by Jill Cooper
She nodded and her eyes lowered to avoid Vain’s gaze. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to cause trouble, but I’ll do anything I can to help you. Anything.”
Good, so far Hannah was playing her part. “If word got out that clients died here, what do you think that’d do to business? We have to show our clients that we won’t tolerate girls who lash out. Don’t we?” She gripped Hannah’s chin and pulled her dagger free with her other hand.
Hannah quivered and shook, but it was Duncan who spoke up. “Leave her alone, Jessica. Leave Meg alone.” Hannah’s face flashed with confusion and Vain could only assume what she was thinking.
Vain smiled. “You see, you can be useful. He thinks you’re his dead sister, and, while I’m going to Vegas, you’re going to stay here and play the part. Take care of him. Dose him with magic and cement in his brain his hatred from Jessica Blood. Do I make myself clear?”
Hannah nodded. “Anything. I’ll do anything.” Her arms hugged around her body as if to protect herself. “Just tell me what to do.”
But from Vain, there would be no protection. Hannah was as vulnerable as a newborn lamb. “Good, girl.” Vain slipped a tube of lip gloss from the inside of her glove. The contents were translucent, but shimmered like glitter. “Every ten minutes apply this to him. Make him believe you’re Meg. Her ghost. Make him believe Jessica Blood killed him. You want revenge, child. Lay it on thick.”
The thicker the better because Jessica was coming. Soon, she would reach her end and once Vain stole the curse of Lourdes from Amanda, they’d finally get to meet.
In the underworld.
Chapter Eleven: Amanda
The sky was bright blue and only the fluffiest of clouds drifted across the landscape. Behind the postcard-ready tranquil beauty, a gray darkness hid. It swirled behind the neon flashing lights and the stream of all-you-can-eat buffets. Tourists with happy smiles, ready to bet their fortune at the promise of a better future.
Vegas, baby. Ready or not, Amanda was here and read to work.
For her part, Jessica bit into a chili cheese dog. “Hmm, this is so good. I don’t think they make hot dogs like this anywhere else.” Cheese—though Amanda guessed there was very little actual cheese product—oozed out onto her leather coat.
Jessica didn’t seem to mind. She only scooped it up with her finger and slurped it off. “What?”
Amanda was staring. She didn’t mean to be. With a shake of her head she gazed out the window. There was a vendor cart not far away and gathered around were portly tourists in brightly colored shirts—pinks, yellows, and oranges—like a circus show. They wore visors on their heads and some had fanny packs on.
“Are you okay?” Jessica crumbled up her napkin and tucked it into the pocket of her jacket. It was always better than littering in her car. “Your cheeks are red.”
“I’m fine.” Amanda could barely get the words out and she was aware that her fingernails were grating across her knee. Why was she so angry? It wasn’t like her to get mad at the human population like that. Usually she saw them as naïve little beings that needed to be protected—kind of like baby birds.
But these people weren’t naïve. They were flocking to this place, ready to throw out their money? And for what? For what?
A hopeless dream. A get rich quick scheme, as if that would solve all their problems.
“I think we better hurry up.” Amanda took a deep breath to steady herself and her lungs stretched so full, her ribs shook under the pressure. “I’m not feeling that great here and I think we need to get Duncan and hit the road.”
If only it were that easy, but Amanda’s bones felt as if the road—the trees—the buildings, all of it, was closing on her.
“You don’t have to tell me twice. Let’s find the entrance to Sin Town and get this done.” Jessica exited the car first and made her way toward the passenger side. She might not have been an empath, but Jessica knew when Amanda needed her. She always knew.
It was one of her super powers, and the one Amanda was most grateful for.
She opened her door and stood beside the car. The smell of the place and the ooze of its corruption overwhelmed the senses. It wailed against her head like a pitch fork and her gut, deep inside, churned with lava.
Up ahead, a red and black funnel cloud of death slowly rotated. It led to one place. One casino. Like the pinnacle of decay, it stood tall with a fine tip point. It absorbed all the bad feelings, all the negative emotions, this place had. Atop its door, was a deck of fanned out cards and red dice.
The Wild Aces Casino.
The place, whether it was built for that purpose or not, was funneling Vegas’s negative feelings, all of its addictions, and besieged souls, straight into Sin Town. The Wild Aces might have created Sin City but on purpose or unfortunate happenstance? Amanda couldn’t guess.
“Mandy?” Jessica shook Amanda’s shoulder. Her older sister’s forehead was creased deep with concern, but Amanda could barely see her. The fog of corruption, like a film, clung to Jessica’s face and as people hurried past them, Amanda heard all their thoughts, as if they were her own.
She couldn’t filter them out.
We should stop by the buffet on our way out of town.
Those chicken fingers are to die for.
One more game. On more bet.
I know I can make back the mortgage payment.
I’m going to be swimming with the fishes if my wife finds out what I’ve done.
The kids are having fun. The zoo is nice, it’s not like we’re just here to gamble.
Vegas is a family town these days.
This place wasn’t just cursed, it was worse than that. It was a place that needed to be put down. Vegas, Sin town, all of it needed to be dealt with.
What do you do if you get cancer?
You cut it out. You starve it away.
“Amanda!” Jessica cradled her arms around her, but Amanda shrugged her off.
Her brain was pulsing with Jessica’s fear and worry. Is Amanda okay? Am I going to lose her?
Amanda squeezed her eyes even tighter. “Stop, stop. Please stop thinking. Please.”
What if she dies? What if I can’t save her?
Amanda gazed up at her sister. “I can’t do this.” Her chin shook and her body followed. “I can’t go into Sin Town. What if it destroys me, Jess? I’m being torn apart.”
Jessica gripped her arms and Amanda gripped them back. The black inkwell stain on her hand had crept up, onto her arm. It extended an inch up her forearm and the tip glowed, as a nice piece of artwork appeared. Just being there and accessing her power like that? It was cementing Lourdes’s magic that now flowed through her veins.
She was never going to get out of this. Never.
“You get in the car.” Jessica ordered. “You drive, far, far away. You hear me? I’ll get Duncan and I’ll meet you. Just answer your phone, Amanda. Go back to the church. We’ll meet you as soon as I rescue Duncan.”
Stupid plan. She’d never make it that far and Jessica had to know that. Sweet Jessica, always searching for a way to save her. Amanda shook her head. “How will you get there if you don’t have a car? Jessie, I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want—.”
“I know, but you’re a Blood.” Jessica gripped her tighter and her eyes widened in a plea. “You’ve got this. You’re a survivor, Amanda. Are you a quitter? Or are you Blood?”
Amanda didn’t have to think about it. She sucked on her bottom lip. “I’m a Blood. I’m a Blood.” With a deep breath, she paused and thought of what she said. It was true. All of it and it ran deep in her veins. It was more than a name. It was a purpose, a way of life. A Blood didn’t walk away. “I’m going with you.”
Jessica shook her head. There was no way she was going to let Amanda go. Amanda read her like the morning paper, but she could convince Jessica. “You need my magic to get in there.”
“This place is destroying you.” Jessica’s eyebrows rose and heartbreak sunk her cheeks.
/> “Then we’ll have to move fast because I’m not leaving here without Duncan. I’m a Blood. We finish things. We save people.” Amanda rose to her feet and stared down her sister.
Me and my big mouth.
Amanda beamed when she knew she won. Jessica hooked her arm through her sisters. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”
“If I am,” Amanda said, “it’s because you taught me.”
“Where do we go? How do we get in?”
Amanda pointed at the Wild Aces Casino. “Ground Zero is over there. We don’t have to go in. through the front. Not yet, but around the side, I should be able to find an entry point. The dark magic of this place is seeping all around. That’s the gateway.”
Jessica hurried across the street with Amanda in tow. She didn’t wait for cars to stop, she made them stop. That was Jessica’s way and it had always been. Amanda loved her for how much she cared, how much she protected her.
She was going to get the job done and fast. She didn’t want to lose Amanda to this place.
Amanda was grateful to have her on her side. Her hero. A real hero.
The Wild Aces Casino was a towering building and appeared to be built of gold. The tower of Babble, right in their own backyard. The top circled with dark magic, pulling the negative emotion straight into its antennae. It must be so weird, not to see that. Just to see the blue sky. To Amanda, it was as clear as day.
How could anyone think this place was anything but corrupt?
Mandy?
Amanda startled as she realized she had been staring. “Sorry,” she whispered with a quick tuck of hair behind her ears. Beside the building lurking shadows took form. It extended out from the bordering bushes like a rickety finger. It grew along the sidewalk and fanned, outstretching and searching.
It stretched so close to Amanda’s toes that she stared down at the ground. Beneath the hallowed shadow, a whisper tickled her ear, so soft that the words jumbled together. Forehead creased, Amanda’s lips parted. “You’ll have to speak louder than that.”
Jessica gripped her arm. “You’re scaring me.”
Amanda closed her eyes and concentrated so hard that she blocked out all other sounds. The voice existed only in the shadow. People lurked in the corners, but they weren’t people in the traditional sense any longer. Their skin was gray and thick like leather. Void of light, their eyes were hollow and they lay in alleys, waiting for life to pass them by. Just throwing it all away.
Tears stung Amanda’s eyes and then she heard it. The voice loud and clear jumped at her as if hidden behind the building.
“Come visit us. Stay with us. You’ll like it in Sin Town.”
It knocked her off her feet and she fell into the shadow(s). Amanda shrieked and tried to stand up, but the shadow rolled over her like the darkness of sundown. It clawed and ripped at her flesh. Amanda kicked, then stumbled back to her feet and banged into Jessica.
Breathing hard, she couldn’t get control. Lourdes’s magic was growing up her arm and all Amanda could do was labor for air? So much for her strength and conviction. So much for doing anything she could to save Duncan.
She couldn’t go in there. Just couldn’t.
Jessica wrapped her arms around Amanda. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I got you. Just breathe, Mandy. Breathe.”
She couldn’t talk so she nodded and slowed down her heartbeat.
“It’s here, isn’t it?” Jessica said.
“You could say that.” Amanda licked her lips.
“Do you see an opening? A doorway?”
Amanda did. Between the bushes in the small space between the walls, the cement parted just enough to get sucked in—if the spirit was ready, but Amanda wasn’t. She didn’t want to go, but her magic…. Amanda had a feeling she could force the opening up big enough for them to both get through. If Duncan was there, they would get him out.
She had to put on her big girl panties and get it done.
“I’ll find it.” Jessica stepped away and walked straight into the shadow. Amanda held her breath and her hands clenched tight.
“Don’t, Jess! Don’t!” Amanda screamed.
“I’ll be fine.” Jessica turned with a smile on her face, but it was distorted. The shadow burrowed its way beneath her skin and her eyes shifted with maggots—even as she splayed her arms to show how well everything was going.
The shadow would corrupt her. It would destroy her.
Not after Amanda had just gotten her back. Amanda screamed and charged her sister. She grabbed her arms and pushed her toward the casino. “Ugh!” Jessica let out a gasp as they both fell down, tangled up together, flattening the bushes surrounding the side entrance to the casino.
Jessica’s head hit the cobblestone pathway next to the smoker’s bench. Her eyes narrowed as she rubbed the top of her head. Stars floated in front of her eyes and a deep frustration built up in her chest. “Amanda…”
“You can’t go in there. You can’t, okay? You don’t know what it’ll do to you.”
But they didn’t have a choice. Duncan is in there! Jessica was exasperated enough to be mad and Amanda was about to get an earful, but black shoes walked toward them. Amanda gazed up with fright. The black shoes led to black pants and the angry scowls of Wild Aces security officers.
Not just one. Not even two.
But four. Each of them more menacing than the last.
“The two of you are going to have to come with me.” That’s what he said, but Amanda heard other thoughts churning in his head.
Vain wants these two. This is Jessica and her sister. Vain will award me. Sweet, beautiful prostitutes and bundles of money. Lord, I need to get laid.
She was in there. Amanda couldn’t let her get close.
Jessica pulled Amanda up to her feet and the look on her face was pointed. We’re not going to be able to get out of this one.
Jessica was right. She was, but Amanda couldn’t go in there. Jess, he works for Vain! They all work for Vain!
If her sister could hear her thoughts, Amanda saw no signs. They were pushed through the revolving door and as she slid through the glass door growled at her. It's was punctuated with a lion’s roar. The entryway was glamorous with giant chandeliers and golden carpets. It was a palace fit for a king, but the walls bled.
They dripped red with blood and black corruption billowed out of the slot machines, just pass the front desk.
God, oh God. Amanda couldn’t breathe and pain rushed up her arm. She gagged and grabbed at it, and saw the black mark of Lourdes stretching up her arm. Being here was hastening the process.
“Mandy?” Jessica’s voice strained into a shriek and she grabbed her sister’s arm.
Amanda fell and her head hit the carpet. Her teeth chattered together as she held her arm tightly, but no matter how she squeezed the black mark wouldn’t stop growing. Like a tree, it branched out, growing through her skin and tightening like thorns.
Her eyes met the panicked look of her sister. “Get me out of here,” her teeth chattered together.
Jessica knew. She understood.
“Is she all right? Do we need to call a doctor?” One of the security guards bent over Amanda and Jessica took that moment to grab the gun at his hip. “Hey!”
“Clear the door. Move back.” Jessica screamed and waved the gun to get the security guard to move.
Behind them was a rush of footsteps. Amanda couldn’t let more security guards get to Jessica. Her mind cleared the path. Security guards that had blocked her sister’s way were thrown against the wall Fear rose up in Jessica, but she swallowed it back. She was good at that.
Amanda hobbled to her feet, but could barely stand. Jessica grabbed her by the arm. “We’re getting out of here.”
A security guard stood to block Jessica with his hands fanned out. “You leave now and you’re in a world of trouble. We’ll hunt you straight out of Vegas and off the face of the Earth if we have to, sister.”
Jessica’s face twisted with confusion. S
he just saw them as security guards, but Amanda knew the truth. They were henchmen for Vain, working under her thumb, which meant they were dangerous to them—and their mission.
Amanda gazed at Jessica and spoke with her mind and projected her thoughts into a place they had no business being. Blow out his knee caps. We can get through them. We have to get through.
Jessica gawked with fright. Amanda would never suggest I hurt someone. Never.
Insulted by her sister’s assertion Amanda fumed. What is happening to me is neither life nor death. You need to make a choice.
Footsteps rushed from behind. Amanda tried to drive them back, but she couldn’t stop them if they were behind her. She was met with a static wall, like a force field. She pivoted to face them and splayed her hands, but it was too late. Like a heard of football players, they charged the sisters and Amanda’s fate was sealed.
Guns were drawn. Jessica waited too long to make her move. The Blood sisters were tackled and pinned down. Jessica fought against her restrainers. They twisted her wrists and handcuffed her tightly until her skin was pinched.
There was no escape for them now. They’d be hauled off for questioning and Amanda might not survive. Not if she couldn’t find a way out.
Amanda’s hands reached for the security guard so she could control him, but he twisted her arm out behind her. Calling out in pain, Amanda’s mind screamed. Inside she saw the twisted face of Lourdes cackling in the dark, except it wasn’t Lourdes’s face she saw.
It was her own.
Kill the humans. Take what is yours. Earn your power.
Amanda wouldn’t. She couldn’t, but the Wild Aces Casino, would try to corrupt her. It would try to destroy her. Somehow she had to find the will to be stronger.
Somehow.
Chapter Twelve: Duncan
He drifted in and out of sleep for what felt like days. For whatever reason, Jessica had handcuffed him to the bed. Duncan needed to find a way out. Once, he loved her. Sure, she was always kind of crazy, but he loved that about her. She was loyal. She fought to save people. Practically for truth, justice, and the American way. Jessica’s spirit was intense and everything she did was for her sister.