"Here you go," Annabeth said to the patron in front of her. She handed them a drink and then glanced at her fellow bartender and one of her best friends. Piper McLean looked at her and smiled brightly. Most of the men around the bar were gawking at Piper, not that it was her fault.
Piper was a succubus. Like others of her kind, she was a very beautiful woman, and she could use her words to seduce men. Unlike most others of her kind, Piper did not take advantage of men like that. She took the time to master her charm and keep it from coming out unless she needed it to. Or unless she wanted better tips. Considering Piper shared those tips with Annabeth, she wouldn't complain.
"You okay?" Piper questioned. Annabeth looked at her and nodded. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Annabeth promised. Before Piper could interrogate her, more men walked over. Annabeth allowed her mind to relax. She always made the drink while Piper handled the customers. Piper was amazing at keeping a conversation going. Annabeth was too, if they were talking about architecture or history.
And Piper could not remember how to make half of the drinks to save her life. She was great once she had a recipe sheet in front of her, but when the bar was slammed, they didn't have time for her to hunt down each individual drink. Annabeth enjoyed their arrangement, especially when Piper got them more tips. Being a broken college student was trying after all.
The next half-hour passed by in a blur. The bar they worked at was one of the most popular in the city. It was a bar in the day and a nightclub when the moon came up. Annabeth usually got off around midnight and went back to her apartment. She would wake up at seven for her classes, and when she was done with school, she had a few hours to do homework before work.
Annabeth's eyes swept around the bar. She noticed that some of their patrons were getting rowdy, and she bit her lip. They only had one person, Clarisse La Rue, that acted as security. They needed another person, but there weren't many people who could handle security at a bar full of pretty much everything besides a human.
Clarisse had to break up a fight with Cyclops just a week ago, and she was still fuming about it. She kept demanding that the owner hire another person for security, but she also demanded to be there for the interview. There weren't many people who could stand to be in the same room as a half-human half-ogress, and that was why no one took the job at their bar.
Annabeth did a headcount. They were short tonight. She and Piper were at the bar. Leo was in the kitchen cooking with two new chefs. Frank was rushing around like a mad man to serve all the patrons, as Hazel was taking a lunch break.
Annabeth's eyes swept over to the booth nearest the bar. The woman from earlier was still sleeping in the booth. She hadn't woke up, not from a lack of trying. Both Annabeth and Piper had tried to wake the sleeping woman, but she didn't stir. After checking with the owner, they decided to let her sleep.
In all honesty, Annabeth expected the loud thumping of music to wake the woman, but she ended up just curling up in the booth and seemingly fell into a deeper sleep. Annabeth frowned. She had been curious when the woman walked in, mostly because she looked like death warm over.
That was why Annabeth made Piper check on the woman when she first fell asleep. Annabeth did not have time to discover a dead body and have to make a police report about it. She was surprised when Piper reported back that the woman was very much alive and just not moving an inch.
"You're doing it again," Piper commented. Annabeth turned her head to the side.
"Doing what?" Annabeth questioned. She averted her eyes from the look that her friend gave her and started to clean cups for their next rush. Piper started to restock some of their ingredients.
"You keep looking over there," Piper noted. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying."
"Of course, I am looking over there. I"m worried that someone stumbled into our bar and is just going to die. I don't have time to explain that to the police," Annabeth began.
"Would Clarisse not just dump the body out back?" Piper questioned. Annabeth wanted to make a snappy comment, but as she thought over the words, she nodded her agreement. "Did you see all of that blood?"
"I did," Annabeth muttered. She sighed and shook her head. "Are you cool if I take my break now before the next rush?"
"Go ahead," Piper reassured. Annabeth smiled at her and stepped out from behind the bar. She walked towards the kitchen and barely avoided running into one of the new chefs. She looked at Leo: their head chef and a half-fire demon.
Leo waved at her before focusing back on his food. He was using fire to heat the food, while the other chefs used the stove. Any special they had was made by Leo. Annabeth waved back and walked towards the plate reserved for her.
"Thanks, Leo. I'll have your drink ready for when you get off," Annabeth called, raising her voice to be heard.
"Thanks!" Leo called back. Annabeth smiled and stepped out of the kitchen. Her eyes shot around the bar. Most of the patrons were dancing or at the tables. There wasn't an open table, other than the one occupied by the sleeping woman.
Annabeth could go outside to her car, but then, she would have to get past a long line of people waiting to get in. Or, she could go to a back office and eat. Annabeth wanted to keep a line of sight on the bar though. If Piper got overwhelmed, it would be easy for Annabeth to jump in.
A sigh left Annabeth as she walked towards the table. She carefully set her plate down, but the woman didn't stir. While she was curled up against the wall, her face still rested on the table. Annabeth grabbed her phone and checked her notifications as she ate. She found herself starting to relax, until someone cleared their throat.
Annabeth's eyes shot up. She expected to see the woman staring at her. Instead, she heard another throat clearing from her left side. Her eyes automatically moved and focused on the large man that stood above her.
"You gonna get me a refill, sweetheart?" the man said as he gave her a grin. He was three times the size of Annabeth, and one of his biceps was the size of her head. Despite that, Annabeth glared at him.
"I'm on break," Annabeth stated. She looked back at her phone.
"It wasn't a question," the man sneered. Annabeth stared at her phone and tried to listen to her surroundings. She could hear Piper laughing from the bar, probably unaware of Annabeth's situation. Clarisse would still be outside until the crowd died down or there was screaming loud enough for her to hear.
"That's good," Annabeth stated. "Again, I'm on break. You'll just have to wait in line."
The man slammed his hand directly into the metal table. The woman across from Annabeth snapped awake with a small gasp. She looked at the table, the man, Annabeth, and then the rest of the room in confusion. The man spoke, "Go get me a refill, bitch."
"I already told you that I'm on break," Annabeth snapped. She stood and glared at the man. Annabeth knew the man wanted to bully her because he suspected that she was human. She didn't just back down though. "You'll have to wait in line."
"Or, sweetheart. You can go get me my drink," the man snapped as he got closer to Annabeth's face. His breath stunk of alcohol. Annabeth's hands clenched into a fist. "You just gonna keep staring at me with those beautiful eyes?"
"Go wait in line or get the hell out," Annabeth snapped as her temper got the best of her. The man slammed his fist into the table again, and his other hand grabbed Annabeth's arm tightly. She instantly winced, and a smirk came to his face.
"You want to keep talking tough?" the man sneered, and he tightened his grip. Annabeth felt like a bone was about to crack, but the man was suddenly shoved backward. Annabeth stepped away and grabbed her arm. She looked up expecting to see Clarisse had somehow heard the banging and came to her rescue. Instead, she found the woman standing between herself and the man.
"Why don't you leave her alone? Or else," the woman threatened. Annabeth stared at the woman in front of her. The woman was an inch or two shorter than Annabeth, and she was pretty lean. Why the hell was she trying to fight someone who could probably squash her like a bug?
The man grumbled under his breath and turned away. Annabeth relaxed slightly. She was still going to yell at the woman for fighting her battles, but she was glad there wasn't actually a fight. As that thought passed through Annabeth's mind, the woman started to look at her, mouth opening to ask a question.
Before the woman could complete the motion, a fist slammed into her face. Annabeth jumped at the sudden violence, and she felt blood hit her face. The force of the punch threw the woman to the side, and she fell face first on the table.
Annabeth felt the world moving in slow motion. She moved one hand to touch the blood on her face. Her eyes moved towards the woman, and Annabeth wondered if she saw her die after all. She heard the rest of the bar falling dead silent, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Frank rushing forward to help.
A low growl sounded in Annabeth's ear, and the woman suddenly pushed herself off of the table. She slammed into the man, driving him to another table. She landed two solid punches as two more men rushed forward. Annabeth quickly stepped back, not willing to be involved in a bar fight.
One of the men that rushed to their buddies' rescue grabbed the woman, and she turned faster than Annabeth could follow, punching the man in the face. The second one slammed into the woman from the side and directly into a table. A yell escaped the woman as she hit the table, and both hands moved to her side.
The man grabbed her jacket and punched her hard in the face, snapping her head to the side. He raised his fist again, only to yelp in pain from something Annabeth couldn't see. He let go and collapsed to the ground. The other two men rushed forward, but Frank stepped in between them.
Frank was a sweet kid and a shapeshifter. He could have been security for them, if he wasn't so sweet. There was none of that sweetness in his eyes now though. Frank spoke, "You all need to leave."
"Make us boy," one of the men sneered. Frank straightened up, but he didn't even reach the chest of these men. A hand suddenly clapped onto each of the men's shoulders.
"He's not going to make you. I am," Clarisse sneered, and she slammed their heads together. There was a sick crack, and both of them collapsed. Clarisse grabbed both of them by their collars, and she dragged them towards the front door. Frank followed behind, struggling to carry the other man.
The rest of the bar was staring at the aftermath of the fight. Annabeth became aware that she was the center of attention and took a step back. Piper appeared by her side and wiped the blood from her face, "You're bleeding."
"It's not mine," Annabeth began. She looked at the woman who was on her knees next to the table. Both hands were pressed against her side, and Annabeth could see the pain on her face. Her lip was split, leaving a trail of blood down her face, and there was a forming bruise on her jaw.
"What happened?" Piper questioned. Annabeth remained silent as Frank walked back in. His eyes moved to the woman, as if wondering if he should kick her out as well. The answer came as Clarisse appeared next to him and pulled the woman up by her hood.
"Clarisse, wait! She helped me," Annabeth began. Clarisse gave her a long, cold look. "Just let her be. She didn't start anything."
"What happened then?" Clarisse demanded. She let go of the woman who stumbled and hunched over, one hand pressed to her side.
"That asshole was harassing me on my break," Annabeth said. She rubbed her forearm. "He grabbed my arm and tried to break it. She stopped him."
Clarisse grumbled under her breath and crossed her arms. She spoke, "Fine. If she causes any more trouble, I'll kick her out myself."
"I'm just leaving," the woman began. She lowered her hand to grab her wallet but stiffened. Annabeth saw the blood that stained the woman's hand.
"You need someone to look at your side," Annabeth stated. The woman looked at her and shook her head.
"It wasn't a suggestion," Clarisse growled. "I don't need you bleeding on my floors again. Come on."
The woman looked down but nodded. Clarisse began to lead her away, and the woman stopped at the table long enough to grab her backpack. Her other hand shot back to her side.
"I'm going to help," Annabeth began. Piper gave her a nod and went back to the bar. Annabeth followed behind the two. She examined the woman's back and noticed how dirty and tattered her clothes were. The backpack on her shoulder looked to be a couple of years old and was held together by duct tape.
"Thanks," Annabeth muttered as she caught up with the woman and Clarisse. "I didn't need the help though."
The woman grunted and didn't answer. They walked into the small break room that had a large table in the middle of it. Clarisse forced the woman to sit on the table by grabbing her shoulders and sitting her on it. Then, she forced the woman to lay back on the table and lifted her shirt.
"What's your name?" Clarisse questioned. Annabeth grabbed a towel and their box of medical supplies. She made it back to the table.
"Reyna," the woman slowly answered. She groaned and placed both hands on her face. Annabeth studied the bloody bandages that covered Reyna's stomach. Blood was starting to leak through.
Clarisse removed the bandage, and Annabeth immediately looked away. The wound looked disgusting. Blood had crusted over the wound, along with some kind of yellow liquid, like pus. Clarisse examined the wound, "This is days old."
Reyna didn't respond, and Annabeth turned her head. The woman was now sleeping, or the pain had dragged her into unconsciousness. Clarisse shook her head and placed a clean towel on Reyna's stomach wound.
"Call Solace. Tell him that he needs to make a house call," Clarisse stated. Annabeth nodded and stepped away. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and called Will Solace. As she did, her gaze focused on Reyna. Why did the woman step in to help her? What caused that wound? And, who the hell was she?