The Collector by Victoria Scott

Author:Victoria Scott
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Published: 2013-03-25T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty

Fire Dancing

I pull Charlie after me, and Blue and Annabelle quickly follow. The music is so loud, I feel it in my bones, in my teeth. It’s hard-driving with a heavy bass and makes you forget who you are. In other words, it’s ecstasy to my ears.

The floor is covered with black tile, and the walls are painted a dark shade of red. Throughout the room, six cylindrical tubes stretch from floor to ceiling. Slits are cut into the steel, and inside, flames lick and thrash. Though the air conditioning is cranked up to compensate, sweat still pricks my skin. The bartenders are dressed like demons, and there are people chained near the floor, dancing in chaotic, hypnotic patterns. I breathe in the rich scent of smoke, and when a waitress walks by, I buy a scarlet drink that steams in my hand.

Charlie leans in close behind me, and I imagine the way she sees this place—as a dark, sinister dungeon she’ll never encounter again. If she only knew how bad hell really is. This place, this small room in a trendy club, is a tiny sampling. But it’s nothing in comparison. The things I’ve seen people do in this room, they’re not so different from the things I did in life. And in a strange way, though this room puts me on a delicious edge, I want Charlie to witness this. Maybe I’m hoping she’ll somehow see through my façade and save herself.

Because I won’t do it for her.

I turn and face the crew. Blue seems wary of our surroundings, but Annabelle has already acclimated. She holds a red drink similar to mine, and her smile glows in the flames.

“It’s hot as hell down here,” she says when she catches my eye, attempting a joke—and failing.

“Lame,” I say.

She laughs and grabs Charlie’s hand. “Dude, let’s freaking get crazy.”

Fog drifts near the floor, pulsing from strobe lights, and Annabelle and Charlie quickly disappear inside of it. Blue shoots me a look I can’t quite read and follows after them. Before I know it, the three are completely out of sight—blended with the dancing mass that seems more like one single self.

Tables near the back offer solitude from the sex-crazed bodies, and though I’m usually the life of the party, I move toward them. Right now, I need time to strategize.

A waitress comes over and hands me another glass of red goodness. I pay her and toss it back. In a few minutes, I’m going to suggest Charlie and I do something crazy. Maybe yank someone’s wallet or get into a fight. Something she’d never do sober or outside this room but will earn her a sin seal all the same.

Charlie has done well by requesting beauty, but this assignment is weighing me down, and the quicker I can bring her soul in, the faster I can return to my normal life.

I let my head fall back, thinking about her soul. How bright it is—how I’ve never seen one so untainted.

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