Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) - By Fionn Jameson Page 0,33
on its prey and while I was good at finding, it would take more than I had to track him through the hundreds of people on the dance floor.
If I wanted to.
Which I didn’t.
The long, metallic bar with seven bartenders, all of them dressed professionally in black vests over white button-down shirts and black pants, stretched along one side of the wall and I made my way to the bar, managing to snag a seat in the very middle. A giggly, very drunk blond was on my right and a quiet, also very drunk redhead was on my left, both of them looking as though they would not be leaving the club under their own power.
I held up a hand and a bartender, dapper with a small goatee, nodded in my direction.
“What can I get for ya?”
“Cranberry juice, if you’ve got any.”
The giggly, drunk blond laughed shrilly upon hearing my order, but I ignored her. Taking action against her in the state she was in, was pointless and moot.
The bartender slapped a glass on the counter and poured me a tall one. “No problema. Will that be all for ya, chica?”
Chica? What was that supposed to mean? “Um. Yes. That’s all.”
Drink paid for, I turned in my seat, cold glass in one hand, all the while acutely aware of the leather wrist sheathe riding comfortably over my wrist bone, almost like a cherished bracelet.
I couldn’t kill a vampire with the small dagger, but I could hurt them enough to make them think twice about attacking me again.
And in most cases, that was seventy-five percent of the battle.
If I was under the impression that I could possibly spot Jason in the middle of at least three hundred people, I was sorely disillusioned.
Three hundred people.
Three hundred.
The bottom dropped out of my stomach and I put the glass down on the counter, hard enough to cause a wash of crimson to splash over the rim and onto my right hand.
Shit.
That’s twice in three days I left Jason alone.
Never mind he was taught by a vampire who could teach me more than a thing or two.
Never mind he was, by all accounts, my master.
He was still my responsibility and if he died on me now, I’d never get close to Noir, not with Vincent keeping such a close eye on me.
The DJ spun something new, something loud with lots of hard, distortion guitar music. I didn’t recognize the artist, but then again, my music of choice was written by people who were dead for at least a couple hundred years.
I pushed into the crowd, amidst cries and curses from the disturbed dancers who apparently didn’t enjoy my interruption into their bouncing and swaying.
Couldn’t see Jason.
I managed to make it out to the other side of the dance floor, the side facing the double entrance/exit doors and took a couple of deep breaths. I needed them. It was impossible to get a breath in, squashed in by people from all sides. It was enough to make me want to just start throwing punches left and right, if only to clear the way.
Shit, shit, shit!
Someone touched my shoulder lightly and unconsciously, I cocked my fist and whirled on one heel.
The fact he was a vampire was the only reason he wasn’t plastered against the wall. A human wouldn’t have been quick enough to duck.
The blond vampire held up his hands, cerulean blue eyes wide. “Whoa, whoa. Calm down! Calm the fuck down, lady!”
Chest heaving, I brought my hand down, desperately glad I had enough sense to keep the bi-su where it belonged, tucked in the wrist sheath. I had to remember…it was nothing but a last resort. Had to remember. Why did I keep forgetting? “What do you want?”
He ran a hand through his blond hair, long enough to brush his jawline. “Couldn’t help but notice you seemed to be in a bit of trouble.”
“Trouble?”
“You just plowed through that dance floor like a fucking bull-dozer,” he said dryly. “You’re lucky no one got hurt. Much.”
I didn’t have time for this. I had to find Jason, had to make sure he was safe. If I had to stand in front of him and watch him drain a human, I would. I no longer had a choice, not anymore. “Get out of the way. Leave me alone.”
He crossed his arms and planted himself directly in front of me. “Look, I’d like to help you. Let me help.”
What was his problem? Besides being nothing more than a walking corpse,