Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Dirty Dancing

Norman knocked on the door to Toby and Anna’s house. He had spent the better part of the morning finishing up with his bone armor spell and then sleeping. Now it was early evening and he needed a break. There was only so much experimenting he could do at a time before his brain turned to mush. Despite the exhaustion, he still felt the urge to go back and keep experimenting.

Norman wasn’t sure if it was the idea of getting to do magic or just a general excitement about his life that led to this change, either was ok with him. But the old Norman was still there and he needed to unwind.

He didn’t have to wait long as Anna practically flung the door open.

“Norman,” she beamed at him.

“Hey, Anna. Is your brother around?”

She frowned slightly, “yeah, he’s here. I think he’s taking a nap. TOBY!”

Norman winced at the volume of her yell and tried to clear the ringing from his ear with a finger before Anna turned back toward him.

“Ooh, what’s that?” she asked, spotting the cord of the necklace dangling from his hand.

“Oh, this? I made this for ya.”

Anna’s eyes lit up as she heard that. Norman hoped she didn’t get any ideas about his intentions for this necklace, it wasn’t even anything special. Just a black tooth tied to a string.

“What’s this for?” she asked after snatching it from his outstretched hand.

“I felt bad about that other necklace I bought you. I should have told you it wouldn’t work. So I decided to make it up to you with a replacement necklace. And this one will actually work for you.”

Anna turned the necklace over until she spotted the glowing symbol. Her eyes grew as wide as her smile. “What’s it do?” she asked as she slipped it on and tied the string.

“Um, I guess you could call it an amulet of protection. Just crush the bone at the end and it should keep ya safe.” Norman said that last part with more than a hint of pride.

“But then I wouldn’t have the necklace anymore,” Anna pouted.

Norman waved off her concern, not understanding why she would care. “I can always make you another.”

It looked like Anna wanted to say something else, but she turned as she heard Toby descending the stairs.

“I’m glad to see the two of you made up,” she gave Norman an exaggerated wink as if she was being subtle for mentioning it.

“Anna, quit being a pain in the ass,” Toby admonished.

“How am I being a pain in the ass?”

Toby snorted, “your very existence is a pain in the ass. But in this case, you are being rude to a guest by making him stand outside.”

“It’s fine,” Norman cut in before the two could get to their usual bickering match. “Just came to ask if you are free tonight?”

Toby quirked an eyebrow. “I might be. You got something interesting planned?” Toby pushed Anna out of the doorway.

She squeaked in annoyance but couldn’t stop it from happening.

Norman really didn’t want to discuss this in front of Anna, but he didn’t see a way around it. So he decided to be a bit cryptic.

“You remember Sanguine Stars?” He hoped Toby remembered the name of the club and understood what he was getting at. Going by the growing smile on the man’s face, he did.

“Yup, I’m free for that.”

“Free for what?” Anna asked, trying to push back into the doorway and the conversation.

“Adult things, no need to concern yourself about those.”

She let out a huff of annoyance. “I’m almost an adult.”

Toby barked out a harsh laugh. “You’re only sixteen, barely older than a child.”

Anna kicked Toby hard in the shin. “I’m almost seventeen, you jerk.”

Toby winced and hopped back as he rubbed his shin. “Yeah, real mature. Maybe if you stopped acting like a two-year-old, I would stop treating you like one.”

The two started slapping at each other and Norman sighed and rubbed his temple. “I’ll be back at ten.”

“Sounds good,” Toby replied as he ducked away from another one of Anna’s slaps.

“You’re taking me with you,” Anna screeched.

“Not a chance, beanpole. You would cramp my style.”

Norman just walked away.

***

Norman waited outside his house after getting ready. He was dressed in his best club getup. Not the skinny jeans outfit that Charise had liked to see him in. That outfit did bad things to his manhood. Things that he would prefer to avoid tonight. He was after all going clubbing for a reason.

A few minutes later, Toby came strutting out of his house with Anna hot on his tail. It seemed she had moved on from threats to pleading and crying.

Toby just ignored her until he got to his van.

“Sorry, Sis. Even if I wanted to bring you, which I don’t. The place wouldn’t let you in any way.”

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Looking defeated, Anna stormed off back into the house and slammed the door shut.

“You ready?” Toby asked, turning towards Norman’s approach.

Norman nodded, “Is she going to be ok?”

“She’ll be fine. She needs to understand that she can’t always get her way.”

Norman climbed into the passenger seat.

“Where are we going?” Toby asked after he got in.

“I heard there was a new place over by the old pancake house.”

“Yeah, I think it was called ‘Desire’. Works for me.”

If there was any universal truth, it was that if there were young people, they would always find a place to party. This was even more evident after the fall. With people being stacked inside the wall like cordwood, the youth needed a place to get away. Away from ‘responsible adults’ and away from the new responsibilities they had.

Desire was just such a place. Nestled in an abandoned skating rink not too far outside the wall, it catered to those that wanted the thrill of being outside the wall, without actually having to experience the dangers of it. Not that there were many dangers this close to the city but people still feared the unknown.

Long before Norman and Toby reached the building, they could see the kaleidoscope of lights and hear the pounding beat of the music.

Their arrival didn’t go unnoticed. It was rare for anyone to have a working vehicle, but that wasn’t all. Toby was well-known throughout the city. Norman did catch a few snickers from the waiting line of people as he got out of the van. They were of course aimed toward him, but he ignored them.

He was about to show these idiots why they were beneath him. Norman and Toby simply walked up to the bouncer and he clasped hands with the guy like he had known him for years. Norman had no clue who the guy was and had never met him before but that was all water under the bridge as Norman palmed a single gem into the man's hand as they clasped.

The man unclipped the rope to boos and jeers from the peanut gallery as Norman and Toby were ushered inside. Norman turned to smile and flip off the waiting crowd before he passed the doorway. It felt good to be treated like a VIP for once and not a degenerate.

Toby clapped Norman on the shoulder. “I’m gonna go… peruse. I wish you luck on your hunt.”

After Toby left him, Norman worked his way around the club. He tried to dance his way into the hearts of a few girls. He wasn’t much of a dancer but he wasn’t completely awful. Unfortunately, his attempts were met with disinterest.

After a few more unsuccessful attempts, Norman stopped at the bar and downed a few drinks. It was going to be a long night filled with a whole lot of rejections. But that didn’t bother Norman, he enjoyed just being here and it was no fun unless there was some challenge involved.

***

Norman groaned as a shaft of light pierced straight into his brain. Or at least that’s what it felt like. Waking up with a hangover always sucked, but it was worse when that bastard light got involved. He scanned what little of the room he could see without moving his head and making his headache worse. The room was a whole lot of pink accents and tasteful décor, certainly not anything he recognized.

Most people might be concerned by this development, but Norman only smiled. It meant he had a successful night, even if he didn’t remember most of it. He turned his head and was met by a faceful of dark brown hair.

Not wanting to wake his partner, Norman slipped from under the covers and quietly hunted around the room for his clothes. Trying to make as little noise as possible. Only the soft clinking of his necklaces disturbed the silence. But the woman in the bed didn’t wake. She did moan and pulled the covers tighter around herself though.

This movement exposed her backside, giving Norman a decent peak at what lay beneath. He was impressed by what he saw. She was curvy, no doubt about that. Norman smiled. It seemed he hadn’t lost his touch.

Norman wanted to leave a note for the woman, or his number but he realized he didn’t even remember her name. That decided it for him as he slipped out of the apartment and back to his house. He didn’t like ghosting people but it was probably for the best. They both had their fun, now they could move on.

While a new girlfriend would be nice, Norman needed to focus on his magic at the moment. And he doubted a girl that hooked up with him at some seedy club would want to associate with him. Especially when they found out what sort of magic he did.

Despite the seediness of the club, the types of people that usually went to those sorts of places were twofold.

Those like Toby and Norman, and others like them who were familiar with those sorts of places. And then those who wanted to slum it for the night. Going by how nice the apartment was that Norman found himself in this morning, this woman was definitely the latter. Not that Norman begrudged the woman her bit of indulgent fun, he just knew it wouldn’t work out between them.

***

Brigette waited until Norman left her apartment before she rose into a sitting position in the bed and stretched, her nudity on full display.

Before she had been enthralled by that asshole Kevin, she wouldn’t have been as comfortable in her own body.

It was weird to think that anything that prick did helped her. And she certainly wasn’t going to thank him for his actions. The depraved little bastard. She was glad her father had finally learned about what was going on and ended the man, freeing her from his clutches. Now if she could only return the favor, but Franka was a formidable opponent. And her grasp on Brigette’s father was more ephemeral, yet somehow harder to break.

She was still working towards that end anyway, but it was slow going.

When she spotted the reviled necromancer at the club, she couldn’t resist trying to get close to him. Anyone that Franka and Gail hated was an ally that Brigette could use. She certainly hadn’t intended for this to happen but the man was surprisingly charismatic and sweet, despite what the rumors and file stated.

And before she knew it, they were making love. It was only Brigette’s second time, but it was a night and day difference versus the desperate flailing that Kevin had called sex. Even with Brigette’s inexperience, she understood just how little Kevin understood women or the act in general.

Brigette sighed. Despite how good the evening had turned out, Norman was a means to an end. An end to Franka and her control over her father. Assuming she could get him on her side.

Steeling her resolve, Brigette stood and strode toward the bathroom. She had a long day ahead of her.

***

Toby hadn’t agreed to go with Norman so he could score, no, he did it to keep an eye on the man. It was a good thing he had. Seeing the Mayor’s daughter sidle up to Norman during the night was a surprise.

He would have thought the woman would act a bit more timid toward the opposite sex after what had happened between her and Kevin. Toby chuckled at that memory. It felt good slipping that little nugget of information past Franka and to the current Mayor. While it had been difficult, it had paid off in spades by throwing another wrench in Franka’s plans.

It had removed Kevin from the board and hurt Franka at the same time, all the while keeping Toby’s involvement in the matter a complete mystery. It wasn’t even the first time Toby had done this to the woman. He had been the one that leaked the envoy's hotel location to Sin. And that had turned out rather well, crippling Franka’s future prospects with the elves. It also put Franka, Gail, and Sin in direct conflict. Hopefully hastening the fall of all three.

Toby did overstep a bit during his implantation of that plan when he let his emotions override his better judgment. His anger at what Norman had done with his sister had almost ruined his entire plan.

He had always planned on getting Norman mixed up with the gang, but doing it by delivering the information directly had been a big no-no. There were times to get personally involved, and times to avoid it. That had been a time he shouldn’t have been involved. He learned a painful lesson that day and would not repeat that. So for now he just watched and looked for an opportunity to involve the Mayor’s daughter in his plot.

There was no way Brigette slept with Norman out of the kindness of her heart. She likely had plans that involved the man as well. If Toby had to guess, they also involved hurting Franka too. Toby was completely fine with that. In fact, he would do everything in his power to help the woman as it ran parallel to his goals.

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