Last Vamp Standing Read Free Page A

stopped, then circled back.
    What the hell was she thinking? Now was not the time to be lost in a daydream.
    Shaking her head, Ariana lifted her cloak high and darted across a cobblestone path, into the shadow of a looming cypress not ten feet from the back gate.
    Echo and his wood nymph were too tangled in each other’s arms to hear her approach. He moaned into the nymph’s mouth, his hands skimming beneath her pathetic excuse for a skirt.
    When Ariana was close enough to hear the stomach-churning sound of wet lips slopping together, she cleared her throat.
    Echo looked up, his blood-red eyes matching the color of his cloak, his face as ashen as the pale moon. The tiny wood nymph dropped from his gigantic grasp and hit the dirt. Her eyes were wildly violet, caked with ten pounds of makeup. Her platinum pixie hairdo was spiked every-which-way, making it look like she’d been electrocuted a time or two and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
    “What the hell happened to you?” Ariana whipped when she blended with the shadows of the stone pillar behind them. “You just left me out there.”
    “I’m sorry Ariana, I just . . .” Echo lowered his eyes.
    Shame was so damn unattractive.
    “You told me three hours.” He checked his watch. “You’re early.”
    Oh, so the blame was hers . She stepped closer, until she could smell whiskey on his breath and hints of sex and pine wafting off the nympho.
    “I don’t care if I’m gone three seconds or three hours, you need to be watching my back. That’s your job. If you’re out doing”—she shot the nymph a hard glare—“the first thing that barks up your tree , how am I supposed to trust that I’ll come back in one piece? What if someone was sitting there, lurking over my helpless body, waiting for me to return and I . . . didn’t?”
    “But you’re here.” He swallowed hard, his pointy Adam’s apple doing a little jig. “Everything’s fine.”
    Not even he believed the bullshit coming out of his mouth. “Everything’s not fine, Echo. Send your cricket home. The Seekers have been called out.”
    They gasped as Ariana pushed past them and through the heavy wooden doors leading to Black Moon’s massive courtyard.
    Ariana had been right—they had no idea Seekers were scouring the land. Were they really that lost in each other? Or was she merely uber-sensitive to the workings of Black Moon? She wondered if everyone felt the same things she did about this place. It was almost as if the strong walls were her body, and the gentle melodic inner-workings, her blood and soul.
    From behind its towering stone walls, the crash of the ocean against the jagged bluff on which the haven stood could barely be heard. Roses—blacks, reds, whites, and all shades in between—lined a pebbled path that wound tighter and tighter into the center, where a phallic fountain sprayed water high into the air. Walkways branched off from the center, leading to khiss bed quarters, the main galley, and the library.
    Ariana didn’t stop to pick the blooming flowers like she usually did on her way in for the night. She strode past the fountain, straight into the heart of the main hall. The Primus would want to see her . . . and ask why she’d failed at her mission.
    She didn’t know what to tell him. It was the first time she’d set out to do something, to bring someone back from the brink, and failed.
    She didn’t have time to stop and think of an appropriate response to the tongue-lashing she was about to receive. The instant she opened the doors, she was blasted with loud voices, laughter, and music. The haven was bustling. A carefree party. Detached from the stresses of the real world.
    Floor-to-ceiling windows let in the honest gleam of the moon, casting bright light on the faces of vampires gossiping on leather sofas cradled beneath them. Gold sweeping valances that hung high on the vaulted ceiling draped all the way to the newly waxed stone floor, making the place seem more