Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
We arrived at the bar, which was made of deep mahogany wood and the only area in the room that departed from the blue color scheme. The seats of the barstools were red leather, exactly the color that the lamps on the bar’s shelves gave off.
“This is so crazy,” Devon whispered in my ear.
I would have agreed with him if a very tall, very thin man hadn’t popped up beside me in that moment. His fingers flitted over my arm like ghost touch. My body recoiled violently and I balled my hands for a fight.
“Want some Spittle?” he breathed. His hair was cut so short his scalp shone through and the red of the bar lights reflected in his damp eyes.
I was too stunned to speak. Either this was the worst pickup line of the century or this guy had lost his mind.
Devon moved closer to me until his warmth was all over my back. I snatched my arm away from the man. “No.”
He pulled out a vial containing a strange, milky liquid. “It makes you fly,” he crooned. From the way his eyelids twitched, I was convinced he’d already taken one too many flights.
“No, thanks.”
“Leave them alone, Spleen,” yelled the woman behind the bar.
That was the perfect name for the guy. His eyes darted to the barkeeper before he slinked off toward a staircase shrouded in the darkness to the left of the bar. It too, was cast in a deep reddish glow.
“Thanks,” Devon said, relaxing his stance.
The barkeeper was a tall woman clad in black shorts and a black tank top, which showed off her tattooed arms, neck, and legs. I couldn’t spot an inch of her skin that wasn’t inked; only her face was free of tattoos. There was a long string of words written all over her body in tiny script. There must have been hundreds of words snaking over her limbs, but I couldn’t make out what they said.
She stood wiping a glass, still glaring at the spot where Spleen had stood before. Eventually she turned to us. “First time, huh?” she asked, a piercing flashing in her mouth. “I’m Penny.”
“I’m Tessa and this is Devon,” I said. I couldn’t help but wonder if her tattoos were just for show, or if they were there to hide something. A clever disguise for scales, or a cover-up for a scar, like Alec’s dragon. I felt a twinge in my stomach at the thought of him. Stay focused, I reminded myself.
She noticed me staring and set the glass down. “Took years to get it done,” she said proudly. “And hurt like hell.”
“What does it say?” I asked with genuine curiosity.
“All kinds of things.” She shrugged. “Quotes that mean something to me.”
“Do they have something to do with your Variation?” Devon asked. Our minds seemed to work alike.
Something on her face shifted—like a shadow passing. “I’m not a Variant.”
“You aren’t?” I blurted and felt instantly bad. How could I be so insensitive?
But she just smiled, even though I wasn’t quite sure if she meant it. “My father owns the place. He’s a Variant. But I’m just a Normal. Just another instance where genetics screwed me over.”
“So what exactly is this place?” I asked instead.
“A safe place for Variants to have a good time. A place where you aren’t in danger of getting caught in the crossfire of politics.”
“You mean between the FEA and Abel’s Army.”
At the mere mention of those names, her face lit up with alarm.
“Don’t,” she hissed, eyes darting around. “My father has banned those words. You better not speak them if you don’t want to find your butt on the street.”
“So people who come here aren’t part of either group?” Devon asked. He said it in a way that suggested there was no alternative.
She gave him a look like she thought he was crazy. “People around here are doing their damn best to stay under the radar. Because if they know about you, you either join them or else you disappear.”
“You’re talking about Abel’s Army,” I whispered.
She frowned at me but didn’t correct me for saying the name again. “I’m talking about them both. They’re just two sides of the same coin.”
“But the FEA doesn’t force people to join them, do they? They don’t coerce or kill people?”
“If they find you, you join. End of story. They don’t kill you but they force you to follow their rules or else they throw you into their prison because you’re a security risk and you rot there until you die. What’s the difference?” She put her palms against the counter, leaning closer to us, dark eyes sparkling. “But enough of that. Politics have no place here.”
I was about to protest but she spit out her next thought, leaving me no chance to get a word in.
“The stuff Spleen tried to sell you isn’t the only way to have a good time.”