Club Nexus (Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective) by E.J. Stevens Read Free Book Online

door at the end of the bar.  When he was out of sight, Ivy stood and
brushed off her jeans.  She grimaced at the wet denim, grabbed two small, wooden
stakes from her belt, pulled her hair up into a tight twist, and used the
stakes to secure her hair at the back of her head.  Crap, I knew that habit. 
It was what she did just before weapons training.  I had a feeling we’d just
stumbled on a case.  Ivy was gearing up for a fight.
    “What’s going on?” I asked.
    “I watched Puck dose your drink,” she said.
    Now Ivy’s drunken act made sense.  If she hadn’t knocked the
glass to the floor, I might have taken a sip.
    “Why would a faerie want to ruffie me?” I asked.  “Can’t
they just use their magic powers, or something?”
    “Yes, but I imagine using that kind of magic wouldn’t go
unnoticed and is against the club rules,” she said.  “He’d need you to
willingly go with him somewhere away from the watchful eyes of club security.”
    I shuddered, remembering the key in Puck’s hands as he went
through the back door.
    “Somewhere like a locked storeroom?” I asked, not liking
where this was going.
    “Who knows how long he’s been going around drugging girls,”
Ivy said through clenched teeth.  “If there’s a chance he’s done this before,
there could be girls like us who he’s drugged in that back room.  I’m not
leaving without checking it out.”
    “What about club security?” I asked.  “Can’t we just tip
them off?”
     “We have no proof,” Ivy said.  Ivy poked at the shards of
glass with her boot, scowling at the floor.  The alcohol had already evaporated,
probably taking any evidence of drugs with it.  “And faeries take things like
honor and reputation very seriously.  If we falsely accuse Puck without solid
evidence, we could be up on charges of slander.  I don’t even think our demon
attorney friend could help us then.”
    I looked around for Forneus, but the demon was nowhere in
sight.  Leave it to the jerk to take off right when he might have been useful.
    “Okay, so what do you suggest?” I asked, slinging my
crossbow over my shoulder.
    “I want to check out that back room,” she said.  “But if you
don’t want to come with me, I can ask Torn to walk you out.  He’s around here
somewhere.  I saw him flirting with a nymph not long ago.”
    “No way,” I said, hands on my hips.  “I’m going with you. 
It could have been me in that back room.  I want to help.  But, you know,
Torn’s your ally.  Couldn’t you ask him to come with us?  He’s useful in a
fight and we have no idea what to expect behind that door.”
    Ivy ran a gloved hand over her face and sighed.
    “You’re right,” she said.  “He’ll probably refuse, but it
wouldn’t hurt to ask.  Wait here.  I’ll be right back.”
    I nodded and Ivy took off, using her faerie quickness and
agility to flit through the thickening crowd.  I soon lost sight of my friend
and turned my attention to the door that Puck had gone through earlier.  I
watched a vampire leave the bar and swagger toward the door.  He was wearing
snakeskin boots, dark jeans, and a black fedora.  Holding my breath, I moved
further down the bar, hoping for a glimpse into the room beyond.
    A beautiful, blue-skinned faerie upended a shot glass of
something dark amber onto an armful of linens and raced over to the door.  The
vampire scowled, but held the door for the faerie who rushed inside.  The vamp
followed close at her heels, the door snapping shut behind him.
    I was trying to figure out how to get inside that locked
door when my jaw dropped open.  Forneus strode forward and tried to push a key
into the lock.  How the heck did the demon get a key?  Was he part of this
whole date rape drug thing?  If he was, I had a holy water dipped crossbow bolt
with his name on it.
    He seemed to be having trouble with the key.  I moved even
closer as he focused on the lock.  A tiny flame rose from Forneus’