what looked like a pool table. A harried-looking tall man was standing in the center of the dance floor with a cordless mike, pleading to the mixed crowd of vampires: living and dead, men and women, all dressed similar to what I had been wearing earlier. It was a vamp dance club, I decided, wanting to cover my ears against the loud catcalls.
The man with the mike caught sight of Kisten, and his long face lifted in relief. 'Kisten!' he said, his miked utterance turning heads and causing a cheer from the surrounding women in skimpy party dresses. 'Thank God!'
The man beckoned to him, and Kisten took my shoulders. 'Rachel?' he questioned. 'Rachel!' he exclaimed, pulling my attention from the pretty spinning lights above the floor. His blue eyes went worried. 'Are you okay?'
I nodded, my head bobbing up and down. 'Yup, yup, yup,' I said, giggling. I felt so warm and relaxed. I liked Kisten's dance club.
Kisten's brow furrowed. He glanced at the overdressed man everyone was laughing at, then back to me. 'Rachel, this will only take a moment. Is that okay?'
I was watching the lights again, and he turned my chin to look at him. 'Yes,' I said, moving my mouth slowly so it would come out right. 'I'll wait right here. You go open the floor.' Someone bumped me, and I almost fell into him. 'I like your club, Kisten. It's fab.'
Kisten stood me upright, waiting until I had my balance before letting go. The crowd had started to chant his name, and he raised a hand in acknowledgment. They redoubled their calls, and I put my hands over my ears. The music pounded into me.
Kisten gestured to someone at the bottom of the stairs, and I watched Steve take them two at a time, moving his hulking size like it was nothing. 'Is she what I think she is?' Kisten asked the big man as he came close.
'Ye-e-e-e-ah,' the big man drawled as they both peered at me. 'She's blood-sugared. But she's a witch.' Steve's eyes left me and fixed on Kisten. 'Isn't she?'
'Yes,' Kisten said, almost having to shout over the noise from the people for him to take the mike. 'She's been bitten, but she's not bound to anyone. Maybe that's why.'
'Vampy, vampy pher…uh…pher—' I licked my lips, frowning. 'Pheromones,' I said, my eyes wide. 'Mmmm, nice. How come Ivy never feels like this?'
'Because Ivy is a tightass.' Kisten frowned. A sigh shifted him, and I reached for his shoulders. He had nice shoulders, all hard with muscle and possibility.
Kisten took my hands from him and held them before me. 'Steve, stay with her.'
'Sure, boss,' the big vampire said, moving to stand beside and slightly behind me.
'Thanks.' Kisten peered into my eyes, holding them. 'I'm sorry, Rachel,' he said. 'This isn't your fault. I didn't know this would happen. I'll be right back.'
He shifted away, and I reached out after him, blinking at the tumult that rose as he took the center of the room. Kisten stood for a moment, looking sexy in his Italian suit as he gathered his thoughts with his head bowed and waited. He was working the crowd before he even said a word; I couldn't help but be impressed. A closed- lipped, roguish smile quirked his mouth when he pulled his head up, eyeing them from under his blond bangs. 'Holy shit,' he whispered into the mike, and the crowd cheered. 'What the hell are you all doing here?'
'Waiting for you!' a female voice shouted.
Kisten grinned, moving his body suggestively as he nodded in the direction of the voice. 'Hey, Mandy. You here tonight? When did they let you out?'
She screamed happily at him, and he smiled. 'You are a ba-a-a-a-ad bunch of vixens, you know that? Giving Mickey a hard time. What's wrong with Mickey? He's good to you.'
The women cheered, and I covered my ears, almost falling over as my balance shifted. Steve took my elbow.
'Well, I was trying to go out on a date,' Kisten said, dropping his head dramatically. 'My first one in I don't know how long. You see her, over there by the stair?'
A huge spotlight slammed into me, and I winced, squinting. The heat from it made my skin tingle, and I straightened, almost falling when I waved. Steve caught my arm, and I smiled up at him. I leaned into him, and he shook his head good-naturedly, running a finger along the underside of my jaw before gently standing me upright.
'She's a little out of it tonight,' Kisten said. 'You are all enjoying yourself far too much, and it's rubbing off on her. Who knew witch runners needed to party like us?'
The noise redoubled, and the pace of the lights quickened, racing over the floor and up the walls and ceilings. My breath came faster as the beat of the music grew.
'But you know what they say,' Kisten said over the rhythm. 'The bigger they are—'
'The better it is,' someone yelled.
'The more they need to party!' Kisten shouted over the laughs. 'So take it easy on her, okay? She just wants to relax and have some fun. No pretenses. No games. I say any witch with enough balls to bring down Piscary and let him live has long enough fangs to party with. Are you all A-positive with that?'
The second floor exploded into sound, pressing me into Steve. My eyes warmed as my emotions swung from one extreme to the other. They liked me. How cool was that?
'Then let's get this party started!' Kisten yelled, spinning to the DJ nest behind him. 'Mickey, give me the one I want.'
The women screamed their approval, and I watched in slack-jawed surprise when the floor was suddenly covered in women, their eyes wild and their motions sharp. Short revealing dresses, high heels, and extravagant makeup was the rule, though there were a few older vampires dressed as classy as me. The living barely outnumbered the undead.
Music rolled from the speakers in the ceiling, loud and insistent. A heavy beat, a tinny snare drum, a corny synthesizer, and a raspy voice. It was Rob Zombie's 'Living Dead Girl,' and as I stared in disbelief, the varying motions of the clean-limbed and scantily clad female vamps shifted to the rhythmic, simultaneous movements of a choreographed dance.
They were line dancing. Oh—my—God. The vampires were line dancing.
Like a school of fish, they swayed and moved together, feet thumping with the strength to shake the dust from the ceiling. Not a one made a mistake or misstep. I blinked as Kisten did a Michael Jackson to move to the front, looking indescribably alluring in his confidence and suave movements, following it up with a Staying Alive. The women behind him followed him exactly after the first gesture. I couldn't tell if they had practiced or if their quicker reactions allowed them such a seamless improvisation. Blinking, I decided it didn't matter.
Lost in the power and intensity, Kisten all but glowed, riding the combined agreement of the vampires behind him. Numb from an overload of pheromones, music, and lights, I felt myself go hazy. Every motion had a liquid grace, every gesture was precise and unhurried.
The noise beat at me, and as I watched them party with a wild abandonment, I realized that it stemmed from the chance to be as they wanted to be without fear of anyone reminding them that they were vampires and therefore had to be dark and depressed and carry a mysterious danger. And I felt privileged to be respected enough to see them as they wished they could be.
Swaying, I leaned into Steve while the base line beat my mind into a blessed numbness. My eyelids refused to stay open. A thunder of noise shook through me, then subsided to mutate into a faster beat of different music. Someone touched my arm, and my eyes opened.
'Rachel?'
It was Kisten, and I smiled, giddy. 'You dance good,' I said. 'Dance with me?'
He shook his head, glancing at the vampire who was holding me upright. 'Help me get her outside. This is fucking weird.'
'Bad, bad mouth,' I slurred, my eyes closing again. 'Watch your mouth.'
A giggle escaped me, and it turned into a delighted shriek when someone picked me up to carry me cradled in his arms. I shivered as the noise lessened, and my head thumped into someone's chest. It was warm, and I snuggled closer. The thundering beat softened to casual conversation and the clatter of china. A heavy blanket covered me, and I made a sound of protest when someone opened a door and cold air hit me.
