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“Oh uh, yes. I’m Adam, Victor, and Zee.”
The concierge sighed. “Of course you are.”
“We . . . uh . . . we are, though?” I took another look around the foyer and spotted a man with slicked-back hair wearing a long black cloak. He was not so discreetly gazing at Victor. Beside the cloaked man, a young woman was dressed in knee-high glossy black boots, a tiny pair of purple shorts, and wore a hairband sporting horns. Between those two guests stood a stocky short guy wearing a pale yellow T-shirt and faded chinos.
The three of them together looked so . . . familiar.
“Sick Zee vibes, my bro.” The young woman raised her hand, and Zee automatically high-fived her.
“Thank you, gurl. You’re outfit is givin’ too.”
“Right?” She posed for Zee, cocking a hip and bending a knee. “Yours is kinda extra, though.”
Zee looked down a himself. He wore a shirt, knotted at his lower back, cinching it around his waist to show off the arrow tattoo. His boots were tame compared to hers. Somehow his low-slung pants defied gravity and clung to his narrow hips. For him, it was understated.
“The contacts are cool,” she added, referencing his naturally purple eye color. “Nice touch. Zodiac has pretty eyes.”
“I really do,” Zee agreed. “Some say they’re my best feature.”
“But the horns are overdone.”
Zee touched his right horn, the one with the gold ring, his smile fading. “What’s wrong with my horns?”
“They’re cool, just not OG. See you guys later?” She blew us a kiss and returned to her group.
Zee blinked. “Hold up . . . Is that . . . Wait . . .” He looked at me, then Victor. “Yeah, okay, I see it now. But also, hello?” He pointed at his himself and rolled his eyes. “I am so obviously the OG.”
“This event is serendipitous,” Victor remarked. “If we play this right, we will blend in without revealing the truth of who we are.”
“Right. Pfft. What he said. But also, Daddy Spice, you could have tried harder. You don’t look anything like that dime-store Dracula over there.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed. “I resemble exactly who I am.”
“That grayman outfit will never do.” Zee frowned at Victor’s creased shirt and gray trousers. “Where’s your cape?” he asked, eyes sparkling. “And fake fangs?” A snarl from Victor gave us a glimpse of real vampire fangs. “Better. But we gotta fix the overworked CEO look if we’re gonna blend in. We need to get you a cape.”
“Over my deceased corpse.”
“Here’s your room key,” Larimer interrupted, handing Victor a keycard. “You’re in suite thirteen, on the fifth floor. Take the stairs, the elevator is out of order. And leave your bags, I’ll have the bellhop bring them up in a few minutes. Have an exceptional stay at the Stephanie Hotel.”
After passing by several more groups of costume-clad guests, we took the stairs, climbing five floors, passing more folks dressed as various Lost Ones. Some were Lost Ones, but most were humans pretending to be fae, vampires, trolls . . .
“Live Action Role Play,” Victor said, when we reached our floor. “Larp.”
“People dress up and pretend to be someone else?” I asked, guessing . . . and panting. Five flights were more than enough to get the blood flowing.
“Yes. It’s a form of entertainment and escapism.”
Bounding down the hall to our room, Zee said, “I fuckin’ love role-play.”
“There’s a surprise.” Victor waved our card over the door to room thirteen, turning the little red light on the lock green.
“Hello, handsome,” a short male human dressed as Zee said, striding by and giving us a little wave. His stubby strap-on wings bounced.
“Hello, yourself,” Zee purred. “Nice wings.”
“Nice tail!” short Zee called back.
“One Zodiac is frankly more than enough,” Victor remarked, opening the door and flicking the room lights on. “A hotel full of them is a daunting prospect.”
