“But you’re married to a vampire. Doesn’t that give you special privileges or something?”
Lydia shakes her head and glances toward the restaurant. I’m keeping her from her job, which is selfish, but I need answers. “Being married to a vampire means I have a husband who is going to outlive me and likely die from starvation after I pass. The bond Damen and I have is nothing like the one you’re sharing with Roman. It goes beyond deep. It’s eternal. But it doesn’t mean I’m privy to vampire business nor am I allowed to insert myself. When Damen received the text today, he kissed me, told me the Sisters were coming and that he’d see me later.”
“How could he be so confident?” I ask, hoping Roman is feeling the same way.
“Because Damen hasn’t done anything wrong. The life Damen and I have is simple. We both work, and when we’re not working, we’re together. In fact, some might say we’re boring, choosing to sit in front of the television rather than hit a nightclub.”
“So you don’t go to Clutch?”
Lydia shrugs. “Sometimes. Damen and I will go on dates. We like to dance and there he can be free to be himself without judgment.”
“Lydia?” We both turn at the sound of her name being called by the hostess. “You have a table waiting for their check.” She doesn’t wait for Lydia to respond before walking back into the restaurant.
“I have to get back to work.” Lydia starts to walk away, but I grab onto her arm. I don’t know what to do or where to go. Going back to my apartment seems logical, but I don’t know if Roman will go there when he’s done with his vampire business or not, and I don’t have a key to his place.
“What am I supposed to do?” My voice breaks. I’m on the verge of hitting the wall of emotions. I want to cry because my heart is breaking, thinking Roman’s in trouble because of my father. If I find out my dad alerted someone, I’ll never forgive him.
If I’m expecting Lydia to placate me, I’m sorely mistaken. She removes my hand from her arm and steps back. “Look, you seem really nice, and Roman seems to really like you, but I can’t help you. Vampires have a Covenant they must follow, and you have to respect that and know Roman's going to keep secrets from you. He has to. Accepting Roman for who he is, comes with accepting the good, the bad and the secrets. Damen can’t always tell me everything, and I respect that.” Lydia walks back into the restaurant without a glance, while I’m left standing in the middle of the vast hallway with people bustling by, bumping into me as if they don’t see me.
After being hit one too many times by fleeing tourists, I finally start moving toward the exit. Lucky for me, I only live a few blocks from this hotel, and the walk is easy. As soon as I step outside, I notice the lack of people, which is odd for Las Vegas. Sure, during the holidays we have fewer tourists, but not in the middle of the summer. Also, it’s cold, much colder than I remember it being when I arrived at the Bellagio.
My arms cross, and I rub them up and down against my skin to create some friction as I walk down the sidewalk to the street. There isn’t anyone milling around for the fountains either, which never happens, and the lights are dimmer now than they were before I arrived. People pass by in a rush to get wherever they need to be. I pick up on bits and pieces of their conversations, hearing things about an energy surge, the end of the world is happening and the UFOs have finally left Area 51. Unfortunately, all three are more likely to occur in Nevada. We always have those waiting to be abducted by aliens or predicting the world is going to end. However, Las Vegas does consume the most energy, and a surge is likely.
By the time I get home, the streetlights are out, and police officers are trying to direct traffic by flashlight, telling drivers to return to their homes and stay there. The automatic door for my hotel is ou
t of order, and inside, none of the slot machines are working. There’s a line at the elevator, and while tempted to wait, something tells me it’s not safe. The last thing I want to do is get stuck inside a cramped car, with no oxygen. I’d have an instant panic attack. I make my way toward the stairs, but the door won’t budge. “What the hell?”
“It’s on a timer,” one of the security guards says. “And we can’t access it because the computer went down.”
“What’s going on?”
He shakes his head. “Don’t know, but we’re short staffed, and people are starting to freak out. If the power doesn’t return soon, I fear we’re going to have a riot on our hands.”
I have a feeling he’s right. When people tend to panic, violence manages to take over. It’s the trickle effect. One person throws a rock and all of a sudden, the next person thinks it’s fun and does the same thing, and so on. “How am I supposed to get upstairs?” I ask the guard.
“Right now, you can’t until the fire department arrives to take down the door. Unfortunately, every hotel is experiencing the same thing and --”
“And let me guess, we’re on the list?”
He nods and grimaces slightly. “Yes, ma’am.”
I sigh heavily, realizing there isn’t anything I can do, but wait. “What about food? Drinks?”
“I’m not sure, you’ll have to check the restaurants.”
I’m tempted to head back to the Bellagio and find Lydia, but I don’t want to be caught somewhere and end up stuck. It’s best to stay near my home and wait out whatever electrical storm is going on. I find a spot along the wall, but facing the window so I can see what’s going on outside even though my vision is clouded by the darker tempered glass. At best, I can see people running, trying to seek shelter from the unknown. I pull out my phone, only to find it dead. Either I didn’t charge it enough or whatever is going on outside has messed with our electronics as well. It would make sense.
As time goes on, people become increasingly agitated. Children are restless, people are pacing, and voices are starting to increase. Everyone is on edge. The anxiousness of the people around me turns into anger, which results in a lot of yelling. We want answers or at least some news on what’s going on and how long we’re going to be without power. There isn’t a time I can remember when the entire city was dark. Honestly, this is unheard of and quite odd. I have an eerie feeling this electrical outage has to do with whatever Roman and his friends are up to.
The longer I sit here, the more scared I become. Not only for myself but Roman as well. I need him. Not just to feel safe in his arms but to know he’s okay.
25
Roman
After I drag the vampire corpse to the back alley behind Clutch, Selene hands me a bottle of lighter fluid and a fancy lighter. I heave the body into the dumpster against the wall and squirt the pungent smelling accelerant all over it. Igniting the lighter, I toss it on top of the body, just before launching Egan’s head in with the rest of him. I run my hands through my hair, watching the fire burn brightly while Selene stands silently next to me.
Neither of us knows what to say. While neither of us was in any kind of trouble ourselves, that visit was dramatic and stressful. There’s no other way to describe it. The Sisters have an aura about them that invokes fear, even when you know you have no reason to be concerned. The sky above us had turned a dark purple and gray, and the city seemed to have lost its usual buzzing sound. Typically I’m tuned into the clatter of the humans as they toured, and the ringing of the slot machines; they’re much like white noise to me. But what I hear is almost a deafening silence.