Freak Show (24 page)

The blood drained from my face. My gaze fell to the dragon on my forearm. It was a perfect match to the one on Arys’s back. The one he had received after making a deal with Shya, a promise to turn Gabriel, a human skilled in the dark arts. At this rate, we were never going to get these damn demon marks removed. We would never be able or willing to give Shya what he expected of us. That problem would have to wait until I was back home after a weeklong snooze in my own bed.

“I’ll tell him,” I promised. “Thank you, again, for sharing with me. I’m not entirely sure what to do with it all, but I’ll figure it out.”

“That you will.” Hurst rose and called forward his human assistant. “Take Alexa back to her kin, please.”

I stood up, my legs wobbly like jelly. The symbol on the old book pulsed, and again I resisted the urge to touch it. It scared me even as it enticed.

Hurst drew me into a surprising hug. His embrace was gentle, comforting. He stroked a hand through my hair and patted my back. “Stay strong, young Hound.” He pulled back and gazed down at me. I fell into his hazel eyes, drawn into the abyss of power. He spoke slowly, carefully. “You will not remember this location. You will recall only this room and our discussion. Go now and take care.”

The next thing I knew, I was standing outside The Wicked Kiss alone and disoriented.

Chapter Seventeen

Back at Caesars Palace after a long and fabulous day in bed, I groaned and whined in protest to Arys’s insistence that we go out.

“Out? Are you kidding me? All we’ve been is out. I want to go home.”

The minibar muffled Jez’s snicker and hid her head from sight while she perused the selection. The twenty-second rule had been abandoned. Screw it.

“But now we get to act like tourists, Lex,” she said, pulling out two bottles of imported beer. “Like we should have been from the start.”

“Might as well kill time before our flight.” Arys tried to appeal to my rational side. He didn’t know that I had no inclination left to be rational. This trip had drained me of all sense and reasonability. “Besides, I want you to see Vegas. I mean really see The Strip the way you’re meant to, without all the vampire politics.”

I caught the bottle that Jez slid to me across the table. “I don’t know, Arys. Wouldn’t you rather stay here and just enjoy the view?” I pointed to the Bellagio fountain across the street. The water was alight, dancing to some song we could not hear within our room.

“I’d rather get down there for a street view. Let’s make the most of our last few hours here.”

At my request, and with no argument from the others, Arys had rebooked our flight for tonight. Midnight. I was perfectly content to stay at Caesars and be pampered, enjoying the luxury the hotel offered. The city was a daunting place, a haven for vampires. It was also now ours. Or so Arys claimed.

I groaned again, being as stubborn as I could without driving myself crazy. Since my visit with Hurst, I was especially eager to get home. I needed some time alone with my thoughts. There was no place on earth better for that than running through the forest as wolf.

“Do we have to?” I whined.

“Yes,” said both Jez and Arys simultaneously.

I gave a scoff of irritation and pushed to my feet. Disappearing from the living room, I went to the bedroom and packed my things. The minute we were set to depart for the airport, I’d be ready. I’d even already called Willow and had him pop in to grab my dagger. Airport security wouldn’t have nice things to say about me if they found that in my luggage.

It was a casual dress kind of night, jeans and a black tank top with my ass-kicking boots. I wasn’t betting on getting out of Sin City without further trouble. The odds just weren’t in my favor.

The door opened, and Arys entered. He had that look in his eyes, the one that said he knew exactly what I was thinking. “You’re worrying about what Hurst said, aren’t you?” He sat on the bed beside me and gave my hair a playful tug.

“Yes,” I said truthfully. “Every damn word.”

“Don’t. It’s not worth it.”

“How can you say that?” I asked, aghast at his flippancy. “As far as our deals with Shya go, we are fucked. Totally, completely, horrifically fucked.”

Arys’s low velvet smooth laugh stroked me in places unseen. Damn him and his impossible sensuality. “We are no such thing. Everything will work itself out. It always does. Haven’t you caught on to that by now?”

“Not in the slightest. You’re delusional.”

“And you’re a neurotic head case who wastes too much time and energy on fear. You are the one to be feared. Start believing it.” He pulled me in against him and gave me a comforting squeeze. His scent of cologne and hair products teased me. It was one of my favorite smells.

“You can’t turn Gabriel, Arys,” I whispered, afraid of disturbing the brief moment of peace. “Promise me that you won’t.”

He took too long in answering. I expected it when he said, “Don’t make me promise anything, Alexa. Not with someone like Shya in the picture.”

I gave a small growl of frustration. “Fine. But you have to promise me not to tell anyone what Hurst said about losing my light. Nobody can know there’s a way to save it. I’m not compromising on this one.”

He met my intense gaze, seeing how gravely serious I was. With a nod, he kissed the side of my nose, and I smiled. “Fair enough. That’s your secret to share.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what Hurst had meant by a sacrifice. It didn’t matter. I would never allow anyone to sacrifice themselves for me. Never. I carried enough guilt without that weighing on my conscience. If the darkness was bound to claim me, then so be it.

“So where are you taking us tonight?” I forced a smile. This city meant something to Arys; I didn’t want to crap all over his attempt to show me what he loved about it.

A brilliant smile broke over his handsome face. It warmed my heart. Taking my hand, he pulled me off the bed and from the room. “To see a little magic. The Vegas kind.”

By the time we made it down The Strip to another hotel for the show, I was starting to feel good about playing tourist with the humans. It was what I’d ideally wanted since we arrived.

We were all dressed casual, each of us wearing fight-friendly attire. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a requirement for the evening. If I could get out of Vegas without another incident, it would be a miracle.

As we filed into the theatre with hundreds of people excited to see a magic show, the bloodlust didn’t taunt me, a pleasant surprise. Surrounded by humans, their hearts pumping crimson joy steadily through their veins, I felt nothing.

My gaze landed on Shaz. Taking blood from him had satisfied the hunger, though at the time, I hadn’t known how much. The blood of a shifter was stronger, more potent than human blood. My bloodlust seemed to like it. As it was also an intoxicant to vampires, I’d have to be very careful.

The theatre was loud with many people, all chattering away at once. The air conditioning was especially high, creating an actual chilly breeze. Compared to the heat outside the building, it contrasted greatly. This climate certainly took some getting used to, but it was doing wonders for my hair.

“How much do you want to bet that this guy’s not even human?” Jez leaned in to whisper close to my ear.

I’d seen this stuff on TV. Vegas was known for its magicians and illusionists. Many had come before, and many would follow. Parlor tricks that involved a diversion of attention were clever, but they were very human.

“I’ll take that bet,” I replied.

The theatre dimmed, and everyone fell into a hushed silence. The hum of excitement was lively, tickling my senses in a pleasing manner. The show began, and in no time, the crowd was applauding wildly.

I analyzed everything the magician did and watched every move he made, every hair on his head. A few of his tricks I saw right through. But then the real magic started to happen. We watched attentively as illusion after illusion made me question everything I thought I knew about magic for entertainment purposes. Disappearing from center stage to reappear seconds later in the crowd, that was not a human feat. Levitation could be faked, but in this case, it was very real.

I couldn’t resist the urge to take a poke at the guy, just to feel him out a little from where I sat. He would know, but by the time he identified it as me, we would be gone. His energy felt strong and solid, not demon, shifter or vampire. Whatever he was, I had yet to encounter another.

“I don’t know what he is,” I whispered to Jez, “but it’s definitely not human.”

“Ha. I knew it.”

Las Vegas was built on illusions. It always had been. Everyone wore a human face. How deceiving. There were more supernatural types walking the city streets than I would have guessed, far more than there were back home. How in the hell were Arys and I going to establish a position of power in a place that had more monsters than I knew what to do with?

The show ended, and we exited the theatre. I excused myself to the restroom while the others browsed the merchandise store outside. After using the facilities, I washed my hands and tried to smooth down a few flyaway strands of hair.

My hackles rose, and immediately I felt eyes upon me. The restroom was empty of anyone but me. Or so I thought. In the mirror, I watched as a stall door behind me opened and Linden strode out. I spun to face him, and he caught me by the throat. Pinning me against the bathroom counter, he gave me a rough shake.

“My, my, fancy meeting you here,” he said, his face void of any emotion. His eyes glittered with malevolence.

I’d met more than one vampire in my time who had the ability to withstand my power. They were few and far between, and they were still dead. However, a vampire seldom managed to sneak up on me. Linden was awfully sure of himself merely because I couldn’t blast him with my mind. He was forgetting that I was a different kind of monster.

His grip on my throat cut off my air supply. I struggled to stay calm. It was just him and me in here with nothing to stop me from plunging a handful of claws into his guts, which is what I did. Warm and wet, his insides felt slippery as I wriggled my claws. He grunted and bent at the waist, loosening his hold on me. I slammed a knee into his jaw, and he stumbled back.

“Did you come to kill me, Linden? In the ladies room of all places? Geez, that’s shady.”

He recovered fast, as vampires are wont to do. He managed to grasp enough of my long hair to slam my face into the bathroom counter. Twice.

“I’m a reasonable man, Alexa. I’m also smart enough to know when I’ve met my match. So consider this a warning. Stop your takeover of The Wicked Kiss, or I will burn it to the ground with Jenner and his crew inside. I will wage a fucking war. Understood?”

Blood poured from my nose and top lip. Holy shit that hurt. My wolf was ready for a fight. Physical brutality was what the wolf did best.

Linden was left holding a handful of my hair as I tore from his grasp. I leaped on him with fangs bared and slashed his face. I followed up with a head butt that made him stumble.

A snarly mess of fangs and claws, I said, “The Wicked Kiss is mine. I killed Harley Kayson. Everything that fucker had belongs to me. If you want it, you’ll have to do better than that.”

I slashed at him again, going for his throat. He moved suddenly to counterattack, and I got his eye instead. A scream tore from him as my claw sank into the soft tissue, tearing it to shreds. We grappled, a blur in the mirror. I kept expecting the door to open. I had to finish this before that happened.

Linden was strong; his age showed in his attacks. I might not be able to use my power on him, but I could use it to strengthen myself. Tapping the energy lying in wait within my core, I focused it all into my fist.

I punched through his chest with ease, my hand closing on his dead heart. “Surprise,” I said cheerfully, despite my bloodied face and missing chunk of hair. “This isn’t your city anymore, Linden.”

Linden’s remaining eye was wide with shock. I yanked his heart free and crushed it in my hand. The bloody, pulpy remains quickly faded to a dusty residue. His body followed suit, hitting the floor in a burst of dust and ash.

“Asshole,” I muttered, turning back to the sink to clean up. My body thrummed with the rush of the fight. It was exhilarating.

I’d just finished scrubbing blood from my face and hands when the door opened and three women entered. They all filed into stalls without so much as looking at me. I had a feeling the locals were oblivious to this stuff, used to it after living with it for so long.

My lip bled from where my teeth had gouged it, and my nose swelled, but otherwise, I was no worse for wear. A sore spot on my scalp reminded me to pick the blonde hairs from Linden’s ashes and flush them before leaving the restroom.

“What in the fuck?” Jez’s loud exclamation drew the eye of bystanders when I emerged. “What happened to you?”

“Linden happened to me.”

As I proceeded to tell the brief tale of the bathroom fiasco, Arys led us from the hotel. He was on high alert, continuously checking to see if we were being followed.

“We need to see Jenner before we leave,” he said. “Now is the best time for him to make a move against the rest of the blood ring.”

“Jenner? Again?” I questioned with a huff. “Fine. But he can come to us. I’m not going back to that place.”

“Caesars. Poker room. One hour.” Arys passed my phone back after making the call. He and Shaz would have to replace the phones Linden swiped from them. “Let’s walk. I want to stop in front of the Bellagio fountain. You have to see it up close.”

Walking The Strip at a relaxed pace was nice. It was the first time I’d had a chance to enjoy it. The hectic pace of the last few days hadn’t allowed me a chance to appreciate this crazy ass city that never sleeps.