Lost in Magic (Night Shadows Book 4) (10 page)

Mick frowned and tugged her properly into him. “No wonder this is hard for you,” he said gently. With his arms around her back, one hand tickling her shoulder blades, he added, “But this won’t go that way, baby. I can’t do anything for your friend, but that won’t happen to you. I promise.”

Allison closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath.

It wasn’t her she was worried about. But how was she supposed to say that? How was she supposed to articulate how devastated she would be if something happened to
him
?

Chapter Sixteen

Apparently there were some passengers aboard the
Salty Sweet Euphoria
who never slept. Mick and Ali had detoured to the casino three separate times and each time the small piece of gambler’s paradise was occupied. Mick noted one man in particular who, at just after three in the morning, didn’t seem to have moved from his seat since at least ten o’clock.

Ali gave Mick’s hand a squeeze, dragging his tired gaze away from the slot addict. “Look,” she said, gesturing as subtly as she could in the direction of two women.

The older of the women seemed to have had a tad too much to drink, or she’d been awake far too long, because she staggered even with the help of the younger one. He was about to dismiss it and insist they turn in for a couple hours sleep of their own when he realized why they’d caught Ali’s attention. The younger woman was familiar.

It was the nurse from the infirmary. The one Ali had found suspicious.

“She works all day in the infirmary,” Ali whispered as they watched the pair slip from the casino. “And then plays all night?”

Yeah, that was suspicious all right. Mick tightened his grip on Ali’s hand. “Come on, let’s see if we can tail them.”

“Oh my gosh,” Allison said as they trailed slowly after the stumbling pair. “Do you think she could be a vampire?”

“She certainly sleeps like one,” Mick mumbled. But she appeared to be struggling beneath the inebriated woman’s weight. What would be the point of acting weak at this stage in the game?
Unless she’s weary of being watched.

Allison groaned. “Do you think I tipped my hand when I interrogated her earlier?”

“Hard to say,” Mick replied as they neared the corner between them and the elevator bank. As much as he didn’t like to consider that option, he had to admit she may have done exactly that. Especially if Nurse Tami compared notes with Boris. And the chances of there being two separate vampire attackers on the same cruise were pretty slim.

Mick led Ali around the corner and they nearly collided with the very pair they’d been trailing.

Tami seemed to have been intercepted by a patrolling security guard.

“—should be sleeping, Tam,” the guard said as he slipped an arm around the other woman’s back.

Tami laughed, the sound awkward to Mick’s ears, and said, “I know, I know. I’ll regret this little stroll come morning.” She was interrupted by a slurred expression of gratitude from the older woman, who was smiling way too widely at the guard, and all eyes lingered on her for just a moment. Finally Tami took a step back, sideways to Mick and Ali, and said to the guard, “Thanks for helping with her. I think I’ll try to get some sleep after all.”

“Now I’m confused,” Ali whispered as Tami turned for one elevator while the guard escorted the drunk woman to another.

Mick frowned. She was probably as confused as he was. It’d been a long day and he wasn’t thinking too clearly anymore. “Come on,” he said, starting for a third elevator. “I think it’s time to call it a night.”

Ali pulled on his hand. “But—”

“We’re no use to anyone if we’re dead on our feet, baby,” Mick said, offering her a smile. “I’m tired. I’m sure you are, too.”

She pouted, actually pouted, and he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or kiss her.

“You two are adorable,” an unfamiliar male voice declared.

Mick tensed and spun, putting himself between the speaker and Allison. Instinct and adrenaline were firing through his system and he wasn’t overly surprised to find himself face-to-face with the younger of his two suspected vampires. The one he’d pegged as subservient to Boris.

The vamp grinned at Mick’s reaction. He stood at the same height as Mick, with short, dark brown hair that oddly complimented his unnaturally darkened eyes.

Allison tugged at her hand, obviously trying to free it from Mick’s grasp. She had no clue who this man was.

“Can we help you?” He’d never been in a situation quite this delicate before. Normally the best course of action when confronting a being stronger than yourself was to throw the first punch. The harder the better. But on a cruise ship, where anyone could walk around a corner or step out from an elevator at any second? Mick didn’t know the proper course of action for that.

The vamp’s grin widened. “Certainly. In fact, you could help me in a few different ways. But for now, I need you to follow me.”

“I’m sorry,” Allison interrupted, successfully angling herself around Mick enough to face the vampire. Though she didn’t actually release his hand or step completely up to his side, either. “Why would we go anywhere with you? Especially at this hour?”

The unnamed vampire shifted his attention to her smoothly. Mick found himself waiting for the fluorescent lighting to glint off his teeth and was oddly disappointed when it didn’t. “Because,” the vamp said, “you’ve been searching so diligently for us that we thought we’d help you out.”

So it’s a trap.
Mick couldn’t say he was surprised. He’d tipped his hand somehow during his conversation with Boris. Or perhaps it was just the timing of that conversation in conjunction with Ali’s talk with Nurse Tami. Not that it mattered what the tip-off had been. “Do we look like idiots?” Mick asked. “We’re not going to isolate ourselves with you in the middle of the night.”

“Oh?” The vampire arched a brow. “Weren’t you
hoping
to get us alone? I’m confused.”

“You must be,” Mick said, “if you think we’ll follow you into a trap.”

Silence stretched between them for a second before the vampire’s expression fell to a cold neutral. “No, you’d rather lead us to your room so we can corner you in your sleep.” He smirked, the expression as dark as his eyes. “After all, you will have to sleep eventually.”

For a brief, irrational moment, Mick actually wished Rhea would choose that moment to show up. Not that there was any chance she’d be boarding the boat on a closed-off level, but her impending arrival was about the best surprise they had going for them at this point. Which sucked.

“Fine,” Allison said, her tone full of conviction that had Mick’s stomach clenching. But she didn’t give him the chance to pull her aside or even ask what the hell she was thinking. “We’ll follow you wherever it is you want to take us.”

The amusement immediately returned to the vampire’s face and he laughed. Loudly. “Excellent!” Sweeping an arm toward the nearest elevator, he added, “This way. Father’s waiting.”

Father?

That was what he’d said, but Mick had a hard time buying it. Vampires couldn’t be
born
, they could only be
made
. Though it was always possible that Boris had Turned his biological family to keep them with him. It was equally possible that Boris was simply this guy’s sire. And in the end it didn’t matter either way.
At least not yet.

Mick kept a tight grip on Ali’s hand as he followed the vampire. Letting himself be trapped in a small box with a deadly bloodsucker wasn’t exactly high on Mick’s bucket list, but in one way they were fortunate. The
Euphoria
liked to liven up a space with
living
plants. So if the vampire tried anything stupid Mick could use the small plant, and the dirt it sat in, to defend them. One on one, in an elevator, that just might be enough.

“I am curious,” the vampire said after pressing the button for another floor, “why are a couple of humans looking for us?” He turned another arched brow at them. “Neither of you strikes me as a Slayer.” His gaze lingered on Allison. “Least of all you.”

Allison lifted her chin. “I could still surprise you.”

Mick watched the vampire’s gaze linger on her throat and very nearly threw a sharpened spear of vine into the bloodsucker’s chest. “Look at her like that again,” he said instead, “and you’ll find out the hard way.”

The vampire laughed again, the sound echoing off the walls. “I’d like to see you try something!” He sobered as the elevator settled with a
ding!
“But we’re here, so I’ll just have to remember my patience.” He waved his arm toward the exit as the doors slid open, revealing an abandoned hallway. “Veer left.”

****

Allison did her best to swallow her nerves as they followed their as-of-yet-unnamed guide down a deserted hall. The rooms were further apart on this level.
What was I thinking?
Agreeing to meet Boris on his terms, without any chance to plan or even argue about the wisdom of it. Mick was surely furious with her for dragging him into this. But the vampire in front of them had been right. They had to sleep—and soon. The vampires didn’t. At least, not as she understood it. And surely not in the middle of the night. If anything this was practically the middle of their day.

But what are we walking into?

That was the real question. It didn’t take a genius to determine that this meeting was some kind of trap. She was only hoping that the vampires wouldn’t want to risk making a scene during the quiet hours when their would-be victims would so obviously be on edge and prepared to make some noise.
Or would that matter to them at all?

She was so out of her depth in this situation it really wasn’t funny. At least before … well, at least before she hadn’t had to deal with it so directly. Not until the real danger was over. But she remembered those last few days with Veronica. Veronica had been scared, understandably, but she’d refused to let the vampires cower her. And if the woman she’d once loved like a sister could face something this overwhelming head-on then so could she.

She hoped.

“Here we are,” their guide declared as he came to a stop before an unassuming door. He extracted a keycard and swiftly swiped it through the lock. The red light flicked to green with an almost inaudible
click
and he caught the handle. One push down and another push in and the door was swinging open. The wider the door opened the lower Ali’s stomach fell.

Here we go.

The room beyond the door was pitch dark. Not unlike the vampire’s eyes. Ali couldn’t see a thing except for a faint glow around the closed bedroom curtains. But Boris’s barely familiar voice called calmly out to them.

“Please, come inside.”

The door shut heavily behind them with a thick, audible
thunk
and Allison nearly threw up as they were plunged into darkness. She tightened her grip of Mick’s hand, as if that one point of contact would be her salvation. Whether or not the surrounding darkness bothered him, too, Ali had no idea—but he gave her hand a squeeze regardless.

“Scared, yet?” a male voice breathed at Allison’s left ear. It was their guide. But he was far too close.

She jumped and took a stumbling step closer to Mick, desperate to get away. Of course she was scared, but she wasn’t about to admit it aloud. Not to their faces.

“Back off,” Mick said, his voice so low it came out like a growl.

“That’s enough, Nico,” Boris’s disembodied voice commanded. It carried through the air with an undercurrent of power that Ali had never noticed when she’d spoken to him before. It sent chills down her spine.

Immediately yellow fluorescent light filled the space, temporarily blinding Allison with the contrast.

Her eyes had barely started to adjust when Mick tensed and a curse she hadn’t been expecting fell from his lips.

“Fuck.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Mick?” Ali asked, blinking rapidly in an effort to adjust her vision faster.

Mick’s anger was directed outward, though, and so he demanded, “What the hell did you do, vampire?”

“I should think that would be obvious,” Boris replied, his tone as calm as ever.

Finally Allison could make out more than just a shape of dark clothes sitting on a beige piece of furniture. She recognized, as she’d known she would, the older man sitting there. One leg crossed formally over his opposite knee. His hat was off, this time revealing his thinning silver hair and somehow emphasizing his dark, pupil-less eyes. As she studied him the other vampire moved to stand at the side of Boris’s chair.

She felt Mick take a breath at the same time as her better-adjusted eyesight took in the human-sized object stretched out on the floor. Between Mick and Boris.

Bile rose, thick and hot, in her throat and her hand flew over her mouth as tears stung her eyes.
Oh my god!

“Why kill
him
?” Mick asked, his voice firm with anger.

That human-sized object was a body. And though Ali had never met the man in question, she knew as soon as she looked at him who he was. He was dressed in a primly pressed sailor’s uniform, sans hat. Not a drop of blood on his skin or staining the white of his outfit. But she recognized his face from the screen where she’d first seen it on the day of departure. That man was the ship’s Captain. It’s
Captain
.

They killed the Captain…
Why?

“I should actually think that obvious,” Boris replied. “Our departed Captain averted course. I didn’t take this cruise to wind up
back
in Baltimore.”

“A plane would’ve been faster,” Mick stated. He was doing a good job at keeping only his anger evident in his voice.

Allison wasn’t so used to this sort of scene. It took most of her willpower to swallow the bile back. Her voice was less stable than it should’ve been when she opened her mouth. “That’s stupid,” she said. “The ship’s not going to resume course now that the Captain’s dead!”

Boris turned calm eyes to her. “No,” he said. “Of course not. But if I’m to be so inconvenienced, I may as well get a good meal out of it.”

“Why tell us?” Mick asked as Ali’s stomach heaved again. She looked away to spare herself the indignity of vomiting right then and there. “Why bring his corpse to your room? There’s no way you lured him in here.”

“You are a smart one, Mick,” Boris said. He sounded pleased. “Assuming that’s your real name, of course.” He didn’t pause long enough for Allison to believe he really cared. “I brought his body for you to see. To make my point. And as it’s sufficiently made, I think Ms. Drake would prefer not to have to continue to look at this body.”

Allison lifted her head from Mick’s bicep on reflex. She wasn’t sure that was meant to be encouraging or threatening. It somehow managed to be both.

“Nico,” Boris said. He gestured to the body with a haphazard flick of his wrist. “Time to feed the sharks.”

Allison’s eyes widened as Nico, their formerly unnamed vampire guide, threw the Captain’s corpse over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and moved to the sliding glass door that undoubtedly led to a balcony. She watched, stunned into speechlessness, as Nico pushed the curtain back just slightly and unlatched the door.

“What makes you so sure that’s a good idea?” Mick asked. “Aren’t you worried about being noticed?”

Boris scoffed. “At three-fifteen in the morning? Don’t be absurd. Humans are either sleeping, gambling, or lost in the throes of ecstasy.”

“And the crew?” Mick pushed as Nico stepped out onto the balcony.

Allison tore her gaze away, knowing she only imagined the
splash!
that followed.

Boris’s lips lifted at the corners. “Working and likely sucking down their body weight in coffee. Some, perhaps, are knocking on their Captain’s door at this very moment.”

“All clear,” Nico declared as he stepped back inside and pulled the door shut. He secured the lock, then the curtain, but remained stationary.

“Now then,” Boris said with a faint nod. “Let’s get down to business, shall we? I imagine you’re in no rush to die tonight. And Nico and I aren’t particularly famished, so I might allow you to live.”

Allison’s stomach clenched uncomfortably. She couldn’t think of too many ways they could survive this.

“What’s the catch?” Mick asked. He was still holding his ground and Allison had to admit to being impressed. She’d never considered herself a coward, but this confrontation was not her style. She wasn’t at all prepared. She was a planner. A thinker. A strategizer.

“First,” Boris said, drumming his fingers casually over his knee. As if they were sharing a cup of tea and talking about the weather. “Why were you looking for me? Was it that missing woman that tipped you off?”

“That was pretty sloppy,” Mick replied.

Boris’s head tilted almost imperceptibly to the side. “Sloppy,” he repeated. “I’d have used that word for the mess with the Michaels woman.”

“You didn’t have to kill her,” Allison heard herself saying. Amanda Michaels’ smiling face flashed through her mind. Followed by the memory of Jude’s raw grief and the less recent, but still powerful, memory of Mandy’s mangled body. Left for display. Used as a warning. Just like the Captain’s. Something hot and wet rolled down her cheek and Ali curled her free hand into a tight fist as she glared at the man she’d thought was just a harmless, sweet old man. “You didn’t have to kill any of them!”

“Ah,” Boris said with a smile. As if speaking to a child. “To feed a man of my stature I
do
require the sustenance of an adult. Women are just my preference. But I do agree that Mrs. Michaels’ death was unnecessary.” He cut a pointed look to Nico, who had the good grace to look away. “Unfortunately she woke up and caught a glimpse of her attacker. And instead of finishing her off swiftly, he panicked. Really that whole situation got out of hand.”

“What is
wrong
with you?” Allison demanded, seeming to have found her footing now. “I’ve met a few vampires. They don’t all suffer from such a superiority complex. What makes you so special?”

“Woman,” Nico said, spitting the word with obvious venom.

“Patience, Nico,” Boris said with a smile. He never looked away from Allison. “You may speak freely, Ms. Drake. But I don’t think I’ll answer that question. Frankly, it’s not your place to know such details.”

Allison reeled and inadvertently let Mick take some of her weight. “I’m sorry,” she said, “
not my place
? You’re threatening to kill us and I don’t
deserve
to know why you’re entitled to do so?”

This time his smile sent a chill down her spine. “Exactly.”

“That’s enough,” Mick said, running his thumb along the back of Ali’s knuckles. He kept his gaze on Boris. “I don’t care who you think you are, old man. If I have to spend the rest of my trip standing guard outside your door, you’re done dropping bodies. Both of you.”

Nico cut in before Boris could do more than raise a single brow.

“You think you could stop us? With what power,
human
?”

Allison threw a glare at him for the way he spat the word, as if humans were no more than rats in a wolf fight.
Then again, maybe we are…
But Mick wasn’t. Mick had strength.

“No,” Boris said slowly. “Your assumption is off, Nico. This man is no ordinary human.” Boris paused and that chill at the base of Allison’s spine flared, spreading out until her heartbeat slowed. Boris leveled a challenging stare on Mick. “You’re a witch, aren’t you, boy?”

Instead of denying it Mick held his ground and replied, “And people are waiting for me in Baltimore. I promise you’re not making it off this ship unless you’ve learned to fly.”

Boris smiled again, clearly amused. “How charming. It’s been some time since I’ve tussled with a witch of any variety. But were we to fight now it would be unfair to you. Perhaps I should give you some time to rest and recoup your strength.”

Recoup … his strength?
Boris intended to
fight
Mick? Ali’s gaze flicked back to Nico and she amended that realization. No, if Boris fought there was no doubt in her mind that Nico would, too. It’d be two-on-one at best. Unless she could find some way to help.

“Father,” Nico interrupted. “Why are we wasting our time with a witch and his whore?”

Allison bristled at the “w” word and turned a glare on the vampire.

“Language, Nico,” Boris scolded. “Don’t demean yourself in their presence.”

“Demean away,” Mick returned. “But remember
my
words have power.”

“Would you really be so ignorant as to threaten a vampire who’s recently fed?” Boris asked. Ali didn’t get the impression he actually cared.

“Why call us in here?” Allison interrupted before the posturing could get worse. “Why show us your room? Why bother with a face-to-face
at all
? Is it just boredom?”

Boris smiled again and switched his legs around. “You were working so hard for this moment,” he said. “I felt inclined to reward your persistence.” He paused and focused his gaze on Allison. “Also, because I do like you Ms. Drake, you should know your neighbor is somewhat obsessive over you. I would be happy to eliminate him for you.”

Ali found herself staring at him in stupefied silence.

“Ali doesn’t want you killing anyone in her name,” Mick said firmly.

Finally giving her head a shake, Allison said, “No, I don’t.” She frowned. “You must mean Warner … how did you even meet him? Have you been stalking me?”

“Is that his name?” This time he let his teeth show in the smile and she was transfixed by the sight of his fangs. Just two pointed teeth, slightly longer than the rest, on his upper mandible. Classic vampire fangs. But how did he talk around those things? “He didn’t offer it. I wasn’t stalking you, merely inquiring after you. He caught me knocking at your door.”

At my…?
“How did you even know which
floor
to find me on?”

Mick drew a breath at the same time as Boris replied with a simple word. A name.

“Tami.”

The nurse.
So she was involved.

“The nurse is a vampire?” Mick asked. He didn’t sound as surprised as she felt.

“No,” Boris replied. “She is my … pet, if you will. She does as I wish.”

Ali’s stomach rolled again and she held tighter to Mick’s hand. “Are you going to kill us tonight?”

“Of course not,” Boris said. “I don’t enjoy wasting my time.” He slid his gaze to Mick and added, “Feel free to tell the crew a feeble old man killed their Captain. Feel free to tell them I’m a vampire. I suspect either statement would be equally laughable to them, at least in the beginning.”

“And we’ll be watching,” Nico added.

“Watch if you want,” Mick returned. “Letting me catch my sleep will be your downfall.” He turned his stare back to Boris. “Both of yours.”

“Cocky witch,” Nico said with a sneer. His lips curled over his teeth and Allison noted that his fangs weren’t extended. His teeth looked perfectly normal.

“Tomorrow will prove interesting, then,” Boris said with a nod of his head. “You’re free to leave. But know this. The next time we run into each other likely won’t be so pleasant.”

Pleasant.

The word left a bitter taste in Allison’s mouth even as she and Mick stepped into the elevator just a couple of minutes later.

Her heart was still pounding hard in her ears and her palms were clammy. She felt bad for making Mick hold one of them, but she needed his strength. His calmness. His
presence
.

The elevator doors shut behind them and Mick pulled her wordlessly into his arms. With her face pressed into the crook of his throat Ali finally let the tears fall. Too much stress and an overload of fear on top of tired, frayed nerves was a bad combination.

“Shh,” he whispered, running one hand along her spine in a slow, repetitive gesture. “Breathe, baby.”

“What,” she said on a gasp. “What are we going to do?” She knew in her gut that Boris was too powerful. Nico they could handle, assuming her judgment of Mick’s capabilities wasn’t too biased. But Boris … was terrifying. He held himself with an air confidence beyond anything she’d ever encountered before. And several amazingly arrogant surgeons had visited to lecture in her various classes over the years.

She was so far out of her league here.

Mick tightened his arms around her waist as the elevator came to a stop on his floor. “We’ll figure that out,” he whispered. “I promise.”