Vengeance in Blood (Book 3): Reborn

by Watson, Thomas A.

  The bellhop kept punching the top floor button, trying to will the elevator to move faster. When the doors opened he stepped out, “This way, please,” he said, walking down the hall.

  Tiffany watched Kenneth walk out with Besseta still latched on, with her legs around his waist and their mouths locked. How they followed the bellhop amazed Tiffany. “Here’s your room,” the bellhop said, sliding the card into the slot. When he opened the door, Kenneth almost knocked him down.

  “No key?” Tiffany asked, taking the card from the bellhop and looking at it.

  “No ma’am. It’s computerized.”

  “Very clever,” Tiffany said, walking in. “Wait here.”

  She strolled over to where Kenneth had Besseta pressed against the wall. She took out his wallet and opened it. Pulling out a fifty, Tiffany tossed the wallet onto a table. Walking back to the bellhop, she held out the money. “Tell the innkeeper to ignore calls about noises from this room. I’ll try to keep them somewhat civilized.”

  Bowing as he took the money, “Yes ma’am. I will.”

  When the bellhop left, Tiffany turned around. “My word, there is a bedroom right there, now go!” she laughed, pointing at the bedroom.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tiffany was curled up on the couch with a laptop beside her, surfing the internet and glancing up at the TV every few seconds. She peeked out the window and saw the late afternoon sun. Hearing the bedroom door open, she turned to see Besseta walk out, grinning.

  “Feel better?” Tiffany asked, looking at Besseta’s hair plastered to her head.

  “He passed out,” Besseta huffed, throwing her arms in the air. Stark naked, she walked over and dropped onto the couch at Tiffany’s feet. “I need to figure out how to toughen him up.”

  Laughing, Tiffany sat up. “I’m still surprised you’re out here.”

  “Nothing on his body works when he’s passed out,” Besseta groaned.

  “Do we need to make inquiries into buying the room because of damages, or will the innkeeper just charge us for damages?”

  Besseta scoffed, waving her hand at Tiffany. “No, the beds are broken and there’s a hole in the bathroom wall, but that’s it.”

  “The owner of the inn only called twice asking us to hold it down, so he wouldn’t have to call the magistrates.”

  With an evil grin, Besseta jumped up, “Let the cops come, I’ll use their handcuffs!”

  “Kenneth could break them,” Tiffany laughed, looking down at the laptop.

  “Not if I use several of them,” Besseta chuckled and looked at the laptop. “You didn’t bring your laptop.”

  “Yes, that’s why I went and bought another one.”

  “Noise got to you?” Besseta asked, sitting back down.

  “Hardly, just got bored,” Tiffany said and looked up. “Besseta, you’re not going to believe this but outside, there is a big black glass pyramid.”

  “Yeah, it’s the Luxor.”

  “You knew?” Tiffany gasped.

  Shrugging her shoulders, “Yeah, it’s all right, but I like the Bellagio. Where we would be staying, but someone found a discount,” Besseta huffed, waving her hand at the bedroom as she got up. “His thriftiness is starting to get to me.”

  “I must say, the games of chance downstairs seem intriguing.”

  “You went to the casino?”

  “Well, I wanted to know where all the noise was coming from,” Tiffany said. “Just to let you know, Kenneth needs to get up soon. The innkeeper informed me of a jousting tournament at dinner tonight. I used my credit card to purchase our entry.”

  Shocked, Besseta fell back on the couch. “You bought tickets to a show?” she asked in a monotone voice.

  “Besseta, you remember those tournaments we went to in London? We had a great time.”

  “Ah, Tiffany, it’s like a play. They aren’t really fighting for honor or prestige. It’s entertainment.”

  Tiffany pinched her lower lip. “Then we must compare it to what we’ve seen and then judge it, to see if this tournament is authentic.”

  Besseta laughed. “You really want to see this show, don’t you?”

  “Oh, yes, we must,” Tiffany smiled, grabbing Besseta’s hand.

  “Let me get Kenneth up, so he can get ready.”

  “Wait, Besseta, can you buy Kenneth clothes without him there?”

  With a lustful grin, “I know every inch of his body,” Besseta panted.

  “Then we need to get him some clothes before you wake him.”

  “Why?”

  Tiffany pointed to the floor at small strips of fabric. “You shredded his suit getting it off of him.”

  “Well, he shouldn’t have taken so damn long to get naked.”

  Tiffany laughed as Besseta jumped up, putting her dress suit back on. Putting her dress shoes on, Besseta opened Kenneth’s briefcase, exposing neat bank-bound stacks of hundred-dollar bills. Grabbing a few, Besseta closed it and grabbed her briefcase, getting her small purse and sticking the money inside.

  When they returned a few hours later with armloads of bags, Kenneth was still asleep. They put the bags down and Besseta headed to the bedroom to wake Kenneth. “Besseta, let me wake him,” Tiffany pleaded. “The tournament starts in less than an hour.”

  “I can wake him up.”

  “Yes, but the tournament starts in less than an hour. You will jump on him again,” Tiffany whined. “Please?”

  “Oh all right, I’ll get his clothes out.”

  “Can’t I take them in when I wake him up?”

  “I’m not that bad,” Besseta snapped, pulling out Kenneth’s clothes.

  “Of course you’re not,” Tiffany said, taking the clothes. “You just ride him until he passes out.”

  “Hey, he’s the one who passed out, I didn’t do it! I woke him up the last two times he passed out, but he wouldn’t wake up the last time, no matter how hard I slapped his face,” she huffed, pulling clothes out for her and Tiffany. Grabbing a backpack they’d bought, Besseta emptied the briefcases into it.

  Laughing at Besseta, Tiffany blurred and was wearing tan slacks with a dark shirt and hiking shoes. Grabbing the door handle, Tiffany walked in the bedroom and froze. The room was destroyed, and Kenneth’s naked body was lying face-down on the destroyed beds. “We will need to pay the innkeeper for damages,” Tiffany sighed, stepping over a broken dresser.

  “Kenneth,” she said, tapping his back. Not even getting a groan, she started shaking him. “Kenneth, you must get up,” she said, shaking harder. “Damn it, the black knight is fighting and I want to see it!”

  “Huh,” Kenneth groaned, struggling to lift his head.

  “Get dressed! The black knight is challenging for the kingdom,” Tiffany replied with excitement and Kenneth’s head dropped back down. “Kenneth, you’re being a sissy boy. Now, get up!” she yelled, grabbing his shoulder and picking him up.

  “Shit,” Kenneth groaned, grabbing her hand that was squeezing his shoulder. “I’m up, let go.”

  “Get dressed, you have to hurry!” Tiffany commanded, tossing him the clothes Besseta had bought.

  “What, Maliki knows we are here and wants to meet?”

  Letting out a groan, “No,” Tiffany huffed.

  Looking around at the destroyed room, “Where’s Besseta?” Kenneth asked.

  “I can’t let her see you like this,” Tiffany said, waving her hand at his naked body. “She would jump your bones and we would miss the black knight’s challenge.”

  Putting on his pants, Kenneth froze. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “The black knight challenged the king’s greatest warriors for the kingdom!” Tiffany snapped, stomping her foot hard. “A meal is being served at the battlegrounds for the spectators. I purchased our entry, so we could witness the tournament. The innkeeper even gave me close seats to the battlefield.”

  Letting his pants go, Kenneth stood up. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

>   “Damn it,” Tiffany cried out and blurred.

  Kenneth felt his body move and Tiffany was standing in front of him, smiling. He looked down to see he was dressed in khaki slacks and a very tight polo shirt. “I don’t know who this black knight is, but you really must want him to kick someone’s ass.”

  “He’s the bad guy, Kenneth!” Tiffany snapped. “The king’s warriors must defeat him to save the kingdom and the princess!”

  Wondering if he was on acid or having a weird vision, Kenneth spun around and walked over the debris on the floor. Pulling back the curtain, he looked outside. “Well, it looks like we are still in the twenty first century.”

  “Kenneth, we are leaving whether you are dressed or not in ten minutes. I’ll pull you down to the battlefield by the hair on your head!”

  Kenneth turned and started looking around on the floor. “Where are my shoes?”

  “Besseta bought you new ones, she chewed the other ones off,” Tiffany snapped and pointed at the door.

  A goofy grin spread across Kenneth’s face. “Yeah, I remember, that was great.”

  Tiffany screeched as she blurred over, grabbing Kenneth’s arm and yanked him into the sitting room. “Put your shoes on,” she snapped, pointing at some socks and hiking boots on the coffee table. Hearing a growl behind her, Tiffany spun around and dropped into a crouch.

  With both eyebrows arched and a smirk spread across her face, Besseta ogled at Kenneth getting dressed. “Don’t you even think about it, the black knight will be announcing his challenge soon,” Tiffany said, narrowing her eyes. “If you don’t control yourself, I’ll make Kenneth drink a tea that will make him sleep a month.”

  The lust left her face as Besseta jumped back in shock. “That’s mean.”

  “The tournament will be starting soon, are you ready?”

  Leaning over and looking around Tiffany, Besseta got a wicked look on her face. “Can I have fifteen minutes to make sure Kenneth is okay?”

  “No!” Tiffany snapped.

  “I have no clue what the hell is going on,” Kenneth said, standing up.

  Tiffany looked at her wrist. “Shit!” she cried out and blurred. The next thing Kenneth and Besseta knew, they were standing in front of the elevators.

  “I thought Tiffany stopped wearing a watch?” Kenneth asked as Tiffany kept punching the elevator call button.

  “She bought another one when she got her new laptop, so she wouldn’t miss the tournament,” Besseta sighed and glanced over at Kenneth. Seeing the tight polo pressed against him, showing every contour of his body, she licked her lips. “Something about a black knight.”

  “Why isn’t the little moving room getting here!” Tiffany shouted and heard a thump behind her. Turning around she found them on the floor with Besseta on top of Kenneth and their mouths locked. “Oh no, you don’t,” Tiffany snarled, yanking Besseta off as the elevator dinged. When the door opened, Tiffany threw Besseta in and grabbed Kenneth by the ankle, dragging him in.

  The bellhop was staring at Tiffany as she dragged Kenneth in with no effort. “Where to?” he asked in a feeble voice.

  “The damned tournament!” Tiffany shouted, dropping Kenneth’s leg.

  “Yes, ma’am,” the bellhop stuttered. “You have time before it starts.”

  “Rrrrrrr,” sounded in the back of the elevator followed by a thump. Tiffany spun around and yanked Besseta off Kenneth.

  “Stop it!” Tiffany growled, narrowing her eyes and Besseta backed up to the side of the elevator. Tiffany reached down and picked Kenneth up and then set him down, making the bellhop tremble. “Kenneth, stay on this side,” Tiffany commanded, as the elevator dinged. “Well, that didn’t take long.”

  Tiffany looked up at the numbers and saw they’d only gone down two floors. “The tournament is near the floor with the games of chance, not up high. Why are you stopping?”

  “We have to get other people,” the bellhop mumbled as the doors started to open. An old man with a cane started to step in and Tiffany held up her hand.

  “I will beat you to death with your walking staff if you get on. This moving room is taking me to the tournament,” Tiffany barked and looked at the lights beside the bellhop and the doors literally slammed shut, almost catching the old man. She raised her eyes to the bellhop. “If the room stops anywhere but the level I need, I’m carrying you to the roof and throwing you off.”

  Trembling violently, the bellhop pulled out a key ring and stuck a key in the elevator, and it moved to the first floor. “F-ff-f-fol—low the signs, hope you enjoy.”

  Tiffany grabbed Besseta’s arm in one hand and Kenneth’s in the other, dragging them off the elevator. “What the hell has gotten into Tiffany?” Kenneth asked as she dragged them much faster through the crowd of people than a human should be able to.

  “I don’t know, but I think she was about to punch me through the elevator wall,” Besseta said.

  “Oh, I was,” Tiffany mumbled and saw a man wearing a medieval tunic. “You, good sir, where is the tournament?”

  “Right here, my lady,” he said with a deep bow. “Tickets, please.”

  “Has the black knight issued his challenge yet?” With an open mouth grin, Tiffany yanked tickets out of her back pocket.

  “No, my lady, you have plenty of time before the event starts,” he smiled at her, then looked at the tickets. “The best seats in the house. My, you will enjoy the tournament.”

  Kenneth looked around with a confused face, then looked at Besseta who was just staring at Tiffany like she was an alien. As the ticket taker handed Tiffany her stubs, Kenneth grabbed his arm where Tiffany had squeezed it. “Hey, this is a Vegas show, isn’t it?”

  “Some might call it that, but it is a tournament for the king,” the ticket taker grinned.

  “I-,” Kenneth stopped as Tiffany yanked him and Besseta in the stadium, moving fast. She knocked a man down and turned around.

  “You need to move your ass,” Tiffany snapped and looked at the ticket stubs. “Where’s our seats?” she shouted with excitement with a touch of irritation, making a few people who were sitting down scoot their chairs away from her.

  “Here Tiffany, let me see them,” Kenneth said, looking at the tickets and then looked around the arena. “Over there,” he pointed.

  Tiffany grabbed them and took off. “No running,” a man yelled at them.

  “Shut up or I’ll rip your tongue out and eat it!” Tiffany shouted at the attendant. She stopped where Kenneth had pointed and looked at her tickets, “Right by the field of battle!” she cried out, yanking the two over to the chairs. Looking back, she saw a throne behind them. “We are sitting near the king, so we can witness his rebuttal to the vile black knight.”

  Tiffany pulled a little booklet out, setting it on the table. “I’m sitting in the middle. Any foolishness, and I’ll break your legs repeatedly,” she warned, looking at each of them.

  Hearing the tone and knowing she was serious; Kenneth grabbed her chair and pulled it out. “Then, let’s sit,” he smiled and scooted her up to the table, then moved to Besseta. “I can’t remember, but was she this bad at real jousting matches?” he whispered.

  “No,” Besseta replied, sitting down and hanging the backpack on the back of the chair. “A thousand times worse. I thought she was going to kill King Richard with his own lance one time. We won’t even talk about the tournament in Paris.”

  Lifting her chair, Kenneth scooted her to the table and went over and sat down beside Tiffany as a hostess walked over. “Would you like to order a drink in a souvenir goblet?” the hostess asked.

  “Three, please,” Kenneth smiled.

  “What would you like?”

  “Water,” Tiffany answered, and the hostess looked at Kenneth.

  “Water sounds good,” Kenneth nodded as the hostess smiled at him and left.

  Tiffany reached over, grabbing Besseta’s hand as it dragged down the table, leaving grooves from her fingernails. Squeezing Besseta’s hand ha
rd, Tiffany lowered her voice. “Besseta, don’t.”

  “That skank wanted to throw Kenneth on the table and rape him,” Besseta hissed, glaring at the hostess taking another order. “That’s my job.”

  “We will feed off the whore after the tournament, but don’t start,” Tiffany offered, making Kenneth give a low whistle. Tiffany cut her eyes at him and Kenneth just smiled as he picked up the booklet Tiffany had thrown on the table.

  He pointed at the back of the booklet. “You paid this much for each ticket?” he asked in shock, then jumped up. “The souvenir drinks are thirty bucks a piece?”

  “Kenneth, I’m about to break your legs,” Tiffany snapped. Kenneth just glared at her. “I’ll throw you out in the arena to fight the black knight,” she threatened.

  “I’ll monkey stomp his ass,” Kenneth spat.

  “How? Your legs will be broken and stay that way until I release them,” Tiffany growled, and Kenneth dropped back into his chair.

  “Tiffany,” Besseta sighed. “I never understood this about you. You hated that time. Why do you love tournaments of combat?”

  “Besseta, it’s a one-on-one challenge and the ringing of steel,” Tiffany sighed.

  “When this is over, we are taking you on a vacation,” Kenneth said, reaching over and grabbing Tiffany’s hand. “If you like this, then you will love a vacation.” As the lights dimmed, servers came around, placing out food. Since his turn, Kenneth usually ate little like they did, but it seemed the earlier activities had drained him and today, he ate everything from his meal and most of theirs.

  After the show, Kenneth was standing outside, holding Besseta’s hand in shock. “I can’t believe she stood up, calling the black knight a pussy,” he droned.

  “I can’t believe she had the kids sitting around us, leading them in a chant that the black knight was a pussy,” Besseta mumbled.

  With a face filled with joy, Tiffany bounced over. “Look! I got all of us shirts, dolls, some pictures, one that the White Knight signed, a backpack, three jackets, two blankets and collars for the babies.”

  “Kenneth, if you mention money, she will punch you in the face and it’s going to hurt. I love you with all my heart, but I won’t stop her,” Besseta told him in his mind.