Read The Descent Series, Books 1-3: Death's Hand, The Darkest Gate, and Dark Union (The Descent Series, Volume 1) for Free Online Page A

side to side, her hands trailing up her hips and stomach. Her fingers traced the swell of her bare breasts. Her nipples were erect despite the warmth, and her skin was dark olive. She was one of the Gray bartenders Elise didn’t know. Probably part-basandere, judging by the heavy iron chain around her waist.
    Someone waved at her from behind the bar. Neuma’s hair was liquid midnight, like each individual strand had been dipped in an inkwell. As she moved toward Elise, she faded slightly into the shadows behind her until only her white skin and bathrobe were visible. The half-succubus Gray hadn’t yet dressed for the night, and she earned a few strange looks for it.
    “What you doing here?” Neuma asked, leaning on the bar. “Business or pleasure?”
    Elise had to yell to hear herself over the music. “Business. Can we talk in back?”
    The bartender’s welcoming grin slipped off her face. “Sure.” Elise jumped over the bar and followed Neuma down a hall. The volume of the music faded the further they went. “How you doing, doll?”
    “You know me. You also probably know why I’m here.”
    Neuma grimaced. “Money?”
    “Money,” Elise confirmed.
    An entire wall of the dressing room they entered was dedicated to shelves of alcohol. The other wall was a line of messy vanities. Black light illuminated the room, darkening everything but Neuma’s skin, which glowed violet in the shadows.
    She gestured to the alcohol. “What you want today?”
    “Information and a paycheck,” Elise said, dropping her jacket on the dressing table. “You can help me with the first one, but I’ll need David Nicholas for the second. Where is he?”
    “Shot of vodka it is.” Neuma dragged a stool out of the closet and positioned it under the shelves. “I haven’t seen you in a couple weeks—how’s life being sugar and spice?”
    “Not as profitable as I would like. I really need to talk to him, Neuma.”
    She snorted. “Yeah, good luck. He left an hour ago to ‘restock,’ so the fucker’s probably higher than the moon by now.”
    Neuma stepped onto the stool, lifting onto her toes to reach for one of the higher shelves. Elise watched her pale calves and ankles flex under the hem of her bathrobe. She made a triumphant noise and dropped to the floor again, alcohol in hand.
    Elise forced herself to look away from Neuma’s legs. “What’s he taking?”
    “I think he’s gotten into lethe, but he ain’t going to admit it.” She took out two shot glasses and opened the vodka. “I can’t imagine how a sexy girl like you got stuck accounting when you could be doing fun shit, like touring with me and the other Blood girls. We’re leaving for St. Louis on the twenty-third. You can still come.”
    “I’m not an employee,” Elise said.
    “Could be by the twenty-third.”
    “Believe it or not, I like my job.”
    Neuma shrugged and handed her a shot. “The offer’s out there.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind.” Elise tossed back the vodka. The alcohol burned hot all the way from her throat to the pit of her stomach. “When do you think David Nicholas will be back?”
    “Could be a few minutes, could be a few days. Depends on how good the trip is.”
    A few days. She couldn’t wait that long to pay rent. Elise dropped the shot glass amongst a pile of leather straps on the counter. “Where’s the shift manager?”
    Neuma’s full lips split into a grin. “You’re looking at her, beautiful!”
    “Congrats. Where did our least favorite witch go?”
    “Moved off to live with some aeshma.” Neuma took a swig right out of the vodka bottle. “I hope she gets put into slavery by something with a lot of boils and a fetish for shit-play.”
    “Speaking of slavery, there’s a lot of humans here tonight. What’s going on? I thought you guys banned humans below the casino level.”
    “New policy from on high. We gotta play nice. Too many people wandered in and disappeared, so we’re not letting humans into private