Hellbourne by Amber Kell Read Free Book Online

while she gave a short curtsy. She wrapped her hand around his biceps as they walked regally off the dance floor and straight towards the bar.
    “Thanks, Luc.” Sheila’s voice was subdued, bringing Luc’s gaze to her.
    He sat her down on a bar stool and took the one next to her. “What’s wrong, pretty girl?”
    “I had a lot of fun.”
    “That’s bad, how?”
    Sheila sighed. “Because it’s hard to find a sweet man who dances like a dream and when I do,” she looked up, pinning him with her blue eyes, “they’re already taken. And even if you weren’t, I wouldn’t appeal to you.”
    Luc gave her an understanding smile. “Don’t fall for me, beautiful. I’m all about heartache.” He motioned for two beers from the bartender who promptly placed them on the bar and waved away the money Luc offered.
    “The boss would kill me if I charged you,” he said with a wink before moving on to serve another.
    Sipping on their beers, the pair watched the crowds move about the dance floor. After a while, Luc noticed a few vamps sliding through a doorway in the back.
    “Where does that go?” he asked, pointing at the quickly exiting vamps.
    Sheila looked where he pointed. “Oh, back there are rooms for private parties.”
    “Yeah, what kind of parties?”
    He looked over to see Sheila blushing. Wow , he didn’t know vampires could blush. “Ooooo, sex parties?”
    She shrugged and Luc could see she was trying to regain her nonchalance. “Sometimes. Sometimes blood parties.”
    A tremor snapped across Luc’s senses. Pain, someone was in a tremendous amount of pain. As a prince of hell, Luc could always sense when someone else was suffering. His brothers used the talent to savour the screams of the ones they tortured. Luc always used it to find and help others.
    He could feel the pain emanating from the back where Sheila said the private rooms were located. “Be right back,” he said with what he hoped was a charming smile.
    Sliding off his stool, he took one step from the bar before Sheila’s hand wrapped around his arm. “No, you don’t. If I lose you, the master will be angry with me.”
    Luc shrugged, knowing he wasn’t going to get away from her any time soon. “Then come along.”
    They walked through the crowds, avoiding the mass of bodies in their trek to the darkened doorway. Once they passed through the entryway, the quiet was so intense Luc thought he’d gone deaf. Magic filled the air but he could still feel the screams in his mind. Someone was suffering.
    Someone he knew.
    A long dark hallway spread before them with doors on both sides.
    “The rooms are soundproofed for added privacy,” Sheila whispered as if not wanting to disturb the unnatural quiet.
    Even the feel of the air was different here. Instead of the honest odour of heat and sweaty bodies whipped about by overhead fans, the air was still, almost hushed with absolutely no scent. It was like walking into a bubble, the entire area purged of sensation.
    Luc pulled Sheila behind him. If she insisted on going with him, she wasn’t going to go first and there wasn’t room for them to walk side by side.
    As they passed each door, Luc held up his hand, sensing the occupants hidden inside.
    The third door was the one. He could feel the pain rumbling through his bones.
    Sheila grabbed his wrist as he reached over to open it. “No.”
    Luc turned to look at her. “What do you mean, no?”
    “I mean, I know the guy who rented this room and he’s an old vampire, deadly. You don’t want to mess with this guy.”
    “On the contrary, my dear,” Luc replied with a smile. “He doesn’t want to mess with me.”
    As he opened the door, the first thing that hit him was the smell of blood. It soaked the air like a thick, wet fog trying to seep into his skin. The lights in the room were so dim Luc had to blink a few times for his eyes to adjust. It was a bigger room than he’d expected and the lack of light made it difficult to see.
    There