The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (107 page)

“Nonsense, she is after all family and I’m sure Dominic would like to m
e
et her properly this time
.
” I almost growled at her.

“Sorry Sophia, I’m sure Kizzy is just trying to keep Dominic all to herself, she was always a bit selfish when comes to men
, there’s been quite a few.
” Hilary finished this by laughing at herself but it was at my expense, which I never appreciate
d
coming from the unfunny viper that was my cousin.

“Fine, well it looks like I’m out numbered on this one
.
” I said not being able to keep the spoilt tone from seeping into my words. Sophia didn’t even look sorry, which made me think she was planning something. Actually the only one that looked sorry for me was Jack, which made me wonder, had Sophia’s cutting manner made him think twice about being so quick to trust someone he barely knew, over someone he respected not so long ago? I really hope
d
so.

We all said our goodbyes but as Hilary was giving Jack a more thorough bye
when
I took Sophia to the side out of earshot.

“What’s the big idea here?...I mean, I’m all for knocking her down a peg or two but even I think a room full of “energy sucking” Demons and Angels is a bit much!” Sophia just smiled like I would imagine a cat to do when walking the fence and winding up the neighbor’s dog. It was both evil and cute at the same time.

“Keira my dear...don’t you trust me?” She added this little innocent act by fluttering her eyes at me.

“You forget Sophia that I know what you’re capable of and remember your relentless schemes when trying to get me and Draven together
.
”

“And it all worked out well, did it not?” Well I had to give her that. In truth she had ended up
playing a massive part in our ‘union’
. However
,
I didn’t tell her this
,
but she took my silence in her favor all the same.

“Great, well tonight should be a breeze then
!
” I said sarcastically but she just laughed and gave me a wink before fake coughing which drew me to my cousin’s unimpressed face.

“So are we going or not?” She asked looking down at me like I was some bloody chauffe
u
r of hers that she just caught without wearing their hat or making a wrong turn....well she wished! I was close to saying “To
Hell
with
it” and making her walk home, 4
inch heels or not!

Ok so I didn’t, no instead I said goodbye to everyone and started walking off in the direction of my truck to miss lessons because I couldn’t be faced with the agro of my cousin’s
moaning at me. I didn’t wait
for Hilary but giving her longer legs it didn’t take her long to catch up and I soon heard the clopping of her heels behind me, reminding me of being chased by horse.

We got in the truck and drove home in silence. It made me wish that everyone that had been suckered into Hilary’s nicey, nicey act would just witness for themselves just how vindictive and cold she could really be.

By the time we got home I was close to screaming in frustration from the tense ride home. I noticed my knuckles were still white from gripping the steering wheel so hard and it remained the same as I was gripping the handle of my mug of tea. I kept trying to tell myself that it would soon be over, only a week of this crap and then I could relax again...well as much as I could with a bounty on my head.

Hilary had gone to start getting ready for tonight which I was dreading. The reasons were
w
holly selfish I admit
it
and the idea of Hilary spending anytime in the VIP was only burning a brighter rage inside me. Not only did I not want her anywhere near my boyfriend but I also want
ed
to keep my secret life intact. It was like being a superhero in a sense and I know that may sou
nd egotistical but it was like
living a double life.

Down
stairs
,
I was just like everyone else but once I crossed the level, I became one of them. I became a part of their world and the idea that Hilary would too
,
be privileged into my hea
ven was infuriating. And
undeservingly so. I felt so bitter I couldn’t taste my tea. I couldn’t taste the sandwich I had made myself and I couldn’t swallow the idea of this evening was going to happen whether I liked it or not! I even found myself picking up the phone a few times to call Draven and tell him, plead with him
,
about how much I objected
to
tonight. But thankfully my pride stopped me.

Of course none of this helped when the She-Devil herself came and interrupted my somber thoughts.

“What time do you go to work?” She asked
,
as she danced in the room like she owned the state. Man, I hated her. I hated what she did to my life every time she was around. It was like she went out of her way to try and destroy any ounce of happiness I found. Of cour
se the only blessing about the ‘Incident’
was that she left me alone without adding to my misery. But of course
,
she didn’t need to try and damage an already damaged situation, which was the shred of my life at the time.

“Six thirty
,
” I said without keeping the depressed tone from my voice. It didn’t help when I saw her basking in her
own
glory. I was stupid really, what I should be doing was playing her at her own game. Smile to hide my distaste at having her so close to me. Fake a laugh at the unfunny things she said and totally hide the fact that I hated the idea of her joining the VIP club. I mean her crush on Jack was another thing but if she got her fake nails into any of the Draven’s I don’t think I could prevent murder. Ok, time to try and play this a different way.

“Are you excited?” I asked making her turn to me in shock. I had to suppress a coy smile.

“Umm I guess
.
” She replied in a softer tone I wasn’t used too.

“It will be nice having someone else there as proof it’s not as scary as it’s made out
.
” I said trying to sound casual but I had to turn round to hide a smile I had no control of. I opened the fridge and broke off a few squares of chocolate.

“What do you mean by that?” OK now she looked a bit more
concerned as her eyebrows knitted together and a hand automatically went to her hip.

“Oh
,
it’s just with all the small town gossip Afterlife generates there’s bound to be a few horror stories but none are true I can assure you
.
”

“Like what?” She genuinely looked interested and I think this was the first actual conversation we had had together in years. Like this it took me back to better times when we were younger and before Hilary’s vendetta against me was born.

“Oh
,
just about how when some people have gone up there in the past and never
been
seen again, that type of thing but you will have to ask Jack on the details...he knows all the gory stories
.
” I could now see the faint flicker of both doubt and fear mix through her e
yes. I should have stopped there
and hoped it was enough to put her off but my personality wouldn’t let me.

“But I doubt any of its true, I mean there’s
some weird people up there but
they all seem nice to me. And I don’
t think D
...Dominic would allow anything to happen in his club, he’s had people kicked out before for drugs and stuff
.
” She just nodded and I could see her mind doing ten to the dozen.

“Is that how you got with Dominic, by
serving
him?” It was an innocent enough question but as ever, coming for Hilary’s lips it quickly turned into a
n
insult. However I swallowed it like all the rest and answered her.

“Sort of, but I was never allowed to serve his table directly. We kind of got to be friends first and then he just asked me out
.
” Ok so that was completely made up but what could I tell her...the truth? Umm no, I don’t think that would have gone down well at all.

“Umm, well I guess in a small town things are limited
.
” She said as she had soon lost interest but it didn’t prevent her from jabbing at me one last time. With that she left the kitchen and I didn’t see her again until we had to leave for the club, where no doubt another nightmare was to begin.

At least in this one, I didn’t have my own demons to contend with.

Chapter 47

VIP Déjà V
u

We didn’t really speak on the way to the club and a few insults about my slow driving hardly constituted as conversation. I looked to my right and found Hilary twisting a tassel of her scarf round in her fingers, it looked like she was nervous. Maybe some of what I had said earlier had sunk in.

The drive felt like my first time going to the club, it was that long winded. This I put down to the uncomfortable situation and a mind full of anxious worries. What was going to happen tonight? I had no clue and just kept asking myself the same question over and over....why had Sophia invited her in the first place, what was she up to?

These were the type of questions rolling around in my mind like waves in an unsettled sea. It was only when I heard an agitated voice that I was brought back from auto-pilot to realise what she was saying.

“You’re going to miss the turn!”
Her words registered just in time for me to slow down an
d make the turn on to the private
road that led to Afterlife. It was dark out and the night was full of snow filled cloud
s
in a sky we couldn’t see
, well according to the weather channel anyway
. But you could almost taste it in the air and when it was cold enough to see your breath, then the chances were if it did come down
,
it was going to stick. Even Hilary was wearing warmer clothes, although I wasn’t sure what was underneath that long jacket of hers. For all I knew she could be naked!

Thankfully
,
when we got inside it was confirmed she wasn’t naked but it sur
e came close. She wore a little
black lace dress with a corseted top that flared out at the skirt. The red netting could be seen around the edges and is what gave it body to stick out like a tutu. She matched this slutty look with the highest heels in the form of knee high boots. Her makeup looked like something she had stolen from a vampire movie, with black eyes, pale skin and blood red lips. Her hair hung down in loose curls that looked like they had started to drop out of style, even though you could smell the hairspray radiating from her head a mile away.

I couldn’t help but look down at my plain self and glad to see I was only wearing black trousers and a black shirt that wrapped round and tied at the back. I added a tiny bit of colour in the form of a
purple
tie
with white piping
tha
t RJ had given me once.  She explained
that now she was a full out Goth and no longer a tamer Emo, she had given me a bag of ties to wear for work. This was only the second time I had worn one as the first was when Layla had attack
ed
me. Of course
,
the memory sent shivers up and down my spine and it didn’t have anything to do with Layla. No, it was down to Draven touching me the way
he
had done that night. Our first real intimate contact.

I think Hilary took my little moment as one of jealously as she looked pretty pleased with herself. I was tempted to tell her the only time I had ever dressed like that was at Halloween, but I thought better. The last thing I wanted was to prompt her in anyway. At this time it wasn’t hard to get to the other side of the club as it only really started to get busy when the band was due to start and they weren’t even here yet. However I had to stop her before she walked up the main staircase.

“What are you doing?” She asked me looking down at my hand that
still gripped her a
rm. It was as if she would get
burned by my touching her and she yanked her
arm away and glared
at me. I ignored it all and explained.