CHAPTER THREE

"I feel like a bleeding idiot in this get up," Ethan moaned, rubbing his hands his silvery pants, which were only slightly less blinding than his red and silver floral Medici shirt.

"You do? I can't walk in these ridiculous platform shoes." Rupert lifted up a foot, wiggling the rainbow-swirled vinyl monstrosity. His robin blue flare bottoms matched the blue in his shoes, and his shirt was some horrifying postcard imprinted mess that Tod assured him was the in-thing. Rupert had the shirt open half way to his navel so the polyester wouldn't smother him. Gemma kept playing with the chest hair that was poking through.

"You two look good," Deirdre assured them.

"I agree. You're damn sexy in huge cork heels." Gemma nibbled the back of his neck as she slicked his hair into a ponytail. She smelled like Love's Babysoft. "There, now you look like a player. Your hair is getting so long."

"I know." Rupert touched his hair. "I had to go home to get my passport, and of course, Father was there. First thing he said after 'where do you think you're going' was 'get a hair cut'."

"I know, you should cut your hair in a mohawk. You'd look good," Gemma said.

Rupert eyed her, trying to determine if she was joking.

"It would piss off your dad," Ethan put in.

Rupert liked the idea. It would make his father shit, and that had plenty of appeal. "Once this is done, I'll do it."

Walking to the room, holding up a handful of necklaces, Tod announced, "I have medallions!"

"Oh, they have to have those." Deirdre grinned wickedly, going to select a few for the men.

Rupert endured it as Gemma dug in her big purse. He assumed she was getting her ID and other necessities to switch into her smaller dress purse. He was unprepared when Gemma pulled out her camera and snapped a few pictures of him and Ethan.

"Ripper," Ethan growled, nodding at the camera.

Rupert caught Gemma's hand, pulling her to him. He kissed her. "You are so dead, luv."

She laughed and pinched his butt, totally unconcerned.

"Take a few of the girls. They're too pretty not to," Tod said.

Rupert obliged, just to make his host happy. He had to admit Tod was right. The girls looked lovely. Gemma had brushed out her curls so her hair was like a walnut cloud. A gauzy aqua skirt clung to her narrow hips, and her lush chest was barely hidden behind an enticing blue and purple sequined butterfly halter. Deirdre was equally as attractive, her red hair like wildfire. Her black slinky pants and black sequined bandeau top highlighted her creamy skin.

"Gemma, do you need to do the charm spell now or when we get there?" Tod asked.

"Now. It'll last for hours," she replied.

Spell in place, they headed to Studio 54. The magic got them past the velvet ropes without trying. Rupert tried not to grimace as they entered the club to the loud strains of Dancing Queen.

Ethan clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Steady, old man."

"Abba," Rupert moaned, wilting.

"This grimoire will be worth it. Try to think Pink to take your mind off this crap," Ethan hissed as Tod pushed into the crowd before them.

With Comfortably Numb in mind, Rupert followed. "Do you see her, Tod?"

"It's a little early. Lily's probably not here yet. I didn't expect Gemma's magic to work so well," Tod said, sheepishly. "You might as well go dance for awhile."

Rupert's lip curled. Gemma took his hand.

"It's a good idea. I'd love to dance." She tugged him none too gently out onto the dance floor.

"Gem, I can't dance to this noise," he whispered.

"Fake it, Rupert. It's so packed, we can barely move. No one's going to notice you're bad at it. Besides, I'll make you look good," she promised.

Rupert relented, trying to follow Gemma's moves. She was right. The sardines-in-a-can effect of the over-crowded dance floor meant all he could do was wiggle in place. He could live with that since he was fairly sure the platform shoes were going to snap his ankles. It could be worse. He could be Gemma, whose platforms were easily six inches high.

Tubes, studded with lights, steadily rose and fell in a dizzying display. Above them, a giant crescent moon snorted cocaine 'lights' from a rhythmically moving spoon. The whole thing was surreal. If Rupert actually cared about being one of the beautiful people, he'd probably be thrilled to be here, and, in spite of himself, he was having fun. Rupert lost track of Ethan who had been trying to dance with Deirdre. Suddenly, his friend popped up at his elbow.

"You guys have to come try this. Tod got us some time on the machine. Come on," Ethan said and dragged them off to where Tod and Deirdre were seated around a gas tank with masks over their face.

"What the hell is it?" Rupert asked.

"Laughing gas," Ethan said, slipping a mask over his face.

"Shouldn't we be keeping our wits around us so we can talk to Lily?" Rupert asked, even though he really wanted to try the gas.

"Loosen up, Ripper," Ethan ordered.

Rupert wondered if it would help him drown out the driving beat of Funky Town before he started actually tapping his toes to it. He sat down, Gemma on his lap and they both strapped on masks. The gas made him feel great, almost hallucinogenic. Tod tapped his knee and pointed at someone.

"That's her," he said, pulling off his mask.

Rupert reluctantly set aside his mask and followed Tod, his friends right behind him. The euphoria from the laughing gas started trickling away, obviously a very short lived high, a pity that. They trailed after the very blonde young lady to what passed as a secluded area of the club. Rupert tried very hard to ignore the public sex happening in this more shadowy section of the Studio. The blonde plopped down at a table where a young man was only half awake, obviously not partaking in the little mound of coke she had on the table. Rupert could see the tracks in his arms and figured her friend to be a heroin junkie.

"Hey Lily, I wanted you to meet some of my friends from England," Tod said. "This is Ethan, Ripper, Deirdre and Gemma. Mind if we sit?"

Lily's unfocused blue eyes tried to fix on them. She smiled. "Please. Have some," she offered before slipping a small tube out of her purse and snorting some coke. No one else made any moves towards it. "You guys are really from England?" she asked as if they had made a claim to be from outer space.

"Yes, we are," Ethan said and she beamed at him.

"Aren't the two of you the cutest things. I should take you home with me," she said, oblivious to the fact neither Rupert nor Ethan were unaccompanied. Rupert figured she assumed they were swingers if they were in a club like this.

"That could a lark," Ethan said, smiling at her.

"Lily, they want to talk about your book," Tod said.

Her eyes narrowed as beads of sweat from the cocaine rush formed on her pale forehead. "Not that book again. Tod, you're so boring. I hate talking about that dumb book. I wish it would just go away so I wouldn't have to worry about looking after it."

Rupert glanced over at Ethan. His friend's dark eyes were alit with anticipation and greed. It might just be easier than they thought to get this book.

"But, Lily, they've come a long way to-" Tod said before she threw up a hand to cut him off.

"No more about the book," she insisted. "Are you sure you guys don't want some?" She gestured at the cocaine.

Rupert shook his head. "We're fine."

"Is your friend okay?" Gemma gestured at the barely conscious young man.

Lily looked at him sourly. "He's just on a nod when he's supposed to be watching my stuff while I was out dancing." She shoved at him and he lolled against the wall. "How long will you guys be in the States?"

"It depends. We have business here," Rupert said.

"Business sucks. I've got family crap to do or I'd be over in London right now. I love that town. Are you from there?" She gave them an eager look.

"We're from all over but we've been living in London for a while now," Deirdre said.

"I just love the way you guys talk. You sure you don't want to go home with me?" Lily bounced in her seat.

"We do have to take care of our business," Ethan said.

Lily pouted. "It can't be that important if you're here at the club."

"Well, Lily, actually you are our business," Ethan said, and her mouth flopped open, obviously not quite comprehending.

"You know how you said you wanted to give the responsibility of the book to someone else?" Rupert smiled at her. "We'd like to take the book off your hands. You'd no longer have to worry about it and you can concentrate on the things you like to do. We'd take good care of it."

She smiled as empty as a jack-o-lantern. "I like that idea."

"I thought you might," Rupert said. "So, can you help us get the book?"

She nodded. "If I never have to think about that book again, it's worth it. I've never actually seen it, but I can tell you where it's hidden."

"Perfect," Ethan assured her.

It took the better part of the hour to get all the details out of Lily's drug-addled brain but they left the club with all they needed to know. They stood on the sidewalk, waiting for a cab, letting the cool breeze wash away the heat and stink from too many bodies in polyester.

"I can't believe we're going to have to go grave robbing." Gemma grimaced.

"Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is in North Tarrytown. We'd have to get on the Major Deegan and head north to US-9," Tod said. "It's not that far really, like thirty miles. We could be there within the hour. It's a huge cemetery though."

"It'll still be dark," Rupert said, thinking what might be found in a large cemetery at night.

"We don't want to go grave robbing in the middle of the day," Tod pointed out.

"No, but we can't go stumbling around at night. We're all a little tired and we're not dressed for the task," Rupert replied. "We should go up tomorrow morning and find the grave in the light of day so we know exactly where we're going once night falls."

Tod nodded. "Makes sense."

As they got back into the cab, Rupert traded glances with Gemma. She knew what he was thinking. There could be vampires in Sleepy Hollow. Ethan was aware they existed, and Rupert wasn't sure about Deirdre. He knew Ethan didn't think they were very common or much of a threat but Ethan was arrogant. Rupert understood how hard it was to kill them. He had staked one once, back when he was still following his father's wishes and had been presented one as part of his training. He'd get Gemma to help him fix up some makeshift stakes and get some holy water just in case.