Free Wanderlust by Heather C. Hudak

Sometimes, others stumbled inside in search of directions or a quick drink. Most often, the other patrons used their “abilities” to convince those people to leave before they could clue in to the uniqueness of their surroundings.
    “You fall into the first category, Lia,” he said, brushing a stray hair behind my ear. I winced and shivered at his touch. Can someone say creepy ? “I’m sorry. You’re just so beautiful and innocent…”
    Balthazar explained that, while he knew Chaseyn had been reluctant to disclose the location of the club to me, he and the others had a strong sense that I would find it on my own. Of course, Chaseyn would have known the likelihood of it as well, but he had wanted so desperately to keep me as far as possible from this dark side of his life that he had been hopeful I would walk right by if I ever found myself in the “neighborhood.”
    “Chaseyn…the eternal optimist,” Balthazar said seriously and laughed. I chuckled too, but only because the Chaseyn I knew was anything but optimistic. “Anyway, Mina let us know you would be arriving here this week, and so we cast out a few pawns to help us in our ply to ensure that you were attracted here.”
    “Pawns? What do you mean?” I asked.
    “We knew you would go to the clubs tonight--who could resist on their first night in London? Though, I had to admit we were getting worried when it was nearly midnight and you still hadn’t made an appearance.”
    He explained that a few of his kind had been monitoring high-traffic areas, hoping to catch a glimpse of me. They followed Addie, Eli, and myself to the club, and, following last call, they instructed the bouncer to lead us astray, suggesting we visit a fictitious after-hours club that would leave us stranded in this area.
    “But, why?”
    “Because Mina asked us to keep an eye on you during your travels,” Balthazar replied. “She knows how much you mean to Chaseyn, and she wants to be sure you’re safe. If anything happened to you…well, I shudder at the thought.”
    His philosophy was sound. Mina knew every detail of my trip and had, in fact, offered recommendations to visit some of her favorite places. And, it seemed perfectly reasonable that she would be concerned about my wellbeing. She felt terribly responsible for Alexei’s actions, and she and Chaseyn had made a vow a long time ago to keep me safe.
    “Makes sense,” was all I could think to say. “Thank you for doing your part. I will be sure to let Mina know that you kept a careful eye on me while I was here in London.”
    I extended my hand to him then, signaling the end of our conversation.
    “It was nice meeting you, but I have to meet my friends or they’ll flip out.”
    “Do they know?” he asked. “About us .”
    By “us,” I knew he was referring to the vampire race in general.
    “Eli knows, but Addie is clueless, and I would like to keep it that way, if possible.”
    Balthazar nodded and smiled.
    “That will make things a bit trickier, but I’m sure we can work something out.”
    I was thoroughly confused, but I nodded in agreement anyway. I figured it was safer to appear amicable than to piss off a vampire. And, I was certain he would eventually get around to explaining himself--sooner rather than later considering how little time we had until someone realized I was officially missing in action. If he hadn’t already. Though, I suspected the others were doing their best to detain Eli and Addie while Balthazar and I wrapped up our little chat. We stood there in awkward silence, staring each other down for a moment while Balthazar considered his next steps.
    Just then, I heard the deadbolt turn over in the door behind Balthazar, and Eli burst through. Sweat was dripping from his brow, and a look of sheer panic was plastered across his face. At the sight of me, he pushed past Balthazar and wrapped me in his arms. Balthazar raised an eyebrow in question. I could tell that he wanted to know if I was