IM02 - Hunters & Prey (11 page)

The Sports Book was next door to the Poker Room. I wandered inside, eyeing all of the TV monitors replaying various sporting events of the day. Lysander was sitting at one of the small cubicle booths, scribbling notes onto a pad of paper. I knew he could sense me, but he didn’t look up. I turned on my heels and walked out of the dark, cave-like lounge. It was probably for the best. After my comment about him being just like Kallisto. I’d be surprised if he wanted to talk to me at all. Kallisto may have been dead, but I knew some piece of him couldn’t let go of her dreadful memory. She had been a cruel mistress, ruling him for a thousand years, and then had haunted him for another thousand when he tried to escape her. Not something easily forgotten.

Crystal and Drew found me as I was heading toward the heavily-tinted front doors. “Too late to go out there. Dawn is approaching,” Crystal warned.

“Great, we’re trapped inside of the casino for the day,” I sighed.

Casinos are a haven from natural light. It’s part of their trap. They don’t want tourists knowing how long they have been gambling. No sunlight and no clocks to give time away masked the hours one could spend inside, wasting money. If Lysander was right, and he usually was, this would be the safest place for us all to hide out until nightfall. But it wasn’t where I wanted to be stuck.

“You could keep us company to pass the time.” Crystal pulled me into a comforting hug. “I heard you had quite the evening. Care to share?”

I nodded. I needed that hug. Crystal was like that, always there to comfort someone. Since my turning, she’d been there for me, helping me along the way, making me feel more at ease with all the changes. As terrible as I had felt all night, it was good to know not everyone was mad at me.

I pulled back from the hug and smiled. “I’m surprised Lysander hasn’t told you all about my screw-up.”

We wandered together toward the shopping corridor of the hotel.

“He told us enough,” Drew said casually. He was a man of unusual height, towering over everyone we passed. His tall, muscular frame was hard to ignore. People gawked and moved out of his way. I had to laugh at their reaction. I’d always thought of him as more of a gentle giant. Vampire or not, he was the most easy-going of the men in the clan.

His sandy-colored hair fell in front of his eyes as he looked down at me. “I’m not saying you made the worst decision possible. You did what you felt was right. I just think there could have been other ways to avoid divulging our secrets.”

I craned my neck, looking up at him. “I couldn’t think of another option at the time. I was winging it.”

Crystal reached upwards to pat her mate on the back. “Go easy on her, love. I’m quite sure Lysander has given her enough grief.”

“Yeah.”
That’s an understatement. They didn’t hear his warning to me.
I smiled innocently.
At least Crystal is on my side
.

“What of this friend of yours, Alyssa?” Crystal brushed her long, wavy brown hair away from her face as she walked. At five foot one, she seemed so short, walking next to her giant-sized mate. Her petite frame was dwarfed by her large muscular man. They held hands as we strolled by various shops. “Do you know where she ran off to? I’m sure Lysander will want you to keep tabs on her.”

Dropping my gaze, I shook my head. “She’s a mess right now. I’m not sure where she’s gone. Maybe she ran back home. I dunno. I’ve got her cell phone number, though, so I can give her a call in a few days, after she’s had a chance to calm down. I doubt if she wants to talk to me after Nicholas and Lysander scared her.”

Crystal patted me on the back. “If she is as good a friend as you’ve said, she’ll be okay.”

I turned to her and let out a loud sigh.

She gave my shoulder a small squeeze. “Remember how hard it was for you to accept this life?”

“Yeah.” I gave a halfhearted nod. I remembered sitting under the stars, bawling my eyes out, saddened by the changes my life had taken. I had been mourning the loss of my life and friends, and Crystal had been my shoulder to cry on, telling me it would all work itself out.

I really couldn’t blame Fallon for her reaction.

“Give her time. What’s done is done,” Crystal said, bringing me back to the present. “Right now, we must concentrate on getting out of here.”

“And lying low for a little while,” Drew added.

“I’m all for that,” I said. “So what’s the plan? What will we do once night falls?”

Drew looked puzzled for a moment; his eyebrows arched high before he opened his mouth to speak. “We will leave town.”

“I know that, but where are we going? Are we finally going to take that trip to Boston to pick up Lysander’s old memoirs?” After he had been told where to look for them, Lysander had been excited to go, but he wanted to wait until I was fully comfortable with my new life as a vampire. His passion had always been the “documenting of living history,” as he called it. Leaving town would provide the perfect opportunity to make that trip and pick up his old writings.

“That’s best decided once we’re on the road,” Crystal said in a whisper. “We don’t want to discuss our plans openly, for obvious reasons.”

For a second I didn’t understand what she was saying, and then it suddenly became clear.
What if someone was listening in on our conversations?
“Ahh, I got it.” Heat rose to my face. I was already in trouble for divulging secrets, and in my eagerness to plan our next move I was about to broadcast more information that could potentially harm the clan. “So what do we do until then?” I asked, looking down to the marble-tiled ground.

“Good question.” Drew looked around at the variety of slot machines. “What is there to do in a casino, other than gambling?”

I shrugged. “Sadly, not much. At night there would be shows we could see, but they’re all closed now. Vegas isn’t really a morning place.”

Crystal and Drew both chuckled.

“I think this casino has a movie theater. We could probably go see something once they open,” I said.

***

The hours passed slowly. We’d paced the shopping corridor enough times to memorize the patterns in each marble tile decorating the floor. Finally, it was 11AM, and the movie theater was open. Standing in front of the box office, we read through the listing of available films.

“Sorry, but I’m not in a dramatic mood,” Drew said, with a sigh. “I’d prefer something a bit lighthearted, maybe a comedy.”

“What’s this one?” Crystal asked. “
Bonded by Blood
.”

“That’s a vampire flick, not a comedy,” I said. I didn’t want to admit that I had been waiting to see this movie before I’d been turned. I had almost forgotten about it. Vampires had always been a favorite Hollywood monster of mine, before I knew they were real and had become one myself. In my youth, I’d read all the popular books and seen every movie ever made. The reality of my transformation had made me lose track of the things I had wanted to do in my mortal life.

Drew laughed. “They may not be comedy to you, but I find it hilarious how Hollywood portrays our kind.”

“Okay.
Bonded by Blood
it is then,” I said with a smirk. “Sound good to you, Crystal?

She pulled her long hair into a loose ponytail at her neck and secured it with a small rubber band. “Sure. It sounds better than these other lost universe and date my sister movies.”

We purchased our tickets and walked inside. The scent of buttered popcorn permeated the air, assaulting my senses. My stomached turned and my nose wrinkled. What once had been such a pleasing smell now seemed revolting. I used to gorge myself on popcorn, not so long ago. It used to be my favorite movie treat. I could remember getting the largest popcorn offered and enjoyed it soaked with butter and sprinkled with enough salt to kill a person. Fallon always said I would die of a heart attack if I kept eating that way. A brief feeling of sadness tugged at my heart.
I hope I see Fallon again
.

We passed the concession stand, and a pleasing scent teased my nose: the musky perfume of the attendant behind the counter making the popcorn. His satisfying aroma called out to me. I stopped for a moment, taking in a deep breath, savoring his smell. Humans generally had a sweeter fragrance compared to the musk of animals. He was no different. His scent was like warm sugar, vanilla, and spice.

“Can I get anything for you, Miss?” He smiled, a wide toothy grin while holding up an empty soda cup.

“Oh. No. Nothing for me.” I returned his smile, making sure my fangs were hidden behind my lips. “I’m on a diet.”

“Come on, Alyssa,” Crystal said. She waved at me to follow.

We walked into the theater. Being the first show of the day, it was completely empty, a fact I was very thankful for.

“Do you know what this movie is about?” Drew asked.

“Yeah. It’s one of those ‘What if vampires lived in regular society’ stories.”

“Ah, so it really is a comedy then?” he said with a laugh.

Crystal giggled, settling herself into one of the seats and propping her sandal-clad feet on the chair in front of her.

“Maybe someday we could try to live among people. You know, let’s all get along,” I said.

“That will never happen.” Drew kicked his feet up on the chairs.

“Why not?”

“Let me put it to you simply. I saw what you did back there. You were smelling that poor kid. You probably wanted a taste of him.”

Heat rose to my face. I tried to hide my guilty expression.

“You think you could get along around people all day, every day?” Drew asked. “Have you forgotten that we kill our food?”

“Only because we can’t take sips without letting our secret out. I bet there are tons of people out there who wouldn’t mind being donors, if they knew they wouldn’t die.” I turned to Crystal. “Back me up on this.”

“Sorry, hun. I have to agree with him.”

Drew draped his arm around Crystal, pulling her close. “If more people were willing to donate blood, the Red Cross wouldn’t have to beg for it all the time.”

I groaned loudly. I knew there was no way to win this fight. These older vampires were all set in their ways. Vampire law forbids letting our secret out.

The lights dimmed as the previews started. I gave up the fight.

***

I felt a little sleepy after sitting in the theater for over two hours. It seemed even Hollywood was against my theory of vampires and humans co-existing. The vampires in the movie all ended up moving to a secluded island by the end, shunned by human society after a bloody war.

So much for my hopes of using this movie as an example.

“Why do they always have to show us having the ability to fly?” Drew complained.

“Honey, what did you expect? It’s not like they know what we can and can’t do,” Crystal said.

I laughed at Drew. “Jealous?”

“Maybe I am,” he said with a smirk.

Crystal grabbed a hold of her mate’s hand. “Let’s go check on the rest of the group.”

“You guys should go on ahead. Lysander is still probably mad. I doubt he wants to talk. I’ll just go up to the room for a bit. I’m a little tired.”

“Are you sure?” Crystal asked.

“Yeah, I could use a little sleep.”

“Okay, we’ll be up to check on you later then. Sleep well.”

We parted ways and I headed for the elevators. By the time I reached the room, drowsiness had set in. My eyes felt heavy, and I longed for the comfort of the soft bed.

As I reached the door, I heard a cell phone ringing from inside the room. I opened the door and flipped on the lights. Immediately, I spotted a small bag sitting on the bed.

Crap, Fallon left her purse.

I ran to it and pulled out the ringing cell phone and answered it. “Fallon?”

“To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?” a strange male voice asked. The formality of his speech was too odd to have been a friend of Fallon’s, but it didn’t sound like Santino’s voice either.

“Who’s this? You called me,” I snapped.

Whimpering came from the background of the phone.

“Now’s not the time for games, monster. I know what you are. Your little friend told me all about you.”

My stomach sank.
Shit, this is bad.
“Where’s Fallon?” I roared the words.

“She’s safe, for now. I want to have a little chat with you. If you cooperate, she will go free, unharmed.”

Whoever this man was, he had to be Acta Sanctorum. No one else would have grabbed Fallon. “She’s human, you can’t hurt her. You’re supposed to protect humans.”

“You are laboring under the impression that I play by the rules,” he laughed.

Anger built up inside me. Blood rushed to my face. My heart thundered in my chest. I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle the life out of this man and silence his taunting voice.

“If you are willing to risk her life, then by all means, ignore this call and go about your day. However, if you do ignore me, rest assured, she will die.”