He pulled in deeper into his room, and for a moment, it seemed as though he would shut the door in my face. But he stopped, one hand on the door. “For now, we’ll rest.”
“I don’t need to rest.”
“Then do what you do best,” he said.
I didn’t mean to be so objective, but some things had to be said. “I hunt vampires. We are in direct competition for prey.”
He leaned his forehead against the door, eyes closed, profile to me. “Indeed we are. I’ve thought about this, you know.”
I was almost too afraid to ask. “Tell me.”
But I still had to know.
“Figuratively speaking…” his voice trailed away and he opened his dark eyes. “We are on the same side.”
I shook my head. I am anything if not a realist. “For now. Don’t forget what happens when you’ve led me to Noir.”
He was silent and then laughed. “How could I?”
He closed the door and that was...that.
11
Night fell.
We left the house.
We chose to walk.
Camden was a small town, and the Lady Victoria Casino was not so far off, perhaps a couple of miles. But it was an unusually balmy, for a winter night and I appreciated the exercise.
Jason did not say a word, and neither did I.
Sounds of traffic, loud, blaring, obnoxious, reached us far before the main intersection and perhaps due to the weather, there were more people about than you’d expect in the middle of winter.
Or perhaps they responded to the siren call of the casino.
Bright, lurid, almost friendly, it beckoned to us and Jason stopped at the steps, one hand on my arm. “There is something you should know.”
I stopped, well aware of the two men in suits standing at the double doors, eyes shielded by glasses. It seemed like such a silly thing, to wear sunglasses in the middle of the night. But who was I to judge? “And that would be?”
He drew in a quick breath, brushed a hand down the long dark brown coat that matched the hue of his eyes. “We might…we might not be particularly welcome in this town.”
I spared a glance around the entrance, but it was just us, the security guards, and an elderly pair of ladies clutching large handbags, twin looks of determination on their faces as if not willing to step back out until they made a fortune. “Let’s go inside.”
His hands clenched. “There might be danger here.”
“Then I would rather it be inside where there are lots of people than here,” I said and as the two men opened the doors for the seniors, the roar of a steadily growing crowd, the sound of tinkling coins, wafted towards us like a long-forgotten melody.
He opened his mouth and then closed it again.
I took that as an affirmative and walked forward, still somewhat wary of the security guards who were both over six and a half feet tall and built like a brick house.
One of them, the one on my right held up an arm, barring my entrance.
“Might I inquire as to what you’ve got in the bag, madam?”
For the way they looked, this one sounded like he’d been raised in a boarding school, clipped accent and all. “I’m an art student.”
For some reason, “It’s a sword” never seemed to work.
His lips pursed. “I’m afraid I can’t let you on the premises before checking.”
Stuck before making my way in.
I could lie, but he would check and while I might’ve been able to take care of one guard, I wasn’t so sure about two of them. Not to mention, for the moment, Camden was our home. It didn’t seem like a good idea to start hurting people and get attention.
Jason put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed slightly, effortlessly pushing me back.
“Gentlemen,” he said, voice husky and almost breathy. “Perhaps we can come to some sort of…arrangement?”
His eyes never left the boarding school security guard, the slight smile never left his lips, and I watched the bodyguard pull off his sunglasses.
Pupils dilated to an almost obscene ratio, he shook his head slowly, lips working silently.
Glamour.
Jason was just one surprise after another.
“You understand how it is, right?” he asked, voice still low, still breathy. It almost sounded sexual in nature. “I am…someone of some importance. She is my protector. Were I do die in your establishment, it could go very wrong for you. There are, you understand, things that are stronger than you could imagine. Vampires…”
The bodyguard shook his head slowly, while the other one was staring at us outright. “Vampires…are citizens too. They have the same rights, but the same limitations.”
Jason laughed. “You’re an idiot if you think that. But you will let us through. And you will not stand in our way. Is that understood?”
“Understood,” he said slowly, voice trembling. He took a step to the side. “Welcome to the Lady Victoria Casino. I hope you enjoy your stay here.”
The other bodyguard slipped off his glasses, eyes wide, but not unhumanly so. “Now, wait a second, Wyatt, what the hell do—”
Wyatt shook his head. “Let them through. Any responsibility, I’ll take.”
We left the two bodyguards arguing behind us, but that hardly seemed to matter. The doors shut behind us, and the lights were almost blindingly bright, the sound of falling coins and the distant yells and groans echoing in my ears.
Jason stopped at the threshold, eyes closed, head tilted back, almost as though he were enjoying himself, basking in the glow of human greed and envy.
“What you just did,” I said quietly. “Glamour. You forced him to your will.”
He grimaced. “That sounds like a reprimand from you.”
“I thought it was illegal.”
He opened his eyes then, looked at me frankly. “My presence alone is dangerous. I’m sure what little I do will not be the end of the world, if you know what I mean.”
I didn’t, not really. “The whole reason vampires are allowed in this society is because they have agreed to follow certain rules and mandates set by Congress.”
“Am I a vampire?” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t think I am.”
“So you are a law onto yourself?”
He grinned wide, and a canine caught the artificial chandelier lights from above. “What an interesting concept. A law. Onto myself. So, who watches me?”
“Naturally, wouldn’t that be yourself?”
Pausing in his speech, he turned to look about the casino, his gaze falling upon an elderly couple, both dressed in blindingly bright tourist attire, as they hovered over a slot machine, the elderly woman’s eyes wide and glittering in the bright lights.
“Are you a gambler, perchance?”
I shook my head. “Never.”
“No? I supposed you never go for anything unless you have a hundred percent chance in success, hm?”
A corner of his lips kicked up, and he was beautiful.
Then again, he was always beautiful, but there was something in the glint in his eye, the way hair was tossed carelessly over the delicate features…
His smile widened. “You’re staring.”
I returned his expression. “I believe in honesty. Why hide something that is so obviously true?”
The corners of his dark eyes crinkled. “If only other people were as honest as you.”
And in that, I lost the ability to put words together. “Mm.”
He lifted his head then, nostrils flaring slightly, almost as though he smelled something unpleasant in the air. “I suppose I should have let you know something.”
His gaze flitted around the room, but his eyes didn’t seem to stay in one place for too long. “Would this be regarding your…safety?”
That I was protecting a vampire, that I had become an Ailward. It was enough to make me feel slightly ill.
He nodded. “This town, as small as it is, has —”
My shoulders tensed.
/> “Well! I don’t believe I’ve seen you folks here before.”
And underneath the expensive scent, was that pervasive stink of copper. It was something vampires could never hide, although they certainly tried. But vampires weren’t the only ones who smelled like blood.
I turned around slowly, shoulders as stiff as a lead pipe as Jason smiled widely, bowing low at the waist as though we were at a ball. “If it isn’t the Marcus Caldwell!”
A stout man, well-dressed with a cigar hanging out of his mouth, smiled at us maganimously, hands behind his back, the two bodyguards at his back, including the one Jason rolled, their sunglasses safely over their eyes.
The man tilted his head to one side. How he managed to say anything with a cigar in his mouth was completely beyond me. “Forgive me. I don’t believe we’ve met?”
Jason shook his head with a slight smile. “Oh, I don’t believe we have. But you are quite famous around these parts, aren’t you?”
Caldwell grinned wide and the canines, slightly too long for a human, caught the light from the fake candled chandeliers. “Do you mean as the owner of the town? Or do you mean…?”
He hadn’t moved. Hadn’t moved at all, but there was a change in his smile, almost too wide, too…feral.
“Yes,” Jason said with another small bow that was elegant to the max. “As the only uncontested alpha within a hundred mile radius…you are quite famous. Quite frankly, I am surprised. In an area of over three thousand shapeshifters…you have somehow managed to scare the hell into those under your domain.”
I struggled to hide the surprise from my eyes. Had Jason known? Did he know about Marcus Caldwell from the very beginning?
The strongly built, barrel-chested older man threw his head back, laughing. “Well, I surely am quite complimented, Mister No-Name. I do try, I do try.” The smile faded away, faded away with such certainty, I wondered if there had been a smile there at all. “What do we have here? Two unknowns. One a vampire. The other…” his mouth turned down at the corners. “The other a well known assassin. You think we didn’t know? Vampires and us shifters, well, while we do try to stay out of each others way…we do keep an eye on them. And that involves all of them. So answer me this.”
Jason stepped forward, shielding my body with his. While it was true he could take far more damage than my human body, I had sworn to be Jason’s Ailward. I would trade my life with his, if it ensured his survival.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “I appreciate the sentiment. But I am your protector. Not the other way around. Please move back.”
Marcus did not say a word regarding this particular exchange, only watching us carefully, hands at his hips now.
Jason’s eyes widened, but he did step back, enough so that if the alpha wanted to shoot me in the chest, he could have done so easily.
The alpha seemed to laugh at us with his eyes. “Like I was saying. I’m curious. What exactly is a vamp killer doing with a vamp?”
I squared my shoulders. “None of your business.”
Jason cleared his throat and took a step to the left. “As you can see, my Ailward has spoken. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I do believe we have some cash we’d like to spend at your…wonderful…casino.”
“Normally, I would welcome you with open arms,” said Marcus, sticking his thumbs through his belt loops. He looked more like a stereotypical Texan rancher than the owner of a bustling casino that probably drew in more revenue through underground ventures. “But I suppose, as the owner, no as an Alpha, I ought to ask. You see, I’ve heard some news. Yes, some very interesting news. My contact in Centennial City alerted me to a certain presence…a presence that causes much worry and talk in the vamp community.”
The way he said presence made my palms sweat, my breath come short. “Rather than speaking in circles, can’t you speak in no uncertain terms? Either say what you mean, or don’t waste our time.”
“Brash talk,” he said after a moment of silence. “Do you have any idea what could happen to you and your precious Master if I so much as lift a finger? Why these boys behind me will riddle you with more holes than cheesecloth.”
I grinned. I knew this man, no, I knew this type of man and that was more than half the battle. “You wouldn’t. Why would you order something done when you could do it yourself?”
The two bodyguards drew in a breath and Jason cursed quietly.
The alpha shifted his feet, pulled his thumbs out of his belt loops, and for a moment, it looked as though he would throw himself forward.
“You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?” He regarded me calmly for one moment and stuck his thumbs back through the belt loops as though that was where they stayed on a permanent basis. “But I suppose you’d be right. There wouldn’t be much of a point in calling some of my boys to finish you and your so-called Master off if I can do the job. At least, I know I’d get the job done.” He sighed dramatically, heavily. “Now, what am I do to? I hear tell anyone coming across a vampire and a rather infamous vamp killer was supposed to be detained for…hm, what did he say? Ah, yes, further questioning.”
I stiffened. “Further questioning?”
He shrugged his expansive shoulders. He liked to act, that much seemed certain.
“I owe Vincent a hell of a lot. He’s not bad,” he said and then sighed. “For a blood sucker, that is. And if he wants something, well, quite plainly, he gets it. And he wants the two of you.”
Jason shifted his feet, hands clenching at his sides. “And he’s looking for the both of us?”
The casino owner nodded. “He has…questions. Or so he says. Mind you, he doesn’t necessarily want you dead.”
Next to me, Jason tilted his head to one side. “And how would you know something about that?”
“Because you’d already be dead.”
So far, Marcus had not made a move, nothing at all to show he planned to turn us over to Vincent.
So far.
“So?” I asked. “What will you do with us? It does not seem you are enthusiastic about handing us over.”
He sighed and shook his head, hands up to his shoulders, palms up in a I give up pose. “Of course, I wouldn’t. I don’t like being told what to do. In fact, I downright hate it. But I owe him a lot. Vincent’s done a hell of a lot for me and if I don’t…well…” He shook his head slowly. “He might take this place away. And I don’t think I could live with that.”
Jason stepped back one step, almost knocking over an elderly man with a walker.
Marcus sighed again and rubbed the deep furrow between his pale gray eyes. “Look, as a favor, hm? Just come peacefully. I care about this place. I care about the people who come here. If you fight, if you resist, I’m willing to bet there’s going to be a hell of a lot of damages. Maybe even some dead. I don’t think I can accept that. Can you accept that?”
It was my duty to protect the Master.
I was the Ailward.
But I was nothing more than his doll.
I would not be able to move until he asked me. “Your orders?”
He shook his head slowly, eyes never leaving Marcus and the two bodyguards. “I have no intention of going back to Vincent.”
Marcus clucked his tongue. “So you will do battle here? You know, I can have my bodyguards drill a hole through your heads before you even think about reacting. And that will be because you’ve decided to run. If you just listen, just go find out why Vincent wants to talk to you so badly…”
Jason regarded him with cold eyes. “Then there would be no casualties.”
He shook his head. “Indeed there would be not. Why, I would personally chauffeur you there myself. To Centennial City.”
It sounded peaceful.
To give up without a fight.
But it was not me.
If there was even a chance of escape, then I would have taken it. To go down without a fight…it was something I never did.
If I had, I would’ve died a very long time ago. “What would you have me
do, Master?”
It was the first time I was calling him in such a formal manner.
But it seemed…right.
Jason lifted his chin. “If we go to Vincent…he’ll have me killed.”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t know why he’s so interested in you. You seem like a normal bloodsucker to me…not that there’s anything normal with that, mind.”
“Is this the pot calling the kettle black?” said Jason with a quirk to his lips. “Ran, if I were to die, so would you.”
I nodded. “I would die before you. This is the oath made by an Ailward to the Master.”
“Even if I were a vampire…and you a vampire hunter?”
The irony tasted bitter on my tongue. “Even if you were my prey…I never break a promise.”
He smiled. “I like that. I think I like that very much.”
I noticed the thin sheen of sweat on Marcus’s broad brow. “Now just hold on, one minute. Are you really going to put up a fight? Here? Do you have any idea how many people would end up in the hospital…or worse?”
Jason was still and then shook his head. “I am no hero. I will not sacrifice myself to save those I have no connection to.”
“Hmph.” Marcus slanted a glance at my direction. “And what of you? You’re human. You have fought with humans against the bloodsuckers. You just going to let him shoot up a bunch of civilians?”
“He doesn’t have a gun,” I pointed out. “Your two bodyguards do. Shouldn’t you be asking them not to use their weapons?”
The werewolf shook his head slowly. "Look, there's no point in mindless bloodshed. And besides, I know who are you, what you stand for. Vincent made damn sure I knew. I suppose that's why he's so interested in the pair of you. A vamp hunter sides with a vampire? Where's the logic in that?"
"If there was one, I would not tell you," I replied simply.
"And then, there's that thing about your order..." he said, voice quiet, barely audible above the clint of coins and a machine blaring obnoxiously. "I thought you were on the side of the humans. Aren't you all some kind of human protectors or something? Why would you go along willingly with the possible deaths of innocents? It just doesn't seem to make any sense."
Invincible (A Centennial City Novel) Page 13