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Chapter One
NoonehadpreparedLeah for the breathtaking view from the top of the Central Tower. As the wind whipped her hair, she marveled at the scene below her. Perhaps if she stared long enough, it would start to feel real. Or at least a little less terrifying. She’d seen pictures before, but close-up, it was truly an awe-inspiring sight.
Towers in descending height extended in the four directions of the compass, forming the cross-shaped layout of the city. During the day, the Towers emitted an electromagnetic field that blocked the sun’s rays, allowing its nocturnal inhabitants to roam without restraint. As it was near midnight, the sky was clear and littered with twinkling stars.
Flashing neon lights sprinkled the city, a fortuitous benefit for human visitors. The cars racing on the intersecting highways below were mere dots in her vision. In the sky, the city’s denizens flew with their wide, bat-like wings, going about their business. One passed so close to Leah that she shivered and stepped back.
Vampires. The sight of them reminded her of her purpose here.
“Miss Davis, if you’re ready?”
Leah turned away from the stunning view to face the young vampire who’d addressed her with the utmost courtesy, his voice a cool breeze in the dry, desert air.
Clement was his name. Like all his kind, he was handsome to a fault, his skin pale and smooth like marble. He was young, for he still retained part of his humanity. Leah could tell by how he moved. While mesmerizing and graceful, he didn’t have the same magnetic pull as the older vampires. It was easy to ignore his presence and the innate sexual magnetism that tugged at her.
“Yes, I am,” she said with a brisk nod before following Clement across the roof to the inside.
The hallway was darker than the outside with soft, dimmed lighting. A few landscape paintings decorated the white walls. The clicking of her heels, unheard in the bustle outside, sounded loud on the wooden floor of the quiet hallway.
When they reached the elevator doors, Leah released a long breath.
She was finally here.
It still didn’t seem real. After two years of training and preparation, she’d made it.
Las Vegas.
Or, as her comrades back at the Organization called it, the Devil’s City. A city ruled by vampires. A city where all kinds of supernatural beings gathered. A place that shouldn’t exist.
Leah’s job here was simple—gather information.
It was a wonder to her to be chosen. The Organization had put forward dozens of its agents into the applicant pool to increase the odds of at least one of them being picked. Dmitri—a familiar tendril of fear curled in her stomach at the thought of her boss and lover—had even thrown a party at the Compound when she’d received the job offer from Vegas.
The chance to leave the Organization’s Compound for an extended time period for this project had her grinning for days. Even though the Organization had allowed her to earn a master’s degree, she’d been required to report back to the Compound for training. This job was a welcome break from the sunless, soulless place.
When the elevator arrived, she stepped in before Clement. Her heart raced at the prospect of being trapped with a vampire.
Calm down. He won’t attack you.She took another deep breath.
“How was your flight?” Clement’s smooth voice distracted her from her pounding heart.
“It was pleasant. Thank you for sending the jet.” The smile came easily as the memories of the opulent jet and its luxuries brightened her mood. She could deal with working for dangerous vampires in Vegas if it meant experiencing more out-of-this-world extravagances.
“No problem. Your position is vital to the Gathering’s success.”
Leah nodded. She’d come as an event planner. The Gathering, a meeting of vampires that occurred every five decades, was to happen in Vegas in three weeks. Several Ancients, all-powerful vampires who were over a thousand years old, were attending, including at least one Councilor.
The media had been going crazy ever since the Vampire King announced the event. As a sign of hospitality, he had invited human diplomats and leaders from around the globe as well. Leah’s official job was to ensure those humans enjoyed their time in Vegas, hopefully without getting themselves killed.
When the elevator cleared the black walls, Leah stepped up to the window to take in the view. The space in front of her was empty all the way down to the distant ground below. The center of the building opened to the ceiling, allowing vampires to fly instead. Glass balconies on each floor served as the vampires’ landing points.
There were two other elevator shafts next to theirs. As they descended, they passed several vampires in flight. She tracked them, her gaze lingering on their black, leathery wings. When spread wide in flight, the wings were about four times the width of the vampire’s shoulders, and the tips arched over the vampire’s head, with the bottom reaching the vampire’s waist.
Leah’s heart raced, not with fear, but with unabated excitement. Even though the Organization had drilled into her the idea of vampires as spawns of the devil, a secret part of her had always envied their power of flight.
When the lobby came into view, her eyes widened. The pictures she’d seen of the inside did not do justice to the magnificent sight. Directly across from her, arched stained-glass windows about three-stories tall framed the building’s entrance. It reminded her of the Gothic cathedrals she’d studied in her history classes. The floor, white marble with black and gray veins, glistened under the recessed lights on dark gray columns, which reached up to the third-floor balconies.
In the lobby’s center was an ivory fountain with a statue of a vampire whose wings were spread wide in flight. Her flowing hair, delicately raised arms, and the curve of her wings were so realistic that Leah wouldn’t be surprised if she came alive and moved. The light that filtered through the stained-glass windows shone on the statue as if Heaven itself was smiling on her.
