Unraveled

“How’d Grant take the news?” Grant was Penny’s on-again off-again boyfriend. Currently off. Probably forever off now that Penny was pregnant with someone else’s kid.



“He won’t speak to me. Unlike you, he’s not forgiving.”



“I’m sorry.”



“No big,” she said again, but she couldn’t mask the pain in her voice.



They were quiet the rest of the drive, each lost in her own thoughts. Finally, though, they reached their destination. Red brick building after red brick building came into view, some crumbling, some brand-new, but each spaced far enough apart to accommodate larger than necessary parking lots. The streets curved, lamps shining on each side. Every stoplight was currently green.



Not that traffic was moving. In fact, just the opposite.



“Wow,” Penny said. “Gotta say, this is a little unexpected. Seriously. Is that Mr. Hayward, my Trig teach?”



Probably. People were everywhere. Human and nonhuman, though an untrained eye wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.



None of the stores were open, but that didn’t matter to the loiterers. They had lawn chairs and beer coolers, and music blasted at full volume—all evidently encouraging a multitude of sins involving the removal of clothing. The lawn chairs—major, grinding PDA. The coolers—stripper platforms for some of the girls. The music—dancing that could double as sex.



Shocking. Mary Ann shook her head, rubbed her eyes, certain she was imagining things. This wasn’t what she’d expected, either. Everything was so…collegiate. Well, her idea of collegiate, anyway. One big party, an orgy waiting to happen. Shouldn’t creatures of myth and legend be a little more…dignified?



“What’s gotten into everyone and who are all those people?” Penny asked, awed.



She ignored the first question, and answered the second. “I have no idea.” And technically, she didn’t. She’d never been properly introduced to the creatures who’d chosen to mingle with the humans.



“Should I pull over?”



“Yeah, but park where we have a view of everyone but they don’t have a view of us.”



Penny pulled alongside Dairy Mart, killing the lights and immersing the car in shadows. She stopped, and Mary Ann scanned the crowd intently. At first glance, everyone appeared human, but she’d already begun to make out the small differences.



There were a few vampires, their skin pale, their lips bloodred. They moved with ethereal grace, as if each step was a ballet. There were fairies, careful to remain a safe distance from the vampires, their skin glittering slightly in the moonlight. Plus, they were mouthwateringly gorgeous, each one of them. The shifters, like Riley, had a purposeful stride, their expressions hunterish, as if the entire world was their dinner buffet.



The otherworld, or whatever it was called, had fully descended on Crossroads, it seemed. And the humans were loving it, even though they had no idea what was truly going on. But…



Witches, witches, where were the witches?



“With witches, you must be careful,” Victoria had once told her. “They can smile while cursing you.”



They could also cloak themselves in magic so that anyone who looked at them would see only an Average Jane, easily forgettable.



“You have to train your eyes to see below the surface,” Riley had explained.



Mary Ann found that she couldn’t see below the surface, past the magical mask. Five minutes later, she realized she didn’t need to. She saw a figure she recognized and gasped.



“What?” Penny demanded.



“Nothing, nothing.” A lie without guilt. “This is just weird, that’s all.” Truth.



“I know. Totally weird.”



One of the witches who had issued the death curse stood under a streetlamp, golden light flooding her. Long blond hair curled over a shoulder, vivid against the darkness of her coat. A breeze had kicked up, blowing the hood of that coat back to reveal her lovely, familiar face. She hadn’t worn a mask before, and she wasn’t wearing one now, her dark eyes watching the surrounding chaos with disdain.



“Have you ever seen that girl?” she asked Penny, pointing.



“Pretty, but no. Have you?”



“Maybe,” she hedged. Full disclosure wasn’t an option. First, Mary Ann needed to gain Riley and Victoria’s permission. Otherwise, they might want to kill her friend to keep her from talking. Although, really. The secret was pretty much out. How could it not be? Mr. Klien, her stodgy chemistry teacher, was flirting with a scantily clad woman whose body was covered in odd tattoos.



“Can I be honest with you?” Penny asked suddenly.



“Please.” Just don’t expect the same from me.



“This is creeping me out. But should we, I don’t know, join them? Act like cute little detectives and find out what’s going on?”



“No!”



“Okay, okay. Bad suggestion.” Penny rubbed her slightly rounded belly. “They just look like they’re having so much fun, and I feel like I’ve been without fun forever.” Her tone was wistful. “So what’s the plan? Just sit here and watch them?”



“Yep. When the police arrive to arrest everyone in the vicinity for indecent exposure,” she said, thinking fast, “we’ll have a better chance of getting away if we’re in the car.”



“Uh, Mary Ann? I hate to disappoint you, but the police are already here. See the potbellied man twirling his shirt in the air? That’s Officer Swanson.”



“We’re still staying here.” Bottom line, she wasn’t going to put her friend in danger. The creatures seemed to be behaving themselves, not hurting anyone, but that could change in a blink. And what if someone sensed the baby Penny carried had a demon father? What then? Would they want to spill Penny’s blood? Would they want to destroy the baby?



She shuddered. One thing she knew: different “mythological” species were at war. Like vampires and fairies. And she had no idea which species liked demons and which didn’t.



“Fine. We’ll solve the mystery from here,” Penny said, unable to hide her disappointment. “Detective Hot Pants reporting for duty.”



“Good. Welcome to the team.” Kind of.



Except, only a few minutes later, Penny grumbled, “This sucks. I’m officially bored. They’re still having fun, and we’re still sitting here watching.”



“Sorry. Five minutes, and then we’ll head home. I promise.” So far, she’d learned nothing new.



Crap! Did the witch come here every night? Was there a party every night? If so, she’d have to nab the woman in front of a thousand potential witnesses.



So what was the best way to abduct someone from this crowded a place? she wondered. The answers slid into place as easily as if she’d been a criminal her entire life. First order of business would be noise control. A scream would draw all kinds of notice.



Second order of business would be carrying the resistant or unconscious body through the masses. Again, without drawing all kinds of notice. Third order would be storing their cargo after the kidnapping.



As her mind pondered the options and subsequent consequences, a stream of something warm rushed through Mary Ann. Her skin tingled, and her stomach growled. In seconds, that “something” soothed her, intensifying the tingle yet chasing the growl away, and she savored the sensations, wanting more, needing more, warm, so warm. Frowning, she pulled herself from her thoughts. What the—



The witch was striding toward Penny’s car, she realized, her steps intent.



“Go,” she shouted, slapping the dashboard. “Go now!”



“What? Why?”



“Move!”



Penny threw the car in Reverse and stepped on the gas. Tires screeched. Gravel sprayed. The car snaked a corner, and Mary Ann thudded against her window. They straightened out, speeding down the road, the crowded square soon becoming a distant speck in the rearview mirror.



Only problem? Two wolves were now running alongside them—and neither was Riley. One had white fur, like snow, and the other brown and red. Friends? Enemies? There was no time to reason it out. The farther down the road they went, the farther away the wolves edged from the car. Finally, Mary Ann couldn’t see them at all.



“Okay. What was that about?” Penny demanded, out of breath though they’d done nothing physical.



“I—I don’t know,” she lied. Damn it! Had she blown everything? Probably. Now the witches knew she’d been there, watching. What was the chance the witch would return tomorrow?



She sighed, trying not to despair. Guess she’d find out. After she told Riley, Aden and Victoria what she’d done and they lectured her for her stupidity, of course.



Penny was right. This sucked.



NINE



WITH HER HEAD HELD HIGH, Victoria led Aden down a long—long—line of richly dressed vampires. He saw black velvet robes draping the females, jewels of every color sewn into the fabric, and silk shirts and pants on the men. There was a sweet perfume coating the air, a scent that thickened as he made his way up a dais, where a throne of the deepest ebony rested. A scent that thankfully canceled out his perfume.



Weird symbols were etched over every inch of the throne, symbols that seemed to hum with power, enveloping him as he sat, then holding him in place as if manacles encircled his wrists and ankles.



Victoria placed herself at his right and Riley his left, and the line started moving forward. Introduction after introduction was made. Male, female, young, old. Too many names and faces to remember, especially in his current, foggy condition.



Some regarded him hopefully, some with disdain. Some looked past him to the large tapestry that hung along the wall. He didn’t have to turn to know what image was woven there; it was burned into his mind forever. In it, Vlad the Impaler viciously fought an angry, determined mob. They had pitchforks; he had a bloody sword. At his sides were countless pikes—each with a human head perched at the top. Was that what these vampires would expect from Aden?