Chapter Twenty-Six
The nine-hour drive put them there near dusk. Thankfully, Kale was able to pull into another underground parking garage. Kat knew that Jake’s aversion to the sun was problematic at times, but she wouldn’t admit to Kale that it made things hard for her from time to time. It didn’t matter to her—she would have sat in the cab of the van and waited for nightfall before ever leaving him behind.
“Ok, so you were right,” Kat said as they got out of the van. “I have no idea where we are.”
She’d eyed the storefront of the two-story building they’d pulled under. It was a pretty basic-looking novelty store that boasted a large closed sign.
“We,” he said, pulling open the doors to the back of the van, “are at Desert Brew.”
“Never heard of it,” Jake said, jumping from the back.
“That’s because it’s an exclusive resort,” Kale said, grabbing his and Kat’s bags.
“And you and the brothers are members?” Kat asked as they walked to the elevator.
“Somethin’ like that,” Kale said smiling, and then hit the ‘L’ button for the lobby.
The doors opened into something of a garden oasis. It was Grecian in style, with large marble statues, indoor fountains, high ceilings with massive chandeliers that looked like they held thousands of candles, and light, venetian-plastered walls. The front of the building had dark tinted windows that kept the setting desert sun from threatening Jake.
“Hello, Kale.” A very pretty Elf rushed from behind the front counter, her deep brown eyes wide and happy.
She threw her long, slender arms around him as Kale dropped their bags to wrap his arms around her petite waist.
She brushed her honey-colored locks from her face when she let go of him and smiled.
“Sorry,” she said as light, rosy flush colored her cheeks. “That was unprofessional.”
Kale laughed. “You don’t have to be professional with me, Cass. We’re past that.”
Cass—so that was the pretty Elf’s name—laughed lightly. “I suppose we are. Who’ve you brought with you?”
Kale raised a brow at Kat. She was sure she was glowering at the very beautiful Elf who had one of her hands resting on Kale’s forearm. She may be fighting her body’s call for Kale, but the Succubus within her wanted to break the other woman’s fingers as they wrapped gently around Kales muscled arm.
“Cass, this is Kat and Jake,” Kale introduced them.
The Elf stuck her free hand out to them, her smile wide. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m the manager here at Desert Brew.” She looked back to Kale. “Your rooms are ready.”
“Rooms?” Jake asked, obviously surprised they weren’t staying in some suite that forced them to all be together.
Kale smirked. “Sort of—she means the penthouse is ready.”
Kat and Jake both snorted.
“It’s quite beautiful, luxurious actually,” Cass assured them.
“I bet,” Kat quipped. “So tell me—how did an Elf get a job at a Vegas resort?”
Cass smiled at Kat and then looked to Kale. “She doesn’t know what this place is, does she?”
Kale shook his head.
“Desert Brew sits on a strictly monitored Middle World Portal—everyone here is Light Fae. The Light encourages and supports our people’s desire to experience the Human World.”
Kat and Jake both did a visual sweep of the room… there were probably twenty or so people milling around and not a single one was human. There were other Elves, a pair of Valkyries, Fairies, Nymphs, Casters, Imps and… others she had no idea what they were. They confused her senses and her vision seemed to waver the longer she tried to stare at them in an effort to determine what kind of Fae she was looking at.
“What are they?” Kat asked as she blinked against her blurred vision.
Kale followed her batting gaze and smiled. “That would a group of young Sprites.”
Both Jake and Kats gazes flew to Kale. “They don’t look like any Sprites I’ve ever seen,” Jake noted in a thoughtful tone.
“What kind of Sprites are they?” Kat asked.
Kat couldn’t see through the magic that had been cast over them. Desert Brew employed multi-talented Casters; some to keep the spell around the building in place and others to help their more obvious guests blend in with the humans. Kale could see through the magic that cloaked the Sprites, but he could also see what they would look like to the people outside the walls of Desert Brew. Their resort really was full-service.
“The two females are Flower Sprites and the two males are Fire Sprites.”
Kale had a soft spot for the small Fire Sprites. They controlled the unpredictable element just as he did. They also left orange smoke in the wake of their wings of flame. The flower Sprites were more delicate, with petal-like wings and soft, pastel-colored hair and dust that followed them when they flew.
Kat shook her head in awe. “All I see is a group of blurry teenagers.”
“That’s the goal—well, aside from the blurry part—though the humans will see them as your everyday, average vacationers,” a soft voice commented.
Kat turned slowly as Kale bent slightly at his waist and every other creature within the spelled room followed suit.
“Kale, stand up straight. You know I hate when you slouch,” Rowan joked as she took Kale in her arms for a quick hug.
She may be their queen but she never liked it when her warriors, who were more her brothers, treated her as anything other than family.
Kale smiled like a dopey little kid… Kat recognized the look as that of a man who loved and respected the one who ruled over him and his people.
“What are you doing here?” Kale asked.
Rowan smiled and shook her head in what Kat thought might have been mirth.
“I had to come see it all for myself.” She eyed Kat briefly, her smile turning to something of regret and sorrow… maybe even pity. “My warriors tell me we may have been harboring ill will to the wrong Fae. I am sorry we accepted what Darion told us as truth. I hope you will come to believe me when I say regardless as to what Darion said you had done, if I, if any of us, had known you were still alive, we would have fought for you.”
Kat nodded. “Thank you?” It came out sounding like a question.
Rowan’s smile shifted slightly, taking on what could only be described as shrewd. “Yes, well, even if it would have only been to bring you to our lands and decide our own form of justice.”
Kat’s brows pinched together and Kale had a surprised and unsure look on his face.
“She means had you not been able to convince us of your innocence,” Cree added, sneaking up on their small group.
Rowan dropped her shrewd smile then, almost shaking herself from whatever had just passed over her. “Yes, of course, and with the Fae that we employ, I believe we would have found the truth as it is now known.”
Kale nodded. Jake relaxed a fraction next to Kat as she allowed a mask of indifference to slide over her pretty features.
“So, not that I’m not happy to see the both of you,” Kale said, turning to Cree, “but what’s going on? Why are you here?”
Cree sighed. “We’re here for Kat’s meeting with Rowan. Lothar told me about Kat’s demands for helping us and Rowan felt it was only right for her to know what future lies in front of her once this business with Brie is settled.”
Fear flicked across Kat’s face though she masked it quickly.
“May we use your office, Cass?” Rowan asked.
Cass nodded. “Of course, right this way.”
Rowan smiled at Cree. “Why don’t you and Kale take this opportunity to catch up?”
Kale and Cree both narrowed their eyes, both finding discomfort in Rowan’s request, though for very different reasons.
Cree gave in to Rowan’s very obvious, don’t-argue-with-me stare. “Fine, but Jake stays with us.”
Jake began to argue but Kat grasped his arm and shook her head.
“It’s fine. I’ll see you guys in a little bit.”
Rowan lead Kat to Cass’ office, the door shutting with finality—telling the three men who would wonder what happened behind that closed door that this was a private meeting.
“You told her you would do whatever you could to help her—I didn’t hear you utter one word in her favor,” Jake said accusingly to Kale.
Kale glared at Jake. “In case you didn’t notice, I was surprised to see my leader and ruler here. I didn’t have a chance to say anything.”
Cree smiled as he took Kat’s bags from Kale. “Come on, boys. Let’s get you two settled.” He looked to Kale and smiled. “She’ll be fine.”
Kale raised a brow. “Are speaking with knowledge gleamed from the future?”
Cree chuckled. “Nope, I’m speaking from knowledge gained from my wife.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cree sat forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he eyeballed Kale, who looked far too nervous.
“You need to relax. Unofficially, I can tell you that Rowan is planning to offer Kat asylum with the Light or if she chooses to, Rowan is prepared to let her and Jake stay in the Human World, as long as they register with us.”
Kale nodded. “You two discussed this in detail?”
“Yes, Lothar spoke to her, I spoke to her, and Trevan… Who, by the way, is in a little trouble, spoke on Kat’s behalf. Once we were given the full details of what you learned, Rowan made a decision.”
“I let her down. I should have fought harder.”
Cree shook his head. “You dealt with the information we were given as best you could. The past is something you cannot change, Kale. Now you need to decide where your future will lead and who will be there with you.”
“I’d give anything to keep her with me,” Kale admitted, his stare drifting from Cree to find the desert sun setting outside the room’s UV-blocking windows.
“Then you better make sure she knows.”
“I wish your damn gift would throw me a bone every once in a while,” Kale noted.
“I hear you. I wish it would tell me more about your future where Kat is involved… but for some reason she’s hidden from me.”
Kale let out a suffering sigh. “Yeah, any wisdom not related to your gift telling you what she might choose?”
Cree chuckled. “I think that has everything to do with how you handle the next week.”
Kale arched a brow at him. “What’s happening in the next week?”
“We’ll be searching for her friend Brie. If her pattern holds, we have five days before she’ll need to feed and kill again.”
“So why Vegas, Cree?”
Cree shrugged in that way of his that said he knew something but wasn’t planning on sharing.
“You know something? That shrug does nothing to give the impression that you are unaware—it tells me you know something.”
Cree chuckled. “I know nothing for certain. I do, however, have a feeling that this city of sin is where we need to be.”
Kale grinned. “City of sin,” he muttered. “So we’re just going to scour the city in search of her?”
Cree grinned back. “Basically. Lothar is finished with Candice. He and Trevan are heading back to Hawk’s Eye to work with Lucas and Uriah, Ban, and Izzy are on their way.”
Kale’s brow furrowed. “Izzy shouldn’t be here.”
She wasn’t immortal… not yet. She wasn’t strong enough to be put in the middle of their job. They were meant to protect the humans and she was still mostly human. He couldn’t handle it if she got hurt in this search.
“Izzy will be fine. None of us will let anything happen to her… most times I like her better than Bain.” Cree grinned. “I’d hate to have to deal with him without her.”
Kale snorted at the remark but shook his head. “She should sit this one out.”
Cree shrugged. “Agreed, but we need Bain and he has not, and probably never will, learn how to tell her no. Believe me, he tried… He wanted her to stay home and she made it very clear that Vegas was a place she didn’t intend to let him go without her.”
“Izzy doesn’t trust him?”
Kale’s eyes narrowed. Izzy wasn’t prone to jealousy… not any longer. She and Bain were as solid as they came… much like the brother standing in front of him and his queen. They found the ones they were created for—the other half of who they are.
“No.” Cree smiled almost uncomfortably. “If I heard her right, and trust me it wasn’t something I was meant to hear at all, she said there were a few place in Vegas she could come up with right off the top of her head… Well, it was explicit.” Cree left it there.
Kale let out a bark of laughter. Cree didn’t need to say anymore. As much as Izzy tried to be discreet—because Bain didn’t give a shit who knew what was on his mind where Izzy was involved—she failed on a daily basis to hide her desire and lust for her Immortal. They were like young lovers who had a hell of a time keeping their hands off each other. It was a rare sight if Bain didn’t have Izzy comfortably situated in his lap.
“So, because Izzy’s safety is important to me, she and Bain will be taking the evening scouting with you, while Uriah and I work on the daytime searching. I will leave Kat and Jake to your discretion. If you feel it’s safe for Izzy to be around them, then you may let them go out with you.”
“So we’re going to just randomly search casinos?”
Cree sighed. “No, we’re going to start clearing the hotels tomorrow—with the help of some Argolettes.”
Kale arched a brow. “I’m assuming we have casters to cloak them?”
Small, flying dogs would cause some suspicion in the Human World.
“Of course,” Cree answered.
“And who are they loyal to?”
The Argolette’s were known for their tracking ability and their loyalty… to the one who fed them. They were much like the hunting dogs of the Human World, except they were no bigger than a hummingbird, with thick wings attached to their furry backs.
“I acquired two of them and, as of right now, they have no master.”
“I don’t really want a pet, Cree,” Kale said, eyeing his leader carefully.
“Well, I think I know someone who would be more than happy to take on the small burden.”
Kale smiled. “Izzy.”
Cree smiled back. “Izzy,” he agreed.
“I always get nervous when I walk into a room and hear my name. What did I do now?” Izzy asked as she and Bain stepped through a portal that had opened into the living area that Cree and Kale occupied.
Cree smiled up at her. It wasn’t often that anyone, let alone Izzy, caught him looking guilty, but she was sure that wry smile meant she had just caught the two of them red-handed—doing what, she wasn’t sure.
Kale jumped up from his seat and approached her, slinging his arm over her shoulders. “You did nothing, Iz. Cree has a gift for you.”
That got Bain’s attention as he eyed their leader questioningly. Cree rose from his seat and held out a finger in a give-me-a-second gesture, before disappearing with inhuman speed and grace. He was nearly impossible for Izzy to track. Makyle assured her that her senses would sharpen with every feeding and a few months ago she would have sworn that Cree literally vanished.
Cree returned with a gold, twelve-inch tall, cylindrical bird cage with a very small, maybe three-inch, brown, furry creature with folded wings against its side, floppy black ears, and a white patch on its little chest. The creature threw its head back—its nose and mouth looking very much like the snout of a miniaturized hound. Its jaw opened and let a low howl escape before it looked to Izzy with deep brown eyes and greeted her with a soft throaty bark as its tail thumped against the metal of its gilded cage.
Izzy squealed, ducking out from under Kale’s arm and all but flew at the tiny, caged creature. “Oh my God, what is it?”
“You cannot seriously be planning to give her an Argolette,” Bain groaned.
Iz
zy’s gaze pulled from the Argolette and her head whipped to face Bain.
“What is an Argolette and why can’t Cree give me one?” she asked.
Bain grinned at his beautiful woman, and shook his head “That is an Argolette.” He gestured towards the cage. “It’s a Fae creature that is basically a dog with wings… their known for their tracking ability and they are fiercely loyal to their master… and you shouldn’t have one, because I imagine Garcia eating the poor thing.”
Izzy arched a brow. “Garcia does not work for his food. This little guy may be fiercely loyal, but Garcia is fiercely lazy. This adorable little creature would have nothing to worry about,” she assured Bain as she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “Can I have him, please?”
Bain shook his head and chuckled. “Sweetheart, you can have whatever you want.”
Izzy smiled as Cree held the cage out to her. The little Argolette ran to the bar and yipped at her.
“Does he have a name?” Izzy asked.
“Not yet. That will be up to you. Once you feed him, he’ll be officially yours. Once that’s done, he’ll do anything you ask.”
Izzy smiled as she brought the cage up to eye level… “I think I’ll name you Tracker.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Find Brie… Find Brie and she earned her freedom. Kat paced her room as she replayed her meeting with Rowan. Kat had put up a good face and tried like hell to stay strong as she followed the Light leader into Cass’s small office. But she was terrified that this meeting would lead to her death. She was sure it wouldn’t be at Rowan’s hand but she feared her return to Darion. There were rules to the Middle World, ones that bound Rowan and the brothers to hand her over to Darion. Rowan had made it clear that regardless as to what happened next, as long as Kat helped them, Rowan would give Kat her freedom. Rowan really was the fair leader every Light Fae claimed her to be.
Now Kat had to decide what she truly wanted… Did she still want to leave with Jake? Would her heart let her walk away from Kale? Did she really want to?
Their circumstances hadn’t changed… not really, but over the past days, she found moments of the easy connection she and Kale once had. If she let her suspicions and the pain of the past go, even if only for a short time, she might find her future… her destiny. And Kat had no doubts if she gave it a chance, she would find that Kale was the one person in the world she couldn’t live without.
Immortal Craving: Immortal Heart Page 11
