Queen of the Night Time World

by Kristen Strassel

  “Does Rachel know I want to talk to her?” I called Blade once I recovered after the show, stone cold sober at the thought of never seeing Rainey again.

  “She does. She’s been busy,” he said.

  “Doing what?” The words had a bite to them, but I didn’t care. Whatever it was, it wasn’t more important than helping me find Rainey. She was probably avoiding me just to be a bitch. She didn’t have to be near me to neutralize me. It was like she had a remote control, and she entertained herself by pushing my buttons.

  “There was some shit that needed to be handled.” But he didn’t specify what shit or how it was handled. Besides her absence, everything had been business as usual at Sin City Vampire Club. Or I was so out of the loop looking for Rainey, I had no idea what was going on around me. Not that I wanted drama to knock on my dressing room door. I’d had enough of that already, but I didn’t want to be dismissed as useless, either.

  I wrapped my arms around myself so tightly it hurt. “If she doesn’t show up soon, I won’t perform anymore.” I’d take the sun, the stars, and any bright light and hold them hostage.

  “Really?” There was no missing the amusement in Blade’s voice. He probably thought I was playing right into her plan. Or his plan. Whatever. Let them have their darkness. They could wallow in a Hell of their own making, as long as they brought me back to Rainey.

  It occurred to me Rachel neutralized the vibration, snatched it up and put it in her pocket before she left in the morning. Maybe she’d take the opportunity to go to Gabriel’s Realm on her own.

  Shit.

  “She wouldn’t try to go on her own, would she?” The way to guarantee the darkness she was after was to snuff the light. There was something in this for Rachel. It wasn’t just Rainey that concerned me. I hadn’t exactly made friends in the other Realm, but those people were good. They didn’t deserve her bullshit.

  Blade sighed. “Honestly, I don’t think she’s that concerned.”

  “Does she understand who Gabriel is?” Because her bestie, The Mistress, did not.

  “Of course she does. Like I said, she had some shit to deal with. The world doesn’t revolve around you.” He chuckled.

  “Well, it should,” I said. At least he got me to smile. “What’s this shit that’s so important that my problems aren’t the center of the universe?”

  “There’s been some stuff going on at Embrace, that’s all.” Oh no, he did not get to sweep this under the rug. “Vampires we don’t know. Clan leaders we aren’t familiar with.”

  That was some serious shit, especially if they realized how green Callie was. The devil we knew was much better than the one that rolled into town unannounced.

  “Is everything under control?” I asked.

  “Getting there.” He didn’t sound convincing.

  “Are you safe? You can come here if you want.” That was probably a bad idea, too. If those new vamps were after what Blade had, and we led them to one of the last remaining sources of good energy in the vampire world, we’d be putting a lot of people at risk. Including me.

  “I’ve got to take care of this.” There was urgency to his words that had never been there before. Blade had been the bully in his world, and it sounded like he’d met his match. “And none of us are safe. We never have been.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gabriel claimed balance was a lie. He was full of shit. Balance took work, compromise, and sometimes, blind faith. Gabriel was lazy. That was what happened when there was too much good stuff in someone’s life—they had nothing to keep them on their toes. It was a problem I hoped to have someday.

  Before I called Blade, I planned to smash the mirror into pieces and crawl through it whether I’d been invited back to Gabriel’s Realm or not. I should start calling it Rainey’s Realm, since she was the one who decided whether the sun rose or not. She wouldn’t let that Realm plunge into darkness, no matter how wicked they were. I prayed she felt the same way about this one.

  But now, after the call, I worried about Blade. That he’d do something reckless because he didn’t think anyone gave a shit, which hurt. I wanted his world to revolve around me. Not the three-ring circus of blood and debauchery at Embrace. We could be happy. The three of us. And everyone else would have a chance, too.

  I cleaned myself up, put on leggings and a sweatshirt, and headed to Embrace. I wondered if I should tell anyone what I was doing. Go up to the after party that I never got invited to anymore, and let them know I was doing my damnedest to stop the apocalypse dead in its tracks. I thought living well would be the best revenge against darkness, but there was a fine line between feeling good and being oblivious. And I worried the line got even blurrier in the other Realm.

  If I went to the party, maybe somebody would’ve tried to stop me from travelling. Or worse, wanted to come with me. Or not. Callie was still here, master of ceremonies. She claimed she knew what was happening at Embrace. Lennon wouldn’t set a stiletto near the club. And at this point of the night, the guys would be too wasted to care.

  None of them would be interested in saving Blade, but they would want to save their own asses. Problem was, I wasn’t sure how up close and personal they’d been with the carnage at Embrace, or if they knew there were bloody footprints on the gravel outside the door from people who left. If they ever looked into the frightened eyes of a donor who struggled to make peace with his fate. And the smell. No one could prepare for that.

  I should’ve told Blade I was coming. No. He would’ve tried to talk me out of it. And he had a way of making bad ideas sound good.

  Every eye was on me when I walked into the club. A few of the out-of-towners may have caught The Afterlife before they came to the all-you-can-eat human buffet that was Embrace, but they weren’t staring because they were fans. The unmistakable thump of my heart drew them in. It banged against my ribcage, wanting out of Embrace as much as the rest of me.

  I scanned the room, looking for a familiar face. The donors who were still lucid enough to register that a non-vamp had walked into the club relaxed, like my presence meant they’d get a reprieve. But vampires knew their own kind, and when there was an intruder among them.

  The new vamps blended into the crowd. If Blade hadn’t told me there had been an invasion, I would’ve never known. Except for the energy. It was different in here tonight. Sharp. Electric.

  It vibrated.

  If that bitch Rachel stole the connection between Rainey and me and was trying to lure her to this bottom feeder Hell, I would rip off her head and drop kick it into the abyss. Her blood would be black slime, like Cash’s had been. Mine wasn’t. But something else occurred to me, too. The vibration had been in Gabriel’s Realm the first time I visited, before The Dominia graced the Sahara with her presence.

  Maybe Rachel was trying to lure Gabriel to Embrace; in that case, I took back everything I said. That plan was brilliant. He’d neutralize the depravity and we could all get on with our lives.

  Blade had to be in the office. Before I could get there, someone grabbed my arm. I swung around, gearing up to punch, but he stopped me.

  A vampire. His hand was up to block the blow immediately. His muscles were thick and tense all over, and he would’ve been handsome if it weren’t for the eerie red glow in his eyes. I’d never get used to that.

  “You shouldn’t have come here,” he said.

  “Neither should you.” It wasn’t often that I was pissed I didn’t have fangs, or the power to hiss like a full vampire. It would’ve been pointless. I couldn’t beat this guy at his own game, but at least I would’ve been like him, and know what I was up against. I dropped my gaze to his hand on my arm. “Didn’t anyone teach you manners where you came from?”

  “Manners don’t get things done.” The red faded from his eyes, and they were dark like his hair. But lifeless. His soul had left the building long ago. “But I do.”

  “Why are you here?” I asked. I didn’t expect the unfamiliar vamp to be honest with me, and say
to radicalize the rogue members of the most powerful clan in Las Vegas and overthrow The Mistress, but I was interested in the lie. Whatever he thought would make it all right.

  It wasn’t just that Callie was an easy target. She really did have the keys to the kingdom—a very wealthy kingdom that reached far beyond city limits. It wasn’t just our small circle that would be affected if she failed. The ripple effects went far beyond the desert.

  “That’s not your concern.” What a surprise. Another lazy man. He couldn’t even be bothered to seduce me into a comfort zone.

  The vampire pulled me into him, and I didn’t wait to find out what his intentions were. Heat surged through my body, and he should’ve just let me punch him. Flames shot out of my free hand, and he threw me off, clutching his smoking face.

  But the fire hadn’t extinguished. I turned, with my hand at the ready to burn anyone who thought they’d get some quick justice for their buddy. But no one dared.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Rachel grabbed me by the hood of my sweatshirt and dragged me away from the cowering crowd of vampires.

  “Looking for you, and doing your dirty work while I’m at it.” I waved my flaming palm at my audience before Rachel slammed the office door shut.

  “I have half a mind to take that from you. Again. See how fast you get fired.”

  “But you won’t.” I blew on my hand, and covered it with my sleeve to put out the flames. “Because if you fuck with me, you fuck with Josiah. And Callie.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. I thought she cared about her boyfriend and her new best friend, but I could’ve been wrong. I was always wrong when it came to her. “If I want to fuck with you, Holly, no one’s gonna stop me from doing it. It didn’t bother me that you threatened those assholes with your fire. The fact that you were completely reckless about it, that’s what I have a problem with.”

  Everyone was so focused on hating Blade, they underestimated Rachel. But she was the real force to be reckoned with, if for no other reason than she was the one who always had a plan. There was something to be said for that. I rode by the seat of my pants, and it was easy to catch me off guard. Nothing surprised Rachel. It was a better defense than stealing everyone’s powers from them. I hated to admit I could actually learn something from her, so I preferred to think of it as tearing a page out of her own playbook and stealing it.

  “He was about to attack me. Fire’s my way of neutralizing powers.”

  That got a quick smirk out of her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I’m worried about Blade.” I scanned of the office. We were alone. Blade’s presence was much more than physical. I was more interested in what he left behind—if like Rainey, he left in a hurry. “Is he here?”

  “Isn’t that sweet? No, he’s not. And you shouldn’t be either.”

  “Rachel, what’s going on here? Who are those vamps and what the hell have the two of you been up to?” I didn’t expect her to tell me. But her façade had cracked. She was too tired to keep it up anymore. The dark purple smudges were visible under her eyes, and her skin looked gray under the fluorescent light of the office.

  “Nothing good.” She swallowed hard. “Seriously, Holly, you shouldn’t be here.”

  “We need to go to the other Realm.”

  “Not now.” She sighed.

  “No, not this very second, but soon. We need the power to neutralize the shit that’s happening on the other side of that door. There’s a vibration.” I wasn’t sure how to explain it to her. “It’s similar to what I’ve felt in Gabriel’s Realm. It either means there’s a portal here, or he’s sent his guys here.”

  “Shit,” she said under her breath. I seconded that emotion. Gabriel was strong enough to engineer the demise of our Realm simply by pitting us against ourselves. We were so screwed. “Listen, I’m going to walk you to your car. They know there’s something different about you, and they won’t leave you alone until they find out what. And if you’re right about Gabriel sending people here—they’ll want you.”

  Scenario number three—Gabriel sent his thugs to make sure I stayed the hell away from Rainey. That was my least favorite possibility.

  “Stay at the Alta Vista. Do you understand me? There’s security there. Somebody would have to be fucking stupid to mess with you there. Here, there’s nothing. I’ll go with you to the other Realm, once I get things under control here. And I’m close.”

  I didn’t mean to scoff. She tightened her grip on my arm. “You want my help, right?” she added.

  “I do.” I wished to hell I didn’t need it.

  “If we go to this other Realm, make sure you want me to neutralize his power. You know it can be permanent.”

  “Why wouldn’t I want you to do it?” It would shatter the force field between the Realms and we could have balance. It was only a lie when they were two separate things.

  “Because there’s a good chance I could neutralize the light and send both Realms plunging into darkness."

  RACHEL STOOD IN THE parking lot and watched me drive away. The red glow of her eyes was visible long after her body was too small to see anymore. She was right not to trust me to do as she asked. Even though she surprised me by answering most of my questions, she gave me a ton more. Whatever had invaded Embrace scared her. If there was such a thing as formal vampire training, she had none, only what Blade had shared with her. She was ruthless, but her well wasn’t deep. Sharing the rage and taste for revenge that led Cash to his destruction would make her vulnerable.

  Bringing her to Gabriel’s Realm was dangerous. I refused to think of it as Rainey’s Realm, because she belonged here with me. I trusted Rachel as much as she trusted me, and I had to question why she was willing to help—unless her plan was to destroy the other Realm. Or to piss off Rainey and steal the sun from the sky.

  I screamed when I opened the hotel room door. Blade chuckled and rose from the desk. “Not exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted you to do that,” he said.

  I pushed his chest, but he didn’t move. “What are you doing here?” Question of the night.

  He gave me that grin I couldn’t resist. “I got sent to babysit.”

  “By who?” I asked. He was vampira non-grata around these parts.

  “Rachel.”

  The word sent a shiver through my body. Rachel had never given a single fuck about my safety, my livelihood, or my general wellbeing. So she was either using me to get what she wanted, or she was scared of the chaos she’d set into motion.

  “That’s interesting, since the whole reason I’m here is to keep myself safe from you.” I didn’t expect Blade to wince at that, then I realized I never told him Callie’s theory. “Callie thinks you did something to Rainey, because of what you did to her roommate.”

  My volume trailed off on the last few words.

  “But you know better than that.” His voice was flat. I nodded. “Then why did you agree to it?”

  “Because I didn’t want to be alone.” I’d have done anything to make the pain in his eyes go away. But it had been there long before Rainey disappeared. “And there was a possibility I was wrong about the Realm, even after I went there. I can’t tell the difference between my travels and reality.”

  It was hard to admit. Blade pulled me in closer to him. Everything I did to make myself safe only made me more vulnerable.

  “If I was wrong, and someone else had taken Rainey, there was a good chance they’ll come for me. So being here made sense. And with the show, and the good energy, I wanted it to be enough to draw Rainey back to me.”

  “I have to be honest with you, Holly. I’m not sure anything’s going to be enough to get her back.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Why would you say that?” Goosebumps prickled my skin and they hurt. I much preferred the comfort of the flames that Blade usually brought me.

  “Because I could be a nice guy and tell you everything’s gonna be okay, and you’ll be back together a
gain. Or I can tell you the truth—that I think you’re setting yourself up for disaster.” His lips quivered, like he really wanted to be that nice guy and smile, but in the end, a frown won out.

  “You don’t think I can bring her back.” I glared at him. Blade, of all people, should’ve believed in me. “That’s why I’m working with Rachel to neutralize Gabriel—”

  “Of course I think you could bring her back. If she’s able to travel like you can.” He raised an eyebrow. “Can she?”

  “We never tried it.” It was so stupid. But she Saw the future, I travelled to the past. We had no reason to cross crafts.

  “She’s probably got a spell or two up her sleeve that could make it happen.”

  “Then why doesn’t she do it?” I pushed away from him. He was right. If she wanted to come back here, she could make it happen. If she wanted to.

  I turned to glare at Blade and he shook his head.

  He came up behind me, but didn’t touch me. I’d blow the roof off the dump with a flame I couldn’t control if he did. “Some of those new guys at Embrace seem awfully familiar.”

  I knew what he was getting at. Gabriel’s thugs. “They brought the vibration with them. And it’s messing with my signal because I haven’t felt anything since my last visit.”

  I refused to believe the outside chance that Rainey didn’t want me.

  “You were this close to getting her back. If you hadn’t already made contact with that Realm, chances are the three of us would be sitting at your apartment, laughing about this. Rainey would follow you anywhere. You know that. Even to my bed.”

  “Technically not your bed, since you don’t change the sheets enough for her liking.” I smirked. Rainey was a neat freak and Blade’s office was grosser than gross.