Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter (31 page)

“Pssst,” Noel said the next day in film class.

I raised a brow. She was seated beside me, and class hadn’t
started yet, so there was still a lot of noise as students walked in and
settled into their seats. She must’ve been in a good mood because she wasn’t
all hooded as she tended to be when she was acting moody.

“Marcus is having a party Saturday night. He mentioned there
are a couple vamps in town from Fairbanks who might show.”

My heart began thumping.

“No one by the name you mentioned, but maybe I can find out
something from these other two—Greg and James.”

I tapped my pen over my notebook. “It’s worth a shot.”

I’d finally get a chance to meet Marcus.

Maybe Fane would show up.

Scratch that. That wasn’t the reason I lied to my mom on
Saturday afternoon about sleeping over at Noel’s so we could stay up late
working on a film project.

It would have been so much easier if I had been teaming up
with Dante. Mom would have handed us party hats and said, “Have a good time.
Stay out as late as you want.”

I didn’t have time for my mom’s hang ups. I had responsibilities.
Besides, maybe with a bit of sleuthing, Noel and I could figure out where
Renard was holed up. That would show the agents just how valuable we newbies could
be.

I don’t know what Marcus did for money, but bank
robbery wasn’t out of the question. He had a tall two-story townhouse
overlooking the inlet, and everything from the floor to the furniture to the
décor to the lighting was magnificent.

Noel and I entered through a massive hand-carved wooden door
with a panel of etched glass on each side and walked in over large slabs of
sand-colored stone. I felt like Dorothy walking down the yellow brick road.

“Is this like the VIP Vamp party,” I whispered to Noel. “You
didn’t prepare me for this.”

Noel smiled. “How could I?”

There was a large open layout from the entrance to a kitchen
that looked down into a massive living room several steps down. Artwork hung
from the walls, and statues sat on pieces of furniture that were just as
beautiful and unique as the objects they supported.

“Joyeux, Noel! There you are.”

A man in a black and white floral silk shirt and white pants
walked over and kissed Noel on each cheek. His hair was luscious. It flipped
off his forehead and tapered off under his ears.

“Hello, Marcus.”

He looked me over. “And who is this?”

“I’m a new student at West,” I stammered. “But not…new. You
know?”

“What is your name?”

“Aurora.”

Marcus’s eyes lit up. “Noel and Aurora. I like this. My dark
haired duet.” He reached out and took some of my hair in his hand.

I glanced sideways at Noel.

“Nice, very nice, but I do not like this scarf. You must not
hide your neck. There is nothing as beautiful as…the neck.”

I stared transfixed into Marcus’s pale blue eyes as he
spoke.

He turned back to Noel. “It is good you brought her here.
Now make sure she has a good time.”

“Yes, Marcus.”

Once he’d moved away and I was able to breathe again, Noel
took my arm. She led me to the kitchen. The cabinets were made of solid oak
with custom iron handles. No two were the same. All of the appliances were
stainless steel surrounded by granite countertops. Champagne flowed from a
small silver fountain on the counter.

This was more like it.

I’d take the high-class assignments over boarded-up shacks
in rundown neighborhoods any day. I couldn’t imagine anyone foul enough to be
friends with Ivo turning up to this grand affair. Guess I’d just have to enjoy
myself and see if I could pick up any information.

“Champagne?” Noel asked, looking at the empty glasses on a
silver tray beside the fountain.

“I don’t know. My last experience with champagne was a bit
rough. Then again, I did drink an entire bottle in one sitting.”

A lean young man with tight abs and thick dark hair walked
into the kitchen. Noel’s eyes lit up when she saw him. “Henry!”

So this was Henry. He embraced Noel.

“Henry, I want you to meet my friend, Aurora Sky.”

Henry turned to me with a devilish smile and extended his
free hand to not exactly shake, but grasp, mine for several beats. “Any friend
of Noel’s is a friend of mine. Welcome, Aurora.”

“Thanks.”

“Aurora just transferred to West as well,” Noel added.

“Wonderful, then my girl here is in good company.” Henry
broke away from Noel to grab two champagne glasses. “May I?” he asked, filling
each glass in the fountain.

“Thank you,” I said after he handed me a glass.

“What’s this, Henry? Trying to keep all the beautiful ladies
to yourself?” An equally dashing boy strolled into the kitchen. His hair was
light brown and streaked with gold highlights.

I was beginning to understand how Whitney and Hope could
willingly allow themselves to be bitten.

Henry grinned. “Gavin, meet Noel’s friend, Aurora Sky. She’s
new at West.”

“A pleasure,” Gavin said, eyes sparkling like the champagne
in my glass. “We are very happy to have you at our school.”

“How about we give Aurora a tour of the palace?” Henry
suggested.

“Good idea.” Gavin held his arm out for me.

I took it. Might as well get a lay of the land. Henry did
the same for Noel. So they were ridiculously charming. Big deal. They’d had
centuries to practice.

Henry led us across the stone steps that connected the door
to the kitchen and living room. “These stones were imported from Jerusalem.”

I looked down. “You’re kidding.”

Henry grinned. “Come see the upstairs.”

The upstairs to Marcus’s palace was accessed via a spiral
staircase with wood steps. Its iron railing curled and twisted like
meticulously planned doodles from the posts to the steps. I pulled my arm out
of Gavin’s to walk up single file.

There was a view of the living room from the balcony at the
top of the stairs. Henry led us into a guest room with a bed high off the
ground, the mattress level with a large window. “Marcus believes that if one
has an ocean view, he should be able to see it from his bed.”

“Makes sense,” I muttered, staring around the room in awe.

The space was covered in art and curiosities on all sides.
You’d think it would look cluttered, but the effect was fascinating. Statues
sat on the floor beside upholstered armchairs and chaise lounges. There was a
large turtle, his back made out of green tiles, and a three-foot statue of a
faun like the one in
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
standing
beside a stained glass lamp. A hand-carved wooden lion sat at the head of the
bed looking into the room.

I no longer felt like Dorothy. Now, I was Lucy stepping
through the wardrobe into Narnia.

“Wait until you see the shower,” Noel said. “It has its own
room.”

I just laughed.

Henry led us to a glass wall enclosing a walk-in shower with
a rainforest mural inside done entirely in tile. The shower could easily fit
ten people.

My eyes were bugging out of my head. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Noel said.

“Want to see the rest of the rooms?” Henry asked.

I nodded.

The next door we came across was shut with a silver bat
dangling from the doorknob.

“That means do not disturb,” Gavin said. “There’s one for
each guest room should you ever need it.”

My cheeks heated instantly. I looked away.

Henry swooped in and took my arm. “Come on, there are plenty
more rooms to see. This place is like an after-hours museum. Lucky for us,
Marcus is fond of company. You’ll find the gates to the palace are almost
always open.”

I glanced at the artwork on the walls as Henry escorted me
into another guest room. This one was painted and decorated in various shades
of orange. There was a hand-sewn bat pillow propped on a low seat, his flat
felt wings spread over the chair. He looked straight ahead with orange glass
eyes.

“This is the October room,” Henry said.

I craned my head around the room. I had to ask. “How did
Marcus get to be so rich? Don’t tell me he’s been saving for several
centuries?”

Henry laughed. “No, nothing as mundane as that. All this is
paid for by his benefactor, Richard Nielsen, of Nielsen’s Fine Art Gallery.”

I should have been revolted. Instead I smiled and nearly laughed.
“You mean Marcus is a kept vampire?”

Henry chuckled. “Marcus enjoys the good life.”

“And his lover is human, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“He doesn’t care that Marcus is a vampire?”

“He cares a lot. It’s an added bonus, in fact.”

I screwed up my face. “So he likes all the bloodsucking and
biting?”

Henry looked me over carefully. “A lot more than you,
apparently.” He took my arm and led me back to the door. “What Richard really
likes is a man who won’t age and a man who can’t get sick.”

I looked away. “Oh.”

“We’ll be down in a moment,” Gavin said as Henry and I started
out of the October room.

I glanced back. Noel was conveniently inspecting figurines
on a Creamsicle-colored shelf.

“Don’t worry,” Henry said. “I’ll show Aurora the way back.”
He turned to me and smiled. “It looks like you could use a refill.”

I glanced at my half-empty champagne glass. I hadn’t drunk
that much. How could I with my mouth hanging open in awe of the place?

“Sure,” I said.

When I looked back over my shoulder, the silver bat hung
from the doorknob of the October room.

“You are curious,” Henry said to me smoothly. “And yet
cautious. I’ll be honest. It makes me want to bite you even more. You should
not be here until you are ready.” He whispered inside my ear. “The others aren’t
as considerate as I am.”

Shivers ran down my spine.

Henry released my arm at the foot of the spiral staircase.
“Enjoy the party, Aurora Sky.”

Part of me wished Henry would escort me downstairs. Why did
vampire boys have to be so much cooler than normal boys like stupid Scott
Stevens?

Dante had said the first bite was better than sex. Maybe it
was vampire sex that was better.

On that thought, my cheeks heated. I looked over my shoulder
in time to catch Henry slipping inside the October room.

Why was it I wished I could trade places with Noel right
then? Maybe it had something to do with the two hotties who would soon be
sinking their teeth simultaneously into her neck.

I shook my head violently to clear the visual.

Fine, back down to the party I went. I was just the assassin
here. I didn’t get to engage in love bites with devastatingly hot vampires.
Nope, I got the meanie, nasty, psychotic sickos who ripped through my flesh
like rabid wolves and bled all over my clothes.

Remind me what the perks of my job are again?

By the time I’d made it down to the first floor, I’d emptied
my champagne glass. I took it inside the kitchen and held it under one of the
spouts spurting bubbly.