Tales from Shady Grove: Stories from the Trailerverse, Volume One

by Kimbra Swain

  “They were down at Dylan’s place playing pranks on the centaurs last night,” Levi said.

  “When were you going to tell me this?” I asked.

  “Right now,” he smirked. “You can’t kill me on a plane. Federal regulations.”

  Tennyson huffed as he listened in on our conversation.

  “I don’t abide by their laws,” I warned him.

  He leaned into my ear and goosebumps rose up on my arm. “You couldn’t live without me,” he said. Truth.

  “You have a very high opinion of yourself, Levi Rearden,” I quipped.

  “You have the ability to twist something from what it is into a carefully crafted dodge of truth,” he replied. It bothered me that he knew me so well. It also warmed me that he loved me despite it.

  “It’s a talent. I admit it,” I replied.

  “You have other talents,” he said.

  “None of which you know anything about.”

  “No, but I will,” he smiled, leaning back in his seat. He closed his eyes with the biggest grin on his face. I didn’t want to know what he was imagining. My eyes cut to Tennyson who grinned. He lifted his glass to me, then took a long draw from it. Yep, definitely Team Levi.

  49

  After a bumpy landing, Tennyson led us off the plane to a waiting limo. The last time I’d rode in one of these was when I went to a hearing for my murder trial. I was wearing Levi’s ring then too. The chauffeur was also human. I needed to lock in on the fact that we were in the minority here. I hoped I could remember to keep my magic under control. Many months had passed in Shady Grove where we no longer had to hide who we were.

  Levi stared out the window as we passed the bright lights of the casinos.

  “This place is amazing,” he said with wonder.

  “For all the brightness above, what lies beneath the surface is far darker in contrast,” Tennyson said. “Stay close to each other. If there is trouble, go home. Don’t worry about me.”

  “If I come back without you, Jenny will pitch a fit,” I said.

  “Let her. I’ll be fine. She knows that” he said. “Here we are.”

  I expected to see a high-rise neon glowing building, but instead, we stopped in an alley between two of the large casinos. Outside the vehicle, the alley was dark. The driver opened the door for Tennyson and he stepped out into the darkness. I followed with Levi in tow. As in, he held my hand so tightly I doubted anyone could take me from him. With a light tap on a metal door inside the alley, it opened revealing a dimly lit room with two men in suits. Bronx and Stone were waiting for us.

  “Gentlemen, lead us to our rooms, please,” Tennyson said.

  “Right this way, Sir. The service elevator has been secured since your arrival. Our men are in the casino surveillance room. We have a clear to move,” Stone said. Tennyson nodded in approval. Stone opened the door to a lighted corridor which smelled like dryer sheets. We must have been near the laundry rooms for the casino. We turned a corner to find another hulking man waiting at a small elevator door.

  “Good evening, Viggo,” Tennyson said.

  “To you, too,” Viggo responded as the elevator door opened for us to enter.

  Levi released my hand, snaking his arm around my waist. He stood behind me in the car as Viggo, Bronx, and Stone took the last two spots in the extremely small elevator. Viggo stuck a weirdly shaped key into the control panel, then pressed the button for the top floor.

  The ride to the top took longer than I expected. Service elevators weren’t as speedy as guest elevators.

  “The room is secure, Sir,” Viggo informed Tennyson.

  “Good,” Tennyson responded. “Any word from our contact?”

  “No, Sir,” he said. “Do you expect him to contact you before he arrives?”

  “No, he’s never been courteous,” Tennyson grimaced.

  When the doors opened, all three of the brutes placed their hands on their hip under their suit jackets. I assumed they had weapons there. Levi pulsed with power behind me. I reached out with my senses and felt no danger.

  “Move out,” Tennyson ordered.

  Stone stepped out turning immediately to our left. Bronx stepped out to the right mimicking the other man’s stance. Viggo stepped to the side allowing Tennyson to exit.

  “After you, Queen Gloriana,” he said.

  Levi and I followed Tennyson. We moved as a unit down the corridor to what I assumed was our door. Tennyson used a credit card shaped key to open the door. Viggo and Bronx entered first, turning on lights as they went through the huge penthouse. It glimmered and gleamed from every surface.

  “Clear!” Bronx called out.

  “Clear!” Viggo echoed.

  “Welcome to Las Vegas, Grace,” Tennyson said, motioning for me to enter.

  Stepping inside the room, I stood in awe of the view. Large windows stretched across the room giving us a perfect view of the strip below us. The neon signs danced and twinkled. Directly below us, a huge fountain spewed water in choreography.

  “The Bellagio fountains!” Levi exclaimed, pressing his face to the glass like a child.

  “They go off every 30 minutes,” Tennyson grumbled as if the fountain had offended him.

  I stood beside Levi until the show ended.

  “That was fucking awesome,” he said, looking at me. His smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been away from home,” I said.

  “Even if we don’t get the information that we came for, at least we can enjoy the trip,” he smiled.

  I reached up to brush his cheek. My fingers slid over the scar on his face. “My optimist,” I said.

  “We can get through any of this without a little hope,” he said. “That’s what my mom always said Christmas was about. Hope for the future.”

  His confidence always inspired me. There was an innocent joy to it. Something I had lost over the years as I ran from place to place. I had always avoided large cities like Vegas. Too many supernaturals there who might decide to cash in on a bounty.

  “Your room is through those doors,” Tennyson instructed, as he poured another glass of liquor at the bar.

  “Our room?” I asked.

  “We share?” Levi asked with more excitement than I had.

  “Yep, because I’m not sharing my room with Levi. Grace, you are welcome to join me though,” Tennyson smirked taking a sip of his drink. He didn’t mean it. He wanted to see how Levi would react.

  “Hell no, you misfit knight,” Levi teased, then grabbed my hand as he trotted off to the room.

  Opening the double doors we stepped into the largest bedroom outside of my father’s palace that I had ever seen.

  “Wow,” I mumbled.

  The windows stretched across this room as well as down the side of it. A huge bed sat against the wall to our left. No less than fifty pillows were stacked artfully on the bed. The linens looked plush and comfortable.

  “I can sleep on the couch,” Levi said.

  “Stop,” I replied. “There is plenty of room here.”

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Don’t make me change my mind,” I said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he beamed. I rolled my eyes and took a right into another room.

  “Oh my!” I exclaimed. Levi ran into the room behind me, as I looked down into a huge white bathtub surrounded by marble. He reached down and hit a button beside the tub. Water fell from a hole in the ceiling landing in the tub to fill it.

  “Nifty,” he commented, as he brushed past me to the end of the room. He opened the glass door to reveal a huge walk-in shower. The water fixture for it was also in the ceiling raining down water. “Now, that’s a shower.”

  “It’s okay,” I huffed.

  “Such a snob,” he laughed.

  “What?”

  “It’s not a Roman bathhouse like you have,” he said.

  “I don’t have that anymore,” I muttered.

  “We will get it back,” he
said.

  “I don’t care about the bath. I just want order. Peace,” I said.

  “That’s why we are here. One step closer,” he said.

  “I know,” I replied, returning to the bedroom. I stretched out on the soft bed looking up to the ceiling. It wasn’t exactly mirrored, but the metal reflected enough that you could see anything that happened in the bed below it.

  Levi looked up when he saw me fixed on it. “Very nice,” he grinned.

  “Get out of here,” I said, pushing him away from the bed with my foot. He grabbed it and acted like he was going to pull me off the bed. “Stop! Levi, I swear!”

  Releasing my leg, he tumbled down on top of me. “You swear what?” he asked.

  “Get off me,” I complained.

  “Can you see my ass?” he asked.

  “Levi!”

  “What! I have a good ass. You’ve said so,” he teased.

  “Yes, I see your ass. It’s a nice ass. Now get off me!” I tried shoving him off, but he was much heavier. I didn’t dare use magic, because that would open a whole can of worms.

  He shifted so that he could prop himself up over me, caging me in with his arms and legs. “I’m off,” he stated.

  I sighed, then made the mistake of looking into those sparkling blue eyes. His humor and joy infected me, and I couldn’t help but smile at him. Bending his arms at the elbows he lowered his face over mine. My breathing labored as he scanned my face with those bright eyes. He studied me, looking for something. He lightly kissed my cheek sending tingles down my spine. Then, he rolled to the side landing on the bed next to me. I didn’t immediately look at him as I was trying to brush off the intense desire to jump him. I had felt it before, but it was growing daily.

  I didn’t know what I was waiting on, but we hadn’t moved to that point. He was waiting for me. He was looking for my permission. Every time he kissed me or touched me, probing for the right moment. We weren’t there yet. But we were so close.

  “Well, are you hungry?” he asked, breaking the silence.

  “Yeah,” I whispered.

  “I’ll ask Tennyson what he has planned.” He got up, leaving me alone in the bedroom.

  50

  As we sat devouring some of the best room service I’d ever had, which would surprise you how much I’ve sampled over the years, the lights of the city continued to twinkle. The city that never sleeps? Sin City? Since nothing was happening in Vegas, I didn’t have to worry about that little saying.

  “Your attire should arrive shortly,” Tennyson said breaking the silence.

  “Attire?” I asked, shoving a bite of juicy tenderloin in my mouth.

  “Our information man runs a very exclusive underground club here, and you must dress appropriately,” Tennyson informed us.

  “What kind of club?” Levi asked.

  “Fairies, mostly,” Tennyson said. “You will see a few humans but they will be attached to a fairy in some way.”

  “Please tell me it isn’t one of those bondage clubs,” I groaned.

  “No, of course not, but where there are fairies....”

  “There is sex,” Levi finished the statement.

  “Yes,” Tennyson grinned watching me. “That is why it is of utmost importance that you watch over him, Grace.”

  “Wait, what? Watch over me?” Levi said.

  “You are a good-looking man,” I said. “Who knows what might try to seduce you.” He looked nervous. He never considered himself to be the one that needed protection. I had gotten Tennyson’s meaning completely. We needed to watch out for each other.

  “My bond to you has to mean something,” Levi grumbled.

  “Perhaps. We will see,” I said letting him wonder about what we were going to step into with this club. I’d been to places like it before. Anything you wanted would and could be served up. “Are there rules?” I asked because most places like that had a few restrictions.

  “No magic to do harm unless requested by the recipient. No unscreened humans. Pretty basic stuff. We aren’t there to cause a scene. We talk to the guy and get out,” Tennyson said as he finished his dinner.

  There was a light knock on the door. Tennyson tensed, reaching for his gun. Levi leaned closer to me. Stone approached the door, then pressed a pad next to it. A screen appeared showing a small woman in a maid uniform holding two garment bags. Tennyson nodded, and Stone opened the door for her.

  “Hello, mister, I have these for Mr. Tennyson,” she said with a Hispanic laden accent.

  “Very well. I will take them,” Stone said reaching for the bag. My instincts flared, and I looked at her through my sight.

  “No!” I screamed stopping the movement in the room. I touched Levi which released him from the spell. We approached the frozen woman carefully. Tennyson grunted behind me as he fought the spell.

  “What is she?” Levi asked.

  “Shapeshifter of some sort, but definitely fairy,” I said. “Wild fairy.”

  He lifted the garment bags from her arm to reveal a dagger glowing with runes. “Thy blood makes me strong,” Levi read.

  “You read runes?” I asked.

  “I know what it says,” he answered. “I don’t know how I know it.”

  “You probably read it in one of your damn books,” I teased. Tennyson groaned again, and I waved my hand to release him from the spell.

  “Don’t touch it!” he exclaimed even though neither Levi nor I had made a move for it.

  “I’m not touching it. It’s all glowy and shit,” I laughed.

  “I got something you can touch,” Levi smirked.

  I shoved him. “So immature,” I said.

  “I call it frustrated, but whatever,” he returned. “Bet I can make you all glowy and shit.”

  I shoved him harder. He laughed even though a woman who was sent here to kill us stood frozen in the doorway. I waved my hand releasing Stone.

  “What do we do with her boss?” Stone asked.

  “She won’t give us any information. Dispose of her,” Tennyson said gruffly. I opened my mouth to protest, but I had to remember that she was here to kill us.

  “What about the dagger?” he asked.

  “Levi, can you disarm it?” Tennyson asked.

  “I dunno,” Levi said.

  “You could read it,” Tennyson countered.

  Levi huffed, but I felt him draw in energy. I offered him my tattooed arm, but he shook his head. Magic swirled between him and the dagger. He lifted his hand toward it. My insides twisted with worry as he did. The moment his finger touched the tip, it stopped glowing. He released the magic with a whoosh that almost knocked me down. He shook his hand like I used to do after pulling in power.

  “Damn that tingles,” he said.

  “Can I take it?” Stone huffed.

  “Yes,” Levi confirmed. “Close the door behind her, and Grace let her go.”

  “No,” I said.

  “She can’t do anything now,” Levi said.

  Ignoring his assumption, I raised a shield between her and us, then released her from the spell.

  A long hiss escaped her lips as Stone blocked the exit.

  “Who sent you?” Tennyson asked.

  “It doesn’t matter,” she spoke with the tongue of a snake. The accent had disappeared.

  “You are right because you and whoever it was is dead,” Tennyson said.

  “Kill me. Many more will come. So many want her,” she laughed, locking dark, cold eyes on me. “So many.”

  “Someone must have a hit out on you,” Tennyson.

  “Why? I’ve not offended anyone here,” I said.

  “My first bet is Rhiannon,” Levi said.

  The woman chuckled at our conversation. “You are fools to protect her,” she laughed.

  A cold dark surrounded my heart as it turned to ice. My blonde hair shifted to platinum and my tattoo glowed a deep blue. Tendrils of power swirled across my skin, as I dropped the shield between us. Her eyes widened and the smirk on her face
dropped.

  “Perhaps they are fools to protect me, but you were the fool to think you could take me,” I snarled, stepping closer to her. Tennyson’s emotions remained calm, but Levi’s ratcheted up to a higher level. He wasn’t worried about me. He was worried about what I was going to feel after I killed her. The woman took a step back from me into the rock-hard body of Stone. He grunted, then clamped down on her arms, so she couldn’t run.

  “Tell me, Snake, who sent you?” I asked.

  She shook her head vehemently. Fear swirled around in her eyes. I ran a cold finger up her arm. As I did, the arm turned to ice. She shook violently from the cold.

  “Stop,” she growled. No remorse. She wasn’t at her limit.

  “I won’t ask again,” I said, running a finger up the opposite arm. It hardened to an icicled appendage.

  Her teeth chattered. “They will kill me,” she said.

  “I’m not going to let you live. You choose how painful your death will be,” I said.

  I reached down to touch her right hip, and her leg turned to ice.

  “No!” she screamed.

  “After I do this last leg, I’m doing your mouth next. It’s your last chance,” I said.

  Touching her final limb, it froze solid in an instant. I touched her cheek but didn’t turn it. She jerked as well as she could with frozen limbs.

  “I don’t know who sent the request,” she said stuttering through her words. “It came as an anonymous text on my phone.”

  “Rhiannon is high tech?” Levi asked.

  “More than likely someone set the hit out for her, or perhaps, there is a bounty on your head from your Uncle,” Tennyson offered.

  “I’m not asking you again,” I said ignoring them both.

  As I reached for her head, she began to spew, “I signed up to get the hits though text three weeks ago with a guy named Ray. I met him down at Ceaser’s Palace. He was playing blackjack and winning. I sat down next to him, and he gave me his card. When I texted the number, I immediately started getting information on supernatural hits in Vegas.”

  “How did you collect?” Tennyson asked assuming she had actually tried out some of the hits.

  “Once the job was done, you texted the number back with a code, then I received info on where to meet for a money drop,” she said.