Chapter 7

  The club was in another town, a much bigger one that was much more well off than their own town. They took a taxi to the high street and decided to walk the rest of the way as the city centre was pedestrian only. This time of the evening, all the bars and clubs were open and there were dozens of people going from here to there, mostly young people dressed in very glamorous clothes that made Yuki feel like a country bumpkin. While Lady Mirabelle could easily fit into these people. Yuki felt she would always be an outsider. She was an outsider at school, she was an outsider at her workplace, and she was certainly an outsider at a fancy and glamorous place like this.

  On the way, Mirabelle asked her about Eve. “Did you get anything out of that old hag?”

  Calling Eve an old hag was a bit unfair and clearly a lie because Eve was much younger than Lady Mirabelle. But Yuki let it pass.

  “She seems to come from a really rich family, and she was in Iraq. Oh yeah, you heard that new city they found underground? She was one of those people who found it. Isn't that exciting?”

  Mirabelle paused. “Hmm,” she said. “I see. That city - there was more to it than was reported in the news. Something strange happened there, and almost everyone who was involved in the project died. I am surprised your friend Eve is still alive.”

  “She left early because they refused to give her credit. How did everyone die?”

  “In a very nasty way. Anyway, here we are.”

  Club Masquerade looked like any other nightclub except its entrance was in a dirty side street. As soon as they approached, two huge men, and Yuki was sure they were at least seven-foot-tall, came and blocked their way.

  “Bar closed,” they said.

  Lady Mirabelle smiled, “Darling, it's me. You know who I am.”

  “We know who you are,” they said. “That's why we're saying. Bar closed. Don't try your charm on us; you know it doesn't work.”

  “And what about curses? Do curses work?”

  They had agreed on a sign. Lady Mirabelle raised two of her fingers to Yuki, and Yuki quietly reached into her purse to pick a human finger and cursed the two men. Within a few seconds their noses were bleeding, and Yuki was sure they would have a violent headache.

  Just then, a bald man wearing thick black glasses stepped out. He was wearing a purple jacket and green trousers and looked like a joker from a circus. And how could he see anything with those dark glasses on at night? “It's okay guys, Lady Mirabelle is always welcome. Do come in.”

  “I see you got new security, Ivan” said Lady Mirabelle, “one who doesn't know who I am.”

  “Or they know who you are, Lady Mirabelle,” he said, putting some stress on the word 'Lady' “since the last time you charmed them and drank two thousand pounds worth of free whisky. I have known cows who drink less than you.”

  Lady Mirabelle was shocked. “Two thousand pounds worth of whiskey?” she said, “But darling, I had like three glasses. They were so tiny even my tongue didn't get drunk.”

  “This isn't that type of club, Mirabelle, and you know that. The drinks might have been ￡20, but the ￡2000 was to protect you from getting killed. You know how much hate there is for your kind.”

  “My kind? Oh Ivan, that's so racist. Or is the word humanist?”

  “Don't mock me, Lady Mirabelle. And my name isn't Ivan. I show you a lot of kindness, but you take advantage of it.”

  “Oh darling! But I really love your kindness. That's why I keep coming back,” she said, putting her hand into his jacket and rubbing his bare chest.

  “Your charms won't work on me, Mirabelle,” he said, but Yuki could see clearly the charm was working and his tense shoulders and tense neck were starting to relax.

  He smiled. “Even though I’m resistant to magic, I should let you in as politeness.”

  He let them inside and it was just the type of club Yuki was expecting: loud music, low lights, everything in shades of red, smoke everywhere. Except that there was one difference: the customers weren't dancing or talking to each other. Everyone sat alone and stared in their own drink. And some of the customers... well, they didn't look human.

  “Tell the child to not stare. The patrons don't like it.”

  “Don't stare, child” said Lady Mirabelle. “I'm told the patrons don't like it.”

  “And you're back to mocking me. Come into my private room before you get yourself killed.”

  The private room was small with enough space for three luxurious chairs but nothing else. The bald man took one, and Yuki and Mirabelle took the other.

  “Right! Mirabelle or whatever you're calling yourself nowadays, Lady, Lordship, Countess.”

  “Lady is fine, thank you.”

  “Why are you here? Why are you in my club when you know that my customers hate you?”

  Yuki could feel Mirabelle go a little cold. Her eyes went hard like steel. Yuki had never seen her like this, angry and fierce. “Perhaps I should bring a few of my friends and burn this place down; kill a few dogs and fangs.”

  The bald man wasn't offended; instead he burst out laughing. “Oh Mirabelle, you're still the same. You still hate our kind.”

  “I don't hate your kind, Ivan.” She turned to Yuki. “Ivan here is a 300-year-old vampire. Ivan isn't his real name; it's some unpronounceable foreign garbage, so I just call him Ivan.”

  “My name is Viktrovich Popullopos. You could call me Viktor like everyone else.”

  “Like I was saying, Ivan, I don't hate you; I just don't like some of your customers. Your club's name is Masquerade, but I see them breaking the masquerade all the time.”

  Mirabelle turned to Yuki. “Masquerade is the rule that supernatural creatures like vampires, werewolves, fae and the like have to remain hidden and not show their powers or supernatural effects in front of others. The law is more strictly enforced for violent creatures like vampires and werewolves.”

  Ivan's face went dark. “And I punish them when I find out. But I am just one man, and there are more than 300 of my kind that I have to look at. Vampires, of course, but also werewolves, a few undead, and some creatures that look like monsters from stories so they cannot live with normal humans. It's a hard job, Mirabelle and I try my best and I don't appreciate you coming in here and insulting me.”

  Mirabelle was all charms again, rubbing his hand. She could see Ivan's eyes glaze over, and realised he was no match for Mirabelle's charms. So much for being resistant to magic.

  “Oh my lovely, I know you try your best. That's why I would never insult you. I was telling Yuki on the way here what a nice and beautiful man you are, and how you make my heart go flutter, and how you make me tingle between the legs. Tell him, Yuki, tell him what I said.”

  Mirabelle had actually said that Ivan tried to act tough but was as tough as a little puppy with rubber teeth. And how Mirabelle thought all vampires were silly gooses who deserve to be slapped around; but Yuki kept her mouth shut.

  Ivan pulled his hand back. “Mirabelle, you really are a piece of work. I don't know how people work with you. What do you want? I know you're here for business. Let's just get on with it.”

  “Sure,” said Mirabelle. She showed him the receipt. “Someone very dangerous brought a bought a drink from you we want to know who it is. I know you must be busy but can you tell us?”

  He looked at the receipt and nodded. He touched the button on the wall and a table came out with a laptop on it. Yuki was impressed with this gadget; it saved space and looked cool like a super villain set. Ivan put the date and time from their seat into the laptop, and a security camera footage came up. He looked at the footage for a few minutes and then shut the laptop down.

  “Shit,” he said.

  “Shit?” asked Mirabelle.

  He turned to them. “Mirabelle, I know you are a dangerous woman and you have some very powerful friends. But I'm going to ask you very nicely, as an old friend, as someone who has known you since you were a little girl: Walk away from this one, just walk away. Let this one go.”

  Mirabelle's eyes were as hard as steel again. “I can't do that. This person tried to kill my assistant Yuki and he may be about to murder thousands more, maybe even hundreds of thousands. This is something I can't walk away from.”

  “Okay then, but I warned you. This man is more dangerous than you can imagine. I would say he is one of the most dangerous living men on earth at this time. I don't know what his name is, though he has used so many names over the hundreds of years he has been alive that I doubt he even remembers his own name.”

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  “He is a vampire like you, then?”

  “Most certainly not. He's some sort of wizard or warlock. I don't know how he gets his powers or how he has remained alive so long. But he is trouble; he is involved with every death cult in 300 miles.”

  This time he grabbed Mirabelle's hands, “Listen carefully to this. He is some sort of immortal. I'm not joking with you. We vampires live a long time, but if you cut our head off, we die. If you shoot us in the heart, we die. I have seen assassins armed with swords and axes cut off every limb of his body and his head and rip his heart out and burn it, and he still came back. That is very dark magic. I don't know of any magic that can do that.”

  Lady Mirabelle was quiet for a few seconds. “I think I know what type of magic can do that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Human sacrifice. If you sacrifice enough humans, you can grab their life force and increase your life. It also gives you incredible healing powers, the sort where you can regrow your body even if your head has been chopped off.”

  Ivan crossed his arms. “That's great then. I don't know how your magic works, Mirabelle. But I know you are not strong enough to go against someone who practises human sacrifice. Walk away. Let that secret government agency deal with it. The one we don’t talk about.”

  As soon as he said that, the door opened and a woman walked in. She was in her twenties and wearing a micro mini skirt with a shirt unbuttoned down to her belly button. Her huge breasts were clearly visible. Yuki wondered if she was some sort of stripper. In her hand was a tray with three glasses.

  “I got your drinks boss, just like you asked.”

  “I never asked you for drinks, Jasmine. Now get out, we're having a private talk.”

  The woman laughed like she was drunk. “Oh sorry boss, I'm so silly. It must have been Mr. Jenkins. Sorry! Sorry ladies,” she said and walked out.

  “That is Jasmine. She just turned up to work one day. My manager thought I had hired her, while I thought he had hired her. Before we realised our mistake, she had been working here two weeks and acting like she owns the place. The customers love her.”

  “Popular with the customers, eh? Let me guess, it's her two ‘assets’ which she was so clearly and shamelessly displaying. I didn't know you vampires liked women with big jugs.”

  Ivan waved his hands like he was dismissing her. “You should know by now that everyone likes big breasts. My customers are usually grumpy and irritated all the time from having to pretend to be human when they clearly are not.

  But even they cannot resist a beautiful woman with big boobs constantly hovering around them. It does not help that she is very nice and polite and spends hours talking to each customer, getting to know all their pains and troubles. I had one of my worst customers, an angry werewolf who often attacks my security, spend three hours telling her about his problems at work, all the while talking to her breasts. She didn't seem to mind.”

  “So she is a good waitress, I bet she gets a lot of tips.”

  “She easily makes ￡10,000 a month in tips alone. She's good at her work, too good, and that's what tipped me off. She's not some dumb bimbo who got this job by mistake. She works for that,” he leaned in closer to whisper, “The secret government organisation we're not supposed to talk about and that doesn't exist. I know they keep an eye on us, but I don't know why they would send somebody like her to spy on us.”

  The temperature in the room suddenly went very cold, and Yuki could feel the tension in the air. Even the music in the main bar seemed to be muted a little, like it was scared to play too loudly.

  Mirabelle crossed her legs and arms. “How are you so sure? She looks like an empty bimbo who uses her assets to fool men into giving her tips. Every night club has one. Why do you think she works for that agency?”

  “Because she's too nosy; I've seen her talk to every single customer. It's a pattern I saw after a few months, but it's clear she's building a file on them. She's like interrogating them. And then she started flirting with my staff. Wanted to know where I kept my stuff, if there are any secret rooms, any hidden closets. My staff are foolish young men who have no control over their genitals and told her everything.

  But I didn't survive 300 years by being careless. That woman has been spent too much time poking around. And you noticed just as we were about to talk about the secret agency, she just walked in? You saw me earlier, right? I brought you straight into my room and never ordered drinks. And yet she burst in, pretending to bring us drinks. She must have been listening on the door. This isn’t even the first time; I've had listening bugs placed in my office and even in the toilets. True it could have been anyone, but I just find it very suspicious it starts to happen when she just turns up one day.”

  He took a deep breath. “Anyway. Let's not talk about her; that's not what I was saying. I was warning you to stay away from that man; he's very dangerous.”

  Mirabelle smiled like a cat. “Let's pretend, honey, we won't be listening to your warnings. Where can we find him?”

  He sighed like a tired man trying to argue with his teenage daughter, trying to convince her not to go to her prom wearing a low cut dress. “Fine, I can only warn you. He calls himself Lord John Jack Smith.”

  “That’s clearly a fake name, if one.”

  “It is. But do not underestimate him. He is the head of the United Nations Refugee Council for Afghanistan. He has been supposedly bringing hundreds of Afghan refugees into Britain to help them settle here, but they all seem to mysteriously vanish once they get here. No one has seen any of those refugees again.”

  “I bet,” said Mirabelle. “But how is he getting away with this? The head of a UN council, even for just one country, is still an important job, right? Thousands of people must know him; there must be dozens of forms filled for every refugee brought here. How can he be just sacrificing them left and right?”

  Ivan shrugged his shoulders like he didn't care. “That's why I'm warning you. He knows people in the government. He bribes people left and centre. It's believed he's got his current job by making a million pound donation to some corrupt UN official. He is a ruthless wolf like man, and I would leave the country just to get away from him. But if you must meet him: Tomorrow there's a gala at the local Hilton Hotel. All the local celebrities and politicians will be there. It's supposedly to raise money for refugees, but I suspect it is an excuse by our man to bribe more politicians. If you are really stupid, Lady Mirabelle, and I mean a real fucking idiot, then make sure you make your way to that gala.”

  “Oh sweetie pie! But you know me so well. Of course I am that stupid. I'm going to go there and meet this James John Smith or whatever he is calling himself. And I am going to find out what he is up to.”

  Ivan got up and opened the door. “I never saw you. If you do meet him, never mention my name. I don't want any trouble.”

  Mirabelle kissed him and whispered in his ear, “Don't worry, I'll keep your secret safe.”

  As they were leaving the club, they saw the waitress Jasmine standing at the end of the road, twiddling with her phone. She had buttoned up her shirt a little, but only a little; her breasts were still mostly visible. Yuki had always thought herself as a heterosexual, but even she couldn't stop staring in admiration. Damn, she thought to herself. No wonder she makes more in a month in tips than I make in a year.

  The woman suddenly noticed them and walked up to them.

  “Oh hi beautiful ladies, never seen you here before. I am Jasmine, what can I help you with? Can I get you a drink?”

  She put her hand on her hips and pushed her chest out in front of them. Her tongue moved seductively over her lips, and Yuki could feel herself go hot. She felt hot and warm in ways she had never felt before. She felt like a teenage girl who had seen her first sex scene. Which was stupid; she wasn’t a child, why was she reacting like that? Her whole body was tingling now. She wanted this woman.

  Lady Mirabelle wasn't affected at all. “Not today, sweetie. Maybe some other day. We have to get home; it's my daughter's school day tomorrow.”

  “You call me anytime, I’ll be waiting for you,” she whispered as they walked away.

  Damn thought Yuki to herself. She was really tempted to get the woman's phone number. It was only her extreme shyness and awkwardness that stopped her.

  After they had walked a few minutes away, Mirabelle leaned in and whispered, “You were taken in by her, weren't you? She was acting. She was trying to seduce you.”

  “Oh, you mean she's a Glamour Fae like you?” asked Yuki.

  “No darling, she is just a shameless woman who uses her sexuality to get what she wants. She may be a siren; but more likely, she’s just a slut.”

  “What’s a siren?”

  “Women who can control people and get them to reveal their darkest secrets. No, not like me. Sirens work with sex energy. She had you eating out of the palm of her hands, didn't she? A few more minutes and you would've told her everything. We need to get you some sexual experience, and not with Unit 7 agents.”

  Yuki blushed. It wasn't her fault. Nobody had flirted with her like that. Not men, not women, nobody. She had always thought she was asexual. But now she realised that was only because she had never left her home and never actually met with someone attractive.

  Over her embarrassment, she said, “Why are you sure she is Unit 7? I thought she you said she was just a…,” she paused as she hated the word, hated it because she had been called it multiple times when she had refused to sleep with boys, “a slut?”

  “Oh, she is that type. Ivan is right, she has been sent to make a list of his customers and keep tabs on him. If the government thinks they're too much trouble, they will all just vanish. I feel sad for them. The worst part is, Ivan thinks he's so clever but she's playing him for a fool. She had his number the first day she was there.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Yuki.

  “She knows that he knows that she is a spy. So in front of him, she plays the stupid bimbo.”

  “She knows that he knows?” asked Yuki.

  This whole spying thing was very complex.

  Mirabel smiled. “Yes, it's a bit strange, but the spying world has always been like this. Ivan thinks he controls her because he knows she is a spy, but she knows he knows, so she is acting like a double agent. She is pretending to be a silly bimbo trying to spy on him, while in reality she is a dangerous woman. You saw how she noticed us and came straight up to us, didn't you? You think she came just to flirt with us?”

  In hindsight, it made sense. Yuki felt her old feelings of self-loathing come up. Of course she hadn't been trying to flirt with them. Nobody flirted with women like Yuki. Not anyone who looked like Jasmine anyway. People ignored her, crossed the road to get away from her.

  She was glad Mirabelle was in her own head and didn't notice her wipe a quiet tear.

  “We are in so much trouble, Yuki. The fact that she came up to us was so that she could remember our faces. I'm betting even now she's telling her Controllers about us, and they'll use the security cameras around to know who we are within 10 to 20 minutes. They’ll know they know where we live. Shit, shit, shit.”

  “Is it bad? What'll happen? Who are the Unit 7 anyway?”

  “No one knows who they are except they keep the supernatural a secret. You heard how the supernatural creatures have to maintain the Masquerade? That's because if they draw too much attention to themselves, they just vanish. Any wizard or witch who also creates too much trouble or tries to commit a crime using magic just vanishes. This Unit 7 is very ruthless and very violent. I hate these bastards as much as I hate the evil cultist carrying out human sacrifice. Now we have two dangers to deal with.”

  Mirabel hailed a taxi, and they got in. “Two dangers?” asked Yuki.

  “Remember, we have two days to figure out where the human sacrifice will take place. We have to find out where the cultists are and defeat them. And now we also have to watch our backs. We can't help humanity if we are kidnapped and held in some secret government jail.”

  The taxi dropped them off a little bit far away from their shop. Yuki was surprised and was going to object, but Mirabel shushed her as the taxi drove away.

  She said, “I deliberately stopped away from our home in case they're following us. I don't want them to know where I live. I will take a slightly long way home.”

  “What about me? Am I not coming with you?”

  “No, you're not; there's another reason I stopped here. That graveyard you went to the other night? Yes, sweetie, I know you went there, I'm not stupid. That graveyard is too public. You might have been discovered there. There's another graveyard here, right outside the city, and nobody goes there. You could have a loud disco party and nobody will discover you. I want you to make as many curses as you possibly can in one night. We don't know what will happen tomorrow, and I want to be prepared for a fight.”