Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS) (7 page)

6

Kayla couldn’t wait to get out of the castle. She’d spent most of the day dodging Sparkle and Ganymede while she tried to find evidence of what had caused last night’s noxious odor. She’d found none.

But Sparkle had managed to find
her
over and over again as she peppered Kayla with ideas for getting rid of Nirvana. Now Kayla waited impatiently by the lobby doors while her client gave her some last-minute advice.

“I don’t know why you wanted to wait until night before going over there.” Sparkle studied her perfect nails. “Today was their grand opening. You could’ve done a little of this, a little of that, and then lost yourself in the crowd.”

Ganymede sat on Sparkle’s foot. He wore his disapproving-cat expression.
“You could’ve taken me. I would’ve brought that crappy Ferris wheel down in seconds.”

“Subtle, Mede. We have to be
subtle
. We don’t need the police asking questions.” Sparkle didn’t seem upset by the mass-destruction concept, just its consequences.

“I don’t do subtle.”
He seemed definite about that.

Kayla stared at him. “Doesn’t it bother you that innocent people might get hurt?”

“Collateral damage. It happens.”
He gave the equivalent of a cat shrug.

“Zane is over there.” Sparkle glanced down at the cat. “He’ll have taken precautions. Besides, do you want to face Holgarth and explain that his son was collateral damage?”

Ganymede looked up at her.
“That’d be ugly, wouldn’t it?”

“Very. And if this Thorn has a bit of sense, he’s hired a bunch of nonhumans to help protect his property. We don’t want to start a supernatural war. We just got over the last one.” Sparkle leaned down to give him a quick scratch behind his ears.

The cat did some low grumbling.
“If he had any sense, he wouldn’t have set up shop across the street from us.”

Kayla had heard enough. “I’m not going over there to do damage. I need to look around, find weaknesses, and then do some planning. I don’t intend to get caught by some crazy vampire or go to jail. If I can find a way to put Nirvana out of business without violence, that’s what I’ll do.”

What she really meant was that she’d try to do the job without crossing any legal lines. If not . . . ? She wasn’t sure. Her internal battle was epic. Dad never hesitated to embrace illegal if that was the only way to satisfy his clients. Jeez, he’d even named his business Whatever It Takes. He’d been thrilled when she decided to go to law school. If he got in legal trouble—which he did on a regular basis—he was convinced he’d have his very own attorney in the family. But law school had changed her perspective. Soon she’d have to make a choice: do what her father wanted or keep her self-respect.

“You’re a great disappointment.”
Ganymede glared at Kayla before switching his attention to Sparkle.
“You should’ve asked for one of her brothers.”

Sparkle sighed. “She’s right, Mede. We want Thorn out of business, but we have to keep our own hands clean if we expect to stay in Galveston.”

Ganymede mumbled something about just sinking the whole pier and being done with it.

“Violence will bring the police. You saw what happened last night after you blew up that stand. The police came over to find out what we knew about it. I don’t think they believed it was caused by an electrical problem. I mean, we’re Nirvana’s competition, so they’ll suspect us first.” Sparkle looked thoughtful. “As much as I hate to admit it, I sort of admire what the vampire did to us. The stench made some guests leave, but there’s no evidence to take to the police. Smart.”

“Dead, if I catch him or his people in the castle.”
Ganymede wore a sulky expression.
“Besides, what evidence would he have if I just made his pier go away? What would he tell the police? The cat did it?”

Kayla didn’t want to listen to any more of this. “So can I leave?” She wanted to get moving before nerves got the better of her.

Sparkle widened her eyes. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? We’re waiting for your partner.”

Kayla froze. “My
what
?”

“He’s worked for us before. You’ll find him perfect for the job.” She frowned at Kayla. “We’ll have to get you some new clothes. The jeans, T-shirt, and jacket make you blend in with the mob of idiots across the street. Blending is never good for a woman. Although I suppose a good spy can’t look too spectacular.” She seemed to consider the problem. “I’ll get back to you about the clothes.”

Kayla was getting used to Sparkle’s lightning changes of subjects. She stayed focused on her “partner.” Yes, she’d been willing to accept a nonhuman to watch her back, to protect her from other nonhumans, but “protector” didn’t have the same meaning as “partner.” Kayla worked alone. “Look, I don’t need a partner, I—”

“Here he is now.” Sparkle waved at someone behind Kayla.

Kayla turned. She blinked. She sucked in her breath and then exhaled slowly. Were her eyes too wide? Was her mouth hanging open? He was . . .

“This is Banan.” Sparkle watched Kayla expectantly.

He was tall. Were all nonhumans tall? Weren’t there any short stubby ones floating around? Kayla glanced down at Ganymede. Guess there were.

She forgot about Ganymede, though, as her shock faded and she inventoried her new “partner.” Long, pale hair that stopped just short of his butt, sensual mouth, and eyes so dark she couldn’t see his pupils. Her gaze slid lower. He was all lean sculpted muscle in his jeans and gray polo shirt. But her gaze kept returning to those dark eyes. She shivered. Surprised, she realized he scared her.

“What are you?” Did she sound a little too breathy?

He smiled. No fangs, just beautiful white teeth. So why did those teeth still make her nervous.

“That info is on a need-to-know basis. You might never have to see the other me.” His smile widened. “That would be a good thing.”

Kayla nodded. “So what you mean is that if you told me what you are, I might refuse to go into the night with you?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, that’s comforting.”

Banan didn’t comment because Sparkle had pulled him close and was talking quietly to him. Kayla was glad she couldn’t hear what her client was saying. Probably filling his head with more ideas for how to destroy her competition.

She needed fresh air. Without looking back to see if he was following, she hurried from the castle. Once across Seawall Boulevard, she decided to take a short side trip before buying her ticket into Nirvana.

Kayla glanced behind her. No Banan. Good. She’d have a few minutes of freedom to get a look under the pier. She quickly climbed down the steps to the beach and moved into the shadow of the pilings. Above her, she could hear the shrieks and laughter of the people still crowding the park. The vampire owner was probably lying in his coffin somewhere counting his money.

Down here it was semi-quiet, just the sand along with the soothing murmur of the waves rolling in. For the first time today, she relaxed. No Ganymede shadowing her footsteps doling out apocalyptic ways to end Nirvana’s existence, no Sparkle nagging her with questions she couldn’t answer yet and making not-so-subtle suggestions about everything from her hair to her shoes, and no snark from a bad-tempered Holgarth who seemed happy to vent his anger at his son on anyone who wandered too near.

Kayla walked along the edge of the pilings, looking for a way down from the pier—steps, a ladder, anything. She’d need an emergency exit in case things ever went south and people were guarding the main entrance.

She didn’t worry about anyone seeing her. She could just claim to be taking a walk on the beach before going back to the hotel.

For a moment, she allowed herself to stop and just enjoy the moment. She lifted her face to the cool sea breeze and thought of . . . Will. Okay, she admitted that he’d popped in and out of her mind all day. Kayla wasn’t sure why. Banan was just as spectacular as Will, but Banan made her feel uneasy. Will made her feel . . . She wasn’t sure. She wanted to see him again to clarify her emotions.

Kayla had a second reason for wanting to meet him again. Why the wig and colored contacts? He’d been inside the castle right before everyone started to smell the odor. A coincidence? And he’d known that his attackers were shape-shifters. She could connect dots. Was he nonhuman? Did he work for this Thorn Mackenzie?

She peered into the darkness. There. At the end of the pier she could see steps that led down to the water. Waves lapped at them. Kayla didn’t know anything about how amusement piers were built, so she didn’t have a clue about what purpose the steps served. It wasn’t as though people could tie up there without the waves slamming their boats into the pilings.

Wait, there was something in the water near the steps. Kayla hated that her first instinct was fear. She pushed it aside. She took a deep breath.
Focus
. What was it? She had to get a closer look. Taking off her boots along with her ankle sheath and knife, she dropped them onto the sand. She still had her switchblade in her pocket. Kayla hesitated before leaving her gun and cell phone with her shoes. But she’d rather not take a chance of getting them wet if she had to wade out farther than expected. She rolled up her pants, and then stepped into the surf. If she soaked her pants, she’d just go back to the castle to change before entering the park.

She moved closer to the object, straining her eyes to identify it.
Please let it be a floating branch
. She’d taken a few more steps before she realized the thing was swimming toward her. Swimming?
Alive
. She stopped.

It looked like the top of a horse’s head. Okay, so a horse wasn’t that scary. But what was a horse doing out here? Kayla moved a little nearer. The water was now almost to her chest. She hadn’t meant to go in this far.

The water chilled her and she had to plant her feet to resist the current’s pull. Now she could see it clearly. Definitely a horse. Black. It had raised its head completely above the water and was studying her. Mesmerized, she again moved toward the animal.

She must have stepped off an underwater ledge because suddenly she plunged beneath the surface. Kayla came up sputtering. She lifted her chin to keep the small waves from washing over her head. Damn.

From a distance, she could hear someone yelling. She glanced back to the shore.

Banan was racing toward her, his long pale hair blowing behind him. “Get out of the water!” He waved his arms and shouted again. “Now!”

Puzzled, she turned her attention back to the Gulf. There was nothing near her except the black horse. She could see its beautiful dished face and flared nostrils as it swam closer. Kayla had always loved horses. Its owner would be frantic. Maybe it had escaped from a barn, gone into the water somewhere along the coast, and gotten caught in a riptide. It didn’t matter; she had to think of a way to rescue it.

She didn’t have anything to use as a halter, but maybe the horse would follow her onto the beach. Then she could call for help.

The horse drew nearer and nearer, almost close enough for her to reach out and grab its mane. She could use the mane to drag herself onto its back. Riding the horse to shore would make things easier.

It was right in front of her now, and Kayla could see its large expressive eyes. Green? Horses didn’t have—

She was staring into those green eyes when it happened.

That gorgeous black horse opened its mouth and showed her its teeth. Not big flat horse teeth, but sharp
pointed
teeth. Ohmigod! What the hell—?

Kayla had no time to think. She knew she’d screamed, but all she could hear was the thud of her heart, the rasp of her breaths. She fumbled for her switchblade. Her shaking hand didn’t make the search easier. Why had she left her other weapons on the beach?

She looked up, up as the monster reared above her. Kayla didn’t have time to process the horror as instinct took over. She threw herself back as those deadly hooves hit the surface right where she’d been. The creature stretched out its neck and snapped at her. She flailed wildly and heard the click of its teeth closing on empty air.

Kayla knew the thing would catch her before she reached shore, but imminent death was a great motivator. She splashed toward safety just as someone wrapped a hand around her waist and yanked her away from the horse.

“Back off, Kel!”

The voice behind her sounded familiar, but she didn’t have time to think about it as the person, no, the man dragged her toward shore. And who the hell was Kel?

Kayla turned her head to the side in time to see Banan race past them, shedding clothes as he went. She wanted to shout to him, to warn him not to go near the horse—no, definitely
not
a horse—but he was gone before she could open her mouth. Helplessly, she watched him disappear beneath the waves.

Kayla and her rescuer reached the beach. Her legs wouldn’t support her and she sat down hard on the sand. She should turn around to look at the man behind her, but she couldn’t look away from what was happening in the Gulf.

A battle? Who? What? The monster horse almost leaped from the water, lashing out with hooves and teeth. Kayla couldn’t make out what it was fighting, though. She squinted into the darkness. The water was a white frothing maelstrom. Whatever the horse was battling had to be huge.

“Damn dumbasses. Anyone could see them out there.”

What a weird thing to say. Kayla knew she should turn around, look at the man behind her, but she didn’t. Because she recognized that voice. Because she knew he was somehow connected to the horse. Now that she had a moment to think, she recalled his command to Kel to back off. The only one in the water at the time that needed to back off was the horse. The
horse?
Who spoke to a horse that way unless the horse was . . . ?

Then she remembered—two men running into the Gulf and becoming something else entirely.

The battle ended suddenly. The horse turned away and disappeared beneath the waves. Kayla kept her attention fixed on the spot where she could just make out the shape of something large in the water. Without warning, the creature the horse had been fighting broke the surface.