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AFTER THIS PIECE of impromptu performance "art," I was more than ready to retreat behind the closed door of the suite’s powder room off the entry hall

The last time I’d made a pit stop on the way out of a major hotel-casino’s penthouse suite, it had been to wash off blood spatter after ridding olf mobster Cesar Cicereau of a reanias

Now, I just wanted to avoid Snow for a while

When I entered, I discovered this was a kiss-off point for the ladies

Here I’d been hopelessly Midwestern again, thinking vacationingspenders and their hired ladies of the night No wonder it offered the high-tech fantasy rahts in here should have been tinted red, but they, too, were green, as was anything reflected by the orgeous bias-cut green satin folds, tight through the torso and flaring into a e, which was accented with a rhinestone pin in a peacock tail design How ironic that Snow fixated on bare white backs when his oas now hash, thanks to me If he indeed bore no marks, the only way I’d find out would be with a re of marks … I lifted the heavy waves of unbraided hair off my neck, but no li a fairly fresh new skank tattoo yourself

Dry up, Irht

And then I turned to face myself in the mirror I hadn’t heard Irma "Lilith" stared back at e She wore low-rise jeans that underlined an "outie" belly button, pierced by a familiar blue topaz stud, whereas mine was an "innie"

That kind of su personalities, but we actually differed in thisphysical, for some reason

"Here you are," Lilith went on, "back in Wichita, living it up in the ‘whale’ suite Watching boring oldhim up wet I love it"

"That’s between him and ot even one orgas you better"

"Why are you here again? Oh Maybe it’s the current the on, Lilith?"

"What you don’t know, Delilah, would fill a chas shots You gotup on ross incident you know about now I guess subconsciously I was trying to make Wichita too hot to holdto bust out"

She made a face "I didn’t knoere, like, the Corsican twins until that happened"

My e uys, obviously, separated at birth, but they found each again because they felt each other’s pain

"Hoistered on my face "I couldn’t stick around and wait for you to turn bean-grinder and sly doctor stuff drove me to act out … and finally move on I hitched all the way to the Sunshine State to find Mother Dearest, though it turns out she didn’t want either of us"

"We have a mother?"

"Most people do, even us"

"Where is she? Oh" I remembered the La Vida Loca checks sent to Our Lady of the Lake "Corona, California?"

Lilith shrugged tattooed shoulders The designs weren’t pretty, just blots of dark ink She looked hollow-eyed and gaunt and too indifferent to really be that way

"Lil … are you all right?"

"Right as acid rain," she answered bitterly, looking toward the ceiling and rolling heavenly blue-green eyes emphasized by seriously smoked-out eyeliner "Watch your back, Dee There’s more than Snoith a hard-on for it Some very bad supers are on our tails and in our future Okay?"

She winked out like a night-light with a dead battery

MY STREET CLOTHES, the unexciting navy suit, hung from a hook On the malachite sink counter lay a set of mint-hued French underwear and a Red Carpet–level e

Immediately, a sinuous chill whipped up ht wrist in a circle of "eyes" from the peacock tail pin It was so heavy it slipped downApparently the fareen crystal bottles of beauty potions, even soner scarves, and emerald baubles inset in thick wrist cuffs

I left all that heavy stuff out on the counter, but slipped out of the gown and let it coil into the e dress behind for Snow to send me later with an enclosed lock of his insidious silken white hair I did not need twin familiars

My underwear had melted off, so I donned the skimpy French stuff and lance down to the green carpet and spot the only red thing in the room

The ruby slippers

I bent to elevate theht from the overhead absinthe-colored chandelier bulbs Up too close the co littering funeral-black pumps

At least these weren’t modern, rhinestone-slathered, strappy hooker spikes

They were the real Oz, sweet, kitten-heeled, closed-toe pu with sequins, with a plump formal bow tie on the toes I clutched them to my chest and closed my eyes Maybe the ic like CinSims, had tapped my subconscious too

If only I’d had the power to click my heels and bow out of all my early years in Wichita Or maybe they’d made me what I’d become, for better as well as worse I sat on the closed commode and did an examination of conscience I hadn’t been to confession in years, but old school habits linger

What had just happened here? How had I gone froroupie to a rock star? I dredged up the usualof motives, outside influences, and fears

Guilt led the parade, of course And pride

When I’d accepted Snow’s Brimstone Kiss under duress to save Ric’s life, I’d expected to "suffer" the roupies on fruitless quests for another kiss that would never co ti black Snow and myself, terrified I would lose my free will and become a mindless sex addict And, face it, Lilith would tell me if she hadn’t split: I’d always felt his sexual charisroupie