“This is where you’re taking her?”
Kerr paused mid step to turn and give Severina a surly glare.
“Yes, it is. If you’ve got a problem with that, you can wait outside.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Severina replied sternly, her eyes full of judgement. “This had best not take long.”
“Oh, trust me,” Kerr purred, her tone unexpectedly shifting from one of annoyance to pure lust. “With these kinds of things, Jadis can go all night.”
The change in attitude seemed to catch Severina off guard as she drew back a little, her look turning wary as her glance darted between Kerr and Jadis’ closest self, Dys. She looked both annoyed and scandalized, with the three other high-ranking knights with her wearing similarly judgmental expressions under their helms. The lordly Seraphim opened her mouth to retort, then thought better of it as she caught Kerr’s delighted grin.
“Be on your guard,” Severina instead instructed her team. “I want you all on full alert while we are inside this… establishment.”
With those words, she motioned for Kerr to proceed with a thin-lipped smile; an invitation that Kerr happily took as she linked her arm into Dys’ and strode forward to the building she’d been leading Jadis to originally. Her grin was triumphant as she led the group up to the tall door and gave it a knock.
Jadis, for her part, had no idea what the fuck was going on.
The evening so far had been about as enjoyable as she would have expected, though the lack of any true surprise had her a bit on edge with anticipation. Kerr had taken Jadis to a part of the capital that she probably would have categorized as the “rough side of town” if she were back on Earth, though the lack of trash on the streets or vagrants panhandling on the corners meant the area still looked fairly nice. The businesses were definitely seedier than other places Jadis had visited, with dark interiors and noticeably cheaper wares and furnishings. The area felt like the kind of place Kerr likely spent a lot of her time in the past, not necessarily because she couldn’t afford better, but because Kerr was the kind of person to seek out thrills in disreputable places.
The restaurant Kerr had taken her to had been more of a bar that served food. Good food, as it turned out, so there wasn’t anything to be disappointed with in that department, though Jadis had been fairly certain the roughly human-sized stain on the floor next to their table hadn’t been made by beer.
After passing the time eating, drinking, and wandering through a few of the darker alleys, Kerr had led Jadis’ selves up to a building that didn’t look much different from the rest they had passed by. There weren’t so many stained-glass windows in this part of the city and there weren’t any on this particular establishment, so there wasn’t much to indicate what might be inside. There was a sign over the door, raised wooden letters painted in bright reds and blues that caught the eye, but it had been written in a language that Jadis couldn’t read. The only image on the sign was that of a deer or elk with wide antlers, so the best guess she had was that the place was a hunting lodge.
That was, of course, until Severina had objected to them going inside.
Jadis had not been happy about the stuck-up angel following them around as an escort that evening. She had figured Roy would have done the job, but apparently the goblin paladin had other duties to attend to that night. Instead, Severina and a trio of knights from Valtar’s temple had been assigned to guard her while she was on her date with Kerr. Jadis supposed the Seraphim was a better choice than Runar, but the situation still wasn’t ideal.
At least the paladin had been mostly unobtrusive, staying out of obvious line-of-sight and keeping quiet while Jadis and Kerr enjoyed themselves. She hadn’t done more than give them a disapproving look when Kerr had brought them to the shady bar. This unknown business, though, was apparently a step too far outside of what Severina deemed acceptable. It couldn’t be illegal, Jadis was certain, since if it was the paladin definitely wouldn’t have allowed them to continue. But the place had to be disreputable to the extreme for her to raise an objection.
Jadis was actually getting kind of excited by the idea of Severina hating the place.
After a brief wait, a small window on the front of the door slid open to reveal a set of gray eyes. The man behind the door said something in a language that sounded vaguely like French, which was recognizable only in that it was a language that Kerr liked to swear in frequently. Kerr responded in kind and, a moment later, the door opened to reveal another therion.
Jadis hadn’t seen many therions other than Kerr and Noll, so it was interesting to encounter another. The doorman was a bulky sort with reddish-brown fur and horns that curved significantly more than Kerr’s, making him look more like a goat than an antelope in that regard. He eyed Jadis’ three bodies warily, then frowned at the quartet of holy knights standing right behind, one of them obviously winged and unhappy.
“We’re here for fun, nothing else,” Kerr rolled her eyes. “Would I lie?”
The doorman gave her a flat look, then huffed loudly before stepping aside to let their party in. He said something else in that foreign language that made Kerr laugh, though he put up no further objection. Jadis ducked to get in through the door and found that the entrance area was something of a mudroom where people could leave their coats and, more importantly, looked like they were supposed to leave their weapons.
A young human woman with pretty eyes was set up behind a counter where she could hold on to any weapons that customers might have. The look she gave the three towering Nephilim was a mixture of shock and awe that Jadis was growing familiar with. Jadis and Kerr had not brought any weapons with them, so there was nothing for them to turn over to the gawking lady. Severina and her knights completely ignored the woman, clearly having no intention of turning over any of the armaments.
Once Kerr had led Jadis past the woman and through a short hallway, she realized exactly what kind of establishment her mischievous lover had taken her to.
Multiple round stages were spread out across the room, with one larger stage in the middle. The music of low flutes, lutes, and steady drums filled the softly lit space, with a scent of some kind of incense filling the air. There were tables and chairs positioned around and between the stages, about half of them filled with mostly male patrons. The people on the stages, though, were women. Women who were barely clothed to the point of obscenity. Beautiful, nearly naked women who were dancing and gyrating to the rhythm of the thrumming music.
Kerr had taken her to a strip club.
“This is where you want to spend our date?” Dys asked dryly. “Really?”
“Fuck yeah,” Kerr grinned as she eyed a particularly bottom-heavy elf who was bent over at the waist while she entertained a trio of very drunk orcs. “The Bounding Buck has the best dancers I’ve ever come across outside of Tiaga. Someday when all this demon shit is over with, we’ve got to sail there. That place was amazing, especially the dancers. But since we can’t just up and fly a thousand miles on a whim, this place will do.”
As Jadis followed Kerr around the edges of the large room, she was pleased to find that very few of the patrons paid any attention to her. The lighting was fairly dim except for where the women were dancing on their small stages, and the people watching them were far more focused on the shows than anyone walking around in the background. Jadis couldn’t blame them. The dancers really were gorgeous. Their movements were so smooth and elegant that they almost seemed supernatural, an effect that was borderline mesmerizing. A couple of the women even had small lights glowing and flickering around them as they danced, likely the effect of some kind of illusion spell. Jadis suspected that all of them had classes that enhanced their dancing skills, and probably their beauty as well. She wasn’t sure what kind of dancing class would offer illusion spells as well, but someone in the building had to be powering those dancing lights. Or maybe they were enchantments?
There was something magical about the music as well. Not in that it was literally a spell or anything like that; Jadis could see the musicians off to one side on a stage of their own. The unnatural aspect was how evenly the music filled the large area. If Jadis had been back on Earth, she would have assumed it was the work of a good sound system with speakers set up in all the best corners of the room. Since that wasn’t an option, Jadis guessed there was some kind of magical enchantment or a skill being used to help the music be heard throughout the whole chamber.
While Jadis was partially distracted by a redhead doing the kinds of acrobatic movements she’d expect to see at a circus while wearing nothing but a skimpy skirt, Kerr spoke with a woman who was more generously clothed.
“A private room, please,” Kerr purred as she passed the woman a handful of coins. “North side.”
“Right this way,” the woman bowed her head with a smile.
The woman escorted them up a partially hidden flight of stairs to the second floor of the building. The hallway was lined with doors, all of which were on one side. Upon being led to a particular door, Jadis found that inside was a balcony box seat that overlooked the floor below with an excellent view of the main stage in the center. Looking around, Jadis saw that while she could make out the other private rooms that also overlooked the main floor, she couldn’t actually see into any of them. A few had some shadowy figures barely visible, but other than the indication of movement she couldn’t tell who was there or what they were doing.
Another bit of illusion magic, Jadis guessed.
The place might have been a strip club, but it had to be one of the higher-end variety if they could afford to spend money on privacy enchantments. Or was there a person who was casting spells to give people the anonymity they desired? Either way, it seemed no one would be able to see what Kerr and Jadis were up to while they were inside their private room.
That thought had Jadis’ hearts beating even faster.
“Sorry, chicken wing,” Kerr drawled somewhere behind Jadis’ selves, “but this is a private room. We don’t have the room for your whole retinue.”
“Jadis is not to be left alone and unobserved while outside of the temple district,” Severina replied shortly. “That is not negotiable.”
Jay turned to watch as Kerr stood in the door, blocking Severina or her knights from entering. She was taller than the Seraphim, so she was using that to her advantage as she leaned one elbow on the door frame and grinned down at the shorter woman.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” she hooked a thumb over her shoulder, “but my mate is a fucking giant and she has three bodies. We don’t have the space in here for all of you. If you want to stand against a wall while we enjoy ourselves, that’s fine. But the boys will have to stay outside.”
Kerr’s teasing tone and casual demeanor looked like they were going to give the stern Seraphim an aneurism, but eventually Severina seemed to swallow whatever vitriolic comment she was going to make. The paladin was a professional, through and through, Jadis had to give her credit for that. She was here to do a job and she wasn’t going to rise to any of Kerr’s bait. Of course, Kerr was an expert when it came to taunts, so not even the pristine paladin of Valtar could avoid the color in her cheeks growing from the therion’s provocations.
Then again, maybe that light blush was stemming from other sources. Jadis couldn’t imagine the high-born lady and devout Seraphim had ever visited an erotic establishment before. The sights couldn’t be something she had much of a defense against if she’d never built up a tolerance. Jadis suspected the woman was probably internally dying from mortification at the situation while also cursing Roy out for not being available to escort Jadis instead of her.
“Fine,” Severina snapped. “Step aside. You three, perimeter watch.”
With that order, the three other knights took up positions spread out in the hallway. Seeing that, Kerr stepped away from the door while flashing Jay a cheeky grin. Once Severina was inside and posted up against the wall, Kerr shut the door and joined Jadis by the balcony.
“I don’t think I’m taking up that much room,” Jay quietly commented to her horned lover as she wrapped an arm around her side.
“No, you aren’t,” Kerr whispered back. “But we need to make sure we’ve got enough room up here for later.”
“Later?”
“You’ll see,” Kerr winked.
There were leather-cushioned seats set up in the private booth, but since they weren’t quite adequate for Jadis’ size, she opted to take a few cushions off and make herself comfortable on the floor. With Jay in the middle, Syd on the left and Dys on the right, Kerr chose to plop herself down in Jay’s lap. Thus arranged, they settled in to watch the shows going on down below.
It didn’t take long for the first main act of the night to begin. A lithe elf with pale blue skin and dark blue hair got onto the stage. She was wearing more clothing than the other dancers, with a top that exposed her toned stomach and a long skirt that was slit high on either side of her legs, but that just seemed to add to her allure. As she began to dance, the music changed to suit her movements. Her swaying, gyrating form was tantalizing, and as Jadis watched, she found herself drawn in by the elf’s charisma.
The show wasn’t just a simple, mundane dance, however. As the song progressed, afterimages of the beautiful elf appeared on the stage around her. Almost like a kaleidoscope, the dancer’s form weaved through the mirrored shadows of herself in an intricate pattern that was almost too difficult to follow. Though with how sexy the dancer was, Jadis put in extra effort to try.
At some point, the dancer lost her top, then her skirt. Jadis couldn’t even be sure when it happened, but by the end of the dance the elf was completely naked, her achingly attractive body bare to the world. When the sensual song finished and the blue-skinned woman had struck her final pose, Jadis couldn’t help but clap in appreciation as the rest of the audience shouted their approval.
Fortunately, no one started throwing coins at the woman.
“She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Kerr murmured as she watched the elf leave the center stage, still without a stitch of clothing.
“She really is,” Jay easily agreed. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“I’m glad to feel your appreciation for her talents,” Kerr added, her voice dripping with lust as she wiggled her ass against Jay’s crotch. “Maybe we should meet her later?”
“I wouldn’t want to bother any of the women while they’re working,” Jay chuckled at Kerr’s teasing suggestion. “Besides, why would I need her when I’ve got you?”
Kerr just hummed knowingly before turning her eyes back to the stage.
As the night continued, several more shows were put on, all of them equal parts erotic and alluring. A few servers came through their private room, bringing them drinks. Not so many that Jadis could say she was truly drunk, but enough that she maintained a pleasant buzz. Kerr talked with most of the servers in a friendly, personal way, sometimes using their native languages instead of Imperial. Even though Kerr hadn’t been to this place often, she apparently left a good impression as the servers both recognized her and seemed eager to serve her.
Occasionally, Jadis would spare a glance to check on Severina, only to find the Seraphim stoically ignoring everything around her as she stood at attention by the door. She wasn’t sure if the woman was bored, peeved, or embarrassed, but she definitely didn’t look like she was enjoying the show. That was fine, so far as Jadis was concerned. Severina hadn’t been invited, after all. Her satisfaction wasn’t really a part of the equation.
Jadis finished off another collection of sweet drinks before clapping for the latest show, which had involved five women putting on a visually impressive acrobatic display. She was thinking about how exactly she might convince her lovers to try one of the positions they’d taken, just to see how it would look with them doing it, when the door to the private room opened again.
Expecting to see another server, Syd did a double take when she glanced over her shoulder.
Two women had entered the room. One was a therion woman she’d seen in multiple acts that night, her wild black hair and short horns giving her a tomboyish look. She was wearing a shirt and skirt combo that showed off her generous cleavage and muscular thighs. The other was the lithe, pale blue elf. She was once again wearing the same clothes she’d been wearing at the start of her dance before, though images of what she looked like underneath the enticing outfit couldn’t help but flit through Jadis’ mind.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Kerr purred as she once more ground her ass against Jay’s bulge. “I ordered us a private show. I wanted a closer look.”
No, Jadis certainly didn’t mind. She’d wanted a closer look, too.
295