Changeling Encounter: Paying The Pirate

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Paying The Pirate

The moldy stench of the swamp air made Sabine gag and warred with her Chanel perfume. She smoothed her navy blue suit jacket with one hand and squeezed the key ring with the other. The vehicle behind her beeped like she'd pinched its bumper and the doors clicked locked. Her icy unflappability had melted into uncertainty with a healthy dose of fear.

Stalling was stupid. The camera over the door was likely recording every bead of sweat the Louisiana heat drew from her skin. Faint strains of music slunk out from behind the heavy door she couldn't bear to knock on.

The Rolling Stones' Wild Horses provided the soundtrack for a highlight reel of memories of Jude in various stages of undress belting out lyrics in an angelic voice that belayed her sometimes demonic nature. A pirate ship captain, Jude lusted for power long before a blood vampire transformed her into one of his kind.

They'd dubbed dozens of songs "their song" during their thirty-three year relationship, the Stone's ballad being the final one. Wild horses didn't need to drag them apart when jealousy and pride could do the job more efficiently.

Sabine wrenched open the door to Pirates Landing to silence the damned song, a painful reminder of the best and the worst of Jude. And the best and worst of herself.

Quitting Jude was like quitting opium. Or quitting breathing.

Jude's blonde curls cascaded over her shoulders, framing collarbones exposed by her white shirt. She stood in the dim light, naked except for the barely buttoned blouse, tankard raised in a toast.

Sabine drank in the vision of her ex-girlfriend's creamy skin and rosebud mouth. "Hey" she started, her voice a hoarse whisper.

"Don't." Jude slurred and guzzled from the mug. "If you dare say it, I shall declare our agreement null and void. Fucking Beatles."

Brilliant. The pirate was cranky, drunk, and more beautiful than ever. Sabine dare not leave until she satisfied the terms of the agreement she'd made to save the life of her friend John, the only other remaining energy vampire in the French Quarter. And the person Jude blamed for tearing them apart.

Sabine plucked the needle from the vinyl 45 spinning on a vintage turn table. The former bar never would have passed a health code inspection, but now the whole building looked condemned. She fought the urge to tidy up the room, which lacked the energy and life she remembered. If she could slip back into their relationship, would she?

"Choose." The pirate waved her hand to indicate the three men. Two were blood vampire minions. One, a huge hulk, and the other, tall and thin. Laurel and Hardy. The undead pirate version. Sabine didn't remember their names, but they'd been with Jude since the days she'd pillaged the seas.

The third man was human. Doug had been in Jude's care for a scant number of hours. Already he looked half dead. Fang marks covered his bare arms. A leather collar circled his neck and a chain hung from a metal loop in the center.

Sabine withdrew a protein bar from her purse and tossed it. His glassy eyed gaze followed the bar's progress. The snack smacked him in the chest and landed in his lap.

"You know better than to feed my pets." Jude licked her lips and eyed the man like the meal he was.

"He won't be much fun if he's catatonic."

"Interesting choice." The pirate snapped her fingers and Laurel shuffled out of the room with Hardy in his wake. "Must I remind you of the rules?"

Sabine shook her head. As if there were rules other than

Dettagli