by Debra Dunbar
There was an odd sort of warmth in my lower abdomen at his words. He had faith in me to do what I couldn’t even imagine. He’d stand by my side, and if I failed, I somehow knew he wouldn’t condemn me for it.
“I’ll do my best,” I vowed.
“I wish I knew more about Crimson Moon,” Jordan lamented. “It would help if we knew several of the key players and could put some sort of surveillance on them.”
There were four of us, including Darci. Who the hell was supposed to do this surveillance, even if we did know who they were?
“You should call your vampire friend,” Irix suggested.
“Ourson? How did you know…?” My voice trailed off as I struggled to recall our past conversations. No, I was sure I’d never mentioned Ourson to Irix beyond my running in panic from him after the incident behind the goth club.
“How do you think he got your address to return the boots and your phone?” Irix asked, leaning back in his chair and sipping his overly sweet tea. “I ensured he knew what a poor decision he’d made that evening.”
I’d suspected that Irix had been the one that delivered the smack down on Ourson. As unfair as it had been, I felt my heartbeat quicken at the thought that the demon had bothered to avenge me.
“Vampire?” Jordan squeaked. Poor woman. First Irix’s stolen car, then this.
“Yeah. The player in the goth club isn’t exactly human. Neither are his friends. It’s all right. He’s harmless.”
“Harmless? He takes women out into a back alley and drinks their blood. How is that harmless?”
Shit. How to explain this so Jordan wouldn’t totally freak and start roaming dance clubs with Darci’s wooden stake and silver coins in tow.
“They only take a small amount — less than you’d give at a blood drive. It doesn’t hurt. Actually, it feels pretty good. Think of him as a giant mosquito with a side shot of X.”
Jordan regarded me with narrowed eyes. “Easy for you to say. It’s not like the vampires are chowing down on your neck.”
I swept my hair aside and leaned over to show her my neck. “He did. Didn’t hurt any more than a pinch at first, and then all I felt was happy–floaty. You wouldn’t even notice the bite afterwards. It’s all like a kinky sort of make–out session.”
I was stretching the truth a bit, but I trusted that Ourson and his buddies wouldn’t actually hurt anyone.
Jordan frowned for a long moment, before giving me a tense nod. “All right, then. How would this Ourson be able to help?”
Irix had been watching our exchange with great amusement. Balancing his chair on the rear two legs, he took a long drink of tea before speaking. “Vampire families are territorial and, unlike the humans they once were, they have a natural life expectancy of thousands of years. Trust me, they know every powerful group in their territory — political or magical. Ask them to find out who these Crimson Moon people are, and what they’re doing.”
“I’ll owe them a favor.” I wrinkled my nose, not liking to think of what a vampire might request of me.
Irix waved a dismissive hand. “Pfft. Everyone owes favors. That’s the way things work. You just have to word your acceptance correctly so that their request can’t go against any previous vow. Otherwise you’ll find yourself on someone’s bad side.”
The thought of owing a vampire a favor filled me with dread. I considered Ourson a friend, but I was still a half–elf, hiding who I was from him. If he knew … but there was so much riding on this that it was worth the risk.
I picked up my phone just as it buzzed with an incoming text message. Wyatt, and there was a map attached to his text. Bypassing the message, I scrolled through my contacts and hit dial.
The vampire picked up on the first ring, and I steeled myself for what I was about to do.
“Ourson? It’s Amber. I need a big favor.”
* * *
20
I should have been exhausted by the time I rocked into Darci’s apartment, but I was oddly energized. Each of Wyatt’s highlighted spots had revealed some sort of magical spell. They were cleverly worked, according to Irix — just waiting for a trigger to activate a failure. The difficulty was that the levee system stretched for miles, and the spell faults were along huge stretches. It would be quite a challenge to repair them, even if I had the faintest idea how to.
“Grab an umbrella,” Darci told me the moment I walked through the door. “Sorry to ruin your vacation, but we’re probably going to have rain all the rest of the week.”
I felt a fissure of alarm run through me. “Hurricane?” Shit. As if I didn’t need any more pressure.
“Oh no. There’s a couple of low–grade tropical storms tracking toward the Bahamas. We’ll probably just get the spin off. Clouds and light rain off and on.”
Thank God. I tore past her, shedding clothes as I went. We were all supposed to go out tonight — Saints and Sinners in the French Quarter. I was hardly party ready with my swamp–stained legs and lank, sweaty hair.
“Give me twenty!” I shouted, racing for the shower.
I was out in ten, hair dried, makeup applied, and flirty blue halter dress on by the time the taxi pulled to the front door. We were meeting Gabriella and Erica there. Jordan had bowed out for the night to research spells. I felt a bit guilty about her absence, but knew she wanted to do everything she could to contribute to our ritual tomorrow. It wouldn’t be much of a ritual — me trying to fix a bunch of concrete and earthwork levees with Irix’s help. Jordan had volunteered to try and raise as much beneficial energy as possible to assist me. I appreciated her offer, but had a feeling deep in my gut that this was going to all come down to me.
Ourson was hard at work tracking down the members of Crimson Moon, along with their strengths and reputed powers. It left me a bit adrift this evening, nothing to do but wait and try and gather as much energy as possible. I’d have a fun evening with Darci and her friends — nice and relaxing.
Who was I kidding? I was full of nervous anxiety over Irix’s ultimatum and the eventual end to this night. Yeah, I had plenty of time to get laid before midnight, but I’d set my course, resolved to have my one night with the demon I’d been craving since the moment I first laid eyes on him.
I was terrified. One night. And after today, it would be even more difficult to let him go. The easy rapport we’d developed, the flirtatious banter, the air of expectation — it was delicious, and I didn’t want it to end. Was I making a huge mistake in sleeping with him tonight? Or was this the best I could ever hope for?
“You look hot,” Darci pronounced, giving me a quick hug before climbing in the taxi. She was the one who looked hot with her straightened black hair shimmering like a sheet of silk past her shoulders, and an asymmetrical mini dress in tangerine. Not many women could pull off wearing that color, but Darci looked like a long–legged sorbet — good enough to eat.
“Back at cha,” I replied, scooting in beside her.
The taxi inched its way through the French Quarter and Bourbon Street, letting us out a few blocks away. We edged through the crowds filling the streets and sidewalks, coming to a creamy yellow, balconied building with patio seating and the ubiquitous green window shutters.
“It’s a bit of a tourist trap,” Darci warned. “We’ll meet the girls, grab a drink and check the place out. Afterwards, if you want, we can head somewhere a bit more off the map.”
I was a tourist, so I gawked and practically skipped up the sidewalk with excitement. The building had formerly housed a bordello back when the whole area was a red–light district. My kind of place, even if the main draw was a celebrity owner.
Darci pulled open the door. “I’m warning you — it’s red. Really, really red.”
She wasn’t joking. “Holy shit. My eyes hurt just looking at it.” I squinted to see if I could locate Gabriella and Erica at the bar.
Wainscoting, trim, leather–inlaid panels, leather seats — all red. The lighting reflected off the walls, bathing all the patrons i
n a crimson glow. Even the marble bar and tabletops looked faintly pink. It was like an optimist’s version of hell — a really garish, horny optimist.
“There!”
Darci grabbed my arm and pulled me to the bar, waving at Gabriella. Erica was beside her, trying to ignore a sunburned man who had white rings around his eyes where his sunglasses had provided more UV protection than whatever he’d applied to the rest of his face. He looked like a reverse raccoon. Turning to speak to Erica, he nearly pitched off the barstool, sloshing half the contents of his margarita onto his lap. He didn’t seem to notice.
It was mean, but I left Erica to her inebriated admirer and scooted between her and Gabriella, ordering the most appropriate drink I could think of — a bloody Mary.
Two drinks later, the room seemed a bit less red, and Raccoon Man less annoying. Gavin had arrived, and Darci had moved further down the bar to engage in what appeared to be some very seductive conversation with him. The booze flowed, but no amount of alcohol blinded me to the attractive man in club leather stalking purposefully across the room.
“Coming your way, Amber,” Gabriella announced with a nudge. “If you don’t want him, toss him my way.”
Not happening. “Trust me, you don’t want him. He bites, and the whole experience is pretty unsatisfying.”
Gabriella ignored me, smiling brightly at Ourson and tossing her dark hair over one shoulder. The vampire’s eyes flickered to her, lingering on the bronzed skin at her neck. Oh well. Can’t say I didn’t warn her.
With a deep breath, Ourson turned to me. “Do you have a moment? Can we talk in private?”
“Sure.” We walked closer to the door, while Gabriella pouted prettily and eyed my companion.
“I’ve got the names for you.” Ourson slipped me a folded sheet of paper. “Some of them were quite a surprise. They’re a secretive group and include a few bankers and a real estate investor.”
“Real estate?” I interjected. “Why would someone who owns property in the city want to see it devalued and destroyed, regardless of ley lines?”
“Insurance, but he’s got other reasons too.” Ourson waved a dismissive hand. “Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. There’s someone in their group I can’t get an ID on. He’s the power behind this. Showed up about a month ago and took control. From what I can tell, he’s highly respected and admired.”
The mage. If Jordan and Irix were correct, he’d be using magical skills he learned in Hel to assist the group. But what was his motivation? Simple power?
“Can you set up a meeting with their head guy?”
Ourson started. “Why would you want to meet with him?”
I felt stupidly naïve admitting that I hoped there could be some middle ground here. If Crimson Moon wanted power, and I could somehow convince Bon Nuit to share, this whole thing would end. Although, I doubted ‘share’ was a word in Bev’s vocabulary.
“I’m a succubus. Maybe I can convince him to see things my way.”
Ourson grinned. “Will do, but the meeting might not be voluntary. You have any problems with that?”
A demon wouldn’t, but by this point, Ourson had clearly discovered I was a bit different than the others. “Let’s try voluntary first and see how it goes. And thanks for all your help on this.”
“I’ve got backup taken care of, too,” Ourson announced.
I’d arranged for a vampire to stake out each section of the levee I fixed, watching and apprehending whoever came to reverse my repair. God only knows what kind of favor the vampires would ask in return, but it’s not like the four of us could be everywhere at once. Besides, Darci and Jordan could hardly take down a human who had this kind of magical power at his disposal. Asking them to fire a gun in the city limits was out of the question, so now I had a vampire goon squad.
“You rock, buddy. Can I buy you a drink?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I regretted it. The vampire’s eyes moved past me to fix on Gabriella.
“Your friend?”
It’s a free world. And it wasn’t like he would harm her any more than the insects that plagued this town in summer.
“Don’t let Darci see you picking up our friend or she’ll stake you,” I warned. “Be respectful. No bashing Gabriella’s head against the brick like you did with me. Please, thank you, and ask for her number when you’re done. Got it?”
Ourson winked. “Got it.”
Five minutes later the pair were out the door, and ten minutes after, Gabriella was staggering back in, a huge grin on her face. Darci had remained oblivious to the whole thing, practically in Gavin’s lap at the end of the bar.
“Told you,” I said to Gabriella.
She picked up her beer and saluted me with it. “Most fun I’ve had all week. He asked for my number too.”
I bit my snarky tongue and smiled at the girl encouragingly. “Glad you guys hit it off.”
I bought the girls another round. Erica scooted further from Raccoon Man, who was nearly facedown on the bar. Darci and Gavin rejoined us, and Gabriella basked in the afterglow of her unwitting encounter with a vampire. I was laughing over some joke Gavin had made when a familiar feeling slid across my skin, like warm silk. I shivered and looked over to see Irix. He was leaning casually against the wall just inside the door, legs and arms both crossed. My time was up.
* * *
21
Irix’s eyes met mine, then he deliberately looked down at his watch. For a brief second I wondered who he’d stolen it from.
“Last minute doubts?” Darci whispered in my ear.
More like fears. It was one o’clock, and my time of reckoning had come.
“I don’t know whether I’ll be home tonight or not.” I had no idea how this was going to play out. Would we get a hotel room? Have sex in the stolen Audi? Would he want me gone the moment we’d finished, or would I at least get one night to sleep in his arms?
Darci kissed me on the cheek. “Text me. And stop freaking out.”
I gave her hand a quick squeeze and stepped away from the bar, my stomach in knots. Freaking out was a gross understatement. I wondered briefly how sexy Irix would think I was if I puked on his feet.
“A bar full of randy tourists and you still couldn’t find anyone?” Irix asked, looking around at the crowded room. “How about that guy?”
Raccoon Man was trying to get Erica’s attention by pawing the air beside her. Ugh.
“My friend already staked a claim on that one, and Gabriella scored the only vampire in the bar earlier this evening. Doesn’t leave much else. Slim pickings tonight.”
Irix tucked my hand in the crook of his arm and led me out onto the sidewalk. “Well, you’ve got a busy day tomorrow, and I intend to make sure you’re successful. Let’s get you powered up, and back to full strength.”
That was the least romantic thing anyone had ever said to me. Getting “powered up” wasn’t the tiniest bit sexy. I guess I needed to get used to this; after tonight, we’d be coolly platonic. My stomach twisted even more.
“Come on, Amber. Where would you prefer we do this?”
He sounded like we were off to sign contracts or conduct a routine business transaction, like it didn’t matter at all to him. Irritation, trepidation, and longing all warred within me. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t. Not if my one night was going to be all about “powering me up”.
“Maui.”
There. That should put the whole thing off for quite a while. We’d argue, I’d get another extension and head off to that Bliss club. Irix sighed and gave me an exasperated look.
“How about somewhere within the city limits?”
I tried to think of some place that might have a six–month waiting list, but knowing him, he’d charm his way right in the door.
“Am I not good enough for Maui? Perhaps you’d be satisfied to get it on behind a dumpster in some back alley, but I’m not. Maui.”
He quickly bit back a smile. “I can see I’m just going to have to take matters into
my own hands.”
He tightened his hold on my arm and hurried me down the street. I didn’t resist, and I’ll admit a thrill went through me at his words. This was a bit sexier than “powering up”.
“What are you doing? Where are we going?”
“I’m not telling you. You’ll just argue and come up with a million reasons why you don’t want to go there or do that.”
I hesitated a step, and he halted. My uncertainty must have shown in my face, because his gaze softened, and he let go of my arm.
“Trust me, Amber.”
I did. It was me I didn’t trust. What tonight would bring was inevitable, though. I might as well enjoy it and stop fretting over the aftermath. I nodded and reached out to take his hand. The grin that lit up his face made it all worthwhile.
“Okay. Although I still would prefer Maui.”
He laughed, and we strolled down the street hand–in–hand.
“You’re a pain in the ass, elf–girl.”
I skipped a step to keep up, squeezing his hand. “I can be. If you like that sort of thing, I’d be happy to oblige.”
His hand gripped mine back. “Be careful what you offer, little half–breed. You have no idea the things I enjoy.”
His tone was light and teasing, but I shivered, reminded that this was a demon I was playing with. Too bad there would only be one night for us, because a part of me really did want to discover all the things he enjoyed.
* * *
22
We walked for a bit through the French Quarter, pausing to listen to a street musician on his horn. After a few blocks, Irix led me to a long, three–story, brick house with flickering natural gas lanterns in wrought–iron hangers at each corner. Forest–green shutters closed the windows off from prying eyes. The long row of fencing matched the shutters and equally ensured privacy in what I assumed was the garden area. In addition to several traditional–style locks, the main entrance had a magical one, opening only when Irix sent a trickle of energy through the metal bolt.
