Vivien slowed down, except this time her mouth gaped as she drank in the surroundings. I didn’t push her any faster, allowing her to absorb an environment I took great pride in creating. She looked out of place in her smelly, ill-fitting clothes, yet I appreciated the open awe on her face. The wealthy guests who entered the doors rarely paused to observe the surroundings with wonder. Instead, they barely glanced at the luxurious, cultivated environment as if they expected it to look like this everywhere they went.
The hotel was a masterpiece in ink-black glass and marble, embellished with aged-gold accents. Tropical plants and red velvet furniture served as pops of color. Unlike other casinos, there were few slot machines here. The primary draw was the private backrooms for the gambling elite. If people wanted slots, there were plenty of places on the Strip where they could find their cheap thrills. But at the Sinopolis, patrons could enter with their fortunes and leave with a kingdom in their pocket if they knew how to play the game.
Instead of heading toward the elevators at the center of the lobby, we cut to the right to one of my private lifts. Timothy excused himself to his duties, leaving the two of us to enter the car. When the doors closed, the ambient echo of the hotel cut off. The padding on the walls made it so quiet you could hear a person’s heartbeat in here. Except Vivien didn’t have a heartbeat. I still released her arm as we were in an enclosed space for at least a few moments.
She turned her head to the side, not quite looking at me, her voice low in the quiet elevator. “You’re not taking me to some kind of dungeon, are you?”
There were only three buttons. The middle, a white button for the lobby, and there was a gold one above it and a black one below. I reached past her to press the top gold button. The buttons had fingerprint recognition so they would only work for the designated few. “No.”
“Good,” she said with sudden confidence. “Because I came for my three hundred dollars and then I’m splitting.”
“And then what will you do?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I’ve got a list.”
“Pray tell.”
“A, find out who murdered me. B, kick their ass. C, remember what my life was.”
“And D?” I goaded.
She faced forward again. “I’m still working on that one.” Her shoulders fell. “Don’t suppose I could go back to the life I had.”
I didn’t answer. None of that would be happening. I could not permit her existence. Though the soft longing in her tone tugged at something in my chest.
I hardened inside as I did whenever I had to take care of business. When the lift opened with a soft ding, I took hold of her arm again and dragged her into my penthouse.
“Hey, watch it, bucko,” she protested. I released her. She rubbed her bicep while shooting me an angry glare.
“You will stay here until I come for you. You are only alive because I allow it. Because you are useful for drawing out the master vampire. But the second you inconvenience, or otherwise vex me, I will not hesitate to dispose of you.”
Vivien stomped up to me, mania gleaming in those green eyes. “Whoa, I’m here for my money and then I’m out of here.”
Strange creature. She was still trying to act like she was in control here.
Looking past her, to the windows that slanted upward, 180 degrees around the pyramid top of the hotel, I said, “It will be dawn soon.”
As it was, her eyes drooped, fatigue and weakness evident on her face. It would be so easy to end her right now. Wipe her from existence. I was tempted to be done with her. But I needed to return order to this world, and I intended to use her to root out the cancer that threatened to upturn everything.
“Do you really wish for me to throw you out?” I said, gesturing to the sky that was fast turning from night to dawn.
The vampire looked out at the lightening sky, opening her mouth and then shutting it.
Not waiting for a response, I turned to the lift, pressing a button on the wall. Wood paneling and shades lowered over every window.
“And might I suggest,” I said, stepping back into the elevator, “taking the opportunity to shower before rubbing your unclean body on the furniture.” My nose wrinkled at the thought of the havoc she could wreak on the upholstery.
Just as the doors shut, there was a giant crash against them—something ceramic by the sound of it. Hmm, perhaps I should have thrown her in a dungeon somewhere.
5
Ihoped the statue I hurled against the elevator was expensive, though I suspected Death didn’t truly care about material things or money. Still, the explosion of ceramic was satisfying.
I considered pressing the elevator button to make the doors open, but then I’d potentially bring big, dour, and scary back up. I planned to give it a few minutes. Then I would attempt to find my way out of here.
And into broad daylight…
I rubbed my hand, still remembering my first test to see if sunlight really was lethal. The pain had been excruciating. My charred skin had healed after I emptied an entire blood bag I’d taken with me down into the sewer. I’d only been able to carry out three bags before I had to resort to sucking vermin dry.
