Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) (40 page)

With the party starting at 8
p
.
m
.
, we’d all gotten what rest we could and woke up around 5
p
.
m
. After scrounging around for something edible, we’d each had a few bites of only partially stale bread before going
back to the clothing store we’d found a few blocks away. There hadn’t been much to choose from in terms of formal wear; a few dresses, some hand-me-down tuxes and dress suits, and some shoes and plastic jewelry. Not exactly having a wide selection, I’d chosen a slinky bright
green
gown, with spaghetti straps and little silver clasps toward the shoulders. My hair had been a little more difficult. After not being able to do anything with
it
– thanks to our inability to find any running water to shower with – I’d pulled it up i
n a fairly manageable pony
tail. Dezyre found some lipstick – bright red, of all colors – and we’d both applied generous layers. “There,” she’d said, smacking her l
ips. “This will make your lips pop
against that
teal
gown.”

“It’s
green
,” I had grumbled, letting her apply my makeup.

The eye pencil paused; she gripped it so t
ightly that
I thought she would snap the tip on my eyelid. She sighed
and continued outlining the rim of my eyes
. “Forget it. I’m not even going to begin to try to explain the sacrilege of that statement.”

We used some powder to cover up our scrapes and bruises as best we could, including my birthmark. That would have been a dead giveaway as to my identity.
I had to admit, we didn’t look too bad. I’d found
some strappy silver heels, and I
wasn’t having too much trouble wearing them. I liked wearing heels; they made me feel girly and sophisticated.

I just hoped no one noticed how frayed the straps were, or that the sole was starting to co
me loose at the front of the right shoe
.
Or the fact they were slightly caked in mud
, thanks to walking the last half a mile through a putrid field, where Arika was parked in case we needed to make a getaway.

To my surprise, she hadn’t left the store after we’d fought. She’d ju
st gone off to be by herself, s
ulking in a corner with a stormy look on her fa
ce. Leo insisted he talk to her
and they chatted for a long time. I lurked nearby, just in case she decided to go haywire and gut him with her remaining sai. I don’t know what he said, but he managed to convince her to help.

Going inside the Sovereign’s mansion apparently made her really uncomfortable – not that I could blame her, considering my own nervous jitters – so she’d opted to be our driver. We found a jeep a few blocks north, sitting in a row of other cars with missing tires and a plundered interior. This one, blessedly, had been left mostly intact, save for a stereo system that had gone MIA.
The tires were a little low, but it would do. Rook found the keys lying in a frozen puddle beneath the jeep, like someone had dropped them in a hurry to escape. There wasn’t much gas left, but it was enough to get us there and hopefully back to the border of the Red Sector if we needed to.

Rook was Dezyre’s escort. They both looked pretty good – hell, I was convinced Dezyre could don a garbage bag and make it look cool and fashionable. She had on a sequined gold gown that looked like it had walked straight from the
‘
70s, and Rook h
ad on a black suit and tie. We
had a harder time finding something that roughly fit him, since he was so
broad across the chest, but we at last found a suit and tie that worked
.

“Well,” Rook said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. His breath clouded the air in front of his face. “Shall we?”

Blood racing, I snapped on the paper silver mask I’d found in the kid’s section and strutted forward, holding onto Leo’s arm and praying my knees wouldn’t give out before we reached the growing line at the front door.

When I’d found out
the gala was actually a masque, I was elated.
I think my mother thought it sounded more elite, thus raising her status as
a social queen
. I’d been wondering how we were going to pull this off, possibly having to wear disguises, but this did the trick just fine.

The others wore simple masks too, all made of paper or plastic. I’d forgotten hand-me-down stores usually had a Halloween section, though nowadays costume pieces were mostly relics of the past, considering Halloween no longer meant a night filled with candy and easy scares.

I swallowed hard, pushing my memories of that night far from my mind, back to the abysmal void of “shit I’d rather not think about.”

As we neared the door, I saw someone was standing there, checking the guest list. I inwardly groaned.
Of course there was
a guest list
. This
was
my
mot
her we’re talking about. They weren’t
going to let any hobo off the street inside.

I gulped, hoping there wasn’t a metal detector to check for weapons. We’d all carried something in, mostly small, retractable knives and easily concealed handguns. Deyzre had also given me another syringe in case we ran into Orion, which I stuffed in
to
my oversized bra, hoping the extra padding would keep it from breaking should I get in a scuffle.

My attention focused on the man checking the list. I’d fully been expecting him to be
a
Scarlet Guard, another vampire carefully wearing the disguise of a human. But his absence of a telekinetic signature could only mean one thing.

I blinked, shocked.

He was
human.

Quickly, I scanned the rest of the valets and doormen.

All human.

I frowned, getting an uneasy feeling in my gut.

Leo and I were next. I turned my frown into a camera-perfect smile, like I’d been trained to, and the man smiled politely. “Your names?” he asked.

“Mr. and Mrs. Debonshire,” Leo replied regally.

I gawked at him, but he pleasantly smiled at the man, watching as he scanned the list with a deepening frown. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking up at Leo. “I’m afraid I’m not finding you.”

“Look again,” Leo said, locking eyes with him. “I assure you, we are on there. Check the bottom.”

My jaw dropped. I recognized immediately what he was doing.

No. Way.

The man’s eyes got that far-off, glazed over look. Like a zombie, his gaze slowly dropped to the bottom of the list. “Yes,” he murmured. “I believe I just overlooked you. Here you are, right here.” He crossed out an imaginary name on his list. “So sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Debonshire.”

“Thank you, good sir,” Leo replied, then proceeded to lead us through the doors and into the foyer.

My mind was reeling; I wasn’t sur
e where to start. “Debonshire? Good sir
? Really?”

He grinned at me, pleased with himself. “I thought it’d be fun to get in touch with my inner Mr. Darcy.”

“Do you even know who that is?”

“After listening to all thos
e girls swoon over him in sophomore AP
English? Yeah, he and I are well acquainted.
I was taking notes.
”

We surveyed the room. A sweeping staircase spiraled up to the second floor, and the polished marble beneath our feet shone with our reflections.
Red poinsettias dotted the room, and white twinkle lights had been strung from the ceiling, probably the remnants of my mother’s Christmas and New Year’s parties. She quickly learned while running for office that the
fastest
way to wriggle her way into the
social spotlight
was to host a party. I guess free booze worked for both
college kids and politicians.

“
Wow
,”
Rook said, coming up behind us
with Dezyre in tow.
“This place is fancy.”

“How did you guys get in?” I asked.

“Same as you,” Rook said, grinning. “You tw
o aren’t the only ones with skills
.”

“
Okay,” Dezyre said, getting us back on track. “Now that we’re in,
w
here do we start?”

“We should probably run some recon,” Leo said, eyes turning sharp. He still had a “squinty” look to him. Though his chest had healed significantly in a very short space of time, I could tell he was still in a lot of pain. If I’d had my chest ripped open, I probably would be too.

“All right,” Rook said. “We’ll start at the refreshment table. I’m starving.”

I suppressed a smile as they walked awa
y, bickering with one another.
They’re already acting like
brother and sister.

Classical music drifted in from the opposite direction, toward the ballroom. It sounded like
my mom
had hired a live orchestra. Though there were few working musicians left in the city, if
they
manage
d
to get in the political circles,
they
could still make a pretty decent living, from what a hot cello player had once told me.

Leo wriggled his brows, which managed to poke right above the line of the mask. “Shall we
dance
? It will give us a good excuse to listen in
on other people’s conversations
and find out what this guy was working on.”

“I’m sure they’ll make an announcement about it later,” I said, th
inking. “But, er, sure. Why not?
”

My stomach twisted into knots as he led me to the dance floor. The ballroom was decorated much the same way, with twinkle lights wrapped around the crown molding and poinsettias sitting on white pedestals, distributed at even intervals along the warm golden walls.
A staircase rose to one side, leading up to a
n oak paneled
balcony that looped around three out of four walls.

Leo and I took up an empty spot on the dance floor, him placing a hand on my waist, while I rested mine
on his shoulder like the other couples
were doing. Taking my other hand, he began to sway to the beat, my body following along.

Being like this, dancing so intimately, brought back feelings of when Aden and I had danced together at the Holiday Ball back on the vampire base.

My jaw went ti
ght with fear and worry.

Since he was my maker, I would know if he died, wouldn’t I? It was a question that went round and round my head until Leo
’s voice
broke my thoughts. “What are you thinking about?” he asked softly.

I swallowed and blinked, smiling at him. “Nothing. I didn’t know you were such a good dancer.”

Actually
I did. I’d watched him take a different girl to every school dance since we were old enough to go. Mostly, it was just something to say to distract him from asking me more uncomfortable questions.

He smiled sadly.
“You never would dance with me. You
said you were there to ‘socialize’ and ‘be seen’. Why the change of heart?”

Dammit
. “Well, I have to play along, don’t I, Mr. Debonshire?” I made the last word sound really snooty, and he grunted a laugh. “It’d look a little weird if you just started asking every other woman in here to dance.”

“There’s only one woman in here I want to dance with.”

I blushed and looked away. “That’s good, because I think their husbands would probably mind.” Something crossed my
thoughts
. “How did you know how to use glamour?”

That sloppy grin returned. “It just sounded so cool, hearing you guys talk about it. I wanted the chance to try it out.”

Leo was naturally a very charismatic person, with the uncanny ability to easily influence others with his charm. Maybe that was why he was so innately good at glamour.

When he didn’t say anything else, I noticed he was staring at me. “What?” I asked, searching his eyes.

He hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully. “I had no idea becoming a vampire would feel like this,” he murmured. “I’ve never felt this close to anyone in my life.”

I gulped, my face heating. Despite my embarrassment, I was unable to break his gaze. “Leo, you know I’d never leave you alone, not when you needed me.”

His eyes turned hard; the emotions rolling off him nearly floored me – love, regret, anger, grief. “When I lost my father, I thought, ‘That’s it. You’re all alone now in the world.’ And that scared the shit out of me.” He rested his forehead against mine. “But then you gave me the most marvelous gift.”

My voice was small when I spoke. “And what is that?”

He smiled. “Family.”