“Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.”
* * *
Gemand I flashed across the foyer and into the dining room.
“It’s empty.” She climbed into a booth and leaned through an open archway to look into the gathering room. “I was certain they’d be in here.”
I used hand signals and gestured to the gym door. It was the only logical place to hide a bunch of people, aside from the rock-climbing room.
When I opened the door, I stepped back. If there was any place for a Vampire to be waiting, it would be at the bottom of those dark stairs. I gestured to Gem’s fingers.
Her brow furrowed as she focused all her energy into a tiny ball of light. Then she marched down the stairs while I waited.
“Aha!” she exclaimed. “Stay where you are!”
The ground shook, and the stairwell coughed up a plume of debris.
Gem sang, “I told you not to move.”
I went down to check things out.
Gem brushed her hands over her luminescent dress. “That one ricocheted. I promised Viktor I would do my best not to destroy everything, and justlookat the mess I’ve made.”
I stared at the gruesome sight of a man lying with a hole in his chest. “Remind me not to piss you off.”
Shielding her eyes, she stepped over the body and stumbled on the next step. “It took so much practice to learn the right size to kill a man without destroying everything else. Pretty neat, huh?”
I stepped over the man, and the stench of burning flesh turned my stomach. “Yeah. Neat.”
“I just wish I didn’t have to look at the bodies. I feel so guilty. I’ve never liked being around crime scene victims, and yet here I am, creating a crime scene,” she said, walking down the steps. “At least they’re the bad guys. I’m running out of energy, Raven. Wielding these electric weapons depletes my core light more than flashing.”
“Then don’t waste any more energy bullets.”
When we reached the bottom, I jumped ahead. “I’ll go first since I’ve got Vampire blood in me. Keep everyone away from the door.”
“Do you need these?” She held up the bag of handcuffs.
“Hold on to them.”
After opening the door, I marched through the recessed hall and into the gym. The party costumes against the backdrop of weights and floor mats looked comical. Had Sparrow broken the curse? Surely if that were the case, these people would have brought some luggage and changed by now. I counted eleven, none of which included Lenore or Sparrow.
“Ladies and gents, I need everyone’s cooperation. The building is surrounded by more wolves than you can fathom. Put your hands behind your backs and face the wall. Your other option is to get torn to pieces by my buddies upstairs.”
I expected a fight, but they were suspiciously compliant.
“Thank the fates you’re here!” a plump lady in a corset exclaimed. “We knew you’d come to rescue us from this monster.”
“Shut up, Hildie,” a man spat out.
While they bickered, Gem bounced in and proceeded to cuff their wrists behind their back. None of them were Vampires, so the cuffs would suffice.
“Why didn’t he remove the curse?” I asked, noticing the light tattoos.
“Because he’s a liar,” the same man growled.
“That’s not true,” a redhead fired back. “He said on thetenthday. He promised.”
“Shhh,” someone said.
