Death Sword. Pamela Turner

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СКАЧАТЬ clubbers who embraced styles from grunge to neo-New Wave. Two female candy ravers huddled together. Despite the cold weather, they wore cartoon-festooned t-shirts and day-glo skirts. Hair clips held pink and green hair extensions in place and plastic beaded bracelets covered their arms from wrists to halfway up their forearms.

      Sucking on a lollipop, one of the ravers gave Karla a withering glance before turning an admiring gaze toward Xariel.

      “So much for peace, love, understanding and respect,” Karla muttered under her breath, alluding to the candy ravers’ code. She looked back at the lollipop licker, who pressed against Xariel. Without giving her a glance, he stepped closer to Karla. The girl glared and turned away.

      They reached the fourth and last floor. The elevator doors opened and the ravers surged ahead, jostling through the small crowd in the corridor. Karla and Xariel brought up the rear. She hadn’t lied when she told him it was her birthday. Today she turned twenty-one and she planned to celebrate by getting drunk. Perhaps it would be the only way she could make sense of the evening’s events. She’d have to wait to ask him if she were really dead, if she got the chance. Despite all indications otherwise, she remembered the sharp, excruciating pain as his dagger plunged into her stomach, slicing through sensitive flesh.

      Reflexively, she touched her sweater, recalling how he’d healed her wound. A real killer wouldn’t have done that. He’d have left her to bleed out. And no ordinary person could have mended her just by passing his hand over her. Sure, she’d seen faith healers on TV, but she didn’t believe in them.

      Either Xariel was a talented charlatan or he really was an angel.

      Karla and Xariel disembarked from the elevator, joining the others in the corridor which circled the interior dance club. A second set of glass doors opened onto the club proper and they stepped into a world of pulsating beats and pounding tempos. Euro dance throbbed over the sound system. The DJ held headphones against his ear, bopping head and body to the music.

      Karla looked around, spotting Miranda, Chad and Andi at a table in a secluded dark corner. Andi waved them over. Karla and Xariel made their way around the perimeter of the dance floor. Music pulsated through Karla’s body. She glanced at Xariel to see his reaction. His stoic expression told her nothing.

      “I see you found a date,” Andi yelled, hands cupped around her mouth to focus her voice. “Introduce us.”

      Karla frowned. Andi’s request seemed innocuous, but she knew her friend’s ulterior motive.

      “Salvatore. Nice to meet you.” Xariel brushed his lips against the back of Andi’s hand. She stared into his face, mouth opened in an “O.”

      “I-I’m Andi,” she stuttered. She waved a vague hand at the couple engaged in a round of tonsil hockey. “The love birds are Chad and Miranda.” Miranda lifted her hand in acknowledgment. Chad gave them thumbs up. Turning back to Karla, Andi poked her in the chest. “Bitch, keeping him away from me.”

      “We just met.” Karla pulled up an available barstool.

      “What are you ladies drinking?” Xariel asked.

      Karla thought a moment. “Long Island iced tea.”

      “Are you buying?” Andi leaned over, breasts straining to escape their tight corset prison. Her pleather skirt rode up, revealing a red thong.

      Karla sighed. Subtlety wasn’t in Andi’s vocabulary. She looked to see if Xariel noticed, but he seemed oblivious to the peep show.

      “This round?” Xariel smiled. “Sure.”

      “A Cosmopolitan.”

      Karla turned to Chad and Miranda, now feeling each other up and barely keeping within the realms of decency. “You guys want anything?” Chad waved her off.

      Miranda pushed Chad toward Xariel. “Go with him, ’kay?”

      “Yeah, yeah,” Chad muttered.

      “Thanks, dear!” Miranda blew him a kiss and grabbed her purse. “Be right back, ladies.”

      “We don’t exist.” Andi watched Xariel head toward the bar. “I’m a third wheel again.” She pouted, giving Karla a reproachful look.

      Karla didn’t bother reminding Andi she wouldn’t be if she stopped chasing the wrong men. Andi drew married men or players wanting one-night stands, but never seemed to experience a serious relationship.

      Karla suspected Andi’s low self-esteem screamed “I’m an easy lay” to the opposite sex. More than once Karla suggested Andi ditch the Frederick’s of Hollywood garb and be herself. Each time Andi responded with a blank stare, the same one she used when angry wives and girlfriends called, text messaged or confronted her in person.

      Karla didn’t blame Chad and Miranda for acting like conjoined twins. Given a chance, Andi would be rolling in the sheets with Chad. She only hoped Andi’s indiscretions didn’t end in disaster.

      Andi jerked her thumb toward the bar. “You guys an item?”

      “It’s complicated.”

      “Yeah, right. You’re saying you haven’t screwed him yet, which means he’s up for grabs.”

      Karla shrugged.

      Xariel and Chad returned a few minutes later with their drinks. Karla looked at Chad and he shook his head. That meant Xariel hadn’t slipped her or Andi a date rape drug. Xariel picked up his glass. Ice clinked as he toasted them. “To two lovely young ladies.”

      “What about Miranda?” Karla nodded toward her friend, who weaved her way through the crowd back to their table.

      Miranda came up to Chad and hugged him from behind. “Everything okay, babe?”

      “Yeah.”

      “Thanks, hon.” She drew her boyfriend into a kiss and the amorous couple resumed where they’d left off.

      Xariel grinned. “I don’t think we need worry about them.”

      “To us.” Andi winked at Xariel. She gave Karla a sly, sidelong glance. Game on, it read.

      “To us.” Karla inclined her head toward Andi. Challenge accepted.

      If Xariel noticed the tension between them, he ignored it. “Known each other long?”

      “Since high school.” Andi’s index finger stroked the delicate stem of her glass. She gave Xariel a provocative look from under long false eyelashes. “Where’d you guys meet?”

      “Gallery Hop.” Xariel took a seat on the other side of Karla. A flash of annoyance crossed Andi’s face. Before she could protest, Miranda and Chad disentangled themselves.

      “We’re gone.” Miranda gave Karla a quick hug. “Happy twenty-first birthday, legal girl. Sorry to drink and run, but you know how it is.”

      Chad patted Karla’s shoulder. “Now you can ditch your fake ID.”

      Karla stuck out her tongue at his retreating back.

      “Have СКАЧАТЬ