I kept trying to remind myself Grim wasn’t really dead. He was asleep in some place called the cradle? And no one was going to help me find the cradle, or Grim. They’d all said it was too dangerous, and that Grim would have to choose when and if he would return.
I knew in my heart that he would come back. Grim didn’t want to go. We were forever, and if that meant waiting a hundred years until he rose again, so be it. I had faith that he would return and when he did, I’d tell him I love him. That I was sorry I couldn’t say it until he’d gone.
I shut my eyes hard, willing myself to believe I could wait and trust like that.
The hairs along the back of my neck and arms rose, and my blood rushed faster.
Before I knew why, I stood up and turned around in time to see five vampires stride into the lobby. Their eyes were crimson, and they all suffered from fruit punch mouth. More than that, they were all showgirls, scantily clad in rhinestones, and decorated in big, brightly-colored feathers.
The one dressed in sapphire blue grabbed a doorman and sunk her teeth into his neck. Blood spurted as he cried out.
The rest of the vampires fanned out, grabbing people and biting as if they’d stumbled upon an all-you-can-eat buffet.
In a blink, I leapt over the foliage separating Perkatory from the lobby.
“Hey,” I shouted at Sapphire. “Put Raphael down.”
The doorman had already passed out, but I could still hear his heart thrumming faintly.
Sapphire’s head reared up from her snack, staring at me with a strange, almost alien expression.
I recognized that look.
Being turned into a vampire didn’t make a person evil, and what I saw in her eyes wasn’t hunger. Someone was controlling her will. Whoever was on the other end, puppeteering these vampires, wanted to inflict pain. They wanted death and fear to permeate the hotel. They wanted to stomp on Grim’s ashes, and the thought made me see red.
Over my undead body.
I punched Sapphire in the face, causing her to drop Raphael. Sapphire hissed like a pissed-off cat and lunged at me.
We rolled across the black marble floor, feathers and blood in our wake. I managed to roll on top, trapping her arms with my legs, and pounded into her until she went limp. When I stood, two thin, yet surprisingly strong, glitter-covered arms wrapped around my neck from behind. She couldn’t suffocate me, but she could certainly break my neck. I couldn’t afford to be incapacitated. Not like that. Not again.
Vampires didn’t automatically turn into ninjas, but they did get an enormous boost in strength, speed, and regeneration. And it had been at least a day or two since I last fed, leaving me weaker than usual.
At the same time the vampire in white diamonds put increasingly dangerous pressure on my neck. I spotted Timothy across the lobby. He’d returned with a to-go cup of blood I could smell even from twenty yards.
The rest of the showgirls descended on him. Timothy swatted the first one away. Violet went flying, sliding into a group of agog, posh guests. She knocked them down like bowling pins. And he connected a foot into Emerald’s gut, sending her to the ground. He stepped over her body with a look of distaste twisting his lips.
Miranda rushed to usher the guests away even as Violet jumped to her feet. I continued to wrestle with the one on my back. No matter which way I staggered and smashed her against the walls behind us, she wouldn’t let go.
Sapphire’s eyes snapped open like an automaton. She leapt to her feet, and at the sight of Timothy, she charged. He looked more annoyed than concerned. Timothy’s eyes blazed with light, then he threw out his free hand, sending a bolt of power at Sapphire that resembled a black, flaming hieroglyph. Sapphire flew backward ten yards before hitting the ground and sliding across the marble floor. She didn’t get back up.
Chaos didn’t even begin to describe the scene. Too many feathers and fangs.
The fifth showgirl, Ruby, snuck up behind Timothy. Before I could shout a warning, Ruby threw a rope over Timothy. It glowed green as it tightened around him. His face paled, his eyes tightening as if he were in pain. His fingers stiffened on the cup and he lurched before stilling.
The glint of steel caught my eye and Miranda pulled out the Blade of Bane, raising it over Violet. Where the hell had she been keeping the blade? No way her hoo-ha could smuggle that length.
Then again, Vegas was a veritable pool of unique and disturbing talents.
I threw my head back, smashing Diamond’s nose. She stumbled as I staggered forward, stretching an arm out. “No!” I cried. “Don’t kill her.”
Miranda looked at me. Violet used that moment to go berserk, fangs out in fury. I blurred forward, connecting with Violet to keep her from sinking her teeth into my friend. But the vampire took Miranda by surprise. She jerked, and the blade sunk into Violet’s chest. The vampire gasped, her eyes rolling back in pain as she went limp and fell to the floor.
“No,” I whispered.
I didn’t have time to stop to help Violet. Ruby and Emerald yanked Timothy along using the magic rope, Diamond assisting them. I ran straight at them, but Emerald crashed into me, intercepting.
“Let him go,” a security guard yelled out with a slight spanish accent. Javier had arrived. He was Miranda’s second in charge at the hotel, as he had been in the Army. Javier aimed his gun at Ruby even as she dragged Timothy along. He shot her, the bullet connecting with her chest. She jerked with his blow but didn’t go down. Diamond tackled Javier to the floor.
