Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS)

by Nina Bangs

  Thorn watched the vampire gently lay the woman on the ground. He stroked her hair and held her hand. She still didn’t put the plant down.

  “Shouldn’t you get her some oxygen?” Thorn was thankful that at least her coughing had calmed.

  The woman looked at Thorn. “I’ll be fine.” Her voice was raspy. “I’m not as human as you think. I’m feeling better already.” She smiled at him. “I’m Cinn, and this is my husband, Dacian.” She squeezed the vampire’s hand. “I’ll never forget that you put yourself in danger to save Vince.” Her face crumpled as she looked up at Dacian. “The others. They’re gone.” She turned her head away to hide her tears.

  Thorn didn’t know where to look. He wasn’t good with the gratitude of others or women’s tears. So this was a double dose of discomfort. He said the first thing that came into his mind to end the moment. “What’s so special about Vince?” Who named a plant? And had he really seen the vine reaching for him?

  Dacian answered for his wife. “Cinn is a demigoddess. She grows sentient plants.” He looked at Sparkle. “Can I take her back into the castle? She needs to rest . . . and mourn.”

  Sparkle never took her gaze from Thorn. “Go in through the food delivery door. The police will stop you if you try to use the main entrance.”

  Thorn watched Dacian pick up Cinn again and leave before he looked back at the others.

  Holgarth made a frustrated sound. “I suppose I’m the most qualified to speak with the authorities. The firefighters won’t know that as the magic dies, so will the flames. I have the people skills to make them believe they truly did put out the fire. I’ll praise them for their efforts and all will be well in our public relations world. And of course there will be the police.” He sighed. “They’ll want to conduct an investigation.” He looked weary at the thought of answering all those pesky questions.

  Thorn watched the collective eye-rolling with the first bit of humor he’d felt since entering Live the Fantasy. At least Ganymede waited until the wizard had left before offering any snark.

  “People skills? I’ve known trolls with more people skills.” Ganymede sat down, wrapped his tail around himself, and studied Thorn from unblinking amber eyes. “You want us to believe you’re not responsible for this explosion and fire?”

  Kayla spoke up. “I don’t think he is. Someone obviously set explosives at both places. I think you have a mutual enemy.” She didn’t look at Thorn.

  Ganymede wasn’t about to be sidetracked. “What about that god-awful stench?”

  Thorn met his stare. “What about my exploding refreshment stand?”

  Ganymede decided to abandon that particular discussion. “You’re trying to ruin us. You fired the first shot by building your crappy park right across the street. People like a great view. You killed the view.” Ganymede paused. “The word ‘killed’ just reminded me of what I want to do to you.”

  Thorn tensed. He didn’t want to drag out his power of persuasion again—he still wasn’t comfortable that he’d had to use it on Eric, Klepoth, and Zane—but he wouldn’t win a straight-up battle with Ganymede. And he’d decided that maybe life still had some unexplored opportunities for him. He glanced at Kayla and then away. Not now. He’d think about her later.

  Sparkle finally spoke. “Do I know you?”

  He widened his eyes. Damn. No disguise. But even without one, he hadn’t thought she’d remember. “No.” Thorn hoped his shock didn’t show. “We’ve never met.” If you were going to lie, do it with conviction.

  But Sparkle wasn’t finished. “Why do you want to ruin my park?”

  Thorn had no answer for that. He watched her with what he hoped was a blank expression.

  He saw the exact moment when she recognized him. It was in the sudden flare of her eyes, the sharp intake of breath.

  Crap. He wasn’t ready for this confrontation. Thorn would choose the time and place. This wasn’t it.

  But he needn’t have worried. Sparkle looked away and said nothing. Thorn understood. She wouldn’t want Ganymede to witness what they said to each other.

  Thorn tried to look casual as he started to turn away. Every one of his instincts screamed for him not to turn his back on the cat. But he was counting on Ganymede choosing not to destroy him in front of so many witnesses.

  He smiled at the cat. “If you’re not going to fry me tonight, I’ll be on my way. Hope you find who did the damage. I’ll let you know if my people discover anything.” Then he started to walk away.

  “Don’t set foot in Live the Fantasy again, vampire. The only reason you’re leaving here in one piece tonight is because you saved Cinn. I won’t be so forgiving next time.”

  Thorn knew better than to pull this cat’s tail, but he couldn’t help it. Ganymede’s arrogance begged to be deflated. “I don’t need to ‘set foot’ in your crappy park. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” He hated clichés, but when he found one that would irritate the hell out of Ganymede, he had to put personal likes aside.

  “Are you threatening me, vampire?” The tail in question whipped back and forth. Ganymede was pissed.

  Thorn hoped his grin looked insulting enough. “Threatening you? Why would I? You’re not important to me.” He glanced at Sparkle so everyone would know who was important to him.

  Sparkle paled and looked away.

  “Just get your ass off my property.” Ganymede puffed himself up, flattened his ears, and growled.

  Sparkle glanced at Ganymede. Her glare said she took exception to the cat’s use of “my.” Good. Thorn loved stirring up dissension.

  Deciding that he’d pushed the cat as far as he could for now, Thorn walked away. But he’d only taken a few steps when he heard a different voice in his head, the same small voice he’d heard in the greenhouse. “Thank you.” Thorn chose not to acknowledge the voice.

  All the way back to Nirvana, questions beat at him. Ganymede had banned him from Live the Fantasy. Then shouldn’t he demand that Kayla stay away from his park? No, because he really wanted to see her again. Often.

  Okay, so what he really wanted was to get her into his bed. Or her bed. He wasn’t picky. Nothing unusual in that. He’d wanted to have sex with a lot of women in his life. But this is different. He did some mental eye-rolling before shoving the thought aside. It was always about sex.

  Back to what was really important. How would he ruin Sparkle’s business? It seemed too many variables had popped up suddenly. Thorn couldn’t give his revenge his full attention when someone was busy trying to drive him from Galveston. Someone who wasn’t Sparkle Stardust. And since it seemed the same person was determined to take out Live the Fantasy too, it spoiled his fun. The bastard who liked to blow things up would get the credit for Thorn’s brilliant acts of sabotage. Major buzzkill.

  And how would he stave off the inevitable confrontation with Sparkle until her park was in financial shambles? Tonight had helped. No one would be able to stay the night with the smell of smoke. Sparkle would have to relocate her guests to other hotels in the area. And she’d have to close down the Castle of Dark Dreams for at least a few days until they cleaned up the courtyard.

  Eric met him inside Nirvana. “Everyone okay over there?” He looked worried.

  Why not? Eric had ties to the castle and its people. For just a moment, Thorn felt shame for using his power on the other vampire. But then he shook the feeling off. This was war, and in war you used the weapons you needed to win.

  Besides, Thorn was doing penance. He’d used persuasion and woken the need that demanded he do it again and again. When he refused, he suffered. Hence the headache and generally rotten feeling that would take a while to fade.

  “Everyone’s fine. The fire burned up the courtyard, but the castle wasn’t damaged.”

  Eric nodded. He seemed relieved, but there was accusation in his eyes. “Next time do something that won’t hurt people.”

  “What?” Eric thought he set the fire? “I didn’t have anything to do with that. But I�
�d like to know who did.”

  “Glad to hear it. I like this job. I’d hate to have to quit.” Eric didn’t smile.

  You can’t quit until I release you. Thorn wasn’t proud of that thought. “Got it.”

  “So how was your night?” Eric sounded a little more friendly.

  “Shitty.”

  The vampire had enough sense not to ask for details. “Well, tomorrow’s another night.”

  “Right. Look, if anyone needs me, I’ll be in my apartment. I have plans to make.” Plans for Kayla, for Sparkle, and for whoever the dirtbag was that liked to blow things up. First, though, he had a date with some major painkillers.

  * * *

  Kayla was shaking. Not a reaction her father would applaud. Dad expected his children to sneer in the face of extreme danger and imminent death. But the fear wasn’t for her. She’d really believed that Ganymede would kill Thorn.

  Standing there, Kayla had felt power pouring from the cat. He’d terrified her. If he’d aimed all that aggression at Thorn, the vampire would’ve been dead. She didn’t doubt that for a moment.

  How far would she have been willing to go to stop Ganymede? Fine, so she didn’t believe anyone could have stopped him if he wanted to destroy Thorn. But she would’ve tried. And that was a frightening revelation.

  “You know him.” Ganymede stared at Sparkle.

  Startled, Kayla realized she was the only one left standing with Ganymede and Sparkle. She should walk away and allow them their private moment, but she was too hungry to find out whatever she could about Thorn. So until they realized she was still here, she’d stay and listen.

  Sparkle wouldn’t meet his gaze. “What makes you think—?”

  “Don’t lie to me.” His tail twitched back and forth, growing more agitated with each twitch. “I’ve known you for too many years, babe. You recognized him from some other time and place.”

  Sparkle sighed and finally looked at him. “Yes. But it was a long time ago, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Ganymede stood. “Well, when you do want to talk about it, you know where I’ll be.” He padded away, oozing injured pride.

  No matter how much Kayla wanted to hear more, she couldn’t justify hanging around any longer. She started to slip away.

  “Wait.”

  It took a moment for Kayla to realize Sparkle was speaking to her. She stopped.

  “I’ve been meaning to work on your image. Come with me.”

  “Now?” Kayla didn’t think this was a good time for a makeover.

  “I need a distraction, and you need help.”

  Kayla considered saying no. She didn’t need Sparkle’s insults on top of everything else that had happened tonight. But her god-awful curiosity whispered that she might learn more about Thorn from Sparkle. “Sure. Why not?”

  Sparkle didn’t speak until they were inside her apartment. Ganymede wasn’t there.

  “Mede won’t bother us. He’ll spend the night at my candy store. He goes to Sweet Indulgence when he’s mad at me. I guess surrounding himself with sweets takes him to his happy place.”

  She seated Kayla at her dressing table and pulled up a chair beside her. Then she opened a rolling suitcase.

  Kayla’s jaw dropped open. “Why would anyone need that much makeup and hair stuff?”

  Sparkle narrowed her eyes. “I’m an artist. Only a true artist could create a masterpiece given the raw material I have to work with.”

  She could learn to hate this woman. Kayla stared at her face in the mirror and asked the question that was gnawing at her. “When did you meet Thorn?”

  “About a thousand years ago.” Sparkle picked the things she wanted from her suitcase.

  “How?” Kayla waited for the moment that Sparkle would tell her to mind her own business.

  “His name was Brandt back then. He was just out of his teens, still human. So young.” Sparkle paused, her gaze fixed on a spot somewhere above Kayla’s head. “And so very beautiful.”

  Kayla waited, holding her breath and hoping Sparkle wouldn’t stop.

  “Watch every step in my process so you can duplicate it.” Sparkle didn’t say anything more for a few minutes as she worked on Kayla’s face.

  “Umm, why are you doing this now?”

  “I told you. I need a distraction. When I’m stressed I have to keep my hands busy. And I’m not the only one who needs a distraction. Our angry vampire needs one badly. And what’s more distracting than a beautiful woman? One who understands the power of an enhanced face.”

  Kayla might have argued about the power of cosmetics, but she had something more important on her mind. Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore. “So what happened between you and . . . Brandt?”

  Sparkle paused to think. “He fell in love with me, naturally.”

  Kayla raised one brow. “Naturally?”

  “Keep your brows still while I’m shaping them.” She continued working. “I’m the queen of sex and sin, the cosmic troublemaker in charge of sexual chaos. He was a child. Of course he fell in love with me.”

  Kayla tried to keep track of what Sparkle was doing to her face, but it was tough. She kept picturing a young and sexually innocent Thorn falling for the mother of all cougars. It wasn’t a pretty picture. And you’re jealous, admit it. Fine, so maybe she was. A little. “So what happened?”

  Sparkle sighed as she rooted for the right lip color. “Things didn’t end well. He told me he loved me. I knew I had to end it. Ganymede had popped back into my life, and Brandt couldn’t have a part in my future. I didn’t know he was a Mackenzie, so I assumed he’d live his short human life and then die.” She shrugged.

  Kayla bit back her urge to hit Sparkle with a few pointed words, including but not limited to “cruel” and “bitch”. She decided it might not be wise to tick Sparkle off when she had a mascara wand in her hand.

  “What did he say when you told him you didn’t love him?” Kayla had expected to feel sad for Thorn, but the anger surprised her. Why all these emotions? He was a virtual stranger.

  Sparkle didn’t meet her eyes in the mirror. “I didn’t. I was supposed to meet him by the harbor. I think he wanted to talk about us, our future together. I sent a message that I’d met an old friend and was leaving with him. I never saw Brandt again until now.”

  Kayla remained silent, gathering her thoughts, her feelings, into a manageable pile. Her overriding emotion was sorrow for that young Thorn. She couldn’t imagine how shattered he’d felt when the woman he loved disappeared without a word. And, yes, some of that sorrow was for herself, because maybe she’d started to like him just a little. “He must’ve loved you very much to carry your memory for this long.” A thousand years. “Must still love you.”

  Sparkle laughed. It was cold and brittle. “Don’t fool yourself. Love hasn’t brought him here. Try vengeance. He tracked me down so he could destroy my business the same way he feels I destroyed his heart.”

  Since she put it that way . . . Kayla liked Sparkle’s take on the situation better than her own. She found she didn’t want him to still love Sparkle.

  Then something occurred to Kayla. “Why trust me with this story?”

  Sparkle’s smile held true amusement this time. “It’s not a case of trust. I needed to talk about it with someone, and you were there. Besides, I’m positive you won’t mention it to anyone because my punishments for blabbing are legendary and infinitely horrible.” Her smile widened. “Think about PMS every day, all day, for the rest of your pathetic life. With cramps. Can’t forget the cramps.”

  Kayla thought about it. “I won’t say anything.”

  “I didn’t think you would. Mede can never know. Jealousy makes him do crazy things. You wouldn’t want to be on the same continent with him if that happened.”

  Kayla only nodded.

  “There. Your face is done, and now I’ll do your hair. What do you think?”

  “Wow.” No other word could express her shock. Her face was . . . She looked
up at Sparkle. “Make sure you give me everything you used tonight.” Because as shallow as she knew it was, Kayla would be wearing this face the next time she saw Thorn.

  And he was Thorn to her. Brandt would always belong to Sparkle, but Kayla had hopes that in this time and place Thorn would be hers at least for a little while.

  After Sparkle finished her hair and Kayla made the expected sounds of awe and appreciation, she returned to her room and crawled into bed. Kayla didn’t remove her makeup. She lay in the darkness and stared at the ceiling. Great makeup and awesome hair and absolutely no one to appreciate it. Some things just weren’t fair.

  But tomorrow . . . Kayla smiled into the darkness. He thought she was a spy, so she’d live up to her title. She’d put on her makeup, fix her hair, and do the kind of spying that would bring James Bond to tears.

  Tomorrow night. She couldn’t wait.

  10

  “You’re joking, right?” There were some things so horrific that once seen could never be unseen. Kayla stared. “This is a disguise?”

  She had spent all morning creeping over every inch of the castle to make sure no more nasty surprises exploded in everyone’s faces. She’d found nothing.

  Then Sparkle had ordered Kayla to get ready for her daily visit to Nirvana. Makeup? Check. Sexy outfit straight from Sparkle’s wardrobe for wantons? Check. Trusty sidekick to accompany her? Che . . . Wait. No.

  So here she was, facing her very own “nasty surprise” while she waited in an endless line to enter Nirvana.

  “I don’t have a clue why Sparkle felt I needed you,” Kayla complained to her Sparkle-appointed shadow while the park security guy checked her out with some kind of handheld scanner that clicked and beeped. She noticed that no one else was getting this treatment. Kayla understood. Thorn probably alerted his staff after what happened on the beach. She was the enemy. Surprisingly, the thought bothered her.