Darkness & Discovery (The Bespelled Trilogy #2) (19 page)

I
strolled over to the elevators, still pretending not to notice Augustine, who
by now had spotted me and was doing a hilarious job of trying to casually cover
the lower half of his face with his hand. He and I got on the same elevator
along with several other people, and he tried to position himself as far from
me as possible in the small space.

Floor
by floor the elevator emptied, and finally it was just him and me riding up to
the top of the hotel. A minute before the doors opened, I spun at him and
yelled, “Boo!”

His
reaction was priceless. He screamed and jumped back like he’d seen a mouse, and
I almost fell over laughing. When I could finally speak again, I said, “Awesome
disguise, Augustine. All you need is a newspaper with a square cut out of it
for you to peek through.”

The
doors slid open and we stepped out into the quiet hallway. “How’d you know it
was me?” he asked, looking fairly mortified.

“Gee,
I dunno. Because that’s the worst disguise ever?”

“Does
Bryn know I’m here?”

“Of
course. Bryn knows everything.”

Augustine
sighed and pulled off the sunglasses. “You probably won’t believe me, but I
really am just trying to look out for him. I think he’s already drunk the
equivalent of his body weight in alcohol since he’s been here, and—”

“I’m
actually glad you’re here,” I interrupted. “He needs someone looking out for
him. And you seem to legitimately care about him, so keep doing what you’re
doing.”

“If
you’re ok with me being here, why did you follow me upstairs?”

“To
make fun of you for having the most clichéd disguise ever,” I said with a grin,
hitting the elevator button.

Augustine
smiled a little. And then he said, “By the way, there are a couple members of
the Order sniffing around outside the hotel. Alastair knows that, right?”

“He
does. We’ve got the situation under control. Wait though, how’d you get past
them? They must know you’re a vampire, even with that awesome disguise. Don’t
most supernaturals identify people by scent?”

“Of
course they do, but I used spell to obscure my scent. It’s a bad time to be a
vampire in Vegas.”

“Because
of a few Order dorks? They can’t be that tough.”

Augustine
knit his brows at me. “Do you seriously not know what else is going on out
there?”

“Um…drinking?
Partying? People getting married by Elvis impersonators?”

“
And
,
the annual meeting of the Alliance.”

“So,
the Alliance is what, exactly?”

“It’s
a yearly summit with almost every vampire hunter in North America, usually held
at the Luxor, for whatever reason. And every year, it also draws hundreds of
vampires looking to take out the hunters.”

“Are
you
serious
?”

“As
a heart attack, Lu. And you know the one thing both those groups have in common.”

He
and I spoke in unison. “They all want to kill Alastair.”

Chapter Twelve

“That’s awesome.
Because we needed more bad stuff happening right now!” I exclaimed. “And why
didn’t you warn us the summit was happening
this weekend
? We could have
come some other time!”

“I
didn’t know until I got here. The Alliance moves the date around every year and
doesn’t actually send announcements out to the vampire community. The local vampires
figure it out when they start seeing Alliance members around town, and then
they put the word out. It always ends up as quite a bloodbath, from what I’ve
heard.”

“That’s
really special,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “So how do you propose
we keep Alastair safe with his fan club assembled?”

“Just
don’t let him leave the hotel. The spell Bryn cast is pretty broad, it keeps
out anyone that would want to harm Alastair. If any hostile vampires or vampire
hunters try to enter this place, they’ll bounce right off the barrier like a
dumb pigeon off a screen door.”

“Wait,
how did
you
get in if that’s the spell?”

Augustine
rolled his eyes and held the elevator door for me when it opened. “Tells you a
little something about my intentions, doesn’t it?”

I
stepped onto the elevator and watched him with a raised eyebrow as the door
slid shut.

My
companions were right where I left them. “Hey guys, guess what?” I said as I
flopped down on the couch. “We timed this trip perfectly to coincide with the
annual Let’s Kill Alastair Convention at the Luxor.”

“With
the what?” Alastair asked.

“There’s
a summit here this weekend with pretty much all the vampire hunters on the continent,
and that brings in tons of vampires that want to kill them in turn,” I
explained. “And, of course, all of them want to kill
you
. Neat, huh?”

“That’s
special,” Joey muttered.

“They
apparently can’t get past Bryn’s spell, though. So Allie, you’re under house
arrest,” I said.

“Why
didn’t Bryn tell us this when he saw us a minute ago?” Alastair wanted to know.

“I
don’t think Bryn knows. Augustine told me. He followed Bryn to Las Vegas and is
keeping an eye on him,” I said. Joey started to protest, but I held my hand up
and said, “Yeah, I know. Untrustworthy, yadda yadda yadda. You know what? He
really is looking out for Bryn, so go ahead and skip the rant.”

Speaking
of Bryn, he returned to the lobby now in full pirate regalia. “Hey, Captain
Hook,” I said. “What’re you up to?”

“Gonna
go join the pirate show at Treasure Island, on those big ships they have out in
front of the hotel. Looks like fun,” he said with a goofy grin, adjusting the
lacy white cuffs that spilled out of the sleeves of his long, red velvet jacket.

“And
they’re really going to let you join in?”

“Well,
I wouldn’t describe it as
letting
me. But what they don’t know while
they’re bespelled won’t hurt ‘em.”

“Be
careful out there, ok? Apparently the Alliance summit is this weekend. I don’t
know if you’re actually on anyone’s hit list, but just be aware of it,” I told
him.

This
seemed to instantly sober Bryn up, and he dropped into the chair across from us
and said, “Allie, that’s really bad news for you, mate.” His serious expression
was offset by the huge red pirate hat he wore, its long white plume sticking up
jauntily and bouncing when he moved his head.

“Yeah,
that’s what I hear,” Alastair said.

“My
protection spell should keep them out of here,” Bryn hold us.

“Yeah,
that’s what Augustine said,” I chimed in. “We all know he’s here, by the way.”

“Oh?
His clever spy disguise didn’t fool you?” Bryn said with a sparkle in his eye
and a little grin.

“Yeah,
no. Shockingly,” I said with a grin of my own.

Bryn
thought for a moment, and then stood up. “Alastair, don’t leave the hotel
grounds and you’ll be fine. I’ll reinforce the wards just to be on the safe
side, but there’s no reason they shouldn’t hold. Ok, I’m off to join a group of
fake pirates on a fake pirate ship in a fake lagoon. Viva Las Vegas!” And he
smiled brightly and exited the lobby, strolling regally as nearly everyone
stopped to stare at him.

Joey
got up too. “Ok, I seriously can’t just sit here. I’m going to do a few more
laps around the hotel. Anyone want to come along?”

“I’ll
go,” I said, getting up from the couch.

Alastair
got up too. “I guess I’ll check the casino again. Coming, little bro?” he asked
Athos.

The
big warrior smirked and got to his feet. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you
and I go to the gym, and I’ll show you a few of the Order’s fighting
techniques? I can also tell you where each of their vulnerabilities are. But on
one condition: you have to promise to knock off the
little
.”

“I’ll
work on that,” Alastair said with a grin, before turning to me and kissing my
cheek. “Be careful Lu, and call me if you need me. See you soon.” And he and Athos
headed for the gym.

Joey
sighed almost imperceptibly, and he and I went in the opposite direction.

My
usually bubbly companion was subdued as we did a lap around the ground floor of
the hotel. I lingered in a Victorian-style indoor atrium, lushly decorated with
pines and exotic flowers and fake snow in a fanciful Christmas display. A
family of tourists stopped us and asked me to take their picture. They posed
before the colorful floral backdrop, all smiles as they put their arms around
each other and actually said cheese.

I
watched them go after I handed the camera back to them. The mother and daughter
were holding hands, and the father hoisted the giggling little boy up onto his
shoulders. “I think I’m becoming bitter,” Joey said quietly, also watching the
family closely as they left the indoor garden. “I used to see a family like
that and feel happy. Now it just reminds me of all I don’t have. All I’ll
never
have.”

I
took my friend’s hand. “Where’s that coming from?”

“I
dunno.”

“Are
you ok, Joey?”

He
shrugged and turned our hands over, putting mine on top and running his thumb
over the back of it. “Sure. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. It’s been harder to
put on a happy face lately.”

“Would
it help to talk about it?” 

“Nothing
really to talk about.” He’d been looking down at our joined hands, and now he
met my gaze and said, “Well, there is one thing I’ve been wanting to tell you.
After we find Jin and Alastair gets his memories back, and after we get you and
him out of Vegas safely…I think I’m gonna take off for a while.”

“You
mean by yourself?” He nodded, and I asked, “Why?”

“You
and Alastair need some time to be together, just the two of you. You don’t need
me constantly under foot.”

“Does
this have to do with Athos?”

 “I
was already thinking about this before ‘little bro’ came into the picture. But
now that he’s a part of our group, me hanging around is even more pointless.”
He let go of my hand and turned toward the huge floral display, resting his
palms on the railing surrounding it.

I
stood right behind him and put my hands on his shoulders as I said, “No.”

“No?”

“That’s
right: no. You’re not going off and sulking, or whatever it is you’re planning
on doing. You’re my best friend, Joey, and you belong with us. We’re a team.
No, scratch that. We’re a
family
. If you’re feeling a bit displaced
right now because Alastair just found his half-brother, I get it. But going off
alone isn’t the answer.”

“I
told you, I was thinking about leaving even before Athos,” Joey said.

“Why?”

He
turned to face me, his extraordinary jade green eyes a storm of emotions. “Do
you really not know, Lu? Can you really not guess why I’m leaving?”

“No,
I can’t. You’re a part of our family Joey, and I love you, and Alastair loves
you. You belong with us.”

“I
love you too, Lu. And that’s exactly the problem.”

“What
do you mean?”

Joey
sighed, and then he took a step forward and held my face between his hands. “I
mean
I love you
, Luna,” he said quietly, and then he kissed me, softly,
gently.

I
stepped back in surprise after a moment, my fingertips automatically going to
my lips. “Joey, I—”

He
held his hand up and said, “I know. I totally know. You don’t feel the same way.
You want to be with Alastair, not me. I
know
all that. And now you see
why I have to leave. Seeing you and Alastair together, the two of you falling a
little more in love every day – I just can’t keep torturing myself like that.”

“Joey—”

He
looked embarrassed. “Actually, you know what? Alastair will be fine without my
help, and so will you. Athos has your back, and you don’t really need me at
all. So there’s no reason to put off leaving.”

“Joey,”
I began again.

He
turned and started to head toward the door, but then he stopped and looked at
me. “I’m sorry I kissed you. I know you didn’t want me to do that. But I had to
know what it felt like. Just once. I had to know.”

He
took a couple more steps toward the exit and stopped again. “I’m lying. I’m not
sorry, not even a little. I’m glad I kissed you, and if it was up to me, I’d
spend every minute of the rest of my life kissing you. Good bye, Lu.”

In
the next instant, he was gone.

Chapter Thirteen

I was utterly in shock.
I’d suspected all along that Joey had a crush on me, there were plenty of
signs. But this – this was so much more than I’d anticipated. And I had
absolutely no clue what to do about it, I didn’t even sort of know how to talk
it over with him.