Read Online Wicked And Wilde: Immortal Vegas, Book 4 by Jenn Stark - Free Book Online
Authors: Jenn Stark
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way.”
That made me glance toward her sharply. “You’re friendly with dark practitioners?”
“Well, friendly is overstating it. But Vegas is a small patch. The dark practitioners here color outside the lines, sure, but they don’t traffic in kids or women.”
I snorted. “Merely technoceuticals.”
“Hey, nobody’s perfect. And between you and me, the techno pill poppers are about to get a whole lot of competition for their stash. The city’s already going through the mother of all detoxes, and it’s going to get a lot uglier before it’s done.”
“The Magician’s pulse is wearing off, isn’t it?” We rounded the corner on the Strip, and the Palazzo loomed above us, the Wynn waiting beyond it. In the far distance, glinting in the deepening gloom, lay the SLS Casino, all that was left of the once fabled Sahara. When it was active, the Sahara Casino had served as the primary meeting ground for the Connected community. Was that where Nikki was taking me?
“The pulse is definitely wearing off,” Nikki agreed, her stride lengthening as the crowds began to thin. With the relatively recent addition of the SLS Casino, the stretch of the Strip between the Stratosphere and the main cluster of hotels was not as sketchy as it used to be, but it still offered a lot of wide-open spaces, best for enjoying in the full light of day. “Dixie has been fielding frantic calls for the last couple of days from Connecteds who’d been enjoying the upgrade your little face-off with the Magician afforded everyone in the city two weeks ago, and ain’t nobody happy. She’s trying to keep everyone calm, but it’s no picnic.”
If anyone could rein in a host of stressed-out psychics, it was Dixie Quinn—noted astrologer, proprietor of the Chapel of Everlasting Love in the Stars, and self-appointed Mother Hen to the Connecteds of Las Vegas. Dixie made it her business to be in your business, but she did it with such genuine concern for you that you almost forgave her Southern accent, pink cowboy hat, and bouncy blonde beauty. Almost.
“Is everyone losing their edge?” I asked. “Or only some of the Connecteds?”
“So far as we can tell, not everyone, but most. I’m flying high still, for which I’m entirely grateful. Dixie and Brody are fine. The rest of the Vegas Connecteds, not so much.”
“Why the differences?”
“Dix and I are trying to run that down,” Nikki said. “So far, you’re the sole nexus between all of us, the single person we all have in common with extended contact.”
“Me?” I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“’Fraid it does, dollface,” Nikki said. “You were at ground zero when it all happened, and you helped push the pulse out. So what if you didn’t plan to be there when the Magician worked his mojo? That doesn’t change matters. You were there, and you’re close to everyone who still has amped abilities. You might be the lucky rabbit’s foot.”
“Great.” I scowled. “I’ve seen what people do to the rest of the rabbit in order to get to that foot.”
“My thoughts exactly. So let’s not advertise your bunny benefits where we’re heading, mmkay?”
We strode on past the SLS Casino, and to my surprise, we kept walking. “The Stratosphere?” I asked, peering farther down the Strip. “Please tell me we’re not going all the way to Fremont Street.”
“Stratosphere is it, thankfully. It’s Wednesday night.”
“So?”
“Wednesday is poker night for the local swells, specifically the kind that prefer to play dirty. They don’t call themselves dark practitioners here, by the way. They prefer the term Spinners.”
I eyed her. “You’re making that up.”
“Hand to God. Apparently, they consider themselves different from run-of-the-mill sorcerers because they take fate into their own hands. Fate, evolution, DNA—they spin the whole mix together to create the outcome they want. Spinners.”
“Whatever helps them sleep at night, I
That made me glance toward her sharply. “You’re friendly with dark practitioners?”
“Well, friendly is overstating it. But Vegas is a small patch. The dark practitioners here color outside the lines, sure, but they don’t traffic in kids or women.”
I snorted. “Merely technoceuticals.”
“Hey, nobody’s perfect. And between you and me, the techno pill poppers are about to get a whole lot of competition for their stash. The city’s already going through the mother of all detoxes, and it’s going to get a lot uglier before it’s done.”
“The Magician’s pulse is wearing off, isn’t it?” We rounded the corner on the Strip, and the Palazzo loomed above us, the Wynn waiting beyond it. In the far distance, glinting in the deepening gloom, lay the SLS Casino, all that was left of the once fabled Sahara. When it was active, the Sahara Casino had served as the primary meeting ground for the Connected community. Was that where Nikki was taking me?
“The pulse is definitely wearing off,” Nikki agreed, her stride lengthening as the crowds began to thin. With the relatively recent addition of the SLS Casino, the stretch of the Strip between the Stratosphere and the main cluster of hotels was not as sketchy as it used to be, but it still offered a lot of wide-open spaces, best for enjoying in the full light of day. “Dixie has been fielding frantic calls for the last couple of days from Connecteds who’d been enjoying the upgrade your little face-off with the Magician afforded everyone in the city two weeks ago, and ain’t nobody happy. She’s trying to keep everyone calm, but it’s no picnic.”
If anyone could rein in a host of stressed-out psychics, it was Dixie Quinn—noted astrologer, proprietor of the Chapel of Everlasting Love in the Stars, and self-appointed Mother Hen to the Connecteds of Las Vegas. Dixie made it her business to be in your business, but she did it with such genuine concern for you that you almost forgave her Southern accent, pink cowboy hat, and bouncy blonde beauty. Almost.
“Is everyone losing their edge?” I asked. “Or only some of the Connecteds?”
“So far as we can tell, not everyone, but most. I’m flying high still, for which I’m entirely grateful. Dixie and Brody are fine. The rest of the Vegas Connecteds, not so much.”
“Why the differences?”
“Dix and I are trying to run that down,” Nikki said. “So far, you’re the sole nexus between all of us, the single person we all have in common with extended contact.”
“Me?” I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“’Fraid it does, dollface,” Nikki said. “You were at ground zero when it all happened, and you helped push the pulse out. So what if you didn’t plan to be there when the Magician worked his mojo? That doesn’t change matters. You were there, and you’re close to everyone who still has amped abilities. You might be the lucky rabbit’s foot.”
“Great.” I scowled. “I’ve seen what people do to the rest of the rabbit in order to get to that foot.”
“My thoughts exactly. So let’s not advertise your bunny benefits where we’re heading, mmkay?”
We strode on past the SLS Casino, and to my surprise, we kept walking. “The Stratosphere?” I asked, peering farther down the Strip. “Please tell me we’re not going all the way to Fremont Street.”
“Stratosphere is it, thankfully. It’s Wednesday night.”
“So?”
“Wednesday is poker night for the local swells, specifically the kind that prefer to play dirty. They don’t call themselves dark practitioners here, by the way. They prefer the term Spinners.”
I eyed her. “You’re making that up.”
“Hand to God. Apparently, they consider themselves different from run-of-the-mill sorcerers because they take fate into their own hands. Fate, evolution, DNA—they spin the whole mix together to create the outcome they want. Spinners.”
“Whatever helps them sleep at night, I
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