Page 66 of Kiss of Wrath

Jasper smiled and patted the boy, who was much like a son to him, on the shoulder, being careful not to touch the goop. In fact, Jasper was dressed in similar fashion to Beltane, also in Hugo Boss, but his suit was black with a black silk shirt and black tie, and a rare Asian pearl tie tack. All that blackness—hell and damnation, but he did favor the color black—provided a sharp contrast to his long, platinum-blond hair, which was pulled back off his face and tied into a queue on his neck with a diamond-studded black ribbon.

The good thing about being a Lucipire—well, one of the good things—was that when they took humanoid form, they could look like their old selves, or better, or even completely different. Jasper had once turned humanoid in the outward appearance of George Clooney. Whoo-boy, did he attract women that night! And added at least five new baby Lucipires to his killing jars, where he cured his victims until they reached stasis and agreed to become one of his legions.

They turned into the entrance of a sushi restaurant where Zeb was waiting for them at a discreet rear table. He was eating raw fish of some sort. Eeew! Jasper loved caviar, but sushi held no appeal. Beltane, who ordered some kind of eel or octopus concoction, was not so discriminating, or maybe he was discriminating and Jasper was the one out of sync, he conceded magnanimously, in his own not-so-humble opinion. Still, he was planning to have a nice, very rare, juicy steak later this evening, perhaps shared with that new Lucipire haakai, Delilah. No, not the biblical Delilah, but equally tantalizing with puffy red lips that could . . . well, suffice it to say, she liked to eat, too.

He noticed then how understated Zeb was in a plain black T-shirt tucked into slim denim jeans and scruffy boots, and wondered if he might be overdressed. But then he shrugged. Anything goes in Las Vegas, he quipped to himself.

“What’s the latest report?” he asked Zeb right off once the waiter left them.

Zeb, who was heading the entire casino operation, wiped his mouth with a linen napkin and set it aside. Despite his slightly hooked nose, Zeb was a handsome man.

“Spectacular,” Zeb replied. “And this after only two days in operation. Roughly three hundred kills total between Vegas, Reno, Macau, and Monaco. Hector, Haroun, and Yakov are as pleased with the results as I am. I know, that number could be a lot higher, but we are proceeding with caution this time. Kill slowly and not all in one place. No need to alert human authorities of so many missing persons on any one day, or to alert the vangels of our presence in the gambling centers.”

Jasper nodded his approval. Haste had been their downfall in the past.

“Another thing. Let us set a time limit on this venture. Perhaps two weeks. Leave on a high note. Then we can return to this venue—casinos—sometime in the future.”

“Excellent idea!” Jasper was becoming increasingly pleased with his choice of Zeb in this leadership role.

After Zeb left to check on his minions in Reno, a casino city less than five hundred miles northwest of Las Vegas, Jasper looked at Beltane and said, “I’m in the mood for a little blood. How about you? Or are you too full from all that raw crap?”

“I am never too full for more blood.” Beltane’s fangs were already starting to emerge. With a giggle, he put a hand over his mouth to hide his arousal.

“I know just the drug dealer and brothel madam who will suit our purposes.”

They both transported out of the casino, leaving the slight scent of sulfur behind them.

Date with a vampire . . . uh, angel . . . uh, Viking . . . whatever, he was hot! . . .

Miranda couldn’t stop looking at Mordr. She was in the passenger seat of the Lexus SUV he was driving as they approached the city. With her directions, he followed the route she took every day to work, presumably to show her the strange creatures—demon vampires, for heaven’s sake—that were infiltrating the city, so that she would take his advice and stay away from town for the time being.

She had news for him. Las Vegas attracted strange people like locusts. You were just as likely to run into “Jesus” on a street pulpit as mermaids swimming beneath the waves of an indoor ocean. Here was a further news flash: Mordr was rather strange himself.

In only a half hour, the amount of time he’d allotted for them to get ready, he’d managed to shower and shave, don a designer white T-shirt tucked into belted, navy-blue pleated slacks, and slip bare feet into loafers. He’d combed his hair back into a ponytail low on his neck, and, yes, he wore a long, black cloak similar to the ones his brothers wore. She now knew the voluminous garment hid an arsenal of scary weapons. Frightening to contemplate, but reassuring in her dire situation.

Stealing a quick, slanted glance his way, just short of an ogle, Miranda noted that Mordr looked like a Viking, of course, with his height and chiseled Nordic features, but he also looked a bit dangerous in a vampire kind of way with that cloak and his brooding demeanor. Who was she kidding? Scary or not, the man was gorgeous.

Miranda had showered, too, and quickly shimmied into a short-sleeved, scoop-necked dress of teal-blue silk that ended just above her knees. Its black belt matched her black high-heeled sandals. To save time in blow drying she’d skinned her wet hair back off her face into a figure eight chignon. From her ears dangled long aquamarine chandelier earrings that caught the light. She’d even applied makeup. Foundation, mascara, rose-colored lipstick, and just a hint of smoky eye shadow.

Coming downstairs, she’d found Mordr standing by the door, waiting impatiently for her. All he’d said was, “You did not wear the bow dress.”

“Hah! That dress is retired for the duration.”

“The duration of what?”

“The duration of your stay.”

“Probably for the best.”

For some contrary reason, she wished she’d chosen to wear the darn wraparound dress, which would forever evoke erotic memories for her.

The children had gawked at her with wide eyes. You’d think she never dressed up for an activity that didn’t include them.

“Wow!” Maggie had said.

“I will second that,” Harek had said.

“And I third it,” Cnut had said.