Mystic Militia

by Cyndi Friberg

  Varrik and Allenton shared a confused glance, but Tal smiled. “It’s easy to blend with the population of Las Vegas even if you have come from another planet.”

  “Evan’s story had a happy ending.” Lor took a deep breath and accepted the inevitable. “Let’s hope this mission is as successful as his.”

  * * * * *

  “Why are we doing this again?” Jillian hurried along at Tori’s side, remarkably agile in her sky-high heels.

  Tori glanced at her friend and shrugged. With a low-cut sweeter and even lower-slung jeans, proudly displaying her sculpted body, Jillian turned heads wherever they went. Tori didn’t mind being overshadowed. She’d never longed for the spotlight like so many in Las Vegas did. She’d much rather stand in the wings and watch the performance, analyzing the reaction of the audience. And her personal life was no different. She preferred intimate dinners to lavish parties, and she’d rather have one true friend than a gaggle of admirers.

  “I’m obviously a glutton for punishment.”

  Jillian laughed. “There are several members of my cast who would love to take advantage of that.” Jillian was a showgirl and proud of it. Her blonde beauty and mile-long legs had opened doors up and down the Strip. And after years of fan-kicks and shimmies, she’d finally landed a leading role.

  “Unfortunately for them, my taste runs toward beefy men with lazar eyes and strong hands, not leather-clad women wielding whips.” Tori tried to let Jillian’s buoyant mood keep her thoughts from spiraling into frustrated worry. The pressures of her life had much louder voices.

  “Do you think he’ll have the money this time?” A bit of Jillian’s playfulness faded and compassion warmed her baby-blue eyes. “Did the deadbeat instigate this meeting or did you?”

  “He did, which gives me a tiny flicker of hope. Why bother setting up a meeting if he doesn’t have the money?”

  “Because he wants more.”

  Tori sighed as she reached for the massive handle on the gilt-and-glass door. She’d only agreed to indulge Ryan after he agreed to meet her in a casino lounge. Then she’d asked Jillian along for moral support. She wasn’t afraid of Ryan, but she knew him well enough to avoid his theatrics. That was the problem with performers. Their entire life was an act. Musicians, actors, dancers, illusionists, she’d had it with all of them. Jillian was the only exception to the rule.

  “If he even hints that he wants more money, we get up and walk out.” She used her indignation to heave open the heavy door. Cold air gushed out into the humid evening, making Tori shiver and then sigh.

  “Fine by me.” Jillian slipped in behind her before the door swung shut. “I never understood what you saw in him in the first place. You can do much better.”

  “He made me laugh. After three years with TJ, I was ready for a little laughter.” She’d honestly thought TJ was “the one”. He was a brilliant musician with the dark, brooding good looks that attracted females like kids to an ice-cream truck. Tori had fallen fast and hard, indulging all her bad-boy fantasies for one incendiary summer. But the ego that made TJ so mesmerizing onstage created conflicts and challenges in their relationship. His first love was, and would always be, his music and Tori wasn’t willing to come in second place.

  The bustling lobby branched off beyond the registration desk. On the right were posh boutiques and specialty shops; on the left was the main casino floor. Jillian took the lead as they ventured farther into her domain, bright colors and the slightly dissonant drone of slot machines and excited gamblers. The lounge was nestled against the back wall of the casino. The floor plan was designed to keep visitors weaving their way through the attractions like mice in a maze.

  Tori stayed away from the Strip whenever she could, but her work as a set designer made complete avoidance impossible. She was one of the army of peripheral players, the backstage specialists that the public never saw and seldom thought about.

  Heat caressed the right side of her body. Her skin tingled and the fine hairs on her arms rose as if charged by static electricity. She slowed and looked around, trying to figure out what had caused the odd sensation. She was surrounded by slot machines and impatient pedestrians, nothing that accounted for the sudden rise in temperature or the tingling.

  An angry voice drew her attention to the men facing off in the adjacent aisle. One was dark-haired the other blond, both tall and muscular. And each was extremely attractive. Were they body builders or fitness models? They were dressed casually in jeans and T-shirts, but something about them seemed…foreign.

  “Niiice,” Jill whispered, giving Tori a playful nudge. “You take one and I’ll take the other. I’ll even let you choose.”

  Before she could reply, the blond turned his head and looked right at Tori. Bright turquoise and framed by thick dark lashes, his gaze seemed to surround her and draw her in. The tingling heat she’d felt before washed over her entire body. It was him. This man was the source of the heat.

  He took a step toward her and Tori panicked. She pushed past Jillian and hurried along the walkway, hoping to blend in with the crowd.

  “What’s the matter with you?” Jillian rushed up beside her and grabbed her upper arm. “He was coming over to talk with you.”

  “Exactly.” Tori twisted her arm out of Jillian’s grasp. “I don’t do casual sex and the last thing I need right now is an emotional entanglement.”

  “But he was gorgeous. They both were. Not just nice looking. They were hotter-than-hell, melt-your-panties-off gorgeous.”

  “My panties need to stay right where they are, so retreat was the only option.”

  “Fine.” Jillian harrumphed and hooked elbows with Tori. “You’re my best friend, so I’ll support your decisions—even when I adamantly disagree with them.”

  Tori squeezed Jillian’s forearm. “I can always count on you.”

  It was early evening, so the lounge wasn’t crowded. After determining that Ryan had yet to arrive, they chose a table easily visible from the main entrance. A doorway on the other side of the room allowed customers to enter from a different section of the casino, but anyone arriving from outside would enter through the main door.

  “Hey, Tori. Jillian.” Jeff came out from behind the bar and approached their table. “It’s always nice to see two lovely ladies.” With the obligatory greetings out of the way, annoyance made his dark eyes flash. “Any clue where your sister is? She’s been MIA for the past three days.”

  “Really?” Tori tried not to let her frustration show. This was the fourth job she’d gotten for Angie in the past three years. If Ang screwed this up too, she’d… She’d probably find her another job. Angie was her baby sister. She couldn’t help being protective of the little scamp. “I’ll text her and see if I can find out what’s going on. I didn’t realize there was a problem.”

  “Summer’s ending. Everyone’s getting restless. She’s probably just blowing off steam. I don’t want to replace her if something legitimate has gone wrong, but she’s leaving me no other choice.”

  “I appreciate that. Let me see what I can find out.”

  “Thanks.” He shifted into server mode again and smiled. “What can I get you?” They both ordered diet cola and he laughed. “If you’re not in this for the booze, why come to a bar?”

  “We’re meeting her useless ex,” Jillian volunteered. “We wanted home-field advantage.”

  Jeff winked at Tori “I’ll watch for flying glasses.”

  It wasn’t much of an exaggeration. Ryan had eroded her calm to the brink of violence before she’d finally kicked him out and she hated being that out of control.

  Using another irritant to distract her for a moment, she dug her phone out of her purse and sent a quick text to her sister. For some reason Angie would often answer a text when she’d ignore a call. A few minutes passed and she didn’t respond to the text, so Tori activated the call. It went directly to voice mail. “Ang, it’s Tori. Call me or text. I know you haven’t been to work for three days. You’re fea
king everyone out. I’m not pissed. I’m worried. Call me.”

  “Do you think something’s wrong or is she just being Angie?”

  Tori had been friends with Jillian ever since the sisters came to Las Vegas nine years ago. Jillian had watched Angie’s cycle repeat more than once, so she understood Tori’s frustration. “I don’t know. The first time this happened, I called hospitals and police dispatchers. Made a complete fool of myself. Now I’m afraid I’ll shrug it off and she’d be in real trouble.”

  Jillian reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

  “I’m not sure there’s anything I can do. Angie’s not a child anymore. She needs to feel the consequences of her decisions or she’ll never learn from her mistakes.” It was a concept Tori compromised each time she rushed in for the rescue. She knew that and yet she couldn’t stand by and watch her baby sister suffer.

  Angie had been fifteen when their mother died, leaving Tori to finish raising a rebellious teenager. Everywhere they went in San Diego reminded them of their mother. And Angie had developed a circle of friends as rebellious as she was, so Tori convinced her that they both needed a fresh start. New York was too damn cold, so they agreed on Las Vegas.

  “What if Ryan blows you off?” Jillian fiddled with the cardboard coasters as they waited for Jeff to bring their drinks.

  Tori shook off the past with a sigh, focusing instead on the present. “He called me. Why would he blow me off now?”

  As if to prove her point, Ryan came ambling into the lounge. His wavy blond hair was longer than the last time she’d seen him, but the shaggy style only added to his surfer-boy charm. Faded jeans hugged his lean hips and a brown bomber jacket hung from his shoulders, making him appear almost skinny. A secret smile bowed her lips. Ryan hadn’t seemed skinny until she compared him with the buff stranger in the casino. Now that was a man.

  Ryan looked at her as he crossed the room, obviously gauging her level of hostility. Apparently deciding he needed to ease into the situation, he approached Jillian first. He flashed a blinding smile and bent down to give her his best Hollywood kiss on each cheek.

  “Damn, girl, you get better looking every time I see you.” He laughed as he pulled out a chair and sat across the table from them. “You should make a point to see me more.”

  Tori rolled her eyes at the tired line. She’d heard him recite it countless times before. “Do you have my money or not? I’m really not in the mood for your bullshit.”

  His devil-may-care façade dissolved as he looked at her. “Nice to see you, Tori. It’s been too long.”

  She decided not to be a bitch and ask him about the money again. She’d already made it clear that the money was her only reason for being here.

  The side door to the lounge swung open and she automatically turned her head. She didn’t care who was entering the lounge. She was just tired of looking at Ryan’s insincere face. The dark-haired Adonis from the casino crossed the threshold, followed immediately by his blond friend. Her heart fluttered and her stomach did a little flip. What the hell was wrong with her? She’d never gone all weak and tingly over a man before.

  “I think he followed you,” Jillian leaned in and whispered, but her giddy expression was enough to make Ryan turn his head to see who had caused the fuss.

  “Who is that?” He growled the question as if he had the right to be pissed off by her reaction.

  “No one,” Tori stressed.

  The strangers walked over to the bar and the dark-haired one unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to Jeff. Jeff looked at the paper then shook his head and handed it back to the hunky stranger. Were they cops? More like private investigators. Neither one of them had flashed a badge.

  “They haven’t officially met, but they had ‘a moment’ in the casino.” Jillian lightly elbowed Tori in the side. “Want me to ask them to join us?”

  “No.” Ryan scooted closer to the table. “I have the money.” He pulled an envelope out of the inside pocket of his jacket and tossed it onto the table. The flap opened enough for Tori to see the stack of bills inside and the strangers were forgotten. “I’m a man of my word. Sometimes it just takes longer than I’d planned to keep my promises.”

  She reached for the envelope, thrilled to have the confrontation finished, but he covered it with his hand and formed his famous half-smile. She’d fallen for that practiced expression once too often not to see through its appeal. Ryan was a self-absorbed, irresponsible jerk and no amount of superficial charm would make her trust him again.

  She firmly grasped the envelope and tugged. “Let go. This is what I came for. The conversation is over.”

  “I understand your frustration and I won’t stop you from leaving once you’ve heard me out.”

  “I’m not interested in anything you have to say.”

  “You’re a shrewd business woman.” Ryan paused for another smile. Didn’t he realize that she ground her teeth every time his lips parted? “I know you’re in-between projects and I have an idea that is sure to be a hit.”

  None of his other ideas had been hits, so she couldn’t imagine why he persisted. “Not. Interested.” She pulled on the envelope, but his fingers were stronger.

  “Five minutes. Give me five minutes to explain.”

  “Let go of the envelope and I’ll sit here for exactly five minutes.” She could endure anything for five minutes if it meant Ryan would be out of her life permanently.

  He sighed clearly frustrated by her persistence. “Elements of Illusion.” He quickly began his explanation, though his hand still rested on the envelope. “Water is the new rage up and down the Strip. All of the shows are incorporating some sort of aquatics into their acts. I want to take the concept a step further.”

  “Let him talk,” Jillian said. “I’m intrigued.”

  She shot her friend an annoyed look, but didn’t interrupt Ryan.

  “I want to feature all four elements, water, fire, earth and air. And I want to weave it all around some sort of story.” He moved his hand and she slid the envelope to her side of the table. When she didn’t immediately push back her chair and leave, he went on. “I’ve already started working on the illusions.” He reached inside his jacket and pulled out three stubby candles.

  “Seriously?” She picked up the envelope and moved it to her lap. “Any street corner hack can light a candle.”

  “Can they do this?” He made a dramatic gesture toward the first candle. It sputtered to life with a suspicious sizzle, but he didn’t stop there. He moved his hand closer and snapped his fingers then pointed toward the second candle. The flame jumped to the second candle and the first blinked out.

  “Okay, that was sort of cool,” Tori admitted begrudgingly.

  “Obviously the candles would be huge, the flames massive.” Ryan became more animated as he gained momentum.

  “Make it jump again,” Jillian encouraged, obviously captivated by the illusion.

  Ryan snapped near the second candle and pointed to the third. The flame flickered then extinguished. “Damn it.”

  Tori felt too sorry for him to laugh, but she’d seen enough. “Come on, Jill. We both have better things to do.”

  “Wait,” Ryan cried. “It worked perfectly at home. Just let me set it up again and…”

  The casino hunks chose that moment to walk past their table. Jillian and Tori both turned their heads, following the progress of the men. The blond paused beside them and smiled at Tori. He made a sweeping motion toward the candles and all three flared to life. The candles blinked out just as fast as they’d erupted. Then a single flame jumped from wick to wick, illuminating all three candles in turn before leaping into the air and disappearing in a burst of sizzling sparks.

  “Amateurs.” He looked pointedly at Ryan, chuckled, then followed his dark-haired friend from the lounge.

  “Oh my God. Did you see that?” Jillian cried as applause erupted all over the lounge. Apparently everyone present
had seen the impromptu performance.

  The stranger didn’t look back and Tori’s heart sank. Why couldn’t he have been a construction worker or an accountant? There was no way in hell she would open her heart to another magician!

  Chapter Two

  “That was incredibly foolish,” Allenton snapped as Lor hurried to keep up with him.

  They rushed across the casino as if they were being pursued. Was Allenton afraid the females would chase them down? Lor was not at all upset by the possibility. He refused to be infected by the Shadow Assassin’s annoyance. The look on the redhead’s face had been worth whatever commotion his actions created. He couldn’t get her image out of his mind.

  He’d felt something odd in the casino and turned to find her staring at him. Then he’d felt a pulse of awareness more powerful than he’d ever experienced before. She had lovely hair, thick and wavy, a rich auburn that only revealed its fire in a certain light. He wanted to tangle his fingers in that silky-looking hair as he kissed her senseless. She’d gasp, then moan as her human resistance gradually surrendered to the inevitable power of their…

  Inevitable? Why did he feel so certain that was true?

  “No harm was done,” Lor insisted. “Relax.”

  “I cannot relax, and neither should you.” Allenton glared without breaking stride. “We cannot afford to draw attention to ourselves. Our only advantage is that the others don’t know we’re here.”

  That would have been an advantage, if it were still true. But Lor wasn’t nearly as convinced as Allenton. They’d been on Earth for six days and each lead they investigated seemed manipulated, as if they were being led around by their noses. “So who do you believe, the man behind the bar or the cocktail waitress?”

  On the second day after they arrived, Allenton had seen Nazerel speaking with an attractive woman with reddish-blonde hair. Allenton kept mostly out of sight, afraid Nazerel would realize he was being watched. Allenton’s caution had inadvertently limiting his view of the female. He’d shared the hazy image with Atimin, one of the other members of the Mystic Militia, and Atimin had attempted to draw her likeness. The drawing wasn’t detailed, though Allenton insisted it was accurate. They’d been using the drawing in an attempt to identify the female ever since. Atimin, and the other three team members, were pursuing other leads, but Allenton was convinced the red-haired woman was their best hope of finding the rebel hideout.