“So I will have children with Cassie?” Tarron asked.
She didn’t answer right away and the look in her eyes had him narrowing his eyes on her. Her lips pursed as she met his gaze. “You will have heirs with your mate.” She stood and motioned for him to follow her. “Let us begin. I assume you brought me something that belongs to her?”
Tarron entered into the small shack after the priestess as he pulled the necklace he had taken from Cassie’s dresser from his pocket. “I brought you this.” He held it out to her. “It appears to have been worn quite a lot which means it was against her skin.”
Chamani took it from him and examined it closely. “It will do. I need something of yours as well. A similar object works best.”
Tarron pulled his medallion from beneath his shirt. He slipped the chain over his head and looked down at the worn crest. He hadn’t taken it off in over a century, but he figured this was the best possible reason to remove it.”
“Where did you get this?” Chamani asked him as she turned the medallion over in her hand.
“It was a gift.” He didn’t elaborate more. There was no reason for the priestess to know anything more.
“It holds powerful magic.”
When she realized he wasn’t going to respond, she shrugged and continued gathering items she deemed necessary for the spell. Tarron watched silently, his body rigid with anticipation. Was he cheating? Maybe just a bit, but hell, he was a dark elf. Surely no one expected him to be honest. Trik was no fool. He wouldn’t be waiting for Tarron to come at him in a direct attack. The dark elf assassin, now restored king, would be looking for an underhanded method. He probably even knew to look for him in Voodoo country. What he didn’t know was that he wouldn’t just take Cassie from him, but he would also make her want him. Trik would watch as Cassie fell in love with Tarron. He had first thought he would simply kill Trik, but it would be an even worst fate to have to watch his Chosen choose another.
The rumble of thunder drew his attention back to the priestess. There was a book that looked to be several centuries old opened in front of her. Next to it there was a shallow bowl that held the two necklaces and some other items and liquids that Tarron was happy not to know the origins of. Her eyes were closed and her lips moved though no sound came from them. The air around him began to churn an electric charge and it danced across his skin. He felt the magic reaching out for him like tendrils as it wrapped around him, binding itself to him. Tarron closed his eyes and leaned his head back soaking in the power of the spell. It would be much more effective if he opened himself to it.
“It is done.” The priestess’s voice had his eyes snapping open and his head lowering.
“Will she be aware that something is different?”
Chamani began to clean off the items before her. “She won’t be knowing that da spell has been cast, but she’ll feel strange. She might be thinking she is becoming ill and feel a need to go somewhere. What she don’t realize is da spell is causing her to want to seek you out. Da full effects of the spell will happen once she be seeing you. It’ll grow more powerful with contact.”
“And nothing can break it?”
“Death.”
“Her death?” Tarron frowned.
“Or yours.”
Chapter 5
“I’m pretty sure they release something into the air in Vegas that gets the blood pumping and makes even the most frugal, conservative person want to let loose, spend money, and do something stupid that they can tell their grandchildren about.” ~Elora
“How much did they take?” Lorsan asked one of the guards. He stared into the storeroom where they’d been keeping the Rapture and saw only a few cases left. His fist balled at his sides and his jaw clenched as he listened to the man recount what had happened. Apparently some very brave, or very stupid, humans had decided to help themselves to as much of the drink as they could get out before getting caught. They’d knocked out two of the men posted at the door and held a gun on another.
“Why weren’t any of my men here?” Lorsan asked the human guard.
“We were otherwise detained, my liege,” a cool voice said from behind him.
Lorsan turned to see Avauc, one of his top warriors, looking highly irritated. “Pray tell, what had you detained?”
“There was an altercation that the human guards weren’t able to handle on their own. I took the elves that had been stationed here with me to assist.”
“You couldn’t handle it?” The question was insulting, but Lorsan didn’t care. Avauc should have known better than to leave something so important in the hands of mere humans.
The warrior’s shoulders tensed. “I suppose I could have simply let them tear your casino apart. I am not a fool to let my pride keep me from doing my job. Had I attempted to handle a mob on my own I would have been overtaken. Tanked-up humans seeking their drug of choice aren’t exactly reasonable.”
There was no point in arguing with him. What was done, was done. But Lorsan had to get the Rapture back. His supplies were already getting low after the little explosion at the manufacturing building, and Tarron hadn’t been back in touch with him to let him know if they’d begun making more. In fact, Lorsan’s teeth clenched so tightly that they might have shattered. Tarron hadn’t been in touch with him at all in days. What was his unstable friend up to, he wondered. Then again, with a mind like Tarron’s, it might be better if Lorsan didn’t know.
“Take two warriors with you and track the humans who stole my property. Deal with them, and bring it back,” Lorsan snapped at him. “And be quick about it.”
The warrior bowed his head and then turned quickly on his heels without a word. Lorsan looked at the open door and motioned for the guard to shut it. Two more of his warriors had joined him in the hall and he narrowed his gaze on them. “You are not to leave this post for any reason. I don’t care if the building is on fire or humans are throwing each other from the balconies. Your feet stay planted here. Understood?”
The two warriors nodded and took up their posts, pushing the human guards out of the way.
One of the men looked at Lorsan with a slight frown. “What would you like us to do?”
Lorsan let out a sigh. “Go guard,” he waved his hand in frustration before finally huffing, “something, anything just get out of my sight.”
As he walked out onto the main floor, Lorsan glanced around. He fought down the bile that rose in his throat as he stared at the pathetic humans around him. Some sat at the bar; others, at blackjack tables; and still others, in front of the slot machines. They were weak―captivated so easily by the newest fad. Suddenly he felt as though he were suffocating in their desperation. He needed to get away from them, if just for a little while.
Without a word to anyone he headed for his office and then passed through the mirror that hung on the wall. His Chosen would be irritated that he hadn’t let her know where he was going but he couldn’t wait. He needed to get away from the humans or he just might start killing them. He wouldn’t have much of a kingdom if he killed all of his subjects.
The lights of the city shimmered like the lights on a Christmas tree. They lit up the night sky and seemed to scream ‘forget all your troubles and come play with us.’ Elora felt the pull stronger than ever.
“You okay?” Cush’s voice filled her mind as his hand ran down her arm until he was clasping her small hand in his larger one.
She turned to look at him and knew that her eyes were wide with wonder. “Do you think all the lights just make it worse? Maybe if we’d arrived during the day it wouldn’t seem so appealing.”
Cush squeezed her hand gently. “That had been the plan but after getting those glimpses of the dark elves following us I had to take some detours. I’m sorry if this made it harder on you.”
She closed her eyes as she fought the siren call of sin city. Elora looked deep inside her reaching for things that represented light and goodness in her life. She wanted to push away the dark impulses and so
she was going to have to focus on the things in her life that mattered more to her than her own desires. She thought of Cassie and the pain she was in as she searched for her parents. She thought of Lisa and how she’d done all she could over the years to protect her and her brother from their father’s dark world. And then she thought of Cush, her light elf warrior. He had brought a new kind of light to her life, one that shined brighter than anything else. Surely these things would be enough to help fortify her from making some very bad decisions.
“I’m good,” she finally said.
Cush had pulled into a parking lot across the street from the casino, Iniquity. As they climbed out of the vehicle, Elora turned and looked at the building that seemed to loom over them ominously, as though it dared them to enter and then leave untouched by its influence. She wondered if they would make it in and out alive and if they would be the same afterward. Could a person, human or elf, come face-to-face with such strong, alluring, and tempting pleasures and not be affected? She really wanted to say yes to that question, but as she watched humans stumble from the casino, their eyes glazed over with the film of alcohol and, more than likely Rapture as well, she truly doubted that they would come out unscathed.
“The sooner we go in there, the closer we will be to ending this mess,” Syndra spoke up grabbing everyone’s attention. She motioned for everyone to get closer to her. She made movements over each of them while muttering under her breath. One by one, their clothes shimmered and changed, converting into clothes much more appropriate for the club scene than the jeans, t-shirts, or cargo pants they’d been wearing.
Elora’s eyes widened as she looked down at the outfit that the light elf queen had covered her in. She wore red high heels, black fishnet tights, a black miniskirt, and a halter top that hung off one shoulder. Her mom’s outfit wasn’t much better. Her eyes met Cush’s and she could tell by the clenched jaw and narrowed eyes that he wasn’t too happy about the clothes, or lack thereof, that she was sporting.
“Is this really all you could come up with?” Lisa asked as she motioned to the tight red pants and halter top that enveloped her body.
Syndra shrugged. “It’s Vegas, might as well go big.”
The guys were dressed in slacks and dark shirts that gave glimpses of their chests from the several buttons that were left undone. Elora wasn’t going to complain; the view she was getting of Cush was going to be forever ingrained in her memory.
“Listen up.” Syndra clapped her hands. “To each other, our faces will look the same, but to everyone around us, they will see someone else. The glamour will make the dark elves see elves, and the humans will see humans. The spell should last several hours so everyone check your phones and make sure that we all have the same time.”
They all pulled phones out and did as she asked. Once everyone was on the same page, Syndra continued with her instructions. “We will meet back here in exactly three hours. Lisa and Oakley, you two will be a pair, and the lovebirds will be a pair. Being that I can hold my own, I will be on my own. We will spread out in the casino. Keep your eyes and ears open for Lorsan and his men. And for the love of not wanting to be tortured, please attempt to look inconspicuous.”
Once again facing the casino, they headed toward the doors that would lead them into the world held captive by Lorsan and his will.
As soon as they entered, they were assaulted by the sounds of ringing slot machines, shouts at the roulette tables, and boisterous laughter from all directions. Elora felt as if she was a kid seeing Disney World for the first time. She wondered why it was having a strong effect on her. The first time they’d come she’d felt something, but it hadn’t been nearly as strong. She felt Cush’s fingers lace with hers and looked up at him.
“You good?” he asked. The concern in his voice helped her shake off some of the affects.
She nodded. “I’m good.” So it might have been a little bit of a lie, but she didn’t want him worrying about her when there were more important things to be doing.
She noticed that the others had already headed off in different directions. Cush began to lead her through the maze of games and people. He walked with a confidence and appeal that had heads turning. Elora was sure the clothes that encased his fine physique had a little something to do with it as well. In short, Cush looked stunning.
“What exactly are we looking for?” she asked him silently.
“In particular we’re looking for Lorsan. But finding where he’s keeping the Rapture would be just as important. And finding The Book of the Elves is also a must. I’m thinking where we find Lorsan is where we will find the book.”
They continued their slow perusal of the casino, nonchalantly sauntering through the different gaming areas. Elora knew the moment they got near the bar. The energy seemed to ratchet up several notches and the noise with it. Loud laughter rose up around them as people crowded around tall, round tables and the long bar along the wall. In every hand Elora could see a glass filled with a shimmering red liquid.
It didn’t take long for the notorious violence that came with the Rapture to make an appearance as the bartender began to cut certain people off. She watched as two large bouncers headed over to the bar where two men were beginning to demand the bartender give them what they wanted. One of the men bumped into a woman standing next to him. Then the man on the other side of her, who Elora assumed was with the recently jostled woman, confronted the man who bumped into her. From there the situation escalated very quickly.
Right before Elora’s eyes, pushing and shoving commenced, and then punches began to be thrown. Even a few glasses of Rapture were snapped from one hand only to be downed by the snatcher, which didn’t go over too well with the theft victims. The bouncers were attempting to get things under control, but they were simply outnumbered. She heard Cush curse low under his breath and then turn to her. “Don’t get any closer and do not move from this spot.” Then she watched as her warrior rushed into the fray to assist the sinking bouncers.
As Elora watched the violence before her, she once again began to feel the undeniable pull of her darker nature. The sounds of the fighting began to fade and all she could hear instead was the pulsing music that was being played throughout the casino. The beat was intoxicating. It called to her. Come dance; come play. Her feet began to move of their own accord and before she knew it she was walking away from the spot where Cush had rooted her. She didn’t know where she was going and she didn’t really care. She just wanted to let go. She wanted to be one with the night, to bask in the pleasures that begged for her attention.
Everything around her faded from view until all she could see was the path in front of her. Elora left the main gaming room of the casino headed in the direction of a different kind of music. As she rounded a corner, she saw lights flickering from a single door that was held open by a big, burly guy. The colors of the lights changed rhythmically with the beat of the music and a trail of fog drifted from the room. Elora took a step closer, and another, as the undulating fog beckoned to her. The closer she got, the more she wanted to be in that room.
It seemed that in the blink of an eye she was standing just inside the door engulfed in the darkness. The laser lights that flashed around the room and the fog blanketed the floor and slithered around the bodies that were moving to the pulsing music. Her head snapped around when she felt hands sliding down her arms grabbing onto her wrists and pulling her into the depths of the writhing bodies. The heat of the crowd should have been stifling, but instead it was like a warm sauna relaxing all of her muscles until she was placid and loose.
Without another thought to any of her original plans when she’d entered Iniquity, Elora let her head fall back, not even alarmed when it landed on someone’s chest as hands grasped her waist and the person behind her began to move with her. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath and surrendered to the side of her that she’d fought for so long.
The night turned into a blur as Elora danced. She didn’t stay in I
niquity but followed a group of people who she suddenly become friends with. They went from casino to casino hitting all of the clubs in them along the way. Minutes turned into hours, but time was of no consequence to her. She simply wanted to soak up the night. All of her worries slipped from her mind to be replaced by a euphoric feeling that she was pretty sure she never wanted to let go of.
Elora laughed as she danced with the group she’d latched onto, letting their energy capture her. Her hands lifted into the air as her hips swayed seductively. In her mind, she heard a whisper of approval as though she were a snake charmer and her dark half was the snake being mesmerized by her movements. It was as if she was finally home. Why had she fought it so hard? This is who she was and there was no point in denying her nature. She was a part of the night, the darkness her domain, and as she reached up and pulled the clips from her hair letting the black locks free to sway around her, she gave herself over fully to the blood of her father’s people.
Cush wiped the blood from his lip as the last man was finally removed from the casino. One human male had gotten in a lucky shot but only because Cush had been fighting four on one. The bouncers who’d been in the middle of it with him gave him a quick nod of thanks as they returned to their stations. Those left that had simply watched or cheered on the fighting slowly meandered away as they realized the excitement was over.
He turned to find Elora, to make sure she was alright, but instead of her scantily clad body, he found an empty spot on the floor instead. His eyes began to quickly scan the immediate area around him, and when he still didn’t see her he began moving. His head swiveled from side to side as he searched face after face for his Chosen. At that moment his frustration equaled his worry. He wouldn’t think the worst just yet. At the moment he was irritated with her for leaving the place he’d specifically told her not to budge from. But as his search continued with no sign of her, his irritation lessoned and his anxiety and fear increased. The ache that often accompanied the separation of a male and his Chosen began as a dull annoyance in his chest. He knew the longer they were separated, the worse it would get.