Chapter 27

The club was in a rather industrial looking part of town, with a lot of warehouses around and little tiny, windy roads. Parking was rather hard to come by, especially for Gabriel's new giant truck.

They ended up parking about a quarter mile from the club, and walking the rest of the way. Pandora pressed up close to him, looking around nervously ... likely this was the 'worst' neighborhood she'd ever visited.

The club itself didn't look like much from the outside. Big double doors, with a bouncer on either side, taking ID's and stamping the hand of anyone over 21 who wanted to drink.

As they stepped through the doors, the noise was overwhelming. The music ... provided tonight by a live band ... had a heavy, throbbing bass line that seemed to vibrate the floor, and the vocalist seemed to be fighting the loud instrumentals, screaming to be heard at all. Despite the volume, though, it was appealing in a wild, primal sort of way. The crowd added to the noise; the bar was originally a warehouse, so it was large, but it was still crowded. The dance floor, which took up about half the space, was packed with writhing bodies, and almost every spindly black table was occupied. The lighting was dim, with a lot of black-lights and red and purple runners and flickering artificial torches.

Pandora froze in the doorway, her hand tightening around Gabriel's. He was a bit frozen himself, though, because he had not expected to see the things he did.

The auras of a couple hundred humans were confusing enough, all on their own, and their bright colors twining on the dance floor would have been hypnotically beautiful under other circumstances. But scattered throughout the humans were auras that he was rapidly learning to spot as 'abnormal'.

Some of them, the ones like Tandi's which were just a bit stronger than normal and that had a tight, 'controlled' look to them were probably human magic users. He thought. Probably. But there were several auras that were as bright or brighter than his and Pandora's, and some of those people didn't look very human at all. In one corner was a pretty, dark-haired woman who's aura was almost blindingly bright in shades of red, green, gold and ... black? How the hell did something glow black? he wondered, but her aura, undeniably, did. Her bright green eyes (and surely the humans had to notice those eyes, right?) weren't exactly friendly as she looked at him, either, but she only glared for a moment before disappearing in the back of the club. At a table, near the center of things, a group of people with bright auras sat drinking and chatting, while their auras constantly batted and hit at each other, sometimes taking on the vague misty form of a snarling beast. They noticed him, too, but their eyes were neutral ... though a couple of them looked at Pandora with an uncomfortably hungry look. But by far the most disturbing creature was sitting at a table right by the dance floor, surrounded by half a dozen pretty teenagers.

He was male, and possibly as tall as Gabriel, though it was hard to tell while he was sitting. He was broad-shouldered and heavily muscled. The leather pants, and the jacket he wore over a stretchy net shirt were almost certainly custom made for him. He was also exceptionally good-looking, almost beautiful, really, with long, gleaming bronze colored hair, light grey eyes that shone in the black lights, and a nearly too-perfect face. As his eyes met Gabriel's they seemed to flash red-gold for a moment, and his aura, which was all the colors of open flame, seemed to flare up brightly around him, outlining the shadow of long, curving horns sweeping up from his forehead and bat-like wings spread wide behind him, and his skin seemed for a moment to gleam like real gold, not just with the golden tan his human form presented. He smiled widely, flashing gold fangs, and Gabriel's new instincts flared suddenly, an intense surge of possessiveness making him reach out and pull Pandora close to his side as he snarled in unconscious challenge.

Pandora looked up at him, confused by both his hard grip on her waist and the sudden tension radiating from him. The flame-aura'd man reached out, snagging a waitress' arm with a hand that Gabriel noticed was tipped with long, metallic gold nails that seemed more like claws than anything else. The woman bent, and he said something to her. She looked surprised, and glanced over at Gabriel before nodding and hurrying towards the bar to tug urgently at the bartender's arm.

Gabriel said, face tight, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. I had no idea..."

She rubbed the hand he still had dug into her waist, her touch gentle and reassuring. "What's wrong?" she asked, as the bartender suddenly jerked his head up to stare at him, then look to the other man for his lazy nod, then frown darkly.

"That ... man. I'm not sure what he is, but he's not human, and he's not the only one here who isn't. And ... I'm not sure. But ... I think he might be a demon. I don't know. I ... think we should go talk to the bartender."

"What man?" she asked, her eyes scanning the club, then freezing when they met the admiring gaze of the potential demon. "Oh. My."

Something in her tone irritated him, provoked a spark of anger deep inside, and he instinctively wrapped his aura around her, completely enclosing her. She tensed, feeling the contact, and looked up at him uncertainly. "Gabriel?"

Gabriel said, shortly, "Maybe we should leave. I don't want to lose you."

"What? Gabriel, you won't lose me!" She reached up to touch his face, turn him to look at her. "This is a public place, a bar. We have as much right to be here as anyone. No one's going to kidnap me or anything."

"Oh? And how did you feel when you looked at him?" Gabriel asked. "I don't ... maybe it's insecure, but..."

She stared at him, aghast. "Is that what ... You thought I ... Gabriel, I thought he was freaking huge, that's all! I've never seen anyone that big in my life. If he came near me when I was alone, I'd probably run like hell."

Gabriel looked down at her, uncertainty in his eyes. "That's it?"

She reached up, cupping his face in gentle, caressing hands. "I love you. You're so beautiful it takes my breath away just to look at you ... how could anyone else compete with that? You're my every dream made flesh."

Gabriel swallowed. "Okay. I just ... for a second there, I was jealous."

She glanced over at the table and sighed, then took a step back. "You really don't get it, do you. You've got nothing to worry about. I'll prove it. Go over there," she said, clenching her jaw. "Over around the bar, where people probably couldn't see over here when we came in, and wait a few minutes."

Gabriel shook his head. "I don't need to, love. I trust you. I just..." He sighed. "I thought maybe he had what I do, only stronger, and maybe ... you wouldn't have a choice."

"Why stronger?" she asked. "If he does at all, it's not that strong. I have no desire to strip him naked, push him down in the floor, and have my way with him in front of everybody here."

Gabriel licked his lips. "That would probably be a bad idea. No matter how appealing it is..."

Pandora smiled up at him, her fingers trailing down to gently run along the sides of his neck. "I know. But that doesn't stop me from wanting it. Wanting you. Constantly. Even when I'm so sore I can barely walk. I don't think anybody's ever wanted anyone as much as I want you. And... " She sighed, the smile leaving her eyes. "And if you did go over there alone, looking available, you'd have twice as many girls ... and guys ... hanging on you as he does in about five minutes. Even without your aura thing. Gabriel, you're gorgeous. Yeah, he's good-looking, I guess. But he's too big, and his eyes are cold, and his hair is nowhere near as good as your beautiful curls, and his hands creep me out."

Gabriel smiled, hesitantly. "But I don't want a bunch of girls hanging on me. Just you."

She cocked her head. "But you've already got that, so why were you jealous?"

"Because I was afraid I was about to lose it," he said.

"Never," she said. "Never. I'm yours." She hesitated, then asked slowly, "Is ... he who we should talk to, since you think he's like you? Or ... you said there were others? He really is creepy. Those girls look too young for him."

"I ... I don't know. I think we should go talk to the bartender, first." He gave her a crooked grin. "And, love, strictly speaking I don't think you can say that."

She frowned tightly. "Yes, I can. You know I'm not like most girls my age. And besides, he looks older than you."

"Well, if he is a demon, he's probably even older than he looks. And you're right." He squeezes her gently. "Let's go talk to the bartender."

She wrapped her arm around his, leaning against him and rubbing her cheek against his upper arm. "Okay."

The bartender watched their approach warily. When they got within ten feet, he carefully reached under the bar, pulling out a tire-iron, giving it a little polish with his cloth, and tucked it back under, in easy reach, his eyes never leaving Gabriel.

Pandora frowned, stopping. "Maybe you're right. It might not be safe here for you."

Gabriel sighed. "Maybe not. Let's find out." He walked the rest of the way to the bar. "Do you want to tell me what your problem is with me?"

The man was human, but with a tight, bright aura that looked like a futuristic forcefield. "No problem yet. Just making sure you know we're ready, should there be a problem. You're new here, so you don't know the rules. This is a neutral zone. A safe place. You don't bring any fights in here, you don't start any new ones. You don't force anyone to do anything here, no one tries anything with you, either. Nobody here is food. This is a Sanctuary. That means if that little girl with you wants to stay, she can, and you can't make her leave. Every supe here'll enforce that." He looked at Pandora with kind eyes. "You understand that, sugar? You able to think right now? You don't wanna go with him, you don't have to."

Pandora's eyes narrowed, and she frowned coldly. "I don't know what you're thinking, but you're wrong."

Gabriel looked at him for a moment, then laughed. "No, I understand, love. I should have expected it after how Tandi reacted." He shook his head. "Look. Two days ago I thought I was human. I'm not forcing her, not in any way. You can ask her. If you really need me to, I'll go back outside while you do -- as long as you take personal responsibility for her safety. I won't let her get hurt."

The bartender's attitude changed immediately. "You're an orphan, then? That's different. Probably not even full-blood, most of you aren't, but if you were abandoned, then you're sure as hell not High Court anything, and those are the real trouble makers, that's for sure. We've got a couple of other orphans that come in regular ... act just like people, really, not like the others a'tall."

Gabriel blinked. "How did you know I was an orphan just from that?"

"You thought you were human. And you were honestly affectionate to her, not just condescending play-acting. And I have a really nifty truth-spell a friend cast on this bar to let me know you weren't lying." He grinned. "Happy belated birthday."

Gabriel smiled wryly. "Well, I really should have expected it. Her sister attacked me when she realized what I was." He shook his head. "She had to tell me what I was, because neither of us knew." He hesitated. "Actually ... maybe you can help me, then. That's why I'm here."

"What are you wanting? Information? Protection?"

"Information. I need to learn how to hide a scar on Pandora's back." He sighed. "The claws were ... a surprise. Somehow the cuts healed, but ... if her mother sees them, it'll be bad." He looked down at Pandora apologetically. "She's nuts. Pandora's not even allowed to risk getting a sunburn, because then she might not be able to model."

The bartender frowned. "I ... ah, I'm sorry, but there's no polite way to ask. What's your species, honey?" he asked Pandora. "I thought you were a shifter, but even a young shifter would heal Unseelie claw-marks."

Pandora looked uncomfortable and took a step back, slipping partway behind Gabriel. "I ... I'm human," she said quietly.

He looked skeptical, but didn't argue, just sighed and shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't help you, sorry."

"Why not?" Gabriel asked.

He shrugged. "Because whatever she is, she's too strong for human magic to work on."

Gabriel looked thoughtful for a moment. "You don't think she's human?"

The man shook his head again, looking at Gabriel impatiently. "You know better than that. You can see that. Look, you want help with her, talk to one of the big guys." He pointed towards the table of adoring teenagers. "You need stronger stuff than a human can give you. His kind deal in information, maybe you can arrange something."

Gabriel sighed. "I can see something, but since I don't know what's normal ... like I said, two days ago I thought I was human." He shook his head. "And ... what exactly is he? What I see isn't exactly reassuring."