Chapter 1 - City of Sin

"What kind of idiot doesn't fill up their gas tank before a road trip?"

Julian Anderson gave a long-suffering sigh. "I was busy, alright? Abigail and I were working a murder literally last night."

"Humans die all the time." Inara scoffed. "That's no excuse to set off on a road trip with barely enough gas to get halfway there!"

Julian glared at Inara, who gave him a smirk back in return. "You're infuriating."

"And you, as I've said, are an idiot." Inara said.

Julian just shook his head as he set the gas nozzle into the inlet and let it run as he walked around to the front of his hunter green 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass, where there was a very attractive Middle Eastern young woman sitting on the hood. Said Middle Eastern woman had long, glossy black hair that was currently flowing down her bare shoulders. She wore a dark purple crop top and a pair of skintight black leather pants. The crop top showed off her cinnamon-colored toned stomach, as well as the sapphire navel piercing she had. The crop top also accentuated quite nicely the mouthwatering cleavage that her very large breasts were creating at the moment. Yes, it was December, but as a djinn, Inara didn't really feel any chill.

As for Julian, he wore a brown leather jacket over a long-sleeve gray crew neck shirt, and a pair of dark blue jeans. He'd had a brown leather jacket that he'd worn for years, but he'd shredded his classic one three months ago in a fight with a werewolf pack. His life was complicated that way. He and Inara, who had also lost her usual black leather jacket, had bought new ones together two months back.

The gas station they were at was pretty damn empty, they were currently the only customers, which apparently wasn't all that unexpected, there was just four gas pumps here at this gas station. It made sense, as they were currently in the middle of nowhere, with desert all around them. A little ways away to the north, across the expanse of sand and dust, mountains rose up, a swath of rocky brown mountains that cut a jagged path across the landscape, breaking up the endless desert. They were truly in the middle of nowhere, it seemed, and the sun shone down brightly on the desert landscape.

"It feels like there's nobody around for miles." Julian noted, glancing around. "The telephone wires are the only indication that there's actual civilization around."

"Yeah." Inara agreed, kicking her feet back and forth idly from her spot on the hood of the car. "Maybe we wouldn't be in a place like this if you'd just filled up the gas tank."

"Oh, come on." Julian protested. "Besides, what's your hurry?"

"I was promised a weekend in Las Vegas." Inara scowled. "This is not Las Vegas. This is butt fucking nowhere."

"Did someone say butt fucking?" a cheerful voice interrupted.

"Do not enter a conversation that way ever again." Julian groaned while Inara snickered.

Freya Adams giggled, hefting the white plastic bag in her hand. "I got snacks!"

Freya was about a decade younger than Julian, and several decades younger than Inara, considering Inara was a djinn who aged much slower than normal humans. Freya was nineteen, with creamy pale skin, long blue hair, and steel-gray eyes. She was wearing an oversized white shirt that said 'The only thing I'm riding tonight' above a cartoon drawing of a witch on a broomstick. The joke being, of course, that Freya was an actual witch. Her blue hair was the result of a spell gone wrong early in her witchy career, and she'd been training pretty hard with magic over the past few months especially. She wore a pale blue denim jacket over it, and she had on black fishnet leggings that were almost certainly Inara's.

"Anything good?" Inara lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, I had to get some of these powdered donuts, I swear they put like actual cocaine on these things, they're so addictive." Freya reported, holding up a little packaged roll of donuts. "I got a couple bags of chips, some Reese's peanut butter cups, and this giant thing of lemon-lime soda. Notably not a brand name, but you can't complain too much in a place like this."

"See, why can't you be as upbeat as Freya?" Julian demanded of Inara, gesturing to the teenaged witch.

"Oh, and I got a box of these cinnamon Scooby-Doo dog bones! They're like graham crackers, but I figured you'd like them, Jules." Freya beamed, pulling out the little bag and handing it to Julian.

Inara burst out laughing, kicking her legs delightedly as she did so. "You're the best, blueberry."

"Really?" Julian sighed, shaking his head at Freya. "You're taking her side in this?"

"Who doesn't like cinnamon graham crackers?" Freya exclaimed. "I just thought it was cute that they were dog bones."

The gas pump shut off, and Julian removed the nozzle, putting it back on the hook.

"Alright, all filled up. Inara, you can finally stop complaining." Julian told the djinn, who shrugged.

"You never know, the road trip is only half over, isn't it?" Inara smirked, sliding off the hood and walking back to the passenger seat.

"Unfortunately." Julian sighed as he went over to the driver's seat while Freya climbed into the backseat.

"Let me see what chips you got." Inara said, twisting around to face Freya.

"Oh, I got a bunch." Freya nodded, handing over the bag after pulling out the big soda she'd bought. "Just don't touch my Reese's. Or my donuts."

"Do all witches have a huge sweet tooth, or just you?" Julian raised an eyebrow at Freya in the rearview mirror.

"Just me." Freya admitted. "I love sweets."

"Crazy you're as tiny as you are with as much stuff as you bake and eat." Inara teased.

"I'm... magic?" Freya tried, making Julian laugh.

He turned the car on, and the Cutlass thrummed to life. Inara kicked off her shoes and put her feet up on the dashboard, tossing a chip up and into her mouth. Julian side-eyed Inara as he ripped open his bag of cinnamon dog bones. The djinn smirked, but she didn't say anything as Julian started snacking. He stuck the bag down on the middle of the bench seat before pulling away from the gas pump and driving back onto the road. Fortunately, the gas station had been right off I-15, so it took no time at all for Julian to get back on track.

"I really hope Romero didn't pass us." Inara commented after a few minutes, tossing another chip up and catching it. Freya applauded politely from the backseat.

"Nah, the old people car definitely didn't pass us." Julian shook his head. "Ellen might have, she drives like a maniac sometimes."

"True." Inara agreed knowingly. "We need to get back in the lead if we lost it, though. No way I'm gonna be in the second place car."

"Talking a lot of shit for someone who almost got in a fight with Abigail about coming in this car." Julian said with a glance towards Inara, who gave a little careless shrug.

"I just figured Abigail would do better in the ladies' car." Inara said in a very casual tone.

"Really? That's not what you-" Freya began, but Inara whipped around to glare at Freya, who cut off with a little self-satisfied giggle.

"I almost forgive you for the dog bones." Julian grinned at Freya in the rearview mirror. The petite witch gave a cute little shrug.

The car ride turned silent for a few more minutes before Inara spoke again.

"You guys think it's weird Romero and Meg are bringing that really old guy?" Inara frowned. "He looks like he might keel over any second."

"Cornelius? I mean, yeah, he's really old, but it's his Grimoire that Benning stole, after all. He wants the damn thing back." Julian shrugged. "This is our most concrete lead on Benning in three months, so it makes sense Cornelius wanted in. Plus, he's the one bankrolling this trip."

"Oh, he is?" Inara asked interestedly.

"Yeah, why else do you think we're all staying in the Bellagio?" Julian asked with a snort. "Certainly wouldn't have been my top choice of hotel."

"What, you don't enjoy luxury?" Inara lifted an eyebrow.

"Not really, I dunno." Julian shook his head. "I'm not that kind of guy."

"Yeah, we've been in your apartment." Inara scoffed, making Julian chuckle.

"It'll be cool for a weekend, I'm not saying I won't enjoy myself. It's just not my kind of lifestyle." Julian explained.

"Hmmph." Inara said curiously. "Well, I for one am looking forwards to it."

"Are you two rooming together?" Freya asked with waggling eyebrows. "I heard Meg say everyone is doubled up except for Mr. Cornelius."

"Of course we are." Inara said at the same time Julian shrugged.

"What's the shrug for, mutt?" Inara demanded. "Who else would you room with?"

"I dunno, I'm fine with rooming with anyone." Julian shrugged. "I'm not too picky."

"Uh huh." Inara said, glaring. "I'd be a great roommate."

"Oh, I'm sure you would be." Julian agreed.

"I could be your roommate, Inara." Freya offered, and Inara hesitated.

"If the mutt betrays me, then you've got it." Inara winked.

"I'm not betraying anybody!" Julian protested. "Besides, it sounded like Meg had been the one to pick rooms."

"Assigned rooms? What is this, a high school field trip?" Inara scoffed.

"Did you go to high school?" Julian wondered, looking at Inara. "Have you ever been on a field trip?"

"Of course I didn't go to high school." Inara scowled. "I'm a warrior djinn, not some backwoods mutt."

Julian reached out his hand into the backseat, and Freya groaned, putting a five dollar bill in his hand.

"What the hell was that?" Inara demanded as Julian stuffed the five dollars into his pocket.

"Nothing." Julian shook his head.

"Not a thing." Freya agreed.

Inara looked back and forth incredulously between Julian and Freya. "Are you two making bets about me?"

"We've been counting how many times you called him a mutt so far this road trip." Freya admitted. "You just hit 30, which meant I lost."

"30?" Inara demanded. "Surely I didn't say it 30 times."

"We've been going for like 2 and a half hours now." Julian shrugged. "Keep going, we've got another bet going for if you hit 50."

"Please don't hit 50." Freya chimed in, patting Inara's shoulder.

"Unbelievable." Inara shook her head, crossing her arms beneath her sizable breasts. "You two have spent entirely too much time together, I think."

"You were there for like 99% of our time together." Julian pointed out.

"Yeah, you're the reason we're besties now." Freya nodded.

"Besties?" Julian echoed amusedly.

"What, are you saying we're not?" Freya demanded, and Julian looked incredulously back at Freya, who broke out into giggles. "I just wanted to get you to say besties."

"This road trip is killing me." Inara groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I should have skipped it like Corinne did."

"Well, Corinne skipped it because crossing the desert is a pretty good way for her to go up in flames." Julian pointed out. "Vampires aren't great road trip buddies, they really limit the options. Plus, she'd be pretty vulnerable during the day, just laying in a hotel room."

"Yeah, she was really sad about not getting to go." Freya put in. "Sunshine allergies are a real pain though."

"Vampirism's not all fun and games." Julian agreed. "Being a werewolf is definitely a lot less of a shitty lifestyle."

"Witches and djinn are pretty fun too." Inara shrugged, and her and Freya high-fived.

"True." Julian chuckled.

———

As Julian drove the Cutlass further towards the desert city, the number of cars started picking up as the roads got wider. This felt familiar, Julian had spent years driving around the Los Angeles metropolitan area, a bunch of traffic heading into a city was nothing new for him. They were still a little bit outside the city, but the buildings were getting bigger and more prominent, like the view of a circular black stadium off to the left side of the freeway as on the right, tall sparkling hotel buildings were up ahead on the right.

"Ooh, is one of those ours?" Freya asked, diving into her backpack and pulling out a pair of weird old-timey binocular-like opera glasses.

"What the hell are those?" Julian asked, looking back at her, temporarily diverted.

"Eyes on the road, mutt." Inara scowled.

"48! You better stop, Inara." Freya exclaimed. "And no, not the Bellagio. That's Mandalay Bay."

Freya tucked her opera glasses back into her bag, then looked back up to the front seat. "They were a birthday gift from Romero, they have magical zoom abilities."

"Romero gives very interesting birthday gifts." Inara agreed. "One time he gave me a lighter that instead of lighting a flame just billowed mint-scented smoke."

"What could possibly be the purpose of that?" Julian mused.

"I think he just likes trying out wacky enchantments sometimes." Inara shrugged. "His birthday gifts very rarely are useful in any way."

"I dunno, I like my opera glasses." Freya maintained. "Even if they are quite... situational."

They passed the black stadium, which as they drove nearer sported a big sign naming it the Allegiant Stadium. More hotels were popping up everywhere, along with a black pyramid and a building designed to look like a castle.

"This place is so touristy." Julian lamented. He switched lanes to get around someone barely going the speed limit, getting over in front of a motorcycle with a silver mom van behind it.

"We're tourists." Inara pointed out.

"We're here to catch a warlock serial killer who's been on the lam for three months." Julian pointed out wryly.

"And also to sightsee!" Freya exclaimed cheerfully. "Maybe we could see the Blue Man Group!"

"Inara, can you turn blue?" Julian mused. "A lot of djinn lore says you should be blue, Abigail asked me if you can turn blue and I completely forgot to ask."

"What djinn lore?" Inara asked sourly. "Did she watch Aladdin or something?"

"Can you turn blue?" Freya wondered. "We'd match that way, my blue hair and your blue skin."

"I cannot turn blue!" Inara exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "I hate both of you."

Julian snickered. "Well, if Inara won't turn blue for us, maybe we could go see the Blue Man Group."

"I'll kill you." Inara snarled. "My sword is in the trunk, I can totally do it."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about you bringing multiple weapons in my trunk for a weekend trip, you know." Julian muttered.

"Your car is named after a type of blade, I'm sure it'll manage." Inara shrugged with a little smirk. "And besides, you never know when you might need a sword, a backup sword, or multiple knives."

Freya snapped her fingers and a little sparkle happened around her hand, like a light show. "I don't need blades." the witch bragged.

"You just learned how to do that." Inara pointed out wryly.

"You didn't have to tell Julian that." Freya grumbled. "Besides, witchy work is best with preparation, we don't sling spells like warlocks do."

"Witchy work, is that the technical term?" Julian lifted an eyebrow at the blue-haired girl occupying his backseat.

"Yup, it's in the dictionary, I'm afraid." Freya shrugged. "I don't make the rules."

"My mistake." Julian chuckled.

The buildings grew taller and taller as Julian continued the drive into the city. They passed another arena, this one a brown circle instead of a black circle, before they came across the big arched sign on the side of the road with Bellagio written across it.

"About time we made it." Inara muttered. "This has been the longest four hours of my life."

"I'll remind you again, you fought very hard to get into this car." Julian pointed out. Inara just glared at him, making him chuckle as he got off the freeway. He pulled onto the Las Vegas Boulevard, which might just be the most touristy street he'd seen yet in this town. On the right was the huge water-filled Fountains of Bellagio while on the left was a replica of the Eiffel Tower, and there were even more hotels and tourist attractions further down the boulevard, but thankfully Julian got off quickly and turned off onto the entrance road to the Bellagio.

"Text Romero and figure out where I'm supposed to park, would you?" Julian asked Inara.

"Fine." Inara said with a sigh.

———

Julian was standing with Inara and Freya in the lobby when he spotted another three members of the group, namely the occupants of Ellen's car. Inara had been right about Romero's car being way behind, it seemed. The three occupants of Ellen's car were, of course, Ellen Warner, one of his closest friends since childhood, when they'd grown up in the same werewolf pack together. Ellen's long thick brown hair was falling in waves down her shoulders, and she wore a white tank top with a short furry jacket that cut off about halfway down her torso. As usual, Ellen wasn't wearing a bra, which was quite apparent, as her large teardrop shaped breasts were bouncing quite noticeably as she walked. Ellen never wore a bra or panties, which had always mystified Julian. It wasn't a werewolf thing, that was for sure, as Julian wore underwear every day of his life. On her lower half, Ellen was wearing a pair of high-waisted skintight blue jeans that showed off just how sinfully curvy the werewolf woman was and how great her legs were. She gave Julian a warm smile when she spotted him, her dark green eyes cheerful.

Beside Ellen was Julian's other closest friend, as well as his partner, Abigail Richards. Julian and Abigail were both homicide detectives, and they spent far too much time together at work trying to find murderers. Julian had only told Abigail about the supernatural world three months ago, as a result of her being kidnapped by werewolves. She'd taken to it pretty well, though, and had quite the appetite for learning more. Abigail was a tall woman, just like Ellen was, though Abigail stood maybe an inch taller. She was lean and toned, with long blonde hair currently pulled back in a ponytail. She was the lone human of their group, and she was a bit more bundled up from the cold than any other member of the group, wearing a puffy black winter jacket over a snug green long-sleeve shirt. She was also wearing skintight jeans, and they made it very clear what an incredible ass the detective had. Several men in the lobby stole glances in Abigail's direction. Ellen and their third companion Asha had great asses too, but Abigail's was damn near supernatural.

As for Asha Lake, the jengu was dressed in pretty light clothing, as much like Inara, she didn't feel cold too easily. She was suited for the cold of the deep ocean, and a windy Las Vegas day didn't do much to her, even in December. She was in a red crop top that showed off her toned dark stomach and accentuated her ample very large breasts. On her lower half, she was wearing black leggings that showed off every one of her generous, voluptuous curves. Asha had been one of the last to join this little team of theirs, but after she had saved Julian and Inara's lives in the basement of Cassius Benning's mansion, she'd been pretty much an instant part of the team. She'd merged pretty well with the team in the three months since then, which Julian was glad for. He could tell Asha was still mourning the loss of her sister Amaya, who had been one of the victims of Benning's ritual, but fortunately she had some close friends to keep her moving now.

"Took you long enough." Inara smirked at Ellen. "The mutt here even had to stop for gas and he still beat you."

"49?" Freya whispered to Julian, who shook his head.

"Nah, we made it. She didn't hit fifty." Julian sighed.

"Pay up, Jules." Freya said cheerfully.

"You find a bakery, I'll get you whatever you want, like we said." Julian agreed, and Freya fist pumped, making Julian laugh.

Julian felt suddenly as if he was being stared at, some werewolf sense of his prickling, but when he turned his head towards the direction he thought it was coming from, he didn't see anyone. There was plenty of people milling about, either waiting in line to check in, or touring the pretty lavish lobby, or just standing around, but none seemed to be paying Julian and his group any attention. Scowling thoughtfully, Julian turned back to what his friends were saying.

"How was the drive?" Ellen was asking Julian, and he nodded.

"No problems, other than having to stop for gas." Julian shrugged. "Pretty easy ride."

"Ellen almost hit another car. Twice." Abigail said with a playful glare at the unabashed werewolf girl, who just shrugged.

"They were going so slow, and I'm pretty sure one of them tried to brake check me. Asshole." Ellen shook her head.

"I was asleep during that part." Asha admitted. "I woke up to Abigail chewing out Ellen."

"She lectured me like I'd been a bad dog." Ellen lamented.

"I did not!" Abigail protested, making Ellen laugh.

"Ah, there you all are!" a familiar voice exclaimed, and Julian looked over to see the last three members of their group walking up.

Romero Scott and his wife Margaret, or Meg, ran the Arcana Augurum shop, which was how Julian had met them, asking for help during his investigation into the serial killers three months ago. Romero looked to be in his late forties or so, with graying brown hair. He was usually dressed more eccentrically when in his own shop, but today he was wearing a turtleneck sweater and brown cargo pants. If Julian had to guess, the cargo pockets were probably full of odd charms that Romero had prepared for this trip. As an enchanter, he could prepare powerful magical effects as long as he had plenty of time to work on them. On the fly, he couldn't do much, which is why he usually carried around various pre-made charms, in case a situation arose.

As for Meg Scott, she was a woman who also looked to be in her forties or so, though Julian knew neither Scott was that young. Meg had curly brown hair that went down about to her shoulders, and she wore a pink blouse with a puffy black jacket over it along with some dark jeans. Meg wore spectacles as always, and her eyes had a strange effect where sometimes they'd look sort of glassy, like a blind woman might look like. She was not blind, in fact, but she could see the future on occasion, being a seer. Meg had little to no control over her visions of the future, they unfortunately came on their own time. If the stars aligned though, Meg could be quite helpful.

The last member of their party was an interesting one. Cornelius was the oldest guy Julian had ever seen, at least in terms of appearance. It also wasn't impossible he was the oldest guy Julian had ever seen in terms of years, too, he seemed so ancient he'd lost sight of the passing of time somewhat. He was a short, stooped old man with a livered, mostly bald head, other than a couple white tufts of hair. He wore thick, old-timey bifocals with circular lenses, and often leaned on a dark wood cane, as he was now. He, like every other time Julian had seen him, wore a red sequined waistcoat, black pants, and tap shoes. Julian sometimes wondered if Cornelius had a closet full of the exact same outfit, like a cartoon character.

"Hey, slowpoke." Inara smirked at Romero, and her long-time boss chuckled.

"We don't all speed around in muscle cars." Romero shrugged, and Julian had to grin.

"It's the best way to do it, I don't know." Julian said, and Freya nodded energetically.

"Julian has a very cool car." Freya agreed.

"You don't need to suck up to him." Inara shook her head, making Ellen snicker.

"Well, let's go ahead and get checked in." Romero nodded. "We've got a lot to do, we need to get started."

"Indeed!" Cornelius exclaimed. "I will ensure our rooms are ready."

"I'll join you." Meg said, smiling at the ancient, wrinkled old man. Cornelius and Meg moved off to get into line, and Romero looked towards the assembled group.

"Meg and I did take the liberty of assigning rooms to avoid infighting." Romero said wryly. "I know there's some interesting personalities in the group."

"He means you." Inara stage-whispered to Abigail.

"He does not." Abigail rolled her eyes.

Romero made a peaceable gesture with his hands. "To avoid such arguments, we picked rooms that I think everyone will agree with. Cornelius has a room to himself, considering he paid for all the rooms, I'm with Meg, of course, and then for the rest of you... Inara, you'll be with Ellen. Abigail, you'll be with Asha. And Julian, you'll be with Freya."

"What?" Inara protested. "Why isn't Julian with..."

"One of his lady friends?" Romero asked with a smirk that mortified Julian. "To avoid any arguments. Meg figured Freya was the Switzerland of options, so to speak."

"I don't know if lady friends is really the right term." Julian protested. "We're all friends here."

Inara, Ellen, Abigail, and Asha turned their heads to look at Julian in never to be repeated near perfect synchronicity, and he winced. "Anyways, I'd love to be Freya's roommate."

"Excellent." Romero said, looking deeply amused.

Julian looked to the blue-haired witch, who seemed to be plenty amenable to the rooming arrangements. She gave Julian a bright smile, which he returned.

"We're going to have to watch movies and eat snacks late at night." Freya told Julian firmly. "That's just a rule about staying in a hotel."

Julian laughed. "Sure, works for me."

It took a few minutes for Cornelius and Meg to return, but when they did, they came armed with room keys. They were quickly handed out, and everyone got their room numbers. Cornelius, Romero, and Meg were being put up in the fancy Bellagio Suites, it seemed, while the rest of them were in more normal hotel rooms. As Julian quickly found out, the Bellagio had two towers, the Main Tower and the Spa Tower. Romero, Meg, and Cornelius were up on floor 29 of the Main Tower, while Abigail and Asha were floor 16, Inara and Ellen were floor 12, and Julian and Freya were floor 15. They hadn't all been able to get on the same floor, but at least they were in the same tower. Having to hike over to a different tower would have been a hassle.

They all piled into the elevator, and Romero glanced over the group.

"Why don't we all meet up in our suite in about 20 minutes?" Romero suggested. "We need to discuss our first moves to find Benning."

"Works for me." Julian said with a nod, and the others gave various agreements as well.

The elevator doors opened first on floor 12, and Inara and Ellen stepped off. The next stop was floor 15, which was Julian and Freya.

"See you guys!" Freya waved as she stepped out of the elevator. Meg waved back, and the doors slid closed. The floors of the Main Tower were Y-shaped, with the elevators letting them out right in the middle, at the base of the prong of the Y-shape.

"We're room 52." Freya announced, looking at the little card she'd gotten from Meg. "That's... this way!"

Freya led the way down the left spoke of the Y, but they didn't have to go far before they reached their room. Freya used the keycard, and pushed the door open.

"Not a bad place." Julian said as he followed the petite witch in. "I've definitely been in worse hotel rooms."

The door opened into a little hallway-like foyer, with the bathroom door on the left and the main bedroom ahead. Freya opened the bedroom door to poke her head in, and Julian got a glimpse of a double vanity sink, a bathtub, a shower, and a toilet as he walked past her into the bedroom. Their bedroom had a king-sized bed against the left wall, and just beyond that, a blue loveseat with a circular coffee table in front of it. There was a table and chair set up beside it, a little round table. Opposite the bed was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, and a pretty big one, too. Beneath it was a dark wood credenza which had a couple drawers, some shelves, and what he guessed was a fridge and a mini-bar.

"This place is great!" Freya agreed. She shrugged off her backpack onto the floor, and Julian did the same. He crossed over to the window, which had open curtains and a great view looking down over the Strip.

"Not a bad way to spend a weekend." Julian nodded.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to room with Inara." Freya mentioned as she moved to sit down on the couch. "I know you and her were looking forward to it."

"Were we?" Julian asked, amused. "That may have just been Inara, I didn't know she wanted to room together until she mentioned it in the car. I certainly wouldn't have minded rooming with her, but I wouldn't have a problem with rooming with anyone. Except maybe Cornelius, he's... a strange guy."

Freya giggled, and nodded. "He is, isn't he?"

"Yeah. I guess he really wants this Grimoire back, considering he was willing to bankroll a group trip to Vegas and put us up in one of the most famous hotels." Julian shrugged.

"I hope we can get it back for him." Freya said softly. "I'd hate to disappoint him. He's a little weird, but he's a sweet old man."

"Yeah, he seems like a good guy." Julian agreed. "He helped us out as much as he could with all of the stuff with Benning back at the equinox, and he's been helping us try to find him ever since."

Freya nodded her agreement, then her phone buzzed. "Oh, it's Mom. She's making sure I made it alright."

"You close with your parents?" Julian wondered as Freya began to text back.

"Oh yeah, we are." Freya smiled. "They're both human, so they don't really get all the witchy stuff, but they were the ones who found Romero and brought me to him so he could help me."

"How does that work with witches? It's not genetic?" Julian asked, sitting down on the chair by the table.

"It is genetic, just not everyone gets the magic." Freya explained. "Mom did some research after my magic started popping up, apparently her grandmother was a witch, too. Mom had no idea until she started really looking for it."

"Huh, interesting. With werewolves, it passes on every time if the parents are both werewolves." Julian explained.

"What if one parent isn't a werewolf?" Freya wondered.

"Well, if they're human, they could be a normal werewolf, or what we call a half-wolf." Julian answered. "Half-wolves are stronger and heal faster than a normal human, but they can't change shape without getting a wolf bite. Most half-wolves choose to just get the bite and become a full werewolf."

"And what if they're not human?" Freya asked innocently. "Like... a djinn?"

Julian raised his eyebrows. "That seems like a very pointed question."

"Was it?" Freya blushed. "I was just naming an example."

"Uh huh. Well, I don't really know how djinn work, to be honest. I've never seen a werewolf mixed with anything else, so I don't think they'd be like half-djinn, half-werewolf if that's what you're asking." Julian shrugged. "I guess most likely is they'd have the half-wolf strength and healing, plus some of whatever the other parent is."

"Huh, cool." Freya murmured. "Alright, I'm gonna go use the bathroom really quick before we go meet up in Mero's suite."

The blue-haired witch bounded to her feet and headed into the bathroom. Julian leaned back against the back of the chair and pulled out his phone.

———

Julian and Freya arrived at Romero's suite about fifteen minutes later, and Julian knocked on the door. The doors were much more spread out here on this floor, due to how much bigger the suites were. Meg opened the door a moment later, and the seer smiled at them.

"Hey, you two. Come on in." Meg said, and she ushered them inside. The front door led into a square little parlor that opened up into a living room area, with a nice window on the opposite wall. There was a couch on the left wall, flanked by end-tables with a nice granite coffee table in front of it. There were two chairs at the short ends of the table, and there was two more chairs at a small dining room table immediately to the right when they walked into the living room. A TV sat on the right hand wall, and beside the TV was a closed door that presumably led into a bedroom.

Cornelius was occupying one of the chairs beside the coffee table, and Freya waved to him. On opposite ends of the couch were Abigail and Asha, with an empty space between them.

"Hey, Jules." Abigail greeted him with a nod, patting the empty space beside her.

"Hey, you two." Julian nodded. "Your room alright?"

He dropped down onto the couch between the girls, and looked back and forth between them as they nodded.

"Yeah, no complaints here." Asha said. "It's a nice little place."

"Agreed." Abigail chimed in. "It's a very nice hotel room, so thanks, Cornelius."

"Of course, of course!" the quirky old man exclaimed. "It is the least I could do for the people helping me get that Grimoire back."

"Well, I hope we can get it for you." Julian said, and Cornelius waggled a finger.

"All of you are very, very capable. I expect things will be nicely taken care of." Cornelius smiled.

The bedroom door opened, and Romero stepped out. "Oh, hello, you all. Inara and Ellen on their way?"

"Should be." Abigail shook her head. "Neither of them are super punctual, however."

"True." Romero chuckled. "Well, I'll wait until they show up before I start talking. Anyone want something to drink?"

"We have some very good tea I brought from the shop." Meg pointed out, and Cornelius brightened.

"Ah, some tea would be perfect!" he exclaimed.

"I'll brew a pot then." Romero nodded. "Anyone else want tea?"

"I'll pass." Julian shook his head, and Asha, Abigail, and Freya all made various agreements.

Several minutes passed before a knock came at the door, and by time Inara and Ellen had settled into the room, Cornelius, Romero, and Meg all had steaming mugs in their hands. Freya had taken the other seat by the coffee table, while Inara and Ellen pulled the chairs over from the dining table to join the cluster. Romero stood in front of the TV, with Meg beside him, facing the group.

"So, Las Vegas isn't the largest city around, but it's still plenty big enough for Benning to go undiscovered if he really wants. Does anyone have any ideas on how we're going to track him down?" Romero queried the group, and several heads turned towards Julian and Abigail, the resident detectives.

"Well..." Abigail spoke up slowly. "I'm not too familiar with Las Vegas' supernatural side, but if he came here, there has to be someone or something he's looking for, right?"

"Especially considering he's been staying far away from Los Angeles recently." Julian agreed. "For him to have come this close to us, there's something or someone important to him here."

"So we just need to figure out what that is." Ellen shrugged. "But, uh... how we do that?"

"Well, that's the hard part." Julian sighed. "Saying we need to find his motive is easy enough, actually finding it is where it gets tricky."

Cornelius stroked his chin thoughtfully before speaking. "Las Vegas' premiere supernatural casino is the Goldpot, unless things have changed since I was here last. If Benning is meeting someone, it's not unlikely someone there would know about it."

"The Goldpot?" Abigail echoed.

"It's a veiled place." Romero explained. "So you'd have to sit out on that one, I'm afraid, but Cornelius is right. Almost every supernatural who comes through Vegas stops off there."

"So we just go gambling and hope for the best?" Inara scowled. "We've definitely had better plans."

"What about your map? The one that shows dark magic?" Julian asked Cornelius.

"It was a map of Los Angeles." Cornelius shook his head. "This newfangled global positioning system might be movable, but a drawn map is a drawn map, alas, even if it is magical."

"I guess that makes sense." Julian admitted. "So we're flying blind here."

"I have an old friend who lives here." Romero shrugged. "I can reach out, see if he's heard anything. We'll have to make the trip to see him ourselves though, he doesn't own a phone."

"Really?" Abigail asked incredulously. "I know you guys have magic and monsters and stuff, but... not using a phone? Really?"

"Some of us immortals have long since given up on technology, lassie." Cornelius sighed. "Things change too fast sometimes."

"I can take Meg over to visit my friend." Romero volunteered. "That leaves the rest of you to check out the casino."

"Can I come too?" Abigail asked hopefully. "It beats sitting in my hotel room by myself."

"Of course, you're welcome to come." Meg smiled at the blonde detective.

"Sounds like a plan." Julian spoke up. "Romero, Meg, and Abigail can talk to Romero's friend. The rest of us can check out the Goldpot."

"Works for me." Asha nodded. "I haven't gambled in far too long."

"You're a gambler?" Freya asked, wide-eyed. "How much money have you won?"

Asha gave a little snort. "I'm usually the one losing money, actually. Amaya was the one who was good at it. She was always the lucky one."

Asha gave a sorrowful sort of sigh, but she pulled herself together quickly. Julian caught her eye and gave her a sympathetic smile, one she returned weakly. She bumped her knee against his, but said nothing else.

"The Goldpot is a distinguished casino, by the way." Romero mentioned. "You'll need to be dressed decently. You don't need to be dressed to the nines, but something formal would be appropriate."

"Like dresses?" Inara frowned.

"Like dresses." Romero affirmed. "And Julian, you don't need a full suit, but a shirt with a collar, at least."

"I think I'll be alright." Julian nodded.

"Did you guys pack dresses?" Ellen wondered aloud. "Because I did not."

"Nope." Asha replied, and Inara shook her head.

"Guess we're going shopping!" Freya exclaimed cheerfully.

"Fantastic." Inara rolled her eyes.

"Are we headed there tonight?" Ellen asked, and Romero shook his head.

"No, no. Tonight, we should relax. Tomorrow morning, I'll take Meg and Abigail over to speak with Rupert, and you guys should head to the Goldpot around noon or shortly after. It's a 24-hour casino, but there's not many people there in the morning." Romero explained.

"So we go shopping in the morning, and then head to the Goldpot later on." Asha surmised, earning a nod from Romero and an eager nod from Freya.

"Well, I'll be sleeping in then, if nobody needs me until noon." Julian quirked a grin. "You ladies have fun shopping."

"You don't want to come?" Freya asked disappointedly.

"Nope. I've got clothes for tomorrow already, and if I go dress shopping with a bunch of women, I'll end up just carrying a bunch of bags." Julian chuckled.

"Probably true." Ellen grinned at him.

"And what do we do if neither of these places turns up any information?" Abigail wondered.

"Keep looking, I suppose." Romero sighed. "I can't imagine Benning will linger here long, so we might have a very short window to figure out where he's at, and where he's got the Grimoire. Speed will be key."

"Good thing we brought multiple cars then." Julian nodded. "If you guys figure something out at your friend Rupert's, start chasing it down, we can send some of us to help you guys out while others keep searching the casino for information."

"I like that idea." Meg said approvingly.

"Alright, well, let's get some dinner and some sleep." Romero clapped his hands together. "Tomorrow... we find Benning."