Chapter 4: Magic

Inside, Elliott and Ashley had already cornered the other two and taken them out. Elliott was in the process of explaining to a group of onlookers that it was all a new street show while Ashley raided a custodian’s closet for a broom. Jamie made his way back to the platform, noting he’d find the surveillance room, and Cadence breathed in the warm Nevada air, glad she was no longer affected by temperature or else she’d likely be sweltering, despite the hour and the fact that she was still drenched.

“See, I told you Jamie could handle it.”

She’d been aware her beloved was approaching before he came to be standing next to her, but she didn’t feel like telling him he was right, so she didn’t look his direction. Instead, she reminded him, “Ashley needed help.”

“Ashley got help. I’m not sure she needed it.” She turned and looked at him then, and he shrugged. “Interference help, I guess.”

They all always needed that. “We good?” she asked. “Where’s Roar?”

“We’re good. She headed back to the hotel. I didn’t see any reason for her to come over here.”

“Right. Since Jamie didn’t need any help,” she replied, trying not to sound too sarcastic. The feel of his fingers slipping into her hand made all the angst melt away.

“Why don’t we head back to our hotel?” His breath was warm on her neck, and little tingles of electricity pulsed down her spine in time to the flashing lights of the giant balloon beside her.

Cadence turned to gaze into piercing blue eyes and momentarily forgot she was soaking wet and covered in Vampire residue. “Sounds like a plan to me. You sure you’re not needed here?”

“Nah, the locals can take over now.” He pulled her closer, not caring at all that she would get his pants and leather jacket all wet.

She had met the locals earlier. There was no Vegas Area Leader because much of what happened in Vegas was perfectly acceptable. There were enough criminals for the Vampires to take out that they rarely bothered with Innocents. But there were Independent Hunter and Guardians who operated out of Sin City. Technically, they answered to Cale, the Reno Area Leader, but Aaron had wanted to handle this situation himself since this particular pocket was more sinister and larger than most, so Cale had stayed put. Cadence hadn’t minded the trip to Vegas at all. In the months since they’d taken out the four pockets in Kansas, the army Holland had been forming to take out the KC headquarters, they hadn’t seen much action. And who doesn’t love a trip to Vegas?

They turned and headed back toward the Bellagio, still hand in hand. Elliott protested them leaving without him, but it didn’t slow their steps. Keeping an acceptable human pace was difficult since thoughts of the activities that lay ahead of her were so enticing, but Cadence was tired of running for the night, so she let the anticipation build.

“This should just about do it for North America,” Aaron reminded her while they walked. “We’ve gotten every other major pocket. There’s just a few smaller groups we’ll still need to handle.”

“And we are going to leave the Compliants alone, right?” she clarified. It was a discussion they’d had on the way here. Since they’d taken out so many Compliant Vampires in the time between Melbourne and the annihilation raids, crime had increased in all of the major cities where they’d reduced the Vampire population. Aaron hadn’t been himself when he was making those decisions, and it hadn’t occurred to Cadence when she’d brought up the idea of totally wiping out the Vampire population that there would be consequences. She realized now that there had to be balance to the Ternion, which meant they couldn’t simply take out every single Vampire, though their actions had put fear into many who might’ve considered breaking the rules if they hadn’t started wiping out anyone and everyone who hit their radar.

“That’s the plan for now,” Aaron agreed. “We’ll see how it goes. Now that we’ve got fewer Noncompliants to worry about, we should be able to focus our energies on anyone who steps out of line.”

Cadence nodded and returned her focus to the sidewalk. It was hard not to look at him. With their wedding day approaching in less than a month, she never wanted to take her eyes off of him. She wished she didn’t have to worry about Vampires at all. But Holland was still out there, as was Hines and Daunator. The idea that they might live in a world where Vampires were not a problem was still a possibility. Unfortunately, the thought that she might eradicate all of the bad ones before saying her nuptials was not as likely as she’d hoped back when they’d originally come up with this plan. Holland was lying low, but she was still out there just the same, biding her time. For what, Cadence didn’t know, but she was certain she’d find out soon enough.

Despite the fact that she looked like she’d fallen into one of the famous Bellagio fountains, no one paid her any attention as Cadence and Aaron made their way to the elevator. Thank goodness anything was acceptable in Vegas. Even the other people on the elevator with them said nothing about her dripping all over the carpet.

Their room was on one of the upper levels, and with Aaron’s hand in hers, it seemed like it was taking forever. The idea of a hot shower—with him, of course—had her wanting to push everyone aside and take the stairs. Eventually, they made it to the right floor, and she pulled him toward their room. “Someone’s in a hurry,” Aaron mumbled under his breath as Cadence realized she no longer had her keycard. “I told you, you don’t need that thing anyway.” Somehow, he got the door open without removing his from his pocket.

“I still don’t know how you do that,” she said, pushing into the room.

“It’s magic.” He pulled her close, and Cadence felt her heart thumping in her chest. She was ready for a different kind of magic. His lips were warm and soft--and everywhere. When he finally pulled away, she found herself leaning into him, wanting more. “Why don’t you take off those wet clothes, and I’ll go turn the shower on.”

Incapable of speech at the moment, she only nodded and followed him to the bathroom with her eyes. This was the closest thing to a vacation they’d ever had, and she wanted to make the most of it, a sort of pre-marriage honeymoon.

By the time she worked her way out of the clingy, wet denim and made her way to the shower, Aaron was waiting for her, and all thoughts of Vampires and other work-related topics were rinsed away down the drain.