Club Himeros Read Online Free Page A

regards.
    The driver repeated the address back to her once they got moving, and she started to tell him where she thought it was in the city.  This was something she ended up doing whenever she took a cab.  It seemed like none of them knew where things were any more, intuitively, and relied on their GPS instead.
    But he interrupted her before she could get very far.  “I know where it is, miss,” he said.  He had a Jamaican accent, she decided.  “Your first time?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I say, is this your first time to this location.  Pardon my question.”
    “Yes.  To this location , yes.  It’s a party…?”
    “It’s a party, every month it’s a party at this address.  This must be your first time.  I’ve driven many times there.  Where is your mask?”
    “It’s… in my bag.”
    “Everybody I pick up has the mask already, all except the people never been before.  That’s how I know.”
    She leaned forward and squinted—soon she would have to admit it was time for her to get glasses—and read his name, which was Elijah.  “What else do you know about it, Elijah?  I’m not sure what I’m walking into.”
    “I tell you the same I tell everyone: you keep my number, you call me if you don’t want to stay.  Nobody do, but people feel better.”
    He stuck a business card through the plastic divider.
    “Thank you, that does make me feel better,” she said.  “But you don’t—”
    “I don’t know what goes on in there, miss.  Nobody ask me to take them home from there, so nobody say what goes on in there.”
    “You’re not curious?”
    “I am curious about many places.  This city is full of mysteries.  But you’re not supposed to tell and I’m not supposed to ask.”
    She laughed.  “Fair enough.”
    “So go on, put on the mask, let’s have a look.”
    Lindy slipped Elijah’s business card into her clutch and pulled the mask out.  She hadn’t wanted to wear it until necessary, because while the gloves might attract some attention and the choker may turn a few heads, the mask was out-and-out unusual. It shouldn’t have mattered, because the whole point of the mask was that nobody would know who was wearing it, unusual or not.
    She held it up to her face, tied the straps behind her head, and pulled her brown hair over the strap.  It was a close fit, and very comfortable.  The soft leather appeared to have been shaped for her face.
    “How does it look?” she asked.
    Elijah looked at her through his mirror.  “You look beautiful, and also not like yourself.”
    She smiled.  “Thank you.  I feel silly now.  I put makeup on my whole face.”
    “No-one will know one way or another.  We’re here, are you ready?”
    They had come to a stop in the middle of a winding side street, in front of a tall brownstone that looked little different from any of the other brownstones that dotted the neighborhood.  They didn’t look like much other than very old apartment housing, but Lindy knew most of the front doors led to single-family homes that were some of the most expensive in the city.  It was not the sort of place she ever expected to be invited.
    “That’s it?”
    “Everybody say that.  Yes, that’s it.  Just walk right on up the steps, ring the bell, that’s all I know.”
    She pulled cash from the clutch and handed it through the slot.  “One more thing, Elijah.  You say you’ve taken people here before.  Have you ever taken the same people more than once?”
    “A couple times, yah.  They wear the mask, but mostly I know when I see them.”
    “And none of them ever told you what kind of party it was?”
    “I never ask.  Better not to, I don’t want them telling the boss not to send Elijah.”
    “But they must know you’re curious.  I’d tell you if I saw you again.”
    “I’m sorry, miss, you’re very nice.  But no you won’t.  Nobody ever does.”
    *   *   *
    She took the tall stone steps slowly, because they were the unpleasant kind