My Wicked Vampire (13 page)

Asima cast her a slit-eyed, pissed-kitty stare. “
I quit. You didn’t warn me that this could be hazardous employment. Do you have insurance? Perhaps I should sue. Is animal cruelty a felony?
”

Cinn huffed her frustration. “Oh, for God’s sake. I’m sorry, okay?”

Asima didn’t answer. Instead she stood frozen, staring into space.

“Now what?” Cinn was getting tired of all the drama.

Asima cast an awe-filled gaze her way. “
Vince spoke to me.
”

Just peachy. Vince spoke to everyone but her.

“
He said he forgives me for tossing him in the trash
,
and he’s sorry I was hurt.
”

“Kind of him.” Why wouldn’t Vince speak to
her
?

Before Cinn could stop her, Asima leaped onto the counter and bounded over other plants to get to Vince.

“Don’t touch him! Don’t you dare touch him.” Too late. Asima stuck her nose against one of Vince’s leaves. Cinn groaned.

“
I told him I was truly sorry he had to spend time in the trash. I feel like I just went to confession. Of course
,
I’m not a Catholic
,
so I don’t know exactly how that would feel. Besides
,
the priest might refuse to give absolution to a cat. The church has these silly rules that—
”

“Shut. Up.” Cinn spoke through clenched teeth.

“
Why?
” Asima looked sincerely puzzled.

Because you make me crazy.
“Vince can communicate, he has feelings, and he’s sensitive. You’re
not
sensitive. You’ll hurt him.”

“
Uh
,
excuse me? One of your plants attacked me with malicious intent, and you have the nerve to accuse
me
of insensitivity? Perhaps you need to explain your reasoning.
” She made a contemptuous cat sound.

“I don’t know, I don’t know.” Cinn rubbed at her eyes. God, she was tired. Too much had happened today. Her thoughts were getting muddied.

Dacian was ready for this whole scene to be over. “Maybe you should leave, Asima. And ask Holgarth to send someone to guard the plants while Cinn gets something to eat and takes a shower.”

Asima wasn’t listening. She gazed up at them from eyes bright with wonder. “
Vince says he loves me. He admires my elegant manner and thinks my eyes are more beautiful than the stars he can see through the glass.
”

She leaped for the door. “
No one has ever loved me. Ever. I want him to hear some of my music. He’ll love it.
”

Cinn looked at Dacian. “Don’t say it. I know I made a mess of this. Maybe Airmid is right.” She sighed. “I don’t know anymore.”

Dacian didn’t want to think it, but he couldn’t stop his mind’s buzzing. Did she see him as she saw her plants? An experiment with the unknown? God, he hoped not. “Okay, we know Vince reacted to Eva’s pollen. What about Teddy?”

Cinn looked over at the cactus. “I don’t know. He’s not as evolved as Vince, so he might not be able to express his feelings.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, because we know what Eva does. Now I have to figure out how to cure Wade and Vince.”

Dacian cast another glance Teddy’s way. He wouldn’t count the cactus out. But maybe Cinn was right. Even if Teddy had some emotional response to Asima, what could he do? Poor slob.

Cinn and Dacian sat on the cot waiting for a replacement guard. Neither spoke. They didn’t have to wait long. Suddenly, the kitchen door entrance swung open and Ganymede padded in. Several hotel employees tagged along behind him. One carried a flat-screen TV while another toted a small fridge. A third pushed aside several plants and put a cat bed on the counter. Ganymede leaped into the bed as one of the men strung two extension cords out the door and back into the kitchen. Cinn and Dacian could hear the chef’s shouted opinion of this disruption of his cooking routine.

“I don’t believe this.” Cinn narrowed her gaze on the cat.

“
Believe it
,
babe.
” Ganymede began to wash his face. “
I’ll watch your plants
,
but you have to do something for me while you’re out.
”

Dacian knew this wouldn’t be good.

“
Sparkle is a hot-tempered woman. I love that about her. But sometimes she loses it for no reason. She got pissed off when I told her I’d given her designer stuff to charity. I thought I’d done something good
,
helped her build character. Anyway
,
after she threw a bunch of stuffat me
,
she told me to find somewhere else to sleep. She kicked me out with only the fur on my back.
” Ganymede glanced around. “
This’ll do until she gets over her mad.
”

“Of course it will.” Cinn seemed dazed.

“
Here’s what I want you to do. Go up to our suite and get Sparkle to let you bring some treats down to me. I want the ice cream
,
chips
,
and cookies. I’ll leave her the candy.
” He looked reluctant to give anything up. “
I would’ve picked up a few things in the kitchen as I came through, but Chef Phil doesn’t stock my faves.
”

“And what if she won’t give the stuff to me?”

Dacian could see from Cinn’s expression that the last thing she wanted to do was confront Sparkle over Ganymede’s treats.

“
Hey
,
there’s a store right down the street. I’ll pay you back when my lady forgives me.
” He stopped washing his face to stare at Cinn. He worked his poor-pitiful-kitty look. She wasn’t buying. “
Meanwhile
,
I’ll guard your plants. No half-ass goddess sprouting leaves will get past me.
”

Dacian winced. He hoped for Ganymede’s sake that Airmid wasn’t listening. Cinn just nodded.

After handing Cinn her coat and purse just in case they had to leave the castle, Dacian walked out of the
greenhouse with her. If he had any say about it, he’d make sure she didn’t go back there until dawn. She needed to rest in her room, away from this freaking circus.
And how does she escape you?
She couldn’t, because he’d stay glued to her side for every one of his waking hours. She’d just have to deal.

Stephan eyed the women his second-in-command had brought for him to choose from. Kevin had good taste. They’d all done their best to impress him. The dumb shits thought this was a casting call. Well, maybe it was in a way. Hey, welcome to Hollywood, baby. He smiled.

“Not that one. Not that one. Not that one.
That
one.” He pointed. Stephan was in a blonde mood today.

The chosen woman squealed her joy. Stephan nodded at Kevin. Kevin would take her to Stephan’s room and a good time would be had by all. Fine, maybe not exactly by all. But by him, and that was the important part.

The ringing of his cell interrupted his thoughts of sex and blood. He glanced at the caller ID before answering. His contact had better have some information.

“Is Dacian at the castle?” Stephan listened to the reply and smiled. Good. “Did you find out anything of interest about my oldest child?”

As he listened, his smile widened. “It was kind of Dacian to pass on a description of me. I’ll make sure I don’t resemble it in any way when I drop by. And he’s with a human woman. Perhaps his brother isn’t his only weakness.” That would be an unexpected perk. Yes, he could use her against Dacian.

“How about Taurin?” This reply didn’t make him smile. “When is he expected back?”

He listened to the answer. Okay, now he was pissed.
“Find out. And when you do, contact me. My army’s in place.” Stephan cut the connection right in the middle of his contact’s apologies. Why was it so difficult to find competent underlings? He felt the push of his fangs. The woman in his room would pay for his bad temper.

“Everyone is safely settled at the castle, my lord.” Kevin was back.

“We got lucky.” Stephan tapped one perfectly manicured nail on the arm of his chair. “The Castle of Dark Dreams doesn’t have a great number of rooms. I was able to book fifteen of them. We have three sharing a room—two fighters and their meal. Thirty vampires should be able to take over the whole park with no trouble.”

Kevin smiled. “And of course you have your insurance policy tucked away in a sixteenth room.”

Stephan was in an expansive mood, so he smiled back. “Yes. What a marvelous surprise for Dacian and the others at the castle. If he thinks a few nonhumans can protect him, he’s sadly mistaken.” Gloating felt so
good.

Kevin’s smile faltered. “Do we know anything about the other nonhumans? How powerful are they?”

Stephan waved his concerns away. “What could possibly be more powerful than our surprise package along with thirty vampires?” He didn’t wait for Kevin’s reply. “We’ll strike right before dawn when the least number of humans will be there. If we leave no witnesses, we can continue on without the city knowing there was a regime change. The Castle of Dark Dreams will be our Texas base of operation. The first of many such bases.” God, he was brilliant. And powerful. Brilliance without power was no fun at all.

“That was a great move you made, your lordship, getting everyone in without alerting anyone in the castle.”

Stephan shook his head. “Kevin, Kevin, have you learned nothing about me? I plan for everything. Humans man the check-in desk at the hotel. Our fighters simply arrived, checked in, and went directly to their rooms. They won’t come out until it’s time for the attack. Which will be as soon as I arrive.” Kevin nodded.

“And all this fell into place because I found Dacian’s paid snoop.” Actually, one of his spies had found him, but since his followers were merely an extension of him, Stephan felt perfectly justified in taking credit. “Too bad Jim only had a phone number and not a location. He was pitifully willing to pass my information on to Dacian. He didn’t have a very high pain threshold.” Stephan frowned. “You disposed of his body?”

“Of course.”

“Good. You may leave.”

Stephan sat thinking for a while after he dismissed Kevin and before he went for his evening’s entertainment. Once Taurin returned to the castle, Stephan would have to make sure Dacian didn’t convince his brother to leave immediately. They had to be in the castle when he attacked. He wouldn’t lose Dacian again. A few more mindless rages would keep his oldest child chained in the dungeon. And if Stephan’s timing were perfect, Dacian would be chained to the wall, waiting to be plucked when Stephan arrived. He’d work on making that happen.

Cinn would rather have faced ten Holgarths than one Sparkle Stardust right now. Because the wizard was predictable. He was always cranky and sarcastic. But Sparkle was manipulative and changeable. Cinn didn’t know if she could deal with what Sparkle might bring.

“Thanks for coming with me.” She glanced up at Dacian. Cinn never tired of looking at him. His beauty and the memory of their lovemaking pushed into the background her fear of his uncontrolled rages and the realization that, hey, he was a vampire.

“No thanks needed. I’ll be with you every second I’m awake until we get this Airmid thing solved.” He smiled at her.

His smiles came more easily now. She hoped a little of that was because of her.

Turning her attention back to Sparkle’s door, she took a deep breath and then knocked. And prayed that maybe Sparkle was somewhere else.

Sparkle flung open the door. “What?” She wore a pair of brown polyester pants, a white cotton top, ordinary sneakers, and an angry scowl.

Cinn stood speechless. It was sort of like seeing the Statue of Liberty holding up a Pyrex bowl. It just didn’t look right.

Dacian explained things to Sparkle: “Ganymede wants his treats. If you don’t let us take them, we’ll have to make a trip to the store. You wouldn’t be punishing Ganymede.”

“Huh.” She stepped aside to let Cinn pass, but she stopped Dacian. “Do a favor for me. Find Edge and tell him I have a job for him.”

Dacian narrowed his gaze on her. “No, you can’t order Edge to kill Ganymede just because he gave away your clothes. Buy more.”

She heaved an exaggerated sigh. “As tempting as the thought is, that’s not why I want Edge.”

“So call him on your cell.”

Now she glared at him. “You’re a gorgeous guy, but you don’t take hints well, do you? Okay, let me spell it out. I want to talk to Cinn. Alone.”

“I’m not leaving her alone.”

“I’m as powerful as you. I can protect her.”

“Like you did in the store?”

Her gaze slid away. “That was an aberration. Sorrow overcame me for all those poor people forced to shop at that unbelievably ordinary store on a regular basis. I cry bitter tears for them.” She sighed. “And for me. Give me a break, beautiful vampire. I want to talk to Cinn woman to woman. No men allowed. You’d be bored stiff anyway.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then not one treat from this place goes to that loathsome creature cowering in the greenhouse.” She tapped her foot.

“Go ahead, Dacian. I’ll be fine with Sparkle.” Cinn managed a confident smile for him. Who said there was no martyr blood in her veins?

Dacian finally nodded. “Okay, but talk fast, because as soon as I pass on the message to Edge, I’m coming back.” He turned and walked away.

Sparkle closed the door and motioned Cinn to a chair. “I’d offer you a glass of wine, but I broke all the
wine bottles throwing them at Mede. Can you believe it? He gave away all my gorgeous clothes and shoes.”

Cinn was almost afraid to say it. “He thought he was doing the right thing.”

Sparkle sank onto the couch, crossed her legs, and stared at one sneaker-clad foot. “I can’t help it. I’m losing the battle against shallowness, and I’m afraid I’ll lose Mede in the process.” She didn’t meet Cinn’s gaze.

“I don’t understand.”

“The Big Boss is in charge of all cosmic troublemakers. I almost lost Mede because of him. He said I was shallow. He gave Mede a choice: give me up or give up being a cosmic troublemaker.”

“And?” Cinn was riveted.

“Mede chose me. We were lucky, though. The Big Boss gave Mede credit for being willing to sacrifice what he loved most for me. He let Mede stay a cosmic troublemaker. This time.”

Cinn didn’t see a problem. “You’re wrong, you know. Obviously he didn’t give up the thing he loved most, because he chose you. No offense, but Ganymede seems pretty focused on what’s best for him. If he chose you, it was because he wanted you the most. Be happy.” There. Problem solved.

Sparkle waved her explanation away. “No, no. It’s not that simple. I have to make sure the Big Boss can never use me against Mede again. That’s why I can’t be shallow. That’s why I have to wear these freaking clothes.” She stood and paced. “But I can’t make myself go outside this room in them.”

Oh, God, what to say? “Well, you know, some really deep people wear good clothes. You can make up for being clothes-obsessed by gaining depth in other areas.”

Sparkle looked interested. “Really? I never thought
of it that way. So I could wear great clothes as long as I helped the stylishly challenged dress with sensual flair?”

Not exactly what Cinn had had in mind. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s the intention that counts. As long as your intent is to help people rather than just embarrass them, it shows depth of character.”

Sparkle clapped her hands. “I can do that. I’ll start with you.”

What had she unleashed? “Umm, I’m happy with my own clothes, if I could find where you put them.”

“In the trash. Too late now.” Sparkle seemed distracted. “I have to get my old clothes back.”

Oh, crap. “I don’t know…”

“It’ll be easy. The charity that made off with all my beautiful things has a store in Galveston. We’ll just go down there tomorrow.”

Cinn was afraid of that.

“What about Airmid?”

“What about her? I don’t think she shops in resale stores.”

Sparkle was being purposely dense. Cinn didn’t have to be a mind reader to figure that out. “I’ll have to stick with you every moment we’re there.”

Sparkled nodded. “This is so great. I can dress like a goddess again.” She paused to consider her words. “Of course, I haven’t seen Airmid’s clothes, so I might actually dress better than a goddess.”

“Okay, we’ve had our talk. Can I get Ganymede’s treats for him?”

“Absolutely not. I’m not finished with our chat.”

Cinn figured Dacian wasn’t the only one capable of insane rages. Her own temper had started to simmer.

“One of my greatest trials while trying to attain
depth of character has been denying my true purpose. For thousands of years I’ve brought sexual chaos to the universe. It’s who I am, my reason for being. I’ve denied myself because being the queen of sex and sin is, well, probably shallow in the Big Boss’s eyes.” She turned sad eyes on Cinn.

Cinn knew what Sparkle wanted her to say. And since Cinn wanted to get out of here with Ganymede’s treats sometime before dawn, she chucked honesty in favor of expediency.

“I think you can still mess with people’s sex lives as long as you’re doing it to bring happiness into their lives.”

Sparkle widened her eyes. “But I always do that.”

Cinn crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

“Fine, so maybe I get a teenie weenie kick out of matching up people who are wrong for each other. And maybe occasionally I find it amusing to wait until they’ve had incredible sex and are beginning to bond before I rip them apart forever.” Sparkle nodded. “I suppose that happens once in a while.”

“See, it’s all about intent again.” She hoped Sparkle bought this explanation, because she was fresh out of bullshit. “You can still bring couples together as long as you’re doing it purely for their happiness.”

“I can’t tear them apart afterward?”

“No.”

“Bummer.” Then Sparkle smiled. “But that’s better than nothing.” Her smiled turned calculating. “I thought we’d take a few minutes to talk about Dacian.”

Uh-oh. Cinn knew where this was going. She glanced at her watch. “I don’t think we’ll have time. Dacian will be back soon, and Ganymede will be waiting for his treats.”

Sparkle wasn’t fooled. “I suppose I can let our chat go until tomorrow. After I get all my clothes back, we’ll stop somewhere for dinner and discuss sex and hot men.”

“I suppose so.”
Lord
,
please let something happen so I don’t have to talk about Dacian with Sparkle.

Whatever Sparkle intended to say next didn’t get said because Dacian pounded on the door. Well, Cinn supposed it was Dacian. Who else would be that eager to enter Sparkle’s lair?

Sparkle heaved a huge sigh, rose, and swayed over to the door.

Cinn wondered if Sparkle would teach her how to walk like that. Not that she wanted to turn into a Sparkle clone, but a sexy walk couldn’t be construed as abandoning her principles.

As soon as Sparkle opened the door, Dacian stepped inside. He immediately looked for Cinn, and she could see the relief in his eyes when he found her. That made her feel good. She wasn’t going to lie about it.

“Let’s get those treats so we can give them to Ganymede and get you back to your room for a while.” He sent a pointed stare Sparkle’s way.

Sparkle didn’t give in gracefully. “Will you tattle if I mix vinegar in with Mede’s ice cream?” She smiled. “He won’t realize those little crystals on top of his sugar cookies are salt, not sugar, until it’s too late.”

Cinn wanted out of there. “Yes, I’ll definitely tell him. Now can we get the stuff and leave?”

A short time later, both Dacian and she walked into the greenhouse with arms loaded.

Just in time to see one of Teddy’s lethal arms go whizzing across the room. It missed Vince and stuck in a wood panel behind him. Vince’s vine reached out,
wrapped around his nearest neighbor’s pot, and proceeded to drag himself out of the line of fire.

She knew her mouth was hanging open. Dacian’s sure was. Ganymede merely looked entertained.

“
Yo. You took long enough.
” Ganymede stared at Cinn. “
You got yourself some cool plants. Don’t think those two like each other. My money’s on the cactus. The vine just keeps taking evasive action. Eventually the cactus will nail him.
”

“Oh, shit.” Dacian dropped Ganymede’s treats on the counter and strode to where Vince now hid behind another plant.

Cinn couldn’t believe her own eyes. Teddy was attacking Vince. There was clear intent to harm. This wasn’t just a plant feeling an emotion. This was a reasoned response to said emotion. How had Teddy taken that step? And Vince was evolving so fast he frightened her. Not only was he thinking and talking; now he’d figured out a way to become mobile.

“
Hey, sweetie, would you put my ice cream in the fridge for me?
” Ganymede was using his I’m-just-a-helpless-kitty voice.

“If you’re such a powerful guy, why don’t you use your mind to do it?” But
her
mind wasn’t on Ganymede. War in her greenhouse. This had never been in her plans. What had happened?

“
Sure I can do it myself, but it gives me a rush to get you to do it for me.
”

Cinn couldn’t be bothered to argue, so she did what he asked.

“
Oh, did my honey-bunny mention me?
” He clawed open the cookie box.

“I think the words ‘loathsome creature’ were uttered.”

Ganymede’s expression brightened. “
That’s a step up from ‘rotting roadkill.’ My babe still loves me.
”

“If you say so.” Her mind was still on her plants. “We have to do something about Teddy and Vince.”

Dacian had picked up Vince’s pot and now stood with it in his hands. “What do you want to do with him? If we leave him here, the cactus will eventually get him.” He kept an eye on Teddy as he spoke.

“Or Teddy will destroy himself trying.” She had to find a way to counteract Eva’s damage. Cinn had thought she was being so damn smart with her experimenting, but now she had a bunch of out-of-control plants.

“We have to make sure no one else touches Eva. And we’ll have to take Vince with us.” She raked her fingers through her hair. “I can’t believe that Teddy’s really jealous of Vince.”

“Believe it.” Dacian nodded toward the door. “Let’s get out of here. You need some downtime in your own room away from the plants and everything else.”

“
Enjoy yourself.
” The TV was on and Ganymede was already into the cookies. “
No puny old plant goddess will get past me.
” He curled up in his comfy bed.

Cinn had to take his word for it. She was too tired to be any good to her plants. She allowed Dacian to lead her through the kitchen. He stopped at an empty table in the restaurant.

“You need to eat first.”

He pulled out a chair, and she collapsed onto it. Dacian was right. She needed food. Speaking of food…Cinn watched him set Vince on the table and then take the seat across from her before she asked her question. “How often do you have to feed?”
And please don’t feel the need to go into graphic detail.

“Usually about once every few weeks. I’m old enough
to go a long time between feedings. But Stephan’s attacks take a lot out of me. I always have to feed after one of them.”

She nodded.
Don’t ask
,
don’t ask
,
don’t ask.
She asked. “Do you drain…?”
Do you drain your victims dry? Do you kill them? Do I really want you to tell me?

He leaned back in his chair, a small smile playing around his sexy lips. “I don’t ‘drain’ anyone, Cinn. I take a little from a lot of people until I’ve had enough. All I leave them with is the thought that they must be coming down with the flu because they feel a little weak.”

“Well, that’s great. I—”

“Don’t make me into something I’m not.” He wouldn’t let her think he was some kind of shining example of a ‘good’ vampire. “I take from a lot of different sources just like most vampires do nowadays. The discovery of a bunch of drained bodies would turn the spotlight directly on us. We can’t have humans thinking vampires might be real.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve killed in my time: when I was a young vampire, when Stephan first attacked me and I didn’t know what was happening, lots of times.”

“Trying to convince me you’re a murdering bastard?” Her expression was neutral.

“No, just wanted you to have a realistic view of what I am.”

Cinn nodded, but didn’t look particularly horrified. “Since I’m into personal questions, will you tell me about your scars? And yes, I want to know. And no, I don’t really have the right to expect you to answer me.” She shrugged. “Your choice whether you explain or not.”

He had a few minutes to decide what to tell her while
the waitress took her order. In the end, he decided to tell her the truth.