Kade rested a hand on the rough paintwork that coats the door and pushed. Rough wooden splinters cut into his palm; shards of black paint crumble to the floor. The hinges squeal as though they are a warning, but the plea is silence by a wall of noise. Laughter overpowers the music. Conversations swirl in a dirty cloud of smoke, the stagnant stench of cigarettes hides within the collaboration of mephitic odors.
A sharp smell of drink wafted towards him, like black plumes bellowing from the windows of a burning house. There’s even a hint of sick tainting the fragrance of the room. Ignoring the curious pointed stares directed at the two of them, blatant outsiders, Kade inhales a lungful greedily and braces a palm against the small of Inayah’s back.
“Welcome to my side of the world,” he comm
