The lights were high and the heat was on against the hint of chill in the air, turning the autumn night to a noon summer. The churchs sanctuary wasnt much of a sanctuary anymore; the pews and altar had been removed even before I had moved in, leaving a wonderfully open space with narrow stained-glass windows stretching from knee height to the tall ceiling. My desk was atop the shallow stage up front, to the right of where the altar had been.
Back by the dark foyer was Ivys seldom-played baby grand piano, and tucked into the front corner across from my desk was a new cluster of furniture to give us somewhere to interview prospective clients without dragging them all the way through the church to our private living room at the back. Ivy had a plate of crackers, cheese, and pickled herring arranged on the low coffee table, but it was the pool table my gaze lingered on. It had been Kistens, and I knew that the reason I was drawn to it was because I missed him.
Ivy and Jenks had given the table to me on my birthday. It was the only piece of him Ivy had taken besides his ashes and her memories. I think shed given it to me as an unspoken statement that hed been important to both of us. He had been my boyfriend, but he had been Ivys onetime live-in and confidant, and probably the only person who truly understood the warped hell that their master vampire, Piscary, had put them through with his version of love.
Things had changed radically in the three months since Ivys former girlfriend, Skimmer, had killed Piscary and landed herself in jail under a wrongful-death charge. Instead of the expected turf war, with Cincys secondary vampires struggling to assert their dominance, a new master vampire had stepped in from out of state, one so charismatic that no one rose to challenge him. Id since learned that bringing in new blood was commonplace, and there were provisions set up in Cincinnatis charter to deal with the sudden absence of a city power.
What was unusual, though, was that the new master vampire had taken in every single one of Piscarys displaced vamps instead of bringing his own camarilla. The small bit of kindness cut short an ugly mess of vampire misery that would have put me and my roommate in serious jeopardy. That the incoming vampire was Rynn Cormel, the very man who had run the country during the Turn, probably had a lot to do with Ivys quick acceptance. Respect usually came slowly from her, but it was hard not to admire someone who had written a vampire sex guide that sold more copies than a post-Turn bible, and had been president.
I had yet to actually meet the man, but Ivy said that he was quiet and formal, and that she was enjoying getting to know him better. If he was her master vampire, they were going to have a blood tryst at some point. Euwie. I didnt think they had yet, but Ivy was private about that sort of thing, despite her well-earned reputation. I suppose I should have been thankful he hadnt taken Ivy as his scion and made my life hell. Rynn had brought his own scion, and the woman was just about the only living vamp to come with him from Washington.
So after Kisten died, Ivy got a new master vampire, and I got a pool table in my front room. Id known that a blood-chaste witch and a living vampire could never make it work in the long run. Regardless, I had loved him, and the day I found out who Piscary had given Kisten to like a thank-you card, I was going to sharpen my stakes and go for a visit. Ivy was working on it, but Piscarys hold on her had been so heavy the last few days of his existence that she didnt remember much. At least she no longer believed she had killed Kisten in a blind, jealous rage.
I eased myself up to sit on the edge of the table, smelling the scents of vampire incense and old cigarette smoke rise from the green felt like a balm. It mixed with the odor of tomato paste and the sound of melancholy jazz filtering in from the back of the church, bringing to mind my early mornings spent in the loft of Kistens dance club, inexpertly knocking pool balls around while I waited for him to finish closing up.
Closing my eyes against the lump in my throat, I pulled my knees up to prop my heels against the bumper and wrapped my arms around my shins. The heat coming from the long Tiffany lamp Ivy had installed over the table beat on the top of my head, hot and close.
My eyes started to fill, and I pushed the pain down. I missed Kisten. His smile, his steady presence, just being with him. I didnt need a man to feel good about myself, but the shared feelings between two people were worth suffering for. Maybe it was time to stop saying no to every guy that tried to ask me out. It had been three months. Did Kisten mean that little to you? came an accusing thought, and I held my breath.
Get off the felt, came Ivys voice out of my swirl of emotions, and my eyes flashed open. I found her at the top of the hallway leading to the rest of the church, a plate of crackers and pickled herring in one hand, two bottled waters in the other.
Im not going to tear it, I said as I dropped my knees to sit cross-legged, loath to move since the only other place to sit was across from her. It was easier to keep our distance than deal with the building pressure of Ivy wanting to sink her teeth and my wanting her to, both of us knowing it would be a bad idea. Wed tried it once and it hadnt worked out well, but I was a get-back-on-the-horse kind of girleven when I knew better.
Almost of their own accord, my fingers rose to my neck and the nearly unnoticeable bumps of scar tissue marring my otherwise absolutely pristine skin. Seeing my hand where it was, Ivy folded herself gracefully into a chair behind the plate of crackers. She shook her head at me, making the gold tips of her short, sin-black, lusciously straight hair glimmer, frowning at me like a ticked-off cat.
I pulled my hand down and pretended to read the clipboard now propped in my lap. Despite her grimace Ivy seemed relaxed as she eased into the black leather, looking pleasantly exhausted from her workout this afternoon. She was wearing a long, gray, shapeless sweater over her tight exercise outfit, but it couldnt hide her trim, athletic build. Her oval face still carried the glow of exertion, and I could feel her brown eyes watching me as she worked to quell the mild blood lust stirred by the spike of surprise that I had given off when she had startled me.
Ivy was a living vampire, the last living heir of the Tamwood estate, admired by her living vampire kin and envied by her undead ones. Like all high-blood living vampires, she had a good portion of the undeads strengths but none of the drawbacks of light vulnerability or the inability to tolerate sanctified ground or artifactsshe lived in a church to irritate her undead mother. Conceived as a vampire, shed become an undead in the blink of an eye if she died without any damage for the vampire virus to repair. Only the low-born, or ghouls, needed further attention to make the jump to a damned immortality.
Moved by scent and pheromones, it was an ongoing ballet between us of want and need, desire and will. But I needed protection from the undead who would take advantage of me and my unclaimed scar, and she needed someone who wasnt out for her blood and had the will to say no to the ecstasy a vampire bite could bring. Plus, we were friends. We had been since working together in the I.S., an experienced runner showing a newbie the ropes. Id, um, been the newbie.
Ivys blood lust was very real, but at least she didnt need blood to survive as the undead did. I was fine with her sating her urges with anyone she wanted, seeing as Piscary had warped her such that she couldnt separate love from blood or sex. Ivy was bi, so it wasnt a big deal to her. I was straightlast time I checked. But after getting a taste of how good a blood tryst felt, everything was doubly confusing.
It had taken a year, but I finally admitted that I not only respected Ivy but loved her, toosomehow. But I wasnt going to sleep with her just to have her sink her teeth in me unless I was truly attracted to her and not just to the way she could set my blood burning, aching to fill the hole Piscary had carved into her soul, year by year, bite by bite.
Our relationship had gotten complicated. Either I had to sleep with her to safely share blood, or we could try to keep it to a blood exchange alone and run the risk that she would lose control and Id have to slam her against the wall to get her to stop before she killed me. In Ivys words, we could share blood without hurt if there was love, or we could share blood without love if I hurt her. There was no middle ground. How nice was that?
Ivy cleared her throat. It was a small sound, but the pixies went silent. Youre going to damage the felt, she almost growled.
My eyebrows rose, and I turned to look at the table, already knowing its surface like the palm of my hand. Like its in such good shape? I asked dryly. I cant make it any worse. Theres a dent in the slate the size of an elbow by the front left pocket, and it looks like someone stitched up nail gouges there in the middle.
Ivy reddened, picking up an old issue of Vamp Vixen that she had out for clients. Oh, my God, I said, untwisting my legs and jumping off as I imagined just how gouges like that could get there. Ill never be able to play on it again. Thanks a hell of a lot.
Jenks laughed to sound like wind chimes, and he joined me as I headed over for some of the pickled herring. The puff of leather was soothing as I flopped into the couch across from Ivy, dropping my clipboard beside me and reaching for the crackers.
The blood came right out, she muttered.
I dont want to know! I shouted, and she hid behind her magazine. The cover story was SIX WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR SHADOW BEGGING AND BREATHING. Nice.
Silence slipped between us, but it was a comfortable one, which I filled by shoving pickled herring into my mouth. The tart vinegar reminded me of my dadhe had been the one whod gotten me hooked on the stuffand I settled back with a cracker and my clipboard.
What have you come up with so far? Ivy asked, clearly looking for a shift in topics.
I pulled the pencil from behind my ear. The usual suspects. Mr. Ray, Mrs. Sarong. Trent. Beloved citys son, playboy, murdering slicker-than-a-frog-in-a-rainstorm bastard Trent. But I doubted it was him. Trent hated Al more than I did, having run into him once before to come away with a broken arm and probably a recurring nightmare. Besides, he had cheaper ways to knock me off, and if he did, his secret biolabs would hit the front page.
Jenks was jabbing the point of his sword into the holes of the crackers to break them into pixy-size pieces. What about the Withons? You did bust up their plans to marry off their daughter.
Nah , I said, not believing anyone could hold a grudge for that. Besides, they were elves. They wouldnt use a demon to kill me. They hated demons more than they hated me. Right?
Jenkss wings blurred and the table was cleared of the crumbs he had made. Eyebrows raised at my doubt, he started layering herring bits on his tiny crackers, each the size of a peppercorn. How about Lee? he said. Minias said he didnt trust him.
I set the arches of my feet on the edge of the coffee table. Which is why I do. I had gotten the man away from Al. One would think that would be worth something, especially when Lee had taken over Cincys gambling when Piscary died. Maybe I should talk to him.
Ivy frowned at me over her magazine. I think its the I.S. Theyd love to see you dead.
My pencil scratched against the yellow tablet. Inderland Security, I said, feeling a ping of fear drop through me as I added them to the list. Crap, if it was the I.S., I had a big problem.
Jenkss wings hummed as he exchanged a look with Ivy. Theres Nick.
I unclenched my jaw almost as fast as it tightened up.
You know its him, the pixy said, hands on his hips as Ivy peered at me over the magazine, her pupils slowly dilating. Why didnt you tell Minias right there? You had him, Rachel. Minias would have taken care of it. And you didnt say a thing!
Lips pressed tight, I calculated the odds of me hitting him with the pencil if I threw it at him. I dont know its Nick, and even if it was, I wouldnt give him to the demons. Id take care of it myself, I said bitterly. Think with your head, Rachel, not your heart. But maybe Ill give the cookie a call.
Ivy made a small noise and went back to her magazine. Nicks not that smart. Hed be demon fodder by now.
He was that smart, but I wasnt going to start a witch hunt. Or stupid-human hunt, rather. My blood pressure, though, had gone back down at her low opinion of him, and I reluctantly added his name to the list. Its not Nick, I said. Its not his style. Demon summoning leaves traces, either in collecting the materials to do it, the damage done while hes there, or the increase in educated young witches dying of unnatural causes. Im going to check with the FIB and see if theyve found anything odd the last few days.
Ivy leaned forward, knees crossed as she took a cracker. Dont forget the tabloids, she offered.
Yeah, thanks, I said, adding that to the list. A Demons Took My Baby story could very well be true.
Propping the tip of his metal sword on the table, Jenks leaned against the wooden hilt and let out a piercing chirp by rubbing his wings together. His kids flew up in a noisy flurry by the door, and I held my breath, fearing they were all going to descend on us, but only three came to a swirling, wing-clattering stop, their fresh faces smiling and their innocence beguiling. They were capable of murder, all of them. Down to his youngest daughter.
Here, he said, handing a cracker to one of his sons. See that your mom gets this.
Kay, Papa, he said, and was gone, his feet never having touched the table. The other two ferried the rest of the portions out in a well-organized display of pixy efficiency. Ivy blinked at the normally nectarivorous pixies descending on the pickled herring like it was maple syrup. Theyd eaten an entire fish last year for an extra boost of protein before their hibernation, and though they werent going to hibernate again this year, the urge was still there.