Heroes by Susan Sizemore Read Free Book Online Page B

hotel who gets a hard-on every time he goes near the display. Sick bastard doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to be Ben’s new companion. But the display cases are just for show.”
    “The books—are they spell books?”
    “Very likely.”
    “Can you get at them?”
    “I can. But unless we can translate them, it isn’t worth the risk. It’s the data Ibis keeps hidden that we need to access. There are secret histories, diaries, every kind of information we need to put ourselves on an equal footing with even master strigoi. Vampires are made by magic, but they aren’t the only magic users in the world.”
    “I’ve encountered a crazy sorcerer,” Haven admitted. “And a family of witches.”
    “You’ve met me. And yourself. You and I have the potential of using the same magic that vampires use—or we wouldn’t have been picked to become vampires. I want to be able to acquire that magic to even up the balance between vampires and companions. I want a spell that’ll make me an equal to Ben instead of his property. I want to find a spell that’ll reverse the hold his blood has on me.”
    Excitement raced through Haven. “Do those spells exist? Does Ibis have them?” He wanted to ask if a spell existed to cure vampirism. Char might not think she needed a cure, but—
    “That’s what we need to find out.”
    “Is this a trap? An elaborate setup?”
    “Good questions. I’ve been cautiously trying to find out, studying Ibis and his nest as much as possible. Doing my best to make friends with them. They’re an odd bunch. Ibis is an odd duck.”
    “What makes him odder than any other vampire?”
    “He’s nice.”
    Char was nice. “He an absentminded scholar type?”
    “Yes. And . . . Gentle. Wise. Amused. Kindly.”
    Haven snorted. “He’s a bloodsucker. Does he keep slaves? Companions?”
    “Yes. A lot. He has a huge nest. I think there may even be a waiting list of vampires wanting to get into his nest. But we both know that no matter how tight a ship a nest leader runs, how revered the master, there’s always at least a hint of disgruntlement, resentment, or jealousy somewhere among the household. That’s human nature, and no amount of blood, hypnotism, coercion, or torture can completely blot out individuality. Ibis’s people all adore him, from senior nest vampire to newest slave. The other nest leaders working at the Silk Road respect him. Even that bitch Martina defers to him, though I think even he has trouble keeping her in line. Ben can’t stand her,” Murphy added.
    Haven caught the contempt, and the fear, in the woman’s voice. “Martina? She part of the crisis you mentioned?”
    “Yes. She’s head of a nest Ibis brought in to run the hotel.”
    His instant suspicion was that Clare Murphy had lured him to Las Vegas to get him involved in local nest politics. He knew that the nest Clare was part of was the only known viable nest in the city—until this Ibis and Martina showed up with their crews. “The Silk Road brought in outsiders, and your boss doesn’t like them in his territory. That’s your crisis?”
    “Hell, no,” she answered. “Ben was all for the project. The outsiders don’t give him the respect he deserves yet, but that’s his business, and he’ll take care of it. I shouldn’t have brought up Martina yet.”
    “Yet? If she’s a danger to us—”
    “She’s a danger to the Enforcers. So are we,” Clare added. “But not the way Martina is. We’re going to be Enforcers.” She gave him a sideways look. “I assume your vampire’s a Nighthawk.”
    “Damn right,” Haven admitted, and was surprised at the pride he felt in the reflected glory of Char’s position in the vampire world. As usual, much of the surprise was in realizing how much he cared for her. He’d grown at ease with being in love, and that made him uneasy.
    “All of us in the conspiracy are companions to Enforcers or potential Enforcers,” Clare said. “At least as far as I’ve