Drained: The Lucid (3 page)

James’s fingers swiped in all directions on his phone. “Look. Here’s one that says we’re involved with sex trafficking. The absurdity of that makes me want to …” His face crumpled with frustration.

“Well, we do—” Seven began.

“No.” James interrupted his friend. He banged his fist lightly on the table but with enough force that their water glasses shuddered. “That’s not what we are and don’t you try to make that argument. Sex trafficking is a despicable thing humans did to themselves.”

The table settled into a tense silence as everyone continued to finish their food and drinks. Eye contact was avoided and utensils scraped against emptying plates.

Taking a glance at her watch, Riley nearly choked on her food when she saw the time. She was going to be late for her meeting at the office. “Shit. Does anyone need anything from work?” Not waiting for a real answer, she slammed back the rest of her coffee and cringed at the cooled beverage’s taste. She snatched her purse from behind her metal seat and tossed a one hundred dollar bill on the table. After all, she had lost the bet. She was the last one to make it to brunch.

“Keep the money,” said Seven. He eyed the paper bill. “We all know you could have been on time if you had manipulated the realm for it.”

Riley quirked her lips. “Now why would I waste my precious energy on strenuous things like that? I’d rather pay for your food.”

Seven chuckled and shook his head. If there was one thing each member of the group could say about Riley, it would be that she had her priorities about her work. And being efficient with the energy used and gained was the only way to get to the top.

“I’ll text you later.” Bending over, Riley gave Heather a small peck on the cheek as she waved at everyone else.

Before exiting the café, she snuck in a quick glance, hopeful to spot Amber before she had to leave. But with no girlfriend in sight, Riley rushed through the gate’s side exit.

Riley strode up to the large corporate building, the heels of her boots clicking on the sidewalk. Looking up at the thirty-story, glass construction would give anyone a stiff neck. She slid her sunglasses up her forehead as she walked out of the Los Angeles sunshine and through the main entrance. The vaulted beams and floor-to-ceiling glass walls made each of Riley’s booted steps echo hollowly as she walked past the front help desk.  

The lobby was a vast, white, and nearly empty space. It was clinical and generic and in the exact layout as Trusics’s six other global headquarters. The symmetry was purposeful, helping to cut down on the agents’ transition period from one location to another. Succubi and incubi visibly remained the same age provided they fed regularly on the sexual energy of a human partner. To avoid unwanted suspicions, Trusics required agents to relocate every six years. This year marked Riley and her friends’ third year in the Los Angeles office. At the end of their term they would have to choose a new city to call home.

A series of flatscreens lined the walls of the front lobby, each playing a different company commercial. An attractive woman in an immaculately tailored suit filled one of the television screens. Riley had seen the commercials so many times that she could practically recite the woman’s greeting verbatim: “Welcome to the Trusics Network, a place where you’ll find your dream match. If you have yet to sign up, the partner of your dreams is only a click away.”

The public face of Trusics bordered between the romantic and the sensational. They’d made their mark in the adult entertainment industry, balancing an ambitious business portfolio that included everything from dating websites to subscription-based pornographic web material. They openly advertised the x-rated side of their multimillion dollar enterprise with the same candor and professionalism as the dating sites. With millions of views a day and countless new members each month, Trusics had grown from a modest data-mining enterprise in the 1990s to a global corporation.

Riley reached the building’s security guards who stood behind the lobby’s second help desk. She routinely flashed her employee ID although she knew for a fact that she was recognized even without the laminated badge. Trusics’s LA branch employed nearly 550 individuals, but only about half of that number were trained succubi and incubi with access to the dream realm. The remaining employees were human, but they’d traded their silence about the existence of the supernatural for the guarantee of immortality. They maintained the public face of Trusics’s global empire—human resources, accounting, customer service, marketing and sales—all the pieces necessary for the day-to-day survival of the company.   

Riley avoided the elevator and began the long hike to the twenty-third floor. Her employee status as an active agent gave her access to most floors in the building, save those reserved for the Los Angeles Branch Director, Niall Price, and the office of the company’s CEO, Robert Thaser, who bounced from one location to the next depending on corporate needs.

The twenty-third floor was a veritable maze of administrative desks and permanent offices. Riley waved hello to a few familiar faces who returned the pleasantries. She herself had an office on the twenty-first floor, but she rarely visited unless she had to file paperwork about an unorthodox mark or if the internet was down at her apartment and she needed to access the company database.

Generally, she avoided that floor because it creeped her out; all of the cubare offices were bundled together on five levels, giving those floors a ghost-town aura.

“Riley. Glad I caught you.” Josh, the resident tech-geek, popped out of the copy room. “Just wanted to give you a heads up. Think raise.”

Riley paused briefly and arched an eyebrow. She was surprised to see her friend on the higher level. As a member of the web team and not an active agent like herself, his desk was located miles below. “Really?”

The tall man with moppy brown hair shrugged. There was a childlike innocence to his lopsided smile. “That’s what my inside sources are saying.”

“Right. Because you totally have those.” A soft laugh escaped her lips.

Josh’s shoulders slumped, caught in the thinly veiled lie. “Okay, you got me.” He fell into step with Riley who continued to walk down the corridor. “I overheard when I was taking a leak.” She made a face at the unnecessary bit of information.

“Did you take the stairs again?”

Riley’s eyebrows knit together. “Yes. Why?”

“In those heels?” he said, pointing at her less than sensible boots.

“What are you doing up here anyway?” Riley deflected. “I thought you computer types liked to hang out in the dungeon.”

Josh scowled. “Because
someone
still thinks I’m copier tech support.” He shot a glare over his shoulder at no one in particular.

Riley shook her head as she maneuvered around bustling workers darting in and out of open rooms. It was impossible not to notice how lively everyone was. The office was normally a peaceful environment, a laid-back workplace that would occasionally indulge in team-building games like ultimate Frisbee and paintball. But there was nothing carefree about the scene that played before her. People ran in all directions and the earsplitting sound of shrill, ringing phones echoed throughout the floor.

“So, what’s going on?” Riley paused to gesture at the scene. Her hands fell to perch at her hips. “Everyone looks like chickens with their heads cut off.”

“Yeah, PR and tech are having one hell of a time getting rid of the last set of rumors.” Josh’s hand settled on the back of his neck and he kneaded at the muscles. “You would think anonymous writers wouldn’t have as much clout, but in the twenty-first century, they are the cool shepherds to the many sheep.”

Riley took one last glance at the headache before continuing to her destination. Josh struggled to keep up with her pace. While she took effortless strides, practically gliding across the carpeting, he had to make an effort to puppeteer his feet.

Josh broke the brief silence. “Anyway, when you have time, come over to my house. I got a special video game I want you to try.”

Riley’s face broke into a broad grin. “Don’t tell me your baby project is done?”

“Not quite.” Josh frowned. “It’s still in the early stages of alpha testing.”

“Well, that’s still a milestone,” Riley encouraged. Her lips soon pursed. “You’re using me to test for bugs, aren’t you?”

Josh’s dopey grin slipped easily into place. He was caught like a child with his hand in the cookie jar. As a nervous habit, he jammed both of his hands into the front pockets of his oversized slacks, which caused him to walk funny. Josh was living proof that, with age, some people were just elongated reflections of a former child self.

Riley laughed. “I’ll call you sometime, okay?”

Upon hearing what he wanted to hear, Josh stopped walking to return back to his department. “Okay!” he agreed. “Catch you later.” He scampered away as quickly as he had appeared.  

Riley stopped in front of her supervisor’s door. The office door was closed, but it didn’t concern her. She rapped her knuckles against the placard that read “Hyrum Pratcher - C.S. Manager.” When no one answered, she frowned and double-checked the calendar on her phone. She wasn’t mistaken; there was a meeting scheduled. From behind, Hyrum’s secretary cleared her throat and nodded her head towards the meeting rooms that lined the far wall. Riley mouthed a thanks as she edged closer to the glass panels.

The large room was filled with people, and from the look of things, they didn’t seem happy. In fact, some looked about ready to reenact the Salem witch trials. All of the customer satisfaction managers were in the room, as well as the head of the security division, the Branch Director, Niall Price, and strangely, a few
custodes
. Riley recognized one
custos
in particular as a more respected member of their group’s local chapter.

The Custodes
, as innocuous as their name might have sounded, were not all kind nor gentle beings. Instead, they represented a network of humans entrusted with the task of protecting their own race. It was a league of ordinary humans who were divided amongst themselves, two polar approaches united under one cause: the placid
excubitors
and the turbulent force that were the
venators
. The latter faction actively desired pitting their numbers against the supernatural strength of Riley’s kind to once and for all settle their dated conflict. As a compromise, chapters of the Custodes were disbursed across the planet to keep an eye on those they deemed a threat to humanity. It was even rumored that a few members from the venator’s sect had resorted to killing cubare who were off the grid. But the speculation was hard to confirm since the ‘victims’ were independents with no ties to an organization or other members in the community.

Out of the entire room, it was the head custos who was visibly the most frustrated. His hands flew around and Riley could have sworn she witnessed a vein bulge on the side of his neck. It was like watching a soap opera. She couldn’t be bothered to conceal her staring. There was no point; she wasn’t the only one to find interest in the spectacle. If they had wanted privacy, they should have considered using a conference room with walls not made of glass.

At some point during Riley’s impolite act, Hyrum’s assistant brought her a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the contents of the little paper cup were better than the coffee she had had earlier at the café.

Glass doors opened, releasing the stuffy air of the room along with the individuals within it. The Custodes were the first to leave.

They had taken a few steps before coming to an abrupt halt. The lead member turned to face Niall. “Be extremely careful. If you stir the pot too much, some venators won’t turn a blind eye. We’ve stayed away from your company because of your approach to this life, but things will change if they have to.”

“And like I said a moment ago,” Niall steadied his voice. He stood proud and tall in his tailored suit. “This isn’t our fault. We can’t control curious pests from snooping around the company. But we are handling it the best we can.”

“Handle it faster.” The custos’s arms tensed as his fists balled at his sides.

“And what do you suggest, Tanner? We fuck these faceless journalists until they can’t type anymore?” Niall leaned forward. His calm had begun to visibly waver. As head of the branch, Niall Price was at the top of the food chain. And if there was one thing that came with power, it was the responsibility to act the part as a member of the Trusics network. Live with ethics, respect the rules, and never stray.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have a business to run.” Niall straightened himself and readjusted the ends of his jacket. “My team has been handling this problem and will continue to do so. Now, unless you’d like to send your venators after your own race, I suggest you be on your way.”

Tanner’s jaw tightened, and his jugular vein threatened to return. “Do what you need to do, but let’s try to avoid bloodshed.”

A furrow etched into Niall’s brow before he turned his attention to address the entire room of onlookers. “You heard the man. I suggest everyone here works like their lives depend on it.” A hint of a smile crossed his lips. “Because it kind of does depend on it.”

The subtle threat wasn’t lost on anyone. It wasn’t that Trusics was known for hurting its employees, in fact they were known for their miles of perks, but no one wanted to burn that bridge to find out firsthand. With Niall and Tanner off of the floor, the tension lifted.

Hyrum was one of the last people to empty from the meeting suite. In his hands was a thick binder stuffed with paper. He rifled through a stack of official-looking documents before his eyes looked up to meet with Riley’s. His head cocked to the side, and the formerly grave look melted away when he recognized his favorite employee. “Riley,” he greeted. “What are you doing here?”

“We had a meeting,” Riley said, tilting her head to match his. “Remember?”

Recognition filled his face. “Yes! We’ll keep it short,” Hyrum chimed as he walked to his office. “So, how’s my gold star doing?” he called over his shoulder.