Vegas Rules

by Jan Stryvant

  Sean himself landed feet first, and then just dropped to his ass and slid, watching the rolling car as it started to shed some body parts, the engine still racing, until it came to an abrupt stop as it slammed into the side of an embankment in a cloud of dust and suddenly went quiet as the engine cut out.

  Sliding to a stop, Sean looked down at himself, his pants and shoes were gone, along with his pistol and even the holster. Sliding across the ground had ripped them all off. His shirt had survived, though it was now covered in dust. His legs and butt were pretty badly cut up, a lot of fur and skin had come off as he slid across the rocky ground. Surprisingly it hurt worse than being shot! But it was already healing as he watched, so getting to his feet, carefully he went and found the remains of his pants and his wallet as Daelyn turned the van around and came back to get him.

  Recovering his torn up pants, he then walked over to the body of the kid who'd been launched out the window.

  Sean was surprised to see that the kid was still alive, though the way his legs were pointing, plus the way one of his arms was bent back, along with all the bleeding from his mouth, nose, and ears, Sean wasn't sure he'd stay that way for long. But the kid was conscious, his eyes tracking and looking up at Sean as he bent over him. Sean guessed that the kid was still in shock and the pain hadn't hit yet.

  "Just what kind of an idiot are you?" Sean sighed, shaking his head. "You already knew I was more powerful than you, or your friend, who's probably dying in the car over there." Sean gestured in the direction of the smoking wreck.

  "Hu... he... f...fa...forc...d me," the kid gasped on the ground.

  Sean squatted down, closer to the kid's head.

  "Are you trying to tell me he forced you?"

  "Yes...." the kid hissed, and from the way the kid's eyes suddenly widened, Sean could tell that the pain just hit.

  "Damn," Sean sighed and shook his head. "Well, don't make me regret this, but I better straighten all these limbs out first."

  Sean pulled the kid's arm out from under him, causing him to groan loudly and his whole body to shake. Sean healed the arm, healed his ribs, and then straightened out both his legs, which caused the kid to cry out in pain. That done he healed both legs as well.

  The kid was still a mess, it would probably take days, maybe longer, for the bones to fully knit, but at least it didn't look like he'd be dying anytime soon. He cast a sleep spell on the kid and grabbing his pants Sean turned to look at the wrecked car. Just as the spell hit him.

  The kid who had been driving the car had pulled himself out of the passenger's window, while Sean was saving the other kid's life. He was bleeding from the nose and looked like he was covered in powder, as well as having trouble standing. As the dust had cleared some, Sean could now see that the airbags in the car had all gone off, which explained why the kid wasn't dead.

  He should have thought of that.

  The spell that had hit him was a fairly simple paralyzation spell. His defensive framework had already absorbed it and fed the power to him.

  Sean countered with a sleep spell, which had no effect, as the kid drew out a wand and pointed it at him.

  The kid fired the wand at him the same time that Sean fired off the cramping spell, the biggest spell he had that wasn't a fireball. The spell from the wand hit him, and Sean blinked as it fed into his framework. It was powerful, the most powerful spell he'd ever seen come out of a wand, and he found himself having to wrestle with it a moment as it nearly overwhelmed his framework, which was dutifully trying to drain and record it. Unfortunately, it was a lot more complex and powerful than his framework could handle, and Sean was suddenly thankful he'd healed that other kid, as he got a huge blast of power that might have fried him if he'd been full up.

  As it was, he was able to direct some of the excess power into the battery built into the lycan collar as the effects of the spell went off around him, causing the collar to grow rather hot. When the effects of the spell finally abated, all of Sean's clothing was gone and the dirt around him was blackened and burned. Looking up at that kid, Sean was surprised to see that the kid was still standing, and still holding the wand, and looking equally surprised.

  Realizing that he wasn't going to be able to win this magically, Sean charged the kid, quickly closing the twenty yards that separated them, as the kid dropped the now spent wand and started to fumble in his pockets for something. After the spell that had hit him from that wand and the effects it had even after being drained, Sean wasn't going to give him a chance to use whatever he was trying to grab in his pocket.

  Sean punched him in the face with all of his might, knocking the kid back into the car, which was now starting to burn. Sean didn't even give the kid a chance to get up, grabbing him by the head, he rung his neck, killing him. Calling up his enchanter's framework he looked the kid over and quickly stripped him of the magical chain around his neck and the item in his pocket he'd been going for.

  He could see that the kid was seriously loaded down with magical items, but he really didn't have the time to strip him of the rest of them, the burning car had created a rather large pillar of smoke. The police would be here soon, he was sure. Leaving the rest of it, he stuffed the body through the open window and back into the burning car before turning and picking up the spent wand.

  Daelyn had stopped about fifty yards away, and Roxy had already gotten out and retrieved his pistol and his phone and was sprinting back towards the van. He could hear the sounds of sirens off in the distance, so he trotted back to the van, but he cast a fireball onto the wrecked car before closing the door, to make sure that any marks he might have left on the dead body were obliterated.

  "Why'd you save the other one?" Roxy asked.

  Sean sighed as Daelyn spun the van around and they headed off down the dirt road, "He told me he'd been forced. I wouldn't have even have killed the first one if he hadn't attacked me."

  "What was in that wand that he hit you with?"

  Sean shook his head, "I don't know, all of my clothes, along with my wallet were destroyed. I think I'm gonna have to talk to your dad about a replacement for my license and permit."

  Jolene held out her hand, "Let me see the wand."

  Sean nodded and handed it to her; along with the necklace he'd taken off of the kid while he sat down on the floor, and started to look at the item the kid had been trying to grab in his pocket. It looked like a smooth black rock and had the Greek letter beta etched into it, and he couldn't make heads or tails out of it. It didn't seem magical to him, at least it wasn't giving off any kind of mana.

  "I hit him with that cramping spell, it didn't even slow him."

  Jolene nodded and looked over the wand, then glanced at the chain.

  "This is a wand of disintegration, it costs several million dollars for one of these, and it's a one-use item. As for the chain, notice anything familiar about it?"

  Sean looked closely at the pendant and noticed suddenly the design etched into it.

  "Gradatim?" He groaned.

  "I think you just killed somebody important's son."

  "Oh, shit," Peg swore from the back. "I thought he looked familiar."

  "You know him?"

  "I think so; I think that was Blake Cortland. He's the youngest and most spoiled son of Atticus Cortland, the right-hand man of Rupert Spencer, the guy in charge of all of Gradatim."

  Roxy shook her head, "I'll better talk to my dad when we get back home, this is going to cause problems I'm sure."

  "Maybe we should go back and kill his friend, so he can't identify you?" Cali suggested.

  Sean shook his head, "No, his other two friends knew he was looking for me, they'll know who it was that killed him."

  "Yeah, but he saw you in your lion form, Sean," Jolene pointed out, "so they'll know exactly who it was."

  "The kid said he was forced, I'd rather not," he sighed, yeah, maybe he should have killed him, but dammit, he felt sorry for the kid. If he'd been forced, all of those missed shots migh
t very well have been on purpose. Besides, it was easy to kill in the heat of the moment, but it wasn't something he could so easily do afterwards.

  "Well, let's go home and get you some clothes and see about dinner," Roxy said.

  Sean sighed and looked down at his naked hybrid body, "Damn, and I really liked that shirt too." Looking around he set the rock in one of the cup holders to look at after they got home.

  "Well, there's good news, and there's bad news," Bill said when he got home, about an hour later than Roxy told them was normal.

  "What's the good news, dad?" Roxy asked.

  "Kevin, the kid who lived, said that Blake, the kid driving the car, lost control when he decided to chase some van full of girls after they told him to get lost when he was hitting on one of them."

  "And the bad news?"

  "Blake's father didn't take it very well when I called him to tell him his son had burned to death in a car wreck, and told me that he was coming here to claim the body."

  "So it was Blake Cortland?" Sean asked.

  "Well, I guess that saves me the trouble of telling you who he was. Did you know that before or after you killed him?"

  "After. I wasn't planning on killing him, until he used that wand on me," Sean shrugged, "Kid was an ass, and he almost killed me. I think most magic users would have died from that wand he used. Does his father know you're a lycan?"

  Bill nodded, "All of the council leaders in the nearby cities know that."

  "Well, ask him what his son was doing with a wand of disintegration, and does he always pass out million dollar offensive magic items to his kids."

  "If I tell him that, I'm going to have to tell him how I know about it. There wasn't much left of the body, he burned up pretty well and all of the jewelry on him, of which there was a considerable amount, melted."

  "Do they know how he died?"

  "Well," Gloria spoke up then, "I've got one of my people doing the autopsy right now, so I'll have a report on my computer in the morning, but they're pretty sure he was dead before the fire. As he wasn't wearing any seatbelts, they'll probably rule his death accidental, from the crash."

  Gloria looked over at Sean, "Just how did you kill him?"

  "I rung his neck," Sean grumbled. "He was wearing so many magical protections that I wasn't able to stop him magically."

  "Didn't you say that you paralyzed him earlier this morning?"

  Sean nodded, "I guess he went and got his hands on something a lot more powerful to protect him after our run in."

  "Dear," Gloria said turning to her husband, "You might want to go visit Harrelson and ask him some questions."

  "You think he bought that stuff today?" Bill said, looking at his wife.

  "Well, he had to get it from somewhere, and if he'd brought it all with him, he would have been wearing it when they first met, right?"

  "Who's Harrelson?" Sean asked.

  "Henry Harrelson buys and sells magical items. New, used, stolen, whatever. He's not supposed to sell anything offensive to anyone under twenty-one, and nothing as powerful as a wand of disintegration to a kid on vacation," Gloria told him.

  "Assuming that the Cortland's kid bought it from him, I'd be surprised if he even had one. But I guess I'll be paying him a visit in the morning," Bill said.

  "Well, now that that's taken care of, Roxy, did you put dinner on?"

  Roxy grinned, "More like Daelyn put it on, she's a better cook than I am! But I helped."

  "Fine, you can set the table while your father and I get changed. Then it'll be time for dinner."

  Dinner was pretty heavy on the meats and proteins Sean discovered. Not that he minded, he'd always liked meat, mostly because growing up hamburger had been the fanciest meat they been able to afford, and even then only when mixed with hamburger helper or the like. Thankfully none of his women were vegetarians, especially now that he was a lion and his taste for meat had actually grown.

  Two of Roxy's brothers showed up for dinner. The youngest, Jack, who was only two years older than Roxy still lived at home. Rob, the oldest, who hadn't been here last night came by specifically to meet Sean, and Sean had to smile as Rob kept looking at all of Sean's wives and shaking his head.

  "And I thought our grandfather was bad with two," Sean heard him mutter to Roxy, who just punched him in the arm and grinned.

  When dinner was finished, Sean grabbed Roxy and Peg to go to the meeting with him. He picked them because Roxy grew up here and knew what was going on, and Peg was familiar with Gradatim, if what happened today came up in the discussion. That they were both lycans and this meeting was about lycans didn't hurt either.

  "So where is this meeting at?" Sean asked Bill as they left the house.

  "Ted's casino."

  "Why there?"

  "Because they have free food and beer," Roxy laughed.

  "Oh, they're not all freeloaders, Roxy," Bill chuckled. "But it does help get people to show up."

  "We don't have these problems with the fellowship meetings," Sean said. "Why are these different?"

  "Because fellowship meetings often decide serious things, and if you're left out of the discussion, you'll end up screwed one way or the other. But Ted's at meetings he's often looking for help and for volunteers. So any excuse not to show up means getting out of doing something you'd rather not."

  Sean groaned, "I'm going to have to crack the whip tonight? Damn, I hate doing that."

  "Then don't," Bill said glancing over at Sean as he drove.

  "I don't have any choice; you could say that it's a lion thing. Besides which, nailing down Las Vegas is important to all of us and I've more or less promised I'd take care of it."

  "I'm still not sure I get this whole 'lion' thing," Bill admitted.

  "That's only because he hasn't had to turn it on you, Dad," Roxy said from the back seat.

  "And he has on you?" Bill asked looking up in the mirror at his daughter.

  Roxy laughed, "Every night and twice on Sundays, but then we're married, Dad, so we get the fun part."

  "And trust us," Peg laughed from behind Sean as she leaned forward to rub his shoulders, "it really is the fun part!"

  "Who should I expect to see there tonight?" Sean asked, changing the subject.

  "Well Ted of course," Bill said, "Boris's son Anatoly; Roger's nephew, Roy; Carlos, he's in charge of all of the wolves to the south of Vegas and has an important job here in the city; Claudia will probably send someone as well. Then there's Teisha, she's with the clouded leopards; Nepal, he's with the snow leopards; Cybil she's with the jackals; Davy and Red are both with the horses, two different families."

  "What about Clyde?"

  "His influence doesn't really reach this far south."

  "No hyenas?"

  "Nope, the only lycans we tend to have in the city are ones who either are, or were, part of an act, or who worked for the mobs when they ran it."

  "How did you end up out here, if you don't mind my asking?"

  "My granddad liked the open plains out here. When he came out, Vegas wasn't all that big of a deal. He convinced a few others to come out here with him, and over the years a few more came as well."

  "And why'd you become a cop?"

  "A friend of mine thought that it was a good idea."

  "Oh? Who was he?"

  Bill smiled, "Ted."

  "I should've guessed."

  They came to Ted's casino, the one he was part owner in according to Roxy, and after finding a place to park they all went in one of the back entrances that led to a small, but nicely furnished, conference room. Sean had expected about ten or so people from what Bill had told him. Instead, there were at least twice that many people there.

  All of them were older than he was, that was obvious, and once again he wondered if they'd take him seriously. It had taken some convincing back in Reno, and honestly, he didn't want to go through that learning curve again.

  But while he wasn't much older than he had been three months ago, he was wi
ser, if only a little. He knew one thing that would make them pay attention, he just had to be sure it was safe to use it.

  "Are there any cameras in here?" Sean asked Bill in a whisper.

  "No, not a one."

  Sean turned to Peg, who did something magical and then nodded.

  "Well, time to get the show on the road," Sean sighed and shifting into his hybrid form he walked up to Ted. He didn't miss the fact that everyone's eyes were now focused on him.

  "So, Ted, introduce me to everyone and let's get started."

  Ted called everyone to order and then went around the table. Everyone who Bill had named was there, and Sean recognized the wolf from Claudia's, his name was Raff, and he was one of her lieutenants. The extra people were all assistants to the ones on this local fellowship board. Everybody had brought one person, except for Roy, who hadn't brought anybody, and Ted, who had brought his son, and his sister, Ryla.

  Sean was a bit surprised to see Ryla there; he was even more surprised to see that she was dressed like Cali normally did, skin tight clothes with lots of bare skin. Sean had to admit that she was incredible looking. He wondered if she was Ted's older sister or younger? If Ted was Bill's age, that put him in his mid to late forties.

  Sean stopped musing as Roxy stepped on his foot and he turned to smile at her. "Sorry, just trying to figure out if someone is dressing up for my benefit or not."

  "Oh," Ted snickered softly, "it's all for you. No one has beaten her up since I left home. As his youngest, she was always dad's favorite."

  Sean sighed, and Roxy growled softly while Peg just giggled.

  "Is that the only reason she's here?" Roxy asked.