Freak Show (14 page)

I made a clumsy attempt to grab for her. Everything spun. I tried to stay on my feet, but it was difficult to tell which way was up. The disorienting sensations grew quickly, stealing my ability to speak coherently.

“Shifter sedative,” he said with a sly grin. “Handy little mix of wolfsbane and a tranquilizer strong enough to take down a bear. Sorry ladies, can’t have you getting in the way.”

The last thing I saw was Roscoe’s mildly amused face. Then the black abyss of drug-induced unconsciousness swallowed me whole.

Chapter Ten

Blood filled my mouth. My head ached, and my heavy eyelids refused to open. Pain shot through my joints when I tried to move. After several attempts, my eyes opened and focused, but my head still refused to lift. My cheek felt raw and scratchy from being mushed into the carpet.
Where the hell am I?

When I caught sight of my surroundings, I lowered my head back to the floor and counted to ten. This was bad. Really bad. I was in an unfamiliar hotel room, surrounded by bodies. Everything was so red. Blood spattered the floor, the walls, and the bed.

The last thing I remembered was blacking out in Planet Hollywood. Wolfsbane. There were so many stories about it, most of them very old and likely untrue. I had never encountered it until now. I hoped never to have it inside me again.

I struggled to sit up, immediately horrified and shocked by the realization that I was naked. My horror grew as I counted five bodies splayed out in various displays of grotesque violence and death. The room was nice, not a penthouse but not a slum either. A small party had been taking place. Bottles and glasses littered a small coffee table, complete with perfectly cut lines of white powder. It wasn’t hard to put together what had happened: I’d torn them to pieces.

A frantic glance around the room revealed what was left of my clothes. Scraps of fabric littered the space not yet occupied by body parts. I surveyed the destruction and knew with absolute certainty that the vampire in me had nothing to do with this. It was all wolf.

Voices in the hallway beyond the hotel door infused me with panic. It got me on my feet, albeit unsteadily, and ready to take on whoever walked through. But nobody did. The voices passed by.

“Oh, fuck me,” I muttered, stepping around what was left of my victims. Using a scrap of fabric from the floor, I slowly opened the door just enough to ensure the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign was on the other side.

Satisfied that it was, I locked the door and stared at the mess. All of the victims were men. I must have interrupted a boy’s night out. I had to get out of there. I needed to find Jez.

Part of me wanted to sink to the bloody carpet and cry. In just one night, Vegas had separated me from everyone I loved. I was alone, and they were God only knew where. In fact, where the hell was I?

The room service menu on the table said Paris Las Vegas.

“What the hell?” I whispered, needing to hear a sound in the silent room, even if it was only the sound of my own voice.

Somehow, I’d managed to go from Planet Hollywood down the block to Paris Las Vegas in a total blackout. It wasn’t all that far but felt like miles since I couldn’t recall a second of it. Then I’d murdered a group of guys just trying to get their party on. I wracked my brain trying to remember, but it was all a blank.

I reached out to Arys, finding nothing. No response. No contact. He was either shutting me out or unconscious. If he were dead, I would know. I had to do something before it got to that point.

First things first, clean up. A visit to the bathroom resulted in another shock; seeing myself as a monster was never easy. A quick but thorough rinse in the shower washed away the blood, but the stain of shame remained. How could I have done this?

As ill as it made me, I had no choice but to swipe a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants from a dead guy’s suitcase. Standing awkwardly in pants that were way too long for my short frame and a baggy shirt that felt like a dress, I dreaded what I had to do next.

Searching the scene for any shred of my DNA made my stomach churn. More than a few times, I wanted to toss my cookies. Getting up close with each victim allowed me to see the gaping holes in their throats, the random chucks of flesh strewn about. I did manage to find my hotel key card though.

A slow clap broke the silence. I whirled around with a yelp to find Falon appraising my handiwork. As much as I hated the fallen angel, right then I was almost happy to see him.

“Holy shit, Alexa, you have been a bad little wolf,” he said, a trace of awe in his tone. “I never imagined you were capable of such destruction. I’m impressed. What do you know? You may be useful after all.”

“What are you doing here? Did Shya send you?” I was afraid to blink, fearing he would disappear, that perhaps I was so desperate I was imagining him.

“Of course. Your vampire contacted Shya in a fit because you weren’t answering your phone. He was so sure you were in danger.” Falon’s silver wings tucked in snug against his back. He walked through the room, examining the slaughter. “Shya couldn’t risk that so, like usual, he sent me to see what stupid shit you pulled this time.”

“My vampire?” It took me a moment to realize he meant Kale. I watched Falon lean in close over one guy whose neck was torn so wide his head barely hung on. “Don’t touch anything! Please. Just…help me.”

Falon’s silver gaze landed on me, ice cold and brimming with judgment. “Why should I? You’re alive. In fact, you’re the only one here who still is. Looks like you’re just fine to me. I’ll be sure to let Shya know.”

“No, please,” I almost shouted. “Don’t leave. I need help. I don’t know where Jez is. I’m missing the last two hours because some son of a bitch vampire drugged me with wolfsbane. And I can’t reach Arys. The local blood ring has him and Shaz.”

“When you fuck things up you don’t half ass it, do you?” With a shake of his head, Falon snickered. He plucked a piece of ash blonde fur from between a dead man’s fingers. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to survive this long. It’s uncanny.”

“And you’re an asshole, but I’m willing to overlook that this time.” My relief at seeing a familiar face was fading fast.

His grin vanished. “I can’t wait until Shya’s done with you. The moment he is, and I do mean the very moment, I’ll be there. And you’ll be sorry.”

“I’m already sorry,” I snapped. A shock of pain wracked my brain. I muttered obscenities until it passed.

We glared at one another, each trying to muster greater vehemence in our eyes. Finally, I sighed and shrugged. Falon wasn’t worth the precious time that I had to find my friends.

“Just leave, Falon. We both know this is the last place you want to be.”

Ignoring his hateful stare, I went back to studying the bodies for any trace of werewolf that would give me away to the local FPA. After several silent minutes, Falon sighed dramatically and shouldered me aside.

“Get out of here, Alexa. Go find your twin so Shya doesn’t rain down hell upon either of us. I can’t stay long so let me take care of this while I can.” The air in the room grew thick as Falon’s power rose.

“What are you going to do?” I asked, hesitant, afraid to hear the answer.

Falon turned a wicked smile my way and shook his head. “What do you think I’m going to do? I’m here to clean up your mess. Now beat it.”

I couldn’t trust him, not for a second. Nor could I trust Shya, a demon who only wanted Arys and me alive because of the rare power we possessed. But I wasn’t in a position to argue.

“Fine.” I tugged on my boots, the only item not destroyed by my violent wolf shift. I felt ten times more ridiculous than I looked. “Thanks. I guess.”

I was almost to the door when he said, “Here. I’m sure you’re going to need this.” A thud on the floor and the sharp ting of metal spun me around. My dagger, the Dragon Claw, lay on the floor near my feet. I’d never been so happy to see the demon-forged weapon.

“You were going to let me walk out of here without handing it over, weren’t you?” I picked the dagger up, satisfied with the way it hummed at my touch. It had been made just for me, with a piece of my hair to bind its magic to mine. With just a nick of the blade, it could kill a vampire.

“I’d love to sabotage you, Hound. You’re the enemy, no matter what Shya thinks he can gain from you. But I don’t call the shots.”

I stared at the dagger. It wasn’t small by any means. “How am I going to carry this around the city? I don’t have my leather jacket with me.” I eyed up the black trench coat Falon wore. It would work. “Let me have your jacket.”

“Not a chance. It’s your problem.” He turned his back on me, dismissing me without another word.

“I don’t have time for this shit. Give me your jacket.” I grabbed his sleeve and whirled him around. If I had to tear it off his body, I would.

He raised a hand to fend me off. I grabbed on and refused to be budged. “Falon stop being such a dick. Can you hate me later? I don’t have time for this.”

He gave me a shove that sent me tripping over a body. I fell on my butt in a puddle of blood. “Oh this is just great. Just fucking fabulous.”

With a snarl, I came at him with the Dragon Claw held high. Mocking laughter was the response I got. Angered and impatient, I swung the blade, forcing him to sidestep the attack.

“You can’t kill me,” he gasped out, almost doubled over with laughter. God I hated him. “You stupid wolf.”

“I don’t know. Can angels function without a head?”

I swung again, and he easily caught the blade. It sliced into his palm. I tried to jerk it away, but he held tight. The force of his anger thrummed through the blade, down the handle into my arm. It seared through me, scorching every nerve as it climbed to my shoulder.

“You underestimate me, Alexa. One day, that’s going to stop.”

“You keep singing that song, and it’s getting old. Let go of my dagger you fence riding piece of shit.”

“Oh, is that what you think?” Falon released the dagger with a push of power that forced a shriek from me. “You think fallen angels are simply undecided? I promise you we know exactly where we stand. Your precious Willow included.”

“What does Willow have to do with this?” I held my arm with teeth clenched, willing the pain to fade.

Falon studied me. Whatever he saw, it shut him up. In a fast, fluid motion, he stripped off the jacket and tossed it. “Never mind. You have places to be. Clock’s ticking.”

The smarmy ass knew he had piqued my curiosity, and I couldn’t do a damned thing about it. He was right. I had to go. I quickly rigged the dagger’s scabbard around my waist, hiding it with Falon’s jacket, which was long enough to fall almost to my ankles. Without another word or a backward glance, I darted into the hall and followed the signs to the elevator.

Paris Las Vegas was a nice hotel. There was much to look at. If circumstances had been different, I’d have loved to browse around. As it was, I ran through the lobby to the street beyond.

My body was sore from the violent shift to wolf and back. It didn’t usually hurt like this. I ran through the streets, dodging tourists, until I made it back to Caesars where I ditched the huge men’s clothing for my own lightweight yoga pants and another bra and tank top. I swapped my boots for runners and chugged back a bottle of water.

At this rate, I was going to be out of clothes in no time. I was in and out of the suite in three minutes flat, running with Falon’s coattails flapping behind me. I had no starting point for finding Jez. My only guess was that Roscoe still had her. So I was going to The Wicked Kiss.

The street outside the club was empty. An eerie quiet hovered around the building. Knowing the rooftop access would likely have locked behind us when we left, I crept around to the back.

Two vampires wearing staff t-shirts stood watch at the back door. I stepped out of the shadows, careful to keep the dagger concealed. They stiffened at my approach, exchanging a look with one another. I held my hands up and moved slowly.

“I’m Arys Knight’s wolf. I’m here to find him.”

“You won’t find him here,” said the taller of the two. He frowned down at me, sniffing openly in my direction. “Linden and his guys dragged Arys and Jenner out of here over an hour ago. They took the blond wolf too.”

Panic seized my heart. Moving them to another location could only mean bad things. Linden and his blood ring were going to kill them.

“What about Sloane?”

“She’s here. Recovering.”

“Can I see her?” My question was received with skepticism and raised eyebrows. “I’m no threat to her. If you want Jenner back here in one piece, you have to let me speak to Sloane.”

They exchanged another look. The silent one shrugged. The tall guy nodded and stepped aside to let me through. I half expected them to follow me, but they remained at their post.

I entered into the back of the club behind the stage, fully anticipating a scene of horror and destruction. Instead, I found the place partying as if the earlier intrusion had never happened. Most of the damage had been cleaned up. Music pounded out of the speakers. People filled the dance floor, and vampire showgirls worked the room. The sheer normalcy was all kinds of fucked up.