“We’re getting inside…tonight.”
Cass and Naomi try to argue, but Jagger seems to be thrilled with the idea and begins to hash out a plan. Quin looks at me and mouths Kedua’s name, to which I nod.
“It’ll be best if we go in during a shift change. Quin, do you still have the Regulator’s uniform?” Jagger asks, as he pushes away his tea and begins to map out our next move.
“Yes, I stashed it in a waste bin around the corner.”
“What do you plan on doing once you get inside?” Naomi asks, having regained some of her composure.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
Cass and Naomi continue to argue about going, but Jagger has it all worked out. He seems very interested in getting into Club Alasti, even though I haven’t said why, since they’d be tortured if caught.
Once I get Kedua out of there, we’ll need to get out of Acheron quickly, so we’ll need to use the boat again, which means getting back into the docking area. I’m sure their boat has been seized, so how we get off this floating city to me is the real challenge.
Chapter 16
Naomi and Cass decide to stay at the bar while Jagger, Quin, and I go to the club. Quin goes and gets the uniform he stashed, while Jagger and I wait over by the energy core. I finally tell Jagger why I want to get into the club. He seems skeptical at first, but then I show him the marks on the back of my neck. It’s easier to see now that more than half of my hair is missing.
Jagger seems unsure of how to react.
Quin nudges me as he walks past.
Since Regulators don’t socialize with Laics unless it’s for work, Quin has to keep his distance from us. We follow him around the core and towards a crowded alleyway. He manages to get through the crowd easily, but Jagger and I are not so fortunate. I’m stuck standing behind two men in blue silk suits complaining to a Regulator about how they’ve been denied entrance to the club.
“Yes, Superior, I understand your frustration, but we have our orders. No one is permitted into the club tonight as it has been reserved by the High Ruler himself.”
Jagger pulls me back and we step over to the side.
“There’s another way we can get in.”
He takes my hand and we go back to the core, around another corner, and down a walkway between the club and another establishment. There’s a back entrance guarded by one Regulator. Jagger approaches the man and easily overpowers him. He strips the man of his uniform and begins to put it on while I work the lock on the door. It breaks easily in my grip, and the door swings open. I drag the man inside and shove him into the first room I see, which, unfortunately, is a broom closet. Jagger closes the door behind me and stands guard outside.
The hallway I’m in is dark, but I can see light shining from beneath a curtain at the end. The scent of sex and sweat fill the air, almost choking out any oxygen that is pumping through the vents overhead. I hear voices echoing through closed doors barely discernable in the darkness. Distracted by the noise, I don’t notice anyone around until someone grabs my arm, halting my forward motion.
“You’re too dressed up to be working here,” the woman with smoke on her breath says. Her grip is light, but her manner is acidic. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
“Aren’t we all?” she says, winking at me. “What’s her name?”
I’m about to say Kedua, but if her protector changed her name like Devlan changed mine I won’t have a way of knowing what it is.
“I’ve forgotten her name, but she has long auburn hair, kept in a braid.”
The woman looks at me with a suspicious sparkle in her eye, but releases her grip and holds out her hand for me to shake it.
“You want Deanna. And you are?”
“Ash,” I say quickly, taking her hand and shaking it.
“Well, Ash, I don’t know if you’re going to get a chance to talk to your friend, but you can watch her from backstage. She is giving a special performance tonight to the High Ruler himself.”
The woman shows me to a small stool to the left of the stage where Kedua is dancing. I watch her move gracefully with the music that is blaring around us. She straddles a pole that stands in the center of the theater and begins to twirl her body around it like a snake. I peek around the curtains that are blocking me from the audience and see the place is more than half empty. A man in black robes is sitting at a table at the end of the stage, surrounded by personal bodyguards in blue and gold uniforms, with the city’s emblem blazoned across their lapels.
The man in the robes appears to be in his seventies, with short white hair, cruel eyes, shallow features, and long thin arms. The voice heard over the loud speakers earlier doesn’t match the man sitting there. I scan the area one more time and notice a figure standing in the shadows.
“Who’s that man?” I ask the woman, as she is still standing by my side.
“That’s Deanna’s owner. He owns several of the young women who work here. She, however, is his favorite.”
I continue to watch Kedua dance, her movements changing in perfect time with the music. The man remains standing in the shadows as Kedua steps down from the stage and begins to seduce the High Ruler. She pushes his head back as she begins to remove his robes. He closes his eyes, a smile growing on his face. She works her way down to his waist. He moans in delight.
Kedua’s owner, unnoticed by anyone else but
