Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Ecstasy
In the middle of the night, a young girl was walking down the dark alley, with a backpack on her shoulders and hands gripping the straps. Her steps were staggered with fear, her heart raced, her jumpy demeanor betrayed her anxiety. She would look back after every few seconds as if she were waiting for someone to jump her from shadows. She stopped in front of a small door that read Ecstasy in wooden letters. She looked back for the last time and hesitated for a second or two but finally mustered courage to knock at the door. Three rhythmic taps and a few seconds later, a small slit opened in the door.
"Code word", said a gruff voice. "Moonshine", the girl replied in a quivery voice.
A few heartbeats later, the door opened, and the girl was granted entry. It was Ecstasy, the notorious club for underworld creatures run by Sergei, the succubus. Sergei was a flirtatious succubus demon. Humans, the puny mortals they were, had no authority or prestige in his place. Most of the humans did not even know of the existence of the underworld. The humans that knew were bound by the contracts, or more accurately, they were cursed the moment they accepted the contracts for non-disclosure. Any human that attempted to leak the secrets of darkness was dead before uttering a word.
"Luna, hurry up. I need you to do rounds on the second floor. Make sure to check the Lux suite".
"Sure. Be there in a minute". Luna took a deep breath to calm herself. She checked her apron ties and gathered cleaning tools. "You can do this, Luna. There are only 56 days left in your contract. Suck up". After pep talking to herself, she left the staff room.
In the main hall of the club, the music was loud enough to cause serious damage to mortal sense of hearing but somehow it suited perfectly to the half-clad gyrating bodies on the dance floor. Luna tried to make herself smaller as she crossed the local bar to reach the elevator. Once inside it, she was relieved to find that it was empty. As the doors were closing, she caught the glimpse of Sergei hurrying towards the door. She prayed to whichever God was listening, to let her leave safely in the morning. It was not unusual for humans to go missing once they had stepped inside Ecstasy.
"Lord Athan, I have reserved the Lux suite for you. Let me escort you", Sergei was desperate to show his obeisance to the mysterious man, who was exuding noble yet dangerous aura, the aura of death. "Enough of your flattery, Sergei. My Lord has no time to engage in meaningless fooleries. Scram". "Yes, my lord". Sergei hurried to give orders to his staff for the best service they could provide for Lord Athan.
"My Lord, are you sure you want to meet the Lycan King here. He is tricky and treacherous". "For how long you have been with me, Reza", Lord Athan was seemingly amused by his comment. "It has been 300 years, my Lord", Reza said reverently. "Then let us meet the fool who thinks that he has control over the Mortal Treaty".
Luna was scurrying here and there in the Lux suite. She was a cleaner and her job paid her enough money to take care of her bills. She hated the underworld and its creatures. Her father was killed by a demon and her mother left after giving birth to her. Luna had only one best friend Alyssa Henderson with whom she grew up with. She accidently witnessed Alyssa injecting some black material into her veins. The veins on her arm became prominent like vines and then disappeared shortly. Dark Death was a potent drug made from succubus venom, the addicts of which, would remain high for days on it. Once a mortal took this venom into his body, he would crave for it until death. Alyssa worked in ecstasy as a waitress, but she had started prostituting herself to fulfill her cravings. Alyssa's mother, Mrs. Henderson was very kind to Luna when she was a child. In fact, she spent most of her childhood with the Hendersons. She couldn't watch her childhood friend inching closer to death with each passing day, so she decided to work for Sergei. She was looking for ways to somehow deal with Alyssa's addiction but so far, she had not found any solution except she got to know about Booras, the chief potion maker but he was a mysterious creature and seemingly no one knew his whereabouts. She was short on time. Her contract as a cleaner was to be expired in 56 days and she had to find him before that.
Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice the door opening. By the time she came to her senses, there were already four people in the room. She held her breath and attached herself to the nearest wall trying to hide her existence. She wanted to escape from there, but it was not possible for the door was in clear sight of the people sitting on the luxurious sofas.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Athan", the man with silver hair extended his hand but had to retract it after getting no response from the man, sitting opposite to him with his legs crossed. "Let's cut to the chase, Lucas. Last week three mortal girls were found dead in the Lycan territory. Shall I assume that you are not willing to keep up with your part of treaty?". Lord Athan said with sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Some Lycans have gone rogue, and I am hunting them. They can't escape me. But the reason I wanted to meet you tonight was not because of some mortal deaths, but my scouts have come across some information, which I believe is closely related to you." Lucas sat back comfortably with a smirk. "Might I ask what information that might be?" Lord Athan frowned. "My scouts have located a small village near the Red Mountains and an oracle named Lydia has foreseen the return of Lilith, which if rumors are true is said to be your mother. I wonder how you would welcome the Queen of The Undead upon her return," It was Lucas' turn to smirk. Reza became visibly tense, but Lord Athan was as calm as the sea. "I will see to that if it happens. But the pressing concern is the Mortal Treaty. Killing of unarmed and ignorant mortals is a criminal offence in the Court of the Undead. You have 3 days to capture your rogue Lycans and enforce the laws on your subjects. Or you would be responsible for whatever punishment the court will inflict upon you."
Bang. The pan in her hand slipped from her sweaty fingers and a loud sound was heard across the room. "Who is there? Come out." Reza shouted. Her legs trembled and she felt choked. Reza came towards her and dragged her out of the corner she was hiding in. "So, it's the cleaner, a mortal". Lucas chuckled. "What pretty ears you have, baby deer!!! It would be a shame to lose them. Would be even better if your cute tongue is taken as well along with your ears. Huh." Lucas teased her with dangerous glint in his eyes. "Control your bloodlust, Lycan!" Lord Athan warned him.
"What's your name?" Lord Athan asked her. By that time, she was trembling so hard that she couldn't manage to utter her name. "Luna, is it?" Lord Athan's eyes were as deep as pools, and she found herself drowning in them. "Whatever you saw or heard, you will forget it in the morning. Now, leave." Lord Athan commanded in an authoritative tone. Luna nodded and nearly ran out of the suite with shaky legs. "Your compassion for the mortals surprises me, Lord Athan" Lucas said in a mocking style. "And your reckless ways would be the end of you, Lycan", Lord Athan said coolly. "Let's depart Reza, this room reeks of Lycan filth". Reza followed Lord Athan out of the suite.
Lucas sat there with smirk on his face. "Sergei, send the cleaner girl to my villa. A tasty bit of morsel she is". Lucas laughed. Sergei knew that he couldn't offend both males. Lord Athan was mysterious, but Lucas was outright cruel to people who offended him. The only creature to scare Lucas was the Lord Athan himself. No one exactly knew the extent of powers held by Lord Athan. He was the ultimate ruler of the underworld commanding absolute fear and obedience. But he was rarely seen in public specially in crowded places.
Meanwhile, Luna did not know that her life was going to take turn for far worse than simply helping her friend. After spending more than two months with the creatures of the underworld, she knew enough that she was being hypnotized back in the room and it would only save her if she pretended to forget their conversation. Strangely, for whatever reason, she had always found herself immune to most of the manipulations and powers of demons and other underworld creatures she had come across with. The night was going to be long for one puny mortal, Luna Frey.