She turned to her assistant. “How’s the crowd, Elan? I’ve been stuck back here for the past few minutes. Have the guests all arrived?”
“Yes, Mistress. The party barges were packed. The final boat docked a few minutes ago. For those who knew about the party but only contemplated coming, that last post in the HG forums must’ve done the trick. A couple of the boats reported picking up guests who tried to wade over to the island during low tide. The storm is pretty intense, and a few of them almost got swept away.”
She laughed. “Eager fools.”
“The prize of a sweetblood to the one who brings the most guests is brilliant. You’re a savvy marketer, ma’am. You seem to have a knack for knowing exactly what people want and figuring out a way to give it to them.”
She jutted out her chin. “Thank you, Elan. I try.”
He continued. “We’ve got vampires from British Columbia, Idaho, Seattle, Portland. It’s like they all came out of the woodwork for this party. Gotta love word of mouth. This is going to be the biggest, most talked-about Wilding party on the West Coast. You’re a genius, ma’am.”
That game had proved to be quite the find. If her future financial situation were to make it feasible, she might have to consider buying controlling interest in the gaming company. Casting a sidelong glance at Rejavik, she wished he weren’t so preoccupied with that sweetblood so he could hear this.
“I certainly hope so. And is everyone enjoying the experience of going through the maze that leads them inside?”
“Oh yeah. With the calmer energies up here, they started off fairly subdued, especially when you consider what goes on in Mexico City.”
They laughed knowingly. The vampire population down south was a wild bunch, although on the flip side, there was a much larger Council presence to deal with, as well as more Darkblood competition. Up here was a virtually untouched market, the opportunities boundless. Because the energies were calmer up here, she just needed to coddle and nurture the demand a little more than she did when she’d been an assistant down in Mexico City.
Elan rubbed his hands together, and his dark eyes glistened with excitement. “I just watched as one of our guys snatched a human out of the crowd and started feeding. What a great idea to have Darkblood plants in the audience to get things rolling. You should’ve seen the looks on everyone’s faces. Those ones closest to the action were shocked as hell, but it didn’t take more than a minute for a few of them to jump in.”
She nodded her head, having expected and hoped for that precise reaction. “Their initial attitudes are much different here than down south, that’s for sure. But I can see things are changing. How did it affect the other humans present? Have they panicked yet?”
“Nope. Because the maze is narrow, long and very dark, the humans ahead and behind couldn’t tell exactly what was happening. I heard one of them saying it was a kick-ass haunted house with realistic special effects.”
Things were all coming together perfectly. “Exactly the news I like to hear. See that it happens several more times along the route as everyone files in. I want bloodscent heavy in the air, and I want them to be stirred up and ready for the show.”
“Yes, ma’am. They will be. By the time they’re all inside, they are going to be soooo ready.”
She glanced at the brunette pixie again.
“It should be a very entertaining show.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ALFONSO STOOD WITH LILY and Caleb at the end of the tunnel, a piece of black painted plywood blocking them from going farther. Muffled voices and footsteps came from the other side of the wooden barricade. Flashes of light, timed to the beat of throbbing techno music, shone through several narrow gaps and cast eerie shadows on the rock walls.
“That must be the maze on the other side that leads to the rave,” Lily said. All illicit parties like this had similar entrances, designed to slow down the cops in the event the location was discovered.
Alfonso ran his hands over the plywood to determine how sturdy it was. Given how much it wobbled near the center where two pieces met, he guessed it was only tacked up in a few places. Should be easy enough to pop loose.
“Do you think it’s the only entrance?” asked Caleb.
“Main entrance, yes,” Alfonso answered. “But raves usually have several exits. There’s the main one here where people are screened before being allowed to come in. The rest of the exits will be obscured. That way, in the event of a raid, the elaborate maze will slow down the cops just long enough for many of the partiers to be able to escape out the back.”
“I don’t know where they think they’d run to since a bunch of boats brought them in. They’re pretty much stuck here until the organizers decide it’s time to let them leave.” Caleb clicked his earpiece and turned away. “I’m going to report in that we’re here and standing by.”
“Will you at least promise you’ll try to stay close?” Alfonso asked, pulling Lily into his arms. “If we’re a team, that means we work together.”
“I’ll try, but it all depends on what happens once we get inside. Our primary goal is to get all the humans out first. If I see someone in danger, I’m not going to not help them because you’re not right there. That’s too limiting.”
“Fair enough. You focus on the humans, and I’ll deal with the Darkbloods by—”
A high-pitched scream permeated the loud music. Lily jumped from his arms and pressed her palms to the plywood.
“It’s a human. A male. And he’s right here on the other side. Quick. Several are feeding from him now.”
With the heel of one hand, Alfonso popped a bottom corner of the plywood loose. “Hold the top in place, Lil. I’m going to try to slide him through.”
Caleb was saying something about it not being time yet, but Alfonso ignored him. He wasn’t planning to storm the place, just rescue this one person.
Hoping the guy wasn’t a big man, Alfonso reached through the small opening and his hand closed around an ankle. He pulled the body out of the throngs of feet and legs, and punched away several clingers. Holy hell, it was like a fucking madhouse in there.
Once the body was completely in, he released the plywood and it snapped back into place.
“God, he’s just a teenager,” said Lily, as she quickly assessed his condition. “How did he get mixed up in this?”
“How does anyone?”
“He’s still alive.” Lily sealed the bite marks at his wrist and throat with a swipe of her finger. “Thankfully, you got to him in time.”
“Caleb,” Alfonso said, “you take him back to the beach. Cordell has medical equipment there.”
“Me? Why do I have to go? You’re not even—”
“Caleb, quit your bitching,” Lily snapped. “Just get the kid down there. That’s an order.”
When Alfonso handed the boy off to Caleb, a muted male voice from the other side of the barricade caught his attention.
“Joe, man, where are you?”
It sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it.
Alfonso stooped down and pulled the plywood open just a crack. He saw a flash of red hair and Converse high-tops.
His eyes narrowed. The kid looked a little like—
Oh for godsake, it was Kenny, the boy from the computer store.
Guilt knotted into a tight ball in the pit of his stomach, and he rocked back on his heels.
How the hell was this possible? He’d wiped the guy’s memory—he was sure of it.
He stared after Caleb, and it occurred to him that Joe must work at the computer store too.
Without too much effort, Alfonso could almost picture the kid wearing one of those kelly-green aprons and working the cash register next to Kenny. Although Kenny shouldn’t have any memory of playing the game with Alfonso, this kid must’ve been watching and seen enough to find it online.
How long had they been playing it? he wondered. Probably from the very beginning.
He cursed under his breath
. How could he have been so careless when he knew what was at stake? The back of his neck began to ache. Absently, he reached up and rubbed it.
He should have taken better precautions, checked to see if anyone at the store was watching them play the game. Or better yet, he should never have asked for outside help.
A nagging voice reminded him he’d never have gotten as far as he had without Kenny’s help.
He ground his molars together as he reached for the plywood again. No one else was going to die because of his own stupid decisions. He’d get Kenny out of here too.
“What are you doing?” Lily asked, her eyes wide.
“Trying to fix a mistake I made. There’s a kid on the other side who’s looking for his buddy.” He pointed a thumb in Caleb’s direction. “I don’t have time to explain things, but suffice it to say they’re here because of me. And I’m getting them both out of this hellhole.”
“Wait a minute. How do you plan to do that? There’s no way you’re fitting through that narrow opening. You planning to bust through now and blow our cover? The other two teams aren’t even in place yet.”
“No, but—”
“But nothing. Listen. I’ll go. I’m smaller than you and can slip just as easily through the opening as that boy did.”
And wind up smack in the middle of the throng of vampires and humans rushing to get inside? She couldn’t be serious. “No. You’re not getting separated from me.”
But even as he said the words, he saw the determined set of her jaw and the fire behind her caramel eyes. Lily did what Lily wanted to do, whether he agreed with her or not.
“We’re a team, remember? Each of us does the things the other can’t do. You’re big. I’m not. End of subject.”
She knelt down, gave him a quick kiss, then planted herself in front of the opening, as if he’d never registered an ounce of protest.
“I’ll slip through, grab the boy and be back in a snap.”
“If he’s not still right outside—”
“He is. Now, come on.”
“You’d better have your ass back in here by the time I count to twenty or this plywood’s coming down.”
“Deal. You said his name is Kenny?”
“Yeah. Be careful, Lily.”
Then, against his better judgment, he pulled back the corner and Lily scooted on her butt through the opening.
A BITING GUST OF WIND roared through the fir trees, stirring up the heavy limbs and making it hard to hear anything else.
Jackson climbed the last rung of the rickety ladder and pulled himself onto the roof of the Cave of Mystery attraction. The thumping bass of the electronic trance beat reverberated through his fingertips.
It must be blaringly loud inside.
He tested the footing. Seemed solid enough. He reached down to help Tambra and Draven.
Jackson loved loud, pulse-jarring music, and, from what he could tell, the DJ was spinning some awesome tunes. It would’ve have been a fun way to celebrate the Longest Night if Darkbloods hadn’t been the organizers. And if killing weren’t about to happen.
He found himself tapping a foot in time with the beat as readied his weapons.
He’d always felt at home inside a club. The abundance of human energy, which was easily accessible given the way most of them dressed, made it hard for him to leave. Drunk human women were clingy and never seemed to notice or care that he was a little touchier than normal. A quick high five here, a little kiss there, a rendezvous in a back room and he could tide himself over for another night without anyone being the wiser.
“Which way?” asked Draven.
Jackson pointed to a boarded-up window a few feet away. “There.”
The music got louder as they carefully pried off the boards. When they climbed inside the dank and musty storeroom, the cloying smell of Sweet was thick in the air.
Instantly, he craved it, wanted to taste its sweetness on his tongue. His fangs elongated. His pupils stretched.
Fuuuck.
He put a hand on the windowsill to steady himself. Having fed from an unsuspecting host less than thirty minutes before he’d stepped onto the boat, he didn’t need more blood now.
Got it, Self? You’re fine. Just chill out.
Recalling his desensitization training, he focused on everything else. The musty smell of the dust-covered room, the cobwebs on all the clutter, the clean soap smell on Tambra’s hands from when she’d last washed them. Anything and everything except the Sweet.
His fangs retracted and his pupils shrank.
Christ, he hated surprises like that, especially since he wasn’t feeling particularly strong after that vomit-inducing boat ride over here.
“Wow,” Draven whispered. “That was intense. I totally wasn’t ready for it.”
“Me either.” Tambra’s voice was so soft he could barely hear her. “The wind must’ve carried the scent away when we were outside.”
Although music drowned out most of the sounds, Jackson tiptoed anyway, around the wooden props, scenery backdrops and steamer trunks.
On the other side of a large Santa cutout, he spotted a rotted-out portion of the floorboards. Kneeling down, he peered through the hole into the room below.
Holy shit.
He wasn’t surprised to see a sweetblood. He knew one had to be close.
But five of them? And what was with the costumes?
Including the guy at the door, he counted four Darkbloods in the room as well.
This couldn’t be good.
He held up his hand. “Four DBs. Five sweetbloods. Tambra, call the other teams. See if they’re ready. It’s five minutes to midnight. I have a feeling they’re saving these sweetbloods for something big.”
“Shouldn’t we do something now? We don’t know how much time they have.”
“No. We wait until the other teams are in place.”
As he said that, a female sailed into the room below. Given how the others reacted to her, Jackson assumed she wasn’t just an ordinary Darkblood.
She wore a formfitting, navy blue minidress with four-inch heels and a velvet cape that swept the floor as she walked. Her white-blond hair was messy in an eighties glam-rock kind of way.
With military precision, she inspected each of the sweetbloods, three women and two men, finally stopping in front of a young woman with curly brown hair and a gauzy white dress that reached nearly to her bare feet.
The girl put her hands over her face, but the female produced a thin cane and struck her arm. Obligingly, the girl dropped her hands, even as tears streamed down her cheeks.
An icy heat formed in the pit of his stomach and Jackson gripped the edge of the hole.
The female apparently liked what she saw because she grabbed a chain attached to a gold collar around the young woman’s neck and led her out of the lineup like a leashed dog. She paused at the door, not far from where Jackson was looking down, and spoke to another Darkblood.
Despite the loud music, he imagined hearing the girl’s sobs wafting up through the hole, and it stabbed at his heart.
She was a teenager, just a kid. No one deserved to be treated like this. This girl’s luck would get much worse if they didn’t act fast.
Lily’s team was in place. Was Gibby’s?
When he shifted his weight to ask Tambra, his boot dislodged a tiny smattering of dust. The breath caught in his throat as he helplessly watched it float down into the room.
Shit. If one of the Darkbloods saw—
The girl looked up, her wide eyes searching, and her gaze locked onto his.
His stomach tightened as if he’d just been punched, a roaring sound filling his head.
Although those eyes were much different, the emotion behind them was the same, reminding him of his little sister many years ago, when she, too, had pleaded silently for him to save her.
That was it. Enough with the waiting.
He put a finger to his lips. “Shhhh. I’m coming,” he mouthed.
She sucked i
n her lower lip and nodded slightly.
Just like his sister, this girl was putting her trust in him. This time, he wouldn’t fail.
He turned to Tambra. “We gotta go now. Are they ready?”
“Five more minutes. Gibby’s team had a hard time getting through the old amusement park rides. Said it was like a minefield trying to get around and over everything. The moon made it too light to shadow-move very quickly.”
The female jerked the chain and the girl reluctantly followed her out the door. She gathered up her dress, but it still dragged on the floor behind her.
“I’m not waiting any longer. Tell them I’m going in.”
LILY TRIED TO KEEP PEOPLE OUT of her personal space, but there were so many crowding through the dark maze that they kept bumping into her.
In the flash of the strobe light, everyone’s movements looked robotic, programmed. It struck her as fitting. These people came, wanting to be spoon-fed their entertainment, but ultimately, they were simply puppets of the Darkblood agenda.
Human blood and the scent of many heightened emotions filtered through her nose, but the strongest one, which came from a nearby human, was fear. She spun around, trying to get a lock on it.
When the light flashed again, she spotted Kenny’s red hair just past a muscular guy in front of her. Kenny stood unmoving against the black plywood, a rock in a stream of water, searching the faces of the crowd filing past him.
“Kenny?” she yelled above the din.
She tried to elbow her way around the bodybuilder, but the guy grabbed her wrist.
“Hold on,” he said, the coppery smell of blood fresh on his breath. “What’s the rush? You. Me. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Oh please. She didn’t have time for this shit.
In a basic Krav Maga move, she twisted her wrist, broke free from his hold and gave him a kidney shot with her elbow.
He doubled over and she sprinted to Kenny.
“Come with me.”
“Do I know you?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Nope, but you’re looking for Joe, right?”
His guarded expression made it obvious he wasn’t buying into this whole partying atmosphere. He clearly knew something else was going on. “Yeah, how’d you know that? Have you seen him?”
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