Briannas Prophecy (9 page)

Brianna smirked, “A few drinks or a few drunk driving charges.”

“Ha, ha, you’re such a comedian. Don’t quit your day job,” Amber teased. “You know very well I’ve had a few drinks, and I don’t ever want to get a drunk driving charge.”

Brianna wrapped her arm around Amber and squeezed. “Very true. I suppose we probably should stay here. The last thing either of us need is an arrest record.” She hadn’t had much to drink yet but she planned to have a few drinks later. She made a face. “I guess I just wanted to justify the expense. And you know there’s nowhere to camp around here. So we can’t even get out the cheap way.” There was no need to explain her reasons. Her friend was well aware of her financial situation.

Amber put her cup to her lips, tossed her head back and shook a few more ice cubes into her mouth. She winked, then gave Brianna a conspiratorial grin. “Leave it up to me to think of the perfect excuse.” Talking around the ice, she buffed her perfectly manicured silver iridescent fingernails on her sleeve.

“By the way, you
do
know what they say about people who chew ice cubes, don’t you?” Brianna said with a shameless grin. “They say they don’t get enough sex.”

Amber grinned and winked. “That’s not surprising. I told you I don’t get enough of that kind of action.” She turned, her smile faded and the teasing glint left her eyes. “Don’t look now, hon, but here’s our friend.” She tilted her head, a nearly imperceptible movement, not wanting the man in question to realize they were aware of his constant scrutiny.

As they both watched, he nonchalantly ducked behind a silk plant in the corner of the ballroom. He may have been out of their sight, but they knew he was still there waiting and watching.

Brianna looked thoughtful. A slight frown creased her brow. “That’s another good reason to stay here for the night. We don’t have to worry about being followed home when we leave. I wonder what his problem is.”

“I don’t know,” Amber replied. “But I have an idea. Wait here. I’ll go get a room and come right back. We’ll leave through the ladies’ room. If he stays true to form, he’ll wait just outside the door. We’ll slip out through the other door in the hall.”

Amber tossed a look over her shoulder. “Just manage to stay away from him till I can get back. Go tease
Pan
or something.” She winked. “Just try not to stray too far from this spot if you can help it. I don’t want to have to go searching for you again.”

Brianna watched as Amber disappeared into the crowd. She turned and noticed the strange man approaching her, his lips twisted in a parody of a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

She cast her gaze around the room frantically and saw
Pan
joking with two other men in the corner. Brianna hurried up to them. “Hi! How are you all doing tonight?” Batting her eyelashes, she turned toward the man dressed as Pan and remarked. “I hope you’re not too warm tonight. Although I do have to admit, you looked much more ah…comfortable last year.” She winked.

Pan’s pleasant smile turned into a devastating grin she found almost irresistible. His black eyes twinkled with a devilish gleam. The man’s tanned, blond good looks were not lost on her either, though Brianna leaned more toward tall, dark, and handsome men.

“I was, until the police made their appearance anyway. The cold plastic benches at the police station were a little hard on the uh…” He cleared his throat. “The tackle. Even through the thin sheet they made me use.”

Brianna’s cheeks burned. She suppressed a shudder of mortification. What she’d said last year was an embarrassing stain left indelibly in her memory, and it returned to haunt her. She hoped he didn’t remember her. She gave a slight grimace. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I really didn’t mean to be fresh, but…” She stepped closer and whispered, “There has been a man following me around most of the night. I’m trying to stay away from him without it looking like it. You know what I mean?”

He bent his blond head closer to hear her whispered words. There was no way he could have missed the apprehension in her eyes, the fear. The three men looked around slowly. Their combined gazes fell on the sinister looking man who stood in the corner watching her.

“You mean the Vampire wannabe in the corner, wearing the overdone black eyeliner and the blood red cape?” He was careful not to gesture in any way that would inform the man he was the subject of their conversation. Then, in a louder voice, he said, “What’d you say your name was again, darlin’?” He bent down, his eyes level with hers. “My name is Ethan.” He gave her what appeared to be a genuine smile and held out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Ethan. I’m Brianna. I hope you’re enjoying the party.” Smiling, she took his hand, letting his big warm fingers envelope hers. She leaned closer, lowered her voice even more, “His aura is off. Can you see it?” she asked, with a worried frown. “And he is putting out bad vibes. I can feel the negativity rolling off him in waves.” With her magical antennae finally working properly, she could feel what Amber had felt hours ago.

“Yeah, I see it,” he replied grimly, his lips thinned, his eyes narrowing. They watched as the man stopped a waiter, took a handful of crackers from him and pushed him away. “What a real paragon of social etiquette we have here.”

Amber walked up behind her, a room key concealed in her hand. “I didn’t think you’d really have the guts to talk with him. I was just kidding, you know,” Amber hissed in her ear.

“Are you two together?” Ethan asked, clearly suspicious. His dark eyes turned toward Amber. It seemed that he was prepared to protect Brianna, even from another woman.

“Yes, we’re together. Ethan, this is Amber.” She turned to her friend. “Amber, meet Ethan.” She turned back to him. “I really hate to ask this of you, Ethan, but do you think you guys could distract that guy enough to keep him from noticing when we leave?”

Ethan grinned, completely disarming Amber, who fanned the napkin she carried in front of her flushed face. “We can keep him busy, can’t we?” He turned to his friends who were already nodding their heads. “For a price. How about your e-mail address?”

The brief flash of white in his tanned face reminded Brianna that he’d been tanned
all
over last year. She flushed with renewed embarrassment and wondered if he still looked the same. Smiling shyly, she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Thanks! I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

He grinned boyishly. “Your e-mail addresses would be payment enough. I don’t get to meet two beautiful witches every day, you know,” he said, apparently unable to keep his gaze off Amber.

Amber smiled and looked him up and down with undisguised admiration. She grinned mischievously and winked. “Right back at ya, stud.”

After they exchanged e-mail addresses, they turned toward the bathrooms.

“I’m starting to feel funny, Amber,” Brianna’s words had begun to slur and she dropped her empty cup onto the floor. It fell near her feet and rolled into the crowd. Brianna began to sway as if she could no longer stand on her own. She looked over at Ethan and waved drunkenly.

“Bye-bye, honey buns.” She turned to Amber, who struggled to keep her from lying down on the dance floor. “You know, his buns do look like honey. I remember. He’s tan aaaaall over,” she whispered loudly in Amber’s ear.

“What in the world did you drink, Bri?” Amber glanced at Ethan and blushed, then turned her attention to Brianna and shook her head in disbelief. “Boy, are you gonna feel this tomorrow.” She put her arm around Brianna’s waist and helped her through the crowd. They walked slowly, trying not to draw attention to themselves, while Ethan and his friends herded the strange man into a corner, keeping him occupied until they could make their escape.

“Hey look, Amber,” Brianna pointed, trying to pull her in the opposite direction. “There’s the guy who peed in the potted plant during the limbo contest.” She waved. “Hey, sweetie, you need to drink more water! Urine shouldn’t be that yell— Ow!”

Amber pinched her. Hard. She rolled her eyes. “I swear, Bri, if we get out of this alive, I’m gonna kill you for embarrassing me like this.” She grunted as Brianna stumbled and she caught the brunt of her weight, then steered her toward the ladies bathroom. “We have to go now, Bri. Do you think you can move a little faster? I don’t know how much time those guys are going to be able to buy us.” Amber shot a worried glance over her shoulder. “This might be the only chance we have of ditching this guy.”

Chapter Five

They rushed through the crowded bathroom exiting through the other side. Even if the man had gotten away from their new friends, he wouldn’t have had the time to rush around the long way. They made it into the elevator too quickly to have been followed. Even then, Amber pushed the button for every level hoping to confuse any pursuers. When the elevator doors finally reached the eighth floor, Amber half dragged, half-carried Brianna into their room. She sighed with relief when the door closed, locking them safely inside. Amber leaned against the door, panting as Brianna stumbled toward the bed.

“That man was scary! The energy surrounding him wasn’t good.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “His aura was a mixture of teeming grays and blacks, with no vibrant colors to give relief. He looked like evil personified.” Amber rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms. “We forgot our capes. I’ll call downstairs and have them held for us. We’ll get them from the coat check tomorrow.” She chewed her lip for a moment. “I don’t want to take the chance that he’ll be able to follow me up here if I go get them tonight.”

Brianna nodded and leaned over the side of the bed. “I shink I’m gonna be shick.” Brianna’s words slurred together drunkenly, then she lost consciousness.

Waking with a killer hangover, Brianna sat on the edge of her bed, holding her head in her hands. How many drinks did she have? She stood up gingerly, staggered to the bathroom and eyed the toilet, trying to suppress the queasy feeling in her stomach.

The hot shower helped. It made her feel a little better, but her head still felt stuffed with cotton balls instead of brains. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the incessant buzzing. The strange noise almost sounded like someone whispering. Glancing up at her reflection in the mirror, she grimaced. She looked like hell! What in the world had come over her? She never had more than one or two drinks at a time. She ran a hand over her face and attempted to pry her eyes open, but they didn’t want to cooperate and stayed closed.

Squinting at the counter, she picked up her pentacle and hung it around her neck. The pendant had an unnatural glow and felt strange against her skin. Instead of wearing it, she wrapped it in toilet paper and crammed it into her purse. It had plainly picked up some sort of weird energy last night. She was going to have to cleanse it when she got home.

Brianna left the bathroom and shuffled to her overnight bag. Pulling her clean clothes from the bag, she dressed awkwardly. She blinked down at herself, then tried to focus her gaze on the other side of the dim room. Amber was sprawled diagonally across the other bed. It was a good thing they always got a double. She wouldn’t want to share a bed with
that
tireless body on the other side kicking and pushing all night.

Brianna threw a pillow at her. “Wake up, sleepyhead. It’s time to go home.”

Amber sat up and groaned, pushing the hair from her eyes. “It can’t be morning already, give me a few more hours.” She flopped back down on the bed, her pillow over her face to block the sliver of bright light that peeked through the closed drapes.

Brianna looked over her shoulder, checked the clock by the phone and sighed, exasperated. “It’s ten thirty now. We have to be out of the room by noon or we pay for another day.” She waited for a sign that Amber heard her. When her friend just laid there snoring, she walked to the bed, yanked the blankets off and threw them to the floor in a heap.

Amber shot out of the bed like a rocket, crossing her arms in an effort to keep warm. “It’s friggin’ cold in here, Bri. What’s the air set on? Sub zero?”

Brianna put her hands on her hips and gave Amber her sternest look. “I’ll turn it off if you’ll get in the shower, then get dressed. Or you could just get dressed for that matter. You can shower at home.” Her lips twitched, and she did her best not to smile. She absolutely refused to do perky before coffee.

Amber threw her a sleepy grin. “And miss being able to use all of the hot water I want? You’re kidding, right?” She stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the water.

Brianna turned off the air conditioner as she promised and made a quick trip down to the small restaurant next to the lobby, looking for something to eat while Amber showered. She passed a few people she’d met the night before, leaving their rooms. Nearly all of them looked hung over.

“It must have been one hell of a party. Too bad I can’t remember it.” She sighed, disappointed and pushed the down button for the elevator. Brianna leaned against the wall and wondered if she was even capable of making it down to the restaurant alone. The ding of the elevator made her jump and she straightened.

She stepped through the doors and gave a wan smile to the elderly couple standing inside. A little old woman with silvery blue hair held her teacup poodle to her chest talking baby talk. The older man just looked at her and smiled. Brianna closed her eyes and inhaled the unmistakable scent of
Paul Sabastian
, the fragrance that would always remind her of her father.