by Cameron Dean
“Thank you, I think,” Ash said, his tone dry. “In the end, it came down to just one thing: Sloane wanted that seat on the Board enough to be willing to pay any price. I was not. The second I stopped playing by their rules, I lost and Sloane won.”
I felt something move through me then. Something I wasn’t sure I was quite ready to look in the eye.
“What did you do?” I asked.
Ash toyed with the handle on his coffee mug. “What I didn’t do turned out to be more to the point,” he finally replied. “I did not make you a vampire, nor did I end your life. Your death or…conversion, that was my final test before the Board. I failed because I left you alive.”
“Why?” I whispered. “Why?”
“Because I love you,” Ash said simply. “In that elevator, the moment you pulled away, I came to realize just how much.”
I put my head down into my hands as the full impact of what he was saying hit home. How many times had I wondered why Ash had left me alive that night? Why hadn’t he simply followed me out into the hall and finished me off? And now he was saying the answer was simple: Love.
Suddenly I remembered so many other things about that night. Remembered how very much I had wanted Ash, wanted what he was offering, all of it. I had been a willing participant, right up until the moment I had pulled away.
I could not, in the end, give up my human life, not even for an endless existence with Ash. And I remembered the way he had always claimed that I was not the only one who had paid a price for the events of that night. I had an inkling now of what it had cost.
“What did they do to you?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Ash said shortly. “Though not for lack of trying. Fail the test and be destroyed. As far as the Board was concerned, the outcome should have been perfectly straightforward. Unfortunately for them, I had other plans. I left San Francisco that very night, went to ground for an entire year. And I…I stayed away from you as long as I could, Candace. I couldn’t stay away forever. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” I said. “I’m not.”
“I hope to God you mean that,” Ash said.
I reached across the counter then, took his hands in mine. “I mean it,” I said. “Now let’s stop talking about the past. There’s nothing to be done about it at this point. Let’s talk about the future. What is the Board? What do they want? And what do we have to do to stop them?”
“The Board has existed since the days of the last great Egyptian empire,” Ash explained. “Its original members were men, priests of the god Thoth, and it is through him that they still derive their power. Thoth gave mankind speech. It was believed that, through speaking his own name aloud, he had actually created himself.
“But of greatest interest to his priests was the fact that Thoth was a powerful magician who recorded his spells in a volume called The Book of Thoth. Among them was a ritual that granted immortality.”
“I think I can see where this is going. They tried to perform the ritual, didn’t they?”
“They did,” Ash nodded. “Unfortunately, they overlooked one thing: The Book of Thoth came with a warning. Essentially, the magic it contained was for the use of the gods alone. When the priests invoked the spell, the god Thoth heard their transgression and placed a curse upon their tongues. Instead of becoming immortal, they became undead.”
“Vampires,” I said. “You’re saying they became the first vampires?”
Again, Ash nodded. “In his anger, Thoth removed his book of spells from the world and broke apart his power. He invested it in three tokens, the Emblems of Thoth. He scattered them to the winds and abandoned his perverted followers. But they did not give up. They banded together to form what is now called the Board.”
“But surely none of the original members are left,” I exclaimed.
“Only one. The leader, who calls himself the Chairman. He is—was—the original high priest of Thoth. He has spent more lifetimes than most people can imagine searching for the Emblems of Thoth, absolutely determined to reunite them, to complete the spell that will make him truly immortal. Invincible. All-powerful. If he succeeds, it means that the Chairman and his followers could never be destroyed. It means they will be gods.
“All the Board members are dangerous, but the Chairman is the most dangerous of all. He has maintained his existence for thousands of years, and every year he has amassed knowledge of some new magic, made himself stronger.
“Drawing power from his followers is part of how the Chairman has survived. The trouble is that, sooner or later, the energy exchange literally burns the lesser vampires out. That is why, throughout its long history, there have been…empty seats on the Board. The Chairman uses his followers until they are no longer of any use. Then he replaces them through the sort of contest in which Sloane and I took part.”
“But why would other vampires agree to that in the first place?”
“It’s not a question of true agreement,” Ash replied. “Once they’ve tagged you—they literally grabbed me off the street—you’re in the game, whether you like it or not. Fail, or even fail to try, and you will be destroyed. It is in your best interests to try and win.
“And if you’re successful, the power can flow both ways. The Chairman doesn’t simply draw power, he invests it also. Individual Board members can make use of the collective power of the Board. And there is always the chance that the Emblems of Thoth will be discovered and reunited while you are a member. Then you, too, will become immortal.”
“So if we want to stop them, we have to get to these Emblems first, or at least some of them.”
“Some would be the best we can do at this point,” Ash replied. “When I went before them, they already possessed one Emblem called the Body of Thoth. Two more remain: the Heart of Thoth and the Tongue of Thoth.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “Did you say the Heart? Is the Heart the scarab from the auction?”
“I believe so. And I believe that is why Randolph Glass was attacked. They were looking for the scarab, but of course the scarab was still in the safe at the auction house.”
“No, that’s not true. The heart scarab is gone.”
“Are you sure?” Ash’s skin had suddenly gone even paler than his normal shade of alabaster.
“When Bibi was here last night, she told me that Randolph made special arrangements to take possession of the scarab early, and that it was stolen from his penthouse when he was attacked.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“I think it’s fair to say we had other things on our minds.”
“Jesus,” Ash said. “This means there’s a very good chance that the second of the Emblems is now in the Board’s hands. That just leaves one that they don’t have: the Tongue of Thoth.”
“Any idea where it is?” I asked.
“I don’t even know what it is,” Ash replied. He stepped away from the counter, began to pace the confines of the kitchen, as if thinking aloud. “The first two Emblems are physical objects. The Heart is the scarab. The Body is a pectoral adornment in the shape of Thoth’s traditional headdress, a full moon rising from a crescent. From my personal research, I believe the Tongue may be a scroll or some kind of writing. But that’s as much as I could unearth. And even that is pure speculation.”
“There are hieroglyphics on the back of the picture you gave me,” I said. “I’ve always wondered what they mean.”
Ash stopped cold. Slowly, he pivoted on one heel to face me. “What did you just say?”
I flushed. “The picture you gave me in San Francisco, the charcoal sketch you had done in the park. It has an image of Thoth on the back, and there’s some kind of writing directly below it.”
“You still have that sketch?” Ash asked.
“Well, obviously,” I acknowledged, my tone slightly testy. Given everything that had happened between us since, it was silly to feel so exposed.
“At first I simply forgot about it, to tell you the truth, but when I came home from the h
ospital in San Francisco, there it was. My first impulse was to tear it up into little, tiny pieces. I went with my second impulse, which was to keep it right where it was.”
“On your desk,” Ash said slowly, as if even now, more than two years later, he could still envision the details of my small San Francisco apartment.
“That’s right. I used it as a daily reminder of all the mistakes I had made, all the places I didn’t want to go again. I brought it with me when I moved here. Then, about a year ago, I accidentally broke the glass in the frame. When I took the sketch out of the frame, I discovered the image on the back. I did a little research, and discovered it was Thoth.
“That’s how I recognized the mark on Senator Hamlyn’s chest,” I explained, referring to the politician Ash’s vampire soldiers had shot and killed on New Year’s Eve—an act I now understood occurred because Hamlyn was under the control of the Board. “It was the same image as the one on the back of the sketch.
“How did you get that paper in the first place?” I asked. “Did you steal it from the Board?”
“No,” Ash answered with a shake of his head. “In fact, the original thief was Sloane. Not long after he took it, he came to see me, got a little careless, and I acquired it. I had my picture sketched on the reverse side to cover my tracks.”
“And then you gave it to me,” I said. “Thanks very much.”
“I didn’t know what it was at the time, Candace,” Ash said mildly. “The truth is, I still don’t. But given everything else that’s happened, I think we have to assume that this piece of paper is important, if only to Sloane. First he steals the heart scarab from Randolph, then he breaks into your house.”
“You think that’s why my house was ransacked? To steal back the thing he already stole. But how could Sloane even know I had it?”
“He probably didn’t. But even if he found nothing, he knew attacking you, then violating your home, would draw me out. Make us do something foolish.”
Ash shook his head, a note of bleak despair edged his voice. “If it is the Tongue of Thoth, then the Board now has all three Emblems.”
“No,” I said. “They don’t.”
Before he could question me further, I got down from the stool and hurried to the bedroom. There, on a chair by the bed, was my shoulder bag. I snatched it up then returned to Ash.
“When I left here the day before the auction, I went back to my house,” I said. “There was some business I had to take care of, things I wanted kept safe. I saw the sketch, put it in my bag, then forgot I had it.”
I pulled it out, set it on the counter, with the image of Thoth facing up. “They don’t have it,” I said. “We do.”
Ash was silent, staring down at the tiny red image of Thoth. So small, it was difficult to make out what it truly was without a magnifying glass. The first time I had seen it, I thought it was a drop of blood.
“Do you know what this means?” Ash said at once. “It means we have leverage. Even if this isn’t the Tongue of Thoth, we have a bargaining tool. We can draw Sloane out into the open.”
It took about another hour’s worth of discussion for us to put a plan in place, examining it carefully from all sides. Our best shot was for me to seek out Sloane. Ash couldn’t go because there was a good chance that Sloane, drawing on the powers of the Board, would kill Ash then and there. With me, he might consider a bargain. The risks were enormous, especially to me. If Sloane simply decided to try and finish the job he had already started without asking questions…
“We can’t afford to worry about that,” I insisted to Ash, with more confidence than I actually felt. The thought of being alone with Sloane again was absolutely terrifying. It was also absolutely necessary if we were going to try to take out Sloane and get the scarab back.
“Do you think he’ll have the scarab on him?”
“Probably,” Ash replied. “He’s already lost one item belonging to the Board. The fact that the Chairman may not know this is beside the point. Sloane won’t want to run the risk of losing a second. That means he’ll keep it as close as possible.”
“We’re set then,” I replied. “All we have to do is put the word out and hope he takes the bait.”
“Candace,” Ash said slowly, “I want you to promise me something. If anything goes wrong…”
“Nothing’s going to go wrong,” I said quickly.
“Of course not,” Ash said. “But if it does, if something happens…if the Board catches up with me, if I am taken, I want you to promise that you won’t come after me. Don’t try to save me. Let me go.”
“I can’t do that,” I answered steadily, though I felt the chill of his words all the way to the bone. “You wouldn’t let me go, so why should I do less for you?”
“Because you are less, Candace,” Ash said softly. I made a quick, involuntary movement, and he reached to hold me by the shoulders. “I don’t say this to hurt you. I say it because it’s the absolute truth, and we both know it. If I am taken, there’s a good chance they will destroy me. It’s certain they would destroy you. No matter how strong your love, your body is not strong enough to stop them.
“You are the best part of me, Candace, and I never even saw you coming. I want to know that you will still exist, even if I can’t be with you.”
“But how?” I asked as I felt tears fill my eyes. “How will I exist, Ash? How can I?”
He leaned down, gave me a swift, hard kiss. “That part may be simpler than you know. But before we begin, I’ll have your word or we don’t do this at all.”
“You think we’re going to fail, don’t you?” I asked. “That’s what you’re not telling me.”
“I don’t think that, in fact,” Ash said. “I think we have Sloane right where we want him. We have what he wants more than anything else, the scroll. We have the advantage, but there will still be risks. That’s why I’m trying to minimize them. I want you to be safe, Candace. As safe as I can make you.”
He moved his hands so that they cradled my face. “Promise me. Two words. That’s all I ask.”
I reached up, took his face in my own hands, brought his lips to mine. Recognized the taste of my own tears even as my mouth moved in consent.
“I promise,” I murmured against Ash’s mouth.
Thirteen
The vampire community in Vegas is much like the human one, when you get right down to it. Never static, always in flux. But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed during the time I’ve lived here. If you want to pass a message through the vampire underground, the Majestic is still the place to go.
The Majestic is in the old part of the Strip, where the original hotels and casinos once stood. Originally an old movie theater, part of its current appeal is its retro decor. Red curtains and gold paint for miles. The Majestic is the biggest and showiest of the fringe places, places where both vamps and humans go. That happens a lot in Vegas, of course, without the human community’s knowledge.
I waited until well after midnight when I was sure the joint would be hopping. I dressed in a tight red dress that I sometimes wear when Bibi and I go clubbing. Not exactly subtle when it came to sartorial choices. But then subtle was likely to be lost on Sloane.
I took my own car. I didn’t want there to be even the slightest possibility that Sloane could spot Ash and me together, figure out that the whole meeting I was about to ask for was actually a setup. If he thought I was disposable, that’s precisely what he’d do. Dispose of me.
I parked several blocks away on a street that at any other time I would have said was too dark for comfort. Tonight, dark was good. Besides, the walk to the club would help me steady my suddenly shaky nerves. Nerves of Steele, I reminded myself. But the person who had given me the nickname, the life he had once been a part of, seemed very far away now. Slowly but surely, whether I had fully committed to it or not, I was being drawn deeper and deeper into my existence as a vampire.
I reached the Majestic, pulled open one of the elaborately carved and gild
ed doors. Originally, the decorations had been frolicking cherubs. When the Majestic became a vampire club, the new owners had turned the cherubs into fat and frolicking baby vampires.
A male vampire with a sculpted body was sitting in the old ticket-taker’s cage. “Well hello, gorgeous,” he said, his voice as appreciative as his words.
I flashed him a smile. Could other vampires tell that I wasn’t a full-fledged vamp? I suddenly wondered. Vampires definitely recognize their own kind, even different levels of power among them. Did I read as some low-level wannabe trying to work my way up the ladder? Or would it be something stronger, since the blood that sustained me was that of a powerful vampire?
“Hello yourself,” I said. I leaned against the counter on the outside of the cage, giving him a good glimpse of cleavage. “What’s the cover?”
The vampire’s smile got a little wider. The red dress was a good choice, after all.
“For you, nothing. This time. Maybe next time you’ll remember I did you a favor.”
Assuming there was a next time, I thought. Still, I had to consider this a positive start to the evening.
“Depends on the favor.”
“Nothing out of proportion.” The vampire narrowed his eyes, and it came to me suddenly that he was, in fact, having trouble reading me. In which case, I would most likely read as a low-level errand girl for a major big gun. The vampire’s next words seemed to validate my hunch.
“Maybe you’ll just pass along the fact that I did right by you, that’s all,” he said. “Good lookin’ lady like you, got to be connected.”
He’s fishing, I thought.
“That sounds fair enough,” I said. “Meanwhile, I’m putting the word out that I’m looking to meet someone.”
“And who might that be?” the vampire asked.
“Sloane,” I said, and watched his eyebrows shoot up. “You know him?”
“Know is a bit personal,” the vampire replied. The words were offhand, but I could tell he was choosing them with care. “Anyone who’s smart knows about Sloane. Don’t worry, I’m not about to ask why you want him. I know when to mind my own business.”