Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS) (3 page)

“You are
late
. I had to find a replacement for you.” He almost vibrated with righteous anger. “Your replacement is
not
satisfactory. She has no flare for portraying a sexual creature. I’m embarrassed for her.” He sniffed, dismissing the woman as a failure. “I have a schedule to maintain, and you should care enough about the castle’s reputation for excellence to show up on time.”

Sparkle ignored the wizard’s outrage. “
Your
traitor son has sold his services to the vampire hell spawn across the street.” Her tone hinted that only weak family genes could cause his son to do something that stupid.

The wizard’s thin lips thinned even further and his eyes narrowed to slits. Kayla expected laser beams to shoot from them and leave a smoking hole in Sparkle’s forehead.

“My son would
never
stoop to working for a . . .” He paused. “Wait. Did you say
vampire
?”

Kayla’s thoughts exactly.

“The owner of Nirvana is one of the Mackenzie vampires.” She tapped out an impatient rhythm with her toe.

Kayla decided that Sparkle was prepping the toe for upcoming ass-kickings.

The wizard seemed to consider her words for a moment. “I still can’t believe he’d agree to work for a mere vampire.”

Kayla blinked. He hadn’t even paused at the word “vampire.” And no matter that her brain was trying to explain everything away as the ravings of a bunch of crazies,
she’d heard the cat speak in her head
.

Don’t panic, don’t panic.
Kayla swallowed hard and glanced away as their argument escalated. She wanted to be a lawyer. A good attorney listened to all the evidence. Before leaving, she’d give Sparkle a chance to tell her side of things. Not that anything her client could say would explain away talking cats and vampires. But until then, she needed to concentrate on something else to calm the mad pounding of her heart, to keep her feet from taking her away from here right now.

Kayla glanced at the people around her. The ongoing fantasy looked like fun. Too bad she wouldn’t get a chance to try one. But if she stayed, how would she
maintain her professional objectivity without being sucked into the madness surrounding her?

Stop. Think of something else
. She scanned the people standing against the wall. They must be waiting to take part in the next fantasy. Ordinary people. She needed a huge dose of ordinary right now.

Her gaze reached the end of the line and froze. A man stood leaning against the wall. Tall with wide shoulders. Nothing unusual about his clothes—jeans, boots, black T-shirt with a hoodie pulled over it. He hadn’t bothered to push back his hood. Her father had taught her to notice those kinds of details. And she would swear he was staring right at her.

She shook off the idea. He was probably interested in the wizard and Sparkle. They were getting louder by the minute.

Kayla couldn’t seem to drag her attention from him, though. His face was in shadow, and strands of blond hair fell down over his eyes. But her first impression was of a hard beautiful face. You’d think those two words wouldn’t go together, but they did. She felt the urge to walk over and pull the hood away from his face so she could get a better look.

Then he smiled at her. At
her
. There was no doubt. The same way there was no doubt that his smile left her gasping. Literally. She took a deep breath.

She should look away. That’s what people did when they were caught staring. But she’d grown up in her father’s family. One of the first things she’d learned was that looking away was a sign of weakness. You never dropped your gaze from a predator unless you were prepared to turn and run. And on some level she recognized the predator in gorgeous-guy’s smile.

Kayla smiled back.

She’d never know where that smile might have led because he turned his head to say something to the couple in front of him in line. But he’d served his purpose. He’d distracted her for the few minutes she needed to achieve some calm.

Kayla looked back at Sparkle and the wizard just in time to see the man with the pale dangerous eyes join them. Zane.

“Traitor.” Sparkle ended the word with an angry hiss. “And after all I did for you.”

Zane raised one brow. “All you did for
me
? Give me a second to recall
all
you did for me.” He paused while Sparkle practically crackled with suppressed fury. Then he shook his head. “Nope. Can’t remember anything.” His gaze turned hard. “But I haven’t forgotten all I did for
you
. So maybe you should lose the attitude just because I found another job.”

Kayla silently applauded Zane. He had to be tough not to buckle under Sparkle’s death glare.

“Think about what you’re doing, son. Yes, you’re a powerful sorcerer, but there’s still so much I could teach you.” The wizard’s voice softened.

Kayla could read the subtext: Stay here with me. The wizard had lost his superior expression. She saw real distress in his eyes. Kayla forced herself not to feel too much sympathy. She couldn’t afford to get emotionally involved here. Wait. Had he said
sorcerer
?

“Mom is the goddess of magic, Dad. I’ll always have someone who’ll brainstorm ideas with me.” Zane smiled. “And you’ll be just across the street. We can meet for lunch, do dinner, spend quality time together whenever you want.”

“Goddess of magic?” Kayla spoke without thinking first. She didn’t want to be part of this crazy conversation, but Zane’s claim had caught her by surprise.

Zane glanced at her. “Isis.” Then he returned his attention to his father.

“Of course.” After a certain number of back-to-back-to-back shocks, numbness set in. She tried for an inner giggle, silent laughter to signify how ridiculous all of these people were, how impossible their claims were. Kayla couldn’t dredge up even one snicker.
I’m in deep trouble
.

“You won’t be spending any quality time on
my
property.”

The force of Sparkle’s anger was a scary thing. Without warning, Kayla stumbled back. So did the wizard and Zane. Someone had
pushed
her. Not possible. She would have seen if . . .

Kayla glanced down. Sparkle’s feet were six inches off the floor.
She. Was. Freaking. Floating
. Ohmigod, ohmigod! So much for numbness. Kayla widened her eyes and then looked at the others before staring back down at Sparkle’s feet. Zane was the only one who seemed to notice Kayla’s expression.

He followed her gaze. “Temper, temper. You’re levitating again, Sparkle. Any minute now your customers will notice.” His smile was malicious. “Not good for business.”

Sparkle dropped to the floor and glanced around to see if anyone was looking—she didn’t seem to count Kayla with her mouth hanging open as “anyone”—before she again speared Zane with her you’re-dead-to-me stare. “You’re through here, Zane. I want you off my property tonight. Be sure to take Eric and Klepoth with you. Go sleep on the vampire’s Ferris wheel for all I care.”

And as much as Kayla wanted—no
needed
—to keep believing that everyone except her was crazy, she couldn’t keep denying what she’d felt, heard, and seen. Nausea made her take a deep breath. She wouldn’t humiliate herself by throwing up on Sparkle’s shiny boots.

Before anyone could say anything, Sparkle turned to Kayla. “This fantasy is almost done. I’ll be playing the wicked dominatrix vampire in the next one. Zane usually acted as my faithful demon sidekick. You’ll take his part tonight. Holgarth should be able to scrape up a few new cast members by tomorrow.”

“Holgarth?” Hadn’t Sparkle said that he was her lawyer? “I haven’t met him yet.” Kayla should. And soon. When she ditched this job, Sparkle might scream breach of contract.

“That would be me, madam. And even though Sparkle has chosen not to introduce us, I assume that you are Kayla, our newly acquired intrepid spy.” The wizard’s tone turned “intrepid spy” into an insult. “I truly hope she received a discount for accepting you rather than one of your more qualified brothers.”

If steam wasn’t billowing out of Kayla’s ears and nose, it wasn’t for a lack of inner fire. For a moment she forgot that she’d be leaving this madhouse. “And you, sir, are a wart on the nose of wizardry.” Kayla didn’t know if Holgarth really believed he was a wizard, but if he was part of the Castle of Dark Dreams gang, then he probably did. “You don’t even have the power to keep your own son here.” Okay, so she probably shouldn’t have said that. But it was too late now.

Holgarth paled, but he didn’t look away. “You’re right, madam. I don’t. Perhaps we’re both doomed to failure.”

Kayla could almost see him wrapping his dignity around him. Fine, so she was sorry she’d lashed out the way she had. Other less personal insults would have made her point.

Zane glared at Kayla. “That wasn’t necessary.”

Kayla was now in fighting mode. “So it’s fine for him to insult me, but I’m not allowed to fight back?”

“Not that way. Besides, my father insults everyone. You just need to ignore it.”

“I would appreciate it if you’d desist from fighting over my still-warm body.” Holgarth avoided his son’s gaze. “I’m quite capable of defending myself.”

Kayla ignored Holgarth. “One thing you should know about me, Zane: If someone hits me, I hit them back. Harder. My father taught me that.” Kayla wouldn’t back down from this man, sorcerer, or whatever he was. Once started, backing down became a habit. She needed to remember that when dealing with Sparkle too.
Isn’t quitting the same as backing down?
She tried to ignore the thought.

“Well, well, you
are
a surprise.” Sparkle looked gleeful. “I love a woman who won’t take crap from anyone.” She glanced at her watch. “Let’s go. We don’t have much time before the next fantasy.”

Without sparing another glance at Holgarth or Zane, she disappeared into the crowd, every swing of her hips announcing that no one had better get in her way.

Holgarth took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “I wish you’d spoken to me before making your decision, son.”

“It seemed the right thing to do.” For just a moment, Zane’s eyes showed confusion. Then they cleared. “Look, you’re the top dog at this castle. No one needs me here. Thorn will give me a chance to show what I can do.”

His father looked troubled. “How? Why would he need a powerful sorcerer for an ordinary amusement park?”

Zane’s expression turned cunning. “Maybe it won’t be quite as ordinary as Sparkle hopes it will be.” He smiled. “I’ll be in touch, Dad. Have to go tell the others to forget about their two-week notice.” Then he walked away.

Holgarth watched his son leave before putting on his hat again and turning to Kayla. His superior expression was firmly back in place. “If shock hasn’t nailed your feet to the floor, follow me so I can show you where to change into your demon costume. We have customers waiting for the next fantasy.”

Customers waiting
. She hadn’t meant to look. But once the memory of the man touched her, she automatically glanced toward the wall. He was gone. Kayla shoved aside her twinge of disappointment. It was for the best. She’d be leaving Galveston anyway.
Somehow that thought didn’t make her feel better. Distracted, she nodded to Holgarth.

Now Kayla felt as though she were the one floating above the floor, supported by a cloud of panic and disbelief. She had a feeling that when she finally touched down again it would be a hard landing.

She seemed strangely disconnected as Holgarth led her to a small changing room, handed her a costume, then left. Ignoring Sparkle, Kayla pulled on the costume without paying much attention until she reached for the next piece . . . and it wasn’t there. She stared at herself in the mirror. Holy hanky. That’s about how much she was wearing.

“Are you ready?” Sparkle still sounded mad.

Startled, Kayla looked away from the mirror. “This costume. It only goes from my behind to my boobs.” She glanced down. “To the tips of my boobs.” What the hell was she doing? “Why am I even here?”

Sparkle looked puzzled. “You’re my demon assistant. You don’t have much to say, so you have to do something to justify your presence. Don’t worry, you’ll be a success. Holgarth will make sure to send us only male victims.” She seemed to think for a moment. “I’ll have to find a male assistant by tomorrow night or the female customers will lose interest.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. I’m not wearing this, and I’m definitely not playing your demon assistant.” Kayla started to pull off the costume.

“You will if you want answers from me. I know your father. He’ll demand explanations when you run home without doing your job. Besides, deep inside you’re wondering if you’re going crazy. You
need
to hear what I have to say.” Sparkle’s smile was mocking. “And you
are
planning to run, aren’t you?”

Kayla didn’t answer her question because she had one of her own. “Bribery?”

Sparkle widened her eyes. “Of course.”

Anger pushed Kayla’s inertia away. “So I’m your token sex object?” This was so not in her contract.

“Actually,
I
have the sex star power in our little fantasy. You’re my pale and almost insignificant shadow. You have a problem with that?” Sparkle sounded impatient.

“Uh, yes? You said that Zane usually played this part. Where’s
his
costume?” Kayla would just bet that Zane’s costume was more substantial than the piece of lint Sparkle expected her to wear.

“There.” Sparkle pointed and then kept talking.

Kayla walked over to see Zane’s costume while Sparkle explained her part.

“All you have to do is hang around me, do what I tell you to do, and try to look sexy. Now, when . . .” Sparkle narrowed her eyes. “What exactly are you looking for?”

“Zane’s costume.”

Sparkle sighed. “You’re standing in front of it.”

“This?” Sparkle had to be kidding. “It’s a loincloth.” A
tiny
loincloth. If Zane had any kind of package power, he’d be hanging out all over the place.

Sparkle headed for the door. “The women who signed up for this fantasy liked him in that.”