Silver Kiss Read Online Free Page B

stood. “I’m going for a shower. I can’t think
straight with you sat there half-naked. Put some clothes on, will
you? For my sake.”
    ***
    While waiting to hear from the police, I was working at a tattoo
parlor to pay my share of the bills. I’d done the same job before
and liked the environment. Inked was a new shop, relaxed and
bright, pumping indie rock through the speakers. Photos of finished
tattoos lined the walls: everything from complex, swirling tribal
designs to tacky, leering cartoon devils. Soft sofas sat by the
window, facing a display case of lip rings and navel bars. Tattoo
and music magazines were scattered on the glass and metal table by
the sofas, inspiring customers to plump for bolder, crazier
designs.
    Inked’s manager and star tattooist, Calvin,
was polishing the table when I pushed open the front door. A bell
tinkled as I did and Calvin glanced up to give me a welcoming grin.
Despite his profession, he was free of body art and piercings and
looked more like he should be helping you pick out curtain fabrics
than slamming metal bars through your tongue.
    “ Hey, Ayla,” he greeted me.
“How did last night go?”
    “ It was okay,” I yawned.
I’d crashed out on the sofa for a few hours after getting home and
now I wished I hadn’t bothered. Napping just made me more tired. I
slipped past Cal into the tiny staff room. A TV blared in one
corner, coffee brewed in the coffeemaker on the side. I hung my
jacket on the coat stand in the corner and helped myself to coffee.
“Same as every Lupercali, really.”
    “ Which of course means
nothing to us mere humans.” He leaned in the doorway, flicking his
polishing cloth at a cobweb strung across the corner. “When I was a
kid, my brother used to tell me that you guys hunted humans down at
Lupercali. He used to scare me shitless telling me you’d steal
little kids and chase them through the woods on full
moons.”
    I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “My
granddad used to tell me that human hunters went after us on full
moons.” I sobered quickly, thinking of Alpha Humans and Adam’s
battered body. “Well, honestly I think you’d find Lupercali
underwhelming. It’s basically a barbeque and a piss-up.”
    We fell into casual conversation as Calvin
continued cleaning and I set up the till for the day. We didn’t
open for another half hour and the other two staff members—Kaye and
Lawrence—would roll in just before opening. Kaye was the piercing
specialist, Lawrence was Inked’s other tattooist. I adored Lawrence
and tolerated Kaye, who wasn’t keen on lesbians or werewolves.
    Dead on nine, Lawrence clomped into the
shop, heavy boots slamming on the wooden floor, cigarette smoke
clinging to his faded biker jacket.
    “ Yeah, yeah, don’t give me
that look,” he addressed Calvin, who frowned at the roll-up in his
hand. “Too hung-over for breakfast. Got to have something in my
system.” Lawrence stubbed out the cigarette on the staff room table
and flicked the dog end into the bin. The scent of metallic smoke
clung to him and I sneezed as he ruffled my hair.
    “ Ayla, babe, you won’t let
Calvin oppress me, will you?”
    I drew back from him. Lawrence, an aging
biker, always smelled of motor oil and hot rubber. Today that was
masked by the smell of the roll-up. It reminded me of the stuff
Oscar had been smoking last night, just slightly less acrid. “Are
you smoking Silver Kiss?” I asked.
    “ You better not be!” Calvin
warned. “I don’t want any funny shit in my shop.”
    Lawrence held up his hands
in a who me? gesture. “It’s not funny
shit . It’s not even illegal. Just a little
herbal high, that’s all.”
    “ It had better be,” Calvin
said sharply. He disappeared into the basement section of the shop,
where the tattooing was done. Lawrence gave an exaggerated
sigh.
    “ It’s like working with my
ex-wife sometimes.”
    “ What is in Silver Kiss?” I
asked. “Some of the kids were smoking it last