Chapter 1
“Dan, this way.” Ruby waved at the table at the back of the diner for me to come over.
It would be easy to find her anywhere, Ruby was wearing a sequined dress and a faux fur coat. The black skin was covered in glitter, making it glow in the dim sunlight that streamed through the glass window.
The diner was packed, with Ruby as the main highlight of one of Detroit's coldest mornings.
I sighed, moving towards her.
I waved to Bob who was cleaning the counter, his cafeteria it had become the meeting place between Ruby and me the four years since we formed our "friendship".
“I hope this is very good news for you to call me here at
this hour, Ruby. I missed some really good news on the highway,” I grumbled as I sat down across from him.
this hour, Ruby. I missed some really good news on the highway,” I grumbled as I sat down across from him.
I would have to be at Sentinel in a few hours to take some
photos, the newspaper paid me a good deal of money to investigate. I hadn't slept well for a few days, following a heroin dealer around town, the most ironic of which was that my best source was a prostitute addicted to cocaine.
I sat down across from him, pouring a good dose of coffee into a cup, and took a sip.
“It's the best news ever, Dan,” he purred, twining his long fingers around my wrist and kissing my fingers.
I rolled my eyes, ignoring her ridiculous attempt to seduce me.
“Okay, so tell me,” I gritted out, pulling my hand
away “you have to stop doing this, Ruby. Is not cool."
away “you have to stop doing this, Ruby. Is not cool."
"Okay, I forgot you're gay, Dan.”
I was silent, letting Ruby continue to talk as she pleased.
It was not true. I wasn't gay, much less a real man, I
used the disguise for my own protection, being Dan gave me a sense of security I didn't get like Dahlia, alanky, medium - sized woman. Everything I learned was through the blows that life gave me, at twenty-four my only goal in life was to remain invisible on the streets of Detroit. Being nearly sold by your grandfather at fourteen to pay off gaming debts ended up giving me an
alarming level of paranoia, so I wore a disguise. Fear made me run away and I turned into a new person, no one cared when I disappeared or the moment I broke into an abandoned house in Delray to live, everyone had a life as bad as mine.
"Do you know the club The Devil Mouth?" she asked, rubbing his nose hard.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the mention of the club, the place had turned into one of the most famous places in town, said it was run by four brothers and they were part of some shitty underworld, something like that. They prospered even though the entire city was in decline.
"I was working last night when this super hot man stopped me, he had a really expensive car..."
" "What kind of car?" I asked, pulling my notebook out of my overcoat pocket.
"A Mercedes-Benz for sure. You don't see that kind of car around here, you know. It looked like it was worth more than five figures, the seats were leather, and there was weird music playing, old people's music…"
"Opera?" I suggested."
"That! Opera, I'm sure it was, there was a lot of screaming and drama in the air. Okay, what was I saying?"
“Your date when you were working."
“Okay, that's it. I went in and it was all covered in snow, I thought he was
going to kick me out of the car. But, he didn't give a damn, you know, like money wasn't an issue. You're a guy, you know what it's like?"
I nodded, pretending to know what a sick relationship men had with their cars. As if I had the money to buy one…
"And then what happened?" I insisted, seeing the look away from Ruby, a sign that she was starting to become off the radar.
“We went downtown, to the club…” Ruby approached
me across the table and put a hand over her mouth “I think he was one of the brothers!"
"Serious?!"
"There was a huge line at the door, he kept walking like he was a king, greeted the security guards, it was fucking amazing…"
I controlled a laugh that started to bubble in my stomach.
“When we walked in, I decided to record it because I wanted to show the girls that I was at the club, I left it recorded in my skirt pocket and…”
A shiver went up my spine.
"I blacked out," Ruby yelled, knocking on the table drawing unwanted attention to us.
I held her hand for her to calm down.
“Ruby, calm down."
“My memory is gone, Dan. WhenI woke up, I was in a taxi on the way home, having no idea what they did to me last night. Which is fine with me, I don't want more
trauma to add to the list."
"Didn't you sniff too much and lose your memory, Ruby? This has happened before,” I muttered.
She rolled her eyes and slapped the table that made all the silverware shake.
“You didn't even fucking let me finish talking. When I went to look at myself in the mirror, there were two holes in my damn neck,” she said through clenched teeth, pulling his curly hair to the side and showing me his neck.
On the black skin were the marks of two small puncture wounds, perfectly aligned , beginning to heal.
I narrowed my eyes, confused.
There were rumors in the streets about people appearing drained, most of them beggars and hookers, human beings that no one would give a damn if they disappeared. But, I cared, there had always been a twisted sense of justice that dwelt in me.
“It was like I used the best cocaine ever, didn't feel
like snorting for a week. So I went to take some pictures because I was feeling really hot and there was a video there, a recording of the club. And, what I saw there was weird, weirder than some guy who paid me to
suck my tits and called me Mommy."
like snorting for a week. So I went to take some pictures because I was feeling really hot and there was a video there, a recording of the club. And, what I saw there was weird, weirder than some guy who paid me to
suck my tits and called me Mommy."
I grimaced, sick but not surprised. Ruby had already told me worse things that made me thankful for continuing to keep my virginity intact.
"Do you have the recording?"
"Yes," she replied.
Ruby took her cell phone out of her bra and handed it to me after fiddling with it for a few seconds.
Neon lights flashed on the screen, people were dancing on a lower floor dance floor. She started down the stairs,
heading for what appeared to be the back of the club as the sound blasted through the speakers. There was a security guard standing in the short hallway, but that didn't stop her from passing, and I could hear two male voices t
talking until she passed a sequined curtain.
My eyes widened at the sight of a naked woman dancing in the center of the room, covered in red paint, Ruby kept walking.
So what I saw made my heart go cold. There were two women drinking the blood of a man lying on the floor, at first I thought I was kissing his skin. However, when one of them turned to face Ruby, I saw her bloodstained lips and huge fangs, her eyes a vibrant red.
The rest of the people in the video didn't show any reaction to a man being sucked into their sides, as if it were
something normal, the expression on their faces was so calm that it made me nervous.
What the hell was going on in that place?
The camera went dark for a few seconds, I could only hear grunts like an animal. When the light returned to normal and Ruby stopped in a room, there was a huge wolf lying on the leather sofa, silver eyes following her.
The wolf got up, it was huge, as it got closer I realized it was bigger than an ordinary animal. Not that he'd seen one in person, but he was sure no wolf would be up to her breasts and Ruby was tall, almost six feet tall.
All I could see was a furry body with gray
fur circling it, I heard sniffles and even the sound of something exploding.
Suddenly, a muscular white leg was inches from the camera. I heard a low, feminine moan until the screams started.
The cell phone screen remained dark until the video ended. My hands were shaking as I handed the cell to Ruby,
still in shock from what I'd seen.
"Do you remember anything else?" I asked.
“No,” Ruby whispered, “I saw the video and I think that was the moment I got bitten, but there's a name I could hear."
"Which name?"
“Darius…”
The name made my stomach churn, as if I'd heard it before or knew it.
I rubbed my eyes, feeling tired.
"Can you send the video to my cell phone? If I show this to Monroe, maybe he'll want a Sentinel story and we'll get some cash. I'll investigate this further, okay?"
“Thanks, Dan,” she said, smiling, “you're a nice man."
I smiled back, handing her a fifty-dollar bill for the information.
“Buy something to eat, don't waste it all on cocaine. Fine?"
Ruby nodded, but I knew it was a lie. She would spend it all on the next corner and everything in one sniff.
However, if I didn't give you the money, no information would come to me.
Things were as they were, I had already stopped trying to save everyone when I needed saving too.
