Forever Wicked (Castle of Dark Dreams)
Page 19
“Maybe I don’t know what I want.” His expression turned defiant. “A little companionship? Who knows? I haven’t felt part of a group for a long time. Being alone gets old.”
A strange answer for him. She tried to ignore a twinge from her conscience. She would not feel sorry for him. Sparkle the heartless was back. “I need you to do something for me. It would get you out of working with Ky. How about it?” She didn’t try any coaxing smiles. They wouldn’t work on him. He’d known her for too long.
He looked interested. “So what do I do?”
“The gardener is growing some interesting plants just for the Castle of Dark Dreams. They can be temperamental. You’ll work in the greenhouse for a few hours weeding and feeding them.” She glanced away. “They’ll bond with you better if you talk to them.”
“Talk to them?”
His lips tipped up in a smile. It was a sexy smile. Sparkle hoped Amaya would agree. “These plants are special. You won’t be bored.”
“You may be many things, sister dearest, but boring isn’t one of them. So I’ll take your word that your plants will be exciting, too.” He lost his smile. His expression hardened. “Now what do you really want?”
Sparkle congratulated herself. She knew him well enough to figure he wouldn’t buy her first excuse for needing him. He’d never believe she didn’t have a secret agenda, which she did. She tried to put drama into her sigh. “You’re right. I should’ve known I couldn’t slip this by you.” Sparkle believed in stroking the male ego. “You’ll be working with Amaya in the greenhouse. She was a spy for Zendig. I don’t trust her. I want someone who can stay close to her, notice if she does anything suspicious, contacts anyone. You’re a great looking guy, so you shouldn’t have any trouble cozying up to her.” Fine, so maybe she was laying it on too thick.
She could almost see him considering the pros and cons, deciding if he believed her. Then he nodded.
“When do I start?”
“Now would be good. Follow the little path that leads around to the side of the Castle. You’ll see the greenhouse there. I’ll be along in a few minutes with Amaya to explain things.”
“Let me tell Zane where I’m going first.” He started to turn away.
“Oh, and the greenhouse doesn’t have air-conditioning, so feel free to take off your shirt.” His smirk said he knew exactly why she’d made the suggestion. It didn’t matter. A few sweaty minutes working on the plants and his shirt would’ve come off anyway. She smiled. Amaya was in for a treat.
Sparkle waited until she was sure Mistral was on his way before calling Amaya. She told the kitsune to meet her outside the greenhouse and then walked slowly—had to give Mistral time to start sweating—around the side of the Castle.
Amaya joined her there a short while later. Sparkle hoped she didn’t look too smug. The kitsune looked fabulous, and well, Mistral always looked amazing. She felt a buzz of excitement as she stepped into the greenhouse with Amaya right behind her. First impressions were important. Sparkle had done all she could to make sure they’d both be wowed with each other physically. Sure, they’d seen each other before, but Sparkle was certain neither of them had looked this good.
Yes! Mistral had his shirt off, his muscled back gleaming as he bent over one of the plants. Sparkle controlled her urge to point out to Amaya what a world-class butt he had. Mistral straightened then turned to greet them. He stared at Amaya, and she stared back.
Perfect. “The gardener left instructions on the counter in the back. Feed and water the plants. Pull any weeds you see. I think she’s made a note of the ones that bite. I’ll be on my way now.” She backed out of the greenhouse with Amaya calling after her.
“Bite? What do you mean, bite?”
Sparkle almost floated away from the greenhouse. She’d forgotten the rush of starting a truly wicked project. She’d return in an hour to see how things were going.
She spent the hour on her couch working out how she would tear the loving couple apart. Mistral had a history with women, and Sparkle knew people who knew people. She’d make some calls to see what she could dig up. Amaya was a blank slate. Other than her attempt to spy for Zendig, Sparkle knew nothing about her. She didn’t have time to do lots of snooping, but she could certainly hire someone. She’d get on that after she checked to see how things were going in the greenhouse.
As she rose to leave, she allowed a random thought to slip past her guard. Mistral considered her his sister, even if she didn’t agree. How betrayed would he feel if he discovered her plot? She tried to dismiss the thought. Mistral was a cosmic troublemaker. He had probably betrayed and been betrayed more times than he could count.
All the way down the winding stone steps to the great hall she hummed in her head to get rid of the thought. This wasn’t about individual emotions. This was about her career, her destiny. But somehow she couldn’t recapture the euphoria she’d felt when she’d left the greenhouse.
She passed Mede and the others still training in the courtyard. Mede broke off from the group to join her.
“Where you headed?”
“To the greenhouse. I have Mistral and Amaya working there.”
His smile was slow and filled with wicked amusement. “Did you warn them about the plants?”
Sparkle glanced away. “Sort of.”
“You’re a mean woman.” His smile widened. “But sexy. That counts for a lot.”
She couldn’t keep from returning his smile. “Mean? That’s the sweetest thing you’ve said today.”
Sparkle heard the shouting before they even got to the greenhouse. She frowned. She hoped they were yelling at the plants and not each other.
“This pairing might not be a slam-dunk, sweetheart.” Mede walked faster.
He’d called her sweetheart. This was the first endearment he’d used since he stormed from the Castle over a month ago. But Sparkle didn’t have a chance to savor her happiness because she’d reached the greenhouse. She stepped inside right after Mede.
Amaya crouched on the table that stood in the middle of the greenhouse. Her hand shook as she pointed at the giant Venus flytrap across the room. “That plant bit me when I tried to feed it.” She swung her hand to point at Mistral. “And he laughed. It’s not funny, jerk!”
Mede winced. “Doesn’t sound good.”
Mistral shrugged, but a smile still tugged at his lips. “Oh, come on, Amaya. It was just a nip. Hey, one of the plants mentally cursed at me when I accidentally flooded its pot with water. Doesn’t get weirder than hearing a plant in your head.”
Sparkle breathed deeply. Stay calm. Perhaps this hadn’t been her greatest idea. She’d just have to reintroduce them in a less volatile situation. She glared at the Venus flytrap.
Amaya hopped off the table and then stormed toward the door. “These plants are creepy.” She turned her head to scowl at Mistral. “It’ll serve you right if that…that man-eating plant picks your bones clean.” Then she was gone.
Mistral swept strands of his hair away from his face. “Guess you’ll have to find me another partner if I have to do this again.” He stared at the door. “Although, until the plant drew blood, everything was great.” He pulled on his shirt. “I don’t know if she’ll let me close again.” He smiled as he paused before leaving. “But I never underestimate my power to charm.”
Mede snorted and Sparkle rolled her eyes at his back. They followed Mistral out of the greenhouse. She was staring at the ground deep in thought, trying to figure out how she could salvage the whole mess, when the sound of running steps distracted her. She looked up.
Orion raced toward them. Even without looking at his expression, Sparkle knew he was overexcited. A bunch of cracks in the earth trailed him across the courtyard.
Mede cursed under his breath. “Zane is supposed to be helping him with his control. He needs to work harder. If the kid ever loses it, future generations will be reading about the Great Galveston Earthquake.”
Orion slid to a stop in front of
Mede. “Bourne is back. He wants to meet with everyone in the conference room right now.
18
Ganymede followed Sparkle through the great hall to the hotel side of the Castle. He never got over the shock of going from a medieval setting to the lobby with its shops, club, restaurant, and modern conference room. Today, though, he didn’t pay much attention. He had two things on his mind.
Why would the Big Boss want a meeting this quickly? Whatever it was, Ganymede figured it wouldn’t be good news. Then there was Sparkle. No matter how worried he got, he couldn’t ignore the wonder that was Sparkle’s bottom as he trailed behind her. Purposely. He’d marveled at its swing and sway through the ages. She never had to worry about losing her troublemaker edge because her bottom would always be wicked.
He stepped into the conference room behind her. Crowded. Lots of people seated around the long table with more standing against the walls. Most were other troublemakers, including the newbies. But Holgarth, Ky, Amaya, and Zane were there, too.
Surprisingly, he spotted three of the Castle’s past managers. Conall—his favorite immortal warrior. Brynn—Sparkle’s favorite demon of sensual desire. And Eric—everyone’s favorite Mackenzie vampire. It would take a lot to drag Eric out during the day. He wore his daytime vampire outfit—jeans, boots, gloves, and a hoodie with the hood pulled so far forward you could barely see his face. What did Bourne have in mind?
“Quiet, everyone.” Bourne stood. “Zane, ward the room. I don’t want the wrong ears to hear.”
They all waited while Zane raised the ward. Then Bourne spoke.
“Troublemakers, Ganymede and I have explained what Zendig did to you, and why he sent you to Earth.”
A disgruntled voice complained, “Took you long enough.”
Agreed. Would he ever have opened up if Ganymede hadn’t gotten the ball rolling?
Bourne nodded. “Too long. My only excuse is I thought eventually Zendig would give up and allow us to live in peace.”
Didn’t hold water. Ganymede figured he’d known after the first ten thousand years that Zendig wasn’t about to give up. So why hadn’t he gone home to take care of the problem? Wait, Ganymede remembered now. Bourne had said something about not going back because he didn’t want to mess with his comfortable life on Earth. Not an excuse he’d expect from the Big Boss Ganymede knew.
“I’m sorry you had to suffer for his obsession with me. But now it’s payback time. Our objective is to draw him to Earth where we have the best chance of destroying him.”
Everyone cheered. Ganymede frowned. He leaned toward Sparkle. “He’s hijacking my idea.”
She shrugged. “Does it matter? We all have the same goal.”
Yes, it mattered. Ganymede had wanted this to be a solitary hunt, mano a mano, with some help from the newbies he recruited. But now the Big Boss was turning it into a free for all with a cast of thousands. Admit it, this is your ego talking. Maybe it was. A little. Okay, a lot.
Bourne continued, “It took some searching, but Conall and I located three of Zendig’s spies. We brought them back to the Castle. They’re in suite 214, the Wicked Consequences room.” Bourne’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I thought it appropriate.”
“Brought the enemy here? That’s stupid. Why aren’t they in the dungeon?” Ganymede muttered what he knew everyone else was thinking.
Bourne shot him a hard stare before continuing. “Sparkle, you’ll have to close Live the Fantasy until further notice.”
Sparkle wasn’t as polite as Ganymede. “Whoa. This better be the apocalypse, because not much else will convince me to close this park down. Do you have any idea what that involves? Canceling reservations. Returning money to guests I’m kicking out. Paying employees to stay home. I can’t get rid of everyone. There has to be a skeleton crew for essential jobs. Then—”
“If you don’t get rid of all the humans, they’ll die when Zendig shows up.”
“When is the operative word. Zendig could show up in a week, a month, or even a year. I really doubt he’ll be here tomorrow. Since I assume you’ll be posting people to warn us when he gets close to Galveston, I’ll evacuate the park then. I can have everyone out within an hour if I have to. The words ‘gas leak’ is an amazing motivator for people to move fast.”
“You’re not making me happy.” A distant rumble of thunder punctuated Bourne’s words.
She met his gaze. “Sorry. I don’t live to please you.” Then she smiled. “Look, I’ve done emergency closings before. I not only took a financial hit, but the reputation of the park suffered, too. I’m a businesswoman, and a closedown isn’t a cost effective way to run things. I won’t put lives in danger, but I also won’t panic and shut everything down way ahead of time.”
Bourne nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. “The three we brought back probably don’t know I’m the one they’re hunting. I didn’t leave any pictures of me back on Effix, and I’ve changed over the millennia. But just in case, I stayed out of sight after I found them while Conall convinced them that he had a way of luring the Big Boss to the Castle. He’d help them capture me.”
Zane interrupted. “Why would they believe Conall?”
Because he’s a big-ass immortal warrior? Ganymede smiled. Not many people would say no to Conall.
Bourne looked impatient with all the questions. Too bad.
“They believed Conall because I coached him on things he needed to know about me and Effix. And I might have used a little of my power to make them more open to what he was saying. Whatever. The bottom line is they accepted him as my enemy, someone willing to betray me. Are we done now?”
Mistral spoke up. “Not nearly. So what’s the double-cross, because there obviously has to be one?”
“We’re going to feed false information to these spies. They’ll pass it on to Zendig. My aim is to make him so angry he’ll finally give up on trying to find others to do his dirty work. If he buys the lies, he’ll take a physical form and come to Earth so he can kill me himself.”
“That was my idea,” Ganymede told anyone close enough to hear his angry mutter. “Where’s the credit? I’m not hearing any.”
Sparkle elbowed him. “Shush.”
Bourne looked at Amaya.
Amaya’s eyes widened. “No. Whatever you have in mind, it’s just no.”
Bourne acted as though she hadn’t spoken. “You can make yourself into anyone, so make yourself into me. After a few weeks of feeding them incendiary stories, we’ll wheel in a cage with you disguised as me inside. The spies see you in a cage. One of them returns to Zendig. He draws a picture of you, and Zendig verifies that yes, they’ve caught his hated enemy. They can celebrate an easy capture and receive their just rewards.” His smile was all teeth and no heart.
Ganymede spoke up. “Why do they have to describe you? Why not just take a picture and send it through?”
“Good question.” Bourne’s expression said he wished everyone would just shut up and do what he ordered. “Nothing that isn’t alive can survive the portal. That’s why everyone comes through naked. If a troublemaker is lucky, there will be someone close by to help. If not?” He shrugged. “The young one is on his or her own.”
Mistral frowned. “Still not getting the big picture.” He looked as annoyed as Ganymede felt.
“Then Conall says he’s changed his mind, he won’t negotiate with anyone but Zendig. Either he does the pickup or the deal is off.”
Sparkle looked thoughtful. “Lots of holes in your plan, Bourne. Zendig doesn’t have to show up himself. He’ll just order all of his people to converge on the Castle and take Amaya by force.”
“‘His people’ haven’t done squat to eliminate me after centuries of trying. Hopefully he’ll be so ticked off by then he’ll decide to come to the Castle in person to do the job.”
Amaya narrowed her eyes to glare at Bourne. “Won’t happen, because Amaya will be in Japan. Besides, why do you need me to impersonate you when you’re right here?”
“I don’t think we should force her, Bourne. It wouldn’t be right.”
It wouldn’t be right? Everyone turned to stare at Mistral. When had any troublemaker ever used that excuse for not doing something? In fact, troublemakers would rush to do anything they could that wasn’t right. Ganymede just shook his head.
Mistral dropped his gaze. He’d shamed himself before his peers.
“Thanks, Mistral.” Amaya’s eyes shone as she stared at him.
Ganymede glanced at Sparkle. Her eyes shone, too. Guess she figured the chances of her matchmaking scheme succeeding had just improved a whole lot.
Bourne surprised Ganymede. He didn’t bring his hammer down on Mistral. He even looked thoughtful.
“I’d wanted your help, Amaya, so that I could remain free to counter any double-crossing schemes Zendig’s people attempted. But I’ll find another way. An unwilling ally is no ally at all.” He speared her with a hard stare. “You might want to choose your sides carefully. Zendig isn’t known for his loyalty to those who support him. Once he has no more use for you, he’ll discard you. Perhaps permanently.”
Amaya lifted her chin and glared at him. “I’ve never supported Zendig. I didn’t even know who he was until you told me. I’ll take my chances. May I go now? I still have cookies to deliver back in Cape May.”
“You know too much of our plan. I can’t allow you to run around free. You’ll stay in the dungeon until the battle is over. If we win, we’ll release you. If we lose…” He shrugged. “Zendig will decide your fate.”
“Dungeon?” Amaya’s voice rose until it ended in a squeak.
Mistral made a disgusted noise. He shoved his chair back hard enough for it to tip over when he rose. He left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.