Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

Ellery

When Tucker walked to the door and turned back to me, my feet finally moved again.

I set my bow and quiver beside Tucker's and unsheathed my dagger. I tucked it into my quiver and cast them one last look before hurrying to join him at the door.

As I walked, my mind spun through all the awful options of what lay beyond that door and how Ryker would react to seeing me again. When I almost turned and ran away, I shut the endless possibilities down.

Tucker knocked once, waited a few seconds, knocked three more times, waited a couple more heartbeats, and pounded on the door again. He kept his hand in the air, and I counted to seven before he rapped on the door five more times.

The final thud on the door hadn't died away before a click came from the other side, and the door swung toward us. As soon as the door opened, music drifted out.

The music wasn't loud or overwhelming, but after the unusual hush of the woods, the discordant sound set my teeth on edge. A short amsirah with a broad chest and arms the size of my thighs stood on the other side; he held the door while Tucker entered.

The man's beady black eyes roamed over me when I followed. "Fresh blood?" the man asked Tucker.

"No," Tucker said. "She's a friend."

The man scowled at him. "Just because she's your friend doesn't mean she's ours ."

"She doesn't know where we are, and we're not staying long."

"Doesn't mean she's welcome. We won't turn her away… if she's willing to work for it."

When his gaze raked me again, revulsion coiled in my belly, but I kept my face impassive. If I let this man know how repulsive I found him, he'd kick me out of here.

"She's not working for anything." Tucker's eyes burned as he studied the man. "We're here for Ryker, and I can guarantee he wouldn't appreciate how you're looking at her."

Apprehension flickered through the man's eyes, and his face twisted into a sneer, but he didn't argue further. "Don't bring any new friends here."

"I won't," Tucker promised.

When the man closed the door, darkness descended over the hallway. I felt a moment of unease, but then my eyes adjusted enough to detect a hazy red light at the end of the twenty-foot hall.

The man jerked his head in that direction before he started walking. Tucker fell in behind the man, and I trailed them both.

The walls were six inches away from me, yet I could feel the coolness of the stone as goose bumps broke out on my arms. After the day's warmth, I wasn't prepared for the chill.

My dread built with every step. What is this place? What is Ryker doing here? And what work did that man want me to do?

I'd prefer not to have the answers to those questions, but I'd soon have them. The mellow, almost seductive music grew louder, but it was still more like birdsong on a sunny day… background noise.

Glasses clattered, and the low murmur of voices carried along with the music, but I didn't detect any emotions in those voices. The myriad scents permeating the air and coalescing together made it impossible to differentiate one from another.

Is it a bar? Is it a… a…?

I had no idea what else it could be as more glasses clinked together, but it was the quietest bar I'd ever encountered. The hazy red light at the end of the hall grew brighter, and then the stocky man was stepping into the room beyond.

We were almost there, but I couldn't see anything. Tucker continued to block most of my view while he searched for something in the room beyond.

Then, his head stopped moving. He stared at something for a few seconds before speaking to me over his shoulder.

"I don't suppose I can get you to stay here," he said.

"No."

"Fine, but remember, you brought this on yourself."

He stepped out of the doorway and into the room beyond. Once he moved out of the way, I followed him out of the hallway and into the room beyond.

My steps faltered, and I came to a stop. I gawked at the room before quickly closing my mouth. I couldn't stand there looking like an idiot while Tucker was looking at me, and Ryker was somewhere in this… this place.

A couple dozen amsirah men and women sat at different tables and booths in the dimly lit, large room. Some of them were so far into the booths they were lost to the shadows as the hazy red hue encompassing everything in the room didn't reach the backs of those seats.

More amsirah lounged on stools at the bar to my right. Some bartenders poured the drinks while scantily clad waiters and waitresses moved through the tables.

I kept my face impassive as a man with an erect cock strode past with a tray. He winked at me before speaking. "Find a seat, beautiful. I'll take special care of you."

"Fuck off," Tucker told him.

The man frowned at him before shrugging and walking away. I could feel Tucker's gaze boring into me, but I didn't look at him. I'd heard of places like this before, but I'd never been in one, and he had to know that.

To my left was a stage that split the room in two. An almost entirely naked amsirah woman gyrated on top of the platform as she danced seductively before the men and women seated around the stage.

More nearly naked and almost completely nude men and women strolled through the small crowd. They stopped to talk with patrons, danced before them… or, in Ryker's case, sat on his lap.