15
Liam's rental car was pin-drop silent for the entire ride until we passed Byron, still keeping watch at the Lady Luck's Lair sign. He gave us a lingering, solemn look, but said nothing.
As soon as Liam pulled the car into a slot in the surprisingly full lot, Byron and his men walked into the forest without a word. My heart was thudding so loudly in my ears, I almost didn't hear Liam open the door for me.
“You don't have to do this if you're afraid.” His voice held a slight hopeful note as he offered me his hand.
“Of course I'm afraid.” I took his hand and stood from the backseat. Looking him square in the eye, I told him, “I'm doing it anyway.”
He nodded.
Something cold and wet nudged my hand, nearly sending me out of my skin. It was Hati, wagging his tail with an enthusiasm that contradicted the atmosphere.
“He's staying to protect Lexie in the car,” Liam explained. He nodded his head to the seat and Hati obligingly hopped inside, curling his long, tall Scottish Deerhound frame next to Lexie. Liam pointed to Lexie, who was scratching his ears as she booted up Liam's laptop. “Guard.”
The dog gave no sign of acknowledgement, but I had no doubts he'd keep her safe.
“Okay,” I exhaled shakily and looked to Liam. “Let's do this.”
His eyes bore holes into mine and his warm hand clasped the nape of my neck. He brought me to him for a brief, but burning kiss. My fingers curled into his chest, clasping his shirt to keep him close.
“The hair, watch the hair,” Lexie cried in a hushed voice. “Wait until she comes back to make out.”
“We'll continue this later,” he promised with a sly grin that was so not helping to calm my racing pulse.
I nodded, smiling. “Yep.”
“You come back to me,” he ordered in a stern voice as I turned to walk away.
Tresia awaited.
I took a deep breath to steel myself— it didn't work— and made the walk across the parking lot and through the unguarded doors into the lion's den.
The first thing that hit me when I stepped inside was the reek of cigarette smoke and cheap food.
It was dim and claustrophobic in the maze of jingling slot machines. Despite how brightly lit each of the machines was, the light didn't reach far. There was a surprising amount of people here so late at night, some filling in the narrow rows upon rows of video based games, others in the college-like food court set off to the right, and more were crowding table games somewhere to the left. Their loud cheering rang out over the electronic tunes of the row games, even if I was too short to see them over the machines.
From here, there was no way to tell where the second zone was. I'd have to wander around until I came across it. I'd recognize the guard when I saw him, but searching would eat up time. I only had a few minutes before Liam and Jack came in behind me.
I walked and weaved as quickly as I could through the masses of people entranced by the flashing lights and cheap drinks without attracting attention to myself, hunting for the doorway.
A hand grabbed my arm, bringing me to an abrupt halt. An overweight balding man in his sixties was looking at me with a hazy gaze. “Where's m' special drink, purty lady?”
“I'm sorry, sir, I'm not a waitress,” I explained, trying to pry his hand off.
“But you said 'f I found you, ask for the special drink.” He tripped over his own feet standing still.
“Excuse me,” a cocktail waitress in a black and white uniform came up behind him and set a hand on his shoulder. “I believe you were looking for me, sir. Right this way.”
“I gotta go get m' drink m'self?” He adjusted his shirt, hitting himself in the face in the process.
“Yes, sir, I'm afraid you need to come with me to claim your free drink.” The woman's congenial smile was neutral and polite.
“M'kay, purty lady.” He nodded, bleary eyed. The last thing that man needed was another drink. One more beer and he might croak from alcohol poisoning.
The woman led him across the gaming floor patiently as he stumbled.
She seemed to know where she was going, so I followed her at a distance. She led him through an unmanned, windowless door behind the food court. A nervous churning began in my stomach. Something wasn't right here.
I glanced around to ensure the coast was clear and cracked the door open to peer inside.
The waitress shoved the man into a heavy wooden chair with thick, leather straps. Beyond him was a whole row of chairs filled with a dozen or more people who were just as inebriated. Each one was strapped down with their right arm extended downward.
The waitress took a needle out of a sterile pack to the man's side and inserted it like an IV before attaching a clear tube to a port on the other side of the needle. She let the tube hang down, dripping the man's red blood into a glass jar.
Filled jars went into a door on the other side of the room. A brunette woman in a black and red uniform came out of that door bearing a tray of wine glasses filled with a dark, red liquid that was too thick to be an ordinary sangria.
I moved out of sight, ducking behind a nearby corner as the woman approached.
“Terri, you left the door open,” the brunette woman hissed.
“Shit! Sorry, it won't happen again, I promise,” the waitress from earlier pleaded. “Please don't report me.” I felt a pang of guilt for getting the woman in trouble, but then I remembered she was getting people drunk and stealing their blood, at least. Who knew what else was going on in that kitchen?
“It had better not,” the brunette warned. “One more strike on your record and you're going to the buffet.”
I took it that had a double meaning.
The brunette came out into the main gaming floor carrying the tray and strode through the labyrinthine rows of gaming machines.
If she was carrying glasses of blood, then there had to be vampires around to drink it.
So I trailed after her at a distance, barely keeping her in sight. She passed through a double door made of solid, artfully carved wood that was guarded by a tall man with a sword tattooed on one forearm and a bow on his other.
Bingo.
I waited until after the woman went through to approach.
The guard looked me over, “Species?”
“Mage.” I smiled at him, subtly ensuring he saw my own sword.
He opened the door for me. What a gentleman.
I passed with ease into a space that was so bright, my eyes burned until they adjusted.
Columns as thick as tree trunks were interspersed through the space. They had flowering vines twining around them, leading all the way up to an intricately carved ceiling that was reminiscent of a Baroque cathedral. The carvings led to a massive dome in the center of the space. The dome had stained glass rosette windows bearing fantastic battle scenes I imagined were from a history I didn't yet know.
Directly underneath the dome was a tall marble statue of a robed woman (who again looked suspiciously like Tresia), pouring water from an amphora into a pool that gleamed in the multi-colored light from above.
This was the second, Paxian zone, a place so different from where I'd just come from, it was jarring to the senses. The sounds of rushing water and laughter were much easier on the ears than jingles and shouting. Sweetly scented flowers and delectable, delicate aromas wafted through the room.
It was much more open inside, and it wasn't just ceiling height. Aisles were much wider, so it was easier to walk between table games. From another side of the room, a thunderous cheer erupted.
There were large canvases that hung from the ceilings. As if by projector, scenes were playing out on it. On one, a group of people were racing through the air on things that looked like miniature surfboards. In their wake, they left waves of red, orange, yellow, and green light that swirled like water.
Duels held in massive arenas were being shown on others. Some were being fought with swords and others were fought with magic. The landscapes of these
duels varied widely. One was desert. Another was in a forested environment. Yet another was entirely underwater.
Another section of screens showed games being played with balls. It just went to show, if you give a group of people a ball, they will create a game centered around it. I didn't understand the rules any of them were playing by, but the people watching it were just as fanatical about it as soccer fans.
One final screen showed three towering hoops of different heights. A zip went passing by the screen and for a moment, I could have sworn it was a man on a broomstick. No way. I was going to have to ask Liam about that! If my suspicions were correct, then there was a certain childhood dream of mine that was actually possible.
Beyond the sports betting area, was another door guarded by a woman who was almost as petite as Lexie. The black-haired woman with a sharp pixie cut and even sharper gaze locked onto me as I walked straight up to her with my shoulders back and head held high.
I had to hope that display of confidence was enough to mask my nerves.
“Your business?” she asked, giving me an appraising look. She didn't seem to think much of me.
I thought back to what Byron said happened in the third zone, but couldn't remember anything. I decided to go with honesty. “Fights.”
The woman raised a curious brow. This was not going well. If she didn't let me through, that was one thing, but if she started asking questions about who I was, I could land in some very hot water.
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I like blood.”
A dark-haired man with paper-like skin, brown eyes and too-wide cheekbones in a pinstripe suit came up behind me and put his arm amicably around my shoulders. “She's with me, Layla.”
She gave him a skeptical look, but opened the doors for us nonetheless.
The man led me through them into the dark, windowless hallway. He stopped us halfway through.
“You're the Stone Mage, correct?” he asked in his nasal voice. “The one that Tresia is seeking to capture?”
My stomach dropped. Wordlessly, I nodded.
“Good.” A scheming smile crept across his lips. “I think you and I can do some… business together.”
“As in?” I asked, proud of myself for keeping my voice from cracking.
“We don't have a lot of time before Layla gets curious, so I'll get right to the point.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I want to be Tres. For that to happen, Tresia needs to die first. I can help you make that happen. It's a win-win for both of us,” he insisted, sounding for all the world like the serpent to Eve.
“And how is that a win for me?”
“Tresia wants to catch you for Octavius to bolster her position. She's weak,” he nearly spat. “Too weak to be Tresia anymore but still too strong for anyone to take the crown from her. Everyone is too afraid to even try after what she did to the last one.”
“I'm waiting for how helping you benefits me.”
He pinched his eyebrows at me. “Because I'm strong enough to hold the title unopposed. I wouldn't need to pursue you or your bondmate. You would have one less person hunting you.”
“If you're strong enough, why not take her out yourself?”
“I don't want to be known as a backstabber. Tresia still has a few among her ranks who are blindly faithful to her. If I killed her myself, I would have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.”
“So you want me to be your puppet?” The balls on this guy!
“I want you to be smart. Neither of us has to fight, but if I have to, I can raise the entire guard to arms with just a word. They're loyal to me, not her. I'm the one who signs their paychecks.”
“Blackmail.”
“Persuasion.” He smiled at me with dark, vicious eyes. “I'll keep the guards from bothering you while you kill her. When you're done, you can enter her offices through the red door to the left and 'take me unawares' to make your escape through the tunnel in her wardrobe.”
He patted my back patronizingly and opened the second set of doors, which allowed a monstrous din into the previously silent hall. “Are you coming?”
I nodded. What an ass.
He leaned in to murmur in my ear, “She's on the dais straight ahead.” With that, he turned to the left and went through a red door. Those must be her apartments.
I stepped fully into the room and was breathless at what I saw in the cavernous space. If the second zone was light, this was dark.
The space felt like the pits in Octavius' keep. Wrought-iron chandeliers laden with glowing little orbs hung from the vaulted, black stone ceiling, but they weren't bright enough to chase away the darkness.
Blood-curdling snarls and shrieks reverberated through the deafening hall. They were coming from the rows of too-familiar metal domes that rose above the floors. Sand floored death pits, just like Octavius'.
The one nearest me was pitting a half-shifted black wolf taller than a grizzly bear against another gray, spindly-limbed creature with big, black eyes. The creature climbed up the walls to escape the wolf, who was bleeding from a number of gashes and bites scattered across his enormous body. One of the creature's spidery limbs was snapped in two and a set of claw marks raked across the top of its head.
The wolfman paced beneath the creature, watching it carefully.
A patron standing next to the cage pulled a dagger from his pocket and launched it at the creature, striking one of its legs.
The creature shrieked and hissed as it fell from the top of the dome and into the wolfman's jaws.
The wolfman shook the creature like a ragdoll before casting it aside.
The creature clanged against the gate on the side of the arena, then fell limp and lifeless onto the sands.
The wolfman's head dropped and his eyes squeezed shut. His claws flared and he let out a mournful bay that sent shivers down my spine.
A referee strode into the arena, inspected the creature, then proclaimed, “Percy, winner!”
That was Byron's brother.
Poor bastard. I wouldn't leave him behind. I wouldn't leave any of these poor souls forced to fight for their lives behind.
As if he knew I was here, Percy looked directly at me with those eerie golden wolf's eyes.
I'll be back for you, I mouthed to him.
His gaze lingered on me as the referee escorted him through the underground. Back to his cell.
I wondered when the last time he saw the sun was.
Tresia needed to die. I looked where the man from earlier had pointed me to and saw her. She lounged on a settee, wearing a long scarlet dress that molded to every curve on her body. I thought it was much more modest than her last dress before the crowd thinned and revealed that the wide neckline plunged all the way to her navel. Her flaming red hair was twirled into a wrapped up-do with loose tendrils framing her face.
Tresia sipped from a goblet as she watched the spectacles with an uninterested eye. When the man in the pinstripe suit strode casually onto the dais and whispered something into Tresia's ear, ice crystallized in my veins. He was going to betray me.
But he didn't. He said something to her and she waved him away like he was a gnat. The man gestured for the big man standing behind her to follow him. He sent the guard away and walked back into her offices.
She rolled her eyes and went back to her drink. She hadn't noticed me.
Yet.
16
“Tresia,” I shouted from the middle of the room. It was time to pack away my nerves and steel myself. If she thought I was a cowering girl, this was all over.
She sat up, curiously scanning the room until her eyes landed on me. And a deathly silence shot through the room.
All the patrons backed away quickly, hovering against the walls.
Tresia jerked to her feet, spilling her goblet on the floor. “You dare invade my home! Guards!”
When none came, her head whipped around.
“They're busy.” I smiled. “I came to place a wager.”
She to
ok a deep breath, and became the image of poise. Her voice betraying her simmering rage, she said, “You sully the sanctity of my house, then seek my services?”
“No. I don’t need your… services, such as they are. I’m here to challenge you to a duel,” I declared for all to hear. “Would you like to hear my terms?”
She barked a laugh that echoed through the room. “Your terms? How about I just kill you now for your crimes?” Fireballs burst to life in her palms.
“Are you afraid?” My voice hiked upwards in disbelief. I cocked my head innocently to the side. “Of little old me?”
One of her delicately waxed brows arched, but her eyes were screaming mad. “You've piqued my interest.”
“If I win, you leave me and my bondmate alone.” I grinned. “If you win, I give you back the necklace that was stolen from you in your house. I know where Jack is hiding it.”
“And why shouldn't I just take you and—” she walked forward, rolling her hips in blatant sexuality with each step. She stopped in front of me, invading my personal space. “— make you tell me where it is?”
“You could do that,” I conceded. “Tie a woman up until she's helpless and torture her until she talks. But that's what cowards do. That's what the weak do.”
Her inner maelstrom much be reaching DEFCON1 by now.
“Are you too weak to fight me one-on-one, Tresia?”
She couldn't back down from this, not without admitting to everyone in this room— including her own employees— that she was too weak for leadership.
Her teeth were grinding so hard, they were audible. Finally, she shouted to two referees, “Take her to the roulette!”
The two burly men came to each side of me and each one took my arm.
“There's no need to manhandle me, boys,” I purred, meeting one's eyes. “Unless you like it rough.”
They were still for a moment, perhaps stunned. I took the opportunity to tear my arms away from their grips.
“Where to?” I asked, keeping that dirty look in my eyes. I wanted to be better at it than Tresia. That might not be possible, but any opportunity to piss in her face was an opportunity to make her lose herself.
Tresia (Stone Mage Saga Book 3) Page 14