Crimson Flame ~ Book 1 - The Royal Blood Collection

Chapter 6

I'd never been to Chinatown but as I looked out the window, I saw that it wasn't that different from where I lived. Like the streets around my apartment, it was cramped with buildings that looked like they were put together by a builder that didn't know what he was doing. Poor quality materials and shoddy workmanship.

This was an old city that struggled to cope with the rising population of humans and vampires. The government pushed for their people to breed and create a resilient race but they didn't bother to clean up the city or to create quality homes for them.

Silas slowed at the corner, to the side was a dark alley that was lit up with red paper lanterns. It did nothing to add to the overall light of the alley, just shining a dull red hue over the brickwork.

As Silas quickly moved around the limo and opened the door, a wave of humid air hit me. It was enough to make me want to remove the leather jacket.

Stepping out of the vehicle, I waited for Alaric. Nisha had been dropped off on the north side of the city. It was the upper-class area and a great place to buy clothes. That was her job for tonight, find more things for me. My job was to be the obvious presence of a partner in Alaric's life as he went about his duties for the night. Which, I had no idea what they were.

"Won't be long."

Silas nodded, closing the door. Alaric took my hand and together we walked into the dark alley.

We were halfway down the alley when Alaric stopped, letting go of my hand. In the muted light I couldn't see what he was doing.

"That red door over there, we're going in there and it might get a little hectic."

I looked at the flimsy wood steps that went up to the red door. There were only three steps but they all looked like they were ready to break from wood rot. Even the landing looked a little dodgy.

"So, what do I need to do?"

"Don't scream and don't run."

Sidestepping a puddle, I chased after him. Alaric walked up the steps without a care for them crumbling under his weight. I put a foot on it and pressed hard, nothing moved.

"Hmm."

With a smile, I looked up at the back of Alaric and thought that my heart might have dropped into the pit of my stomach. A handgun was poking out of the back of his pants, not hidden by the jacket he was wearing.

"Alaric, what are you doing?" I whispered.

"Dealing with a traitor."

Taking my hand again, Alaric opened the door and pulled me in. The entry was incredibly small, we could barely fit in the space between the wall and the desk. It was a heavy room, wall to wall red that was consuming and made the space seem even smaller. Commanding most of the space was a desk, the man behind it was asleep, leaning back into the corner. Even the door clunking shut didn't wake him. If it weren't for him snoring, I would have suggested we check for a pulse.

Alaric guided me into the darkness of the next room. If I thought that the entry was consuming, I was wrong. In the new room, we were faced with black walls, light that was sporadic and did nothing for the space. It was a wider room but the space to walk in was no more than a corridor in width. Large platforms lined the walls, I glanced under the platform to the left of me and saw feet poking out. Two layers, cram them in and to hell with comfort. Seagrass mats were laid out along the platforms with people lazing around, smoking.

Good god, he's dragged me into an opium den.

The platforms were filled with a lot of people. We turned a corner, faced with another corridor of platforms but this was clearly an upgraded area. They'd created rooms with white chiffon walls, tossed a couple of pillows onto the mats and probably doubled the price.