Illusions (Night Roamers) Book Four (9 page)

Nathan

When Nikki left
Nathan alone in the cabin, he began to pace. The fact that she had taken off after Faye alone was eating him alive. He felt like a damn pansy. He had no special powers, and although he could still out-bench most of his friends at school, he wasn’t strong enough to protect his sister.

But
, he still had the gun…

“Screw this,” he growled, swinging the door open.
There was no way he’d sit back and let her face that creature alone. Not after what it had done to Drake, and he was pretty sure that the Roamer had been one bad-assed killer. Nikki was not only new to the world she’d been forced into, but she made hasty decisions. She needed backup or she’d definitely get herself killed.

Nathan
raced down the porch steps gripping the gun firmly. As his eyes scanned the garage and then the yard, he was suddenly aware of the fact that his vision was exceptionally clear, even through the falling snow.

Something made a crunching noise behind him and he whipped around, only to fin
d a deer next to the boathouse. Their eyes met and Nathan’s heart began to pound.

“
No way,” he muttered, staring at it.

Although the animal was hundreds of yards away, he could see it
s rounded eyes as clear as day. He could also smell it, and its scent wasn’t exactly a bad one. Hell, it was enough to make his mouth water.

The hair stood up on the back of his neck.
He’d never been much for venison, even cooked, so his reaction was a little more than disturbing.

T
he deer took off and Nathan had an insane urge to chase after it. Trying not to think too hard about it, he shook it off and began searching for his sister.

“Nikki!” he whispered loudly, circling the garage. When she didn’t answer
, he stood frozen, listening to the familiar sounds of nature all around him. After a few minutes, he got into his car and started the engine. His instincts told him that both Nikki and the gargoyle-monster were miles from the cabin and that he was wasting too much time. Something also told him that Faye had come for Nikki, and not just to murder her in cold blood. She could have done that at any time during the last couple of weeks. She obviously wanted more than just Nikki’s head, and he decided that Celeste, Faye’s number one fan, might have some answers. After the way she’d tried killing both him and his mother, he knew that there was nothing he wouldn’t do to get them from her. He just hoped that a silver bullet to the head would be enough to stop the crazy bitch if she tried attacking again. Even if it didn’t stop her, it would have to slow her down.

The sno
w was still coming down as he drove back toward town. He took the roads slowly and kept a watchful eye on the sky, half-expecting Faye to drop Nikki’s dead body onto his car, or land on it herself. Thus, the ride seemed like it lasted for hours, although it was only about forty minutes. When he finally reached the club, it was almost ten-thirty, and the place was even more jam-packed than before. He pulled out his phone to send Nikki a message, when he noticed his battery was dead. Sighing, he shoved it into his jacket pocket and tucked the gun back under his belt, making sure that it was safely hidden. Then he got out of the car and went inside. Fortunately, the bouncer at the door recognized him quickly and let him in without asking him for I.D.

“Long time no see,” said Honi. “
Where’ve you been, man?”

He forced a smile.
“Oh, you know, here and there.”

“What happened to your ankle?” he asked, staring down at the bandage.

He looked down; he’d forgotten all about it. “Uh, a dog got me.”

Honi laughed. “A dog?”

“Yeah, a wild one. Got me good.”

“Did you
get him good, too?”

“Let’s just say he won’t be biting anyone else.”

“Damn, you just never know what you’re going to find out in this area.”

“You’re telling me
.”

Honi
rubbed his chin and grinned. “Hey, I think Celeste is inside. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

“
Sweet. I’m looking for her.”

“
You guys had a thing before, didn’t you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess.”

“You together now?”

“No
.”

Honi lowered his voice
. “If you talk to her, put in a good word for me. I wouldn’t mind having a
thing
with her. You know? That girl is fucking hot.”

“
Uh, sure. I’ll definitely put in a good word for you, bro.”

“Thanks, hoaloha
,” he said, slapping him on the back. “Have fun in there. Oh, by the way, there’s going to be a band playing tonight. Here,” he said, handing him a ticket from inside of his jacket pocket. He lowered his voice. “They’re charging ten dollars to get in tonight to see them, but I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Just don’t forget about Celeste. I take care of my friends, you know?”

“
Yeah. Thanks again.”

“Go have fun.”

After showing his ticket to the woman behind the counter, Nathan walked down the hallway and entered the main floor, which was flooded with people dancing, drinking, or making out. Again, he noticed that his vision was exceptional, even in the darkness. As he scanned the area, in search of Celeste’s silhouette, he found himself getting distracted by several of the girls as they moved their bodies on the dance floor. Distracted to the point of getting excited.

What in the hell is wrong with me?

He’d always enjoyed coming to the club and checking out the
girls. What guy didn’t? But tonight was different. There was an urgency that he’d never experienced before. An urgency to grab the first girl who made eye contact, find somewhere private, and have his way with her. The need was enough to give him a painful boner, and he had to take off his jacket to hide it. Frustrated by his own raging hormones, he forced himself to think about the flying gargoyle, and how he needed to save his sister and mother. It was then that he remembered the V.I.P. rooms above, and decided to look for Celeste there.

He walked
toward the staircase, and as he began to climb, he noticed something else a little off – his ankle no longer throbbed. When he reached the top of the stairs, he bent down and touched the bandage, only to find that there was absolutely no pain. Puzzled, he stood up and decided to examine it when he had the chance. For now, he needed to locate Celeste and not worry about the lycan bite.

Fortunatel
y, neither of the V.I.P. rooms had security posted, so he stepped into the first one and began searching for her. It didn’t take long before he found the red-haired demon nestled between two guys in a booth, obviously enjoying each of them. Her hands were below the table, doing doings he could only imagine, and her tongue was shoved down one of their throats. His pants tightened again and he decided that when he left the building, he was going to shove some snow down there if it didn’t let up.

“What the hell
do you want?” asked the guy waiting his turn to kiss Celeste.

“Heard this was the
kissing booth,” said Nathan, smirking.

Celeste stiffened up, shoved
the guy away who she was making out with, and turned to look up at him. She sneered. “Well, well… Nathan.”

“Needed two guys to replace me I see.”

“Who is this putz?” asked the guy she’d been kissing, a blonde guy with bleached hair and a piercing under his lips.

“We need to talk,” said Nathan, ignoring him.
“Now.”

Celeste sighed. “Fine. But let’s make it quick. I’m hungry.” She smiled wickedly. “Unless you’d be interested in feeding me?”

Nathan rolled his eyes.

“I’ll buy you dinner,” said the blonde. “Let’s go.”

She patted his face softly and then kissed his cheek. “Patience, Jon. And Gary,” she said, turning to the other guy, who was still scowling at Nathan, “you can join us for dinner, too. I
hate
having my meals alone.”

Gary leaned over and kissed her mouth, then whispered something into her ear. She smiled. “Hold that thought. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my brother needs to talk.”

“Your brother?” asked Gary, as he stood up to let Celeste out of the booth. “You should have said something.”

“
She keeps me in the closet since most people wouldn’t understand our relationship,” said Nathan. “She slip you some tongue, Gare? Celeste has an amazing tongue.”

Jon’s eyes widened but he didn’t say anything.

Celeste grunted and began walking away from the table. “Just ignore him, guys. I’ll be right back. Come on, Nathan. ”

Nathan lowered his voice. “Either of y
ou tap that yet?”

“We
just met her tonight,” said Jon.

Nathan smiled. “She’s one kinky chick. Has this giant
rubber toy she likes to take out and use. But, don’t worry; it only hurts for a couple of days, although you might want to get yourself some stool softener. Baths will also help.”

Jon turned to Gary. “That’s fucked up. Nobody is shoving anything in my ass. I don’t care how hot she is.”

“No shit. Let’s ditch her.”

Nathan turned away from the table and smiled in satisfaction.

Celeste
was waiting outside of the V.I.P. room, texting someone frantically on her phone.

“Sending out the warnings?
” said Nathan, stopping next to her.

“What do you want?” she snapped, sliding it into her purse.

“Where’s my sister?”

She frowned. “How would I know?”

“Don’t play games,” he said as another song began. “Is there a quiet place where we can talk?”

“Yeah, come on,” she replied, walking down the hallway. She opened up one of the doors, which led to an office. “We can talk in he
re. Although,” she sneered, “I’m surprised you feel safe enough to be alone with me.”

“I don’t,” he replied, shutting the door. He took out the gun and pointed it at her. “That’s why I have this.”

Her eyes widened and then she laughed. “A gun?”

“It has silver bullets.”

“Oh, Nathan,” she replied, sitting down behind the desk. “You’re such a dork.”

He ignored her comment.
“How come you’re still alive?”

“How come
you
are?” she countered.