As if with one mind, the audience banged their hands together. Whoops, whistles, and cheers added to the deafening roar. Shouts of “Amazing” and “Unbelievable” were directed at the stage.
Knight took Gwendolyn by the hand. Together they bowed. The curtain came down. The applause continued until the curtain rose and they bowed again. They waved at the audience and bowed one more time as the curtain fell for the final call.
“Shit, that stings each and every night,” Gwendolyn said, rubbing her hand across her stomach and flinging the apple to the floor.
Knight grinned. “I can only imagine.”
“You have no idea.”
“Listen to them out there. They love a good murder.”
“If those idiots only knew the truth—”
Knight grabbed Gwendolyn’s arm and squeezed tight. “They never will.” He returned her stare with blazing eyes. “Right?”
“No…that’s right, they never will. Please let me go, Luke; that hurts.”
He released her arm and turned to the approaching stagehands. After spitting out the bite of apple, he tossed the rest on the floor. “Clean up this mess.”
Knight led the way off stage, Gwendolyn following close behind.
“The humans think I’m the greatest magician of all time, and that’s the way it’s going to stay until we hear otherwise.” He stopped and faced Gwendolyn. “Look, Gwen, so I kill you every night—I bring you back in a wink, don’t I? So it hurts for a little while—that’s the price of fame, isn’t it? We’ve got a good thing going here. Nobody can figure out the ruse. We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be, exactly where Gorgeous wants us. So for now you better just suck it up and—”
“Did I hear my name?”
Knight spun around at the sound of the voice and faced the woman in white standing just behind him. “What are you doing here?”
“Quite the greeting. I wanted to see my favorite magician, and you make it sound as if it’s a crime.”
“I’m sorry. Please,” Knight said as he held his hand out, “will you join me in my dressing room? Please, this way.”
“Much better.” Gorgeous drifted across the stage.
****
I yank open the door, almost ripping it off its hinges. I thought I’d never see Marco Ramirez again, so I haven’t prepared for this moment. I consider Marco the only man I’ve ever loved. He led me into battle two years ago, and under his guidance and quick thinking, we both made it out alive. Shivers of pure joy zip through my body. He’s taking way too long getting out of his car, so I jump off the porch and scamper down the walkway to greet him.
“Adam.” Ramirez beams at me, his arms open wide.
I charge at him and throw my arms around him in a bear hug. His breath whooshes out with a, “ugh.”
“Hey, settle down, big fella. Stand back and let me get a good look at you.” He keeps his hands on my shoulders, moving his gaze over my face, across my chest, and down to my shoes. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
I rub my belly and grin. “Put on a few pounds.”
“Nah, that’s nothing.” He pats his own stomach, and we both laugh. “I did everything I could to find you: missing person alerts; posters; even called in a few favors in Cali, Utah, and Arizona, but it’s like you disappeared off the face of the planet. Where were you?”
“Colorado.”
He cocks his head. “Really? You’ll have to tell me more about that when we get a chance. C’mon, let’s go inside, I want to say hello to Dixie and Aunt Rose.”
I nod and keep my arm over his shoulder as we march back to the house. I understand what’s going on with my emotions—why I’m so giddy. Even though Aunt Rose created a magical bond between us on the night of The Disaster, this is the closest thing I’ve ever felt to truly belonging to someone (except Dixie, of course). He’s my friend, my mentor, and the only Alpha I will ever accept.
“Marco,” Dixie says, stepping out onto the porch and smiling at us. “Look at you two. Almost like old times, isn’t it?”
Marco slaps my back and enters the house, closing the door behind him. “Dixie.” He holds out his hand, and they shake. “I guess we have a few things to talk about.”
The two people I love most stand on either side of me. I clutch Dixie’s hand in mine, and do the same with Marco, a huge grin glued to my lips. Marco wriggles free of my hold and steps back. A strange expression moves over his face. I can’t tell if it’s a grin or a frown, maybe both.
“Oh, no,” he says, “don’t tell me.”
“Tell you what?” I ask.
“You two didn’t sleep together, did you?”
Dixie lets go of my hand and glares at Marco. “That’s none of your business.”
I can’t stop beaming. This is truly a great day. “We sure did.”
“Adam.” Dixie stares at me. “That’s not something anybody needs to know about. Whatever we did, or didn’t do, doesn’t concern him, or anyone else.”
“Doesn’t concern me?” I can’t tell if he’s angry or annoyed. The subtleties of human emotions are sometimes hard to decipher, even for other humans. “Did you tell him about us?”
“No, why would I? There isn’t any us, not anymore. That doesn’t concern Adam.”
“What’s going on?” I look from Marco to Dixie and back again.
“She should have told you that we used to…you know…date,” Marco says. “She broke it off for some reason,” he snaps his fingers, “just like that. And now―”
“And now what, Marco?” Dixie’s voice grows louder. “That was a long time ago. Things are different now. I’m different now; we all are.”
“I know. Everybody’s different…except me.”
“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Dixie says.
“I’m still human,” he says as if it’s a bad thing. “You’re a Daemon, he’s a—”
“I’m human.” My voice is small. Dixie and Marco speak over and around me, like I’m not even there, the way the med techs used to talk in prison.
Dixie marches to the living room. “What’s your problem?”
Marco closes his eyes and rubs a hand across his forehead. “I’m sorry, you’re right. It’s just that I haven’t heard from you for so long. I apologize. Can we start over?”
Dixie turns from her position in front of the fireplace and faces us. Her shoulders relax and she grins. “Of course. Why don’t you come in? Do you want something to drink?”
Marco shakes his head, puts his hand on my back, and we step into the living room while Dixie waves her hand and shuts the front door.
“How did you do that?” My gaze is glued to the doorknob. “How did you close the door from over there?”
“I don’t know.” Dixie’s worried appearance turns into a beam. “The door needed to be closed and I…I don’t know, I just did.”
The grandfather clock in the entry hall chimes eleven times, its deep gong reverberating in my chest.
“Where’s Aunt Rose?” Marco says as we sit on the couch.
“Well, in order to explain that, I have to tell you the whole story. I hope you’re comfortable.”
The grandfather clock strikes twelve times when Dixie finishes telling Marco about my escape from jail (thanks to Major Ransom and Colonel Dayton), the murders at Claremont, and Aunt Rose’s distrust of Charlie Nguyen.
“I don’t like her either,” I say. “She keeps calling me the dog, very condescending.”
Dixie laughs and aims her comment at me, “I guess she doesn’t understand how someone can change their stripes. If anyone should understand that concept, she should. I mean, she was on the side of the evils when they attacked Las Vegas. Now she claims to want to help us.”
“How can you be so sure she’s changed her stripes?” Marco says.
“Major Ransom is convinced, and that’s good enough for me.”
Marco rubs his chin and stares at her like he’s a teacher about to explain a difficult concept. “We only k
new the major for a few hours before she died.”
“She didn’t die; she was killed, ripped to shreds because of the evil Daemons. I don’t think she would side with them under any circumstance. I wish you could hear her the way I do. She’s so calm and at peace. She sincerely wants to help us.”
Marco nods. “In that case—”
A knock turns our attention to the front door.
“The others are here,” Dixie says.
Both Marco and I stand up as Dixie unlatches the deadbolt and pulls the door open. A lone figure stands on the front porch: Charlie Nguyen.
Dixie asks, “Where’s Colonel Dayton and Cutty?”
Charlie Nguyen stares at her through dark eyes. “They’re both dead.”
Chapter Ten
Dixie’s hand trembled as she covered her mouth, her face draining of color. “What do you mean the colonel and Cutty are dead? How? What happened?”
“Let me inside and I’ll tell you,” Charlie Nguyen fanned her face. “You may not be aware of the fact that I tend to overheat quite easily, or you may not even care. Either way, if you let me in right now I may forgive—”
Dixie grabbed Nguyen’s arm and yanked her inside, slamming the door shut as she turned to face the Daemon. “Tell me what happened right now, or so help me—”
“So help you what?” Nguyen smiled, a misplaced grin, an expression she may have forgotten how to use, or never quite understood. “You can’t do anything to me, little Daemon—nothing at all.”
Marco Ramirez leaned over Dixie’s shoulder. “She may not be able to, but I sure as hell can.” He took a step forward.
Nguyen shouted, “Imobili.”
Ramirez froze in place. Under the spell, his eyes remained alert and functioning, his breathing normal, but any overt physical movement ceased.
“And who is this?” Charlie Nguyen brushed past Dixie. She inspected Ramirez as a cat considers a mouse. “He’s spirited.” She licked her lips. “I like the spirited ones, up to a point.”
Adam vaulted over Dixie and leapt at Nguyen. He reached out, falling to the ground with the Daemon in his hands.
Ramirez shuddered, free from Nguyen’s spell, and fell down, becoming part of a growing heap of bodies on the floor. Dixie joined the pile, shoving her elbow into the Daemon’s stomach, trying to knock the wind out of her lest another spell be spoken. Charlie Nguyen’s breath rushed out in a steady whoosh, her face turning purple. Mission accomplished.
A bright green cloud circled around the donnybrook. “Terminum!”
Dixie looked up, searching for the source of the command. Aunt Rose, hands on hips, loomed above them like a rugby official standing over a scrum. “What is going on here? Why are you fighting? More importantly, why is this happening in my house?”
“Charlie Nguyen killed Colonel Dayton and Cutty,” Dixie said.
“She was about to kill Marco, too,” Adam said.
Charlie Nguyen’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. She put a hand to her tummy and scowled at Dixie.
“Calm down, Nguyen,” Aunt Rose said, “I’ll get to you in a moment. Marco, you should know better than to fight with a Daemon. What’s your excuse for such childish behavior?”
He pointed at Nguyen. “Well, she started it.”
“Deputy Chief Marco Ramirez,” Aunt Rose said, followed by a loud tsk-tsk-tsk. “Stand up and meet Charlemagne Nguyen. She is here as my guest to help us with our problem. Nguyen, you may now speak. Explain yourself.”
“Explain myself?” Charlie Nguyen stood, brushed herself off, and stepped toward Aunt Rose. “How dare you ask me to explain myself.”
Aunt Rose folded her arms.
“Very well then, if you insist. I came here at noon, as we agreed, and they attacked me for no reason.”
Dixie scrambled to her feet. “You said you killed―”
“I never said I killed anybody.”
Adam sprang up and put his hand on the small of Dixie’s back. “She’s right; she never said she killed anyone. She said, ‘They’ve been killed.’”
“Well, at least the dog heard what I said.”
“Stop calling me the dog.”
Aunt Rose raised her hands and asked for silence. She turned to Nguyen. “Suppose you tell us your side, and tell the truth if you’ve nothing to hide.”
Charlie Nguyen’s gaze fell on each face, but came to rest on Aunt Rose’s. “Very well. I’d like to start by addressing you, Rosalyn. You seem to think I’ve never fully turned away from the darkness. Have I done anything to make you question my loyalty?”
Ramirez leaned into Nguyen. “Quit stalling and tell us what happened.”
Charlie Nguyen raised an eyebrow at Ramirez. “As you are the only human in this house, may I suggest you remain silent and let the gifted ones speak?”
Dixie bit her lower lip. “Aunt Rose. If she doesn’t tell us what happened to Colonel Dayton and Cutty, I’m going to turn her into a pile of lint and vacuum her up.” She wagged a finger at Nguyen. “Don’t think I can’t do it either, Nguyen. I’ve been practicing.”
Charlie Nguyen attempted another smile, but failed. She turned to Aunt Rose. “Is your niece aware of the fact she can’t—”
“Unfortunately, my niece is unaware of what she can or cannot do. She has yet to experience The Sufferings. I would tread lightly if I were you.”
Charlie Nguyen threw a brief glare at Dixie. “Very well. Colonel Dayton arrived at the Tropicana as arranged. We walked to the parking lot and he opened the door for me. The English are always so polite, ugh. At that point, a supernatural force kept me from entering the vehicle. Instead, Colonel Dayton was pushed into the car and the door slammed shut. Clearly, to me, the driver, the one you call Cutty, had absolutely no control over the vehicle. It sped off by itself. It’s obvious to me they met with foul play.”
“You expect us to believe that lie?” Dixie said. Believe her, she’s telling the truth. “What?”
“What do you mean, what?” Adam said.
“It’s Major Ransom. She said Nguyen’s telling the truth.”
Charlie Nguyen raised her eyebrows and grinned. “Was there ever any doubt?”
“This is ridiculous,” Ramirez said, “she’s obviously trying to save her own neck.”
“Hush.” Aunt Rose held her hand up. Nobody said a word while her hand remained in the air. “Look for what?” She glanced about the living room, moving from couch, to easy chair, to fireplace mantel. “Who put this here?”
“I did,” Dixie said. “I bought that crystal ball at the garage sale yesterday. I thought it would look nice on the—”
Aunt Rose slammed it to the floor. It burst into a green flame and vanished.
“What’s the matter?” Dixie rushed forward.
“Our every word in this house has been projected…somewhere. I hadn’t even noticed it. My dear, you’ve got to be careful. The evil Daemons are clever.”
“Oh my God, I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”
“Calm yourself, sweetie. There’s no way you could have known. I, on the other hand, should have kept my eyes open for such nonsense. You too, Nguyen.”
“Me? It’s not my house.”
“Honest,” Dixie said, “I feel just awful about—”
“Shhh.” Aunt Rose held her hand up again.
“We’re wasting time,” Adam said. “We’ve got to try and find the colonel and—”
“Hush.” Aunt Rose cocked her head and closed her eyes. Her face brightened. “I’m told the situation is being dealt with. I’ve also been instructed not to interfere as that may endanger Colonel Dayton and Mr. Cutty. We are to wait here.” She clasped her hands together. “So, that’s that. Please come in and have some biscuits and tea. Come on, then, follow me.”
“You expect us to eat?” Adam said.
“There’s nothing to do now but wait. Please, go in the kitchen and grab a plate.”
****
Gorgeous glanced around the small dressing room, keeping he
r hands clasped together waist high, as if touching anything in the dimly lit space would cause illness. She stared at the ceiling then ran her gaze along the dirty walls. “The end of days will soon be upon the humans.” Her voice rose, but the grin she wore, like a mask, stayed constant. She waved Lucas and Gwendolyn to the small settee near the makeup table while she remained standing, a position of authority.
“You honor us with your presence, my queen. Two nights in a row, this is such a treat,” Lucas said, turning his lips up.
Finally, after what seemed a full minute, she made eye contact. “You amaze the humans with your magic.”
Lucas broke into full Cheshire-grin. “You are too kind. I merely—”
“Quiet.” Gorgeous turned and strolled from him to the other side of the room, using precise, measured steps. “You’ve done well, playing to a packed house each and every night. The humans are a curious lot, enjoying your special brand of dark magic from their safe, padded seats. And, as I suspected, one human in particular is quite taken with you.”
“The president.”
Gorgeous twirled around. “He has a penchant for the paranormal; an insatiable curiosity for the supernatural.” She offered a smile. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He will attend your performance in two nights. The Secret Service has already secured his luxury box and sealed it off.” She snickered. “But they cannot seal his mind.”
Lucas grinned. “Will you melt it, my queen? Or steal it? Or—”
“You’re a formidable Daemon, Knight, but a bit short-sighted. I was thinking more of a long-term possession. The very thought excites me.”
Lucas gave her a respectful nod. “And what do you wish of me?”
“You can start by keeping your mouth shut.” She spun and faced him. “Simply continue doing exactly what you’ve been doing. Magic.” She paused and furrowed her brow. “Something is on your mind, I sense it.”
“There’s nothing, my queen. I have nothing to hide.”
“Hide?”
“Wrong choice of words, my lady. I’m an open book; an honest soul.”
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