The Lost Queen of Midnight

Hallways

Blinding white light exploded in front of Liora as the knife plunged into the male's throat on the stage. Time seemed to both slowdown and speed up. Heat pulsated in waves across the room, sucking air from its wake. Liora heard raspy breathing and realized it was her, desperately trying to get air into her lungs, her throat constricting. She realized she also couldn't see or hear anything around her, couldn't feel the chair she knew she had been sitting on. It was like she had been thrown into a void. It wasn't darkness. It was nothingness. Madness ripped at the edges of her mind. She struggled to find reality, to find her breath. Willing her heart to slow and her mind to focus, she searched for any tether to bring her back from wherever this was. Gray mist began coiling out of the nothingness, and Liora grabbed hold of it.

Just as suddenly as the nothingness appeared, she found herself sitting at the same two-top corner table as before. Pounding techno beats rolled off the stage along with the same blue lights. Inhaling sharply, she looked toward the stage. The only people now present were three topless women parading on the edge of the stage, collecting dollar bills and promises of a good time. The people who had just seconds ago been pressed up against the stage were now only drunken men and bouncers. The musclehead Jameson was back behind his bar, serving margaritas to a giggling couple.

Running her eyes over the crowd, Liora couldn't find the male or any trace of chains or blood anywhere. Had she imagined the whole thing? Looking down at the table before her, Liora realized the application that had sat before her was filled out completely. Slowly turning it over, she noticed the box checked next to "waitstaff".

"What in the actual hell?" She asked herself. Still reeling from the vision or whatever that had been, she took a deep breath and looked up. The chair in front of hers was no longer empty. Instead it was occupied by an insanely gorgeous male. Short hair that may have once been dark, now silver. Face that looked both old and young with aristocratic nose, piercing blue eyes, and sensuous full lips. His white button-down shirt glared against golden skin. Dark jeans that did nothing to hide an athletic build.

Startled, Liora quickly pulled herself together as the man across from her smiled and murmured, "Greetings," in an accent she couldn't immediately place. He reached one perfectly manicured hand towards her that looked as though it had never seen a day's labor.

Refusing to allow her hand to tremble, she reached out to meet his with her own. Swiftly raising from his seat he took her hand and pressed it to his lips. "A pleasure, Liora." He intoned.

"How do you know my name?" She managed to ask. "From your application." Came the somewhat amused response. Liora steadied herself, attempting to shove away the lingering madness of the earlier events. A game was being played, she could feel it, and she needed to be alert.

"Yes, of course. Sorry. I didn't catch your name."

"Malachi." He replied. "I am the overseer at this particular establishment and interview all new potential employees." Liora noticed his unique speech pattern that, combined with his accent, made him sound ancient. "I'm looking for a waitstaff position," she replied, trying to sound confident and pushing her application across the table.

Malachi's gaze flicked down briefly and then back up to meet her eyes. An uncomfortable pause followed in which Liora forced herself not to fidget in her chair under his piercing gaze.

"We are in need of someone to host private parties and events." He began. "These events are for our most valued and trusted clients. Whomever takes on this role must be completely, shall we say, discreet?"

Unable to stop herself, Liora shifted in her chair. "I understand." "Do you?" Asked Malachi twisting his lips in something which might resemble a smile. His eyes took in Liora's dark brown hair, green eyes, black shirt and jeans that hung off her body. "Maybe you do." He remarked. Seemingly satisfied by whatever it was he saw in her, he stood with an almost feline grace. "When can you start, Miss Bannon?"

"Immediately." She managed to get out. "Excellent. Tomorrow night then? We have a small event that should be relatively easy for your first night. For right now, I'll have Lilith find you a uniform that fits. Cassandra can show you around."

"I assume you'll have paperwork for me to fill out?" Liora inquired. She was met with a smirk and the command, "Follow me." She swallowed the knot of fear that had been building in her chest. She had suspected what she was getting into coming here, or at least kind of.

Liora followed Malachi through tables and bodies to the back of the stage area. They stopped in a large green area used for dancers waiting for their stage time. Plush couches lined the walls with glass coffee tables scattered throughout. Dancers were sprawled out in various stages of dress. Or undress. Standing in the middle of the green room, she could see three hallways leading away in different directions.

Surprising her, Malachi pulled out an old-fashioned pocket watch and checked the time. "I'm to meet with the owner of this establishment in ten minutes," He explained. "You will not see me for the remainder of your evening here tonight, but you will be well cared for in Lilith and Cassandra's presence. Liora didn't know why, but his statement felt more like a warning than a way to make her feel comfortable.

"Thank you for your time tonight," Liora said as Malachi began walking toward the middle hallway leading away from the green room. For a moment he paused and, without turning back to her, simply lifted his hand in acknowledgment and continued to stride down the long hallway.

She turned and continued taking in her surroundings. Two dancers lay across the couch against the wall behind her while another sat on the floor, her back to another couch. The three dancers chatted with each other in comfortable tones as if they'd known each other for years. None of them so much as looked at Liora. God. They were all so beautiful. Liora couldn't help it. Every single person on the entertainment side were unnaturally gorgeous. Long-legged, long hair, tight bodies. "That's the nature of this game," Liora thought to herself, turning to peer down the other two hallways that Malachi had not gone down. It was then that Liora realized that two of the hallways had sconce lighting all the way down. She could see all the way down both until they curved away from the center. But the middle hallway, the one that Malachi had gone down, had not a single lamp on its walls. Nothing but complete darkness.

Liora shivered involuntarily but was not surprised. She had known when she first drove by this club, Requiem, this was the place. This was where she might find a clue to her mother's disappearance. It was the best clue she'd had to go in the five years she'd spent searching for her mother. She rubbed her arms to ward off the chill she felt creeping into her bones, well aware it wasn't the temperature in the building. Blowing out a breath she hadn't been holding, she turned towards the stage entrance and felt her heart begin to pound.

"Liora," purred a silky voice. "It is our pleasure to spend this time with you." Crooned an equally smooth voice. There standing before her, both dressed in matching crimson sequin mini-dresses were who could only be the Lilith and Cassandra she had been waiting for.

The two women who had been on stage less than thirty minutes earlier, reveling in the blood of the tortured male.