Free Sacrifice Me by Sarra Cannon Page A

the
stench of sweat and cigarette smoke and let the hot water wash the
crusted blood from my palms and my elbow. A large black and blue
bruise had formed on my arm where the tall guy had grabbed me.
    I knew I was lucky to have gotten out of there
without more damage done. What would happen if I had to work there
now? Night after night?
    I couldn’t do it. I’d have to go in
today and tell Rend that I’d work off whatever debt I owed him
and then I was out of there, gone forever just like he’d wanted
in the first place. I would find a way to wipe the whole experience
from my mind and move on.
    When my skin had turned bright pink from the heat
of the water, I turned it off and got dressed, pulling on a clean
pair of jeans and the black Venom Staff t-shirt.
    The only consolation as I grabbed my keys and
headed out the door was that he’d asked me to come in at ten in
the morning instead of ten at night. I didn’t think I could
face that place again after dark.
The Boss

    The outside of the club looked very different in
the light of day. Less dark and dangerous and more like any other
rundown building on this side of town.
    I parked in a nearby lot and headed toward the
alley entrance, wondering again why they didn't have a more normal
entrance facing the main street. I also realized I had no idea where
that back door must have taken me last night. If this was the back
alley, where the hell was that?
    I shook my head. Maybe there were just some things
I was going to have to let go of about this place. I took a deep
breath and steeled my nerves for whatever may come. There was no
doubt I owed this guy Rend for saving my life. I just hoped I didn’t
have to run into anymore demons or vampires while I was there.
    I’d be good with never having to see fangs
again in my life, thank you very much.
    Inside the first hallway, the green liquid still
glowed as brightly as it had the night before. Were they open all
day? Or did they just leave these lights on all the time?
    The tunnel-like entrance beyond was still lit up,
too, but this time there was no bouncer waiting to check my ID. I
went straight through to the club and looked around for Rend. He
hadn’t told me exactly what to do when I got here or where to
go, so I had assumed he’d just be waiting for me.
    I checked my watch. It was three minutes after ten
and there was no one else in sight.
    The lights were all on at this time of morning and
the place looked far less exotic. I walked over toward the bar, then
flipped around as one of the doors on the other side of the room
opened.
    I hoped to see Rend, but instead, the other
bartender from last night appeared. Azure. She was dressed almost the
same as she had been the night before. We could have been twins
except that her hair was blonde and curly and mine was black and
straight as a board.
    She smiled when she saw me. “Franki, right?”
    She held her hand out and I shook it.
    “Yes,” I said. “I guess Rend
told you I’d be coming in today.”
    She nodded and motioned toward the bar. “I
have to tell you, I was really surprised when he told me you’d
be working here.”
    “Me too,” I mumbled. I followed her to
the bar and took a seat on one of the stools while she went back
behind the counter and started unloading a box of new glasses onto
the bar-top.
    “Just out of curiosity, what made you want
to work here?” she asked. “I mean, no offense or
anything, but I’ve never seen you around and you and your
friend seemed pretty freaked out by the place. We don’t get a
lot of newcomers around here.”
    “That’s kind of what Rend was telling
me last night,” I said. “Why is that exactly?”
    Other than the whole demon vampire thing.
    She shrugged. “It’s the kind of place
that caters to a certain... clientele. Most of the regulars have been
coming here for years.”
    “Okay, but why don’t new people stop
in all the time? I get that this place isn’t exactly on the
main strip or anything, but if