Mads raises her eyebrows. “Is that so? What’s the occasion - aside from, you know, it being your birthday?”
“I have to tell you about what Damien got me for my birthday," I say, shuddering. I'm certain he did it because he is pissed his girlfriend couldn't handle the truth about what he is. Turns out, my parents’ reassurances didn’t do much for her in the end, and the idea that magic is real sent her into a bit of a panic. Michael the goat just toppled her right over the edge, I think. Oddly enough, he only seems to behave himself around Mads, and doesn’t say damn near a word when she’s in the house. Or, at least, she’s never told me he’s said anything, and the only time she’s ever run out of the house screaming was when Hugo and I went through our bug collecting phase. The bugs ended up getting out and dispersing throughout the house, which, as I’ve told you before, is bigger on the inside than on the outside. It was crawling with all sorts of insects and arachnids for days, and I swear mum was inches away from burning the house down and starting over again.
Where was I going with this? Oh, right - Mads and Michael. I’m not sure what it is about her that makes him act so civil and… goatlike when she’s around, although I suspect he might have a bit of a crush. Either way, his antics last night resulted in Mum having to erase Daisy’s memory, and I’m sure Damien is still put off with me over the whole thing. Why he doesn’t take out his anger on Hugo, whose idea it was in the first place, I don’t know.
Mads grabs her black handbag, which matches her suede black heels and black velvet dress, and slings it over her shoulder. I grab my own, which is red and adorned with a big bow that ties the whole outfit together. I can’t help but feel a smidge of jealousy as I watch Mads smooth out the hem of her dress. Everything always looks marvellous on her; I've never seen her look terrible in anything, as long as I’ve known her. I guess she has a sort of magic of her own, now that I think about it.
Mads links her arm in mine as soon as we get outside her apartment block and starts walking us down the pavement. Although she grew up in my village, she moved to Dublin after high school so she could be closer to her job, and I’ve gotten to reap the benefits ever since. Dublin is a gorgeous city, especially at night, when the cobbled streets come alive with people going for meals or out for a night of drinking. We Irish do know how to hold our drink down, and I sure as hell want to test that tonight. All the better if I can deliver a heaping dose of karma to my next target while I’m at it.
"So why did you choose this place tonight?" Mads asks me as we make our way down the crowded downtown street. "I didn't even know it existed until I followed the link you sent me.”
“Really?” My brow furrows. “You know all the happening places around here. I would’ve thought you’d at least be familiar.”
“It’s strange,” Mads replies, shaking her head. “I swear I've walked past the area many times before and I’ve never once seen it.” She shrugs, shaking off the uncertainty. “Well, I guess it goes to show I don’t know as much about this city as I thought I did.”
I frown at her innocent comment, unable to brush it off so lightly. I hope she doesn’t take note of my sudden seriousness, but even as I try to focus on my excitement about the night out, I can’t escape a growing feeling of unease. Mads is the observant type, so much so that it sometimes becomes annoying. She’ll take notice of everything from an undone shoelace to a new corner coffee shop to a new tenant in her apartment building. She’s the first to tell you if you’ve spilled something on your shirt, and she’s twice as passionate about partying as she is about fashion. The odds of someone like Mads not noticing a nightclub near where she lives when she walks to work every day are slim to none. To me (and I am, granted, somewhat biased), this screams magic. Maybe it’s just paranoia, but given my target’s strange, archaic-sounding name, I can’t help but wonder… Could this club have been magically hidden? And if it is, does that mean this Neritous Cyncus guy could be magical?
The more I think about this all, the more I wonder if I should take Mads somewhere else and get my brother to help me with this karma job. Given everything that happened yesterday on my last job, this is starting to seem like it’s out of my league. A cold gust of wind blows into us as we reach the next intersection, making me shiver and snapping me out of my thoughts. Shit, I think, rubbing my arms, which are now covered in goosebumps. I should have brought a coat. Somehow, in the face of freezing cold air, the idea that I might be walking into something that’s too much for me to handle starts to seem overly-paranoid, and I vow not to overthink it. I’m going to nail this job and have a great time while I’m doing it, make Mum proud of me, and prove that at twenty-one, I’ve finally come into my own as a karma god.
"I'm sure it's just a well-kept secret,” I say, dodging around the issue altogether. “I found it randomly online, and I checked the reviews, which said it’s exquisite.” This last bit is true, but there were only two reviews when I checked,and they sounded like they were talking about the wrong place. The pictures on the website made it look like an awesome place to party, but is it possible those were magicked as well? No, come on, I plead with myself, you’re being ridiculous. Just give it a shot - if you don’t like it, you can go to that other bar you usually go to on Friday nights.
Again, none of this is something I need to - or can - explain to Mads. No, we are going to have a good night, and even if there are gods at this club, we will ignore them. Gods don’t hang out together anyway, so they should have no reason to try and talk to me. Any work that happens tonight won’t involve them, or I’ll pass the job on to someone else. No harm in checking it out, though, right?
"It's your birthday, so it's up to you,” Mads says. “We can always leave and go to our regular place if this one is dead," she adds, seemingly reading my mind. We dodge a drunk couple who nearly stumbles into us, shouting sorry as they walk away. Here’s to looking like those two in a few hours, I think.
"Good plan B," I reply, squeezing her arm and grinning at her. "Now tell me what you've been up to recently. I need something to distract me from this damn cold. Are you still seeing that banker guy?” The conversation forces me to relax as I catch up with my bestie - I haven’t seen much of her in the last month, a mixture of her searching for a new job and the fact I majorly dislike her latest boyfriend. He is a plonker, and I know it will only be a matter of time before Mads sees it. She’s a smart girl - almost too smart - and her taste in men is better than mine, anyway.
"Logan is an accountant, and no," Mads replies, shaking her head at my lack of memory. Banker, accountant. They are basically the same thing…I think. "He was just too normal.” Seeing my incredulous expression, she sighs and explains, “I know that doesn't make sense, but he wanted a pretty girlfriend to go to meals with, meet his posh parents, and eventually marry. He is the perfect guy to have two point five kids with and be like everyone else...and I want more than that. I want excitement, passion, and someone who challenges me in a purely sexy way."
"You are listing every girl’s perfect man there, babe," I tell her, knowing I could do with a bit of that kind of man, myself. It’s hard for me to find a human who’s even remotely exciting when I know all the secrets of the magical world. It makes most guys seem dull in comparison, and so far none of them has tickled my sense of adventure.
"I know, but a girl can dream, right?" Madison asks, giving a wistful sigh.
"Definitely,” I reply. “But for now, can we find a hottie who doesn't talk too much? That would be awesome.”
She chuckles at me. "That's all you date, Karma. I've never seen a guy who has gotten your attention for more than a week before," she declares, and as much as I hate to admit it, Mads sort of has a point. Human guys are just so boring, and dating gods isn't allowed. No one wants to risk getting locked up for a fun date with someone that actually understands what you are. I've never met a human, other than Mads, who I could even imagine telling the truth to.
I don't reply to her as we get to the street the club is on and see the glowing blue doors a few feet in front of us. Two burly, mean-looking bouncers stand guard, and the muffled sound of pulsing music can be heart coming out through the doors. There is no queue like I would have expected there to be on a Saturday night, and instead we can just walk up to the beefy, bald bouncers. They’re dressed in suits, and look like they could probably snap me in half like a toothpick if they wanted to - karma god or not. They both eye us strangely before exchanging a look with one other. Finally, one bouncer pushes the door open, holding it for us and nodding his head inside. I’m vaguely surprised he didn’t ask for an ID, and he seems more interested in Mads than in me.
"The human is your responsibility in here. Understood?" the bouncer asks, and Mads laughs as I nod once at him in agreement. They somehow know I'm a karma goddess, and it makes me wonder what the hell is inside that would make me need to be responsible for Mads. I eye the bouncer warily as I hold Mads’s arm close as we walk through the door and up the long staircase on the other side. This was a bad idea, I can feel it. But one glance at Mads tells me she’s itching to get inside and check it out, and I would feel guilty dragging her away now that we’ve already been let inside.
"I didn't get that bouncer’s joke about human, but he looked so scary I had to laugh," Mads tells me, and I'm thankful she thinks it was just a joke. I force myself to laugh with her, because the other option is running out the door while I drag her with me. I know I shouldn’t run away, but it’s usually a good option to keep myself out of trouble - which I’m beginning to suspect I’m walking right into.
"You know some guys think they are funnier than they actually are," I reply, smiling tightly at her as she looks down at me. "Don't worry about it."
"I'm not worried. It's already forgotten. Holy crap, look at this place," Mads gasps as we get to the top of the staircase, and we can see the crazy beautiful room we are in. The entire room sprawls out before us, with glass pillars holding the ceiling up. The crazy thing is the ceiling, the pillars and the floor are one large aquarium, filled with fish, sharks and stingrays. Even the bar in the middle of the room has a glass, fish-filled base. There are lights floating in the water with the fish, which make the room look both cosy and somehow bright at the same time. It’s the kind of place you would find all over rich girls’ Instagram feeds, the kind of place that might exist in a five-star Las Vegas hotel.
And yet, it’s damn near empty. There are about five other people total in here, and all of them are sitting together on the stools at the bar. I can only see the backs of their heads, but my senses tell me that none of them are the guy whose name is written on my hand. I suppose I could always teleport myself to my target, but that would mean using magic in front of Mads, which is an absolute no-go. At least if I play my cards right, I can explain away whatever I do to the guy as an accident or a strange coincidence, but there’s no logical explanation for disappearing in a puff of green smoke. No, better to wait this out and get a good look around; maybe I’ll be lucky and overhear his name in conversation.
As we walk to the bar, I see another larger group of men and women in the corner, wrapped up in each other like the start of an orgy. Needless to say, they don’t notice us, but I’m not too keen on staring, as much as I want to know if one of them is Neritous Cyncus. Clearing my throat and dropping my gaze, I give Mads’s arm a gentle tug, pulling her in the direction of the bar.
"It's quiet," I point out as we get to the bar and slide onto some stools, the ones on the opposite side of the men. “It’s strange, I would’ve thought a place like this would be packed on a Saturday night.”
“Maybe it’s new,” Mads comments, still busy ogling the decor around us. “Or expensive as shit.”
“Jeez, I didn’t think of that,” I mutter. “I’m not made of money.” Granted, I could probably cover our tab if this place takes human currency, but if we run up a huge bill and they only accept the gold of the gods, then we might be in trouble.
"They are cute," Mads whispers, looking over at the men on the opposite side of the bar. I turn in my seat and quickly run my eyes over them. They are young business types, all handsome in their own ways, but I'm so on edge in this place that I can't even focus on them long enough to determine if they’re my type.
At that moment, the bartender comes around the corner, smiling when he sees us. He’s cute, too, I notice, with wavy brown hair and big blue eyes. He is Mads’s type, especially with how tall he is. Judging by the way she’s looking at him, I think she’s picked up on that, too.
"What can I get you lovely ladies? Perhaps an Irish karma charm?" he asks, giving me a once-over with his eyes and winking. I'm sure it's charming in his head, but all I can focus on is the fact that he knows what I am. Gods have the ability to sense each other - sort of a sixth sense, the way you can sometimes sense when someone is watching you, even when your back is turned. To me, the bartender feels human, which is perplexing… although I suppose he might just be one of the few humans who was able to handle the truth about magic and supernaturals. It’s truly perplexing - even with all my focus on him, I can’t sense anything strange about this guy.
"Is that a cocktail?" Mads asks, oblivious to the implication. “Funny enough, my friend’s name is Karma!”
"Yes, madam. It's a favourite of my boss, actually," he replies, still grinning - no doubt because he now knows Mads doesn't know what I am.
"We will have two then," I reply before Mads can, and pull my card out of my handbag. He waves me off and steps back to grab some glasses.
"The boss says it's on the house. Perks of the job, right?" He doesn’t give us a chance to respond before he disappears off to make our drinks. Shit, maybe we should be getting out of here before he tells Mads everything by accident. The last thing I need is her freaking out and me possibly losing my best friend on my birthday because she’s become scared of me.
"The boss must be nice then," Mads says awkwardly, no doubt picking up on the strange mood I’m in. I can only nod as I run my eyes around the room and decide it’s about time I get my karma job out of the way so we can leave. I do not want to have to come back here, and this way, Mads can drink in peace for a second. I’ll just have to trust the bartender isn’t a giant dick; if he knows anything about the etiquette of living among gods, he should know that he can’t just go blabbing the truth to any random patron who walks into his bar.
It’s decided. I will use the bathroom excuse, get my karma job done, and then tell Mads I saw a rat or something. We’ll get the hell out of here and go back to our usual place, ready to drink the night away and forget all about this strange, magical club. Yep, this sounds perfect and foolproof.
"I'm going to find the bathroom while you wait for the drinks, alright?" I ask, and Mads nods as I get up and walk across the room towards the sign for the bathrooms. I pass the table of orgy couples and walk into a long corridor. There are doors at the end of the hallway with bathroom signs, and I square my shoulders before turning toward them. Act natural, I tell myself. You’re not in a human place, that’s for damn sure. As I walk down the corridor, I can feel my hand start to burn where the location dot is, and I spin around, looking for my charge just as a man steps into the dark corridor behind me. I can’t see all his features, just a built, muscular body and a tall frame. His hair looks red and messy, but his face is too hidden in the shadows to see. Whoever he is, he sends goose bumps all over my body, and some instinct in me tenses up. The corridor feels tenser, and not the good sort of sexual tension, either. No, this is the scary ass, insanity-provoking kind instead.
"Hello?" I utter out, pulling my power so I can sense his fears and what I need to do here for him to get bad karma. I sense nothing other than water, an image of a still lake appearing in my mind for a split second, but I can’t tell what it is about water that this guy doesn’t like. All I know for sure is that it’s a fear of his - or at least a nuisance.
