“Anything I need to worry about?” she questioned him seriously. “Any sly vampires or shapeshifters going to get too drunk and attack me?”

“Only if you want them to,” Levi flirted, setting an over-abundance of sashimi on his plate. “But in all honesty, no, there is nothing that is going to hurt you. Turn you on maybe, but not hurt you.”

Silently, she began to place a few carefully chosen hors-d'oeuvres on her plate as she followed Levi around the long tables. She had Michael pegged as another vampire, but not Gwen. Madeline didn’t know what Gwen was. She just looked a like a super cute human.

“I can tell you have questions, so let’s save them for home, okay?” Levi suddenly whispered in her ear.

He was so close for that instance that she could smell his unique cologne again. She was really growing fond of it. “Okay,” she agreed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Levi could see Scott approaching them.

“So do you plan on monopolizing this beautiful young lady all evening?” he asked Levi, a brash expression on his face.

Levi stilled for a few seconds, then turned to Scott, still holding his plate in his hand.

“Oh, did it look that way to you? She just feels more comfortable in my company than with anyone else here. It’s nothing personal.”

And with that, Levi popped a piece of sashimi in his mouth and directed a smart-ass smile at the silver-haired young vampire standing before him.

Scott opened his mouth to speak, likely something rude, but then thought better of it. Instead, he glared at Levi and then turned and walked away. Levi just kept smiling in response, eating another piece of sashimi.

“He seems to like you, or he’s trying to lord over you because you’re the only human here. Vampires tend to do that,” Levi said, confirming Madeline’s suspicion that Scott was a vampire.

“Gotcha,” she responded. “Sooo after some food, do you want to dance?”

“Are you hitting on me?” Levi gasped, simulating complete surprise.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Madeline grimaced purposefully. “I just like to dance, and you are easy to dance with.”

“Now you’re calling me easy? Wow, you are so mean.”

Although she struggled against it, she couldn’t help but laugh at Levi’s theatrics. He chuckled with her, glad to see her smile for real for the first time tonight.

“But yes,” he spoke seriously, “I would love to dance later.”

Madeline’s heart starting to beat a bit faster. Swallowing, she concentrated on calming down. That was just a bit too real right there.

Suddenly Levi’s ears twitched in the direction of the bar. Madeline’s glanced over and saw Terrant standing, his left arm up in the air with his index finger up as if signaling ‘number one’. His eyes were fixed on the dance floor.

“Ah, the sign,” Levi announced in a low voice. “That was Terrant letting us all know we’re down to the last obstacle. You see, some of the guests are here to make an appearance for a few hours and then leave, and those guests are the ones notorious for upholding the formal part of this formal event.”

Checking out the dance floor, it had thinned out by about half since they’d first arrived. She picked Caslon and his sister out, only now they were dancing with other guests and not each other. Gwen and Michael were nowhere to be seen, and neither was Maseo.

“They are probably getting their equipment set up,” Levi answered her unasked question.

“Then they are going to perform?”

“Yes, only it won’t be their normal set. They usually entertain a mixed audience, so they mute their natural talents. Tonight will be different, you could even say magical.”

It seemed like forever before the last obstruction left the Golden Lotus. While waiting, Madeline and Levi ate their fill of hors-d'oeuvres and had a couple of drinks. Terrant, a beer bottle in his hand that was not full of beer, approached them with a smile on his face and guided them to the edge of the stage that was still dark.

“Not playing?” Levi asked quizzically.

“Nah,” Terrant replied. “Michael is going to take care of percussion tonight. I could tell he was itching to be up there.”

“Well that ought to be interesting,” Levi admitted.

“You haven’t seen us play anything but rock, have you?” Terrant asked, taking a sip from his bottle.

“Nope, I didn’t even know you guys played anything but rock,” Levi replied.

“Well with Michael being a natural at electronic music, we decided to branch out a bit so we can expand into venues we wouldn’t normally be a good fit for. It’s been working out rather well actually. Nice to have more choices, not to mention I get some nights off.”

As Levi and Terrant talked, Madeline leaned her elbows on the stage and watched three pairs of feet shuffle around behind a dark curtain. Oddly, she couldn’t make out anything that looked like a drum set, just a podium of some sort they had moved into place. Then they set what appeared to be two microphone stands in the front.

The house pop music was still going when they opened the curtain.

Michael was behind the podium, a set of large black headphones around his neck. He had ditched the jacket and vest and was only in a half-unbuttoned white dress shirt now. He raised the left headphone to his ear while adjusting the knobs on his soundboard. Slowly, the piped in overhead music was fading while the beats he was layering in grew louder.

Gwen was on stage as well, watching her lover dive into his sounds with a smile on her bright crimson lips. She had her petite and beautiful hand on the mic which rested on one of the stands. Michael’s electronic beats grew more and more intense until they started to settle into eurodance patterns. Gwen nodded her head to the rhythm as if she picked up on exactly the mood Michael was creating, as if it was a secret between of them.

To her left, Maseo finally came into view. His dress shirt was completely unbuttoned, and his long black hair was loose as usual. He glanced over at Gwen, waiting on her.

Raising her hand at the crescendo of Michael’s mix, she looked out into the crowd that had gathered at the foot of the stage and gave a twisted smile. Fanning her fingers out slowly, lights appeared on the ceiling above the stage and the guests. They were spheres in shades of blue, green, and purple, hovering far above their heads and streaming beams of color through the ballroom. Madeline tilted her head all the way back to watch how they rotated to the speed of the music. They were beautiful. As they pulsed brightly with the music, the crowd of guests let out a cheer. Looking briefly around, she found Caslon standing right behind her looking expectantly at the trio on the stage. Madeline looked back up to the ceiling, right about the time Gwen began to sing.

It was the kind of voice you would expect and angel to possess, clear as a bell and perfectly annunciating every word. And her range was incredible. She was also able to hold a note much longer than she should have been able to. There was no way it was even possible without taking a breath, yet Gwen was doing it. What was she?

After the first couple of lines, Maseo joined in. His voice was rich and warm, dropping into seductive, throaty accents and then slipping back to a pure and powerful resonance effortlessly. Both voices complimented each other so well it was as if they were liquid, engulfing and supporting each other, and the song was dreamy and electric with a heavy bass that had everyone moving.

At another movement of the song’s climax, the guests gave another wild cheer as confetti began to drift down in an even and moderate pattern. It seemed a bit too perfect to be coming from a machine, so Madeline looked back up to the lights. Were they releasing the shimmering paper too?

Lips slightly parted as she looked up in wonder, a piece of metallic confetti managed to land on her lower lip. Instinctively, she licked at it to rid herself of the intrusion and was suddenly tasting what strongly resembled sour watermelon.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she gasped, fascinated. Tossing her head back, she opened her mouth wide to catch some more. Yep, sour watermelon. Quickly, she turned to Levi who was already smiling in her direction as if waiting for her to make another comment.

“The confetti is fucking amazing!”

“What does it taste like to you?” he asked her, shouting above the music.

“Sour watermelon,” she replied.

“Interesting, it tastes like konpeito to me,” Levi revealed.

“Konpeito?”

“Um, sugar stars? Rock candy?” Levi said, trying to describe to Madeline what konpeito candy tasted like.

“You mean it tastes different to everybody?” she realized, eyes wide.

“Yeah, and if you concentrate, you can change its flavor,” he added.

Closing her eyes, she imaged the grape pixie sticks she used to love as a child, and then opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue.

“Oh my God!” she shouted to Levi, amazed. “What IS this??!!”

“I’ll tell you later. For now, just enjoy it.”

All around her, people were catching the glittering paper on their tongues like a group of kids catching snowflakes. The sea of bodies around her moved to the live dance music with much more passion than before. She’d never been to a rave, but it was the only atmosphere she could compare to what was happening. Bodies were close together, some dancing with others, some facing the stage and dancing alone. Levi reached out and took her hand, pulling her close so their bodies were right up against each other. He wasn’t trying to be sexual, but to make sure he was keeping tabs on her. With all the dancing and jumping going on around them, he didn’t want her getting lost. Pulling her close, their bodies rocked along together to the fast beats of the music. Levi smiled down at her genuinely, which caught her a bit off guard just as Gwen and Maseo’s voice transitioned into lyrics familiar to her. It was a sped up version of the song, but it was definitely a song she recognized and was able to sing along to. As she sang along, Levi chuckled.

Suddenly someone placed their hand on her shoulder gently.

It was Scott.

He didn’t say anything, just matched his tempo to hers and began to dance next to her. She looked up at Levi as if to silently ask if it was okay for her to dance with him. In response, Levi backed up a bit and Madeline’s place was immediately taken by another girl. Turning, she saw Caslon to her left in a passionate lip lock with a felinae he was dancing with. His partner was much smaller than him, with dainty white ears and a fluffy cat tail curled up from beneath her skirt. As they kissed and moved their bodies, it resembled a lion ravaging a kitten. For a brief moment, Madeline lost herself thinking about the passion, and felt her cheeks getting warm. Her eyes flashed to Scott’s, who picked up on her voyeurism and took it as an invitation to move in closer. Forcing her gaze away, her eyes landed on Levi who was grinding with his new partner in such a way that Madeline couldn’t pull her eyes away. The way his fingertips pulled through the girl’s long blond hair, and how he licked his lower lip hungrily before leaning his head back to partake of more confetti, mesmerized her. Maybe it would end up being her begging after all…

No.

She closed her eyes and told herself no.

Scott could tell she was being bothered by something and took her hand, leading her away. She followed without resistance, thinking it was probably for the best, they were kids at this party after all. Not too far from the dance floor, they slipped into a high-backed booth and were approached immediately by a waitress. After ordering a drink for himself and a water for Madeline, Scott leaned back against the plush seating.

“Exhausting,” he said, exhaling and looking out at the dancing crowd before gulping down his sticky concoction. “Most of them are shapechangers, so they are very intune with their primal sides. Damn, I just can’t keep up.”

“It is very intense out there,” Madeline agreed, watching Levi.

“So, do you have a thing going on with him, or what?”

“Me?!” Madeline’s voice rose. “No! Nothing of the sort.”

“Because you seem really distracted by him.”

“In a way, he owns me,” Madeline explained, quickly excusing her behaviour, “And disciplines me. It’s like the twins said earlier. If I displease him, I’ll have to answer for it later, and if you haven’t already guessed, he’s not easy to read. He has a lot of whims, so I’ve gotten used to watching him to pick up on clues to what he’s thinking so I can be a step ahead of what he wants.”

“Well, if you ever want out, come see me. We could take you in and protect you,” Scott offered. “I could rescue you from this situation and he’d never be able to find you. You are his pet, and he’s just going to control you and victimize you until he doesn’t need you anymore, and then he’ll toss you aside. Felinae do that, it’s their way, and your mentor is one of the most dangerous and manipulative felinae in history. You saw how those other two were so afraid of him. That should be all the proof you need. I’m not offering you sanctuary because I’m a vampire. My offer doesn’t have anything to do with blood, I just think you deserve better than to live this way.”

His words took her by surprise. One of the most dangerous in history? Manipulative? How so? She wanted to ask, but reminded herself she knew Scott less than she knew Levi. If what he said was true, she needed to be more guarded, but at the same time the perception of what was dangerous could have been a reflection of how vampires see him. Against his enemies he would certainly be very dangerous. But the way the twins reacted to his presence… There was definitely fear in their eyes.

“Let me give you my number,” Scott continued. “I’m not saying you need to call it, but if you ever need anything…”

He flagged down a waitress to borrow a pen and scribbled his number down on a cocktail napkin. Folding it, he slid it across the table to Madeline.

“It’s long distance to London, but I can be here as quick as a plane can get me.”

“You do realize you’ve only just met me, right?” Madeline clarified, surprised. “You don’t even know me, so why the invite?”

“I was a victim before I was this,” Scott revealed. “I was a slave. I let myself be a victim because I didn’t know there was any other life. I felt trapped. Then someone gave me a number, told me I could control my own life and live without fear. And they were right. I moved forward and never looked back. I just wanted to give you the same chance. Consider it my way of paying it forward.”