Page 10 of Icy Reception (SOS HOTEL #9)

CHAPTER 10

“I’m beginning to think Wesley was using us to find Stephanie,” I thought aloud as we climbed the tight spiral staircase, leaving Victor and Stephanie behind to chat in the cold cellar.

“Welcome aboard the all vampires are bad train,” Zee said from behind me. “Destination, let’s torture Wesley town.”

“You think he’s lying to us?”

“Dingo!” Zee declared.

“Dingo?”

“Yeah, you know. You win a dog for being right? Dingo.”

“That’s a thing?” I asked.

“Yes, everyone wants a dingo. Anyway, all vampires are bad and Uncle Zee was right all along. Plus, all super-nice folks are sneaky psychopaths... except you. Wait. No. I’m still right.”

I chuckled, but as we emerged at the top of the staircase under the main stairs, we both fell silent. There were still bits of timber scattered all over from Victor’s trip through the treads, but no sign of the golem. Or Larimer. Or anyone. The hotel was as quiet as a crypt .

“How do we find Wesley?” Zee whispered.

“Didn’t he say something about his room being on the top floor?”

“There are multiple rooms up there, though.”

“But how many will have their doors wedged open?” I asked. We knew he’d been planning to explore the hotel too, so his door would have to be open while all the other rooms were locked for the night, keeping their occupants safe from the axeman.

We hurried up to the top floor, keeping an eye out for other late-night wanderers, then jogged along the corridor, our footfalls light on the thick carpet. TV chatter came from a few rooms, but most were silent, their guests asleep and unaware of the confused fae who had a habit of freezing people in the basement.

The second door from the end clearly had a wastepaper basket wedged in the gap.

Zee nodded me forward, and together we arrived outside Wesley’s room, checked both ways to make sure we were still alone, and then I eased the door open some more to get a look inside.

The lamps were on, but not the main light, giving the room a soft and cozy feel.

Ruffled bedsheets suggested someone had definitely been using the bed, and a small bag was open on the floor. The jacket slung over the back of the dresser’s chair was the same one I’d seen Wesley wearing in the foyer... and there were his sunglasses, on the dresser. This was definitely Wesley’s room.

Zee headed inside to check the bathroom, but came back a few minutes later shaking his head. “Not here.”

“His bags are.”

“If you were a sneaky backstabbing vampire, where would you go in the middle of the night?” Zee asked, propping his ass on the edge of the dresser. His weight tipped it forward, and he yelped and jumped off to keep it from tipping over.

The square mirror had tilted some, and on the back it looked as though bits of paper were sticking out. Zee grabbed the mirror, slid it across the dresser top, away from the wall, and spun it to face us.

On its reverse, someone had stuck a whole bunch of pictures and article clippings in little collections, then linked them all together with red string.

“The fuck... It’s a murder board,” Zee gasped. “I’ve always wanted to see one of these.” He leaned forward, tail flicking. “Fangboy Wesley is a psycho. I knew we couldn’t trust that sucker.”

I joined Zee by the dresser and got a closer look at the document clippings. Most of them were taken from news sites, and appeared to be about the Stephanie Hotel. Eddie’s name was marked on one of the photos, showing a dashing, tall, dark-haired heavy-set man with his arm around the smaller, smiling Wesley. Articles about the hotel’s new management were here too, linked by red thread to the center of the mind map. All the red lines met in the middle, at a question mark on sticky note.

“People have been going missing at this hotel for years,” Zee said, pointing out a clipping from an old news article. A storm had encased the town then too, according to the reporter at the time. “This isn’t some one-off snow storm.”

I scanned each clipping, and the number of missing people stacked up. “Zee, I don’t think Wesley is bad, and I’m not sure we should be helping Stephanie.” All the evidence pointed to a campaign of kidnapping. “This isn’t just her freezing a few trespassers, she’s taking innocent people.” The list of missing people went on and on, stretching back decades... further... “I think Stephanie’s maybe... I dunno... a serial killer?”

“Kinda like Elsa from that kids’ movie, huh?”

“What movie?”

“Lots of singing, ice witch tries to kill her sister then a whole village, cute snowman, and something about sex gnomes.” Zee shuddered. “Not a fuckin’ fan of those.”

“There’s a kids’ movie about a serial killer and sex gnomes?”

Zee shrugged. “Humans are weird. But this Stephanie seems like a serial something, for sure.”

My heart sank and a little trip of panic set it racing. “Zee, we left Victor with her.”

“Like Fancy Fangs ain’t a serial killer too?” Zee gave a snort. “They’re probably comparing notes.”

“Ex-serial killer.”

“While he’s with us, sure.” Zee poked at another photo showing Eddie and Wesley sitting together by a brook. “But if he hadn’t met you an’ me, Kitten, you know the path he was on. Even without a queen, vampires are leeches—it’s all they know—and without direction, without a purpose, they will always fall back on their sucker instincts. He’s fine.”

I knew he was right. Victor would agree too. Before Razorsedge, before Sebastien and the veil trapping Lost Ones with humans, Zee had spent most of his life trying to survive vampires, fighting for his own people, and learning how best to destroy their enemies. Victor was ours, and he was different from most vampires—more powerful, for one—but if anything happened to us, he would absolutely burn the whole world down, because it was in his nature. But so would I. And so would Zee.

Together, we were powerful. Shatter us, and we’d be terrifying .

If my brother somehow broke us, I couldn’t guarantee anyone would be safe. From me.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I studied the red-threaded murder board again—although it wasn’t so much about murders as a history lesson. “Didn’t Wesley say Eddie was a mystery podcaster? Maybe this is all his work?

“He came here to investigate the hotel for his podcast and then went missing?” Zee wondered aloud. “Super sus.”

“Wesley might not be good, Zee, but are we either?”

“Pfft, I’m awesome. So yeah.” He laughed, but as the murder board caught his eye again, his smile faded. As an incubus, he was designed from his DNA up to screw over humans. He claimed all vampires were bad, but he wasn’t exactly good either.

But we had good intentions, which had to count for something. Right?

Plus, we were heroes.

And Eddie needed us. Maybe all the people in this hotel needed us. Stephanie may have had her home taken—if we believed her—but that didn’t excuse potential centuries of murder. “What if this hotel isn’t a trap for guests, but a prison for Stephanie, and she’s been stuck here for hundreds of years?”

“That would make her real crazy and super angry.”

“And maybe the clues were left by someone as a failsafe? A way to get to her if the prison started to fail?”

“Makes about as much sense as the rest of this fucked-up place.”

“I think it’s time we got Victor out of there?—”

The bedroom door slammed shut and the lock snicked over.

“Fuck.” Zee poofed across the room and tried the handle. The door didn’t budge. “Kitten, we got a problem.”

I tried the door too, and heaved all my strength behind it, but the hinges didn’t even groan. Being stuck in a room wasn’t so bad, but it meant I couldn’t get to Victor, and that had me worried now we suspected Stephanie might actually like turning people into popsicles.

“I can poof out, but you’re stuck here.”

“Unless you can get a key? There must be one. Maybe the housekeepers have it?”

“Or it’s in Larimer’s desk. Alright. Stay here. Uh, you’ve got no choice. Whatever. I’ll be right back.” He poofed , vanishing in a cloud of purple sparks.

Alone in Wesley’s room, I listened to the whir of the air conditioner and the occasional rattle from the wind hitting the window. It sounded like someone trying to get in—or out.

Well, this whole stay at the Stephanie Hotel had turned out to be... not great. Tapping my fingers on my thigh, I tried not to think about how Victor was in the cellar, alone with someone who may not be as confused and afraid as she’d made out. Someone who was potentially as old as him, and who’d had a really long time to stew on her rage. Someone who might freeze him if he didn’t agree with her.

But Victor was tough, and smart . . .

But also prone to putting himself in harm’s way.

“Zee, c’mon.”

I tried the door again but again it didn’t budge. I paced then stopped at Wesley’s bag, and with nothing better to do, peeked inside. Change of clothes, little shampoos... not much to suggest he’d be staying long, but he was local so he probably didn’t think he’d need much, not expecting a supernatural storm. I spotted the corner of a piece of paper poking out from under a folded shirt, so I plucked it out and opened it.

“She’s real. Don’t go looking without me.” Signed by Eddie.

That was all it said.

It had to mean Stephanie. They’d been looking for her. Wesley had known all about the mysterious goings-on here. He hadn’t been completely honest with us. Although... we hadn’t been honest with him either.

The door lock snicked and the door swung open.

I stood. “Zee, look?—”

A vampiric blur smacked into me, lifting me clean off my feet, and in the next blink, my back and head struck the solid wall. The window beside me rattled harder, the storm trying to get in.

I blinked, clearing my vision, and was met with Wesley’s fang-filled snarl dominating my sight. “Wait, I?—”

“Why are you in my room, going through my things? What is this?!” the young vampire snapped. It was like being growled at by one of those tiny angry lapdogs.

I raised my hands, acting harmless. “Uh, okay, maybe put me down and we’ll talk?”

“You’re a dragon. What’s to stop you from popping my skull like a grape if I let you go?”

“Uhm... nothing?” I shrugged. “Honestly, I could have done that already, but I haven’t so I probably won’t?”

Wesley blinked fast, snicked his fangs away, and dropped me to my feet. “I want to trust you, but your demon companion clearly hates me, you travel with an Old One, and now you’re in my stuff?”

“Zee hates you?” My voice had gotten all high and squeaky. “What? I mean, he has a few vampire hang-ups, that’s all. It’s not personal. And look, the Old One—Victor—he’s not as scary as he looks, and I’m just... We’re just trying to figure it all out, same as you.”

“So you broke into my room?”

“No, uhm... It’s... So... We... uhm... We wondered where you were, and we came up here to find you.. . see if you’re okay. The door was open, so we came in and saw your murder board, and then the door shut on its own, and?— ”

“You’re not very good at lying, are you?”

“Wesley, you haven’t been honest with us either. You knew about Stephanie this whole time, right?”

He saw the note, still in my hand, and with an exasperate growl he stepped away, returning to his murder board to stare at it, looking for answers. “Eddie did the research. He put the pieces together. I just knew there was something weird happening at this hotel. I put him onto it, and then he vanished, and all I got was that note. It’s my fault. I know he’s like a dog with a bone when he gets going. I think she has him, and then you guys showed up, so there must be something to it, right? Or the Heroes of the City wouldn’t be here. You help people. That’s what Eddie said. He said we need people like you watching out for others.”

“Actually,” I winced. “We’re uh, kinda just passing through.”

“To where?”

“Uh . . . not really sure.”

“Why?”

“I have some family issues. But this isn’t about me, or us, it’s about you not telling us what’s really going on here. We could have helped each other out before it came to this.”

“Why would I trust you? I don’t know you. Victorveus is clearly sleeping with the porn demon. I know what Reyzee is. I might live in Minnesota, but I don’t live under a rock.”

Yeah, okay, this wasn’t going so well. “I feel like we maybe got off on the wrong foot. Can we start again?”

A blast of purple glitter announced Zee’s arrival. “I’m back and I have a key!”

Startled, Wesley hissed and sprang for Zee. Warrior reflexes kicking in, Zee dropped, scooped Wesley up, flung him over his back, and slammed him face first into the carpet, then pinned him there, arm bent up behind him with Zee’s knee between his shoulders .

So much for starting again. “Zee, let him up.”

“He just went for me!” Zee mimed jabbing two fingers at his neck. “Fangs an’ everything. Imma break his legs.”

“No! Don’t do that! Just...” I sighed. “Let him up. He’s going to tell us everything he knows, and if he doesn’t, then you can break his legs.”

“I thought we were starting again?!” Wesley squeaked.

“It’s been a really long night, and I feel like Zee maybe breaking your legs will get us to where we’re going much faster.”

Zee scrambled up off the young vampire and cracked his knuckles theatrically. “Which one of us is the good cop?”

“Uhm, that’s me, Zee.” Wasn’t it obvious?

“Yes! I love being bad cop.” He reached behind him and produced a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs. “You ready to talk?”

Climbing back to his feet, Wesley frowned at the handcuffs. “Aren’t those?—”

“Where did you get those?” I asked Zee first.

“I never go anywhere without cuffs and lube. We’ve been lovers for like... two months. How do you not know this?”

I knew about the lube, for obvious reasons, but cuffs too? Was that a new thing? Never mind.

“Wait... You guys are together as well?” Wesley asked, rubbing the back of his neck and wincing at the bruises.

“And?” Zee huffed defensively.

“I thought you were with Victorveus?”

“We’re a threesome, a trio, a trinity, a tri-fucking-fecta.”

“Oh? Oh! Okay, uh . . . right.”

“You got a problem with that then you can meet my friendly fluffy cuffs while I defang you.”

“No! I . . . It’s just . . . a surprise. A dragon, a demon, and a vampire. Like . . . wow, that’s gotta be weird when you’re . . . you know . . . together. ”

“Weird how?” Zee asked, snapping the fluffy cuffs aggressively.

“No, not weird. Did I say weird? I meant... unique. In a good way. Look... I just want to find Eddie. That’s why I’m here. I don’t want to anger you guys. Adam was going through my bags, so I snapped and lashed out.”

Zee stilled. “You hurt my Adam?”

“Zee, it was nothing.”

“I am gonna lock these fluffy handcuffs around your skinny fuckin’ ankles and hang you from the ceiling like a vampire pinata. You ready?”

“What? No, wait!” Wesley backed away, frantically looking between us and probably waiting for the good cop to step in. Maybe I was the bad cop after all because I didn’t feel much like helping him until he started being honest.

“Kitten, grab his arms.”

Wesley eyed the door, clearly contemplating making a run for it. He was fast too, he may even make it, but where was he going to go? Fear widened his eyes, and maybe it felt a little good after all these years of being small, being quiet, hiding... Felt good being the powerful one in the room.

Power was intoxicating.

“There is no vampire management!” Wesley blurted, finally breaking.

Zee spun the cuffs on a finger. “Huh?”

“It’s a lie. There was never any new management, no buyout, no businessmen in suits. It’s a distraction.”

“But the chef said?—”

“The chef who gave you drugged sandwiches?” Wesley asked.

Zee pouted and thought for a beat. “He was lyin’, huh?”

“They’re all lying. All the staff are in on it. The chef, the barman, the housekeepers... and overseeing all of them?”

“Larimer,” I answered .

“Exactly.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this?”

“Uh, hello, you have a vampire council member on your team. Vampires are not exactly trustworthy.”

“Bro, you’re a vampire,” Zee snorted.

“But I’m a newbie, not like Victorveus.” Wesley shuddered as he said Victor’s name. Was that a good shudder? A bad shudder? A sexual shudder?

“Do not tremble like that, it’s gross. He’s like a thousand times older than you,” Zee said. “The only folks allowed to tremble around Fancy Fangs are us.”

“Sorry, I... He’s a lot. And I know vampires have a bad rep, even though I am one. How can I trust you when you have an Old One on your team? They are all notorious for being... well... awful.”

“That is fuckin’ valid,” Zee said. “He is real old. I wouldn’t trust him either.”

Zee was not helping.

“Okay, can we all just agree we want the same thing?” I butted in and glared at the both of them. “To stop bad things from happening in this hotel.”

“Yeah,” Zee said, tucking his handcuffs away.

“Yeah, for sure.” Wesley nodded. “Me and Eddie were getting close, that’s why he disappeared. The staff got to him, or Stephanie did. I have to find him. Help me or don’t, but I have to find him.”

“I kinda hate to say it.” Zee was going to say it anyway. “But if Eddie’s not a popsicle in the cellar, then he was definitely in the sandwiches.”

“Popsicle?” Wesley whispered, the trauma of all this beginning to sink in.

“After following the clues we found Stephanie Frostweaver in the cellar,” I explained finally. “She’s an ancient fae who we think is using the hotel as a trap... or it’s her prison, we’re not really sure. Maybe both? She’s keeping frozen people in jars.”

Wesley’s face paled. He thrust his hands into his hair and started to pace. “If he’s frozen, then maybe he can be saved, right? People get frozen in ice all the time and they thaw out fine, don’t they?”

“Erm...” Zee looked over at me for confirmation. I shook my head. “Yeah, sure,” Zee said. “Happens all the time.”

“She’s in the cellar? I have to get down there. I have to find him!” Wesley vampire-sped out the door, leaving Zee and me staring after him.

“She’s gonna freeze Wesley,” Zee said, after a few seconds pause to digest everything we’d just learned. “It’s not like we didn’t fuckin’ warn him.” Zee spun the handcuffs again. “So sad. Wanna have fluffy handcuff sex while we wait for Fancy Fangs?”

“I think we need to find our vampire before Wesley barges in and upsets the mass-murdering fae.”

The door Wesley had left open slammed shut so hard the frame cracked. Ice climbed around its hinges, snapping outward across the wall like strikes of ice lightning.

“I got this.” Zee waved his master keycard over the lock, flashing it to green, and yanked on the door, snapping the ice before it could take hold. We hurried outside into the hallway. As soon as Zee let the door go, it slammed shut again, and ice instantly crusted the frame.

“I think she knows we’re coming,” I said, starting back along the hallway toward the stairs. If she knew we were coming, and she didn’t want us to, what was she doing to Victor?

“Maybe it’s Wesley she doesn’t like?” Zee suggested. “That was his room, an’ you can’t blame her for not liking vampires.”

“I hope so.” I clenched my hands into fists, making my knuckles ache. “Because if she’s hurt Victor, I’ll burn this place down with everyone in it.”

Zee matched my stride, walking fast beside me. He didn’t try and tell me to stop, didn’t warn me off, didn’t tell me to calm down. When it came down to it, to save Victor, Zee would be right beside me when everything burned.

We got to the stairs and started downward, feet thumping the treads. “So... Wesley is good-ish,” Zee began. “Eddie is missing, the vampire management is fake, Larry is the management, and in the basement there’s an all-powerful fae who likes to collect frozen people using this hotel and its staff as her fly trap while it’s also her prison?”

“That about sums it up, yeah.”

“And we fell for it, leaving Victor down there after her confused ancient-one act...”

“He’s alright.” I hoped. “Like you said, they’re probably comparing stories about the good old days.”

“Yeah, probably,” Zee agreed, but his smile was long gone, replaced by a snarl that showed all his sharp teeth.

If our vampire was harmed, it would be the end of the Stephanie Hotel. Heroes be damned, we’d be villains to save Victor.