The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

ceiling. Accent lights, colored, looked wildly different compared to without the black lights above. Neon colors from every side of the spectrum flashed, breathed, pulsed to the beat of the music. The walls lit up with moving images of serpents, people, and other creatures.

"Oh, man, I forgot how much I love this place!" Jackal cheered.

"Good times, huh?" Reaper smiled.

"They really changed this place up," Mjolnir looked around. "New stages, too!"

"Think our usual table is free?" Jackal looked through the crowd.

"Let's see." Reaper led the way, cutting through those standing around.

Near the back end of the bottom floor was an empty booth in the corner. A perfect spot to view the entire club. As they approached, a fire breathing serpent danced across the wall greeting them with a burst of cyan flames.

Everyone slid into the booth with Sparrow sitting in the middle between Ruby and Ianisse. Fenris stayed at the end with Jackal smooshed between him and Mjolnir.

"You guys used to come here? I didn't take you for the party type, Captain." Sparrow leaned over the table.

"After the war, we were meant to go home, but we came here instead and lived it up for a few months." Jackal told her. "Didn't know what else to do. It was just a big celebration."

"Spec came with us." Reaper added. "So, it was the three of us in here every night. Never could get her to dance."

Jackal laughed. "The only dancing she did was fighting."

"A lot of fights?" Ruby inquired.

"Christ…" Jackal leaned back in thought.

Reaper put his hand to his face with a sigh.

"Too many to count. We got kicked out of this place so many times. She had a problem with everyone."

"She didn't start all of them."

"No, no, I'm pretty sure she did. I mean, some of those creeps deserved it, but she was the one picking fights. Man, someone would look at her and she would stab them in the neck."

Reaper almost laughed.

"So, we're here only so you can see this Spectre girl?" Ianisse's bird cawed.

"No!" He answered a little too fast. "We need supplies. Especially if we're gonna go to B-58. We need our stasis pods working and a synthesizer working."

"What's at B-58?" Ianisse asked.

"Fenris has an obligation there. We're dropping him off on the planet."

"But the planet orbits binary stars and our ship isn't designed to handle that kind of gravitational pull." Jackal added.

Their conversation paused for a moment with a scantily clad woman approaching the table. A sweet smile and a pretty face. Her body was painted with tribal designs that glowed under the black light. Everyone ordered drinks, Reaper asked to keep them refilled and for bottles.

"What could possibly be on that planet?" Ruby asked. "It's dangerous being that close to two stars."

Jackal shrugged.

"It's not our place to know." Reaper kicked back against the couch.

"Don't need to worry about it either!" Mjolnir hit his hand on the table. "Why don't we party and have some fun tonight? We haven't docked in ages and I can see some lovely females hanging around."

"Yeah. Everyone needs to have some fun. Get to know each other." Reaper grinned. "That's an order."

The table filled with chatter. A main conversation about how much fun Jackal and Reaper used to have on the station. Side conversations about nonsense. Mjolnir seemed to be a little distracted, pounding down drinks like his life depended on it.

After almost an hour, Jackal realized Fenris had nothing to drink. He pointed it out.

"Wait," Reaper leaned over the table. "You didn't order anything? What's wrong? They have more than alcohol here."

"Never...consumed." Fenris stated.

Mjolnir waved down the nearest waitress and four orders were placed. Within minutes Fenris had a tall stein of ardrizian ale, an average human beer, raven vodka, and a tall glass of a thick, creamy red drink that even Mjolnir barely pronounced correctly.

"Wait, wait!" Reaper waved a hand. "Before anything else happens." He cleared his throat. "Is this even safe for you to have? Like you ain't gonna get sick and die if you drink this stuff?"

"I'm pretty sure he can handle it, Cap." Sparrow said. "I mean, we fed him some wild stuff the other day."

Jackal almost slapped himself.

"What?"

Mjolnir scratched the back of his head, chuckling. "May have gott---"

"We should see what else he could eat!"

"No! No! Let's just try drinks right now." Jackal was quick to shoot the idea down.

Reaper seemed to be at a loss for words. He could only imagine what they found on the ship to feed him and why the hell would Fenris just eat anything they said?!

Jackal encouraged Fenris to give the beer a shot. Then immediately regretted it. The valkyrie tossed the entire drink in its maw. Glass and beer consumed in one bite.

Now Reaper understood.

"Christ, this is gonna be an expensive night…." He sighed.

"Don't eat what it's served in! Just drink it!" Jackal groaned.

It tried the ale next, watching to see how Mjolnir drank his first. It attempted to mimic the ardrizi, but could not fit the rim of the stein around those haphazard teeth. Ale spilled everywhere. With a grumble it set that down. Everyone chuckled.

The shot of vodka was much easier to down, especially once Jackal showed it how. It seemed unimpressed thus far.

Seemingly enjoying the creamy drink, Fenris, following Jackal's instructions, sipped more than consumed whole. It kept pace with Mjolnir, using the ardrizi as an example.

Jackal climbed over the back of the booth for the bathroom with Ruby going with him.

Mjolnir eventually wandered off to talk with a fellow ardrizi across the club.

"Whoa." Something caught Sparrow's eye. "Look at her." She pointed.

A woman had walked in, a man with her. A smaller human with a well chiseled body. Sparrow thought she belonged on the cover of a fitness magazine.

Long hair, braided tight on one side, a free flowing mohawk on the other. Covered in tattoos that were shimmering in the light, changing color to glow under the black light. Skin tight, tiny top that just only covered her chest and a sleeveless coat that flowed