"So when did you organise the meeting with Cassius?" I asked as she drove us to the airport.
She smiled and turned the music down in order for us to talk.
"While you were busy skiing or down the gym. I don't just sit around pining for you. I have many fake lives to keep running and vampires to find."
"Okay, but how, where and when?"
"About a week ago, I finally had some luck on one of the web forums we use. I found his name and we exchanged messages until we were happy we had the right persons. Then we arranged the meeting place and time."
"Web forums?"
"Yeah, fantasy role playing web forums. Vampire role playing."
I looked at her wide eyed and laughed. Surely she couldn't be serious.
She matched my laugh with her own. "It's the best way. Hide in the open. Who is going to suspect we are two real vampires and that our story isn't just a game? We even use our real names. Makes it a bit easier to find one another. Although I was annoyed at having to be Thorn69."
I shook my head. "It's a bit cheeky. Meeting at a vampire convention as well. Why not tell the world and have done with it."
"Again, hide in the open. You will learn. Who is going to spot us in amongst the costumed fans. I have bought us some costumes by the way so we can blend in and act the part."
"Act the part," I said in disbelief, "you are the part."
"No, act the part as in a fan, silly. I am going as a gothic seductive vampire."
"Really. Do you actually need a costume?" I retorted back.
"Oh V, you've no sense of adventure. You're going as a brooding teenage vampire, full of angst," she said, and stared over at me for a moment face frowning, "actually, maybe you don't need a costume either."
"Ha ha," I replied, mocking her joke.
She smiled back revelling in her little game and turned the music back up.
I sat quietly in the passenger seat looking out at the snow on the sides of the road. I was sad to be leaving the slopes behind, but excited to be meeting another vampire, getting the truth and visiting Las Vegas.
Life at the ski resorts had been great. No complications of gang members and Hunters. I had a new life and a new identity. No one judged me as the bullied kid at school. I could be whoever I wanted to be. I had spent most of the daylight hours alone, skiing. I loved it as it pushed my body to its limits down the slopes, cutting in the bends and hurtling down the hills. The cold wind on my face and whistling in my ears. The force of the turns bracing through my legs. I couldn't believe how quickly I had learnt and how good I had become. I loved showing off and racing past other skiers and snowboarders. On the days Thorn joined me on the slopes, when cloudy and her body fully covered head to toe to block out the UV, we would race each other down the hills daring one another to go faster. Other days I would have to wait for the day to darken and Thorn to a wake, but it was worth the wait. Thorn was a passionate woman and hardly a night went by without her showing it. At night we would drive off to the neighbouring towns for her to feed and party. Other nights we spent training in physical combat or other skills. A few nights she went off alone as I slept tired from the day's skiing. We had slipped back into our regular patterns of behaviour we had formed in England.
The sadness I felt to be leaving was matched in excitement by the thought of meeting another vampire and going to Las Vegas. Thorn promised me the answers I had craved since my psychic skills had picked up her memories of other vampires.
Back in Leeds, prior to my revenge on the O'Keefe gang, my psychic skills had started to kick in. On that occasion I had accidentally seen a flash of Thorn's memories. In her thoughts, I saw vampires like her, warm and passionate, fighting against knights with swords and shields, but there were also other vampires in her mind. They lurked in the shadows and had cold dead decaying flesh. I had seen other things as well, but the complete picture was hidden as Thorn ejected me from her memories. I am sure I saw fire and smoke.
This insight into her past triggered a multitude of questions. Who were the other types of vampires; the cold decaying ones? Who were the knights attacking them? Where were all the other vampires? Who was she? I hoped I would get these answers in Vegas from Cassius. I also looked forward to seeing the sights and enjoying the famous Vegas nightlife. Thorn appeared to be enjoying herself as well.
"You seem very happy? Is that the feed or going to Vegas?" I asked.
She laughed.
"Both. The feed was great. A nice little pick me up and some measure of revenge for my lost money. Vegas will be fun also. Can't wait to hit the poker tables. But mostly I am looking forward to spending time with another vampire."
I felt a little hurt at her comments."What about me?"
"Sorry, darling. I know you have changed through the needles, but it has only been two brief nights. I enjoyed it and we will do it again, but Cassius is a fully fledged vampire with many life times of experience. We share a history and understanding only two vampires could have of one another. I haven't seen another vampire, apart from you, for over three years. Don't be hurt, you will become one of us soon," she said, and placed a hand on my arm and smiled. I understood her response and let my sudden indignation slide. Thorn carried on. "Meeting with Cassius will move our plans forward. He will help us find out the truth and get our revenge."
The charter plane picked us up at Calgary airport and flew us down to a private air strip outside Vegas. During the flight I spent time studying documents on my tablet. Thorn had moved the training on to encompass a wide range of topics. I had learnt about explosives and how to make my own. We had recently moved on to studying battle strategies and tactics. I read the 'Art of War' and the 'The Book of Five Rings', and studied famous battles and the strategies used. I also got to play computer games, but only for educational purposes - battle simulation games controlling armies, formations and tactics as a means to test my knowledge.
We touched down at the private airport in darkness so Thorn could exit the plane without problems or suspicions. A white limo with tinted windows had chased us up the runway to greet us. Thorn checked through the windows and folded away her sunglasses and hat, happy the UV levels were safe. In her passenger bag she always carried a scarf, sun block, gloves etc to ensure she could be fully protected if needed. Just in case we got delayed or re-routed. No one ever questioned her appearance, or strange requests, as she had a certificate proving she suffered from a rare skin disease which described her sensitivity to light. Plus being rich no one asked questions anyway, only too happy to take the money and keep quiet.
We left the airplane and the black suited driver escorted us into the back of the limo, whilst the aircrew removed our luggage and put it in the boot. We drove off out the airport, through Vegas City and then onto the Las Vegas Strip.
Palm trees lined the road as we drove along the strip and then underneath bridges connecting the two sides. To one side of the road a roller coaster peaked out over the top of a hotel, whilst on the other side were a multitude of food courts offering popular choices of fast food, alongside flashing amusement arcades that lit the pavement. In front, massive hotels towered over the smaller clubs, bars and restaurants that packed the strip. We drove on following an advertising trailer for a lap dancing club, showing three scantily dressed girls posing provocatively on the back. We drove past the Monte Carlo hotel, and I stared at the ornate bleached white arched entranceways with sculptured angels on the top.
Behind us a red Ferrari cruised along allowing everyone a chance to admire it. I stared out the open window, the wind blowing my hair backwards and desert breeze waking me up from my long flight.
Up ahead, the fake Eiffel tower lit up the skyline, the bright yellow spotlights tracing its frame and peak. We drove past Planet Hollywood and endless shopping malls. The casinos en route flashed enticing images of big money wins. Big screens showed dollar signs growing larger and flashing on the screens, roulette wheels spinning, cards flying across tables and slot machines spinning around to hit jackpot wins. The billboards kept switching from adverts for gambling, to adverts for stage shows with women in extravagant sequined garments dancing choreographed moves. World famous acts were being advertised outside each of the top hotels; well known singers, magicians and comedians. Other cars cruised up and down the strip, with the passengers hanging out of the windows and craning their necks to take in the spectacle.
In front a taxi ferried its cargo to their entertainment for the evening. On the other side of the road a pink stretched limo with two young women standing up with heads through the sunroof, drinking champagne and squealing while the wind was flapping their hair back. We continued our drive along the strip in amongst the melee of cars.
Thorn slumped back into her seat with her eyes closed allowing her senses to fully engage with the atmosphere beyond the limo. Even with my limited abilities I could sense the vibrancy of the City, a bombardment of emotions from its inhabitants. Joy and loss, fear and laughter, love and hate; emotions at the extremes and all occurring moments apart. In one place people were having the time of their lives, and right next to them people were flushing their lives down the toilet.
We cruised past the Paris Hotel with the fake 'Arc de Triomphe' acting as a roundabout as the road swept around the hotel entrance and back out on to the strip. Next, straight past the 'Eiffel Tower' straddling the Paris Hotel with its French flags flying and statues decorating the outside of the building. I swivelled just in time to see the huge Caesars Palace hotel with its roman pillars and its roofs capped with triangular peaks. Caesars Palace seemed to sprawl out over the strip with multiple hotels, casinos, theatres and restaurant buildings.
Vegas felt like a dream, such a long way from inner city Leeds, the car accident with Giles and all the problems of the O'Keefe gang.
"Las Vegas. It feels alive. Every type of entertainment possible and every emotion played out night after night," Thorn said, grinning as she opened her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"I guess you've been here before?" I asked, looking out the window at another casino flashing dollar signs.
"Oh, yeah. It's a wonderful playground. So many lost souls to feed on, people looking for a good time, the greed, the tragedy, and daily shows. What more could a vampire want? And Vegas is full of strange people. I can move about and hardly be noticed."
"Who is, Cassius?" I asked, trying to catch her off guard.
"An old friend. He and I belonged to the House of Fire," she answered without hesitation.
"House. Is he related to you?"
"Distantly. Houses, Clans or Covens were a way of forming alliances and organisational structure in the vampire world, to bring discipline and order. We served the same King and fought side by side."
"Against the humans?" I asked intrigued. At last she had started to open up on her past.
"I will tell you more once we meet up with him. But yes, against humans wishing to destroy us like the Hunters. But also against other Vampire Houses. There have always been tensions and wars between vampires. Just like you humans are always fighting one another."
"So is Cassius like you, or like the other vampires I saw in your memories?" I asked, wanting to understand the images I had seen months ago.
Thorn's nose wrinkled up in disgust at the mention of the other vampires and she looked out the window.
"I think that's enough questions for one day. We meet Cassius and work out our next moves. It will be best to hear it all from him."
"But there are others different to you," I pushed the question forward.
"I said that is enough!" she snapped back, bolting across the seat and her face mere inches from mine, eyes wide staring into mine.
I flinched and bashed my head on the inside of the door. My head span for a second from the impact.
"Okay, but I want answers eventually," I said, rubbing my head better as Thorn settled back into her seat.
"Be patient. Cassius will reveal all."
The dark decaying vampires remained a mystery, but their existence was obviously important, and my mentioning them had disturbed Thorn.
The white limo swept around to the front of a casino with a luxury five star hotel on site. Thorn booked us into a suite on the top floor. As usual for Thorn's taste, the hotel suite was grand and luxurious. The room had a view down Las Vegas' strip with windows that tinted, which provided her with protection from UV, but still allowed her a view of the sights during the day.
We dumped our bags at the base of the huge four poster bed located against the beige and black striped walls. I looked longingly at the bed, looking forward to a good sleep and a warm embrace with Thorn before we began our search for Cassius.
First I explored the rest of the room and stepped down into a lowered part, with a semi circle of leather sofas in the middle and picked up a remote control. I pressed a button and a huge flat screen TV rose up out of the floor in front of the sofas. A message appeared on the screen, 'Welcome Ms T.Horn', and the menu options scrolled down the left hand side. I quickly turned it off again and it descended back into the floor. I climbed back out of the sunken semi circle towards the windows, where a hot tub nestled into the corner. I eyed up the hot tub imagining Thorn and me enjoying the warming bubbles massaging our naked bodies, and the cold champagne bubbles relaxing our minds at the same time. Maybe our arms would be entwined and sipping from each other's glasses, then kissing and it escalating into more. It created a heady mixture of desires in my mind, and I liked the idea of relaxing after the long plane flight, enjoying the luxury alone with Thorn before I prepared to hear the truth from Cassius.
As I stood over the hot tub working out the different settings for our romantic embrace, Thorn pulled off her grey jumper and un-tied her raven hair. She shook out her tousled locks as they cascaded down onto her shoulders. She reached into her handbag to fetch her wallet, and then walked over and grabbed my hand.
"Play time," she announced, and led me out the room and down the stairs into the casino.
She acted like an excited child on holiday wanting to go straight to the beach. I allowed myself to go along with her excitement. We had plenty of time to enjoy the luxuries of the room together.
In the casino, the slot machines chimed away in a relentless cacophony as we walked across the red plush carpets and through the bright white lobby. Every type of person sat at the machines watching the whirling wheels hoping for a match and a big money win. People wandered around looking at the machines and heading back and forth through the front entrance, comprising of two large glass doors that slid back to allow entry and exit from the Vegas night. A platinum blonde showgirl dressed in a white sequined top with a white feathery shirt handed out flyers for the hotel's show. She stepped out passed a few easier people and handed a flyer to me.
"Come to the show," she said, and smiled, tilting one hip and looking at me from under false eyelashes.
Thorn held my hand and pulled me away from the showgirl who waved as I went. We passed a small restaurant carved out in the corner of the room. It had a mirrored wall along the one side and the kitchen area with a bar counter at right angles to it. The smell of food triggered my hunger, and the sight of two plates of burger and fries being served to eagerly awaiting customers had me walking over. But Thorn led me on, hand in hand, away and towards the back of the casino.
The casino held an array of people; some starting the night with a little gambling before more formal events. The men were dressed in suits and dinner jackets. The women were in glamorous dresses and high heel shoes with hair glossed and curled, and make up carefully applied. Others dressed for comfort in shorts and t-shirts looking like they had been there all day with no intentions of leaving any time soon. Most people dressed somewhere in the middle, enjoying the gambling pre and post their evening meals. In amongst the customers, security staff in red blazers and ties, with black trousers and shoes, walked the floors and spoke into radios. The waitresses wearing red aprons, skimming the top of their black knee length skirts, dashed through the crowds carrying trays of drinks. They nodded at the security guards as they went by and swerved around unobservant customers.
As we passed the roulette table, two men in dinner jackets shuffled betting chips and stacked them onto numbers and colours. A woman covered in a golden sparkly dress with blonde hair that was swept over to one side and pinned with a white flower, span the wheel at their request, smiling coyly at them as she did. The dealer threw in the ball and it rolled, bounced and clattered around. We walked on and I heard the groans of disappointed gamblers as the ball clanked to a stop. We then stopped at the craps table just as the dice bounced down the table.
"Snake eyes," came the shout from the white shirted dealer.
Then on again, past the black jack tables and headed directly to the poker games. Thorn circled around a few tables watching each of the players and their piles of money. We watched as a few bets played out, and Thorn observed their money and playing abilities. We moved onto other tables, each time Thorn watching the money piles and focusing her senses on the players.
"These are no good. They are a mixture of tourists who can ill afford to lose their money, with a few local pro's trying to fleece them. I want an obvious target. Someone with deep pockets," she said.
We headed further in, looking for the bigger money tables, and we found her perfect spot. A man in his late forties, slicked back hair, big black sunglasses, black suit and unbuttoned white shirt. In front of him a perfectly stacked pile of chips and in the middle of the table a mountain of chips. Opposite, two opponents of the man who had nothing left to bet. The slick haired man flipped over his cards.
"Four Fours," he said, grinning at his opponents.
The man directly opposite pulled up the edge of his card on the table. He had wrinkled skin from constant tanning and had overly dyed jet black hair that matched his shirt. The other player wore a Hawaiian shirt and had thinning grey hair and fat jowly features. The second man didn't look at his cards but just stared at the slick haired man and the two men that stood behind him. Thorn nudged me and indicated the two men hanging about in the background. They tried to blend in, but their eyes scouted around - bodyguards. One stood near the slick haired man, and the other a few paces back trying to mingle in by leaning against a metal rail. The closest guard had red hair and freckles across the brow of his nose. His short sleeve black t-shirt exposed his thick forearms also covered in freckles and coarse red hair. He wore a square metal belt buckle fashioned from the USA flag and grey cowboy boots underneath his dark blue jeans. The man at the back had a shaven head and dark skin. He had a barrel chest and massive pectoral and biceps pulling on his black shirt to open the collar wide. He wore black trousers and shiny black shoes to finish off his outfit. The rigid posture of the men and muscular arms and necks gave away their profession. The red haired bodyguard shook his head at the other two card players.
The overly tanned card player gritted his teeth, checked his cards again and stared back at the bodyguards. The red haired guard stared and clenched his fist into a ball. The guard in black lifted his phone to his ear. The tanned opponent banged the table with his fist.
"I'm out," he said and looked to the fat man in the Hawaiian shirt.
The man in the Hawaiian shirt finished his drink and pushed away from the table. He stood up and shook his head side to side in disapproval.
The winning card player, the slick haired man, laughed out loud, while pulling his winnings back and began to stack it up into neat piles. The two losers whispered to one another for a moment and glanced over. The slick haired man seemed intent on savouring his victory.
"Come on, you might win it back... maybe," he said to the defeated opponents and sipped his whiskey.
The card dealer eyed him, as he took back the cards and shuffled the pack. The slick haired man threw him a small chip as a tip. He then swept back his hair and adjusted his sunglasses as he looked about for other victims. Around the table other potential players walked past, quickly moving on after seeing the man's pile of money and spotting the obvious bodyguards lurking behind. The two defeated opponents intervened with a few willing players by whispering in their ears. Their eyes cast over to the two bodyguards in the back as they warned the new opponents away. We watched from a short distance as a lack of opponents frustrated him and he started talking to the potential players avoiding his table.
"You all too scared. Look at all this money you could win," he said, gesturing at the pile of chips in front of him. He drank more whiskey and laughed. The red head guard whispered in his ear, but he pushed him away.
"Remember who you work for. No one can touch me," he snapped back.
I looked at Thorn as she watched his every move.
"He is part of a well known family. His brother is very rich and powerful. He is our perfect target," she said, without taking her eyes off him.
"Target? What's the plan?" I asked.
"We take all his money," she said, and strolled across to the table and sat down.
Slick hair pulled down his sunglasses and his eyes widened to take in the view. The usual reaction to Thorn's beauty. She exchanged a few words with the dealer and a cashier assistant came over, took a swipe of her credit card and returned with a small metal case full of chips. Slick hair seemed even more surprised by the wealth than the beauty of his new opponent. He summoned over his bodyguard and whispered in his ear.
"Are you sure about this? He looks bad news," I said.
"He is, that's why he is perfect," she replied grinning.
He looked over and raised his glass to Thorn. She gave a nod back.
"Beautiful and wealthy, it almost seems a shame to relieve you of your money," he said.
Thorn smiled back shyly playing up to his deluded first impression.
"I will give you a chance for being so charming," she replied.
The man smiled back. "May I have the pleasure of your name before we start. I am Victor Vitsco," he said, as if we should already know.
Thorn looked at him blankly. "I am Tracy."
"Well pleased to meet you, Tracy. May be we could go for a drink and a meal afterwards."
"I doubt it. I will have all your money by then. And I don't pay for anyone."
Victor frowned for a moment, then laughed. "You have spirit. Good this will be fun."
They began to play and inevitably Thorn began winning. Her psychic powers were an unfair advantage. The man started twitching, betting bigger and bigger to try and scare her off, but Thorn ordered more money each time and met whatever bet he could come up with. His pile of chips descended and Thorn's ascended.
However, his complete ruin would take time, and I wanted to see the rest of the casino. My stomach continued to rumble, and my mouth watered from the sights and smells of the restaurant. I stood behind her restlessly swapping my weight from one foot to another while clicking away on my Smartphone. Thorn turned around and handed me a fist full of betting chips.
"You're making me nervous all that fidgeting. Go off and have a bet or have a drink," she said, and waved me away.
I grabbed the chips and shoved them in my pockets.
"Will you be okay? I don't like the look of his bodyguards," I said, knowing she could handle herself, but I still liked to play the part of protector.
Her eyebrows flashed up and she returned to her game.
I exchanged some of the chips for cash and walked back through the casino. I tried my own luck at poker hoping my psychic skills would help. But not much luck, my psychic skills weren't advanced enough and too much psychic pollution in the room from all the other customers made it impossible to focus. I headed onwards past the noise of excited shouts and disappointed groans at the craps tables and roulette wheels.
I walked past the restaurant and the smell of the food wafting out from the kitchen called to me. However, I wanted to try the slot machines so pushed onto the front of the casino. The wheels whirled around again and again, but every time I seemed to be just on the brink of winning, it would disappear or need more money.
My stomach rumbled again so I decided to give in as my pot of coins had drained into the machines. I went back to the corner restaurant and picked up a few flyers from the stall at the side. A waitress escorted me to a seat against the mirrored wall. I ordered a bottle of beer and steak and chips to kill the time and my empty stomach.
As I ate, I read the tourist flyers. I had seen the Paris Hotel with the Eiffel Tower brightly lit up on the way to the hotel. We had also passed the Venetian Hotel on the trip down the strip, with the fake Piazza San Marco and gondolas. I would visit them during the daytime hours while I waited for Thorn to rise at night.
I looked up from the flyers and saw two young women sitting a couple of tables away. One of them smiled. They looked pretty, dressed and groomed glamorously for a night out in sparkly clingy dresses and make up adorning their features. I looked around to see who they were looking at, but only my reflection in the mirror met my eyes. There was no one else. I immediately felt suspicious.
Why are they looking at me? What are they after?
I tried to concentrate on the remaining chunks of steak, but I occasionally caught their smiles again. I felt uneasy with the female attention that I attracted since my change. I had spent most of my life ignored and trying to blend into the background in order to go unnoticed by the bullies. Since Scarlett betrayed me with Barry and the Hunters, I suspected everyone. These girls might be genuine, or it could be a trap arranged by the Hunters, or some other local gang. It didn't matter which, I belonged to Thorn anyway. With that thought I finished off my beer and food. As I walked passed their table, I winked at them. They blushed and smiled coyly back. Maybe they really did fancy me after all.
I walked back past the roulette and craps tables with their highs and lows, then past the other card tables to find Thorn. En route, a waitress stopped one of the male card dealers walking off.
"Come and watch. Someone is taking down Victor Vitsco," she said and he hurried after her.
I quickened my pace back to the table, but only saw a crowd instead. The crowd, two deep, had encircled the table blocking sight of the action and drawing attention from the casino security. The red jacketed guards watched the throng from a distance and above the table the CCTV cameras pointed downwards to survey the action. People peered over each other's shoulders and whispered to one another. I stood at the back behind two men dressed in black dinner jackets, and I tried to look through the rows of bobbing heads. The pot in the middle had become a mountain of cascading chips. Slick hair had gambled away all but his last few chips, and Thorn still had a sizeable stack of chips on her side. She had continued to clean him out on my walkabout.
"Does she realise who he is?" the man in front said to his friend.
"I don't know, but her luck will run out if she wins," the friend replied.
I laughed to myself at their concern for Thorn. If only they knew.
"Excuse me," I said, and pushed through the crowd to stand at her side. A few moans came from the spectators as I stepped through, but Thorn smiled and reached out and pulled me in next to her.
"My lucky charm has returned just in time," she said, looking up into my eyes.
Victor frowned. His sunglasses had been removed and he knocked back all his whiskey, grimacing as it burnt on the back of his throat. He rounded all his chips up in a pile and shoved them into the centre.
"That's everything," he said and glared at her.
The bodyguard in black slipped around the back of the crowd and forced his way in just behind us. He leant forward and whispered in her ear.
"Let him win his money back and leave, Missy. You've won enough."
Thorn looked up as the man glared down; his huge muscular frame casting a shadow over the table. She nodded at him and smiled weakly.
The dealer looked nervously back and forth between Thorn and Victor waiting for some acknowledgement of what just happened.
Thorn pushed her chips into the middle of the table to join the mountain of chips already in place.
"I match it. Let's see your cards," she said, sighed and cast her eyes down for a moment. The bodyguard nodded with approval and she weakly smiled back.
Victor looked over at Thorn and back to the bodyguard having noted the conversation and passing signals between them. He smiled, leaned back and flipped over his cards, four aces. The crowd gasped and muttered to one another. Thorn looked down at the table disappointed, shook her head and then stood up to leave. Victor grinned and reached out with his hands towards the chips to scoop them all in. Thorn, quick as a flash, leant forward and slapped his hands off the chips.
"Hands off my money grease ball," she said, and flipped over her cards, a royal flush. Thorn had won.