Urban Fantasy Collection - Vampires (72 page)

Read Urban Fantasy Collection - Vampires Online

Authors: Adrian Phoenix

“All right, so maybe I was murdered, but I'm a vampire, not a frickin' revenant, okay?”

“As you say, vampire. May the Lord have mercy on your soul.” I watched him lope off into the distance.

Not a bad birthday, all in all. The werewolves weren't after me anymore, my best friend who really hadn't been my best friend was dead, and I could go back into the Pollux and have my way with Rachel guilt-free, more or less.

“Revenant's eyes,” I scoffed and sat down on the bench where old what's-his-name had admitted his betrayal. Roger. Forget him, I told myself. Just let him go. But my memories of Roger were too tangled up with memories of Marilyn. I couldn't let go of one without sacrificing the other.

Her familiar heart beat across the street at the Demon Heart, a weary skittish beat in comparison to the steady rhythmic thump of Rachel's. I let them both serenade me, Rachel upstairs in my bed at the Pollux and MarilyâWhat was Marilyn doing at the Demon Heart this early?

I crossed the street at a trot and unlocked the front door of the club. She was probably getting things ready for our grand reopening. We could open back up tomorrow, I thought.

Serves me right for being optimistic.

The hair on the back on my neck stood up. Cold white light from the street illuminated Marilyn, tied to a chair in the middle of the room. Blood trickled down her arms and legs where piano wire had cut into her wrinkled flesh. A large band of duct tape covered her mouth. It was frayed along the bottom, tucked under and stuck to itself on the upper right corner. All the little details.

Her eyes screamed at me to run, but I didn't. I'm stupid like that. I never know when to run or when to leave someone behind. That I do, on occasion, manage to do one or the other just goes to prove the age-old adage: “The sun even shines on a dog's ass some days.”

Stuck to her chest was a Post-It note with the words:
Happy Birthday, you stupid fuck!
It was signed
Hugs and kissesâRoger.
My vampire speed kicked in and I think I might have made it if Roger hadn't been the one who'd set the trap for me. He'd known me too well.

My claws raked through the piano wire, severing it on both sides simultaneously. I clutched Marilyn close, the smell of stale cigarettes and old age filling my nostrils. The intro music from the old
Superman
radio show flashed through my head. I heard an electronic whine that didn't sound like the alarm system. I rolled away from it, hoping to shield Marilyn from the blast. More than one bomb went off.

I'd never moved with such urgent speed before. We shot past the first explosion as it happened, outrunning it like in the movies, dodging over the runway and into the dressing room. The next explosion went off in there, my every move anticipated, creating a circle of fire, shaped charges designed to hit me from all angles. It wasn't normal fire, either; the way it burned and pierced was a sensation I associate only with crucifixes and holy water.

He'd paid someone to bless the damn explosives. Even so, I lasted longer than Marilyn, watched her burn away. The only thing that eased the pain was knowing that I got Roger first. He was a Master, easy to kill. I'm not.

We Vlads keep coming back unless you find that one special way that will take us out forever. It didn't feel like Roger's method was it for me, but it felt damn close. My body was completely gone; not even a speck of ash remained. I'd been melted before, but there, in the goop, I'd still had a body, just an icky liquid one. Now, I was totally disconnected, a floating ghost.

I hate ghosts.

I hovered over the burning ruins of the Demon Heart, pleasantly surprised to see that the explosion hadn't harmed the Pollux Theater across the street, waiting for my body to re-form and wondering how long it would take. And waiting. And waiting. You know, when I get my self back together, I'm going to find the guy who thought up blessed C-4 and kick his ass.

Happy fucking birthday to me.

Praise for Jeri Smith-Ready and

WICKED GAME

A nominee for the American Library Association Alex Award

“Smith-Ready's musical references are spot-on, as is her take on corporate radio's creeping hegemony. Add in the irrepressible Ciara, who grew up in a family of grifters, and the results rock.”

âPublishers Weekly

“This truly clever take on vampires is fresh and original. The characters have secrets and questionable backgrounds, which makes them intriguing. The use of music as the touchstone for life is sharp and witty. Smith-Ready proves that no matter what the genre, she has what it takes.”

âRomantic Times

“A colorful premise and engaging characters . . . a fun read.”

âLibrary Journal

“Just when I think the vampire genre must be exhausted, just when I think if I read another clone I'll quit writing vampires myself, I read a book that refreshed my flagging interest. . . . Jeri Smith-Ready's
Wicked Game
was consistently surprising and original . . . I highly recommend it.”

âA “Book of the Week” pick by Charlaine Harris at charlaineharris.com

“An addictive page-turner revving with red-hot sex, truly cool vampires, and rock 'n' roll soul. Jeri Smith-Ready is a major new talent on the urban fantasy scene.”

âKresley Cole,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Kiss of a Demon King

“
Wicked Game
is clever, funny, creative, and way too much fun. . . . A surefire winner.”

âThe Green Man Review

“Jeri Smith-Ready has created a set of strikingly original, fascinating characters, rich with as much style and rhythm as the music her vampires love. Lyrical and uncompromising,
Wicked Game
is a winner I'll be reading again.”

âRachel Caine, bestselling author of
Thin Air

“Jeri Smith-Ready's
Wicked Game
is a wicked delight. Peopled with fantastic characters from across almost a century of American music, this is urban fantasy that makes an irresistible playlist and an irresistible read. I await the next book with growing impatience!”

âC. E. Murphy, bestselling author of
Urban Shaman

“Sharp and smart and definitely not flavor of the month,
Wicked Game
is wicked good. Jeri Smith-Ready will exceed your expectations.”

âLaura Anne Gilman, bestselling author of
Free Fall

“Jeri Smith-Ready's vampire volume
Wicked Game
will make your corpuscles coagulate with corpulent incredulity. It's for young bloods and old jugulars alike. Whether you devour it on âSunday Bloody Sunday' or just before âDinner With Drac,' simply turn off the 50-inch plasma, lay back, and âLet It Bleed.'”

âWeasel, WTGB 94.7 The Globe, Washington, D.C.

“Once in a while someone writes a book that surpasses genre conventions and expectations, turning established ideas into something fresh and new. . . .
Wicked Game
is original and unique . . . it's also a fantastically good read.”

âLove Vampires

“Smith-Ready weaves an imaginative tale that adds new dimension and limitations on the otherwise long-lived lives of vampires. . . . This is a fun escape in a world that readers will look forward to visiting again.”

âDarque Reviews

“With meticulous detail to character and plot development, Jeri Smith-Ready has created a unique and lyrically entertaining story. . . . Beyond the excellent dialogue, skillfully crafted characters, and unique plot, Ms. Smith-Ready has achieved the almost impossibleâshe made me fall for each and every dysfunctional member of the WVMP family. This is my first novel by Ms. Smith-Ready, but it certainly won't be my last.”

âRomance Reviews Today

“
Wicked Game
starts out strong and just keeps going . . . There's humor and pathos, evil and not so evil, love and betrayal, and friendship and loyaltyâplus a really solid story to hold it all together.”

âSFRevu

“A fun novel . . . it definitely stands out from the crowd of Anne Rice wannabes.”

âPagan Book Reviews

Pocket Books
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Pocket Books paperback edition April 2009

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Cover design by Melody Cassen
Cover photograph by Sydney Shaffer/Getty Images

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-0134-6
ISBN-10: 1-4391-0134-5
eISBN-13: 978-1-4516-5215-4

To Donna and Ted, my first rock 'n' roll gurus.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to my family, for encouraging my love of music despite my almost preternatural lack of talent.

Thanks to Rob Staeger, Cecilia Ready, Tricia Schwaab, Barbara Karmazin, Rob Usdin; William Parris, President, Radio Broadcast, Inc.; and Gerard W. Weiss, Lt. Col., U.S. Army (Ret.); for their story comments and research assistance. Any remaining errors are mine, and probably due to a momentary lapse of caffeine.

To the hardworking folks at Pocket Books for bringing this novel to life: Louise Burke, John Paul Jones, Josh Karpf, Lisa Litwack, Jean Anne Rose, Erica Feldon, Don Sipley, and Anthony Ziccardi.

Much thanks to my editor Jennifer Heddle, for her extraordinary vision and brilliant insights (and forbearance in overlooking the muscle shirt); and to my intrepid agent Ginger Clark, for believing in this series from the get-go. You both rock.

Most of all, thanks to my own guitar man Christian Ready, for his love and support, and for proving that some things don't burn out
or
fade away.

Playlist

“I'll Never Get Out of These Blues Alive,” John Lee Hooker

“Read My Mind,” The Killers

“About a Girl,” Nirvana

“Flower,” Liz Phair

“Hard to Handle,” The Black Crowes

“Eight Miles High,” The Byrds

“Blue Suede Shoes,” Carl Perkins

“Helter Skelter,” The Beatles

“Uncle John's Band,” Grateful Dead

“I'm So Glad,” Skip James