The Sorceress Screams (5 page)

“What does he
have?”

“
Nuh
uh
uh
uhhh
.”
I shook my head even
though he wouldn’t see it. “You don’t get to ask that.”

Desmond gave
one of his irritated puffs. “Just remember one thing, Ms. Walsh.”

I held my
breath while contemplating all of the delicious things Desmond might want me to
remember. Perhaps the zing of heat that had passed up my arm when he’d pulled
my hand close to his warm breath. Maybe his look of arousal in the middle of
the arboretum moments after he’d made me take off my panties to prove I wasn’t
using weaves.

“He murdered
his last lover,” he said, dashing the memories.

“So very chivalrous of you to remind me of that, Marino.”
I smashed my thumb down on the disconnect button before he could
respond.

Not that he
would have. Desmond didn’t care who he had to throw in front of the bus so long
as it stopped before it reached him.

Chapter Four

I paced the
lower floor of the shop at ten ’til nine on Saturday night, dreading what was
to come. Desmond’s words echoed in my mind with each stride.
We all have to do distasteful things
occasionally to further our ends.
So much in my life fell under that
umbrella, and yet it wasn’t
my
ends I
furthered. It was the gods’ ends.

And so I’d
dressed with manipulation in mind—in a mini skirt, complete with lacy petticoat
and striped thigh highs. Even though my hosiery hadn’t slipped once, I still
fidgeted with the bows. They would probably fall off before the clock struck
nine if I wasn’t careful.

I’d sent Nell
home at eight because it had been a slow night and she’d said she had to get
ready for an event her mother was making her attend. The truth was I hadn’t
wanted her to be at the store when Maximo arrived. More importantly, I hadn’t
wanted her to see the clothing I’d brought from home. Glancing down for the
umpteenth time, I made sure my ebony shadow-striped corset covered everything
important.

A Cadillac
Escalade pulled into the Sedona lot. Maximo drew himself out of the driver’s
seat with careless grace. He was clad in form-clinging black jeans shoved into
a pair of black leather motorcycle boots. A black knit T-shirt hugged his trim
waist beneath the black and silver plaid patterned vest that swung open when he
twisted around. He reached
up,
wiping a speck of something
I hoped wasn’t blood from beneath his lower lip. Fingerless driving gloves
coated all but the ends of his fingers. Muscles bunched in a scintillating
fashion beneath the olive-sienna skin as he moved.

The vampire
looked like a rock star as he sauntered across the lot with the wind ruffling
his carefully styled, seemingly unruly locks. A sly smile formed on his lips as
he pushed through the front door, eyes locking on me.

“I like the
courtesan look,” he said in a sensually low voice. His gaze skimmed from my
hair right on down to my lace-up, two-inch heeled boots. “It makes me want to
learn your price.”

I glanced at
his pinky, in search of the ring. His finger curled. I drew my attention up,
finding him watching in amusement.

“Your
assistant is missing,” he said. “I suppose we’ll have to wait the seven minutes
until nine.” He settled back against the windows and set his hands in front of
his pelvis in what might have been a relaxed pose.

I had to admit
I was a little breathless. It was the second time I’d seen him in casual
clothing. And just like his ability to make simple suits look extraordinary, he
rocked the casual clothing better than any superstar.

“How was your
week?” What had made me ask that?
Probably the uncomfortable
silence that had descended.

“It may prove
to be the best week of my life.” A wicked grin formed on his handsome face.

Was that
because he’d had something to do with the coalition’s leadership change? Or
that he had a ring on his pinky capable of accessing every school of magic?

He ought to be
having a
horrible
week. His
girlfriend was dead!

I turned my
back on him. The rolling cart behind the display case would be a good
distraction. There wasn’t anything in particular I needed in it, but rummaging
would give me something to do other than looking at him for six minutes.

“And yours?”
he asked.

“It’s been a
crap week.”

He inhaled one
of his soft breaths. “I’ve been dying to ask how your auctioned date with
Desmond was.”

“Uncomfortable.”

“Should I
assume he didn’t get lucky?”

I couldn’t
help but laugh. Even if I hadn’t intercepted the message from Desmond’s
assistant—the one about him “sexing me” for the crystal he’d been obsessing
over for days—Desmond wouldn’t have gotten lucky.

While
infidelity technically wasn’t an offense that would tarnish the soul according
to the modern-day Greek mythos, cheapening the act of lovemaking was. The Greek
gods took their sex very seriously, and paying or accepting payment for it was
unequivocally unacceptable. Desmond had given fifty thousand dollars to charity
for a night with me. It would have fallen under the accepting payment clause.

“No, he most
definitely didn’t get lucky,” I said. “We fought the whole night. Frankly I’m
still shocked he bid on the date in the first place.”

All the truth.

“Desmond
doesn’t know how to treat a woman of your caliber,” Maximo said.

Yeah, I was
probably too low a caliber for Desmond. He was embarrassed to be seen with me.

I rummaged
deeper into the drawer for an index card I knew was at the bottom rather than
share any of that.

Maximo tapped
a fingernail against the nearby window, sending up a grating pinging. “In fact,
he may not know how to treat a woman of any caliber. Did you know there’s a
rumor floating about that he’s gay?”

“Nell
mentioned it.”

“I was so
hoping you’d find out once and for all. I thought for certain you’d be more his
type than
Ascencion
.”

I shot a
glance over my shoulder. Did his expression match his rueful tone? I couldn’t
tell. “You had your
girlfriend
try?”

“No. She
attempted without input from me.” He made a dismissive gesture. “She thought it
her duty to test every priest in
Wipuk
.”

“Let me guess.
He refused her, so she started the rumors about him being gay?”

“They didn’t
catch on until the populace noted he never dated.” I could tell by his voice
that he was smiling.

This was
quality info here. I kept him talking. “You had an open relationship then?”

“No.” It was a
flat, bitter response this time.

There was a
long pause. Perhaps he’d leave it at that.

Maximo broke
the silence. “
Ascencion
did whatever she pleased, but
I’d be painted the beast if I took more than blood from another woman.”

“That sounds
fair,” I said sarcastically to cover a shudder. This man drank blood as a
matter of survival.

“Precisely.”
I’d gotten my fingers on
the index card by the time he continued. “Rarely did I find a woman worth her
wrath. You were worth her wrath.”

I felt my
cheeks flush.

“Never had she
disliked someone so much as you,” Maximo said. “In the end you were her
downfall. I wonder if she knew you would be.”

He was blaming
me
?

“I wasn’t her
downfall,” I said coolly. “I wouldn’t have killed her.”

“You were
foolish not to.”

If I had, I
wouldn’t be debating with him right now. But I probably wouldn’t have lived
long either. With the mark of murder on my soul, Trip would have arranged for
an early demise.

“But let’s
discuss happier topics,” Maximo said. “I’m a free man now, and your life is no
longer in jeopardy. It’s cause for celebration. I hope you drink tequila, for I
intend to get you very drunk, Miss Walsh.”

I pushed the
drawer to the rolling cart shut and then started for the
Wipuk
storefront. “I need to lock up. Then we can go.”

“Excellent.”

I didn’t like
the slow, suggestive spread of syllables. I hurried upstairs, lingering there
as long as I could. It would be the only peace I’d have until he dropped me off
later tonight.

That had
better
be tonight … and not tomorrow
morning.

****

We were shown
to an intimate table near the cantina within the colorful Mexican restaurant.
The clientele was a mixture of locals and tourists. Sedona locals couldn’t keep
their eyes off Maximo while the tourists couldn’t keep their eyes off the
moonlit scenery.

Maximo ordered
two large margaritas made with a tequila brand I’d never heard of, plus an
order of guacamole and plenty of chips. He dug a corn chip into the green stuff
and shoved it into his mouth at the first chance. Apparently vampires could eat
people food. That might be part of why they’d been able to blend in with the
vanilla populace for so long before they’d come out of the coffin.

A live
mariachi band played within the cantina to our left. Maximo’s smile was lively
as he patted his hand against his thigh in time with their beat. The music was
a little too loud for us to carry on a conversation without the other diners
hearing. It meant I’d have to wait until later to bring up the subject of the
enthralled priestess.

The band began
playing the familiar refrain of the tequila song. His lips spread wide. He
motioned for the waitress to bring us another round of margaritas. Thus far I’d
taken a mere sip of mine to wash down the nasty guacamole.

Maximo waved
at my full glass. A challenging lift of his dark eyebrows and a glance at his
pinky suggested my drinking with him was part of the deal for the ring.
Reluctantly I brought it to my lips, certain to get a bit of salt on my tongue
to soften the lime juice’s tart taste.

After his
second margarita and a half a plate of enchilada, Maximo began chair dancing.
Had anyone else in the restaurant attempted it, they would have looked foolish.
He managed to look sexy.

Maximo’s mood
brightened yet further when the mariachi band played a song that involved
singing. He mouthed the words along with them, failing to miss a single
syllable. Clearly he knew his Mexican music.

In between songs,
he leaned over the table and uttered quiet words while he still could. “How am
I to get you drunk if you’re behind by an entire cocktail?” He gestured at his
two empties and the nearly drained third glass in his other hand.

One margarita
would be safe. Two would be bad. Two drinks and three dances had been the
requirement to go home with a man I’d met at a bar since I was old enough to
drink. If I never finished the second margarita, then I couldn’t go home with
him. Then again, we weren’t dancing. I didn’t see space for us to do so. I’d be
fine.

I lifted the
second glass to my lips as the band started up a new song that had Maximo
bouncing his sable head of hair back and forth. He was just a little adorable
when he’d contort his face into humorous expressions that coincided with the
different instruments entering and leaving performance. If he’d been a
different person in a different circumstance, I probably would have dragged him
out of the restaurant after the appetizer.

The band began
playing the familiar refrain of “La
Bamba
”. The look
of pure glee he adopted was almost frightening. But it wasn’t until he popped
up out of his seat and took hold of the third margarita I’d lifted to my mouth
that I began to worry. Maximo set the drink aside and then drew me around the
corner by my fingers. He tugged us onto the stone floor between the band and
the cantina.

And then he
began to dance.

His hips shook
to the rapid beat. He called out the lyrics right along with the mariachi band.
Maximo twirled me nearly to his chest, our arms lifting above us before he
pushed me out again.

The two
margaritas made me a little woozy. I stumbled into him, far too close to his fragrant
body with its notes of fresh lavender, warm sand, moss, and cedar.

His grin was
unrepentant when he gazed down at me. He’d been planning this all along, hadn’t
he? I quietly growled.

The band
completed “La
Bamba
”. He called out, “syrup
Tapatío
”. The musicians cheered. I soon understood why when
they began playing the Mexican hat dance.

Maximo set his
hands behind his back and lifted his chin. His pose had the look of one of the
pros on
Dancing with the Stars
. Hades
knew he was hot enough to pull it off.

He proceeded
to tap out a specific set of moves in a circle around me. I stood dumbly until
the band began making motions for me to join him in the dance. I was inebriated
enough to attempt it. For my effort I received encouraging cheers from all
around. The sheer volume made me glance about the place. We’d drawn a small
crowd at either cantina entrance. But no one was brave enough to join us.