Page 15 of Bent Out of Shade
Emmett pressed his lips into a tight grimace and shook me off. “I need a drink.”
“No, you—” Argh. I pushed through the crowd after the stubborn ass who knew damn well that drinking could send him into a prophecy state from which he might not return.
Conscious of the looks we were attracting as Emmett elbowed his way through the patrons, I hauled him outside, dragging him down the block and away from the lineup that had started outside Tempest. “We’re still on company time. Act professional.”
He wiped the lipstick off his mouth with the back of his hand. “I’m a joke. The lump you haul out when you need me to get past a heartbeat alarm because otherwise I’m useless.”
A prickly sensation raced across my shoulder blades, but no one in the line was paying attention to us and the rest of the block was empty.
“Even Laurent gets compelled by vamps,” I said. “That doesn’t make you useless.”
“I’ve had my leg torn off, been passed around from boss to boss like cheap wine, almost got us fried by a magic booby trap, and you keep having to rescue me.”
I rubbed my sore wrist, tempering my desire to tell him to snap out of his pity party in the face of his glum resignation. “That’s not true. When we were in the Human Race—”
“You mean well, toots, but forget it.”
The sensation that we were being watched grew stronger, so I summoned Delilah. “Let’s discuss this at home.”
At the sight of my animated shadow, Emmett slumped his shoulders. “Why? Are there more bad guys for you to defend me from?” He shuffled off around the corner back to the strip.
There was a loud bang from the alley nearby that sounded eerily like a body getting thrown into a wall. I didn’t want to leave Emmett, but I couldn’t not help if someone was hurt. But no, when I hurried over to investigate, it was just an employee tossing garbage bags into a dumpster, and by the time I made it to the strip with Delilah curled around my feet, Emmett was gone.
I pushed through the crowds that had gotten less family friendly, with boisterous people openly drinking in the streets, and swore. Just because people had so far assumed he was part of some act didn’t mean he could get away with publicly flaunting his supernatural appearance.
If the local Lonestars got wind of this, we’d both be screwed.
I jumped up, trying to see over other people’s heads for a glimpse of him. Usually, I loved neon signage, but there was so much of it that everyone was bathed in a red wash that made it hard to find the golem’s red clay skin. I whipped out my phone and called him, but it went to voice mail.
“Damn it, Emmett,” I muttered.
“You have been summoned.” A baby-faced young man with Jesus hair intercepted me holding a crudely made amulet with three cartoony figures engraved on it. Near as I could tell, the center image was a wingless bird. Great. Another weird street recruiter for some wacky religion.
“No, thanks.” I pushed past him, phone in hand, but he grabbed my arm, his eyes gleaming fervently, and a warning siren went off in my head. Was he the one I’d sensed watching me earlier? I jerked free. “What do you want?”
“It is a great honor to be summoned.” He showed me the amulet again like that would clear everything up.
Was he trying to serve me with that thing like it was a legal summons?
I flicked the artifact with a finger. “Did the judge send you?” I mocked.
A painfully wide smile cracked over his face. “Judge, jury, and executioner.” He bounced on his toes. “But no, this is a summons.”
He wasn’t dybbuk-possessed and there was no hint of fangs, but his delirious gleam sent shivers up my spine. I stumbled backward, knocking into a couple who reeked of beer.
Regaining my footing, I sprinted across a road as the light changed from red to green and was almost mowed down by a stretch limo. The cacophony of music and chatter, lights and flashing billboard images was overwhelming and disorienting. Zigzagging, my heart in my throat, I wove through the crowded streets as fast as I could, but every time I glanced over my shoulder, dude remained on my tail, waving the amulet.
I slipped inside a crowded casino. Slot machines jangled, coins clanked, and chips were shuffled in a discordant wash of sound. I veered down a row of video poker machines, hid behind a group of showgirls, and called Emmett again.
Thankfully, he picked up.
“Where are you?” I said urgently.
“Answer the summons,” an unfamiliar female voice said.
I shivered, despite a hot flash making me schvitz. Do as the weird strangers commanded or endanger my friend? I stepped out from my hiding spot. Screw that. We’d had a few bad hands with Vincenzo, but it was time to turn our luck around.
We were in Vegas, after all. And if I had to bust out my magic? I smiled coldly. Well, what happened in Vegas, and all that.
