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I motioned for them to follow me topside. "What next? As soon as Roz returns, we go find Dredge, and obliterate the bastard." I checked the stakes in my belt. One way or another, he was going down. And I planned on staking the final blow.
CHAPTER 19
Seattle was beautiful at night, dark and gritty in the back alleys with the brilliant lights of the skyscrapers and Space Needle glowing over the inlet. I'd grown to love the sights and sounds of the city as it slept. Oh, the usual derelicts and college kids and hookers and pushers wandered the sidewalks. And a few gang bangers and gangstas scattered the streets, low riding in their hopped up cars. But, overall, Seattle kept a hushed vigil through the dark hours.
The rippling currents of Elliott Bay glittered from the reflection of the lights that lined the pier as we swung into the parking lot near the hotel. Silent as the night, the six of us gathered in a shadowed recess between two buildings. To the west, we could see all the way across Alaskan Way to the inlet. To the east, a line of warehouses and buildings waited.
"There." I pointed to the Halcyon Hotel. "Supeville central. I hope Dredge is still there, the motherfucker."
We headed across the empty lot, which was really just a patch of gravel punctuated by lines of cement dividers indicating where drivers should park, illuminated by scattered lights here and there. Only a handful of cars besides our own were parked in the lot. One, a Hummer, had a personalized license plate that read, "SEXYSUCC."
I pointed it out. "Ten to one a succubus owns it."
Camille let out a short laugh. "Sometimes I think I'd have made a good succubus."
"Except that your first love is magic," Morio said.
I glanced at Delilah. Morio knew Camille better than I thought. "Okay, listen up, folks. You already know Dredge is terribly dangerous. Remember: He's a sadist. He enjoys inflicting pain. If he gets a hold of you, he'll do anything and everything he can to break you. Killing's too quick for his tastes."
"Do you really think we can take him?" Camille asked, suddenly sober. "What about the rest of the Elwing Clan?"
"They might present a problem. Odd thing is, we've heard reports about Dredge one after another, but nothing about his marshals. We'd better take him down, though, because if he gets away, we're going to be looking over our shoulders every fucking day of our lives. And we'll never again be able to have any friends or family nearby without putting them in danger."
Worst-case scenario, I could get away from Dredge. And Roz could probably escape. But the others—Chase was most at risk, but my sisters and Morio weren't invulnerable by any stretch of the imagination.
As we approached the building, I motioned for everybody to move to the side, out of the sight line of the windows overlooking the lot.
"I need to figure out what floor he's staying on. I doubt we'll be able to pry the info out of the registration desk. Dredge is charming, even without the vampire thang. You can bet they won't have a clue as to who we're asking about, or why, and he'll have them charmed into not handing out any pertinent information on our boy."
I scanned the windows, then turned back toward the pier. There—a statue of a figure carrying a large sack over his back as he stepped off a gangway. The Deckhand. That was the statue I'd seen when I'd looked through Dredge's eyes. And right behind it, the Sushirama. That meant… I glanced back at the hotel. "Fourth window from the left. I'm sure of it. Now let me figure out which floor he's on."
Slowly I began to hover, floating up. One story, nope. Two stories—no. Three—maybe, I thought. At the fourth, I snapped my fingers and immediately descended. "Four stories up, fourth window from the left. Come on, let's go." I led them into the lobby.
The Halcyon Hotel and Nightclub was just that—a hotel with a nightclub off the lobby. Like a number of the Supe clubs that had been springing up throughout the city, it catered to Earthside Supes more than Otherworld inhabitants, but welcomed just about anybody as long as they didn't cause trouble. The sounds of music and laughter came pouring from the lounge as we entered the lobby. The Doors were wailing away on the jukebox.
"It looks like an Ecstasy party here," Camille said in a low voice.
"As long as it's not Z-fen," I said, looking around. She was right. The decor was directly out of some psychedelic love-shack dream, right down to the glowing lava lamps and black light posters in the corner. I blinked, thinking that Exo Reed had some pretty kinky turn-ons.
"Do you think Exo's around?" Delilah asked.
"I don't know," I said. "But try to remember, he and his family live on the premises."
"Not exactly the best environment in which to raise kids." Chase glanced around. "If he weren't a Supe, I might think about calling in child welfare to check things out."
A little ticked, I shushed him. "That's not my point. This is their home, there are probably kids on the premises, so let's try to keep from wrecking the joint or putting anybody else in danger. Which is why I don't want to involve Exo in our fight. I don't even want him to know about it until we're done, because if Dredge charmed him, Exo might well give us away without meaning to. Get it?"
"There—the elevator. Or do you want the stairs?" Delilah pointed to the stairwell at the end of the hall.
Elevator would be faster, but his room was only on the fourth floor. "Stairs. That way we won't get a nasty surprise if the doors open and Dredge happens to be standing there. Or any of his cronies."
My thoughts raced ahead as we jogged up the steps. How would we do this? Dredge was terribly strong, and it would take everything we had to bring him down, especially since he was tied to Loki. My heart told me we could win, my head warned me that counting on victory was an invitation for disaster.
As if reading my mind, Delilah asked, "What's the plan? I assume you and Roz go in first."
I nodded. "Yeah, we have the best defenses against him."
"And we have the most payback to deliver," Roz said, his voice grim. "Don't forget, I lost my family to him. Everyone in my family."
