Darkness & Discovery (The Bespelled Trilogy #2) (21 page)

He
held on to me for a long moment before finally nodding his head. “Ok. Well, so
far, we’ve done a pretty good job of surviving today. So, let’s congratulate
ourselves.” He kissed me and stood up, depositing me on my feet and keeping an
arm around my waist as he said, “Maybe someday, we’ll figure out how to make
our lives about more than just survival. But I guess right now that’s the best
we can hope for. And in the name of survival, it’s time to get back to seeking
out Jin.”

We
left the gym hand-in-hand, and found Athos and Joey having a stare-fight in the
lobby. They apparently decided it was a draw and broke off when they saw us,
and Joey said, “Hey. So, I compelled the front desk clerk to read off the list
of everyone in the high roller suites, and I guess Jin’s using a fake name,
because he wasn’t mentioned. Are we positive he’s here?”

“According
to his brother,” I said. “And Bryn caught a trace of Jin’s trail. He says he’s
around here somewhere.”

“Ok.
So, I also compelled the clerk to give me a key to the floor that the high
roller suites are on. Thought we’d go and search there. Might be easier to find
Jin that way, rather than this hit-and-miss approach.”

He
held up the key card, and Athos plucked it from his hand. Joey shot him a
murderous look, but then before they could start beating each other up, I said,
“Athos, why don’t you and Alastair go on ahead? We’ll meet you there in a
minute.” Joey held up a second key card gloatingly.

As
soon as the half-brothers were out of ear shot, Joey turned to me and said,
“So, is everything cool between you and Alastair?”

“It’s
perfect.”

“I’m
so sorry I tried to mess that up for you.” He fidgeted with the key card, not
meeting my gaze. “I’m sorry about all of it. I knew you didn’t feel the same
way I did. I mean, Allie’s not the only living stethoscope around here.”

“You’re
not sorry about the kiss, though,” I teased gently.

He
grinned and met my gaze. “Ok, no. I’m not sorry about that. I’ve wanted  to do
that forever.”

I
watched him closely and asked, “Are we going to be ok, Joey? Is this going to
affect our friendship?”

“I
won’t let it. I’ve learned to accept a lot during my relatively short life and
death, and this will just be one more thing I file away in the already very
full not-meant-to-be category.” He smiled as he said it, but I knew he was
hurting underneath that cheerful exterior.

I
pulled him into a hug and said, “I love you, Joey.”

“I
know. As a friend.”

“As
a
best
friend.” I was still hugging him tightly.

After
a moment he said, “You know, I still think I’m going to take off for a while
after we get this thing with Jin resolved and everyone gets home safely.”

I
pulled back to look at him. “What? Why?”

“Because,
embarrassing crush aside, I really do believe you and Alastair need some time
for just the two of you. And hopefully you’ll have the sense not to adopt Athos,
so he won’t immediately take over third wheel duties.”

“That’s
a terrible idea. With all the enemies you and Alastair have amassed, going off
on your own is just asking for a swift and painful death. We need to stick to a
safety-in-numbers approach. And besides,” I added, “I would totally miss you.”

“You
totally underestimate my awesome fighting ability. Have you seen me throw down?
It’s impressive, let me tell ya.” Joey was grinning in earnest now.

“Joke
all you want, but I refuse to let you go.” I linked my arm with his and we
headed for the elevators.

“I
guess I missed the memo where you became the boss of me.” He was still
grinning.

“It’s
in the fine print of our best friend agreement.”

“You
know, it’s probably a good thing you rejected me. You’re kinda bossy. Not ideal
girl friend material.” His grin graduated to a smile.

“I
am
bossy, and you dodged a bullet when I turned you down. Next thing you
knew, I’d be picking out your clothes and styling your hair for you.”

We
ran the key card through the reader at the elevator designated for the high
roller suites, and Joey said, “Is that what Alastair has in store for him? A
lifetime of bossiness and makeovers?”

I
smiled broadly. “Alastair doesn’t need a makeover.”

“Wait,
are you suggesting I do?”

“Not
at all. You’re rocking the teen jock thing.”

Joey
rolled his eyes as we stepped onto the elevator. “I
do
need a makeover
if that’s how you see me. I’m twenty one, for goodness sake. I guess I should
think about upgrading my image.”

“You’re
kind of
twenty one. And kind of fifteen forever.” He started to protest,
and I added, “And that’s a good thing. What most people wouldn’t give to never
age! No wrinkles, no going bald….”

“I
wasn’t planning to go bald anyway.”

“You
might not have had a choice.”

“I
would have fought it.”

“With
what? A toupee?”

We
were still debating the probability of fighting baldness when the door slid
open on the floor reserved for the high rollers. Alastair and Athos were
loitering in the hallway.

“Hey,”
said Joey, breaking off from his Rogaine dissertation. “So what’s the plan?”

“Knock
on every door to every suite on this floor and hope Jin answers. Lu should
knock, she looks least intimidating and they might actually open the door for
her,” Athos said. “The rest of us will hang back a bit, and move in when we
find the right suite.”

“Let’s
do this thing,” I said, and took off down the hallway.

About an hour later we
returned to our hotel room, a cloud of defeat hanging over us. Jin continued to
prove elusive, and we were running out of ideas for tracking him down.

We
found Bryn lying on one of the couches in the living room of his suite. He was
dressed like an Elvis impersonator in a white sequined jumpsuit, pompadour wig
with huge sideburns, and big gold shades, and he had an ice pack on his head.
Augustine sat in a nearby armchair, watching all of us wearily as we filtered
into the room.

“Aw
man, who was driving the truck that ran Elvis over?” Joey asked as he flopped
down on a vacant couch.

“Jack
Daniels,” Augustine muttered.

“I’m
fine,” Bryn slurred. “I might have had a teeny weeny little bit too much to
drink. Not quite enough to get me drunk, mind you. But enough to induce a
killer headache.”

“You
are
drunk,” Augustine told him. “How is this—” he waved his hand at
Bryn— “not drunk?”

“This
is tipsy with an unfortunate side dish of brain pain,” Bryn insisted.

“Do
I want to know why he’s dressed like Elvis?” I asked.

Augustine
knit his brows and said, “Why Bryn ever does anything is completely baffling.
I’ve had three hundred years to figure him out, and he still makes absolutely
no sense to me.”

Bryn
grinned broadly and said, “I don’t make sense to you, Augie, because the
concept of having fun is completely foreign to you.” He looked at me over the
top of his glasses and said, “And I’m dressed like this, obviously, because I
crashed the Elvis impersonator convention at the Tropicana. I won second place
in the lip sync competition! I would have won first, of course, if I’d cheated
and used magic.” He shifted the ice pack around on his forehead, pushing his
wig slightly askew.

“Maybe
the ice pack would be more effective if you lost the wig,” I suggested.

 “No
can do. The whole outfit falls apart without the pompadour,” Bryn told me
seriously. I couldn’t argue with that.

Augustine
stood up and announced, “Ok, it’s time for the king of rock and roll to get
some rest. Come on your majesty, I’ll help you to your room.”

Bryn
got to his feet and insisted, “Don’t need any help.” But then he started to
fall forward, off his big white platform shoes.

Augustine
caught him with a sigh and slung him over his shoulder. “No, of course you
don’t,” he said. “Do me a favor. Don’t throw up on me in the process of not
needing any help.” And he carried him down the hall.

Chapter Fourteen

It started to feel like
we were in our own personal version of the movie Groundhog Day. The next day
passed exactly like the first, as did the day after that. We stayed in the
hotel, alternately searching and loitering. Bryn went off to try to kill his
liver with his guardian vampire in tow. We ate a couple fancy meals in fancy
restaurants.

We
failed to get killed, so that was something.

We
also failed to be joined by Jin’s brother. He sent me a message and said that
his repeated attempts at texting and calling his brother had been ignored, so
he didn’t see the point in coming all the way to Las Vegas just to have his
brother continue to shut him out. That was disappointing.

And
we learned from Bryn, during one of his forays back to the hotel for a costume
change, that a crowd had gathered outside the perimeter spell around the
Bellagio. The Order was still in place, and had now been joined by an
ever-increasing contingent of vampire hunters. Apparently, news of Alastair’s
presence had reached the Alliance summit, and a large bounty had been put on
his head.

“What
do they think this is, the old west?” Joey wanted to know, slumped in what I’d
started to think of as ‘his’ chair in the lobby of the hotel. “Putting a bounty
on someone is so 1865.”

Bryn
was quiet, introspective, as he adjusted the cuffs on his finely tailored grey
suit jacket. I didn’t know what this costume was, exactly. The tasteful,
obviously expensive suit, crisp white shirt and tie, his dark hair neatly combed
– this was clearly another character, because it certainly wasn’t Bryn Maddock.

“I
really have to give some thought to how we’re getting Alastair out of here when
it’s time to leave,” he said. “It would have been simple enough to wrap him in
an obscuring spell, but they’ve recently added some seers to the crowd outside.
They’d be able to spot the spell, and even if they couldn’t make him out beyond
it, the spell alone might be enough for the hunters to converge. It’s a bit
problematic.” He reached out and squeezed Alastair’s shoulder and said, “But I
really will figure it out, mate.”

“Thanks,
Bryn,” Alastair said, patting his hand.

“Are
you and Augustine really ok passing through that crowd?” I asked the warlock.
“Do they not know you’re with Alastair?”

“They
know. And they immediately spotted Augie’s clumsy spell he used to obscure his
scent. But the crowd and I have reached a tentative agreement. They don’t make
a move toward either of us, and I go ahead and let them keep their bait and
tackle.”

“Their
– oh,” I said embarrassedly.

“I
doubt my threats would hold them back if Allie himself made an appearance out
there,” Bryn said. “The price on his head is a hundred thousand dollars. I’m
guessing a kind of feeding frenzy would erupt if he showed his face, and I
wouldn’t be able to stop all of them.”

“So,
no moonlight strolls for you, Allie,” Joey said.

 “That
goes for you, too, Joey,” Bryn said. “You’re a marked man as well, so no field
trips for you either.”

Joey
perked up, sitting straighter in his chair. “I am? Do I have a price on my
head?”

“You
do,” said Bryn. “Not among the vampire hunters, but among the vampires. They’ve
put a twenty thousand dollar bounty on you. They really don’t appreciate the
idea of one of their own turning against them.”

“That’s
awesome,” Joey said with a huge smile.

“It
is?” I asked in disbelief.

“Sure.
It means my efforts as a badass vampire hunter haven’t gone unnoticed.”

I
rolled my eyes. “Yeah, not actually a positive.” Then I asked, “So, are the
vampires and vampire hunters waiting side by side out there for a chance to
kill these two?”

“No,
the hunters and the Order are right outside, the vampires in fallback positions
in a big circle beyond them,” Bryn said. “They’re all very keyed up from being
in such close proximity to each other. So far, everyone is being careful not to
attract the attention of the general populace by fighting in public. But mark
my words, the desert outside Vegas is going to be soaked with blood at the end
of this stand-off, because those two groups are ready to rip each other to
shreds.” 

“No
doubt,” Joey said.

“Right,
I’m off. See you lot in a few hours. Coming, Shadow?” Bryn said to Augustine.
They’d given up the exercise of Augustine following him around, and now he just
accompanied Bryn everywhere, a kind of undead Jiminy Cricket constantly
reminding the warlock to pace himself with his excesses.

As
the two left the lobby, Joey grinned at me. “I have a price on my head.”