Chapter 1

“What the hell are you looking at?” Sloane yelled at the guy staring at her from across the bar.

She glanced over to her friend,Amy, “Seriously what’s this guy’s deal anyway? He’s been staring at me for over 5 minutes. We reached creepy 3 minutes ago.”

Amy rolled her eyes at Sloane “well, you are gorgeous, I mean your short cropped, black hair, chains hanging from your almost jean shorts and tight black everything, why wouldn’t he be starring.” Amy started laughing; she wasn’t surprised that guys would stare at her. Not only was she stunning but she dressed in tight, flashy, punk clothes that left little to the imagination. She tended to stand out wherever she went. Amy, on the other hand, tended to wear fewer chains and metal in her attire. She preferred a more casual yet sporty look. They had been best friends since middle school. One of the older jocks kept pulling on the back of her hoodie in the lunch line. She asked him to stop but he didn’t. Sloane was standing behind them and she tapped the jock on the back. When he turned, she slugged him in the nose hard enough to make him bleed. He went to strike back but was stopped by a teacher before he got the chance. Sloane got detention but from that day on they’d become good friends. Sloane had been standing up for her ever since.

“Seriously he’s still looking over here,” Sloane moved her head to duck out of his eye line.

“So, why don’t you go over there and break his nose, that will teach him to look at you with that deep penetrating stare,” Amy smiled at her and stuck out her tongue.

“Ha Ha, very funny, you know I can’t do that. Why are you teasing me?” She pressed her lips together in a hard line and narrowed her eyes at Amy. If only she could, she thought Sloane had gotten into trouble recently for punching a guy in the nose, he pressed charges and the judge granted her a suspended sentence. If she is able to manage not to get assault charges in the next six months the charges will be dropped, otherwise she will face penalties for the charge which would include community service, something she has no intention of completing.

“Let’s get out of here. There’s a party happening tonight at Paisley Park anyways. Way more fun than this dive bar,” Amy turned in the bar stool to grab her purse off the back. Sloane got up from the stool; as Sloane walked toward the door she couldn’t help but head toward the guy who was staring at her, she raised her hand like she was going to hit the guy, then winked at him as she departed. Amy rolled her eyes at her but Sloane looked satisfied, or at least as satisfied as she could be under the circumstances.

“You just couldn’t leave it alone could you?” Amy shook her head as she walked to the car.

“No, why should I? He was staring at me. He deserves to be intimidated a little. Maybe I’m some crazy bitch that he shouldn’t be staring at. Maybe I just got out of the loony bin, it could happen,” Sloane smiled and put her arm through Amy’s as they walked.

“With you, all of those things are possible,” Amy grabbed Sloane’s hand tight and squeezed. They both laughed.

“Yeah, that’s true. I hope I made him think twice about just staring at some girl in a bar,” Sloane laughed again, she was thinking about what she wished she could have done to that guy, oh well she’ll just have to keep dreaming about that until her sentence is up.

“Key word there is bar. He probably had too much to drink and just couldn’t keep his eyes off you. I really think you need to stop messing with people so much; it’s going to get you into trouble one of these days,” Amy looked to her friend and sighed.

“Whatever, I don’t care how drunk he was, he shouldn’t be staring. So, not to completely change the subject, but what time is this party at?”

“Two, we have to go change first. It’s a pajama party,” Amy didn’t really like the idea of going to a pajama party but she’d been invited and it was an exclusive affair. Usually it was Sloane who got them invited to exclusive clubs, so Amy was proud that it’d been her that was invited, instead of Sloane.

“What? A pajama party, really? How did you get in on a pajama party?” Sloane eyed Amy.

“A friend invited me to go, usually I’d say no but this sounded pretty exclusive and fun,” she tried for a light tone in her voice but failed.

“Well now I’m intrigued, who’s this friend? Is he hot?” Sloane perked up a bit in her seat and turned toward Amy.

Amy dodged the insinuation, “he’s just a friend.” Although he was hot, that was the reason she was going but Sloane always pried far too much when it came to guys, especially those Amy showed any interest in.

Sloane stared her down for a minute knowing from her tone that it was more than just a friend or there was no way she would’ve even brought it up tonight. She decided to drop it, she’d find out soon enough who this mystery man was. “So not till two huh? What are we doing till then? I know we have to change but that won’t take that long. How are you planning on keeping me occupied until then?” Sloane winked at Amy.

Amy shook her head, “Really? I thought I’d just wave something shiny in front of you, keep you busy for hours.”

Sloane glared at her, “I just thought we could have some fun. You don’t have to be so pessimistic all the time. I think you need more fun in your life; more experimentation. You need to be a little bit more like me.” she sat back in the seat and smiled.

Amy’s pitch raised a bit when she spoke, “really, you think so? I think you need a little less of all of those things but I love you for them anyway, now can we focus on more pressing issues.”

“More pressing issues? What’s more pressing than having fun? I can’t possibly imagine what boring issue you think we have to talk about? Actually how about you just keep it to yourself for now.” Sloane sat back in the seat and began examining her nails, she thought that she may need to reapply her black polish before they went out tonight.

“Wow, okay, I will. I’m going in to change, are you coming?” Amy lunged out of the car and shut the door harder than she meant to, she was getting tired of Sloane’s all about her attitude. She really needed to give it a rest.

“Geese,” she looked over to where the door had just slammed. “Of course I am, we should always be stunning wherever we go.”

Amy shook her head as she walked up the steps. Sloane always had an interesting take on life and most days she thought it was endearing today she thought it was annoying. Amy went straight to her room to find some pajamas that she could wear to a party, something silk and revealing. She couldn’t go to this party wearing her usual choice of a cami and sweats. She had to be presentable. She knew Sloane would choose something sexy and tight. Although Sloane was more voluptuous and slender, Amy had a more athletic build. She decided she was presentable and went to find Sloane. When she did she wasn’t surprised. Sloane was in skin tight black leather that barely left anything to the imagination. Amy chose silk which hung from her body comfortably.

“How is that even remotely considered PJ’s?” Amy asked.

“Well, I would wear this to bed if I was taking the right guy with me,” she winked at Amy as she bent to put more mascara on her lashes. “Okay, I think I’m ready. When are you changing?”

“I did change,” Amy looked down at her silk pajamas and shrugged.

“Really? That’s what you’re wearing, it looks like a suit made of silk. Don’t you have anything skimpy or revealing?” Sloane looked over to her than rolled her eyes, knowing the answer already.

“Ah no, I don’t have much to reveal so I don’t buy anything revealing” Amy looked down at herself, she didn’t think she looked that bad, at least it was silk.

Sloane shook her head, “come on I have something you can wear.” She walked toward her closet that had items strewn from it already.

Amy backed away a few steps and shook her head, “oh no, I don’t want to wear anything that came out of your closet.”

“Oh, come on. I promise I won’t dress you in anything too crazy. I do have some normal clothes” she turned to start picking through the clothes in her closet.

“Fine, but I have the final say, ” she reluctantly followed behind Sloane to the massive closet.

“Okay, what do we have that you can wear? Ah, here we go, just right,” Sloane had pulled out a tank and shorts that were both blood red.

Amy took the silk tank and shorts in her hand and examined them like they were covered in slime. “could you find anything with less to it, seriously? I’m going to freeze.”

“Oh, you’ll be fine. Just put it on, you’ll be hot,” Sloane turned and left the room so Amy could change.

Amy came out reluctantly a few minutes later. “I feel naked. I keep wanting to pull at the shirt. Do I look okay at least?” she looked down at herself, she wasn’t used to wearing this little, even when she went to bed she had more on than this.

“Yes, for once you look sexy, own it. You’re beautiful. Besides we have to make it past the bouncer right? It helps if we’re both showing some skin.” Sloane had a satisfied smile on her face, she loved it when she could get Amy into something skimpy. She was beautiful she just tended to hide herself behind layers of clothing.

“Okay we have to go or we’re going to be late,”Amy headed toward the door where she had left her purse and keys, she knew she would need to be the responsible one and drive since Sloane would start drinking the minute they reached the party.

“I prefer fashionably late, I mean, who shows up on time really?” Sloane took one last look at herself in the mirror before turning to Amy.

Amy yelled from the entryway, “I actually want to get into this on time and there are a limited number of people allowed into the party.” Amy began to play with her keychain so that Sloane would pick up the hint that they needed to go.

Sloane came out of her room and looked to Amy, who was tapping her foot by the door. “Wow, alright I’m ready, you really must want to see this guy or you wouldn’t be this impatient.”

Sloane grabbed her purse and followed Amy out the door. Amy got in the car and drove to the parking lot that was already brimming with cars. After circling a few times, they found a spot and parked. The line was long when they made it to the door. Sloane got in line but tapped her foot. Sloane wasn’t one to wait in lines; she was always just let in and she’s never on time to anything. A tall guy with a staff shirt went down the line and picked out people to go in. Sloane smiled at him and he motioned for her and Amy to join him. Amy wondered for a moment if she would have gotten in if it wasn’t for being with Sloane but brushed it off; it didn’t really matter anyway.

Amy looked around at what people were wearing, wondering if these people actually slept in any of this. The music was blasting and people were dancing in front of the stage. It was fun to be a part of the crowd with so much energy; Amy couldn’t help but bounce a little as she followed Sloane. Sloane was looking around the room, scanning, but Amy couldn’t fathom what for. They were already headed to the bar, what on Earth was she looking for? She never cared enough about the people around her to be actively looking at them. She barely noticed when people came up to talk to her at the bar. That was usually because they were approaching her with some ridiculous pick up line that never worked. Pick up lines are a ridiculous way to start a conversation anyway, Amy thought. Amy couldn’t stand it anymore she needed to know what was going on. She was obviously looking for someone but Amy couldn’t fathom who that someone could be. She’d been the one to get them into this place and she hadn’t even started looking around for Erik, the guy that invited her.

“Who are you looking for?” Amy asked.

“Ah, no one. Just checking the place out. Nice turnout don’t you think?” Sloane stopped scanning the room and looked back to Amy.

“Ah yeah I guess, since when do you care about checking the place out? I should be the one searching the room for that guy, Erik the one who invited me here.” Amy looked around the room, there was quite a crowd and she had no idea if she’d be able to find Erik in this crowd.

“Wait what, who invited you?” Sloane pulled Amy to a stop before they could reach the bar.

“A guy named Erik, he was smoking hot. I should be looking for him.” Amy glanced around but stopped when she saw the look on Sloane’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing” she began looking around again, she knew what was going to happen but she still felt sick to her stomach.

“I don’t believe you. Something’s wrong, why don’t you just tell me what’s going on.” Amy waited staring at Sloane, she knew her well enough to know that tone. There was something wrong.

“Nothing, nothing’s going on what’s with the inquisition anyway? Can’t a girl check out the merchandise?” Sloane smiled her devilish smile at Amy, trying for her normal lightheartedness. This really was peculiar she knew that Sloane wasn’t telling the truth but she couldn’t imagine what would be wrong. They hadn’t even been here for 5 minutes yet.

Sloane stopped at the bar, ordered a few dirty martini’s and turned back to scan the room. She leaned back against the bar to get a better angle on the crowd. Amy looked around for Erik but knew it would be almost impossible to spot him so she turned and watched the bartender make their drinks. She couldn’t wait to get hers, she figured if Sloane was preoccupied with something it was going to be an interesting night so she thought a good buzz might be helpful for dealing with whatever Sloane had going on.

Sloane grabbed her drink and moved to a high top table towards the back. She sat against the wall continuing to scan the crowd but attempted to do so a little more subtly than before.

Amy didn’t mind sitting in the back and watching people, it had always been a habit of hers but she was a bit worried that she would never find Erik sitting back here. She also knew by Sloane’s constant watchful eye that something was wrong and she was finding it increasingly annoying that Sloane wasn’t telling her what was bothering her, they had always shared everything. They hadn’t kept secrets from each other so Amy was growing increasingly concerned with Sloane’s increasingly strange behavior.

Finally she had to ask, “Sloane are you really going to keep me in the dark all night?”

Sloane looked Amy in the eye and then down at her drink “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re here to have a good time. I just really need a drink before I show them all how to dance; I mean really look at that girl what is she even trying to do the running man? What is that?” Sloane attempted a light tone but her voice came out a bit too high pitched giving her uneasiness away. She was obviously on edge but Amy didn’t know what was causing it or better yet why she wouldn’t tell Amy. Her aversions weren’t even any good; Sloane was usually a much better actress.

Sloane looked to the door and then down quickly, “Come on Amy; I need a bathroom break,” she grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the bathroom.

“Hey, what gives,” Amy said as she barely set her drink down before being dragged away forcibly.

“Okay, I’m really sorry for grabbing you like that. I really wish I could tell you what’s going on right now but I can’t. Will you do me a huge favor and go get into your car and drive home right now and pretend you never knew me.” Sloane held Amy’s arm and looked to her waiting for an answer.

“What the hell are you talking about? Pretend I never knew you? What the hell is going on Sloane?” Amy stared firmly at Sloane she didn’t want to believe the words that just came out of her mouth she was being ridiculous.

“I told you I can’t tell you but I really need you to leave right now before all hell breaks loose.” Amy knew by her tone that she was serious and the way she kept staring waiting for her to reply. Sloane could be demanding at times but this was a bit uncharacteristic of her.

“Ah, No, not before you give me some kind of explanation. First, we’re going to this cool party, then we get here and you’re acting all weird, then you suddenly tell me I need to go home and pretend I never met you? Seriously you’re being ridiculous. You need to tell me what’s going on.” Amy put her hand on her hip as she waited for a long overdue explanation.

Sloane took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She really didn’t want her friend involved in this but she had promised to spend the night with her even after seeing that premonition she still went along with the evening. She figured this was her punishment; Amy was going to be dragged into her world regardless of what Sloane said now, she had already seen it. She moved over to the sink to turn on the water. She kicked the base of the sink before she bent to splash water on her face.

After a few deep breaths she turned to Amy, “I’m not who you think I am and if you don’t leave you’re going to get wrapped up in a world that you want no part of I promise you that. I was born into this hell; you can still escape it. Please Amy just listen to me for once and leave before it’s too late.” Sloane pleaded.

Amy looked Sloane in the eye and knew she was sincere. She wasn’t sure what to make of all this; she had no idea what Sloane was talking about but she knew her long enough to know when she was being serious. She didn’t know what to do; her friend was obviously in trouble and she wanted to help her but she was asking her to leave. How could she leave when her friend was obviously in distress.

“I can’t leave you. Why don’t you just level with me and tell me what’s going on. It can’t be that bad and we can handle it together.”

Sloane threw up her hands and started pacing the room. “I can’t get you involved. Ugh why can’t you just listen to me for once without having to know everything? You always have to know everything. Damn it” Sloane stopped long enough to punch her fist into the wall. “Owe” She shook her hand after wincing.

“Sloane just tell me”

“Fine you’re going to find out anyway, I was just trying one last ditch effort to save you from all this but no, you just had to be too stubborn. Fine, I’m part of the Shikari, a society that you know nothing about. We kill evil, the demons of this world and in about 45 seconds my brother, Erik, the one who invited you here is going to burst through that door and try to take me back to them. I’ve been running for a long time but now I have to fulfill my duty and because you don’t have enough sense to leave you’ll be coming with me because my brother is going to assume you know everything about me. Oh, yeah and by the way I can see the future. That’s why they need me back so bad. Happy now?” Sloane huffed once she’d said everything. She motioned in front of the door knowing that her brother will be there any second.

Amy didn’t even have time to react to what Sloane had said because Erik burst through the door and slammed it behind him.

“Finally” he whispered as his eyes met Sloane’s.

“Erik, it’s been a long time,” Sloane said staring hard back at him.

Amy turned from one to the other noticing the resemblance; Sloane stared defiantly at Erik, communicating without a single word. Amy was transported in her mind to the moment they’d met, his lean yet masculine physique and long dark hair, pulled back from his face, she was so excited to come to this party, his dark penetrating eyes were inviting and warm, but now all she felt was deflated when she realized why they were really standing there, he had used her and in this moment she felt empty. Amy saw the resemblance between the two and cursed herself for not noticing before, but then why would she have, Sloane had been the furthest thing from her mind when she’d met Erik. She couldn’t help but think of all the things she wanted to do to that beautifully lean body. His entire demeanor made her heart race as she imagined taking him right there. She took a deep breath. She needed to steady herself and focus; this meeting was her fault, because she was manipulated by another pretty face. She hated herself right now and wouldn’t blame Sloane for hating her either.

“So are you going to take me to Bryant or are we just going to stand here all night?”

“Are you telling me that you’re coming willingly for once in your life? That would be a nice change for you,” Erik’s mouth rose slightly on one side; he glanced to Amy for a moment. “I knew I pegged this right, you must be a good friend if she’s willing to come without a fight.” He walked over and gently took Amy’s hand and placed a kiss on it. “It is my honor to officially meet you Ms. Sikes, my deepest apologies for having used you to get Sloane here.” He looked into her eyes and she smiled unintentionally. She’d never met anyone quite so polite before and the combination of his dark eyes and amazing scent took her breath away. She couldn’t speak she was so enthralled, just as she was the first time they’d met.

“Seriously Erik, stop messing with my friend she doesn’t know anything she can just go.” Sloane rolled her eyes at her brother’s antics. He had his gifts and right now Sloane wanted to slug him for using them on Amy but she had to keep her cool right now.

“I think we’ll take her with us. If you’re protecting her from me there is obviously a reason and I’d like to find out what that reason is.” He smiled at Sloane. “Come now sis, we should be going?”

“Lead the way bro” she tried to infect her words with as much venom as she could manage. Although her issues were not with him precisely, she hated that he had blindly gone along with everything and turned on her when she needed him the most. He was scum, just like the rest of the Shikari society she’d shunned so many years ago. She questioned everything about them and learned things that made her not want to be a part of that world ever again. They saved the world but at what cost. At the time, Sloane was not willing to pay the price others so blindly paid in there service. She wanted her life to mean something; she wanted to make a life of her choosing, not the one chosen for her. Now she was about to face everything she’d spent so much time running from and at this moment she wasn’t sure if she was ready to do that quite yet.