Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS) (2 page)

Sparkle tentatively reached out toward Eric and then yanked her hand back. Her expression hardened. “What’s his name?”

“Thorn Mackenzie.” He turned away.

“Mackenzie?” Sparkle seemed too shocked to call him back.

From the look on Sparkle’s face, the name meant something to her.

As Eric walked away, Kayla breathed deeply and refocused on Sparkle. She took an instinctive step back. Sparkle had narrowed her eyes to amber slits. And if Kayla didn’t know better, she’d swear they glowed.

Sparkle looked down at the cat who’d planted his ample bottom on the toe of her boot. “Do something, Mede.”

Okay, her client had officially lost it. Kayla would call Dad as soon as she got to her room and explain that she couldn’t work with the insane.

Her thoughts about where the nearest mental health facility might be were interrupted by the sound of an explosion. She rushed to the glass doors along with Sparkle, the cat, and everyone else in the lobby. Across the street, a small stand right inside the entrance to Nirvana was now nothing more than twisted metal.

“I blew up a refreshment stand. Best I could do, sweetbuns. Made it look like an electrical problem. We don’t want the cops opening a major investigation.”

Kayla actually felt her heart stop and then start again.
She’d just heard a voice in her head.

“Give the lady a prize.”

A sarcastic voice. Frantically, Kayla scanned the people around her. Maybe
she
needed the mental health facility.

“Your head’s fine, babe. Yo, down here. The cat.”
He sounded impatient with her obvious density.
“Sparkle should’ve spent less time with her binoculars and more time explaining things to you.”
The cat stared at the glass doors and they opened.
“I’m Ganymede.”

Sparkle interrupted the craziness happening in Kayla’s head.

“Mackenzie might still be over there, Mede. Find him. Incinerate his ass. Or send him into the past, the future . . .” She paused for some teeth grinding. “I don’t give a damn as long as he’s gone.” Then she paused and took a deep breath. “I’ve changed my mind. Don’t kill him. A murder would bring the police around. We don’t need them creeping through the castle looking for a killer.”

“How about if I pound the crap out of him?”
Ganymede looked hopeful.

Sparkle nodded. “Fine.”

“There’re some undamaged candy bars over there calling my name, honeybunny. I’ll fortify myself with a few, and then I’ll get right on the beat-down.”
He padded toward Nirvana, his tail a plumed feline question mark.

Fitting. Kayla curled her hands into fists to stop them from shaking. What was Ganymede? Who was Sparkle Stardust really? What had just happened to her sane and ordered world? And how long before she hyperventilated herself into unconsciousness? “Someone better explain things to me right now or else I’m catching a taxi back to Hobby Airport and heading home.” Maybe forcefulness would hold the hysteria at bay.
Breathe slowly, breathe deeply
.

“Don’t be such a baby.” Sparkle sounded annoyed. “I’ll explain things later. Right now I have to talk to a few people. Stay with me.”

Kayla wanted to run from this place where cats talked in your head and clients had names like Sparkle Stardust. But as she calmed a little, the denials began. She’d imagined the voice. She
wasn’t
insane. It was all a giant hoax.
Sparkle
was the crazy one
.
None of the explanations made her feel better. Then she thought about her father.

He’d made it clear that Sparkle was an important client. And Kayla had made it clear that she didn’t want to join the family business. But she did need help with law school expenses. This job would pay well and keep her father off her back for a little while longer. But a freaking voice in her head? Before she bolted, though, she’d get some answers.

“Did your cat just speak to me in my head?” Saying it out loud sounded . . . delusional.

“Yes.” Sparkle held up her hand. “Later.”

Stay calm
. Kayla narrowed her eyes. To hell with later. She asked another question. “How?”

Sparkle waved her hand in an I-don’t-have-time-for-this gesture.

Kayla
would
get an answer to one of her questions. “Why are you so important to my father?”
Does he know about the talking cat?

Sparkle paused to stare at her. “Didn’t he tell you? I brought your mother and father together.”

“It was
your
fault.” And if Kayla sounded outraged, she had a right to her anger. “My parents were a disaster together. Other than the sexual attraction, they never agreed on one thing. They did nothing but fight until the day they divorced. How could you not see how wrong they were for each other?”

Sparkle brightened. “Wrong for each other, but perfect for me. They were one of my success stories.”

Kayla glared. “You’re a sick woman. And why was my father so determined for me to come here? I have zero experience. Either of my brothers would’ve done a better job.” What had Sparkle meant by one of her success stories?

Sparkle began walking again. “I told your father to send his daughter because I assumed the owner of Nirvana was male.”

Kayla couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You want me to use my
sex
?” She said nothing else because if she tried to speak, she’d just sputter. Not a professional response.

Sparkle seemed puzzled. “This is war. We use every weapon we have.” A tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips before disappearing. “And I can make you into a very powerful weapon indeed.”

Kayla clenched her fists and kept up with Sparkle. If she decided to stay—and that was a giant neon “if” right now—they’d have to come to an agreement over the terms of Kayla’s employment. She had one more question for now. “The name Mackenzie seemed to mean something to you. What?”

Sparkle’s heels made angry click-clacks as she crossed the great hall. She didn’t bother to look at Kayla.

“It means the owner of Nirvana is a vampire.”

Kayla was outta there.

2

Thorn smiled as he continued to stare out at the Gulf. He hadn’t done much smiling until a few centuries ago. Smiling had been a waste of time and facial muscles. And for those who thought virtual immortality meant eternal happiness, they needed to walk a thousand years in his soul. When you had the ultimate power of persuasion, everything became too easy. No challenges, just endless boredom.

He’d seen it all, done it all, and there had been nothing left for him. He’d been a solitary creature, so he’d had no friends. He’d seriously considered ending his existence. Not even the thought of raining down revenge on Sparkle’s deserving head had seemed to matter.

But salvation had come a few centuries ago in the form of a human he’d met briefly as night was falling. The man had been perched on the edge of a cliff above the sea. He’d attached a pair of ridiculous-looking wings to his back. He’d told Thorn he was going to fly.

That had almost made Thorn smile. Almost. A group of supporters had shouted encouragement to the idiot. Thorn had watched with interest as the man flung himself from the cliff. The pathetic wings had managed a few ineffectual flaps and then the man had plunged into the sea.

Thorn had started to turn away from the cliff and the anguished screams of those who had been watching, but then he’d stopped. Maybe he owed the human for the few entertaining moments he’d provided. Thorn wasn’t easily amused anymore.

So against his better judgment, he’d dived into the sea and hauled the drowning dumbass to safety. Once the man had heaved up the water he’d swallowed, he’d gasped his thanks.

Thorn had been vampire for so many years he’d long since forgotten the things that motivated humans. He wasn’t quite sure what to say to the man. “Perhaps you weren’t meant to fly.”

The man gave a hoarse chuckle. “At least not off cliffs that will land me in the sea. I’ll choose my spot more wisely next time.” He’d glanced at the water that had almost claimed him. “And I’ll do it when the sun is still high. I don’t want to be in the air when the monsters that wander in darkness are about.”

The monster that wandered in darkness who had just saved his stupid ass blinked. Had Thorn heard him correctly? “
Next
time? Why would you put your life in danger again?” Human lives were already wretchedly short. Why would anyone chance chopping any more years from that brief span?

The man met Thorn’s gaze. “It’s not the flying, it’s the thought that I
might
fly. Not this time, but the next, or the next.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what I would do if I actually did fly. I’d have no more purpose. A man has to have a purpose.”

Thorn had stood watching as the man’s friends and family climbed down to where he lay and converged on him. They hadn’t noticed when Thorn left.

That’s when he had his great aha moment. He needed “purposes” in his life. And since his greatest vampire gift, persuasion, made ordinary goals ridiculously easy, he’d stop using it.

He’d paid for his decision. Who knew that using your power every day for centuries would become addictive, worse than any dependence on human drugs. Thorn now knew that the older the vampire, the worse the withdrawal symptoms. He hadn’t known how bad it would be back then. A good thing, because if he had, he might not have tried.

The memory of his withdrawal still made him shudder even after all these years. His mind had scurried in circles—confused, panicked. It felt as though some alien creature were trying to claw its way out of his head. The pain pounded at him even during his day sleep. He remembered slamming his head into a wall over and over until blood poured down his face, blinding him. Stomach cramps tore at him, and he spent night after night curled into a fetal position, unable to hunt, to even move. So much pain for a creature who’d known very little of it until then almost took his mind. He now knew why he had never heard of other vampires denying their powers.

But after a month, he’d emerged from his pain-filled hell free of any compulsion to persuade. The agony had been worth it. For the last several hundred years he’d lived as a human would. He solved his problems as a human would. Yes, he still took blood, but that was necessary to survive.

He’d rediscovered his joy in existing, found once again the thrill he’d experienced so long ago when he’d sailed as a Viking. And as an added bonus, he found that people liked him. He usually didn’t have to use persuasion to sway them. Of course, their liking would turn to terror if they knew what he was. Once a monster always a monster.

This was the first time he’d used his power to persuade in two hundred years. And he’d done it only because Sparkle was a special “purpose.” He wanted to create something so spectacular that it would drive her into a frenzy, and he didn’t have time to woo his new employees the human way.

Thorn hoped that since he’d used his power briefly and on only a few people, he wouldn’t have to pay the full price when the urge to use it again came calling and he said no. Thorn didn’t have a clue how much it would take to form a new addiction.

Because even now, when revenge was so close, he’d still keep his “humanity” unless circumstances forced him to take out the gifts that made him vampire, dust them off, and throw everything he had at the Castle of Dark Dreams and all who stood in his way. And to hell with future pain.

“You’re smiling. It looked as though your meeting went well, so I suppose you have a reason to be happy.”

Of course, that didn’t mean that Thorn wouldn’t
hire
the supernaturally gifted. He turned to face his new security chief. “I have three new employees. The power they wield will make Nirvana a success.”

“Nirvana opens tomorrow. Will they be here?”

“They mentioned something about a two-weeks notice.” He laughed. “Two weeks? More likely two hours. When Sparkle gets really ticked, she doesn’t think straight. She’ll kick all three out of her castle tonight. They can stay with me until I find them housing.”

Grim shook his head. “Hope Ganymede doesn’t interfere. He’s trouble.”

“So are we, Grim. So are we.”

Thorn had met Grim Mackenzie in the wilds of Alaska years ago. Thorn had seen what he had once been in the other vampire—a loner, but a
survivor
. So when he’d been considering who he’d put in charge of protecting his pier, he’d thought of Grim. Luckily for him, Grim had grown tired of communing with nature at the same time that Thorn had tracked down Sparkle and thought of the perfect setup for his vengeance. Turned out that Grim had once met Sparkle and Ganymede. An added bonus.

Like all Mackenzies, Grim was tall, muscular, and gifted with the Mackenzie eyes along with a very useful talent.

“The rest of my team will be here in about a half hour.” Grim paused.

Thorn sensed that Grim had something to add, so he waited.

“You used your power on those three.” Grim met his gaze. “Why didn’t you use it on me?”

“How do you know that I didn’t?”

“I thought about your offer for days before accepting. Persuasion works faster than that.”

Thorn raised one brow. “Would it have worked?”

Grim seemed to consider that. “Yeah, I think it would have. I saw how you controlled them. You didn’t even break a sweat.” He grinned. “But you never know. I’m a stubborn bastard.”

Thorn returned Grim’s smile. “I didn’t need to persuade you. My money did the persuading for me.”

Grim nodded. “There’s that. But the money wasn’t what sold me on the job.” His eyes glittered with anticipation. “It was the thought of matching wits with Sparkle and Ganymede. I haven’t had a challenge like that in a long time.”

Thorn opened his mouth to answer him . . .

And the refreshment stand near the gate blew up. The boom shook the whole pier as a cloud of smoke billowed into the night air. When the smoke finally cleared, only twisted metal remained along with a scattering of torn snack bags and a few candy bars.

“What the hell!” Grim crouched, lips peeled back and fangs exposed.

“Well, that was fast.” Thorn felt a predatory satisfaction.
And so it begins.

Grim looked confused. “Uh, someone blew up your freaking stand. A little more reaction, please?” He glared across the street at the Castle of Dark Dreams. “Wonder who it could be?”

Thorn narrowed his eyes. “I guess my three new employees gave Sparkle their notice. Maybe I’ll go over and see how she’s taking the news.”

Grim snorted. “Not well. Go over there and they might blow you up too.”

Thorn felt a surge of excitement. “They won’t know it’s me. I’ve lived a long time as a human. No one will sense my true nature.” He glanced at Grim. “What good is revenge if I don’t see her expression, feel her rage? If I hurry, I might be in time to catch Sparkle in full fury.” What a rush.

“I think you just
did
feel her rage.” Grim shook his head. “Better hurry. The cops will be here soon. You don’t want to get tied up with them.”

Thorn nodded. He strode toward the small windowless building tucked behind the game stands. It didn’t take long for him to put on his wig, insert colored contacts, brush a little powder on his brows to lighten them, and pull on his hoodie. He drew the hood far enough forward so that it shadowed his face. Finally, he shoved a few things he’d need into his pocket. Luckily it was a cool spring night in Galveston, so the hoodie wouldn’t look out of place.

Then Thorn headed toward the main gate with Grim walking a short distance behind him. He could hear the distant sound of sirens. But he paused for a second to stare at his ruined stand.

Sonofabitch! Sparkle’s damn cat, Ganymede—
not a cat, remember that
—crouched in front of the pile of rubble while he chowed down on one of Thorn’s candy bars.

Knowing that the cat would be listening as he ate, Thorn shouted back to Grim. “Wow, the boss is gonna be pissed about this. When you call him, tell him I’ll be in early to help clean up.” That was just in case the cat decided to scope out the pier looking for Nirvana’s owner after he finished stuffing his pudgy face. Then Thorn strode past Ganymede, altering his path slightly so that his foot came down squarely on the cat’s tail.

With angry feline yowls echoing in his ears, Thorn crossed the street and disappeared into the darkness. When he was sure no one was watching, he scaled the wall separating Live the Fantasy from the street and entered the Castle of Dark Dreams from the door that opened into the great hall rather than the hotel lobby.

Thorn quickly scanned the large room with its towering ceiling, fireplace massive enough to roast a mammoth, and long banquet table that rested on a dais near said fireplace. Authentic-looking weapons and tapestries hung from the walls.

He must’ve come in right at the end of one fantasy because everyone was running around preparing for the next one. Thorn ignored the actors in their medieval costumes and the customers scurrying to take their places before the fantasy began. He scanned the hall for Sparkle.

“If you’d hoped to join the next fantasy, you’ll be disconsolate. All the parts are filled. Even if they weren’t, I have a schedule to keep. Not even annoying explosions will interfere with it. I’d suggest you put your name on the list for the one after this. And you might remember that the early bird gets the juiciest parts.”

Thorn made his judgment about the speaker even before turning around. Sarcastic, supercilious, and self-important. He could’ve added snarky, but that would’ve been one “s” word too many.

Thorn turned . . . and almost laughed in the man’s face. Damn, he should’ve gotten his butt over here sooner. He’d missed out on lots of free entertainment. Thorn was tall enough to almost look down onto the top of the man’s head.

This guy took stereotypes to a whole new level—blue robe decorated with shiny suns, moons, and stars; matching tall conical hat that made him seem way taller than he was; the prerequisite magical staff; and a pointed gray beard to go with his narrowed gray eyes.

The wizard drew himself up and puffed himself out. “I sense that I’m amusing you.”

Thorn widened his eyes. “Me? No.” He tried to look impressed. “Hey, can you really do magic?”

“Cave-dwelling troglodyte.”

Well, Thorn had been called worse. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Holgarth. And I have no more time to waste on you. If you want to wait for the next fantasy, then wait over there.” He waved imperiously to the wall near the door. “If not, I would suggest you leave.” His expression said he really hoped that Thorn would just go away.

“I can tell you’re a real people person.” Thorn throttled back his temper. If he wanted to stay, he’d have to buy a ticket and keep his mouth shut.

“I find that most people aren’t worthy of my effort.” Holgarth’s stare said that Thorn was one of the least worthy. “Now, I must abandon this fascinating conversation to take care of a casting problem.”

Bemused, Thorn watched him stride to where a woman was selling tickets to the fantasies. He cut in front of the line.

“We seem to be missing an evil vampire dominatrix. You will have to do for this fantasy. Try to disguise your natural tendency to mewl and cower.” Holgarth walked away, leaving the woman with her mouth hanging open. But then she sighed and left the table.

After the line disappeared, Thorn walked over, took a ticket, and left his money on the table. Then he leaned against the wall watching for Sparkle’s appearance. If she didn’t show in a little while, he’d go hunting elsewhere in the castle. Because wherever she was she’d probably be yelling. And he had great hearing.

* * *

Kayla almost trotted to keep up, shedding bits of her sanity along the way. But she didn’t have time to stop and pick them up or she’d lose Sparkle. If Kayla was convinced of nothing else, she was convinced that her client held the key to every bizarre event she’d witnessed tonight. And she intended to gather all the evidence she could before fleeing back to Philly and her father’s anger.

Sparkle wound her way around the ongoing fantasy, heading toward a man who must be the castle’s resident wizard. He was dressed for the part. From his expression, she’d bet that no laugh lines would ever dare crinkle his face. Didn’t seem like a friendly type. Sparkle stopped in front of him.