The Meridian Gamble (62 page)

“Tell me something. If I hadn’t
been Saga, would you really have devoured me? If you were convinced that Adam
truly loved me.”

“No, I would not,” Roland says. “I
would have seduced you and claimed you for my own. Because I was taken with you
from the moment I saw you, from the way you stood up to me in the bathroom.”

And Roland laughs, thinking back to
our exchange.

“And let me tell you, Meridian,
there is nothing so ugly in this world as two vampires fighting for the love of
a human. But I think you already know that.”

And I finally manage to look away,
and catch Lenore’s gaze in the rearview mirror.

“Please don’t start making out,”
she says. “I’m not the chauffeur on prom night.”

“Just keep driving,” Roland hisses.

We continue on in relative silence
for a while, perhaps an hour or a bit more. I know the vampires are busy using
their mental powers to search for signs of attack. But soon, we’re driving
toward bright lights, and I realize we’re approaching the heart of Las Vegas.

I’ve never been here before,
gambling doesn’t appeal to me, but I can’t help but to be a bit intrigued. It
looks gaudy and flashy and perfect for my companions; a city that is awake at
all hours of the night.

We come upon an expansive shopping
mall, and pull into one of the structures, but we don’t spend much time in this
place. When we get out of the car, Roland quickly finds a sparkling silver
Mercedes that he looks over quickly, and he uses his telekinetic powers to
unlock the door.

Lenore sees a street bike nearby,
and she smiles.

“I’ve found my ride.”

“Take care of yourself,” Roland
says.

“I always do.”

And she hops on the bike, and
starts it with a kick from one of her stiletto heeled boots. Lenore speeds off
on the motorcycle, and I get into the car with Roland.

He concentrates on the ignition,
and it must be more difficult this time, because he focuses his attention on it
for a several moments. And it's a side of him I've never seen before. This
isn't the vampire I've known who is always cool and collected and in charge.
Roland is being crafty, using his cunning to survive the night, and I suddenly
realize how much I've disrupted his life. I now know what it feels like to have
the Luminos hunting you down, and it’s fascinating to see how readily his survival
skills kick in when he needs them.

Finally, he works his magic on the
car, and Roland smiles as the engine kicks over. The Mercedes comes to life,
and he pops it into gear. We pull out of the structure and onto the streets,
losing ourselves amongst the glittering lights of the Vegas Strip.

We’re sitting in the Las Vegas
airport, near an airline that specializes in flights to Paris. And Roland scans
the crowd with an intense look on his face. He watches and waits, and I can’t
even speak for fear of disrupting whatever mental task he's focused on.

A couple in expensive clothing
approaches us. They’re slightly older, and the man has on a long, grey trench,
and his wife or girlfriend wears flashy jewelry that hangs over a silk blouse.
I get the feeling he’s an investment banker, or a lawyer who charges hundreds
of dollars an hour.

“Excuse me,” Roland says, as he
eyes them.

And I’m surprised when he gets up
and leaves me sitting by myself in the tacky pastel seats of the lounge.

I watch Roland go to talk with
them. And after a few moments, the couple pass him something, quite happily,
and walk away. It almost looks like a drug deal, but what Roland holds is
paper. He comes back to me and sits down, handing me a first class ticket,
which I stare at in shock.

“We’re now Mary and Ted Black,”
Roland says.

“I … what did you do?”

“I convinced them to extend their
stay in Las Vegas for another two days, before they head off on the next leg of
their trip. And they feel like the luckiest people in the world, to have found
someone to purchase their tickets,” he says.

“Roland, you didn’t.”

“It’s simpler this way. There will
be no way they can trace us on the flight.”

“But what about the people at the
gate? Won’t they want to see passports?”

“Conveniently enough, they left us
those too.”

He passes me a small blue book, and
I open it to find a picture of the bottle-blonde woman staring back at me.

“We look nothing like those
people,” I say.

“It doesn’t matter. The workers who
take our tickets will see exactly what I want them to see. The chance of them
blocking out my influence is miniscule.”

Roland smiles, and even though it’s
a cruel trick to play on the strangers, I’m relieved to get out of this city.
Even if we are flying to Paris.

And now that we have a moment of
relative quiet, we have a chance to talk.

“So Paris. I’m assuming it’s not
random that we’re going there.”

“I would have taken anything
overseas. But Paris would be our ultimate destination,” he says. “We’ll be safe
there. It’s a city beyond the influence of the Luminos, and outside the reach
of Marion’s claws as well.”

“So, why do the Luminos stay out of
Paris?”

“Because the Elders are there. They
would kill them instantly. Their psyches have evolved to the point where they
can do that if someone is within their vicinity. They won’t even allow a human
to live in the city if their minds are impenetrable to scans.”

“And you think I’ll be safe there?”

“You, they won’t touch. I promise,”
he says with a smirk.

But somehow, his words aren’t
helping to make me less afraid of the Elders.

“So what does this mean? That I’m
going to be changed?”

“No. I won’t change you, Meridian.
Not unless you want me to. But when we get there, I am certain that you will be
convinced otherwise, that you will see it is your destiny to become one of us.”

And I say nothing for a moment,
because I don’t want it, I don’t need to become a vampire ever again, and I’m
not sure how to tell him that. And I don’t see how Roland can be so certain
that I’ll ask for the change.

But he is right about one thing. It
feels like my destiny to go there, to finally understand my strange fate in
this war that everyone keeps talking about. And if that’s where he wants to
take me, I’ll follow along, at least for now.

“Thank you,” I say.

“For what?”

“For coming for me,” I say. “I’m
not sure why, but I got the feeling that I was in a very bad place.”

“Does this make up for my past
sins?” he asks with a smile.

And I laugh.

“Hardly. You almost killed me. That
isn’t something a girl takes lightly. But as someone who’s past lives are
filled with bad choices … I’d say everyone deserves a chance to redeem
themselves. Will you excuse me for a moment?”

I get up from the pastel couches of
the waiting area and go over to get something I really need, real coffee, from
a mini-Starbucks in the airport food court. I don’t ask Roland if he wants
something. I doubt a grande drip will appeal to him, and from the way he’s
chomped down on my veins, I know he’s more than capable of finding his own refreshment.

I don’t know how long it’s been
since I’ve had a good cup of coffee, which is an unusual change in my life, but
I order a non-fat vanilla latte from the clerk at the counter, and even if the
barista does a terrible job, I’m sure I’ll think it’s delicious.

They hand me my coffee in the white
and green cup, and it tastes like heaven. But like everything in my life of
late, I don’t get to enjoy it for very long. Roland gets up from the couch, and
comes toward me with a grim expression. When he gets closer, I try to make
light of the situation.

“Did you want something?” I say.
“I’m sorry, I should have asked.”

“They’ve found us.”

He pulls me away from the coffee
stand, and a bit of the latte spills from the tiny drink hole in the plastic
lid and splashes onto my blue dress.

“Who found us? Which side?”

“One of Marion’s flunkies.
Hopefully, he won’t have the audacity to attack us,” Roland says. “Keep your
eyes open for him, Meridian.”

“And what the hell am I looking
for?”

“I’m not sure. He’s masking his thoughts
as one of the travelers,” Roland says. “He’s good, definitely not one of the
young ones. I’ve only gotten brief glimmers of his real personality.”

I look around in a panic, unsure of
what it is he wants me to do. If an older vampire like Roland can’t spot our
foe, I’m not sure how I will.

I put my back to Roland’s, and scan
the crowd around us, but the airport only seems like it’s filled with your
average Vegas visitors, mid-Westerners looking for quick riches, and young
people seeking a good time.

“Are you sure you don’t see him?”

“I’m trying,” Roland says.

“Are you sure it’s even a man?”

“I don’t know. Let me think,” he
whispers.

And then I see her, a woman
standing near us. She’s at a pay phone, and for some reason, it strikes me as
odd. My first thought is, “Who the hell doesn’t have a cell phone by now?”

But it can’t be her. She’s a less
than a perfect specimen. Her long brown hair is certainly pretty enough, but
she’s a bit overweight, no stunning beauty, with a figure encased in a flowery,
pastel print dress. She doesn’t seem like the type the vampires would pick to
join their cause.

And I realize she has a scarf
around her neck.

“Could it be a trick? Like the
Twins? Could he have some hidden talent, like being able to watch us through
someone he’s bitten? Say, the woman standing over there?”

Roland turns to look at her, and he
smiles.

“That’s it,” Roland says. “I have
you now.”

I go to him, stepping in front of
him, and this isn’t like an ordinary battle. Roland stands there, with eyes
closed, concentrating. And a drop of sweat rolls down his forehead. I have no
idea if he’s winning or losing, and as people around us begin to stare, I try
to think of a way to cover, somehow.

“Darling, are you all right? Is it
the migraines again?”

It goes on for several moments, but
finally, he gasps, and opens his eyes.

The woman at the pay phone
instantly reacts. It seems like he’s severed the connection between her and her
vampire master, and she begins running across the airport waiting area. And
Roland follows her with his gaze.

“You, will be far more simple to
defeat,” he says as he eyes her.

And the woman falls with a scream,
hitting the ground in a twitching lump. And people around her rush to her side.

We go back to our chairs, and
Roland seems just a bit shaken, as airport security rushes to the fallen woman.

“Are you all right?” I say.

“I’ll be fine. The events of the
day are taking their toll.”

“What happened? What was it?”

“A vampire, from the house in Las
Vegas. He was watching us through that woman. It all clicked, when you
mentioned a trick.”

“And, what did you do?”

“I bought us some time. Hopefully,
I didn’t kill him. But his human pet might not be so lucky. Come on.”

They call for the boarding of our
plane, as medics arrive to look after the fallen woman, and begin loading her
onto a gurney.

Luckily, first class really is
first, and we’re able to board quickly, before any of the other passengers.

I’ve only flown coach before, and
I’m just a bit excited to experience airline luxury, despite everything that’s
happened. The seats we sit in are big, like recliner chairs, which will be
nice, considering the length of our flight. But as I look to Roland, he still
seems weakened, and I’m just a bit worried. An immortal vampire shouldn’t look
this way.

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine, Meridian. But I may need
to drink when we land. Our mental powers are not as magical as they seem. The
strain on our bodies is intense. And I will need to keep scanning until we’re
in the air.”

“And will we be safe then?”

“We should be. Marion is not so
desperate to stop you that she would try to blow us out of the sky.”

“Are you sure? What if she does?”

“Then I will need to shield you
from the blast and levitate us to the ground,” Roland says, with a smile.

And I’m not sure if he’s serious or
joking, but I don’t press the issue. Heights scare me, and the last thing I
want to think about is floating to the ground from thousands of feet in the
air.

We finally take off, and maybe I am
more like the vampires than I realize, because I no longer pity the people we
stole our tickets from. It’s petty, but I’m grateful for the extravagance of
first class. They bring you pillows and blankets, coffee and champagne, little
tablet computers on which you can watch movies and read magazines. And Roland
seems to relax a bit, when we’ve been flying for a short while. He even drinks
a few sips of champagne, though I can tell he’s less than impressed with what
they serve.

I don’t want to offend him, but I
can’t stand it any longer. I have to ask.

“Roland, where’s Adam?”

He looks at me with just a hint of
annoyance that he’s too weak to mask.

“Please. I have to know.”

“Adam is Marion’s little lap dog,
and they’re in full crisis mode right now, trying to evacuate the New York
tower. And security is being increased in all of our locations, for fear the
Luminos might attack again. I’m surprised she had any resources to spare in
looking for us at all.”

“I thought maybe he was assisting
you.”

“No. But I cannot lie to you,
Meridian. Although he is playing the role of Marion’s protector, Adam may be
searching for you on his own. Who knows what deals he has made with other
vampires to help him find you, or perhaps members of the Luminos he still has
contacts with. For all I know, he gave them the information they needed to
rescue you, and is only playing his role now to hide that secret.”