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Ivy moved my bucket and mop to a dry part of the floor and sprayed a heavy layer of that unlabeled bottle. You going to do it? she asked, as if I hadnt already said no.
No.
In one motion I swept all the papers off the desktop and into the uppermost drawer. Jenks landed on the clean surface, his wings stilling as he leaned against the pencil cup and crossed his ankles and arms to look surprisingly alluring for a four-inch-tall man. Why not? he accused. You think hes going to stiff you?
Again, I added in my thoughts. Because I already saved his freaking elf ass once, I said. You do it once, its a mistake. You do it twice and its not a mistake anymore.
Mop and bucket in hand, Ivy walked out, snickering.
Its RSVP by tomorrow, Jenks needled. Rehearsal is Friday. Youre invited.
I know that. It was my birthday, too, and I wasnt going to spend it with Trent. Ticked, I headed into the kitchen after Ivy.
Flying backward, Jenks got in my face and preceded me down the hallway, slices of sunlight coming in from the living room. Ive got two reasons you should do it, he said. One, it will piss Ellasbeth off, and two, you could charge him enough to afford to resancitify the church.
My steps slowed, and I tried to keep the ugly look off my face. That was unfair. By the sink, Ivy frowned, clearly thinking the same. Jenks
Im just saying
Shes not working for Kalamack, Ivy threatened, and this time he shut his mouth.
I stood in the kitchen, not knowing why I was here. I gotta shower, I said.
Go, Ivy said, meticulouslyand needlesslywashing the bucket with soapy water before putting it away. Ill wait up for the man coming over with an estimate.
I didnt like that. Shed probably fudge on the quote, knowing that her pockets were deeper than mine. She had told me she was nearly broke, but nearly broke for the last living member of the Tamwood vampires was not my broke, rather more of a down-to-six-figures-in-her-bank-account broke. If she wanted something, she got it. But I was too tired to fight her.
I owe you, I said as I grabbed the cooled tea Ceri had made for me and shuffled out.
God, Jenks, Ivy was saying as I avoided my room with my scattered clothes and just headed for my bathroom. The last thing she needs is to be working for Kalamack.
I just thought the pixy said.
No, you didnt think, Ivy accused. Trent isnt some pantywaist rich pushover, hes a power-hungry, murdering drug lord who looks good in a suit. You dont think hes got some reason for inviting her to work security other than his welfare?
I wasnt going to let her go alone, he protested, and I shut the door. Sipping the tart tea, I dropped my pjs into the washer and got the shower going so I wouldnt have to listen to them. Sometimes I felt as if they thought I couldnt hear at all just because I couldnt hear a pixy belch across the graveyard. Yeah, theyd had a contest one night. Jenks won.
The waters warmth was wonderful, and after the sharp scent of pine soap washed away the choking smell of burnt amber, I stepped from the shower feeling refreshed and almost awake. Purple towel wrapped around me, I rubbed the mist from the long mirror, leaning close to see if I had any new freckles. Nope. Not yet. Opening my mouth, I checked out my beautiful, pristine teeth. It was nice not having any fillings.
I may have coated my soul in blackness when I had twisted a demon curse to turn into a wolf this spring, but I wasnt going to feel guilty over the beautiful unmarked skin I had when I turned back. The accumulated damage of twenty-five years of existence had been removed, and if I didnt find a way to get rid of the demon smut from twisting the curse before I died, I was going to pay for it by burning in hell.
At least Im not going to feel too guilty about it, I thought as I reached for my lotion, heavy on the SPF protection. And I certainly wasnt going to waste it. My mothers family had come from Ireland long before the Turn, and from her I got my red hair, my green eyes, and my pale skin, now as satisfyingly soft and supple as a newborns. From my dad I got my height, my lean athletic build, and my attitude. From both of them I got a rare genetic condition that would have killed me before my first birthday if Trents father hadnt set himself above the law and fixed it in his illegal genetic lab.
Our fathers had been friends before theyd died a week apart under suspicious circumstances. At least they were suspicious to me. And that was the reason I distrusted Trent, if his being a drug lord, a murderer, and nastily adept at manipulating me werent enough.
Suddenly overcome with missing my dad, I shuffled through the cabinet behind the mirror until I found the wooden ring hed given me on my thirteenth birthday. It had been the last one wed shared before he died. I looked at it, small and perfect in my palm, and on impulse I put it on. I hadnt worn it since the charm it once held to hide my freckles had been broken, and I hadnt needed it since twisting that demon curse. But I missed him, and after being attacked by a demon this morning, I could use some serious emotional security.
I smiled at it circling my pinkie, feeling better already. The ring had come with a lifetime charm reinstatement, and I had an appointment every fourth Friday in July. Maybe Id take the madam out for coffee instead. Ask her about maybe changing it to a sunscreen charmif there was such a thing.
The give-and-take of masculine and feminine voices from the kitchen became obvious as I toweled my hair. Hes here already? I grumbled, finding a pair of underwear, jeans, and a red camisole in the dryer. Slipping them on, I dabbed some perfume behind each ear to help block my scent and Ivys from mixing, combed my damp hair back with my fingers, and headed out.
But it wasnt a holy man I found in the kitchen covered in pixy children, it was Glenn.
Hi, Glenn, I said as I slumped barefoot into my chair. Whos pinching your ass today?
The clearly uncomfortable, rather tall FIB detective was in a suit, which didnt bode well. He had Jenkss kids all over him, which was really weird. And Ivy was glaring at him from her computer, which was mildly troubling. But considering that the first time she met him, she almost bit him in anger and he almost shot her, I guessed we were doing okay.
Jenks scraped his wings, and his kids scattered, rising up through my rack of spelling supplies and herbs in a swirl of silk and shouts that hurt my eyeballs before flowing into the hall and probably out the chimney in the living room. I hadnt seen him on the sill until now, standing by his pet sea monkeys. How come a pixy has more pets than I do?
I smiled tiredly at Glenn across the table, trying to make up for my roommates stellar attitude. There was a paperboard tray with two cups steaming between us, and the warm breeze coming in from the garden was pushing the heavenly aroma of freshly brewed coffee right to me. I wanted one in the worst way.
Ivys fingers hit her keyboard aggressively as she weeded out her spam. Detective Glenn was just leaving. Werent you?
The tall black man silently clenched his jaw. Since Id seen him last, he had gotten rid of his goatee and mustache and replaced them with stud earrings. I wondered what his dad thought about that, but personally, I thought it added to his carefully maintained, polished image of young and capable law enforcer.
His suit was still off-the-rack, but it fit his very nice physique as if made for him. The tips of his dress shoes poking out from under the hems looked comfortable enough to run in if he had to. His trim body certainly seemed up to it, with that wide chest and narrow waist. The butt of a weapon glinted from a holster on his belt to give him a nice hint of danger.
Not that Im in the market for a new boyfriend, I thought. I had a damn fine boyfriend, Kisten, and Glenn wasnt interested, though Im sure if he tried a witch, hed never switch. And since I knew that his lack of interest wasnt born of prejudice, that was cool.
I exhaled, my fingers shaking from fatigue. My eyes went from his expressive brown ones pinched in worry and annoyance to the coffee. Is one of these mine, by chance? I asked, and when he nodded, I reached forward, saying, Bless you back to the Turn. Pulling off the plastic lid, I took a gulp. My eyes closed, and I held the second swallow in my mouth for a moment. It was a double shot: hot, black, and oh so what I needed right now.
Ivy kept typing, and while Jenks excused himself to help the forgotten toddler crying in the ladle back to the stump in the garden, I took the time to wonder what Glenn was doing here. And so obscenely early. It was seven in the freakin morning. I hadnt done anything to tick off the FIBhad I?
Glenn worked for the Federal Inderland Bureau, the human-run institution that functioned on a local and national level. The F.I.B. was way outclassed by the I.S., the Interlander-run side of the coin, when it came to enforcing the law, but during a previous investigation on which Id helped Glenn, Id found that the F.I.B. had a scary amount of information on us Inderlanders, making me wish I hadnt written up those species summaries for his dad last fall. Glenn was Cincys F.I.B. Inderland specialist, which meant that he had enough guts to try working both sides of the street. It had been his dads idea, and since I owed his dad big time, I helped when he asked.
No one was talking, though, and I figured Id better say something before I fell asleep at the table. Whats the run, Glenn? I asked, taking a sip and wishing the caffeine would kick in.
Glenn stood, his thick hands adjusting his ID badge on his belt. Square jaw tightening, he gave Ivy a wary glance. I left a message last night. Didnt you get it?
The depth of his voice was as soothing as the coffee hed brought, but coming back in through the pixy hole in the screen, Jenks did an about-face. I think I hear Matalina, he said, vanishing to leave behind a sifting ribbon of gold sparkles. My eyes went from the haze of pixy dust to Ivy, and she shrugged. No, I prompted.
Ivys eyes switched to black. Jenks! she called, but the pixy didnt show. I shrugged and gave Glenn an apologetic look.
Jenks! Ivy yelled. If youre going to hit the message button, youd damn well better write it down!
I took a slow breath, but Ivy interrupted me. Glenn, Rachel hasnt been to bed yet. Can you come back about four?
The morgue will have changed shifts by then, he protested. Im sorry you didnt get my message, but will you look anyway? I thought thats why you were up.
Annoyance tightened my shoulders. I was tired and cranky, and I didnt like Ivy trying to field my business. In a sudden wash of bitchiness, I stood.
Framed by her new haircut, Ivys oval face looked questioning. Where are you going?
I grabbed my bag, already packed with a variety of spells and charms, then snapped the top back onto my coffee. To the morgue, apparently. Ive been up this late before.
But not after a night like you just had.
Silent, I pulled my bracelet from around Mr. Fish and wrangled the clasp. Glenn slowly stood, his posture holding a wary slant. He had once asked me why I lived with Ivy and the threat she posed to my life and free will, and though I knew why now, telling him would make him worry more, not less. Jeez, Ivy, I said, aware he was analyzing us professionally, Id rather do it now. Consider it my bedtime story.
I headed into the hall, trying to remember where Id left my sandals. The foyer. From the kitchen Ivy said, You dont have to go running whenever the F.I.B. crooks their finger.
No! I shouted back, fatigue making me stupid. But I do have to come up with some money to resanctify the church.
Glenns steps behind me faltered on the hardwood floor. It isnt holy anymore? he asked as we emerged into the brighter sanctuary. What happened?
We had an incident. The darkness of the foyer was soothing when I found it, and I sighed when I scuffed into my sandals and pushed open the heavy door to the sanctuary. Good Lord, I thought, squinting at the bright glare of a late-July morning. No wonder I slept through this. It was noisy with shrieking birds, and already hot. If I had known I was going out, I would have put on shorts.
Glenn took my elbow when I stumbled on the step, and I would have spilled my coffee if I hadnt replaced the top. Not a morning person, eh? he teased, and I jerked away.
Jenks! I shouted when my sandals reached the cracked sidewalk. The least he could do was come with me. Seeing Glenns cruiser parked at the curb, I hesitated. Lets take two cars, I offered, not wanting to be seen riding in a F. I. B. cruiser when I could be driving my red convertible. It was hot; I could put the top down.
Glenn chuckled. With your suspended license? Not a chance.
The scuffing of my sandals slowed, and I looked askance at him, bothered at the amusement in his dark eyes. Crap, how did you find out about that?
He opened the passenger-side door for me. Duh, I work for the F.I.B.? Our street force has been running interference for you every time you go out for groceries. If you get caught driving with a suspended license, the I.S. is going to jail your ass, and we like your ass on the street where it can do some good, Ms. Morgan.
I got into the front seat and set my bag on my lap. I hadnt known the F.I.B. had even heard about that, much less had been distracting the I.S. Thanks, I said softly, and he shut the door with a grunt of acknowledgment.
Glenn crossed in front while I buckled myself in. It was stuffy, and I fiddled with the window control to put it down. The car wasnt on yet, but I was irritated. I jammed my coffee in the cup holder and kept messing with the window until Glenn folded his height into the front seat and gave me a look. My brow furrowed in frustration. Its not fair, Glenn, I complained. They had no right to take my license. Theyre picking on me.
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