Chapter 12 #2
The teleportation occurred instantaneously, ripping the midnight garden away from her sight and replacing it with a moonlit inner courtyard. A balmy breeze ruffled Emma’s hair.
An afterimage, blazing pale blue instead of gold, twinkled into stardust shimmers and dissipated.
In awe of River’s apparent badassery, Harrison glanced around in wonder. “Whoa. That was awesome, Riv.”
“Right? Not so bad, if I do say so myself.” The witch grinned and stepped away from the group before spinning to face them all again. Her hazel gaze swept over the assorted members of the ragtag team. “Everyone have all their bits and pieces? Yes? Good!”
Before anyone could question the possibility of having lost any parts of themselves, Adrian led the way to a door with a security panel.
He deactivated the alarms and gestured everyone inside.
“Welcome to New Orleans. Please make yourself welcome and help yourself to anything in the kitchen. The pantry should be well stocked.”
“I’m surprised none of the partygoers are staying here,” Emma murmured.
“This is actually one of Brennan’s personal retreats,” Adrian replied in a low voice. “He was generous to allow it.” When Zacarias dropped onto the leather sofa beside them, he said in a louder tone, “This place belongs to a personal friend, so try not to scratch the furniture or gnaw on anything.”
Zac shot him a deadly look, but River chortled and ran her fingers through her husband’s dark hair.
“For all the jokes I’ve heard you guys make about vampires, this is only fair,” River said. “Anyway, our travel here didn’t wear me out, but we should all get some sleep while we can to be on our game tomorrow,” she said.
Although the words were lighthearted and kind, Emma couldn’t help the ominous chill that raised goose bumps over her arms.
Rest now, because if the hunters had their way and Sariel wandered free, there wouldn’t be a moment of peace for any vampire, shifter, or witch again.
After Adrian had devised his plan for the two of them to convince the hosts to dismiss the party early, Emma and River visited the enormous walk-in closet of Brennan’s master bedroom.
A bevy of women’s garments awaited them, everything from masquerade-style ball gowns with satin trains and ruffles, to corsets of every styling.
“Uh. Why does your vampire lord have so many women’s clothes?”
“All the bimbos he picks up. They have expensive tastes.”
“Seriously? Bimbos?”
After an internal struggle, Emma found a flattering, neutral way to describe their benevolent lord. “Lord Brennan is a man who enjoys the pleasures in life. He’s never lacking for feminine company.”
“So I see. Oh, look.” River held up a scrap of bubblegum pink silk. “Thongs with the tags still on them. He could stock his own boutique.”
They rifled through the drawers until they found what they wanted and what would fit. Emma smacked River’s hands away from the more conservative dresses.
“Trust me, you’ll stand out more if you go in looking like some chaste nun. Try that one with these heels.” Emma pushed a pair of silver pumps into River’s arms.
Outfits selected, they separated to get ready. Emma took the time to apply smoky eye makeup and a brunette wig fashioned into a shoulder-length bob. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she found River fussing with her outfit.
“Stop messing with it,” Emma chastised. “You look fabulous.”
River dropped her hand away from the V-neckline of her dress. “Girl, I feel like all my boob is gonna pop outta this thing, and I barely even have any.” Despite her claims, the royal purple fabric hugged her pear-shaped curves in an attractive way.
“It’s fine,” Emma assured her. “You look fantastic. I’m sure Zacarias would agree.”
“I could wear a wet burlap sack and he’d say I looked good. Anyway, how come you don’t have your breasts on display?”
Emma chuckled and ran a hand over her green lace bodice.
The sophisticated hemline reached her ankles, but a slit rose to the hip on her left leg.
She’d have to be careful to avoid revealing her gun holster around the other thigh.
“Because I have even less than you to show off. Besides, if they’re staring at your rack, they won’t be paying attention to me. ”
“Fine. You do have a nice ass though,” River commented, stealing a look at Emma’s bottom. “Honorary black girl level.”
Emma shot her a look. “I don’t know whether to be offended or delighted.”
“Delighted,” River cheerfully suggested.
Adrian met them downstairs. He paced back and forth across the foyer and only jerked to a stop when the two women appeared.
“You look….” He failed to say more, staring at Emma in a way that made her tingle from head to toe. He didn’t need to say anything, she felt it all through their link.
“Are the boys all in position?” River asked, breaking the silence. Adrian snapped his attention to her, cleared his throat, and nodded.
“Yes. Harrison is following our mage, Thomas is at a cafe down the block, and your husband reported that he was following a few men he recognized from town. I’ll join him as soon as you two are on the way. You armed, Emma?”
“I have my Ruger in a thigh holster beneath this dress.”
“If you’re wearing the holster I think you are, take this too.” Adrian pressed a silver-handled knife into her hands. Pretending to ignore the way he watched her hike the dress, she adjusted the holster and slid his serrated blade into place beside her gun.
“Thanks.”
“And don’t forget these.” Adrian offered a Bluetooth earpiece to each of them.
The arm curved around her ear and secured firmly in place.
“It’s important to keep in contact at all times, especially while there are hunters skulking around in the streets seeking the opportune moment to stake either of us.
This button mutes it on your end. Press again to resume audio. ”
“I feel like a spy,” River joked.
Relaxed enough to release a small chortle of amusement, Emma agreed with the witch’s sentiments and drifted to the window.
During her time in either of the covens, she hadn’t gone out on many missions.
Remaining armed at all times and donning gear like a special operative gave her a new experience.
“All right, sun is down so we should get going.”
Adrian wore two enormous handguns in the double shoulder harness over his black dress shirt.
He tucked a glossy, pump-action shotgun into another holster positioned against his right side, then shrugged a knee-length duster over his muscled torso.
Because she couldn’t help but appreciate the view, she watched until he hefted the strap of his heavy duffel bag, but quickly tore her gaze away when they made eye contact.
If he caught her watching, he had the self-preservative instinct not to mention it.
“Emmaleigh… be careful. Please.”
“You too.”
To avoid immediate recognition, Emma and River donned matching, black lace Mardi Gras masks. After all River had done to upset the vampire community, it was for the best to keep her identity under wraps as long as possible. Then they stepped outside into the crowded street.
With so many humans packed together in the French Quarter of New Orleans, it was no longer possible to tell vampire from mortal. They all blended together, a riot of sounds and smells in vibrant colors, although Emma occasionally saw a pale face with fangs gleaming.
“He’s protective of you,” River noted absently. She and Emma joined hands to avoid separation as they pushed through the crowd.
“Very,” Emma murmured. “He feels awful for what happened.”
“With Joe and his mage friend?”
“Yeah.”
“Girl, nobody can hover around all of the time to save us. That’s why we have to be tough on our own… still, I’m surprised you withstood that.”
“Yeah, me too,” Emma murmured.
Ever since she’d recovered, she’d asked herself why and how she’d survived a vampire’s death sentence. She’d only heard of the most powerful vampires enduring a flash of sunlight at point-blank range, and even then, they didn’t recover as quickly as she had with a few slurps of blood.
Though, she’d taken more than that from Adrian. He’d been generous, giving her more than what was recommended. More than was considered safe. She had so much of his blood coursing through her, it was no surprise they’d bonded.
Still, plenty of vampire lovers shared blood kisses during sex. And in emergencies, Overseers on a mission sometimes relied on one another for blood.
While always a personal choice of the donor, it was a very necessary measure that saved vampires on the brink of death.
There could be no act of love greater than sharing blood with a friend who needed it.
Had Adrian not been her champion and he’d refused her his blood, no one would have thought any less of him.
Blood was more than food; it was a vital life’s resource, but bonds were never formed over sharing it once or twice. Or even a handful of times, otherwise Overseers would be bound together in one terrifying polygamous relationship.
No. It was a binding of the spiritual essence as well, initiated by something she didn’t understand.
But such thoughts would have to wait until later, when they weren’t trying to save a party full of vampire nobles.
Emma straightened and lifted onto her toes to peer through the crowd. “What are we going to do if we cross paths with one of the hunters? I think they’d recognize me even while wearing a wig.”
“Hopefully I’ll be able to protect you if he goes for another solar orb.” When Emma stared at her, River clarified, “I will be able to protect you if he tries to do it again.”
“Okay.”
Once the two women squeezed out of the throng of moving, sweat-slicked bodies, they made their way down a less crowded street.
Their destination loomed ahead, a three-story building built to resemble a stone castle. While the iron bars on the windows added a gothic touch, the pragmatic side of Emma saw a death trap.
It had to be Adrian rubbing off on her.
“The Chateau Noir,” River read on the small wooden placard by the door. “Looks more like a museum than a bar.”
“Most places here do.”
“True. So do we just knock?”
“Pretty much.”
Since her phone was incinerated during the magician’s solar evocation, Adrian had loaned his device to Emma for the night. She swiped her thumb across the screen and pulled up the invitation before using the heavy brass knocker.
A broad-shouldered dude in a suit answered. Emma tilted her head back to look the man in the eye and held out the phone for his inspection. He studied it, scanned the barcode with a device, then flicked his dark gaze to River.
“A snack,” Emma said quickly. “My pet accompanies me everywhere.” Her coquettish smile won him over, and he allowed them inside even though his gaze lingered too long on River for Emma’s comfort.
They hurried by him and into the foyer. Emma was pleased to see others dressed in equally skimpy attire.
She’d guessed correctly, putting together their outfits based on her previous experiences with the vampire social elite. Her kind loved to dress up. With a smug smile on her face, she linked arms with River and strode toward the reception hall where her fellow bloodsuckers mingled.
“Now what?” River asked in a whisper.
“You stay close to me. Since I declared you as food at the door, you’re off limits, and we take matters of pets seriously. Like staking and leaving in the sun seriously.”
“Damn. Okay, good to know.”
“And, River?”
“Yeah?”
“No matter what you see in here, don’t try to play the hero. They’ll have voluntary feeders. Nights like these are classy social events, so Lillian wouldn’t want to risk ruining the evening with the food screaming for help. No one is here against their will, but there’s a lot to see.”
River’s lips flattened into a straight line. “Yeah, including a possible spy or hunter in disguise.”