blonde reached for Celia but withdrew when Celia hissed. “I’m not going anywhere until we dispose of whatever entity has trapped the humans.”
Blonde bombshell shook her head. “We’ll deal with it once we get you back to the master.”
“No. It’ll take too long. I’m not risking some poor sap having his soul devoured.” Celia’s husky voice was absolute and she squared her jaw. “I’m staying to help Bren. And so are you.”
The blonde swore before whirling to face the chick with the dark pigtails and little glasses. “What are we dealing with here, Agnes?”
Agnes frowned. “I won’t know until we find it. It, they—whatever the hell is scattered around. We have to wait until one takes physical form to feed. It’ll entice the others to present in their physical forms and feast.”