by Nina Bangs
“Fine, I get that, but these clothes are—”
“Your new uniforms. Wear them with joy.” Sparkle’s gaze grew thoughtful. “Your hair is a pretty color. Those blonde highlights make the color pop, but I don’t know about the style. It just sort of lies there.”
If Cinn hadn’t had Vince in her arms, she would’ve clamped protective hands over her hair.
“We’ll have to do something with your hair.” Sparkle’s gaze dropped. “And your face.”
Cinn opened her mouth to complain.
Sparkle shook her head. “Sorry, but I’m the boss. I’m pulling rank on you. I own the park and you’re an employee of the park.” Then she smiled. “You’ll love how you look.”
Cinn firmed her lips in silent disagreement.
Sparkle’s expression turned sly. “Even with all his scars, Dacian is an incredible-looking man.” She tried on a sorrowful expression. “I’m sure he hasn’t known much love in his life.”
“That won’t work on me.” Cinn wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth, though.
“And I wasn’t joking when I told you that you might be able to come up with a cure for him. Work on him like you work on your plants. Find some way to block the message that triggers his rage. You can do it. I have faith in you.”
Rah, rah, and sis-boom-bah. Sparkle would’ve made a great motivational speaker-slash-cheerleader. Cinn wouldn’t be winning any battles here tonight, so she’d retreat to lick her wounds and gather her strength for the next fight.
“You can’t carry the clothes and your plant, too, so I’ll have the clothes sent to your room.” Sparkle’s expression said that if it were her, she’d drop Vince and opt for the clothes.
Cinn finally made it out the door. She sighed deeply once she’d reached the relative safety of the hallway. “Do you get a spiraling-out-of-control feeling, Vince?” He might not be able to answer her, but at least he could share her emotions.
“Personally, I think you’re letting the bitch walk all over you. I wouldn’t even consider wearing those slutty clothes she’s sending to your room. If you need clothes, I have much more tasteful choices.“
For a moment, Cinn thought Vince was answering her, but then she recognized Asima’s voice. She glanced down. Sure enough, the Siamese cat was pacing beside her. It was pretty sad when she was thinking of Asima as a friend.
“How did you know what was going on inside there?”
Asima blinked her blue eyes in surprise. “I listened at the door, of course.“
“And you don’t see anything wrong with that?”
The cat looked puzzled. “No. How else would I find out things?“
“Point taken.” No use arguing. “You said you’re the messenger of Bast, so I guess you have goddess connections.”
“Excellent goddess connections.“ If she’d had a fluffy coat, Asima would’ve been puffed up into a round ball of feline pride. “Bast depends on me.“
“Umm, do you think there’s a chance that Bast might intercede with Airmid for me? You know, goddess to goddess?”
Asima looked horrified. “That wouldn’t be possible. Bast only interferes to help her own. I wouldn’t dare ask her.“
Well, that solved that. They’d reached the elevator. “Thanks for sharing with me. I’ll probably see you around now and then.” Preferably then. Wait. Cinn had just thought of something. “Dacian said you’d gone to your room to sleep on your nice soft bed.” She resisted the urge to add an extra soft.
Again, Asima’s gaze drifted away. “Yes, well, I found that I was too excited to sleep. So much has happened. Both you and Dacian arrived. There hasn’t been this much excitement in ages.“
Cinn decided against asking for details. She waved good-bye and stepped into the elevator. Thankfully, Asima didn’t follow her.
By the time Cinn reached her room, she was tired enough to believe she really could sleep. No wonder. It was only a few hours until dawn. Cinn put in her earplugs just to make sure she got at least a few hours of uninterrupted rest. And as she drifted off to sleep a short time later, she realized she hadn’t seen her newest protector, Bain, anywhere. Some protector. But she was too tired to care.
Her last hazy impression was of Bain suddenly appearing on her couch. In that halfway state between waking and sleep, she watched him pull out a book and start reading. In the dark. Must be a dream. Dumb dream.
Something wakened Cinn. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew this wasn’t a normal wakening. She pried her eyes open and then quickly closed them against the glare of sunlight beaming through the narrow arrow slits that passed for windows in the castle. Someone had pulled back the damn curtains.
Cinn pulled out her earplugs as she allowed her senses to settle before opening her eyes again. She felt great for the first few seconds, until memories of the night before slapped her silly. She groaned. Blinking, she turned her head away from the sunlight. A quick glance at the clock on her bedside table told her it was afternoon sunlight brightening the room. She must’ve been more tired than she’d thought.
Pounding so loud that even her earplugs wouldn’t have blocked it interrupted her thoughts. That must have been what wakened her. Sliding her feet to the floor, she stood, stretched, and slipped on her robe. Then she shuffled toward the door.
The pounding continued. “Jeez, I’m coming.” She shuffled a little faster. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a piece of notepaper on the coffee table. A note? It hadn’t been there last night. Had it? She couldn’t remember. Caffeine. She needed coffee before she could even remember her name.
Already irritated with the day, she flung open the door just as Edge was getting ready to pound again. “Okay, okay, I’m awake. Now go away.”
Edge grinned, obviously in a better mood than last night. “Just making sure. I went down to eat breakfast and got tied up with some things Holgarth wanted me to do. Need anything?”
“Coffee.” She was only capable of short sentences and simple thoughts before her first shot of caffeine. Afterward she could move into the realm of complex thoughts.
He nodded. “I’ll get some. Want anything to eat?”
She decided against food. “No, I’ll take a shower and then eat in the restaurant.” Before she could thank him for the coffee, he was gone.
Turning, she headed toward the bathroom and then paused. Something … Cinn frowned. Something wasn’t right. Nothing specific, just a feeling of wrongness. She glanced around. As her gaze slid across the table beneath the arrow slit of a window, she froze. Vince. He was gone.
Panic made her heart skip a beat. And then as her stomach dropped like a broken elevator she frantically scanned the room. Gone. Really gone. Oh, God. Oh, God. For a moment, she couldn’t think, didn’t know what to do first. She was shocked that when she clawed to the surface of her panic, her first coherent thought was for Dacian. But he wouldn’t rise until dark, would he? Her next thought was for Edge. He was coming back with her coffee. But she couldn’t wait even that long.
She ran to the closet and flung open the door. Only to be confronted by Sparkle’s borrowed wardrobe. “Shit, shit, shit.” She shoved aside the unwanted clothes, searching for her old jeans and chunky sweater. Gone. The bitch had taken all her clothes.
Almost panting with her fear and confusion, she grabbed a couple of pieces of clothing and one of the only pairs of flat shoes in Sparkle’s offerings, then raced into the bathroom.
She’d just pulled on the silky black top when she heard the front door open and then close. Evidently locked doors meant nothing in this cursed place. She was too worried about Vince to think about who might’ve come in. If it was Airmid or Sparkle, all the better. Bring it on, bitch. And she didn’t much care which bitch it was.
She hurried from the bathroom only to find Edge setting a container down on her coffee table.
“I’d let it cool for a moment.”
He didn’t look at her as he picked up the piece of notepaper that Cinn had totally
forgotten about in her panic over Vince.
“It’s from Bain. He just wanted to let you know that Sparkle had delivered your new clothes and shoes.” Then Edge glanced up.
“Whoa. Talk about a new person.” His smile was slow and sexy. “Love the leather pants and silky top. Very hot. I—”
“Vince is gone.”
“Vince?” He glanced around. “You had a man here last night? Bain didn’t mention it.”
She wanted to scream at the time wasted in explaining things to him. “No, no, no. My plant. Vince was sitting under the window last night. Now he’s gone.”
“Oh.” He looked puzzled by her obvious upset. “Bain was here. We can ask him.”
“Ask him now.”
Shrugging, Edge pulled out his cell and called Bain. From listening to Edge’s side of the conversation, she got that Bain was ticked at Edge for waking him and no, he didn’t have a clue where the freaking plant was. No one had stolen it while he was on duty.
After what seemed hours, Edge put his cell away. “Bain didn’t—”
“Could Bain have stolen Vince?”
His smile turned patronizing. “Bain’s more into stealing souls than plants. I’m sure Sparkle will—”
“Fuck Sparkle. Someone stole my damn plant and I want him back.”
Edge’s eyes widened. He couldn’t have looked more surprised if a plant, well, bit him. “If clothes make the woman, then your clothes have made you into one tough lady.” He grinned. “Not a bad thing.”
“No one messes with my plants.” Now how to back up the tough talk? “We have to start searching for him.” What if whoever took him killed him? She choked back a sob.
Just then she felt the tiniest brush against her mind. Weak and trembling, it was still recognizable. Vince was alive and reaching out to her. “Mama is coming, baby.” She yanked open the door.
“Where are you going?” Edge hadn’t moved.
“I …” I don’t know. She closed her eyes, took a deep calming breath, and then opened them. “Why don’t you tell Sparkle what happened while I check on my other plants?” Then she remembered. “You have the keys to the greenhouse, don’t you?”
Edge pulled them out of his pocket to show her. “While you’re checking on your plants, I’ll spread the word.” He pulled out his cell phone again. “I’d tap directly into everyone’s mind, but with so many shields to break through I’d sap all of my power.” His expression turned grim. “And I’ll never let anyone catch me at less than full power.”
Something in his expression hinted at a past experience, and at another time she would’ve been interested, but not now. “You know the castle. Where do you think I should start looking?”
He shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.” Edge followed her out the door.
All the way down to the greenhouse she prayed that by some miracle she’d find Vince there among her other plants. A brief glance around, though, dashed her hopes. She could feel her whole body slumping. Who could’ve done this? Her subconscious supplied a name. Airmid.
Feeling as though she were sleepwalking, Cinn wandered the aisles. She stopped briefly beside Eva, her miniature rosebush. Eva was finally blooming. Cinn touched one tiny bloom. This was her newest strain of sexual energy plants. She wasn’t sure yet exactly how powerful Eva would be, but right now she didn’t really care.
Edge had waited outside the greenhouse, and when she finally emerged he was just putting his cell phone away. “Everything okay in there?”
She just nodded.
“Sparkle is spreading the word. She’s sending someone down to guard the greenhouse when you aren’t here. As soon as he arrives, we can start searching.” His expression hinted that he didn’t hold out much hope, though. “What exactly makes this Vince so important to you?” He left unsaid that it was just a plant, after all.
“I put a little of myself into every plant.” More than she’d ever admit to anyone. That was her secret. “It’s like giving birth. They’re my babies.”
She could tell he didn’t believe her. Probably thought she was just nuts. But before he could come up with a reply, the new guard showed up.
Tall, with brown hair and eyes, along with a wide grin, he was a welcome touch of normalcy. He pulled off a cap that had some kind of fish on it. “Hi there. I’m Wade.” He stuck out his hand and engulfed hers in a hearty shake. “Sorry to hear about your loss. Just go on and do what you have to do. I’ll make sure no one gets to your other plants.”
“You don’t have any idea how much I appreciate this.” Cinn thanked God for the kindness of ordinary people.
“Don’t you worry, little lady. Everything will be fine. I was down this way for a big boat show and thought I’d stop by for some R & R. Stayed here before when I was doing a fishing tournament. Nice homey place.”
Cinn didn’t think she’d go that far.
“So when Sparkle asked me to do this, I didn’t have to even think about it. I’ve got lots of free time.”
Edge handed Wade the key to the greenhouse. “No one not connected to the castle gets in here.”
“Got it.” Wade stepped inside and pulled up a folding chair. He pulled out a copy of Texas Fish and Game Magazine. “You just go on now. Sparkle knows your plants will be safe with me.”
Cinn couldn’t help it; she reached out and clasped his hand in both of hers. “I owe you, Wade.”
For just a moment, something strange seemed to move in Wade’s eyes. He shook his head. “Felt a little funny there for a moment.” He grinned. “But I’ll be fine.”
She turned and followed Edge into the kitchen. As they wound their way around an annoyed chef, Cinn was a little more optimistic. “I like Wade. He looks like the kind of man you can depend on.”
Edge shrugged. “Yeah, he’s okay for a demon.”
Chapter Six
Dacian dragged himself up through the layers of nothingness that held him captive each day. Even as the layers thinned and he drew nearer to the surface, he sensed it was still daylight. The force of the sun battered him.
Why was he waking up? He tried to force himself back into the soft cocoon of sleep, but something wouldn’t allow him.
He lay quietly, trying to analyze even as his mind still clung to the safety of the darkness. There. It came again. A light brush against his mind. And then a whisper, so soft he strained to hear it.
“Help. Cold. Box.“ The voice was thin and reedy, weak. And it had a shiver to it. Vince’s voice.
Vince. Cinn. Cinn. In a moment he was fully awake. Had something happened to her? Something must have happened, because she’d never leave the plant unprotected.
Sitting up, he rubbed a hand across his face. Damn, whenever he rose before sunset he felt like someone had slugged him with a baseball bat. Over and over and over.
He was in complete darkness. Ganymede had given him one of the vampire rooms. It was next to the dungeon—handy if he needed to be restrained fast—and had no windows. But he could still feel the sun even if he couldn’t see it.
No help for that now. He had to know what had happened. He turned on the bedside light, picked up the phone, and called Sparkle. “What’s happened to Cinn?”
A few minutes later he put down the phone, grabbed his clothes, and dragged himself into the shower. He didn’t want to waste time on a shower, but he needed the driving water flowing over him to make him functional until the sun set.
Once dressed, he glanced at his watch. Only an hour until dark. He could do this. Bracing himself, he pulled open the door and headed upstairs.
He tracked Cinn down in a corner of the great hall where she was busy arguing with Holgarth as castle employees scurried around them, getting ready for the night’s fantasies.
“I will help you search for your plant, madam, after I interview my last wizard.” Holgarth sniffed his contempt of anyone who could get so upset over something so trivial. “And no, you may not borrow any of the castle employees in the search.”
&
nbsp; Cinn was practically vibrating with tension. “You don’t understand. Sparkle, Ganymede, Edge, and Bain have helped me search, but we haven’t found anything. We need more people.”
Holgarth turned what he probably thought was his kind expression on her, but he just looked patronizing. “I always prefer honesty, no matter how painful. Probably someone came in to clean your room, accidentally knocked over your plant, and hid the remains so they wouldn’t get in trouble.”
“But I was sleeping in the bed. No one came in to clean the room. Besides, there was a guard outside my door.”
“Every minute?”
She hesitated.
Holgarth pounced. “See? Your guard probably went off for a few minutes, you were sleeping soundly, and someone took your precious plant. Although God knows why anyone would want it.”
Cinn’s expression turned mutinous. “So you’re telling me that a demon on duty wasn’t enough to stop the plant thief? Great security you have here.”
“Hmm. Perhaps Bain felt the need for a salad before he hunted up his main course. Demons don’t always have discriminating palates.” His lips twitched. Either a crappy attempt at a smile or a nervous tic.
“Glad you think it’s funny, wizard. I wonder how much of a giggle it would be if someone stole your staff, or wand, or whatever kind of damn stick you use.” She crossed her arms and prepared to wait the wizard out.
“No one would dare. And I’d hardly call a wizard’s staff a stick.“ Offended, Holgarth turned away and climbed onto the dais. He seated himself at the head of the banquet table. Another man sat at the foot.
Holgarth harrumphed. “You, Clarence, are the last of those who would take my place here. All the others have failed miserably. Are you prepared to show me your skills?”
Dacian noticed there were numbers on the backs of the chairs. “Holy hell, Holgarth. How many wizards did you interview today?”
“A mere ten. All spectacular failures. Now only one is left.” He speared the wizard wannabe with a stare guaranteed to curdle the poor guy’s blood. “I might suggest that you begin your career by changing your name. The name Clarence will not engender confidence in the untutored masses. Perhaps something more dramatic might help.” He studied Clarence. “Or not.”
