Page 4 of Visionary

“What are you doing here?” Des looked at Milo, shocked, before turning to me. “Did you know he was coming?”

I shook my head and shrugged before taking a sip of my drink. The cool, smooth liquid poured down my throat as I turned to survey the crowd again. The werewolf from earlier was looking up at me.

Averting my eyes as quickly as I could, I leaned into Des and whispered something I couldn’t hear over the music. She slapped his chest, and he backed off, chuckling lightly.

Jin returned with Milo’s drink and another round for Des and me.

“Are you two ready for the auction this week?” Des leaned back in the booth and crossed her legs.

Glancing over at Milo, he was taking a sip from his drink, so I spoke up. “Pretty much. There’s only so much we can do to get ready.”

“Okay, is it just the two of you going?” She looked over to Milo for the answer.

Milo set down his glass. “We aren’t here to talk about work, please.” He leaned over, placing his hands on Desdemona’s thighs and looked at her with pleading eyes.

Raising my eyebrows, my gaze slid over to the two vampires now staring at one another. Milo’s pleading eyes continued to linger on Desdemona's face as her eyes flicked quickly back and forth, her gaze searching Milo’s for an answer to some unasked question.

With a quick gulp, Des finished her drink. “See you later, Aiden.” She stood with authoritative force and pulled the fitted skirt she wore down slightly. Walking past Milo, Des grabbed him by the silver tie he wore and yanked him up out of the seat.

Nearly spilling the red martini on his white shirt, Milo leaned forward as he chugged down the last of the drink. My jaw tightened at the thought of the dry, harsh liquor hitting my throat. Without a doubt, a look of disgust was painted on my face when I watched him set his glass down. “See you Monday,” Milo called over his shoulder with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face as my best friend dragged him out of the bar by his tie.

It seemed that more beings had entered Vanta since the last time I scanned the main floor. Even though I wasn't technically working tonight, it was hard to shut off the urge to constantly scan my surroundings and be aware. I had become so accustomed to knowing what lurked behind every corner. Most of the jobs I did for Vea were all about expecting the unexpected and being ready for anything, so I rarely let my guard down even on a night out.

The werewolf from earlier had moved from his previous spot at the bar with his group of friends, and they stood on the edge of the dance floor now, laughing, each one holding a drink.

Moving my gaze around the room, I felt a presence approach my side before Jin spoke. “Aiden, another drink for you.” He held out a martini glass. It looked just like one of Milo’s blood martinis. I made a disgusted face when he set it down. Jin laughed softly, “Yeah, I told him you wouldn't enjoy it, but he insisted.”

Confused, I looked up at the server. “Who?”

“The big guy down there.” He gestured with his head toward the blonde werewolf who was now staring directly at me and making his way toward the stairs to the lofted section I sat in.

Looking up at Jin, I grabbed the glass from the table and handed it back to him. “I'm sorry you went through the trouble of making this.” Jin took the glass and set it on his tray. I looked over to the werewolf who stood at the foot of the stairs, waiting for me to give the security guard the go-ahead to let him up. “I'm not at all interested.” My statement was loud enough that the werewolf heard me. He baulked while I turned in the other direction and walked through the back exit of the club straight into my apartment building.

4

AIDEN

“Have you looked into the pieces yet?” Vea asked as she closed her laptop and directed her attention to Milo and me.

Setting my pen down, my gaze lifted so I looked her directly in the eyes. “I did, yes. I couldn’t find any information on them. There is no record of any more Senketsu artwork on the market or in existence. It’s odd these pieces showed up out of nowhere.”

“That’s what makes me nervous about this auction. Ceril never does anything without a plan. He’s got something up his sleeve, and the fact that we aren’t ahead of it is not okay.” Vea remained calm as she took a deep breath and pushed back from her desk. She stood facing me. The gorgeous, stoic woman I had come to see as a mother. She rested her hands on her hips. The flowing sleeves of the bright white blouse she wore billowed with the movement. “Just keep looking to see if you can find anything before tomorrow. You two need to be as prepared as possible when you go in. If he’s claiming to have these pieces, everyone will be there trying to get their hands on them.” Leaning forward, she placed her hands on the desk. “We need that art, Aiden. You understand?”

“Yes.” Nothing else needed to be said. As I rose to stand, Vea followed my line of sight. I nodded to my boss and walked out of her office with Milo close behind.

As I gripped the notebook in my hand, I could see Milo approaching me on my side. “I know you usually do all of the research, but can I help? There has to be something I can do.”

I didn’t have an answer for him because I didn’t know what else could be done. The photographs of the artwork were listed on the Shirogane Auction House website, but the art couldn’t be found anywhere else online. There were no known acquisitions of the pieces prior to the Shiroganes, and the art was signed by an anonymous artist. Not only did that make it even more difficult to find information on them, but it also made them more valuable.

The even stranger part to me was that the pieces he had were not like other Senketsu art that had been sold. Instead of depicting graphic images of death and decay, these were gorgeous still life paintings of flowers or abstract images. Every single one of them was in various hues of metallic red, black, and grey.

A light green aura began to pulse from Milo. His urge to help punched me in the chest, and I smiled softly. I explained to him where he could find the photos of the art. “Truthfully, just see if you can find anything because I’ve found nothing literally.”

Nodding his head, Milo turned down the hallway and toward his office. My own office sat next to Desdemona’s, who was tucked away into the back corner. When I turned my computer back on, the auction house website pulled up, and the anonymous art pieces were the first things I saw on my screen. Something about the way the paint strokes were applied seemed effortless yet intentional. One of the pieces was stunning. An ornate vase of withered roses was the central focus. Petals piled below on a table that melted into a black void beneath. Everything about the painting was perfect. It was clear that the artist had a vision when putting the paint to canvas.

The roses, while withered and decaying, were still undeniably beautiful. The typical reaction when looking at a Senketsu painting would be to turn away. They made the viewer uncomfortable most of the time. Their rarity made them expensive and popular among collectors.

When Milo came to me two hours later with no information about the pieces, I knew there was no use looking any longer. It was likely we wouldn’t find anything, and we needed to do reconnaissance on the auction house before tomorrow. We sat together for the rest of the evening looking over blueprints and reviewing the security system to prepare. Coming up with a solid plan to avoid cameras and anticipated extra security. Keeping in mind they will have likely hired a werewolf pack for additional security, so they will have ground and aerial coverage. We had no plans to do anything that would cause a scene, but Vea brought up a good point that these Senketsu pieces had the likelihood to bring a lot of people out of the shadows.