He touched his forehead to mine and smiled. “For luck.”
I held his gaze for a few moments. We both knew that kiss wasn’t about luck. It was a just-in-case kiss. The kind you share with someone you love when you’re not sure if it’s the last one. I cupped his cheek with my palm and whispered, “For luck.”
It just sounded so much better than good-bye.
Chapter 15
Situated just east of the Tiber River, the Piazza del Popolo was a large oval, and the obelisk Persephone had mentioned stood in the center like a giant phallus. Hundreds of gyrating bodies danced around the monument like pagan worshippers. And, like something out of a Fellini hallucination, every damned one of them wore some sort of creepy mask.
Stag horns and curling tongues, long beaks, and evil eyes. Wine flowed, limbs gyrated, pelvises ground together. Rome’s mortals, it seemed, were making the most of their last two weeks before the period of masochistic denial they called Lent.
The four of us stood on the perimeter of the plaza, watching the Technicolor swirl.
“Giguhl’s going to be pissed he missed this,” Adam observed.
“Oh gods,” Alexis said. “Please tell me we don’t have to wear those ridiculous things, too.”
I shrugged. “When in Rome, right?” Don’t get me wrong—I wasn’t a big fan of dress-up, either. But the anonymity would come in handy if this all ended in gunplay or magical fireworks.
Adam flagged down a passing guy carrying a tall staff with several masks attached. He grabbed three and tossed the guy some euros. Unlike the animal-themed ones that caught my eye among the crowd, these were simpler white masks that left our mouths exposed. A few sequins and wilted feathers added splashes of color. We all dutifully donned our disguises and set off into the crowd.
“Okay,” I said, “it’s a quarter till nine. Let’s break off and meet at the obelisk on the hour.” When we’d formed this plan earlier, we’d decided that Alexis would go with me. If an attack happened, Adam could flash himself out, but Alexis didn’t have magic in her arsenal and I did. I couldn’t flash us to safety since my Chthonic magic always took me to the Liminal when I tried initiating interspatial travel, but I could immolate an attacker at twenty paces.
Adam took off to the left. The mancy shot me a weighted parting glance and allowed the crowd to swallow him.
“Cain will know I’d want to be here early,” I said. “Stay alert.”
Alexis shot me a wry smile. The effect was somewhat sinister combined with the mask. “Yes, ma’am.”
The reminder was unnecessary and I knew it. Before Alexis had become Tanith’s personal guard, she’d been an assassin just like me. She knew the drill.
I rolled my eyes at her sarcasm and nudged her with my hand. “Let’s go, tough chick.”
Now that we were in the thick of the crowd, I realized that my prediction of a security nightmare had been right on the nose. In addition to the disguises preventing us from recognizing enemies, it was difficult to hear anything. Besides the cacophony of cheering, a wall of sound blasted the area from the rock band on the stage in front of Rome’s northern gate next to the piazza.
Working through the crowd was its own challenge. Some areas were little more than mosh pits where we had to dodge flying elbows and body slams. Alexis seemed to enjoy this part the most since it allowed her to punch mortals with abandon. I had to admit I didn’t hate that part, either.
My knuckles stung from jabbing a big dude in his concrete jaw, but otherwise we got through the perimeter check without incident. Soon we switched direction toward the obelisk. About the same time, the band finished their set—thank the gods—and an emcee jumped onstage to rattle off some sort of announcement. He spoke in rapid Italian, naturally, so I wasn’t sure what he was saying, but a ripple of excitement went through the crowd.
I spotted Adam standing next to one of the four stone lion fountains at the base of the obelisk. He waved to make sure I saw him. I nodded and turned toward Alexis, who had been bringing up the rear.
“There’s Ad—” My words were swallowed by a sudden explosion. I ducked and covered my head. My heart pounded as I waited for the inevitable heat concussion. For the crowd to panic and stampede. Except the crowd didn’t freak. Not even when the second explosion came, a third. I looked up and let out a part-relived, part-annoyed sigh.
The sky above the piazza sizzled with fireworks. All around, spectators craned their necks as they oohed and aahed over the impressive display. I shook my head and laughed at myself. The emcee must have been announcing that the show was about to begin.
Relieved and a little embarrassed by my brittle nerves, I turned to look for Alexis. The vampire had fallen behind as the crowd closed in to watch the show. Probably twelve beings separated us. I stood on my tiptoes and tried to flag her down. She saw me and I pointed toward the obelisk. Adam, I mouthed.
She nodded and started working her way toward me with an annoyed expression. I looked back over to where I’d seen Adam. He caught my gaze and raised his hands in a what’s-the-holdup? gesture. I held up a finger. “Hold your horses, mancy,” I grumbled.
I turned to check Alexis’s progress and froze. Just behind her, a redhead in a devil’s mask materialized out of the mass of people.
Panic, white hot and ice cold.
“Look out!” I shouted. Another explosion smothered my warning. “Fuck!” I shouted, and started hacking my way toward her. She’d stopped and was arguing with a woman who’d taken exception to Alexis shoving her aside. The devil was closer now, too close.
“Alexis!” I screamed.
She looked up and saw me. Her eyes narrowed into a confused expression.
Boom!
Alexis froze, her eyes wide. Her pale lips parted, emitting a thin trickle of blood.
Boom!
She swung around. A flash of metal in her hand.
Boom!
The devil and Alexis Vega both burst into flames.
“No!” I screamed. I started hacking my way through the crowd. A few spectators had noticed the pair combusting in their midst and were looking around in confusion. They clearly couldn’t decide whether it was part of the show or something they should actually panic about.
Without thinking, I took off through the crowd. Alexis, gods protect her, had taken out her killer, but I knew better than to believe he’d been working alone. I needed to find his partners and show them what Chthonic mages did to enemies. As I prowled for other foes, I bowled over several pissed-off mortals, not caring if I was creating a scene.