Page 3 of Visionary

Ceril pulled me into a dark cave and shoved me to the ground. Rocks embedded into my hands and soot plumed around me as I scurried back and away from him. The madness that was etched across his face was lethal. I didn’t dare speak or make a sound. A muffled scream came from deep within the cave, and I jerked my head in that direction.

“Severn!” Ceril shouted at me. My attention was back on him in an instant. The look in his eyes was laced with anger and rage. “You will stay right there and not ask any questions. Understand?” All I could do was nod as Ceril walked deeper into the cave, a rush of wind following him into the tunnel.

More screams made their way through the tunnel before I eventually covered my ears, unable to take the sounds any longer. Howling wind whipped through the cave, and the night sky filled with stars was the only bit of light I had. This high in the mountains outside of Noirhaven, you couldn’t even see the neon glow of the nightlife. It was nearly pitch black up here.

A while later, everything in the cave went calm. There was no rush of wind. Clouds slowly moved in to cover the stars, making the cave truly dark. Footsteps sounded from within the tunnel as I pushed myself back harder against the cave wall, ignoring the agonizing pain of the sharp rocks against my wing scars. I knew Ceril would likely be coming back, but there was more than one set of footsteps walking from the tunnel within the cave.

Ceril turned on a flashlight, and I saw that he was walking with Beck, the current head of the Blight family. Beck was mirroring every move Ceril made. Each step they took, they took together. When Ceril lifted the flashlight to shine it so they could more easily see, Beck lifted an empty hand. My breathing started to become irregular.

“Well, son, you’ll be the first to know.” Ceril smiled and squatted down to be at my eye level. Beck followed suit. “I think you’re very aware of what this means.” Both of the men tilted their heads to one side and smiled.

“You didn’t…” I whispered.

Snapping out of my vision, I almost fell out of the chair in the conference room. Every angel around the table whipped their head to me except for Ceril.

“We will talk about that later.” His teeth were clenched when he spoke, and I dreaded whatever was in store for me. Taking a deep breath, I readjusted in the seat in the corner and listened to the conversation in the room.

“Where did you get these Senketsu from Ceril? It’s a miracle you keep finding them. I’m honestly amazed. It’s how you keep us on top of this business. Between the black market sales and this auction, there shouldn’t be an issue with us taking a huge lead for a good chunk of time. Vea won’t have a chance to catch up.” The angel to Ceril’s left was flipping through documents as they spoke. Looking at financials for the family's various business ventures.

Ceril took a sip of the wine in front of him. “Where I got them doesn’t really matter, does it?” The angel’s faint golden glow dimmed slightly at Ceril’s response as they tucked their flowing dark hair behind their delicate ear. Ceril lifted his eyebrows in question before setting the glass down and picking up a cigar and puffing it lightly.

The dark-haired being stopped fidgeting with the paper and looked at Ceril. “No, sir. Just my curiosity getting the best of me, I suppose.”

Ceril pulled the cigar from his lips and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. “Mmm,” Ceril hummed with his eyes down. “Your job here is pretty important, Callum.” Ceril slowly turned his head to look at the Chief of Finance for the Shirogane Auction House. Callum nodded, fear now shrouding his eyes. “Might want to keep that in mind.” The angel looked as if he had seen a ghost. I closed my eyes, knowing exactly what it felt like to be on the receiving end of one of those looks.

3

AIDEN

The line outside of Vanta was wrapped around the building and down the back alley. The neon purple lights of the sign shone bright above the door, casting a light lavender glow on the beings waiting to gain entrance into the Mortis Family-owned bar. The snarls and glares tossed in my direction didn’t go unnoticed. The pair of demons that stood at the front of the line made snide comments when I greeted the bouncer as he lifted the velvet rope for me to enter the building. Their comments faded into the background as I walked into the dimly lit bar.

Doing my best to maneuver around everyone, I accidentally bumped into a being that stood almost a full foot taller than my five-foot-ten. My senses kicked in almost immediately when I felt the werewolf begin to turn toward me, and a deep, almost black red aura began to pulse around him. His anger was radiating off him, and I took a deep, steadying breath. In a split second, the aura changed to a brighter red as his gaze lingered on me. Taking a small step back, I bumped into a small table.

“Oh, be careful,” the werewolf said, reaching a hand out and stroking his fingers down my arm. Tilting my head, I gave him a questioning look. I couldn’t help but wonder why his feelings had changed so drastically. Someone rushed behind him, and he took a step closer to me, our chests nearly touching, and I got a whiff of the cologne he wore. It was incredibly strong. How I hadn’t noticed it before was beyond me. The strong spice scent hit the back of my throat with a punch; I let out a small cough. “You’re pretty good at bumping into things, aren’t you?”

Swallowing, I looked up at the male. He was attractive enough. He had thick dirty blonde hair that was styled nicely, pushed back away from his bearded face. He was built like a brick wall, a barreled chest and wide shoulders. Full werewolf, without a doubt. An alpha even, if I had to guess. I ran my tongue across my teeth and bit my lip, making sure my fangs were front and center for him to take in. If he really wanted to pursue a vampire, good for him. But I was not in the mood. “And you aren’t very good at reading people.” When I shoved his hand off my arm, I turned and walked toward the VIP section on the loft above the main floor. I could feel his stare on me the entire time I walked up the short staircase to the small, glassed-in area.

“What the fuck was that?” Desdemona asked me when I sat down in my usual spot in the booth against the wall. She stood in front of where I sat, trying to steal glances onto the main floor, likely looking for the werewolf I just had the run-in with. “Aiden, who the fuck was that?”

“Des, your guess is as good as mine.” Shrugging, I noticed the server making his way over to us. Once I placed my drink order, Des finally came back to sit next to me. “Just ignore it, Des. It’s not worth it. See, he’s back talking to his friends or whatever.” I gestured back down to the werewolf who had rejoined his group. They were laughing and taking shots at the bar.

Des threw her head back on the booth and crossed her arms over her chest. Letting out a soft chuckle, I patted her thigh. “I’m sure you’ll get to yell at someone later, Des.”

When she whipped her head at me, she slapped me lightly on the chest. “You asshole!”

We were both still laughing when my drink arrived.

As Des and I sat in the booth, we enjoyed the music and had a few drinks while we observed the main floor. Vanta was the Mortis Family’s most successful bar in the city. The Vampire Family owned most of the bars and nightclubs downtown, but everyone knew Vanta and wanted a chance to come for a night out. The drinks were top-notch. The rotating menu had cocktails that catered to every type of being in Noirhaven. Special attention was given to the blood-spiked drinks, of course, because this was a vampire-owned bar.

The bar was also connected to one of the large buildings the family owned on this side of the city. Another reason Desdemona and I took the apartment her mom offered was because it was in this building, and this side of the city needed more of a presence. Now that we have moved in, the Pulse market downtown has quadrupled, and we have access to more events for art shows on this end of the city. We have been able to acquire more for the customers and get more Senketsus off the black market.

When our server brought us another round, I spotted a tall, silver-haired figure walking up behind him. The server jumped when he turned around and spotted Milo. “Milo!” he shouted, stunned at the appearance of our friend. Clutching the tray he held to his chest, our server bowed his head slightly. “So sorry, sir. You caught me off guard. Can I get you something from the bar?”

Milo, the eternal calming presence he was, placed his hand on our server’s shoulder. “Jin, it’s all good. I kinda snuck up on you.” Milo’s lips quirked into a half smile showing off a dimple in his cheek. “Just a dry, blood martini, please.”

“Any preference on type?” Jin relaxed, dropping his arms down to his sides.

Patting his shoulder, Milo said, “Anything is fine.” Smiling, Milo walked over to us. He leaned down, kissing Des on the cheek and fist-bumping me before sitting in the chair next to Des.