Young Writers Society

"I know three," she said, pretending not to notice the chill, "the one I talk to the most has to be Natty, The Count's personal doctor, have you met him yet? He's supposed to do the physical exams when contractors are recruited."

She was telling a lot of lies tonight, but she was curious. Maybe she wouldn't signal somebody to take him out back right away.

The air grew so cold he could see his breath.

He nudged Asmira with the tip of his shoe underneath the counter, hoping that it was the only reminder that she needed.

The lights flickered one last time before returning to a steady - albeit weaker - glow.

"Then I have," Nathaniel agreed, cursing his bad luck. "I must have been too preoccupied to realize that we had the same name back during the exams."

"Hm," she took another sip of her drink. At least she had confirmation, this man wasn't supposed to be here.

The thought for a moment. She could get him killed right now, or she could satisfy her curiosity.

"So," she said, making up her mind, "Who are you, really? Keep in mind, I don't like being lied to, do it again and we're gonna have problems."

The lights suddenly went out, and the air dropped.

Nathaniel, for once, was grateful for the darkness - his hands had turned into shadows the moment that the question had been posed, and it was only because of the lack of light that his power remained hidden.

The lights turned back on, but the air was still as cold as it had suddenly become when the lights went out.

"My name is Nathaniel," he repeated, keeping his voice cool and eyes on the girl. "And I'm not sure I understand what you're implying - do you think I don't belong here?"

Everyone in the club was suddenly at attention, eyes on them. Even the orchestra had ceased playing. Hands inched toward weapons, a set of identical twins echanged a glance.

Megara held up a hand, a signal to stand still, to do nothing until she said so.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Now, your words and your actions suggest a threat. If it is me you're threatening, you may want to reconsider. Please, can we have a civil chat before anyone does anything rash?"

She exchanged a look with the bartender. In his eyes, a question. In hers, and answer. No, not yet.

"I wasn't intending to threaten you," Nathaniel countered. Asmira was the one nudging now - but instead of using her foot like he had, she was using the back of the knife hilt she had hidden up her sleeve. "I would like to keep this conversation civil, too."

Megara inclined her head and the club relaxed again, "Wonderful, let me buy you a drink, let's talk." She signaled the barkeep and another drink appeared beside hers.

"So, who are you, really? I assume Nathanial is your real name?"

He didn't touch the drink.

"It is," he confirmed. He didn't dare look over in Asmira's direction - right now, he was the one no one here trusted. As long as he kept the focus on him, he could rely on the element of surprise that she excelled at.

All it would take was a little waiting for the right moment.

"I doubt you would believe me if I told you anything else than that," he said, giving her a very John Mandrake-esque smile - cool yet warm, and clearly meant to belong to someone with a lot of power. He might not have had legions of spirits at his disposal anymore, and lacked the backing of the government, but Nathaniel had been in his fair share of dangerous situations.

She glanced between the two strangers, the wheels in her head turning in dark directions.

She sighed, "Alright, thing is, I've actually got places to be today, so how about you tell me how you got in here and cut the false confidence, yeah?"

She didn't think his confidence was fake, but she was pressing buttons. Finding the sensitive spot in which to dig her claws.

It was a moment before she realized that he wasn't looking at his companion. Not trying to intimidate her with higher numbers. Either they weren't here together - unlikely - or he didn't realize she'd memorized every face allowed in this little establishment. She wondered if she could use that.

Nathaniel didn't take the bait.

"I magically appeared in the closet," he said, his voice betraying none of the apprehension he actually felt. He had lost the opportunity to be truly afraid years ago - his confidence was genuine, or as close to it as he could make it. "I came down here and ordered a drink in the hopes that I could figure out where I was. I assumed that this place wasn't welcome to visitors, so I decided to play along with what you said."

He looked her in the eye.

"Does that satisfy you?"

She watched him. There was no lie in his voice, his posture, his face.

"Alright," she said, "I'll humor you." She downed the rest of her drink and looked to his friend, deciding that letting them think she didn't know was pointless, "You wanna confirm his story for me, love?"

The lights flickered.

Asmira wasn't sure how they had been discovered. Both of them had been good about being discreet, though she knew she had let her powers slip too much. She just had trouble adjusting to a situation like this. It had been one thing to travel from Sheba to Jerusalem; it was another to travel from there to a strange, foreign place that was clearly just as dangerous.

She took an unnoticeable breath and readied for a possible fight.

"He's telling the truth," she said.

Megara smiled, "Wonderful." She clapped suddenly, drawing a few curious eyes in their direction, "Would you like to continue this conversation upstairs?"

If these were more people from other worlds, she was going to stab something. Preferably one of them, but if they knew Skull, she suspected that he could beat her in a fight. Or, he could at least possess her. She didn't want that again.

Nathaniel and Asmira exchanged a look.

"Yes," Nathaniel said. He would keep acting as their makeshift diplomat; it was Asmira who was more versed in combat.

"Follow me then," she said and led the way out of the bar and back up to the main inn. There was a private lounge that she rented out without a word by slipping the Haven Keep a coin as she passed the front desk and slipping inside with her new companions in tow.

Alone behind locked doors (though she suspected the potential world hoppers hadn't noticed her lock them), she turned to the pair and examined them.

They appeared human, but there had been signs of magic in the bar. If they were from here, they'd have to be mer. If they weren't...

"Alright, how about you explain to me where you're from," she said, intentionally standing in front of the exit.