Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act, falls the shadow." �" T.S. Elliot

Ace

The way she looked at me that first time startled me.  She had a look of complete fascination all over her face, and the way she forgot about the guy standing next to her told me that she was definitely interested.  What caught my attention about her, other than her long, dark brown hair and her skinny yet athletic build with medium curves, was the fact that she was takin’ swigs of her bottle of beer like it was jus’ plain water.  She didn’t wince at the burning that flows down the throat or anything.  That can be pretty hot to a guy.  Then there was the bashful way she dipped her head and looked away from me.  It was somethin’ that I couldn’t help but grin at and find at least a little amusing.  And if it wasn’t for Zona elbowing me in the side, I probably never would’ve looked away from her.

“What?” Lookin’ down at her, I saw that she was glaring at me with her arms across her chest, emphasizing her cleavage a little bit.  She didn’t look very happy with me and I didn’t really understand why.  I didn’t do anythin’ wrong.  Zona just had her lower lip puffed out and her perfect brows were furrowed angrily.  Her feral green eyes were almost glowing in the low light, staring me down like I just did the worst possible thing ever.

“Nothing…just focus on finding someone to snatch.  You don’t need to be so picky.” It was obvious she was a little jealous, and it wasn’t the kind of jealous someone is when they have feelings for someone.  Demons aren’t capable of having feelings for someone.  Her kind of jealousy was the kind lustful people get.  That’s all she had for me; lust.  I honestly didn’t even have much lust for her though; just fooling around was a good way to pass time. “You need to be well fed if we’re gonna have fun tonight.” She winked seductively at me and licked her upper lip with an extremely seductive smile.  Her slender, perfectly manicured fingers lightly traced random designs on my forearm, and she knew how to do it just right.  It sent shivers down my spine.

I looked away from her and saw that the girl on the other end of the bar was looking at me again as she stood up and followed the guy she was talking to into the crowd.  The look on her face almost seemed hopeful; like I’d go over by her.  She didn’t really seem like she wanted to dance with him, but she got up and went anyways.  Hm…

“I’m gonna go talk to that girl,” I muttered nonchalantly.  Zona growled under her breath, her smile disappearing and her fingers stopped moving on my skin.  I chuckled quietly and took a quick swig of beer. “She’s human; chill out.” I handed her my beer and patted her head before walking away from her.  She hissed under her breath, but that’s because she hates it when I pat her head.

Spotting her in the crowd wasn’t very hard, but that was thanks to me being able to smell her a little bit.  Well…it wasn’t really her scent I picked up on.  It was someone else’s…reminded me of Hell.  There was a lifeless smell about her, mixed with a rotting smell.  No human should smell like that.  Not at all.  I’ve never met one that smells like death, so she made me confused.  And I remained that way as she came into view, seeing the way she moved her body to the music.  It was enough to take my attention off of her scent for a little bit.

“Mind if I cut in?” I placed my hand on the guys shoulder and tugged him back a little bit, causing the both of them to stop.  The girl looked at me, somewhat pleased, but she didn’t allow the other guy to notice when he looked back at her.  He didn’t look like he really wanted to give her up.  Especially to me.  I hate having to compete for human girls…I really do.   It’s a waste of my time, and as hungry as I may be, I don’t want to put up with it again.

“I actually do mind,” he said casually.  He started to turn his back to me, but I pulled his shoulder back around, making him look at me.  I was calm.  I refused to get worked up over this.  Normally I wouldn’t have to worry but…I’m hungry.  We demons aren’t the most pleasant things to be around when we’re hungry.  And being up close to the human girl, I figured out just how good of a meal she’d be.  The close visual allowed me to see that she was pure muscle and probably slightly toned.  Her skin was tan and blemish free, looking as smooth as can be.  Her medium curves weren’t as…up for show…as Zona’s usually are, but they still made her body look all the more attractive.  Any guy would become lustful for that body, and this guy was already there.  I needed to make her mine to get him away from her.  But how?

Glancing at her, I saw that she was still looking at me with an awe-filled expression and a very faint lusting look behind it.  Looking away from her face, I looked down at her chest and saw that her shirt wasn’t as deeply cut as I’d like, but just enough so that I could see at least a little bit of cleavage.  The bottom of her shirt didn’t meet the waistline of her jeans, leaving part of her lower abdomen visible.  I saw a tattoo riding along her hip.  Hot.  However, I couldn’t shake the smell of death on her and something told me that it didn’t belong to her.  I really needed to get her alone now.  And not just so I can eat her.  I wanna know where that smell is coming from on her.

“Alright, sorry to bother you.” Laying on the guilt trip thickly, I bowed my head and slowly started to turn, waiting for her to jump in and say something.  She didn’t.  Maybe she missed my cue?  Maybe she’s not really that interested in me?  Or maybe she’s just that big of a b***h?  Well all I know for sure is that it is not the second one; she’s definitely interested.  She’ll come back around.  I had a feeling.

“She turned you down, didn’t she?” Zona was looking at me smugly as I sat back down on the stool she was standing next to, taking a swig of beer.  I didn’t even look at her as I didn’t answer her question.  Her seductive laugh echoed in my mind, making me think of what were going to do later tonight.  I guess it’ll really depend on how bored or frustrated I am.

“It’s part of my plan,” I lied.  I didn’t have a plan.  I was just shot down for the first time in my life and it knocked down some pride.  But it only fueled my frustration even more.  Huh, maybe Zona and I are gonna have some fun tonight.

“Oh, well I’m interested to see how this works out,” she purred.  Looking at her, I noticed that she had a popsicle in her hand.  I don’t know where she got it from, nor did I want to know.  However, that wasn’t the thought possessing my mind; it was the way her lips formed around it.  Perfect formation and definitely one hundred percent seductive.  It made me think of what those lips could do, and watching it her slowly take the popsicle out of her mouth and thinking about what they’ve done in the past, made me start feeling a little…excited.  There was no doubt she noticed, especially because of the sly, seductively sweet smile she got on her face as she looked at me with a lustful gleam in her eye.  I managed to look away and what I saw in front of me made my timing seem perfect.

“Excuse me?” Little miss human girl was standing there, somewhat bashfully, and smiled at me.  She had a very attention grabbing smile, one that would make someone else have to smile.  I know I did.  I just looked at her, smiling, as I took a casual swig of beer.  I couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t seem to notice that Zona was next to me.  That would annoy my demoness friend.

“Hey there.” Casual.  I needed to remain casual.  Both for my sake and for her sake; Zona would probably kill her before I get the chance to if I wasn’t casual.  She hates it when I get eager to get with a human girl.  Zona made a choking sound, and when I looked at her, I saw that she was covering her nose and mouth with her free hand.  That made human girl look at her.

“Hey,” she said casually before looking back at me. “Just wanted to let you know that your little ‘guilt trip’ act you put on was noticeable.  Poorly executed.” She turned around, like she was starting to leave, but I cleared my throat, which stopped her.  She looked over her shoulder, her hair flipping around to the other shoulder.  Her expression was soft yet curious.  She had blue-green eyes, and with her dark hair, that was hot.  There was a lot hot about her, just for her physical appearance.  It actually kind of worried me a little bit.

“How ‘bout a dance?”

“I’d prefer a drink.” Hm…blunt.  I like it.  And the way she sold it with a flirtatious grin and wink made me like it even more.  A drunk human for a meal…not my favorite but it makes things a Hell of a lot easier.  I set my beer down on the counter and stood up straighter.  Her head was at my shoulder, a little higher maybe…so I assumed she was around five-foot seven inches.  That’s taller than Zona, but just by a couple inches.  I wonder if she’s as fun as Zona…

“Alright that sounds good.” I stepped closer to her, almost close enough to be touching her, and the smell of death came back.  And being the Prince of Death in Hell is one thing, because I smell death all the time, I should be used to it.  But I’ve never smelled it on a human before. “What are you up for tonight?”

“Whatever you are.” There was no doubt in my mind that she picked up on my double meaning behind the question, and she threw it right back at my face with her response.  She was walking a few steps in front of me, but her back wasn’t fully turned to me.  It gave me a good angle to look at her chest, but I couldn’t keep from looking at her face.  I had a feeling that I should be picking up on something about her by looking at her face, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. “So…she’s your…what?”

“Don’t worry about it; she’s just my little sister.” I tapped the counter at the bartender, stating that I wanted two drinks.  I didn’t specify what two I wanted, but he must’ve remembered that one of us have had a beer or two, because that’s what he brought. “So…what’s your name?”

“Veronica; but everyone calls me Ronnie.  What about you?” She grabbed a bottle even before I could, making me smile.  I looked down and chuckled quietly as I reached for the other bottle.

“Name’s Ace.  So…you here alone tonight or hiding from someone?” I honestly needed to know.  I need to figure out what precautions to take when I get her away from people later.

“I came with a friend but I don’t know where he went.” She didn’t seem bothered by it; she seemed more interested in talkin’ to me.  That’s good.  I was interested in talking to her more than worrying about where Zona was anyways; but that changed a little bit when I made eye contact with her.  Her eyes weren’t just blue-green anymore.  There was sky blue mixed in there; relaxed and flirtatious.  Yellow-orange with that; aloof and a little nervous.  Pale blue-grey with the both of them; interested.

Oh s**t.

I took a swig of beer, reminding myself not to do anything rash.  Normally, I’d grab her and take her outside and kill her on the spot.  But she’s come with another one, and I can’t risk him catching me.  I can’t make a commotion or alarm the other humans here.  Slayers interfere all the time.  Before now, I was having a good night, with a lot to look forward to.  Now my night’s ruined.  Maybe.  It doesn’t seem like she’s noticed I’m a demon yet.  If I play my cards right, she might not and my night might return back to normal.  Yes, I’m stronger than her, but that doesn’t put me in the mood to fight.  However, this does put a set back in me finding a meal.  I can’t eat a slayer…no matter how delicious they are.  Devouring them is kind of like putting a small amount of poison into a demon’s system.  It can shut us down for a while, or it may even kill us.  Just depends on both the strength of the demon and how strong of a slayer the slayer is.  I’ve only eaten two and one of ‘em almost killed me.

Well, that explains the smell of death on her.  She must’ve just killed a demon tonight.  Damn it.  My guess is she hasn’t even been here that long either.  And now that I know she’s a slayer, and the rotting smell of death radiating off of her, I’m pretty sure I have an idea as to who she killed tonight.  Agrat-bat-mahlaht.  That’s the only demoness I know of that would leave that scent on a slayer.  Otherwise a slayer wouldn’t have the smell of death on them.

“Your little sister looks like she’s having fun over there.” Ronnie nodded her head towards me, her eyes focused on somethin’ behind me.  I turned around and saw that Zona was sitting on some human guys lap, facing him with one leg on each side of him.  Her arms were around his neck and his hands were on her hips, pulling her into him more.  Honestly, I couldn’t care less what went on between the two of them, but when I’m supposed to be her big brother for the night, I have to act like I do.

“I’m sorry I’ll be right back.”

“Oh no, it’s alright, go ahead.” She waved me off and took a drink from her bottle.  I grinned at her and set my beer down as I got to my feet and walked back to Zona and her human toy.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her off of him and off to the side, putting her down against a wall.  I stood so I could see the human guy out of my peripheral, but my main focus was on Zona.  She was looking up at me slyly as she licked her upper lip.

“Hm…I like it when you get a little rough…”

“I’m not playing around right now.  Now look, I couldn’t give a s**t what you do with that human guy.  F**k him then eat him, I don’t really care.  But right now, that girl over there that I’m talking to thinks you’re my little sister so when you do things like that I have to act like I care.  Just go somewhere else with him and play.”

“Why does she think I’m your sister?  Is she stupid or something?”

“I told her that because otherwise I wouldn’t get anywhere with her.  And I can’t risk blowing either of our covers tonight.  Not while she’s here.”

“Why the Hell not?”

“She’s a f****n’ slayer, Zona.  She killed Aggie earlier tonight.  I just figured that out and we have to play our cards right.  She’s not alone.  There’s another f****n’ one around here somewhere.  So play it cool with the whole…prostitute, s****y act you put on, alright?  Take it in the back room.”

“Under one condition.”

“What’s that?” I looked away from her and back at the Ronnie girl and saw that she took a drink of beer before looking back at me.  She got a small smile on her face when she caught me looking at her, making me smile.  I watched as she looked over her shoulder and at the crowd.  There was a change in her body language.  I looked away from her face and saw that she was tapping her foot against a stool leg and there was a slight physical hint of restraint as she was obviously trying not to dance in her seat.  I laughed a little bit, and when she saw that I was still looking, she laughed to herself and took another drink.

Zona hit me in the stomach roughly, making me grunt before looking back at her. “We go back to your apartment, just you and me, and fool around when we’re done here tonight.”

“Alright deal.” I stepped back from her and walked up to the human she was sitting on. “Go with her.” Pulling him off the stool, I gave him a light push towards Zona as I continued walking back to the female slayer.