There was a sparkle of light, but beyond that nothing.
“Not enough juice,” she mumbled to herself.
“So turn it up already,” I urged. Even if the vampires tended to avoid light, we were lit up like a Christmas tree and bound to attract attention if we stayed at ground level much longer.
“Cross your fingers,” she said grimly and touched the jewels again.
The light intensified and we started up fast … too fast.
“Careful, Boss!” Guido shouted and grabbed my legs as they went past him.
That brought our progress to a halt. . . well, almost. Instead of rocketing up into the night, we were rising slowly, almost imperceptibly.
“That’s got it, High Roller!” Massha exclaimed, shifting her grip to hang onto me with both arms. “A little more ballast than I had planned on, though.”
I considered briefly telling Guido to let go, but rejected the thought. If the bodyguard released his grip, we’d doubtless resume our previous speed . . . and while a lot of folks at the Bazaar talked about my meteoric rise, I’d just as soon keep the phrase figurative. There was also the minor detail that we were already at a height where it would be dangerous for Guido to try dropping back to the street. There was that, and his death-grip on my legs.
“Don’t tell me, let me guess,” I called down to him. “You’re acrophobic, too?”
The view of Blut that was unfolding beneath us was truly breathtaking. Truly! My life these days was so cluttered with crisis and dangers that a little thing like looking down on buildings didn’t bother me much, but even I was finding it hard to breathe when confronted up close with sheer walls adorned with stone creatures. Still, until I felt his fingernails biting into my calves, it had never occurred to me that such things might upset a rough-and-tumble guy like Guido.