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AS PROMISED, AURORA helped me get ready for the ball the following night. She piled my hair up and pinned it into place. I shimmied into the dress and pulled it up over my strapless red bra. My thong was red to match the outfit and so were my high heels.
“I can barely see the strap holding your machete in place,” Aurora said as she examined me critically.
“The huge slit in the dress will make it easy for me to grab it,” I said with a smirk. The compact blade was strapped to the inside of my thigh. It wasn’t the most comfortable place to keep a weapon, but at least it was hidden from sight, unless I took long strides.
“You can borrow my little red purse, if you like,” the demon offered.
“I guess I can’t take my kill-bag with me,” I said wistfully.
“The fairy might get spooked and call off her assassination attempt if you carry it around,” she said, then trotted into her room to rummage in her closet.
Taking the small red purse from her, I eyed it thoughtfully. “I have a couple of throwing daggers that might fit into this.”
Aurora snickered as I strolled over to my weapons trunk to search for the blades. “Do they fit?” she asked.
“Yep,” I said in satisfaction. I turned to face her to see she was holding her phone up to take a photo of me. I posed for her and she snapped off a few shots. “Make sure you send those to mom,” I requested.
“I’m already on it,” she replied with a grin. Mom texted back that I looked even sexier in this gown than I’d looked in the slutty stripper dress.
“I wish I could take more weapons with me,” I fretted as I waited for Ruen to arrive. He was going to pick me up at half past nine and that was only a few minutes away.
“Everyone in your team will be armed,” Aurora reminded me. “Besides, you can use any object as a weapon. Just grab whatever’s handy and club her to death with it if you have to.”
“What’s the best way to kill a fairy?” I asked in worry. “I’ve never fought one before.”
“If in doubt, chop her head off,” the demon said with a shrug. “That rarely fails, or so I’ve been told.”
“That’s why I’m taking my trusty machete with me,” I said, patting the strap that held it in place.
Aurora’s head turned to the window when she heard something. “Ruen’s coming. We should head downstairs before he honks his horn.”
“You’re coming with me?” I asked when she ducked into her room to don her wig and followed me to the door.
“I want to get a photo of Ruen in his tux,” she said, locking the door behind us.
We hurried downstairs just as Ruen pulled into an empty parking space. His mouth dropped open a little when he saw me. Opening the door, he climbed out to inspect me. I’d donned the long red gloves on the way down and felt as elegant as I looked. “You look lovely, Ms. Sterling,” he said.
Shocked by his sincere tone, I felt weirdly flustered. “You look good in a tuxedo,” I told him. He was still too thin and bony, but he’d washed his hair and almost looked handsome.
“Can you guys pose together?” Aurora asked. She’d already taken a few photos of the leech. I crossed to my partner and we dutifully smiled at her. “You look really cute together,” my bestie said as she immortalized the moment.
“Ew,” I complained and Ruen made a face of agreement.
“We should get going,” Ruen said. “We don’t want to be late.” Aurora gave us both a quick hug, then we climbed into the car. “Did you bring any weapons with you?” my sidekick asked.
“Only a machete and a couple of daggers,” I replied.
“Where on earth are you hiding a machete?” he asked incredulously.
“I could show you, but it would involve you seeing more of my skin than you might be comfortable with.”
He slid a look at me, then spotted the strap on my thigh. “I’d prefer to keep my sanity intact, thank you,” the fanghole said sardonically. I snickered and he unbent enough to crack a smile. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring your kill-bag, considering the assignment we’ve been given,” he said as he made his way to the botanical gardens. They were to the north and only a short distance from the center of the city.
“I wanted to, but Aurora talked me out of it,” I said with a pout. “What’s the best way to kill a fairy?” I asked, figuring he’d probably know the answer, since he was so ancient.
“They’re fairly easy to kill, unless they have a spell to protect them,” he replied. “They’re as allergic to iron as shifters and vampires are to silver. Their wounds don’t heal as fast when iron blades and projectiles are used.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said in satisfaction. The machete I’d chosen had an iron blade rather than silver. So did the daggers I’d tucked into my borrowed purse.
“If all else fails, use your machete to behead her,” he advised me.
“I hope I get to kill her,” I said. “I’ll have to compete with the whole team for that honor.”
“We can’t be certain she’ll turn up tonight,” Ruen said as we neared the gardens.
“My gut tells me she won’t be able to resist the temptation, since our boss will be out in the open for several hours,” I said in nervous anticipation. I could tell by his slight frown that he shared my feeling.
Drake had called in a lot of extra security for the ball. Most were shifters and vampires, with a few other species mixed in. We were directed to a parking spot in the lot, then had to join the line to enter the botanical gardens.
I felt a spell on the entrance to the building that we would need to pass through in order to reach the gardens. I figured it was to keep humans away for the night. Ruen and I didn’t have invitations to hand over to the werelions standing guard at the door. We received nods of recognition and their nostrils flared as they checked our scents. They let us through and we joined the crowd milling around inside the structure.
“The target could look and smell like anyone,” I murmured as I examined the guests. “How can they possibly tell we’re really us?” It would be easy for the fairy to kill one of the guests, assume their identity and steal their invitation. She was probably already here, scoping out the place.
“I gave them the signal that Lord Gilden gave to all of his guards,” Ruen said.
“What signal?” I asked in affront, annoyed that I’d been left out of the loop.
He rubbed two fingers across his chin three times, then dropped his hand. “If we see our colleagues using that signal, we’ll know they’re not the target in disguise.”
Enlarged photos of the more spectacular plants hung on the walls of the room we were standing in. Black slate tiles covered the floor. An information desk and small room to buy souvenirs was to the left and restrooms were to the right. A set of double doors opened to the gardens themselves. They were shut at the moment. Lights illuminated the extensive garden, but the ball would be held in a large open courtyard just outside the doors. The courtyard was covered in dark gray paving stones, so at least my high heels wouldn’t sink into grass.
Spying Hugh and Theo in the crowd, I nodded in acknowledgement. They looked handsome in their tuxedos. Theo rubbed his chin three times with two fingers and I repeated the gesture. Hugh gave my dress the thumbs up and pretended to fan his face to indicate I looked hot. I smirked in response.
Ruen gave the signal to Zahir and Yareli, who were lurking near the information desk. Zahir subtly rubbed his chin in response. Yareli looked stunning in her shimmering, sleek silver gown. It had long sleeves and I was sure she had at least a couple of knives hidden beneath them.
Otis and Felicity were standing near the doors across from us. Otis could hardly take his eyes off his beautiful partner. Her hair was down for once and the red stood out against the emerald green of her gown. From her self-satisfied smirk, Felicity knew how good she looked. The green tear-shaped pendant she wore went well with her dress. Otis wore his pendant beneath his shirt. His tux was slightly rumpled, but he still looked good. Their matching necklaces protected them from spells that warded humans away.
I could faintly hear music flowing through the closed doors to the courtyard. Drake wasn’t in view, but I could sense him. He appeared on my radar even with his power banked. This was a new development. I frowned, trying to figure out what it meant.
“Here we go,” Ruen murmured when someone approached the doors. Not all of the guests had arrived yet, but the room was too small to contain us all. The ball was about to start, so we all needed to be alert.
