The Shadow Prince

chapter forty-nine HADEN

We decide to ditch the Tesla in a parking garage several blocks from the hotel and head out onto what Lexie calls the strip. At first, I am worried that we will be easily spotted out in the open, but this street is so cram packed with people, it’s a struggle just to stay together as a group. A cluster of people, dressed in red pointy hats with white balls on the ends, sing as they walk in front of us, but they don’t sound nearly as good as Daphne. The hotels are lit up like beacons, and large evergreen trees strung with lights are everywhere. I don’t know how much of this is normal Vegas fare and how much of it is for of the humans’ upcoming Christmas celebration. People bump into me as we walk, making me feel off balance, and a strange smoke chokes my lungs. I see that it’s coming from a group of men who line the road, smoking what I recall are cigarettes. One of the men sees me looking at him and he shoves a flyer into my hand. “Good times, good times,” he mumbles as I pass.

I look down at the paper and see a mostly naked woman, wearing only two thin strips of red material lined with white fur, standing in a very … provocative position.

“You planning on making a visit to ‘Sexy Mrs. Claus’?” Daphne asks.

Heat rushes into my face and hands. I drop the paper, feeling strangely ashamed that she saw me looking at it.

“Don’t take anything from anyone,” Tobin advises me. “And avoid making eye contact.”

I nod and pick up my pace, hoping not to get lost in the chaos of the strip. I am glad when we enter the hotel, but I can still feel the grime from the street clinging to me. The lobby is so bright, it hurts my eyes. A sea of potted red flowers fills most of the space, encircling another tall evergreen tree strung with shimmering lights, stretching up to the vaulted ceiling. Garish, glittering globes of green and red hang from almost everything. Loud, grating, overly cheerful music fills the lobby from an unknown source, and an additional barrage of noise and flashing lights come from an area called the casino. It’s all so overwhelming, I almost want to retreat back outside.

I don’t understand why humans would want to come here to relax.

Garrick collapses into a plush chair in the lobby, looking as though he might vomit again. If I find this place overwhelming, I’m sure his throbbing head can barely handle it.

“Hey,” Tobin says to Daphne, pointing at the entrance to the Crossroads Blues Club on the other side of the casino floor. “Isn’t that the club where your dad got his big break?”

“Yeah,” she says, after thinking for a moment. “I thought this place sounded familiar. Some big talent scout saw him play here … which means this is also the place where my parents met. Weird.”

“I’m going to go talk to the front desk,” Lexie says, and makes her way through the crowd in the lobby. I can’t get over the amount of people here. Daphne is right; finding this Sarah Smith in a city this overrun feels improbable, if not impossible.

“So how do we find this Oracle?” Tobin asks. “The sooner I can get a lead on Abbie, the better.”

Daphne and I exchange a look.

“I think you need to tell him,” I say. I feel gutted at the idea that, because of me and my family, she has to share such horrible news with her best friend. I’d do it myself, but I know he’ll take it better from her than from me.

“Tobin, can I talk to you for a minute?” Daphne asks him. “In private.”

“Yeah, of course.”

I watch her lead him to an empty bench near a fountain in the lobby. The spray of the water drowns out their voices, and I am too far away to read their lips, but I can tell from their body language that Daphne is filling Tobin in on what Dax told us—or didn’t tell us—about what happened to his sister. She places her hand over his. His bright face darkens, and he crumples forward against her shoulder. I turn away, no longer able to watch.

It’s a good ten minutes later when Lexie returns from the front desk. “There’s some big teen talent contest or some garbage being hosted by the club tonight, so the place is pretty booked up. I couldn’t get the penthouse, but I did manage to swing us a two-bedroom suite. A room with a king and the other has two queens. I don’t know how you all want to deal with your sleeping arrangements, but I finagled the room, so I call dibs on the king.”

“I don’t care,” Tobin says, approaching with Daphne. “As long as I’m not sharing a bed with him.” He gives me a pointed look that says that even though I wasn’t here six years ago, he’s holding me responsible for what happened to his sister.

“Tobin, I—”

“Save it,” he says. “I’m not giving up on Abbie until that Oracle looks me in the face and tells me there’s no way to get her back.”

“I don’t think …” I let my sentence trail off, not seeing the point of trying to dissuade him. Some people won’t see the truth, no matter how hard you point it out to them.

“Now can we go to our room?” Tobin says.

“Yeeessss,” Garrick answers, sounding like he’s about to black out again.

“Suit yourself,” Lexie says, handing us each a key card. “I’m headed to the spa.”

Daphne hangs back. “I think I’m going to stay down here for a while,” she says.

She doesn’t quite sound like herself.