“Priscilla,” she replied breathily.
I removed my hand and walked out to the living room, leaving her behind. There was little doubt that she was standing right where I left her, swimming in a pool of utter confusion. That thought made me smile.
I poured myself a glass of wine and sat in the same spot she’d occupied when I’d first spotted her.
The sun was up and full now so I clicked the remote to bring the shades down, dimming the area perfectly. Having money afforded me with a plethora of niceties, and I did my best to avail myself of most of them.
Priscilla came out a few moments later looking seriously lost.
“Sit here,” I commanded, patting the spot next to me.
She complied without a word.
I ran my finger down her exposed leg and her breath caught.
Like I said, I’m good at this.
Just when she was starting to really warm up to things, I pulled my hand away. It was the same game she would have played on me had I not stopped her. Tease and denial were the primary tools used by her kind.
She looked at me with pleading eyes.
“Who sent you?” I asked before casually taking a sip of my wine.
“I don’t know,” Priscilla replied without delay. “He didn’t give his name.”
“What did he look like?”
“He was old and frail with reddish cheeks and sunken eyes.”
I sat up. “Shitfaced Fred sent you?”
The spell was broken at my outburst.
“Huh?” Priscilla looked around as if trying to sort out where she was. “What’s going on?” She was blinking and frowning and starting to look more than a bit irritated. “How are you seducing me? I’m a succubus. You’re not supposed to be able to seduce me.”
“Do you want to stop playing, then?” I asked genuinely. “No means no, you know?”
“It does?” she said, looking confused. Considering that she was a succubus, it made sense that she wouldn’t grasp the concept of mutual consent. “Since when?”
“Since forever. So are you leaving or do you wish to stick around and play by my rules?”
“I’ll stay,” she said. “It’ll be interesting.” She then pulled back and gave me the once-over. “Wait a second here. Are you an incubus?”
“No,” I said, leaning in close and brushing my lips against hers, inflicting her with my spell again. She swooned, which is a word I never thought I’d use. “I’m an amalgamite.”
Chapter 17
I strolled into the office as the sun was setting. It’d been a fun day and I had a spring in my step. At the same time, I was a bit concerned over the fact that our friendly necromancer had sent me a succubus. She swore she didn’t know the reason she’d been sent, and I gave her plenty of encouragement to tell me.
“Lydia, could you please get everyone to the meeting room?” I said as I keyed up my computer and checked for messages. “Something odd has happened.”
“You got it, lover,” she replied through the speakers in my room.
I sauntered into the meeting room a couple of minutes later. Everyone was looking refreshed and ready for the next volley of zombie fun. I could only hope that Portman’s crew felt the same because they were likely to get another call within a few hours. I didn’t know that for certain, obviously, but seeing that we were in Vegas, I was playing the odds.
“I know that look,” said Rachel, shaking her head.
“Yep,” agreed Jasmine.
Felicia merely rolled her eyes while Serena grinned evilly. Oh, how I missed her. My all-day playmate was a lot of fun, but Serena was better.
“So a succubus was at my place when I got home this morning,” I announced with a serene smile. It faded quickly and I held up my hands. “Now, before you all start getting any dastardly thoughts about this, I had nothing to do with it.”
Rachel looked taken aback. “You had nothing to do with it? You mean you didn’t screw her? I’m impressed!”
“I never said that,” I replied as if slapped. “I’m not an idiot. I’m just saying that I wasn’t the one who called her over.” I took a breath. “She was there when I arrived.”
“Sorry to say it, Chief,” Chuck piped up, “but this isn’t exactly surprising. You’re pretty well known for your horndoggishness, you know?”
“Thank you,” I said, taking that as a compliment. “The thing is that I turned the tables on her and got her talking.” That got their attention. “She was sent by our pal, Shitfaced Fred.”
“Oh,” Rachel said, leaning forward. “Why?”
“I couldn’t get it out of her.”
“Losing your touch, eh? Did you try all your moves?”
I loved a challenge. “I could give you the full details, if you’d like, Rachel?”
“No, no,” said Rachel, waving at me. “We don’t need the play-by-play here.”
“I wouldn’t mind hearing about it,” Serena argued.
Lydia chimed in via the conference room intercom an instant later. “I’m with Serena. Don’t spare the details, stallion.”
“Unbelievable,” Rachel scoffed.
Everyone in this room knew about my abilities, even the guys. The ladies had all experienced it firsthand, back in the day, and the guys had just heard the stories. I used to be embarrassed by my “horndog” title, but over the years I learned to accept who I was. I never treated anyone poorly during my player escapades, unless they were into that sort of thing. I was always a gentleman, even when spankings were involved.
“The answer is obvious,” said Serena. “The succubus was sent as a test to see how easily manipulated you are.”
“That makes sense,” Griff agreed with a nod toward Serena. “It would provide the necromancer with a means of understanding your level of self control. That will aid him in planning his next attack. It also poses an interesting puzzle.”
I furrowed my brow. “What?”
“Why only you?” Griff then scanned the room. “Was anyone else visited?” They all shook their heads in response. “Then there is either something specific about you, Ian, or our necromancer is planning to test us all at some point.”
We sat in silence for a couple of minutes thinking things through. If Shitfaced Fred wanted to get after only me, that was fine, but I didn’t think my crew could manage what I’d just accomplished. Dealing with a succubus or an incubus was typically a losing proposition.
“I think it’s just about Ian,” Felicia stated, breaking the silence. “The zombies never attacked until he showed up.”
“That could be,” Jasmine said with a slow nod. “They probably keyed in on your signature. You are a one of a kind, after all.”
“That’s what the ladies tell me.”
“Before you go making your ego even bigger,” Rachel interjected, “let’s not forget that he also attacked Warren and then put a spell against Griff via a virus.”
My bubble was sufficiently bursted.
“Hey, Chief,” said Turbo as he rushed in with a cart zooming automatically behind him. It contained a bunch of goggles.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“They’re the zombie trackers you wanted me to work on,” he replied excitedly. “They should allow you to pick out the dead from the living with no problem.”
I snapped up a pair that had my name on the side and put them over my head. They were a bit heavy and somewhat bulky, but we’d manage. I looked around the room, stopping specifically on Chuck and Serena since they were both vampires. Technically, they were undead, or interlife, as the case may be, but the goggles showed them as alive. Good.
“How do they work?” asked Chuck as he studied the ones he was holding.
Turbo clapped his hands together and took a deep breath.
“There’s a piece of software loaded into the connectors in each of your brains. It works via bluetooth, if you can believe it. I thought that was rather ingenious because we usually take a more complicated path. You don’t have to worr
y about pairing them, though. I’ve already done that. Just make sure you take the set that has your name on it or they won’t work.” He paused and held up a finger. “Also, I just installed the software a few minutes ago, so if you notice anything weird, let me know.”
“Weird?” I said worriedly. “Like what weird?”
“I dunno,” he replied with a fast shrug. “If your leg starts kicking uncontrollably or something, I guess.”
Chuck nearly choked. “You can do that?”
He paused and glanced in Chuck’s direction. “I was joking. Anyway, the goggles only connect when you’re wearing them. I’ll be able to tweak and update the code realtime, too, in the event that you need changes.”
“Ah.” Chuck slipped them on and looked around. “I don’t suppose you could just make them into sunglasses so they’re not so big?”
“Ooooh,” replied Turbo while clapping. “Great idea! It’ll take about three weeks.”
“These will do for now,” I commented, “but you did make these much more quickly than you’d originally anticipated.” It was time to challenge my pixie. “I guess you just don’t have the skill to make them lighter without spending a lot of time on it. It’s understandable.” I sighed. “Don’t worry about it, though. I’m sure you’ll improve.”
Turbo’s face grew dark, which was saying something for a pixie. “I’ll have them done by first light!”
Chapter 18
I hadn’t even been at my desk for more than a minute when Lydia called out that we had skeletons pouring out of the graves at Davis Memorial. I groaned and pushed myself back up.
No rest for the weary…or the dead, apparently.
“Skeletons?” I asked as I padded down the steps with the rest of my crew.
“You heard me right, puddin’,” Lydia said. “Not zombies this time.”
“What’s the difference?” I asked, thinking that dead was dead regardless of skin-to-bone ratio.
“No flesh, muscle, or tendons on skeletons, sweetums.”
“Oookay.” The entire thing seemed like splitting hairs to me. “We’re on our way.”
Rachel and I hopped into the car and headed out into the night. I was honestly starting to change my tune about wanting more action. Not that kind. I mean the type like fighting ubernaturals and zombies. There was something to be said about having a cushy job now and then.
“Skeletons,” I said derisively. “So stupid. I mean, how are they even walking?”
“Seriously?” Rachel said with a laugh. “You don’t bother to question why zombies are able to dig themselves up, attack us, fire your gun at you, and even talk, but a walking skeleton has you perplexed?”
I put up my hands in surrender. “Fair enough.”
She was right, but so what? There was something about skeletons that just seemed dumb. Zombies I got. They were creepy, stinky, scary looking, and downright gross. Skeletons though? Come on.
“This entire thing is stupid, if you ask me,” Rachel whispered. “Some old asshole reanimating corpses and skeletons and doing other stupid shit. Don’t people have better things to do with their lives than mess with everyone else all the time?”
She was acting more annoyed than usual.
“Something wrong?” I asked carefully while sitting at a stoplight. She gave me a dull look. “I mean beyond the obvious.”
“No.”
That was a lie. She was chewing her lip. That was a tell that I’d seen for years.
“Come on, Rachel, spill it.”
“I’m fine.”
Her trademarked arm-cross betrayed her statement.
“You’re obviously not fine,” I replied. “I’ve known you way too long and…” I paused and my jaw dropped open. I’d seen that look before. I’d seen it many times, in fact. “Oh shit. You’re jealous.”
“What?”
“You’re jealous of Priscilla,” I said as the realization continued sinking in.
“I am not,” she argued, though not very convincingly. “You have way too high an opinion of yourself, Ian.” She snorted. “Ridiculous.”
“If you say so,” I said, unconvinced.
“What kind of name is Priscilla anyway?”
“Ah ha! I knew it!” Then I realized I was coming off a bit too enthusiastic. While I longed to poke at the wound, I decided to back off. Toning it down, I said, “Sorry. I’m just rarely right in these types of discussions.”
“You’re still not.”
I aimed for a different angle. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know. You could easily order up an incubus for hire. I’m sure they’d be just as solid in the sack as I am…in a manner of speaking.”
“They’re not,” she replied and then slapped herself on the forehead.
“Oh, no way,” I said, fighting to keep my eyes on the road. She was just feeding the fire at this point. “You’ve tried?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Too late. Who’d you get? Someone from the Incubus Cartel or was it a solo artist?”
“It’s really none of your business, Ian,” she said sharply. “I’m not discussing this with you.”
“Okay, jeez,” I replied as if I’d been slapped. “I’m just trying to help.”
“How is making fun of me helping again?” I didn’t reply. “How would you like it if I started asking you questions about your ‘Priscilla?’” She said the name using finger quotes.
“That’s actually her name and she really exists,” I said with a squint.
“So?”
“So why’d you use air quotes?”
“What are you talking…” She groaned a second later. “Oh. I don’t know!”
I didn’t want to push her too far, but I couldn’t resist. She teased me about things all the time, so a little turnaround seemed like fair play. Therefore, I donned my Ian’s-an-asshole-cap and I pushed forward.
“She called me by my nickname, you know.”
“You mean ‘douchebag?’”
“Ha. Funny.” It was, actually. “No, I mean the other one that you used to call me back when we were allowed to be intimate.”
I let the thought stew for a minute without saying a word. She was probably digging through her memories in the hopes of figuring out what I was talking about. The anticipation was killing me.
Finally, she said, “I don’t recall using any nickname with you.”
The bait was floating before her and she was eyeing it.
“Well, it’s been five years so you probably just forgot.”
“No, I wouldn’t have forgotten something like that.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I said, waving off the point while knowing that my casualness would entice her to bite. “Anyway, back to the skeletons…”
“I would remember if I called you a nickname, Ian,” she said with a hint of menace, signaling that the hook had indeed been set. “I remember all of the other names I call you quite well.”
“Again, it’s not a…”
“What’s the nickname you’re talking about?”
“Seriously, Rachel, we don’t have to go there.” Oh, how I so wanted to go there! I was reeling her in now. “Let’s just stick to the case.”
“Fine,” she said and then turned in her chair. “No, it’s not fine. I never called you by any damn nicknames while we were having sex.”
I fake sighed. “Yes, you did.”
“What then?”
“The same one Priscilla used,” I replied. “You both said it repeatedly.”
“Well?”
We pulled in to the Davis Memorial parking lot and I shut off the car. I then undid my seatbelt and turned to her.
“‘God,’” I said matter-of-factly. “As in ‘Oh god, oh god, oh god.’”
She punched me in the head.
Chapter 19
“Ouch,” I said while rubbing my head as we stepped out of the car. Thank goodness her punch wasn’t hard enough to make me hit the glass. “That wasn’t nice.”
“You deserved it,” she said, looking like she was fighting to hold back from laughing. “‘God?’ Please.”
“You said that a lot, too,” I teased as I walked around the car, but quickly jumped out of striking distance.
We began scanning the area for skeletons. I didn’t see anything, so I assumed they were further in on the graveyard.
Before starting to search for them, though, I decided to see if I could spot Shitfaced Fred.
“Everyone, listen up,” I called out through the connector, “I know we’re here to confront skeletons, but keep an eye out for the wacky necromancer. And let’s not leave Warren alone this time.”
“Thanks, Chief.”
We split up and began a slow comb of the graveyard until we caught sight of rail thin bodies milling around in the moonlight.
Skeletons.
Now, I’d be the first to admit that I wasn’t heavily versed in wizardry, but I had my moments. If Fred was in the area he’d probably be connected somehow to the light that he was using to raise the dead. If I was right, nobody’d note it; if I was wrong, I’d never hear the end of it.
“Griff, can you see that light thing Fred uses to raise the dead?”
“One moment.” We all stopped. “Yes, I see it.”
I took a breath. “Wouldn’t the wizard have to keep some kind of connection to it?”
“Not bad, Chief,” Warren chimed in, giving me more credit than I’d expected. “Griff, if you—”
“It ends at the hedges to our left,” Griff interrupted while pointing. “He may or may not be there, though. It all depends on the level of magic he’s using.”
I could only hope that he was there. Maybe we could take this bastard out tonight and be done with all of this. My first thought was to just annihilate Fred and stop this trickling zombie apocalypse, but I had the feeling that the Directors would want to get some intel from him.
“Can you guys think of a way to trap him without killing him?”
“Not likely, Chief,” Jasmine replied first. “He’s pretty powerful.”
“I would agree with that assessment,” stated Griff.
The Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Series: Books 1 - 4 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department Box Sets) Page 19