Wicked Memories (CASTLE OF DARK DREAMS)

by Nina Bangs

  When Kayla finally closed the conference door behind her, Sparkle was still staring at the tablet.

  Once in her room, Kayla found she couldn’t follow her own advice. Everything was a tangled mess in her mind—Ganymede, Loki, Aegir, Thorn. Then there was Dad. Kayla hadn’t spoken to him in a week.

  But she always came back to Thorn. And when she finally did manage to fall asleep, it was to dream of their lovemaking beneath the sea. Waking to reality would be tough.

  * * *

  Thorn stood at the railing on the deck of the Death Wish. Fine, so that wasn’t the ship’s name. He didn’t remember the stupid name. He had other things to think about. Like how he would survive the agony tomorrow when he refused to continue using his power. Worse yet, maybe he wouldn’t refuse. The temptation would be that strong.

  “Why did you agree to use your power? I know how you hate the idea.”

  Kayla asked the same question he’d asked himself over and over since waking from his day sleep.

  “Don’t have a clue.” I did it because you’d think it was the right thing to do. And I care what you think. Maybe he even thought it was the right thing to do.

  She put her hand over his where it rested on the railing. He absorbed her warmth, her support, her confidence that he’d get the job done. He should warn her not to put any hard bets on that.

  “You’re worried.”

  Thorn cursed himself for not hiding his unease better. “Other than the H.A.T.E idiots, I haven’t tried to persuade a large group since shortly after I became vampire.”

  “Reason?” She lifted her face to the breeze blowing over the water.

  He’d like to remember her this way. Because after she saw what he became in the next few days, she might never come near him again. “There was a battle. Lots of dead. I thought I could end it by persuading everyone to stop fighting. I only managed to persuade half of them. The other half slaughtered the ones who obeyed me. I swore never to try persuasion on a large group again.”

  “I understand. But you have a lot more experience now. You’ll do fine.”

  He nodded. Her belief in him gave him the confidence he needed. Thorn smiled. No one had thought to ask him what he intended to make the humans believe. Loki might have it right. It was fun to tweak noses and pull tails. Too bad the one tail he’d enjoy pulling the most wasn’t here.

  She turned to glance across the deck. He followed her gaze. Banan and Kel weren’t here. They’d already be in their other forms and swimming toward Aegir’s hall. Most of the others were on deck. Thorn smiled as he spotted the guy with the snooty-sounding messenger of Bast sitting on his shoulder. He didn’t look happy. Neither did the cat. Thorn didn’t want to think about what would happen if she got her paws wet.

  “Where’s Sparkle?” Kayla searched the crowd.

  Just then Thorn saw a limo pull up to the terminal. Who the hell . . . ? Someone got out. Holgarth? The wizard went back to open the door for . . . ?

  Thorn watched two people emerge from the car. Loki? What was he doing here? The god had sort of made it clear that he’d get to Aegir’s hall on his own. Thorn glanced at Kayla. She was still oblivious, staring in the opposite direction.

  Thorn looked back to the limo. The second person was climbing out. He smiled and the smile turned to laughter.

  Startled, Kayla glanced at him. “What?”

  Thorn pointed. “Our captain has arrived.”

  17

  Kayla decided that Sparkle had gotten it right. If they were all headed for possible annihilation then why not do it in style?

  Silence followed Sparkle’s path as she boarded the ship. In the midst of a crowd that featured some of the most bizarre and powerful beings Kayla would ever meet, Sparkle was a star.

  “Someone has to get her picture before she goes down with her ship. This moment needs to be preserved for future generations.” There was laughter in Thorn’s voice.

  Kayla glanced at him. How could he find anything funny when they all might die in a short time?

  “What?” He met Kayla’s gaze. “Come on, laugh. I might not like her, but you have to admit she’s good for morale. I mean, who would even think about allowing Aegir to sink this ship and ruin Sparkle’s outfit?”

  “You’re right.” She smiled and felt some of her tension ease.

  Sparkle stopped in the middle of the deck and spun in a slow circle to view her team. She didn’t look happy with what she saw. “You’re pitiful, people. First rule, dress for success. Your clothes should announce that you will prevail. Look at you, dressed in dull and dreary colors meant for skulking in the shadows. Do you really think they’ll make you invisible to Aegir?” She sniffed her contempt. “No. They tell Aegir you’re afraid of him, that you hope he won’t notice you.”

  Kayla looked guiltily down at her own clothes—jeans, black sweater and gray coat. No comparison. Sparkle wore a short white captain’s jacket with gold frogs across the front and gold epaulets on her shoulders. A little captain’s cap perched at a jaunty angle on her head. She had leggings tucked into gold leather thigh-high boots with the prerequisite four-inch heels. Her gold eye shadow and nail color set the tone for the night.

  “Black and gray are sexy. I like the understated look.”

  Thorn’s breath warmed Kayla’s neck as well as her heart. She slipped her hand into his. “Thanks.” Kayla could have told him that he looked great in black, all dark sensual vampire.

  Sparkle interrupted Kayla’s thoughts of dark sexy vampires.

  “Loki decided to come with us. I’ll let him explain.” She beckoned their resident god to stand beside her.

  Loki had evidently gotten some style pointers from Sparkle. He wore what looked like black body armor and black boots. He’d thrown a purple robe edged in gold over his shoulders. He had a fancy gold helmet tucked under his arm. His black hair blew in the breeze as he stared down his perfect nose at everyone. Loki looked . . . godlike. Thorn’s voice startled Kayla from her contemplation of Loki’s godliness.

  “Great outfit.” Thorn grinned.

  Loki narrowed his eyes and then shrugged. “I watched The Avengers last night. I decided to dress more in keeping with human expectations.”

  Someone on the other side of the deck called out. “Why’d you change your plans?”

  “I’m here tonight to preserve your lives.” He scanned his audience, his gaze lingering for a moment on Kayla.

  She wanted to shrink behind Thorn, but pride wouldn’t allow it. Kayla met Loki’s gaze. He smiled.

  Next to her, Thorn almost hummed with aggression. That shouldn’t make her feel better, but it did. What did that say about her?

  Loki continued. “Not from Aegir, but from Sparkle and Holgarth. Fortunately for you, I was present while they made plans to guide this ship out to Aegir’s hall. Frankly, they terrified me. So I suggested that I pilot the ship tonight.

  Prolonged cheering and clapping met his announcement. Sparkle looked insulted and Holgarth glowered.

  “Never thought I’d say this, but thank the gods for Loki.” Thorn watched as Loki strode to the bow of the ship.

  Within minutes the ship began to edge away from the dock. There was no sound of an engine. It just . . . moved. Kayla shivered. What would it be like to sleep next to a man of power night after night? She glanced at Thorn. She’d like to find out.

  The rest of their journey out into the Gulf was silent. The ship moved quietly through the water, and no one had much to say. Dacian and Cinn had joined Kayla and Thorn at the railing.

  Dacian looked uneasy. “When the ship gets close to Aegir’s hall, Cinn will call on the sea plants to grow over the clear dome. Aegir shouldn’t be able to see us coming. She’s never tried to use her power on such a large scale, though.”

  Kayla leaned over to clasp Cinn’s hand. “You’ll do fine.”

  Thorn agreed. “If Vince is any example of your power, I’m not worried.” He frowned. “I’m afraid I haven’t spent much time with the l
ittle guy. Too much going on. He just sits on my nightstand.”

  Cinn smiled. “Vince isn’t talkative. But when the game is on the line, he’ll come through.” Her smile faded. “He helped save my life once.”

  Kayla wanted to hear her story, but just then Loki beckoned Cinn to his side.

  “Looks as though the action will start soon.” Thorn sounded eager.

  “You’re looking forward to this, aren’t you?” Kayla didn’t know how she felt about that.

  He seemed to be giving her question a lot of thought. “Parts of it. I was a Viking. The sea, adventure, and fighting were my life. Living a human life nowadays can be . . .” Thorn shrugged.

  Sadness gripped her. “Boring?” She was human. Did he think she was boring too? This was the man who had loved Sparkle Stardust. No way would Kayla ever come close to her on the excitement scale. But as much as she wanted him to be content playing at being human, she wanted his happiness even more. And that sucked lemons for her possible future joy. “Maybe you should allow your true nature to shine through once in a while.”

  “Not boring. More like lacking in epic battles where one mistake means the final death. But I’ve enjoyed the mental challenges of being human.” His gaze touched her with warmth and something more. “I think during the course of a long life, everyone has to shake things up, try something different. Using my persuasion night after night drove me to want to end my existence. I never want to go back to that.”

  Kayla brightened a little. “So you might be happy running Nirvana?”

  He nodded. “Yes, as long as I have other . . . challenging things to do.”

  His smile was slow and suggested something she was afraid to believe.

  Thorn ended their conversation just when it was getting interesting. Kayla hated being dragged back to the real danger they’d soon face. She didn’t need any epic battles to complete her.

  Not quite the truth, Stanley. With the darkness, the wind whipping through her hair, the ship rocking beneath her feet, and the strength of Thorn beside her, she felt a certain frenetic adrenaline rush at the thought of facing off against Aegir.

  And just for a moment, she thought of her father. Maybe this was what Dad was reaching for when he skirted the law or flirted with the forces of evil—the sense of teetering on the brink of oblivion that day-to-day life never offered.

  Loki interrupted her musings.

  “We’re almost there. The sea creatures might have already alerted Aegir to the ship’s approach, but plants now cover every inch of the clear dome, so he’ll have no visual confirmation. The unnatural plant growth will have warned him that those aboard the ship have magical powers. Aegir will do one of two things: he’ll either leave the safety of his hall to engage us or choose to hunker down inside. Our advantage is that he doesn’t know yet that one of the Norse gods is aboard. But our advantage won’t last for long. We have to move fast starting now.”

  Loki’s gaze grew distant and then he nodded. “I’ve connected with the kelpie and shark. They’re ready. Now I need the messenger of the goddess Bast and the demon who can create musical bubbles.”

  The Siamese cat leaped from the shoulder of the man. No, not a man. Kayla had grown sensitive enough to realize he was something else. She hadn’t asked about him. But the cat was Asima. She’d called Sparkle a slut queen. So not BFFs.

  Kayla heard Thorn’s snort of laughter beside her. She threw a questioning glance his way. He pointed at the cat.

  “Look.”

  She looked. And smiled. The cat was wearing a pirate’s skull and crossbones medallion on her diamond collar.

  Sparkle rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”

  The cat ignored Sparkle as she padded to Loki’s side. The music demon with the long blond hair joined her.

  Loki signaled the demon to do his thing. Everyone grew quiet, watching. Suddenly Kayla could hear music. She looked at Thorn.

  “‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’?” He shook his head. “That’s incredibly cheesy. But I like it. It works.”

  Riveted, Kayla stared at what the demon was creating. Impossible as it seemed, the notes of the melody seemed to coalesce and gain a physical form. The demon looked as though he was shaping a clear ribbon of sound and then wrapping it around and around the cat until she was enclosed in a transparent bubble of music.

  Asima offered the music demon a contemptuous stare. “You couldn’t have chosen an aria from Aida? Of course, demons rarely have well-developed musical tastes.”

  Kayla would never get used to hearing voices in her head. She took a deep breath. It was really beginning. She moved closer to Thorn and he wrapped an arm around her.

  The blond demon gestured and the bubble-enclosed Asima drifted over the railing and down into the water. She disappeared beneath the waves.

  Loki turned to spear everyone still on the deck with a hard stare. “So it begins. I’m leaving now to rip apart Aegir’s hall. I assume he’ll try to engage me, but you can never predict what the sea god will do. He might choose to attack a weaker foe.” His expression said they all came under that weaker category. “I won’t be able to help you. Use all of your powers.” He glanced at Kayla. “I would suggest the beautiful human stay safe in one of the cabins.”

  Kayla clenched her hands into fists. Wasn’t going to happen. She wanted to stay as near to Thorn as possible in case he needed her. Oh, come on, how could you help him? He’s a freaking vampire. Yes, there was that. But she wanted to be there just in case. Kayla would make sure to stay out of his way, though. She didn’t want to turn into a liability.

  Thorn looked at her. “Can I persuade you to leave the deck?”

  “No.”

  “Didn’t think so.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Just promise me if the ship comes under attack you’ll get to a safe place. Otherwise worrying about you will distract me.”

  “I promise.” She reached up to touch his face, to memorize the shape, the texture of him. “Don’t take any risks you don’t have to.”

  He smiled at her. “I should be okay. There’s no record of an octopus ever taking a vampire’s head.” Left unsaid was that Aegir might decide to drag the ship below the waves. “If things get too dangerous and I’m not available, stick with Edge, the guy with the grim reaper tattoo. Next to Ganymede, he’s one of the most powerful cosmic troublemakers. He can get you safely to shore.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Kayla had believed that before leaving shore. But in the dark, in the Gulf of Mexico, with an angry sea god lurking below, she wasn’t quite so sure. Looking back at him one more time, she walked to a door that led to an enclosed area with observation windows. If things grew too dangerous for a human, she’d step inside.

  They had no more time to talk.

  Loki disappeared.

  Seconds later the Gulf erupted. The surface of the water became a churning maelstrom. Huge swells rocked the boat, and Kayla felt her stomach churn. No, she would not get seasick right in the middle of probably the only epic battle of her life. She would not live down to the puny-human label some of the nonhumans wanted to stick on her.

  Waves washed over the deck and sea spray filled the air. Kayla clung to the door. She could see Zane, Holgarth, and the witches spread around the deck. Kayla assumed they were using their power to protect the ship. The music demon had already shaped one huge musical bubble and sent it over the side. As she watched, he created the second one and sent it after the first. God, she wished she knew what was happening down there. Could the humans survive?

  Sparkle stood, feet planted in the middle of the deck, shouting directions and encouragement to everyone. She’d produced a sword and was waving it in the air. “There’ll be dangers along the way . . . firstly mermaids, zombies . . . Blackbeard.”

  Pirates of the Caribbean? Really? Kayla wanted to applaud her.

  Cinn joined Kayla. “Let’s go inside. Dacian’s worrying too much about me out here.”

  Kayla nodded, and they slipped inside. Sh
e glued herself to the window and watched Thorn. He was standing with a group of nonhumans, ready for a possible attack. She knew some of those with him, but not all of them. If she stayed, she’d have to get to know everyone. If she stayed? Where had that thought come from? Kayla knew there was only one person she would stay for.

  And then it was over. What? That quickly? Why hadn’t any monstrous sea creatures attacked them? Where was Aegir rising from the water to smite them? What about Ran and her nine daughters? Kayla couldn’t deny a letdown, a sense of anticlimax.

  The Gulf calmed and Asima’s bubble floated to the surface followed closely by the two large ones filled with inert people. God, were they okay? They couldn’t be dead.

  Once on deck, the bubbles burst and the music stopped. Good thing. Kayla couldn’t have listened to one more second of that damn melody. The cat stood looking at the rescued humans until they slowly started moving. They struggled to their feet, wide-eyed, terrified, and confused.

  Kayla rushed back onto the deck. She remained in the shadows, though. Thorn would have to use his power now, and she didn’t want to weaken his concentration.

  She had a bad feeling about this whole thing—his persuading all these people at once, Aegir’s too-easy defeat. Maybe she should just accept things as they were, though. Aegir was gone. And Thorn wouldn’t attempt this if he didn’t feel he could do it.

  Loki suddenly appeared on deck, perfectly dry and without a hair or piece of clothing out of place. How the hell did he do that? He didn’t say anything, just stood watching with the other nonhumans as Thorn faced the rescued people.

  Thorn began talking. Everyone stilled. “Back on Earth at last. You don’t know why the aliens decided to free you. You’re just thankful that you’ll be able to see friends and family again. The aliens sank your vessel. You lost consciousness. When you woke, you were on their ship high above Earth. It was huge, black, and triangular shaped. You can’t remember much that happened to you. They must’ve wiped most of your memories before returning you to Galveston. You don’t even remember what they looked like. They did experiments, but they didn’t hurt you. You can’t recall what kinds of experiments. Before they sent you from their ship, they told you they were going to Australia next. You were allowed to keep that memory. They weren’t worried about you telling the authorities this because humans haven’t developed the aircraft capable of catching them. Escaping human detection seemed like a game to them. You’re on the beach now waiting to be rescued by the police. You’re calm and quiet, thinking about all you’ve experienced, wondering if anyone will believe you.”