Black Magic Sanction (The Hollows 8)

"Oh, I believe you," Trent said, distance between them now. "I also know you were going to sell it if you managed to get out of here alive. I doubt Rachel picked your pocket. It was probably Ivy. She's got a good friend there."

I glanced at Ivy, who wouldn't look at me, eyes fixed on the dark night. "I've got two good friends," I whispered, and Jenks's wings clattered.

I didn't want to hear any more. Nick... Well, what had I expected? At least now I could write him off. I mean, I had, but now there were no lingering doubts that he was only doing what he had to in order to survive. He'd lied about my stealing the statue. But as I looked at the erotic thing in the faint light, I decided that nothing had changed. Nick might have been working both sides to get us in there, but I was the one who walked through the wall. It wasn't all fake. We could still do the sting, and the pornographic statue would be a better attention getter than a doctored picture. Trent seemed desperate to get it back. And I started to smile.

"Sir," Quen said as the office chatter grew loud again. "He's bugged."

"Shut the door!" Trent said, and the sound of steps rang out and then the thump of a door.

"Shit," Nick exclaimed. "Rachel, this isn't what it looks like!" he cried, but it was far too late to lie to me again.

There was a tussle, and a loud scraping. From a distance now, I heard Nick take a rasping breath and his soft swearing. "I think this is exactly what it looks like," Trent said, his voice very clear. "Rachel, if you're listening, think about who you're playing with. Return that statue or I will kill you. Not your mother, not your friends. Ybw."

There was a crunch, and the high-pitched, bone-vibrating sound exploded into existence. From the back, the pixies all squealed, and Jenks stomped on the off button, his hands over his ears and his wings flat against his back.

"Return it is exactly what I intend to do, Mr. Kalamack," I whispered, dropping the radio in Ivy's bag and hefting the statue instead. It wasn't very big, but it was heavy.

Ivy slowed and took a quick right into a pull-off, and I put a hand to the dash. "We're at the river," she said, and I felt a sliver of fear. Why are we stopping?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said as she put it in park. "We are not going to abandon my mother's car and run out of here, Ivy."

Dogs. Trent had dogs. I'd stolen something from him before, and he'd ridden after me. The moon was new. It was the Hunt. But no one was listening. And as I sat, terrified, Ivy got out, quickly followed by Pierce on my other side.

"I'm not getting out of this car!" I shouted, my grip tightening on the statue. "Ivy, he's got dogs! I'm not going to be torn apart by a damn hound!"

Pierce leaned in, taking my hand to draw me into the night, where I stood and listened to the wind, searching for the singing of dogs in the rustling leaves. Not good. So not good.

Grit scraped under Ivy's heel as she slammed her door shut and turned to the distant glow of the city. "What are we doing?" she asked as she put her belt pack back on.

"We're getting in the car and driving out of here!"

Ivy shook her head. "The road is blocked already. Are we finishing this job or not?" she prompted, and I calmed myself, looking down at the ugly statue in my hand.

The thought of the dogs made me shiver in the cool night, but even so, there was a sliver of strength growing in me. I would forever have the refuge of the ever-after, especially now. All I had to do was find a line. And better yet, I knew my gut instinct about Nick had been right. It had only been my heart that had gotten in the way. I didn't have to feel guilty about hating him. And that... felt kind of good.

"Rache? We doing this?" Jenks asked as his kids chased the bats over the river.

I smiled up at him, pocketing the statue in my belt pack and zipping it up. "Yes," I said, and both he and Ivy relaxed. "We got what we needed," I said, following it up with a quick "True, it didn't go off like I had intended, but we got something better, I think. I say we forget about crap-for-brains and just run the job as planned. If Nick talks, then so much the better."

"Yes!" Jenks shouted, a burst of light coming from him.

Still listening for dogs, I turned to Ivy. "Can you take care of getting the paperwork from David to claim FIB jurisdiction?" I asked. "I know I was going to, but I can't go back into the city until we're ready to give the statue back."

"Got it," she said as she turned to the distant glow of Cincy. "Where are you going?"

I exhaled, knowing they weren't going to like this. "The ever-after," I said softly, and Jenks darted to me, getting in my face and half blinding me.

"No!" he shouted, and his kids paused in their play before going back to tormenting a bat they'd caught. "Rache, no!"

"Where else can I go?" I said, dropping back a step to see them ringing me in the faint light reflecting off the river. "Not the church. Not anywhere in Cincinnati. Trent is going to be hot to find me. I'm surprised the dogs aren't baying already." I shivered as I remembered the sound. "They'll be following my scent, not yours. You should be fine."

Looking calm, Pierce cleared his throat. "I know of a place this side of the lines."

Ivy gave him the once-over, her hip cocked. "You know of a place. Why didn't you mention this before?"

"Because it was abundantly clear that you didn't want my help," he said dryly, hands clasped behind his back and coat shifting in the wind off the water.

"You're not going to take Rachel alone to your place" Jenks threatened.

I shifted nervously, thinking that standing on a riverbank with dogs coming for me wasn't the best time to be eating crow, but I would. "Pierce, you're my freaking hero for driving out here and saving my ass, but this is Trent we're talking about. The ever-after is the only place I'll be safe. If I run, his dogs will find me." I stifled a shiver, but he saw, and I crossed my arms over my chest, pretending to be cold. I hated Trent's dogs. I really did.

Pierce raised his hand in disagreement even as he pulled a pair of heavy-duty clippers from a back pocket and cut the zip strip off me. "I'm not an innocent in evading dogs," he said, eyes meeting mine from under his loose curls. "I know a spot nigh close to here. An almighty safe place this side of the lines." His eyes went to me, black in the solid darkness of a night with no moon. "There will be no black magic. You have my word."

No black magic. Again I shivered as I remembered the awful sound of animals singing for my blood. We had left Trent's woods, but he'd ride for me anyway. He was probably saddling Tulpa right now, cleaning his hooves with his daddy's hoof pick.

Pierce took my hands. Ivy cleared her throat and Jenks clattered his wings. "I can offer you nothing but a hole in the ground," he said. "But it is a hole never found by dogs or men with rifles. It was used to hide men and women on their way to freedom and is deeply spelled for safety." He looked over the river as if looking into the past. "I used to be a conductor on the underground railroad, or did that not find its way into Ivy's computer?" he said dryly.

I bit my lip, and Jenks's sour look eased. "It's better than the ever-after and Al," he said to Ivy, and the vampire grimaced.

Go with Pierce? Alone? Was he kidding? Ivy clearly wasn't happy with this either, but she finally nodded. "I'd rather have you on this side of the lines," she said sourly.

Pierce frowned at her mistrust as Jenks dusted a bright silver. Standing beside the river, the witch seemed to change. His mood darkened, and his gaze lingered on the moving water as if testing it. Hands in the pockets of his coat, he asked me, "Can you swim?"

Suddenly the ever-after was looking a whole lot better. "You want me to get in the water?" I asked. "It's freezing!"

Ivy's steps were loud on the gravel as she came up to us, but any hope that she was going to side with me died when she took my elbow and started walking to the river. "Rachel, Pierce is right this time," she said, and I made a noise of disbelief. "Trent owns Cincinnati. It's a death trap. The ever-after is just as bad. Go with Pierce."

"Ivy!" I protested. My feet splashed into the water, and I jerked out. "It's cold!" I said, pulling out of their reach and staring at the fast-moving water.

"Don't be a girl, Rache," Jenks said, hovering over the water and jerking up three more feet when something jumped at him.

"Look!" I said, pointing and backing out completely. "There are fish in there!"

Pierce ducked his head, muttering, "I think she's afraid."

I huffed, but Jenks came to my rescue. "She doesn't need to be. I'm going with her."

Ivy's eyes, black and glinting in the starlight, widened. "You are not leaving me alone with your kids and that gargoyle."

"I can't bring my kids with me!" he protested. "Come on, Ivy, give me a break!"

I jerked when Pierce pulled me off balance and into the water a step. "Hey!" I shouted, hearing it echo on the flat water. "I said I'm not getting in the water! I almost died the last time." Memories of ice and Trent surfaced, and I wrapped my arms around my middle. I had saved him, and he had saved me. What was wrong with us?

Ivy spun to me. "Shut up. Go with Pierce. Jenks will go with you so we know where you are, then he'll come back and tell me. I've got the kids." She glanced at Jenks. "Okay?"

"Okay," the pixy said, and I wondered if he'd really leave me. Except that if he didn't, she'd never know where I was.

"I'll get everything set up for Fountain Square," she was saying. "At least we didn't tell Nick everything about that! You keep the statue in case Trent follows me. I'm going to Rynn's, but better safe than sorry. Get in the water, Rachel. They can track you to here, but the water will kill the scent. I imagine you'll go down about a mile before you can make it across."

"Depends on how well she swims," Pierce said, his feet already in the water, and I shivered.

"Guys, this isn't a good idea," I said as the cold seeped into me, but no one was listening.

"Jenks will come back when I've got everything set and bring you anything small you might need." Ivy was starting to babble, and she shut her mouth, her eyes frightened. She didn't want to leave me, and I gave her a hug just to shut her up.

"Thank you," I said, breathing her in, and her arms went around me tentatively. "Thank you for helping me today." I put her at arm's length and smiled, feeling my eyes warm with unshed tears. "I don't deserve people like you and Jenks."

"Aww, I'm going to barf fairy farts," Jenks said, but he landed on her shoulder, shedding a bright sifting of pixy dust.

She dropped back, our hands parting. "Then I'm gone," she said, walking backward a hesitant step. "You're going to be okay? Be smart."

She was talking about Pierce, and I nodded, feeling him behind me in the water.

"God, Ivy, just go!" Jenks shouted, and she turned and started jogging, a passel of pixies lighting her way. She could probably outrun any dog. She'd be fine. Right?

I felt the statue through the thin fabric of my belt pack, worried about her. Ivy thought Pierce's hole was going to be safer than Rynn Cormel's stronghold. Or maybe she just didn't want to dangle such a priceless piece of blackmail in front of the master vampire. "See you tomorrow!" I shouted, and got a backward wave.

"Can we go now?" Jenks said snidely, his gold dust turning yellow when it hit the water, looking like sun sparkles in the middle of the night.

"We can go now." I slipped as I edged back into the river, caught by Pierce until I jerked away. Yes, I was grateful for him saving me yet again. But I'd been burned too many times by strong, capable men with a past. A pang of something lit through me as I saw him in the water beside me, the current eddying about his ankles and the starlight lighting his face to show his grim mood.

"You've got a place on the river, huh?" I asked, and he nodded, not smiling at all.

"Take off your shoes," he said as he shoved his hat into a back pocket. "Drop them somewhere in the river."

Standing at the edge, I slipped them off. "Will it help throw them off the trail?"

Pierce turned to me, already calf deep. The light sort of seemed to slide off him, blurring his features, and I shivered. "The weight of them will pull you down. Your clothes should be fine, seeing as you're not in skirts. I can't tell you how many women I lost at the end in the name of modesty. Do what I say when I say, and don't stop or you'll die. Understand?"

Turning his back, he waded into the water.

Jenks landed on my shoulder. "Talk about a hard-ass."

"Yeah, and he's telling me what to do again." Shaking, I yanked the other shoe off and threw them both back at my moms car. Slowly I turned to follow Pierce, wincing as ice-cold muck squished into my socks.

Fine, I'd do what he said, when he said. For now.