Kissed by Darkness (3 page)

Inigo gave me the once-over as I strode into the living room. If the look on his face was anything to go by, I looked just fine. I was really glad I wasn’t a clairvoyant because I was pretty sure whatever he was thinking would make me blush big time.

“Come on, pretty boy, let’s go hit the town.”

He laughed, amusement coloring his voice. “Your wish is my command, oh Vixen of the Dark.”

I snorted. “Idiot.” Why, oh why, did he have to be Kabita’s damn cousin?

***

The club was pulsing with hard, eerie music. It was almost alive and incredibly sexual. Heated. Full of desire and passion and very naughty things. The heavy bass settled into my chest like a heartbeat. I fought the urge to clench my legs together. Music did things to me.

Portland had a lot of nightclubs for a small city. There was everything from salsa clubs to a reggae bar. We even had a fairly famous musical revue which showcased some brilliant female impersonators. How’s that for cosmopolitan? Nothing, however, had quite prepared me for the weirdness that was Fringe.

We pushed through the front bar area which was heavily populated with vampires. Not real ones, of course. These were Sanguine Vampires, people who lived vampirism as a lifestyle and a religion but weren’t actually vampires in the physical sense. I’d never seen so many tattoos and piercings in one place in my life.

There were a couple of beings working the crowd who sent my Spidey senses zinging, but not because they were vamps. Although they looked perfectly normal, to my mind’s eye they glittered and glowed, their features constantly shifting in the dim light. I had no doubt these were members of the Glittering Throng.

One of them caught my gaze and his/her purple eyes sparkled with unholy glee. My mind shied away from seeing him/her, but I yanked it back. I was the mistress of my own mind and no sidhe glamour was going to change that.

I started right back at him/her, watching as his/her face shifted and molded through several incarnations. With a smirk, the sidhe tipped an imaginary hat in my direction and disappeared into the crowd. I held back a shiver. Messing with a member of the sidhe was not a good idea. In fact, it was best to stay below their radar all together.

The sidhe tended to get their kicks from the suffering of other beings, both mortal and supernatural. Usually suffering they’d created. Fortunately this one had a sense of humor.

Inigo led us to the main dance floor and bar where there was a giant fish tank along one wall with an honest-to-gods mermaid inside. Not some chick in a fish suit, but the real deal right down to the rainbow hued fish scales and hair the color of dark green seaweed. I was starting to feel like I’d fallen down the rabbit hole.

The minute he walked in, all eyes were on Inigo, even fish tank girl. Not that I blamed them. He was seriously hot in a dark suit and silver shirt. His shoulder length hair gleamed gold and honey in the dim light of the club and his eyes were such a luminous blue they practically glowed. I was pretty sure that wasn’t just an effect of the lighting. I had my suspicion that somewhere in Inigo’s genetic background was a little bit of fey blood or something. It would account for a lot of things.

Like the way every woman in the bar had stopped dancing and was frozen in place with her tongue hanging out. Most of the men too, if truth be told, which was a good thing for me. No one would remember I was there, even if I did have hair practically the color of a fire truck.

I slid up to the bar and caught the bartender’s attention after about the third try. He was good looking, if a bit on the slender side, but no match for Inigo. He swallowed hard, dragging his eyes away from Inigo. “How can I help you, my lady?”

My lady. How quaint.

“I’m looking for someone. Cordelia Nightwing. You know her?”

He pointed toward an alcove on the other side of the dance floor. The silky blue curtains had been drawn to ensure privacy. “She’s doing a reading, but she should be done soon.”

I threw him my best smile and a ten-dollar bill. “Thanks.” He didn’t respond. His eyes had already returned to Inigo, who had strutted to the middle of the now still dance floor and started grinding his hips. I rolled my eyes. Inigo could be a real peacock sometimes.

I strolled casually along the edge of the dance floor toward the curtained alcove, scanning the crowd. No one paid me any attention, which was fine by me, at least for tonight. When I was on my own, I sort of drew attention. Blood red hair, porcelain skin, and moss green eyes sort of leave an impression. The skin and eyes I couldn’t lay claim to. Genetics, you know. But the hair was completely deliberate. Besides, it didn’t matter if anyone noticed me out slaying. It sometimes even helped.

Tonight was different. All eyes were on Inigo. I’d always thought it might have something to do with his clairvoyant gifts, maybe some kind of special aura mojo or something. In any case, when he wanted to he could sure draw a crowd.

I waited by the shimmering curtain for Cordelia’s client to come out. The club had returned to what appeared to be its usual manic writhing. I was pretty sure the couple in the corner was having sex with their clothes on. Either that or he was a doctor inspecting her tonsils. I was sort of guessing it was the former.

A dark haired man hurried from behind the curtain and disappeared into the crowd. I figured it was the client so I slipped into the alcove. Cordelia Nightwing wasn’t exactly what I expected. Or maybe she was. She sat at a small round table draped with midnight blue velvet, a crystal ball sitting in front of her. It was so cliche, I nearly burst out laughing.

A pair of bright blue eyes laughed up at me from behind a fringe of dark brown hair. She was easily in her late forties, but the sparkle of energy surrounding her and the smile pulling at her lips belied her age. She was beautiful, no doubt about it. But it was the kind of true beauty that only came with age, wisdom, and honestly knowing oneself. I warmed to her instantly.

Her smile widened. “It’s for the clients.” Her hand waved over the crystal ball. “Makes them feel like they’re getting their money’s worth. I tried it without the ball and I swear I had a guy nearly in tears over it.” Her laugh spilled out, light and bright. It reminded me of Christmas, for some odd reason.

“I take it you don’t need the ball to do … whatever it is you do?”

She shook her head, dark hair spilling about her shoulders. She was wearing a silk kimono, for gods’ sakes. “Goodness, no. You ought to know our gifts don’t need gimmicks.”

I’d no idea how she knew I had “gifts.” I shook my head. “No we don’t. How did you…”

“Know?” She shrugged. “I guess the same way you know I’m not a charlatan and that your friend out there isn’t faking it. We just … know.”

She was right. I did always know whether what she called “gifts” were real or faked. It’s not like I could feel anything, like I did when I sensed vampires, but I just
knew
it was real, if a person were genuinely gifted or not. It wasn’t something I tried to explain because it just was.

“So, how can I help you?” One dark eyebrow cocked up. She so reminded me of Kabita. The two of them would probably get on like a house afire.

“Someone gave me your name. Said you might be able to help. Brent Darroch.”

Her face hardened. “What do you know of Brent Darroch?”

“Nothing really,” I told her. What was with the attitude suddenly? “He just hired my firm to find someone.”

“Who?”

I cleared my throat, wondering how she was going to react to what I had to say. “A Sunwalker.”

She looked at me for a long moment, her gaze inscrutable. “And what will you do with this Sunwalker once you find him?”

“I’ll retrieve the necklace he stole from Mr. Darroch and then I’ll kill him.”

She didn’t bat an eye. She only held out her hand. Without thinking I placed mine in hers. “Remember, Huntress, things are not always as they seem and there are always two sides to every tale. Before you slice off the Sunwalker’s head, you might want to hear what he has to say.”

Riiiight.

She let go of my hand and reached into a voluminous bag beside her chair. She placed two business cards in my hand. One was Cordelia’s own card. The other read:
Eddie Mulligan, Majicks and Potions
. Weirder and weirder.

“I don’t know this Sunwalker,” Cordelia told me, “but I have heard the legends. If anyone can help you find what you’re looking for, it’s Eddie. Tell him I sent you. Tell him I said it was OK to help you.”

“Right. OK. Thanks.”

She smiled enigmatically. “Not a problem. You know where to find me if you need me.”

I turned to go. “Remember,” her voice stopped me, “look beyond the obvious. Not all of those who walk the dark path are evil.”

I glanced back at her. “They are in my world.” I strode out through the curtain and into the writhing mass of bodies in the main club. How much weirder could this case get?

Chapter Three

Inigo joined me outside the club. He had lipstick smeared on his collar and his lips looked a bit swollen. “Lucky bitch,” I said, giving him the once over. He threw his head back and laughed.

“Gee, thanks Morgan. You’d probably get some, too, if you bothered to stop and smell the roses once in awhile.”

“Whatever.” I didn’t like to think about my lack of success in relationships with men. It was pathetically Freudian and I knew it. Didn’t need to go into a whole song and dance about it. “Sense anything, lover boy?”

He shrugged. “Not much. She gave me tinglies.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?” My mind was suddenly going places it really shouldn’t go. At least not with Inigo.

“Good ones. Cordelia gave me a good vibe. I think she’s somebody we should keep around.”

I shook my head. “We’ve already got a friendly neighborhood clairvoyant. We don’t need two of them.”

He chuckled. “She’s not clairvoyant. Well, not exactly. She’s a lot more than that. She’s sort of a … a mystic, I think.”

“Right, OK. Fine. Whatever.” I pulled one of the business cards out of my pocket and handed it to him. “She said this Eddie guy can probably help us find the Sunwalker. It looks like he runs some kind of mystic mumbo jumbo shop.”

“You’re a fine one to talk about mystic mumbo jumbo.” Inigo raised a brow at me. “You’re not exactly an average, ordinary human type yourself.”

“True. But I’m not about to start burning incense and dancing naked in the moonlight.”

He gave me one of those head to toe gazes that men give women they find particularly tasty. “Too bad.”

“Pervert,” I laughed. There was no way I was admitting that the thought of Inigo watching me dance naked in the moonlight was practically giving me a hot flash.

“Tease.”

“OK, can we be serious for a minute? We need to talk to this guy, find out what he knows, even if he is a loon,” I insisted.

“OK, but you’ll have to go alone. I know this place. It’s a strictly day time operation. And you know how I feel about getting out of bed before 6pm.”

“Right. I’ll hit the shop tomorrow then while you’re getting your beauty rest.”

He reached out and caressed my cheek. Sent a shiver all the way down my spine. Now I was the one with the tinglies. “You should think about getting some yourself. You’re looking a bit tired.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said dryly. “Just what every girl wants to hear. Some young stud muffin telling her she looks tired.”

He smirked. “So, you think I’m a stud muffin, huh?”

“Oh, shut up. Kabita would kill me if she heard us having this conversation.”

“What Kabita doesn’t know won’t piss her off,” he grinned. “C’mon. I got plenty of room for two.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Inigo, you are way too young for me.”

He just smirked some more. “Twenty-four is not that young. I’m certainly old enough for what counts.” His grin turned unbelievably lascivious and my mind went straight to some very naughty places.

Great, just what I needed. Out of control hormones in the middle of a hunt. And it wasn’t Inigo’s out of control hormones I was worried about. “Oh, yes, I’m sure you’re very, ah, good in that department. But I’m very busy and important and don’t have time for your nonsense,” I said loftily and I stomped off down the street. When in doubt, a grand exit was always appropriate. Especially when one was trying desperately not to jump one’s best friend’s cousin’s bones.

Dear gods, I was in some serious trouble.

***

It was just gone 2:30 a.m. when I got home. I stripped down to my underwear, yanked on a T-shirt, and crawled into bed. I was starting to think I was getting way too old for this shit.

Granted, twenty-nine wasn’t that old. It’s like the new nineteen, right? But I’d been hunting vampires for three years now and it never got any easier. In fact, it seemed like the more of these things I killed, the more new ones popped up.

And now this whole Sunwalker thing. As if my life wasn’t weird enough, I was suddenly on the hunt for a mythical creature that supposedly hadn’t existed, if it ever existed at all, for hundreds of years. Great. Just great.

To top that off, I had some mystic palm reader telling me that the guy I was supposed to execute might not be a bad guy, after all. Wasn’t quite sure I bought that. I mean, a vamp was a vamp, even if he could walk around in daylight. I know about all of the fairy tales Hollywood likes to produce about the sexy undead, but the truth was, vamps would just as soon eat you as do anything else with you. The bloodlust was all consuming. I’d never met a vamp where it was otherwise. How could a Sunwalker be any different?

I jerked the fluffy duvet up to my chin and stared at the ceiling. If Sunwalkers did exist, then how on earth did one kill them? And why would a centuries old vampire that could walk around in daylight steal a worthless necklace from some rich guy? I was starting to think there was a lot about this case that wasn’t going to make any sense.

So many questions and not a lot of answers. In fact, the further into this thing I got, the more questions I seemed to have.