Because the Night (The Night Songs Collection)

by Strassel, Kristen

  “It’s easy. You’re a crafty girl. You can draw a straight line, right?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “Just do that. Under my eyes.”

  “I’ll poke your eye out.”

  “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.” He grinned at me then looked at the ceiling, again sitting perfectly still. “I trust you. Just try.”

  My hand shook as I pulled the eyeliner out of the bag he motioned to. I positioned myself with one of my legs between his, and put one hand on the top of his head to steady the both of us. I swiped a line of black kohl under each eye without inflicting any major injuries.

  Tristan turned around and looked in the mirror. “Good. Now smudge it up.”

  “What? How?”

  He shook his head and laughed at me. “You’re serious? Not all of us are naturally beautiful. Just smudge it up with your finger. If it’s too perfect I look like a girl.”

  “I guess you wouldn’t want your makeup to look girly,” I snarked as I ran my ring finger under each of his eyes to smudge the lines I drew. I had to admit, it was kind of fun. I looked in the little bag to see what other interesting grooming products he had. Just Chap Stick and moisturizer. How disappointing. I picked up his hair brush and ran it through his long black hair.

  Tristan purred in pleasure. “I love it when someone else brushes my hair.”

  “No one ever brushes my hair. It would be a disaster.”

  He opened his eyes. “Callie, how can you leave the house? You don’t wear makeup, you don’t brush your hair. I don’t get it.”

  “I comb it when I get out of the shower and that’s it. Anything else and it would explode.”

  “Well whatever you’re doing, it’s working.” Tristan stood up and leaned towards the mirror, running his hand through his hair. “Showtime.”

  We made our way down through the labyrinth of back hallways that led Tristan to the backstage area of The Sin City Vampire Club without being seen by any of his adoring fans. He left me in my familiar spot by the side of the stage, and gave me a kiss before he slung his guitar strap around his shoulder and went out to perform.

  The show passed in a blur. The band strutted and swayed as they always did, with their backup burlesque dancers giving the audience something else to look at if anyone could tear their eyes off of Tristan. I knew I couldn’t. The crowd showered affection on the band in some sort of cult worship ritual. Sometimes their singing drowned out Ramsey, the singer. The show was always the same in that way, but the band mixed it up each night to keep things interesting.

  I couldn’t concentrate on any of it.

  It was always you. Tristan’s words echoed in my head. Those were the words I’d ached to hear since I met him. But the sound swirled around Blade’s image. Blade, ripped and bleeding, maybe somewhere in this building. Blade, tangled in bed sheets, his hair glistening in the sunlight, telling me he loved me.

  I needed to press Tristan for answers. Did he have anything to do with Blade’s disappearance? I hated to think to think this show of affection was anything but genuine, but maybe he was trying to throw me off the trail.

  During Tristan’s solo, one of the burlesque dancers strutted down from the back of the stage and pranced around to the rhythm of his guitar. She spun quickly, squatted inhumanly low, and then danced lightly like a ballerina when the music called for it. When he finished the solo, he let his guitar slide on its strap behind him and she fell into his arms, letting him suck her blood from her neck until she went limp. I trembled, using all my energy to stand up. The scar on my neck throbbed.

  The lights went dark as roadies carried her off stage, ignoring my shock as she passed.

  Tristan and I headed out of the theater right after the show.

  “Do people know that it’s real?” The image of another lifeless body shook me.

  “What?”

  “When you drink from the girls during the show.”

  “I don’t care what they think.”

  “Okay.” His indifference stopped me in my tracks. “Don’t you have to do meet and greets or anything?”

  “I’ve got something better to do.” He pulled me against him as he said it.

  Focus, Callie.

  Easier said than done. Once back in the apartment, Tristan walked over to the wall of windows that overlooked the lights and action of The Strip. The view took my breath away every time. Without warning, he pushed me against the window hard enough to rattle the glass, his hands and mouth exploring my body, stripping away my clothes. The fear of falling through the window was overpowered by the hope he would take me right then and there. I stopped myself short of begging him to do it. I slid down the window, pulling him down on top of me. The hunger to drink from him consumed me, and I thought I’d go insane before he’d let me. When he raised his wrist and rested it against my mouth, I pulled away, confused.

  “You’re not bleeding.” I whispered.

  “You do it, Callie. If you want it bad enough, you can get inside me as well.”

  After a deep breath, I let the need take over and sunk my teeth into his flesh; the sweet tang of his blood flooded my mouth. He moaned softly as I left this dimension, letting the colors and the sensations rush through my being.

  His blood jolted through me and I was home. I willed him to crawl inside of me, to become one with me. He entered me as I sucked and we worked at each other in unison, a beautiful dance of need and understanding. My senses didn’t even belong to me anymore. I gave them over to Tristan willingly. He knew what to do with them better than I did. The arm that held his body up buckled, his weight crushing me to the floor. I pulled him in closer so he couldn’t get back up, sucking, biting at him, drawing more blood from his wrist. He cried out as I drained it from him. I dug my heels into the small of his back so I could take in every bit of him, bucking my hips in rhythm with his.

  He groaned, the sound not quite human, and pulled his wrist away from my grasp. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, running them down his chest, drawing more blood. Tristan’s head leaned back as I licked it from his skin. I screamed as my muscled pulsed and I reached climax. He quieted me by continuing to work his mouth over my stomach, my breasts, and finally my mouth, still painted with his blood. Even after he was spent and we finished and lay tangled on the marble floor, we were still one.

  “I need to talk to you about something.” I hated to have to ruin this moment.

  “What could there possibly be to talk about?” Some of the rock star had returned, but his half smirk was still more soft than cocky. I looked into his eyes, bathed in the moonlight and the flashing neon lights below and really saw him for the first time since we used to have our secret midnight meetings on the beach on the Vineyard. The Bloodlust did that, made me see things I hadn’t before. His beautiful face would forever be youthful, but in this state of mind, there was something innocent about him. The scared boy who wanted someone to believe in him had never left.

  I exhaled heavily and tore my eyes away from him. The moon shone bright like a spotlight and the city below throbbed obscenely. Its buzz began to swarm inside my brain and if I didn’t block it out it could be my undoing. “I think we should keep this between us.”

  Tristan slid out of me, the shock sending me reeling. I instantly felt lost, empty, abandoned. No, he would be my undoing. He tipped my head back to him and rested his forehead against mine. The cool of his skin felt soothing and delicious. I wanted to drown in it.

  “Why? Are you ashamed of me?” His face darkened.

  As much as I wanted to lie to him, I couldn’t.

  “Blade is missing.” I could barely form the words. “And I think you might be able to help me find him.”

  “Why would you think I’d want to help you?” Tristan pulled away from me slightly. The look of surprise seemed genuine.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I shuddered with fury. Had he lost every shred of humanity he ever had? Blade was in danger, and Tristan
dismissed it.

  “Talis can read my mind. She knows everything that I do. Everything. So anything I told you would be null and void as soon as it left my mouth.”

  “I know that.” He looked surprised. “Lennon’s told me some stuff.”

  “So you can probably understand why Talis doesn’t like you very much.”

  “But why Blade?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. She wasn’t happy about how the whole thing ended with him and Immortal Dilemma. She thought he would be a good fit. I don’t know why. Maybe she has a plan for him.”

  “She said she didn’t like it when people didn’t listen to her.”

  He scoffed. “That’s for sure.”

  “Doesn’t it matter what he wants?” I tried to keep my hysteria at bay.

  “Not if Talis wants something different for him.” Tristan put his arm around me and we both sat with our back to the window, skin to skin. My fear of falling through had faded away. “Besides, I like him gone. It means I get you all to myself.” He kissed my hair.

  I pulled away. “No! How can you be happy when I’ve caused someone else harm? I have to find him.”

  “You’ll get used to hurting people.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “You’ll understand someday.” Tristan didn’t show any emotion. It was maddening.

  “No, I don’t care if that’s how you feel. I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want to become a monster.” The world flew out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop it.

  “Like me?”

  “No. Like Talis.” I hugged my knees to my chest. “What else can she do?”

  “I don’t know.” Tristan shrugged. “A whole bunch of shit.”

  “You don’t know or you don’t want to tell me?”

  “Neither. I don’t care.”

  “You need to care.” His indifference infuriated me. “This is what you are.”

  “I’ll figure it out.”

  That was exactly what scared me. I turned away from him, still hugging my knees, and looked out at the city. The lights pulsed and swirled as Tristan’s blood fogged my vision.

  He chuckled. “So you don’t want anyone to know you’re here? We’re still protecting Bradley’s feelings, huh?” He grabbed my wrists hard enough to leave bruises and pulled me towards him, his mouth hovering just off of my neck. “I can make sure everyone knows.”

  “No!” I shrieked. I didn’t think he’d really hurt me, again, but I didn’t doubt he’d mark his territory.

  “Come on then,” he pulled me up by my wrists, loosening the death grip slightly. “We wouldn’t want anyone to know you took your clothes off.” I didn’t miss the bite in his tone.

  I followed Tristan wordlessly back into the bathroom. I wasn’t going to fight with him about Blade. He wasn’t going to change my mind or make me feel guilty. He stood behind me, and positioned me in front of the full length mirror. I gasped when I looked at myself.

  From chin to chest, I was covered in Tristan’s blood, with a few scarlet rivulets making their way down my breasts to my stomach.

  “I look like a freak,” I whispered, eyes wide, trying not to sob.

  “You look more beautiful than you ever have. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  He turned me towards him, holding my arms lightly, and began kissing and licking me until there was no signs of what we had done. When he was satisfied with his work, he turned me back around to the mirror for my approval. I looked at him in the reflection, not sure what to do next. He kept one hand on my arm as he filled an intricately patterned bowl with water and dipped a wash cloth in it. The reflection of the colored glass danced against his tattooed arm. He dragged the warm velvety cloth across my skin slowly, rhythmically, like he was thinking about every move he made. His eyes never left mine in the mirror, except for when I closed my eyes to fight the gnawing in my belly he created, as the fabric caressed every inch of me.

  “There,” he whispered in my ear. “We’ve washed away all your sins.”

  If only it were that easy.

  Chapter Thirty Four

  “What did you find out?” Dave’s voice turned cold as soon as he realized it was me on the phone.

  “Talis has him. Says she doesn’t like it when people defy her. Janelle says that some Immortal Dilemma fans have disappeared before.”

  “My brother’s not some random groupie.”

  “I know that. But he didn’t listen to Talis. And now he’s disappeared and she has him. Maybe there’s a pattern.” I knew I shouldn’t tell him the next part, but I couldn’t help myself. “Tristan can’t help. Talis can read his mind.”

  “Of course you went to see him.”

  I ignored his sarcasm. “He thinks Talis might have a plan for Blade.”

  “There’s some news. Of course she does. She’s probably got him strung up in some dungeon, his innards hanging out, while you’re off screwing some guy thinking you’re getting inside information.”

  Bile rose in my throat. “Stop it. Do you want to find out what she can and can’t do? We can’t fight her unless we know.”

  “Fine. You win. I hope it was worth the price you paid for that little nugget of information.”

  I hung up the phone, defeated. This was not a team effort. Dave didn’t offer any information to me. Did he have any?

  I wasn’t doing this for Dave. He obviously didn’t want my help. Screw him. I was doing this for Blade.

  Janelle had never even heard of Embrace before I started working there. So much for being the Vampire Gossip Queen of Las Vegas. She was no help. I asked Lennon to meet me at the pool. I thought it was a less dangerous place to talk than at work.

  “I feel like I’m burning today.” I said to her as we set up and she poured lemonade out of her decanter. Usually, my skin browned nicely on command. Today I was turning red. “It’s not even all that hot.” Funny how not all that hot become relative in the desert. It had to be over one hundred degrees.

  “Welcome to being a morph, doll.” Lennon pulled a seat out for me under the umbrella. “Your days of sun worship may be over.”

  “And I thought you were just trying to prevent wrinkles with your fabulous hat and all that goo you slather on your skin.”

  “Survival.” She sighed. “Speaking of, any more news on Blade?”

  “No. His brother is totally shutting me down.” I rubbed sunscreen on myself. I hated the smell. “What does Talis say about you and Jacey? Does she have a problem with you?”

  “If she does, it’s none of her business. She’s not Jacey’s creator.”

  “What? I didn’t know there was more than one master creator in Vegas.”

  “Of course there is. There’re many clans. They’re just not as powerful. Talis is just the Queen Bitch of them all.”

  “You know, I’d love to go see Fire Dancer sometime.” Maybe another master could help me find Blade.

  “That would be so much fun! We’ll totally go this week! I can’t wait.”

  “Me neither.” I couldn’t wait to see how the other clans lived.

  I decided to go for a swim. At least that I could still enjoy. Before work I had time to get in a quick nap and to do some research on Fire Dancer.

  They weren’t as big as Immortal Dilemma, but they still had quite a following. They played at The Riviera, not trendy like the Alta Vista, but they still had a residence and their own theater. The music sounded similar, hard rock, but it was a little more melodic than the screaming Immortal Dilemma trademarked. I’d never admit it to Tristan, but I liked Fire Dancer’s music a little better. The band members similarly wore a lot of leather and had tons of tattoos. Lennon never told me what Jacey looked like, so I was surprised to see he had bleached blonde hair that fell a little past his shoulders but spiked way up in the front. He wore much more makeup than Tristan, and in a more feminine way.

  “Hey, do you ever go see Fire Dancer?” I asked Janelle as I got ready for work and she headed to
the Alta Vista.

  She wrinkled up her nose. “Ugh. No. I told you they have a huge rivalry with Immortal Dilemma.”

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t go see them.”

  “Even the fans of the bands don’t get along.” Wow, these girls took things seriously. No wonder Janelle had been so hot to have me move in. Her scope for gathering information was narrow.

  “Callie, you need to be careful, you know.” She continued as I pulled my hair back in a barrette. “You’re not going to be able to help Blade if you go missing, too.”

  “You really think that’s going to happen?”

  “We just don’t know what we’re messing with. These people don’t play by our rules.”

  Didn’t I know it. “I didn’t expect you to get spooked so easily.”

  “You just can’t go into the great unknown with guns blazing. You’re human. You break. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  We didn’t discuss it any further. Lennon knocked on the door to pick me up for work. I needed to get out of there before Amanda showed up for Janelle and caused any problems. Janelle didn’t like Lennon, but at least she could be polite. Amanda could never keep her mouth shut.

  The tables of Embrace were full by eleven. There were so many people, I wondered if they were all vampires. They looked so normal. Donors swirled around the tables, stopping when someone wanted a drink, then getting back up, still dripping blood from the wound, until the next vampire beckoned them. Many of them had multiple wounds, on all the major arteries. Not one of them ever changed their blank expression. It was impossible to tell if they enjoyed it, hated it, or just didn’t feel anything anymore, which terrified me the most.

  Most of the patrons did want Venom or wine, and mostly by the bottle. I just opened it, put it on ice, and added the appropriate number of glasses and sent it on its way. Two waitresses joined us as the night progressed. High tickets and generous tips. I could get used to this.

  The noise level in the room rocketed around one. The amount of leather and latex rose in proportion. A rowdy group of guys who looked awfully familiar bellied up to the bar, ordering shots of Patron with Venom chasers. Immortal Dilemma.