The United States of America had been a joint Cryptozoic ideal. Abrahamic religions had begun sweeping across the world, and the old Gods had seen how quickly they could fall away from any power at all if their worshippers were cut down in war ... in fact, tolerating conversion almost seemed better because where was always the hope that the old ways would stay ingrained within the person, no matter how they chose to worship. If a Druid was forced to convert to Christianity to save his life, maybe he would one day return to his true beliefs when the time changed.
Perhaps it was foolish not to simply kill the unfaithful. Maybe they lost the second they stopped taking lives for disloyalty. It wasn't until the former Olympians began to plant the seeds in America, hoping if they pulled at least some of their people from the shores of Britain and Europe, they might yet stand a chance. But the new faith was as vicious and singular as the God of the Old Testament. It was a luck demon that ended up forever by King George's side that seemed to lend him so much skill in war... until he forgot to feed the poor thing one night, and poof! His faithful terrier disappeared and suddenly George Washington had some new ideas about how to fight a pitched field battle against the red coats.
And so it went. Every so often something happens and we all have to pause because it's just too crazy to be real. Lately, rumor was a rabid boggart, potentially part of the Oompa Loompa clan, had somehow cast a reality altering spell. The powers that be were still trying to correct this fiasco without outing us all. It made me worry. But that was on the other side of the country, thankfully! It still bothered an annoyed all of creation on the daily, but at least it wasn't happening in my backyard. I could frequently pretend I was in a dystopian universe and this was all just a very ugly trick.
Seattle... Seattle was a different sort of place, entirely.
The entire Pacific Northwest was like a massive forest of all the expected with tiny sprinklings of all the things you only suspected might actually exist under the shine of the Emerald City and her Rose covered sister to the south. Sure, there are plenty of places to fish and camp... trees so tall it hurt to try to see the top of them in the sunlight. But it also has the Underground, a fallen ghost town beneath Seattle, including a dead red light district still walked by working girls of the past. It has family-friendly tourist traps and yes, there actually is a Starbucks on every other corner. But there are also old Gods, ancient spirits and more Native American animal guides than you can shake a stick at... And the same city block may include a church, an occult store and an ashram. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad... but sometimes it felt like it. We were a melting pot of weirdos, but far more sedate than cities like Los Angeles (a glitterpated fairy mecca, if there ever was one!)
I had finished up at work for the day, another dull afternoon and evening doing a fairly brainless job, but it kept my attention for as long as I it needed to, and provided a paycheck that I didn't require, and it added to the lie that I was just a normal girl, living a fairly normal life. I worked swing shift, which always suited the night life of both a twenty-something tech as well as a creature of the night. I got off of work at midnight, just the perfect amount of time to change clothes and go hunting.
Dance clubs were easy in a pinch, so much untapped lust in the air. But I won't lie, it was a minuscule drop in the well compared to a late night burlesque show. The thinking person's strip show, for sure. And the Vermillion Vixen was always good for the mind.
"Evening, Ms. Moon," said the door guy, Svart. He was leaning back on his little office chair behind the glass of the ticket counter, looking nothing so much like an extra in Cabaret. Guy-liner included. He was slight, harmless appearing. But I knew better. His shaggy blond hair dusted his brow lightly as he pressed a small stamp to my hand. "You thinking of joining the girls onstage for once, lady?" Svart gave me a wink.
I laughed, and shook my head. "Your clientele couldn't handle me, Svart."
He winked lasciviously and I didn't mind. It was an old banter between he and I and perfectly harmless. He was a good friend, kind and supportive but he always felt like he needed to remind me that this place could easily be a real food source if I wanted it to be. And it wasn't that I didn't. It was just that the chaotic lust of the place was great to swim in for a recharge, but I didn't feel safe attempting mass feeding the way some of the others did. My skills were only controlled (and often not so much, if Keith was any indication) on a one-on-one settling where I could control all eventualities. At least... that was my excuse and I was sticking with it.
If I were honest I would admit that the idea of feeding from an audience was an intoxicating, heady sort of allure. To touch so many people all at once... to know that a whole room full of people were watching, listening and getting aroused for me...
I shook myself out of the fantasy and just shook my head at the dark elf before me with a smirk. "By the way, love the look." He dropped his glamour for a millisecond so that I could see the look with his true face; midnight dark skin, pale blue eyes and frost white hair. It was definitely a good look for him. I'd never thought of him as particularly handsome, which was definitely a compliment to his ability with glamour, because underneath he was breathtaking.
"Thanks, sis," The dark elf said with a tip of his hat in my direction. "By the way, you should know that even if you do plan to do your usual thing... wine and a quiet table in the back... there are some big names in the club tonight."
"Oh?" I arched a brow and handed him the coat I shrugged off, accepting the little ticket from him in exchange.
"Yeah. Nasim mentioned it. He said that something was happening in the city and that it was clear that things were moving oddly. I don't know who he plans to have here in the next weeks, but he is making all the talent and staff shape up and be on point for it."
Nasim was the owner/operator of the Vermillion Vixen. He had inherited it, rumor said, from a lust demon in his own pantheon. Others said that he had won the club in a game of chance. Either way, Nasim was an odd djinn and not at all something you'd find in a Disney movie. He wasn't blue, though the deities he was in touch with often could be, and he wasn't the sort to grant wishes without something being in it for him. But for all of that, Nasim was a good guy. He was traditional in all the right ways, making sure that lines were never crossed, that all were comfortable and everyone who came to play in his little theatre followed his rules without question. He was incredibly respectful, and seemed to find me fascinating. I liked him very much, but I was careful of what I said and how much liberty I allowed him to take with me. It was a slippery thing, dealing with Djinn. It was impossible to know if they genuinely wanted to be helpful or if they were leaning on darker impulses.
"Tempest Moon!" My name said with so much warmth and cheer made me smile immediately and Nasim bustled over to me, a huge smile on his handsome deep golden brown face. His dark hair was slicked back with a few random flyaway curls framing his face like black waves. His eyes were the prettiest shade of near-copper I had ever seen. They immediately drew you in and asked you to like and trust him. He kissed me on each cheek and held me at arms length for a moment to examine me. "My girl! It has been too long!"
"Evening, Nasim," I said, unable to stop smiling. He has that affect. "Svart was just telling me that you're planning for some interesting clientele soon." The moment of irritation that passed his gaze was a flicker of light in a storm, but he dismissed it so quickly, I wasn't entirely sure that what I had seen was accurate. Interesting.
"Yes, yes, maybe!" he said, sweeping me along to the inside of the club, one arm looped into mine. "You know we are always trying to make our mark in the world, regardless if it is a Crypti world or a human one. But it may be that some negotiations are set to happen using the city as a base of operations. I don't know much only that I received a call from Arachne and she said she had been contacted by the Olympia offices of Cryptozoic Affairs and had been asked to plan for the next month to have slightly fewer "mixed" nights to accommodate the delegates entering the city that might need a place to... unwind."
