Chronicles of Araxx - Forever Broken
Chapter 17

The flashing lights in the club made it harder to see. There were a few young women in the club with red hair, and Adz didn’t know which one was Annaleah.

There was one girl, in the middle of the dance floor who stood out from the others. He watched her for a moment as he attempted to work out if she was the one. “What do you think?” Adz voiced out loud, catching the attention of Jay and Gray who were engrossed in choosing the next song.

“Which one?” Jay asked, pulling his attention back to the task at hand.

“That one”” Adz pointed towards the girl in question as he pulled out the picture they’d been given. They looked different, far too different.

“Nah, can’t be her. She looks all wrong,” Jay concluded.

Her hair was dyed an unnatural red, and in the picture it was natural. She had more weight to her than in the picture too. That’s not to say she was a big girl, just that the one in the picture was almost skeletal, and the girl Adz was watching had a good proportioning.

“Yeah,” Adz agreed, although he couldn’t shake the idea that the girl he was watching was the one.

Gray was doing a great job with the music. He really was a natural.

The club was hot, though, and not in a good way. “I think I need some air,” Adz shouted over the booming music.

He left through the side door into the alley, leaving his leather jacket. It was far too warm to be wearing it.

The air outside was cool and damp. It felt like it was going to rain. He stood for a minute, allowing himself to cool down. There were so many people in the club, all dancing, all moving, creating heat and friction.

Being in a room with Gray didn’t help either. He was naturally warm, and he seemed to make any room he was in warmer.

Leaning against the stone wall, watching his breath mist as he breathed out, the ringing in Adz ears from the loud music started to subside.

Voices caught his attention. One of them was familiar but he couldn’t place it.

“What do you want her for anyway?” A deep sensual voice asked.

“It doesn’t concern you, bloodsucker, just know I need her alive, and you will be paid well,” the familiar voice answered.

Adz needed to see who was talking. He had a bad hunch he knew who it might be.

“I want my payment upfront.”

As Adz peered around the corner, Jacob pushed the stranger hard in the chest, shoving him against the wall with force.

“You will get your payment when the job is done,” Jacob spat.

Adz couldn’t see anyone else in the alley, besides Jacob and the stranger. Adz did not know the other man but he knew he was a vampire. To a normal person, he might have just looked a little pale but extremely well-dressed and handsome, but to the trained eye, the second man in the alley was clearly a vampire, and he was not taking the threat from a werewolf kindly.

“Why does a pup like you expect me to take orders?” He laughed as he shoved Jacob away from him.

“You’re not taking orders from me,” Jacob sneered. “You take them from Kane.”

That shut the vampire up quickly. “What does she look like?” He changed his tone quickly.

Adz knew Kane had influence over other supernatural beings, but he had no idea his hold on them was so powerful.

Jacob took a picture out of his pocket, but Adz couldn’t see who was on it.

“The red-head?” The vampire asked.

“Yeah, pretty isn’t she? She’s inside dancing with a blonde. And I want this made clear, she is not to be harmed. Kane wants her alive, and in good condition.”

“Understood.” The vampire turned towards the door, but just before he went inside, he asked another question. “Why can you not take her?”

It was an honest question, which Jacob answered with equal honesty. “She knows me,” he said simply.

With that, the vampire entered the club.

Adz returned inside through the side door, his heart beating fast. He should have trusted his instincts that the red-head on the dance floor was Annaleah, and now it might be too late to save her.

Adz rushed inside and straight to Jay and Gray behind the DJ stand. “You guys we have a problem,” he said as he reached them.

“You’re right, we do.” Gray laughed. “You’re missing the party.”

“No, I mean a vampire problem.”

“There are no vampires here.” Jay laughed. “Why would there be a vampire in a club like this?”

Neither of them was listening, neither of them understood. They were dancing and messing around at the mixing deck and Jay was attempting to mash two songs together that didn’t quite work.

Adz looked around for the red-headed girl who was on the dance floor earlier, but he couldn’t see her. There were too many people.

Then he spotted her.

Annaleah, the beautiful red-head girl who was still dancing with her friend. They looked so happy, so carefree, and they had no idea of the dangers lurking in the club with them.

Bree’s smile was infectious.

Lee couldn’t help but smile with her.

“You seen any cute guys tonight?” Bree asked over the music.

“Not me, but you clearly have.” Lee laughed. “I’ve seen you shakin’ your…”

“You noticed that?” Bree smiled. “Well let’s hope he did.”

“Which one? Everyone is looking at you, Bree. You’re the most beautiful girl in the room.”

“No, they’re all looking at you, Lee. Everyone loves a redhead.” She pulled a lock of Lee’s fiery hair through her fingers, letting it fall back down. “Your hair’s grown really fast,” she noted. Bree twirled around, making Lee feel dizzy just looking at her.

As she stopped, Bree lost her footing slightly but was caught by a handsome stranger. She fell into his arms, then looked up into his dark eyes.

“Careful miss, lucky I was here to catch you,” the man said. He had dark hair covering part of his face, and dark brown eyes, so dark they were almost black. He was dressed smart, too smart for this club. It was the same man who was at the bar, the one who paid for their drinks. “The name’s Alistair, what’s yours?”

“Bree.” She blushed, pulling herself up from his arms, but he still kept hold of her hand.

“Like the cheese, only sweeter.” He kissed her hand, and she blushed more. Alistair looked over Bree’s hand at Lee. There was something off about this man, and Lee didn’t trust him at all.

“We really have a problem now,” Adz said, pointing towards the scene taking place in the middle of the dance floor.

“Which one do you have a crush on, little brother? The red-head or the blonde?” Gray laughed.

“This is no joke guys,” Adz explained through rushed words. “The red-head is our girl, and that man with them is a vampire hired by the werewolves.”

It finally sank in. Jay had almost completely forgotten about the mission, and Gray was too involved with the music to remember.

“What do we do?” Jay asked. He and Adz had read about vampires, but they had never met one. They had no idea what to do.

“We have to get to her now, while we still have a chance to take her before the vampire does.”

“It is just the one? Or are there others here?” Gray asked.

Jay and Adz looked at him a little blankly.

“What does it matter?”

“I’ve seen vampires before,” Gray explained. “One isn’t so much trouble, but when there’s a clan of them, that’s when you have a problem.”

“There was only one outside with the werewolf, but I don’t know.” Adz shrugged. He was out of his depth, but he wasn’t going to admit it.

Lee really didn’t like the man Bree was dancing with. He kept looking at her, and it was unnerving, but it was Bree’s choice, and she wasn’t going to spoil her fun.

“I’m getting a drink. Do you want one?” Lee asked.

Bree nodded her head but didn’t specify what she would like.

As Lee was on her way to the bar, she remembered she didn’t know the names of any drinks. She figured she could ask the bartender for his opinion, then just order two of whatever he suggested. Her feet were beginning to hurt now. The shoes Bree had picked for her were a little high, and there wasn’t much support in them.

Lee didn’t really need the drink, and she didn’t really want anything alcoholic. She sat down on one of the stools at the bar and was served very quickly. A tall man with spiky blonde hair and tattoos all over his arms asked, “What would you like, sweetheart?”

“A coke, and whatever you recommend for my friend.” Lee gestures towards the dance floor.

“Ditched for a guy?” The bartender asked.

“You could say that, yeah.”

“She might be a Mojito kinda girl,” he said as he added a multitude of alcohols and other things into a metal mixer. Watching him make the cocktail was like an art, but he was quickly done. He handed Lee her drinks and quickly moved onto his next customer.

“She’s by the bar,” Jay said. “Maybe we can get to her now, while she’s away from the vampire.”

“No, look.” Gray pointed towards the vampire. “He’s watching her even now.”

It was too late. Adz was already heading towards the redhead at the bar. He walked with purpose, pushing past everyone, but by the time he made it to the bar, she was gone again.

Adz looked around the club and found the Hemplesworth girl. She was on her way back to her friend and the vampire. Adz was too late. He knew he wouldn’t get close to her with him there, and he was struggling for ideas.

The lights in the club suddenly changed, and bright purple UV lights flashed around to the sound of the music.

Adz looked up to Gray in the DJ stand who had orchestrated it, then looked back to the red head, but something was wrong.