“Neither did I, so he’ll insist on making us something when we return. I won’t allow him to starve.”
I shook my head, knowing that I was fighting a losing battle. Mom would try to take care of him for me, but I knew it would only last until her hunger distracted her.
Dad finished wiping down the table and hurried toward us. As he took Mom’s long coat from the closet, doubt crept into his gaze.
“Would you like to change first?” he asked her.
Mom smiled at him and ran a finger along his jaw. He shivered and briefly closed his eyes.
“You have exquisite taste, Jason. I’m going to proudly wear this dress all day and tell everyone my husband picked it out for me.”
His gaze was hungry when he opened his eyes again to help Mom into her jacket. He was positively ecstatic to be going along with us. He drove the very nice car that I knew wasn’t his, while Mom explained a little about her new business venture.
“Uttira doesn’t have any lucrative middle ground for its residents to interact with non-residents. So I proposed a solution. The night club is on the very edge of Uttira’s boundary. With my influence and connections, patrons from outside the boundary will seek admittance to the club. They’ll crowd the parking lot and wait all night just for a chance to enter. It will be adult-only, of course, with a few exceptions. I’m excited for you to see it.”
My stomach churned with what this would mean for all those unsuspecting humans. And me. Because I held no illusions regarding who the underage exception would be.
The large building came into view a moment before I spotted the telltale shimmer in the road ahead. My skin prickled as we neared the old wood mill and Uttira’s boundary. Hopefully, I wouldn’t get close enough to trigger the ward. After finally getting rid of Piepen’s taste, I did not want to smell burnt hair for a day.
A flash of movement caught my eye through the thin trees beside the road. The fast-flowing water licked at the steep, icy banks and rushed toward the building to wash over the decrepit waterwheel that no longer turned. That one of Lake Uttira’s deeper tributaries hugged the south side of the old building meant convenient access for any water-dwelling creatures who wanted to check out Mom’s club. Not that it was much of a club yet.
Other than the new windows and the refreshed gravel parking lot that wrapped around three sides of the weathered building, the place looked rundown.
Dad pulled up to a door marked “Uttira resident entrance” on the west side of the building, and Mom looked back at me with a smile.
“Are you ready?”
Dad hurried around the car to open the door for her before I could answer. She accepted his hand and rose to kiss him lightly on the lips.
“We’ll be out in a few minutes, my darling.”
“I’ll keep the car warm for you.”
I let myself out and moved away from them, unable to see his devotion as anything more than the subservience it was. Bitterness curdled my insides until I felt sick with it. Adira and my mom were insane if they thought I would ever willingly do that to another person.
“It’s not impressive now, but it will be,” Mom said from beside me.
“This is the main entrance for our kind,” she continued. “Humans will not be able to enter or leave this building by any means other than the east door. Likewise, those without a mark can only enter through the west door. What do you think?”
I studied the weathered exterior with a doubtful eye.
“I don’t see any reason a human would willingly walk into this place.”
“Not yet, but they will soon. Because of the restrictions, I have the humans working on the inside and hired a few goblins to work on the outside at night. This place is going to be transformed into what I envision in just a short time. People will come in droves, baby, and not just humans. You will finally have worthy feeding grounds.”
“And so will every other creature. Do you really think separate entrances will keep the humans safe? What’s to stop one of our kind from leaving through this door and just walking around the building to hunt at the human entrance?”
Mom smiled. “Adira thought the same. With the help of a few mystic druids, there are now layers of warding. The humans are protected inside, can only leave by their entrance, and there’s a dead zone on the other side of the barrier where none of our kind can enter. It was a bit cost-prohibitive, but I know how important safety is to you.”
I swallowed my anger and said nothing about how the Council was willing to hire a stronger druid for this but not for one lost human girl.
“Let’s go inside,” Mom said.
Stepping through the door was like stepping into another world. My ears popped slightly, and I was immediately assailed by the chaotic sounds of saws and nail guns as well as music.
“A spell also mutes the sound, which will help keep what we do here private.” She shed her jacket and tossed it onto a chair beside the door. “That’s where our security will sit to ensure only approved patrons enter. I’m interviewing candidates later this week.”
As she spoke, I slowly took in the space. The building was huge, but mostly open, on the lower level. The spaces near the entrance where we stood were being walled off, creating a hallway. Above, thick wooden logs supported the exposed beams of the second floor. Dust fell from between the boards as the workers moved around up there. Stairs to the left ran along a stretch of windowless wall.
“The second floor will be restricted, VIP access only.”
“What will be up there?” I asked, already seeing the bar being built by several men on the other side of the building.
“Rooms, baby. Rooms that will fit every requirement. Including a special room that will be warded against intrusion of the frost giant variety. And my office, of course.”
I turned away from the stairs and noted the four workers setting aside their tools and removing their shirts. They watched Mom with hungry eyes even though she hadn’t yet glanced their way. This scene wasn’t new to me. I’d witnessed it many times during my stay with her in New York.
“Do you replace the workers daily?” I asked, averting my gaze from the approaching men.
“Only the ones I feed from.” She smiled at me. “I coordinate with the project manager regarding when I plan to stop by. He ensures the majority of the workers are upstairs during those times. These men will be reassigned to another job tomorrow.”
Mom made a throaty noise as the first man reached her. She ran her hand over his bare chest, and I was eternally grateful that he’d kept the rest of his clothes in place.
“Are you hungry, baby?”
“Not really.”
“Not even a taste?”
“No, thank you.”
There was a moment of silence, and one of the men groaned. From the corner of my eye, I saw Mom kissing him. Just kissing. Yet, I could feel his sexual energy and knew she was feeding well.
I wandered away from them, knowing I couldn’t be too obvious with how much the display upset me. Instead, I focused on the way my breath fogged with each exhale and tried not to shiver. When I neared the east wall, the tingle of current running over my skin intensified.
“Is this wall outside of the boundary?” I asked.
“It’s exactly on the boundary,” Mom said after a moment. “If you touch it, you’ll feel the energy, but nothing will happen. I wouldn’t recommend trying to step out the door, though.” A husky chuckle echoed in the space, and the men by Mom groaned collectively.