by SGD Singh
Next, Lexi twirled and skipped across a slightly less crowded stretch of beach toward the body painting stall, with Zaiden trailing reluctantly behind her.
“Dane! We just have to,” she declared with so much enthusiasm that Zaiden wondered if she'd snuck herself some of the last awful bucket concoction.
She waved more money around.
Sitting in the sand with her back to the woman, Lexi winked up at him and said, “Wings, please. Big, beautiful wings.”
Seriously, Lexi? I can't handle much more of this.
Much more of what? She blinked innocently up at him, but Zaiden could feel her excitement. More than that, he could feel her wall of stubborn determination to be miserable crumbling, its foundation eroding with each touch of his skin against hers.
I can see up your shorts, for one thing.
Lexi's legs straightened in an instant, and this time Zaiden laughed, then laughed even harder his laughter agitated Lexi further.
Mother fuck a fucking Wraith!
She turned to the woman, who was almost done painting wings that looked more like curling orange leaves across the flawless skin of her back, and pointed. “My friend Dane here will have one like that guy! Full Moon Party, right? Big, big letters. Lots of pink. He loves flowers too, too much. And do you have glitter?”
“Glitter extra charge.”
“Extra charge fine!” Lexi waved around more cash. “Extra-extra glitter for extra handsome Dane Slater!”
She's drawing penises on your back there, Crystal. Just FYI.
Lexi kicked sand at him, and this time Zaiden really did get a glimpse up her shorts. He barely closed his eyes in time to avoid the grit as the image of one perfectly curved buttock seared into his memory. He heard Lexi curse her shorts as she felt his arousal sickness enter Stage Four Critical level.
Properly painted up and glowing, they made their way through the next crowd, and Lexi twirled and laughed. Her thoughts in his head were all business, though. The security around here sucks ass. If I wasn't wearing my valuables under these stupid clothes, I would've had my phone stolen five times by now.
Under… wait—what?
Oh, look, Zaiden! This one has a fire jump rope! We'll give them a fucking spectacle like they've never seen, hooker outfit and all, damn it!
But you can't…
In answer, Lexi looked over her shoulder at him and grinned with heart-wrenching wicked beauty before disappearing into the crowd.
† † †
Finally. Finally someone approached them with tickets to the fight.
Lexi was starting to wonder what the fuck it took to get a Vampire's attention around here. Apparently, it took being able to jump over a burning rope more than three times to impress drunk people, at least. Maybe it was the backflips that impressed the familiars. But it was probably when Zaiden joined her.
He'd ducked under the flaming rope and offered her his hand with a smile, his eyes their real color for an instant as her gaze met his. When his hand wrapped around her fingers, Zaiden sent Lexi twirling through the air, and he'd leapt in perfect synchronicity. Lexi laughed harder than she'd laughed in a very long time when Zaiden went cross-eyed and stuck out his tongue, the glitter and paint on his face ridiculous in the light of the flames, and the deafening cheers of the crowd.
She hadn't wanted to let go of his hand as they danced away from the flames along the rope.
And so she hadn't.
Lexi's heart hammered in her chest as she watched Zaiden's soft smile, the picture of perfection. As one, they leaned toward each other, each feeling the other's unmistakable wave of desire as their lips grew closer.
Closer.
A very drunk girl lunged forward and hugged them, placing a garland of fake flowers on Lexi's head as she gushed about how totally awesome the entire world was. Lexi thought she might kick the girl's ass, and she was actually considering it, but just then a man selling cigarettes shoved the girl aside, and fell into step with them as they moved toward the next club.
“We don't smoke,” Zaiden told him politely, and Lexi wondered if his next words would be, “thank you for your hospitality.”
“You take,” the man said, shoving a pack into Lexi's hand. “Special cigarettes. Free for you. You take.”
And then he was gone.
Realizing the cigarette pack weighed more than it should, Lexi tore it open to reveal two ten-baht coins, except the brass centers were painted red. A folded paper showed a photograph of a boat, all black with red flags lit by red lights, and the words, COME JOIN THE FUN! FIGHT! BET! WIN! over the silhouettes of two men kicking at each other.
It's about fucking time.
It's only been an hour. Zaiden leaned over her to look at the picture. Are these guys serious? That boat practically screams Vampire Cruise Liner.
Lexi was momentarily distracted by Zaiden's skin brushing her arm, but then the picture started fading, and the paper began to crumble in her hands. “Look at that,” she whispered, wondering how Jax would try to figure out how it worked. “Cool.”
Zaiden turned the coin over in his hand. “The token seems the same.”
“C'mon, Dane. Transportation to the fight's gotta be close.”
Lexi jogged toward the ocean. The lights from the various parties faded as the crowd thinned, and Zaiden kept pace with her, until the saltwater splashed over her feet.
“I'd rather not get in that water,” he said. “I mean, have you seen any bathrooms around here?”
“Well, the boat's gotta be accessible to drunk tourists, so it can't be too…” Lexi scanned the water, letting her eyes adjust. And then she saw it. Like a pulsing heart, red lights glowed along the water, fading into black a moment later, and Lexi pointed. “There. Look.”
Just as suddenly as the boat appeared, an old man stood in front of them, and Lexi and Zaiden took a synchronized step back. The man was so wrinkled, it was impossible to tell what nationality the human victim had been before the Underworlder had taken over his body.
That's gotta be the ugliest fucking Vampire I've ever seen. Lexi knew she was staring. Hell, it's the first non-gorgeous Vampire I've seen.
He, Lexi. He.
Huh?
If we're gonna work with them, you should probably stop thinking of them as “that” and “it.”
Lexi rolled her eyes. Whatever.
She turned to the Vampire, flashing her best American tourist smile, and said, “Thank you for your hospitality.”
Better?
Zaiden smiled at her, a sunrise over paradise. Much.
The Vampire held a gnarled hand out to them, and they both dropped their tokens into his palm. With a bored and half-hearted bow, he led them to a sort of raft, which was pulled to the boat, a small cabin cruiser, with red lights.
On board, they discovered at least a dozen other tourists crowded into the cabin, all similarly dressed in paint-splattered swimwear. The boat lurched forward just as Zaiden and Lexi took their seats.
There were no windows, and Lexi was pretty sure the doors to the passenger compartment were locked from the outside.
The ride seemed to last an eternity, and they passed the time making agonizing small talk with the other passengers. For Lexi, the conversation felt like nails on a chalkboard as she sweetly listened to opinions about everything from kabobs and Pad Thai to pedicures and body art. Lexi was pretty sure every one of the girls would happily screw Zaiden, and at least one of the dudes—the one too drunk to notice something about her wasn't quite safe—was hitting on her.
Just when Lexi began to consider that ripping out her eyes would be a happy alternative to being stuck in this mundane prison for another minute, the boat slowed and bumped into something. The shriveled Vampire appeared, pointing with bored indifference for them to disembark. Lexi was out of her seat and through the door before anyone else, while Zaiden tried to politely disentangle himself from his flock of giggling females.
The casino boat, Lexi realized as sh
e climbed the ramp to its main deck, was basically a much larger version of the Vampire Goth transport boat. Its giant sails were black as a cave even in the light of the full moon. They were anchored between towering stone mountains that stood guard around the ship on all sides, as if they'd been smashed and dropped into the glittering ocean by some playful child-god.
The deck was deserted, and Lexi hesitated as the rest of the tourists joined her. Everyone looked around, unsure where to go next.
Someone said, “Where's the fight, man?” just as applause erupted beneath them, and Lexi stepped aside to let the group move toward the stairs in front of her.
Zaiden was at her side. We should search the ship. The guy in charge is probably—
Watching the fight.
Zaiden's strangely human eyes scanned the deserted deck, and he shrugged. Okay.
What?
I have a bad feeling.
I can feel your bad feeling. Stop it, okay? We're on a fucking Vampire ship. ‘Bad feeling’ is what you get.
They started down the stairs toward the cheering crowd, but at the first landing, an ancient, hunched-over woman—a civilian—blocked their way. She turned milky eyes up at them, and Lexi realized the familiar was blind.
“You follow,” she croaked, and opened a door perfectly hidden within the stairway's wooden wall and disappeared into the darkness.
Lexi and Zaiden glanced at each other, then followed the woman's shuffling footsteps down a narrow corridor lit only by flickering lights at their feet.
The woman stopped at a metal door, and motioned them inside.
Lexi felt Zaiden's anxiety spike as he reached for her arm, but she ignored him and stepped forward into a square metal room that was about eight feet across, lit only by round florescent lights embedded in each corner near the floor. Zaiden joined her just as the door closed, the strange light exaggerating the worry etched across his perfect features.
This is definitely a bad idea.
We have to start somewhere. Lexi studied the walls. The entire room seemed to be made from one piece of metal, and she saw there were tiny holes only along the bottom. Interesting.
Maybe they'll let us compete in the fight.
Please don't do that, Lexi. I'm telling you we're in mortal danger, and instead of caring, you're getting… excited.
Lexi faced Zaiden and waited for him to look at her. It's gonna be fine, okay? Deep breaths. She tried not to, she really did, but Lexi could feel herself smiling. “And, you know what? It is possible to be in mortal danger and have an excellent time all at once.”
“You're nuts, you know that?” Zaiden said, but his eyes flashed their real color, and he blushed.
“Yeah, I've been told.” Lexi crossed the room and studied the door. It seemed air-tight, and had no key hole or handle. “If I had to guess, I'd say they're about to fill this room up with wa… yep.”
Water had begun to seep into the small space, pushed in through the holes in the metal floor. It was up to their ankles within seconds.
“Now what?” Zaiden looked as if he were definitely not thankful for the Vampire's hospitality.
Lexi leaned against the wall. “Now nothing. We wait.”
When the water reached Lexi's knees, she felt Zaiden really start to panic, his anxiety seeping into her mind like incense, making her smile at his adorable innocence.
“Zaiden, calm down. You do realize our weapons can—”
After three years of stoic control, Zaiden finally lunged for Lexi and wrapped her in his arms, crushing her to him with trembling arms. Lexi wanted to roll her eyes, but too much of his skin was touching hers, and she couldn't think straight. She couldn't even breathe past the emotion that flooded every cell of her body.
His embrace was like home, cozy and safe. His embrace was sweet life itself.
I'm so sorry, Lexi. His arms tightened around her. We're going to die at the hands of sadistic Vampires, and I never told you how much I love you. I never told you how much I admire every single thing about you, even your crazy stubborn suffering and your reckless insanity, and your… And I tried, so I know. I know I can't live without you. And even though we're about to die now, I would rather die a million deaths with you in my arms than live for a single moment in a world without you. And even though we never—
Zaiden. Breathe, for fuck's sake. We're not going to die, okay?
Lexi tried to make him look at her, but he only shook his head and tightened his arms around her, trembling more violently as the water reached their thighs.
Lexi wrenched back and took his face in her hands, forcing him to face her.
“I know, okay?” she whispered. “I've always known. I know your soul, just as you know mine.”
Tears started to fill his eyes as he studied her face. His gaze went to her lips, and without thinking, Lexi did what she'd thought of doing every day for the last three years.
She kissed him.
Zaiden froze, his eyes flying open with surprise, and his disguise slipped for an instant as his arms fell to his sides, as if he'd lost the use of them.
His lips were like heaven itself, igniting Lexi with a pleasure she'd never imagined, and she gasped, stepping back. But then Zaiden remembered how to use his arms, and he pulled her back toward him, bringing his mouth to hers again. His lips parted as he deepened the kiss, and Lexi knew what it meant to lose her mind.
The water was to her chest now, and Lexi didn't care as she wrapped her arms around Zaiden's neck and closed her eyes. The water continued to rise, and their feet left the floor as they floated in each other's arms, lost in their kiss.
Even through the ecstasy of his touch, the thought flew to Lexi's mind: Maybe this was the reason Asha and Silas sent them to Thailand—to die in each other's arms.
A ha! So you DO think we're about to die!
Lexi laughed against the soft bliss that was Zaiden's mouth and opened her eyes.
He was himself, his disguise gone and even his human illusion gone, leaving only him, perfect in every way. Lexi distractedly noticed that the water had stopped rising, leaving their heads mere inches from the metal ceiling. “No, we were never going to die. I wasn't thinking straight, that's all. It's your fault.”
Zaiden's hands travelled to her hips, pulling her toward him as they floated to the center of the room. Lexi shivered as his touch moved along her legs, beneath the tassels of her shorts, and up her bare back, leaving aching trails of bliss in their gentle wake. The only light was now beneath the water, and the liquid glow turned her skin pale as milk, and his a dark, iridescent bronze. The water didn't seem to affect his speckled wings or hair, which was as flawless as ever. Lexi let him support her as she reached out to run her fingers along the layers of feathers spread out at his back, marveling at the thousands of tiny bubbles that danced along their velvety surface, and Zaiden shuddered, closing his eyes.
Lexi kissed him, light as a feather's touch, first on his forehead, then his nose, and finally his mouth, and Zaiden opened his eyes to meet hers. His pupils were huge, the black nearly obliterating the cracked turquoise, and Lexi's heart pounded so hard she was sure it would burst as they gazed at each other.
This surrender was extraordinary, and Lexi marveled at the realization that she could no longer tell where Zaiden's emotions separated from her own. The sensation of delectable longing was so overpowering it brought tears to her eyes.
Zaiden stilled, smiling in understanding for a moment, and then he pulled her even closer and transported her to infinite paradise again as he locked his lips with hers, his kiss growing in urgency. Lexi's hands found their way to Zaiden's hair, which was so much softer than she'd imagined it, and Lexi held onto him, ready to stay entwined with him for the rest of her days.
“I will,” she whispered, breathless.
Zaiden's voice was a sigh. “You will what?”
“I will allow myself… to be happy.”
Zaiden's arms crushed her to him, and he trembled more than before as
he buried his face in her neck. Lexi's head fell back a moment later as his mouth began to travel along her skin.
“It's about fucking time,” he said.
† † †
Zaiden felt the water drain from the room, but he refused to release Lexi. This felt like a dream, and Zaiden was certain if he let go of her he might wake up and discover she was still determined to punish herself for Nidhan's death by defying the Tvastar's final wish.
She never talked about what Nidhan said before he died, but sometimes when she slept, Zaiden could feel it. On those evenings, Lexi would emerge from her room with red eyes and hardly speak all night. And she'd definitely refuse to look at him.
Zaiden waited.
In the past year, it happened less and less. The first change was when she began teaching kids in the villages, and then even less often when she rejoined The Guard at Central HQ. But Zaiden knew that Lexi would never fully forgive herself for Nidhan's death.
Just as he would never forgive himself for it, either. After all, he'd given Nidhan the weapon that killed him.
But he remembered enough about the giant Tvastar to know what Nidhan must have said to Lexi at the end. And he knew enough about Lexi to know that she'd finally decided to honor his wishes. And to admit they had been her own wishes all along.
Knowing that—feeling that—and accepting it as reality were two very different things.
And so Zaiden kept his arms around Lexi and refused to let go.
There's a K-Pop Vampire behind you, Dale. A really hot one.
Zaiden turned, keeping one arm around Lexi's perfect waist. For the first time, he noticed her personal weapons beneath his palm, hidden along an elastic band inside her tassel shorts.
He had to tear his mind away from her tassel shorts again with an effort, but he finally regarded an extremely beautiful boy who leaned on the wall by the door. He seemed to be about seventeen or eighteen, and he was dressed in all black leather and silver zippers, and his hair was a spiky mess over kohl-smeared eyes.
