Cocktales

"Molly, it’s me. Ember. I’m here to help."

She reaches through the bars and grabs my hair, pulling me toward her, my head thumping against the metal as I yelp from the pain.

Sebastian growls and lunges for me. Sly just flicks his wrist and Molly howls in pain and lurches away, releasing me in the process.

Sebastian pulls me away from the cell and holds me while I try to compose myself. "Are you injured?"

I shake my head. "No, just . . . confused. What’s wrong with her?"

Molly crawls forward again, her body still shuddering from whatever Sly’s magicks did to her. "What’s wrong with me? The same thing that’s wrong with you. We are pathetic. Two nearly middle-aged women with no romantic prospects. We’re librarians for crying out loud. Maybe you’re content with that boring life of drudgery and mediocre pay, but I wanted more. And then . . . I met a man. But he wasn’t just a man; he was a god. He promised to make me his goddess. We would rule mankind together for eternity, and I would bathe in blood and diamonds. That was what he promised me, and all I had to was one thing."

My stomach sinks as a flash of memory whiplashes through my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut as the past overtakes the present and I am back at my house.

I have wine and cheese set out, and I’m in a comfortable cardigan and loafers when she shows up dressed to the nines and not carrying the book we were meant to discuss that night. "What’s all this?" I ask.

She hands me a bag with a slinky silver dress in it. "Put this on. We’re going out. No more librarian brain tonight. We’re going to drink and get laid."

"Um . . ." I try to think of a protest, but she pushes into my house and leads me by the hand to my bedroom. Within twenty minutes, I have been transformed from mousy bookworm to a woman on a mission. My hair is fashioned in a tasteful updo that highlights my cheekbones, and the dress hugs my figure in a way that makes it difficult to walk without flashing too much of . . . everything.

But Molly is a hard person to say no to, and her enthusiasm carries me out, into the sparkling night of the Las Vegas strip. We bar hop for the first hour before landing at a place I’ve never been. She insists we give it a try, saying we need to expand our horizons.

I reluctantly agree. Though, I definitely feel a sense of foreboding.

I know I should suggest a different bar, but I have Molly’s voice in my ear, urging me forward.

This particular bar, in defiance of local laws, allows smoking indoors. A point I make to Molly in favor of finding somewhere more suitable for a night of well-considered debauchery. But again, she insists this is the place where our dreams would come true.

We aren’t there more than five minutes when two gentlemen approach us and offer to buy us drinks. Molly, already cozying up to one of the men, agrees for both of us. I don’t trust these men—well, I generally do not trust strangers at bars, period. But I assume she knows them, so I have no hesitation in drinking the fruity cocktail the one who isn’t hanging on her gets me from the bar.

That’s when things get muddy.

I remember the world spinning.

My stomach quivering.

Being led outside for "fresh air."

Molly laughing and twirling around like a fairy child.

More men arrive, and all of them look ominous. Their faces shift and morph in my drug-addled mind.

And then pain.

So much pain . . .

I scream in my memory, and Sebastian clutches me against his chest as my screams carry to the present.

I open my eyes and stare at the woman caged before me.

"What did you do?" My voice is hoarse, my heart broken.

"I traded you for immortality. But like the selfish bitch you are, you didn’t fulfill your end of the bargain. And now he’s dead. My love. My life. He’s dead because of you."

Sebastian moves to face her. "He’s dead because of me. Ember had nothing to do with that since your boyfriend and his pals drained her of blood. And he would have done the same to you if a hunter hadn’t captured you first and dragged your sorry ass here. Be grateful you get to live at all. That vampire you hooked up with is a serial killer with a particular taste for women."

Her face pales, and she bares her teeth at him like an animal. "I was different. He loved me. We were going to rule the world forever."

"Do you know where his brother is?" Sebastian asks.

She answers by spitting in his face.

Sly cringes at the display and hands him a handkerchief, which he uses to clean up the saliva. He then stands and helps me to my feet. "We aren’t going to get any more from her." Sebastian gives Sly a look and then the three of us leave the dungeon as cries of despair follow us out.

When we reach Sly’s library, I sink into the couch and pull my legs to my chest. I feel weak. Tired. And so very sad.

"Allow me to give you both some privacy while I check on other matters of concern. I’ll see what the hunters have dug up about the remaining Rendali brother and what his plans might be, and I’ll have a room prepared for the two of you. You might be here a while."

Sly leaves, and I stand and pace the room, thinking. "Are there phones here? I need to call work and let them know I’ll be taking an unexpected vacation."

"No phones. Tech isn’t very reliable in The Black Lotus, and you can’t leave. It’s the only place you’re safe with Steven Rendali gunning for you."

I nod. "Fair enough. I’ll figure out a way to explain my absence upon my return. Perhaps some forged medical documents showing I was in a temporary coma?"

Sebastian raises an eyebrow and smirks. "I expected there to be more tears and less planning."

"My tears will come. Right now, the rage I feel is turning them to fire." I stop and face him, feeling utterly vulnerable and alone. "I trusted her, and I don’t trust easily. How could she do this to me?"

He comes to stand close to me, his hands reaching for mine. "There are no limits to what people will do for the chance to live forever. And the Rendali brothers are very cunning."

I square my jaw at him and frown. "I would never succumb to such an immoral plan."

A grin plays at his lips. "I have no doubt you would always make the right choice, Ember."

Another wave of memory washes over me, and I stumble into his arms as the past crashes into my brain.

Teeth sinking into my neck. So many men feeding on me at once, draining me.

Pain. Anger. Fear.

I feel violated.

And I hear her. Molly. Laughing. Flirting.

Then I see her, licking one of the open wounds on my body, tasting my blood, rubbing it on her face.

Then it all goes blank, and when next my eyes open, they look upon the face of a dark angel. Sebastian, with his ocean eyes and black hair flopping in his face.

I blink, the past version of him fading to reveal the real man . . . vampire.

"You’re regaining your memory?"

"Some," I say. "It was . . . horrible. She’s a monster."

My eyes prickle with tears, and my throat clogs with emotion. "The pain. I can’t describe the pain."

"You’re shaking. You need more of my blood to help complete the transformation." He holds his wrist to his own mouth and bites. Blood pools on his pale skin as he holds it to my mouth.

We are inches apart. His blood drips onto the floor as he waits for me to feed. The scent of blood, of his blood, overwhelms everything. My teeth elongate, and I sink into his wrist and drink.

His other arm wraps around me, holding me against him as I feed on him. I feel what he feels, sense what he senses. There is affection. Worry. Fear, which he is not used to feeling.

When I am done, I release him and step back. My emotions bubble to the surface unrestrained. I crave him like I’ve never craved anything or anyone. I need him. Want him.

Yet, I haven’t forgotten what he and Sly said about our marriage, and I step back and pull the huge ring off my finger, holding it out to him as I steel my heart against the desire and—dare I say it? Love—that is growing there.