Silver Flame

I look around, taking in the rundown alley we've found ourselves in, noticing the cheap looking strip club across the street. "We're in Portland?" I ask skeptically.

Fen nods.

I don't recognize this part of my home city. But then, this isn't the kind of neighborhood I usually hung out in. I wrap my arms around my wet body, shivering. It's cold here. The sun has already set, and it's recently rained by the looks of the wet cement, though the sky is blessedly dry now.

Dean leads us to a large black door carved out of what looks suspiciously like bone—but what species of bone is anyone's guess. In the center is the design of a lotus made of skulls.

My eyes widen. "Is that—?" My hand lands on a small skull, expecting it to be clay or metal. But I can feel the energy of something dead that was once living pulse through my body, and I yank my hand away, my heart ricocheting in my chest.

Fen takes my hand and tucks it into his, the warmth of him pushing out the chill I feel, not just from being wet and cold, but from that door.

"Best not to ask too many questions about the things you'll see in The Black Lotus," he says. "You won't like the answers."

Dean turns one of the skulls in the lotus, revealing a large eyeball with a black iris. I suck in air through my teeth and squeeze Fen's hand more tightly, and Baron puts himself between me and the door, growling menacingly at the eyeball.

A voice booms from the bones of the door. "Who dares enter?"

Dean answers. "The Princes of Hell request entry. We come in peace with no intent to harm. We need to speak to Sly."

"Which princes?" the voice asks.

"Dean and Fen," Dean says.

The voice is silent a moment before answering. "And someone else. Someone quite powerful."

The princes both look at me, then Fen speaks. "She is under our protection."

"We welcome Lust, as always, and we extend an invitation to the Midnight Star. We do not allow War."

"I am not here to start a war," Fen says, and I can tell his patience is stretched thin. "I'm just here to get help."

"For war." This isn't a question. And I wonder what magic the door holds that it always seems to know the intent of those requesting entry.

"But not for war here. Just information. We are in trouble and injured and need a safe place." Fen pauses, but the door doesn't reply. Dean gives Fen a meaningful look, and Fen sighs. "Please let us in. If Sly can help me, then the Prince of War will owe him a favor."

"Your promised favor has been accepted, and will be called upon in time. Welcome to The Black Lotus," the door says. There is a series of clicks as bolts grind and move within, then the door swings open of its own accord, revealing a dark and smoky hall with walls of blood-red velvet and gold accents.

I sniff the acrid air and wrinkle my nose in disgust. "That's not cigarette smoke. And it's not weed. What is it?"

Fen chuckles darkly. "You don't want to know. Just don't breathe too deeply and you should be fine. The first time I came to The Black Lotus I had a hangover for a week just from breathing the fumes of this hallway. It's coming from the adjacent rooms, but that's not where we're going. The smoke will die down soon."

Dean, on the other hand, smiles and takes a deep breath, holding it in for a moment, before exhaling. "Ah yes, I do so love this place."

Fen shakes his head in silent judgment as we descend into The Black Lotus. There is a power here, a thick magic that wraps itself around me, pressing on my lungs, pushing into my body like an aggressive virus. Dean doesn't seem as affected, but Fen's jaw is clenched, and I can tell he feels it too.

"It's never been like this before," he says.

Dean furrows his brows when he sees our struggle. "What's going on?"

"Well, well, well… " A deep, booming voice says from the shadows before we enter the room. "It looks like someone went and got themselves all magicked up! How delightfully wicked." The body that goes with the voice seems to materialize from smoke and appear before us.

We stand at the entrance of a large ballroom draped in more red velvet and gold. Spread throughout are chairs and sofas of velvet. There's a bar in one corner and tables full of food lining the walls. Some of the food is still moving. On stage, a live band made of creatures straight from a science fiction movie play instruments that look to be part of their body, creating an eerie, organic, fleshy musical sound. I'm about to ask about them, but my eyes continue to roam the room and I realize there are more creatures than I originally realized.

In one far corner a mermaid floats in a huge tank of water. Her blue hair billows around her like an ethereal halo. She has green tinted skin and green and blue scales and is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Her eyes catch mine. They are large blue-green orbs that nearly glow. Then her gaze shifts to Fen and she smiles, revealing shark-like teeth. When he notices her, she winks at him, and he looks away and frowns. I'll have to ask him about that later.

"Hello, Sly," Fen says.

The mysterious man's face curls into a smile. "Hello, Prince of War. You've changed some since we last met, haven't you?" His eyes turn to me before Fen can reply, and his face lights up. "And who do we have here? The epitome of loveliness and innocence, but so much more lurks beneath, does it not? The Midnight Star, returned to her people at last. So the rumors were true." He takes my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing it gently. Fen tenses beside me, but I ignore him, my eyes glued to this strange man.