Disclaimer: I don't own Sons of the Dark, and I'm willing to bet that I never will. The girl, however, is mine, so no touchy.

A girl sat cross-legged on the floor of a pitch black room. There was a lone candle in front of her, which, if lit, would provide a rather adequate light source. The room was silent except for the sound of the girl breathing. With no visible movement, the wick flickered to life, a golden flame dancing to the tune of the girl's ragged breath.

Then everything was still again. Suddenly, the room burst into light, illuminated by the flames of a hundred candles. The girl stood up, smiling contently. With a wave of her hand the flames were extinguished, and the room was plunged back into the same darkness that had once enveloped it.

Music pounded into the air as vibrations were released with the opening and closing of a heavy door. The atmosphere outside of Quake was one of energy and excitement. A long line of people waiting to be allowed entry wound down the street and began curling around the corner. Groups of teens stood together, chatting idly about their exploits, school, boys, girls, music, pretty much anything they could think of. One by one they made their way up to the door, where a sturdy-build high school student checked their names off an imaginary list. Some were waved in, others told to stand outside until an opening emerged. Others slipped bills into the bouncer's front pocket before entering the smoky atmosphere of the club.

"I still can't believe you do that to these poor saps," Kyle commented, observing the hastily scrawled marks on the clipboard from over Berto's shoulder.

Berto shrugged.

"It's their own fault. If they weren't so desperate, they'd get in no problem."

The boys chuckled heartily and regained their composure quickly before the next "poor sap" came up to them. Kyle whistled softly in approval.

The girl who had come up for her turn smiled sweetly in his direction before focusing her attention on Berto, who was more concerned with what she was wearing than anything else. She had on a red, low-cut halter top made of some shiny, satiny material that shimmered when she moved, as well as a pair of tight black leather pants. Matching black boots completed the outfit, which was accented by fake red eyelashes and eye shadow of a matching shade. A silver amulet of a coiled serpent hung from a chain that fell just above her cleavage. Red and black streaks highlighted the naturally auburn hair, which cascaded over her bare shoulders in a wave.

Both boys were momentarily stunned, and the girl waited patiently for them to exit their reverie and return to reality.

"So," she said casually, "Can I get it?"

Berto nodded vigorously as he lifted the velvet rope that barricaded the door. Kyle shook his head, embarrassed by the way his counterpart was acting.

The girl smiled seductively.

"If you can get away, save a dance for me, okay?" She directed the statement toward Berto, who was still in a state of shock. She then turned to Kyle. "You too. If you want, that is."

With that, she sauntered inside, leaving the boys standing there, wondering what in the world had just happened. They exchanged incredulous looks and stood in silence for a moment longer before speaking.

"Who... Who was that?" Kyle spoke first, having recovered sooner, thanks to his extensive experience in such matters.

Berto shook his head.

"I dunno. I've never seen her around here before, have you?"

Kyle shook his head as well.

"Nope. You don't suppose she's new, do you?"

"Could be. That would explain why we've never seen her before today. Or maybe the reason we've never seen her at school is because she's older."

"Nah, she couldn't be that much older than us. I mean, did you see her? That didn't really look like too much older."

"Of course I saw her. And I would like to point out that I saw her first."

Kyle looked affronted.

"Excuse me? You saw her first? I think not."

"The only reason you were over here in the first place was because I work here. If it wasn't for me, you would never have seen her at all. You should be thanking me."

"WHAT! Why you-"

Before a fight could break out, however, the rather chubby man that was next in line for possible admittance began to complain.

"Are you two girls gonna bitch fight all night, or can the rest of us actually make our time worthwhile?"

Berto bit back an equally nasty comment and instead smiled a smile reminiscent of a shark smiling at a tuna while Kyle sneered at the man behind Berto's back.

"But of course. Your name, sir?" The word 'sir' was loaded with it's own special dose of sarcasm, which was not lost on the man, who huffed and provided his name.

Berto glanced down at the clipboard he was holding and pretended to scour a list for the man. As was to be expected, it wasn't there.

"I'm sorry, but your name just doesn't seem to be on here. Better luck next time."

A list of obscenities flowed from the man's mouth as he was forced to step aside and allow the next person to state their name. Berto didn't pay him any heed, however, and concentrated only on finishing the line so that he could get inside.

Get inside and find out who she was...