When I stepped closer to him, I heard him let out an annoyed huff under his breath. He was pissed. Was it because he was losing?
“What’s the matter? Not having any luck?” I asked as I slid into the open chair beside him. His pissed-off expression melted at the sight of me. I arched a brow. Was he about to make his second wish? One that involved gaining some luck, perhaps? I’d stepped inside at the right time, if so. “We could change that.”
Hardy exhaled a slow breath and then flashed me a crooked smile. I could feel his wish coming. It was on the tip of his tongue. “I wish I could win every game I played.”
I tried not to wince. That was a horrible wish. One that would get you in trouble in a place like this. They’d think he was scamming them somehow.
There was nothing I could do now that he’d said the words, though. I had to grant him his wish.
“As you wish,” I said. Hardy grinned as he stopped one of the cocktail waitresses walking by. “Darlin’, let me get a round of drinks for everyone at the table.”
She didn’t question him. Instead, she looked to see what everyone was drinking.
“And, don’t forget my friend here,” Hardy said while slapping me on the back. “He deserves a drink too.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. I don’t drink.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t drink; it was that there was no point. While I was on an assignment, I couldn’t get drunk even if I tried—and believe me, in the beginning, I’d tried often—so what was the point?
“You don’t drink?” Hardy flashed me a look that told me he called bullshit. “Nonsense, boy.” He shifted his gaze to the waitress. “Give him the same as me, scotch on the rocks. Top shelf.”
“Thanks,” I said to Hardy as the waitress walked away with everyone’s order. What else could I say? After all, he had the money to blow.
“You’re welcome. Even if you don’t want to think of it as a thank you for what you’ve done for me tonight,” he whispered, leaning in to me. “Think of it as a way to kick off Halloween right.”
His last words jarred me. Wait. Tonight was Halloween? I’d assumed it was close but had no idea it was tonight.
Hardy had the dealer toss him some new cards. I watched as he won the next round of blackjack. He glanced at me and winked. The drinks came then. I accepted mine and took a sip. It tasted good, but I knew there wouldn’t be any effect to go along with it. Hardy lifted his glass and said something about him feeling like the luckiest man alive. I crammed my hand in my pocket, my fingers brushing against the slip of paper I’d tucked away earlier. My mind filled with the words written on it.
“What time is it?” I asked Hardy, feeling like a fool because this monster ball thing couldn’t possibly be real. Could it?
“Almost midnight,” Hardy said. “Now drink up.”
His words looped through my mind, causing a sudden urge to step outside and glance up at the moon to rush through me. I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t disperse. Instead, the urge became harder to ignore. I set my glass on the table beside Hardy.
“I’ll be right back,” I said before making my way to the exit.
Foolish didn’t even describe how I felt about myself, but I needed to know. Slips of paper didn’t fall from the moon into my hand every damn day. Especially not ones that were an invitation to a ball for monsters. And, after everything I’d learned about the supernatural world over the last few years, it would probably be in my best interest not to dismiss this as nothing. Instead, I should think of it as an opportunity. If it was real, then I might have a little fun tonight myself.
I headed outside, making my way to the alley between the casino and the place beside it. There, I had a perfect view of the moon. While I had no clue how much longer it was until midnight, I didn’t care. There was energy buzzing through the air that let me know something was about to happen.
I could feel it.
The moon brightened, drawing my attention to it. Another glowing beam of light flickered and flashed until it was too bright to look at. My eyes squinted shut on instinct, and when I opened them, I was no longer in the alley beside the casino. Instead, I was someplace new. It was still an alley, but it wasn’t familiar. I had no idea where the hell I’d landed.
“This is interesting.” The words slipped from my mouth in a hushed whisper.
I adjusted my suit jacket and started toward the end of the alley. It was pitch black, but that didn’t stop me. There was something there. Something enticing me to head that way.
And why not? I doubted there would be anything more evil waiting in the shadows than the Sin Demon I was currently bound to.
A red door was the first thing to come into view. It was followed by the brick building it was attached to. While there was nothing spectacular about the building or the door, there was one thing that captured my attention—the gigantic gargoyles perched along either side of the tall red door.
Was it me, or were their eyes following me?
When I was a few feet away, the gargoyles morphed into something more real and less statue-like. I paused and stared, waiting to see what they would do. They flew down on massive black marble wings to flank either side of the door as though they were bouncers to the place. They both looked buff enough for the job, that was for sure. When they looked my way, one of them motioned for me to step forward. I did, noticing the two were the mirror image of each other. Twin gargoyles. That wasn’t something I saw every day. It was also pretty badass.
“Ticket, please,” the one on the right said. He had an accent, one I placed as New York or somewhere around it.
I reached into my pocket for the slip of paper that came to me by moonlight. Which was the same way I’d traveled here, I guess. Who the hell hosted this thing? A witch? “Ticket. Right. I do have one.” I handed him the scrap of paper, hoping it was what he was asking for. “Here you go.”
The instant he took it, the giant red door swung open, and his twin motioned for me to step inside. I ran a hand through my dark hair and then took a step forward into the unknown. At one point in my life, I might have been scared shitless to step through the door, but not tonight. Not now. Defying Dickhead and having a little fun—a taste of freedom for the night—was too much of a draw for me to care what waited beyond the door.
As soon as I stepped through, the door slammed shut behind me. A long decrepit hallway was before me. Dim lights flickered above my head, but they didn’t give off enough light for me to see much of anything.
And then they went off, and I was plunged into darkness.
I frowned. “Well, this is fun.”
What was I supposed to do now, continue forward in the dark?
I placed one foot in front of the other, deciding that was exactly what I’d do. There was no way in hell I wouldn’t see this thing through. There had to be something I was missing. After all, the ticket had said it was The Monster Ball.
After three or four steps forward, there was a change in the air. I kept walking. When thumping music found its way to my ears, a smirk spread across my face.
“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” I muttered.
A rainbow of lights became visible in the distance, and I took a step forward, feeling the pulsing music pull me. When I came to the entrance of a large rectangular room lit by fiber optic lights resembling a giant cloud, my smile widened. This was going to be one hell of a party. The lights in the cloud changed color to the tempo of the beat. Fog hovered in a thin layer over the concrete floor as I moved further inside the room.