![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: Return to the Hollows
Author(s): Jaina
Fandom: The Hollows aka Rachel Morgan aka that series by Kim Harrison
Characters: Rachel Morgan, Ivy Tamwood,
Genre: Drama, angst, romance
Summary: Rachel is always making mistakes. One day things go too far. Some mistakes can't be fixed or gone past. Some mistakes are lasting, and some have consequences that can change lives.
Disclaimer: All characters, and the universe that they go with belong to Kim Harrison. I'm just playing in the sandbox. No infringement is intended.
Spoilers: Goes through White Witch, Black Curse, although I don't think they're particularly glaring or massive.
Notes: My thanks to my beta for this one,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
infinitlight She was awesome enough to look over this massive fic for me, and I really appreciate the time, effort and level of detail that she put into looking over this. Also the number of times that she had to uncapitalize were and warehouse. Sorry, dude. My bad.
Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven || Part Eight
Part Nine
I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Ivy was due to swing by the church any time in the next half an hour. If I was going to do this, I needed to get it done now.
I gave the liquid in my largest copper spell pot one last stir - clockwise, and not widdershins - and then let the thin droplets of liquid run back down the spoon and fall back into the pot. It was hell to get it off the counter, once it had dried on. I had learned that the hard way. No one ever mentioned that tidbit to up-and-coming witches.
Dusting my hands off, I grabbed my bag from where I had slung it down on the table and pulled on my jacket. Hopefully I wouldn't need my jacket or my bag. It should just be a quick in and out, but I had also learned better than to go into a situation like this one unprepared.
Making sure I'd turned the stove off, I took one last look around the kitchen to make sure that I wasn't forgetting something and then walked out into the graveyard. The graves weren't as well tended as they had once been. Weeds grew up a bit higher around the bases of the headstones, but across the yard the herb garden was larger than I remembered, and obviously well tended.
I made a mental note to go out and re-introduce myself to the pixies tonight, assuming I made it back to the church in one piece. Ivy had said that Jenks' children were tending the church now, but I hadn't seen any of them inside yet. Of course it was warm enough that they were probably still staying in the huge stump out back, but it still felt rude staying here without saying hi.
When I reached the ley line that ran through the graveyard, I stepped into it without hesitation, already prepared for the heady sensation of all that power. I closed my eyes and jumped myself through the lines. It was like simultaneously being compressed into a size that no one's body was meant to take and stretched to the breaking point. Saying that it was uncomfortable was a massive understatement.
I landed off balance and almost fell onto my face in the interrogation room. Not my most impressive entrance, I decided, as I brushed my knees off and stood.
My were friend was staring at me with wild eyes.
"What the Turn are you doing here? I told you everything I knew!" He complained. "Are you going to get me out of here soon? Kalamack is going to kill me when he finds out. You have to help me; you can't just leave me like a sitting duck."
I could, actually, and he knew it. That was why he was so scared. But he was safe, for now. Safe enough, at least, as long as no one but me knew that he had been indirectly working for Trent. Of course, he had been in FIB custody for over a day now. Someone, his alpha, at least, already knew that, and the more time that he spent here the more likely it would be that he would talk. I was willing to bet that if his alpha had consented to killing witches for Trent, then he wouldn't waste much time debating whether to clean up a loose end like an errant packmember that had gotten in over his head.
For a second, I thought about telling Glenn everything, but there was no way that he would let me get the evidence that was needed to put Trent away. I couldn't let him stop me or this would all be in vain. I just had to make this quick before anyone could get to Mike, here.
"Actually," I said, ignoring his pleading. "I need your help with one more thing."
He looked sulky and scared. So, he tried to sound angry. "You didn't say anything about it earlier," he growled, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't quite succeed. Instead of looking angry or intimidating he still just looked scared.
"I didn't know earlier," I retorted, taking a stab at being patient. "I need a lock of your hair."
"What?" He looked confused now. "What do you need my hair for?"
"You don't need to know," I said definitively. "All you need to do is say that I can have the hair. "
"You need my permission."
I rolled my eyes. Now he decided to try and play tough. Just what I needed.
"No, actually, I don't. I don't need your hair or anything else. I can just walk out of this cell and forget you're even in here, or that you told me anything useful." I glanced down at my watch. "How long do you think it will take Kalamack to get someone in here? I'm thinking twenty minutes, tops. He usually works pretty fast, but he'll probably want to make it look like you were'd out and tried to escape. That could take a little bit longer." I held up my finger and thumb, close together to give him an idea of just how little time I thought he had left.
He swallowed, looking suddenly pale and much younger than I had originally guessed.
"Take it, Turn you."
"Thank you," I said sweetly, and pulled the ceremonial knife out of my bag.
He fell out of his chair, stumbling to get away. It looked way nastier than it actually was. Although the depictions of sunken skulls along the handle weren't very ambiguous.
"I'm not going to kill you. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have to actually do it myself," I reminded him.
He swallowed and sat down. "Looks like a hell of a knife to be doing nothing with," he muttered.
"I'm not doing nothing. I'm going to be giving you a haircut. Don't move," I added as I stepped closer. With the knife in my hand, he might be tempted to try something stupid, thinking he could overwhelm the witch and find someway to get the Turn out of here. I wasn't going to let that happen. Not only would it be humiliating, but it would completely ruin my plan.
I grabbed a handful of his hair and held it up, giving it a harder yank than was strictly necessary, just in case he needed a reminder about who was actually holding the knife here. Then I concentrated enough to let my second sight slip into focus. I could see the smeary edges of his aura in the air around us, flaring out around my hand where I held his hair.
Under my breath, I muttered the words that I had learned from Al long ago and drew my knife through the chunk of hair that I was holding up, separating it from his head. It would leave a weird chunky spot missing from his hair, but hopefully no one would question him about it. There was always the possibility that it had happened during the fight.
I didn't relax as the chunk of hair came away in my hand. I was holding my breath as I drew it away, and slipped the knife back in my bag, reaching for the small pouch instead. The smeary colors of his aura still danced around my hand. Things like hair, fingernails, even patches of skin could be used in the darker flavors of earth magic, but in most cases the aura of the person didn't remain with these things once they had been separated from the person's body. In this case, separating it as I had, with special preparations, had separated a small portion of his aura along with it. It was that chunk of his aura that I needed to complete the spell that I had been brewing.
I opened my hand and let the strands of hair rain down into the open pouch beneath them. When the last one had fallen off my palm, I pulled the strings on the bag and made sure that it was tightly sealed.
Blowing out the breath I had been holding, I stepped back, almost giddy with my success. "Thanks," I called out as I jumped the lines back to the church.
The sound of an engine sputtering in the front yard caught my attention immediately. I grabbed for my splat gun, tucking my bag protectively behind me as I scooted along the lines of cover in the backyard until I could see who had pulled in the driveway.
When I saw Ivy getting out of the car, I relaxed and stepped out of the soft shadows that the warm morning sun were throwing across the ground.
"Is Marion okay?" I asked, genuinely worried about him. I could only imagine how important he was to Ivy.
"Yes," Ivy said with a smile. "He's fine. Believe it or not, he loves spending time with Erica."
"Something tells me that she's not the strict one," I guessed.
Ivy laughed. "You've got that right. She'd give him anything he asked for."
I had a feeling that Ivy spoiled him a good deal herself. I knew enough about Ivy's childhood and what Piscary had done to her, to know that she would try to give her child the best life that she possibly could.
"Will he be okay?" I asked a little bit more quietly, suddenly feeling guilty about accepting Ivy's help. She had bigger responsibilities now. Biting my lip, I wondered if I had pushed her too far. We weren't friends now; we had been through too much together for that simple label to apply, but there was no way that we could slip back into the simple comfort of lovers. Too much water had passed under the bridge for that. We had hurt one another too badly to even consider it.
"Yes," Ivy said calmly, but with an edge in her voice. "Erica will die twice before she lets anything happen to him."
"Good," I said firmly. "I'm glad he'll be okay."
Ivy nodded too, but it was an abstracted gesture, full of a distance that couldn't be bridged.
"Come on inside," I spoke to break the odd moment of silence between us. "I was just finishing up a spell when you pulled up."
Ivy's shoulder brushed against mine as we walked up the short path to the doorstep. I shivered as Ivy stopped in front of the brass plaque next to the front door.
"This was the best solstice gift that I've ever gotten, you know," Ivy said softly. From barely a foot away her brown eyes looked liquid and full of emotion.
"I thought you said I was the best solstice gift you'd ever gotten," I teased, the words slipping out of my mouth before I thought. My hand flew to my mouth, clamping over my lips as if it weren't already too late to hold in the words I very much wished I could take back.
It had been a joke between us; one that Ivy had liked to tease me with around the holidays, once we had become a couple. I had heard it so many times that I hadn't thought before I retorted with it. Hesitantly, I reached out and touched Ivy's arm.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't mean-"
"It's okay," she said calmly, with serenity that only Ivy could muster. She squeezed my hand, but let go quickly. "I know you didn't mean it." She bit her lip and looked shy. "I meant it, though. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Rachel, and I loved this sign too because it meant that I was a part of something that I could believe in."
Her words took my breath away. She'd always had that power over me, even before I'd realized I was completely in love with her. I was no good with words or discussing emotions, though, and we had already reached our quota of hard conversations for the week, possibly for the entire month.
"I miss Jenks," I confided through the lump in my throat.
"I do, too."
Somehow the mention of Jenks eased the moment, and we slipped inside the church with relief.
"Do you have any coffee? I can't believe I'm up this long before noon," Ivy groused as she headed towards the kitchen.
I followed her, trailing after her with a smile at her familiar complaints about the hour of the day. Ivy had never been a morning person, and it seemed like that, at least, hadn't changed.
"I haven't made any yet," I called after her.
"What are you working on?" Ivy asked over her shoulder, as I headed towards the stove.
"Just an amulet that we'll need," I said evasively. I wasn't ready to tell Ivy about my plan just yet. I had a feeling she wouldn't like it.
"It looks disgusting."
I jumped and almost dropped the silver ladle that I was holding into the pot, as Ivy's voice came from just behind my shoulder. She had moved with that eerie vamp quite that annoyed me so much when she used it to surprise the hell out of me just like now. I shivered as the warmth of her breath ghosted across my ear.
"Well, it's a good thing you're not going to be the one using it then," I said lightly, setting the spoon down after I gave the hairs another good stir and turned to face her.
It was a mistake. If her proximity had been distracting before it was impossible to ignore now. She wasn't quite pressed up against me, but only a hair's breadth separated our bodies. She was close enough now that I could reach out and touch her. I had a sudden urge to reach out and clasp my hands behind her neck, letting my fingers play with the fine silky hairs at the nape of her neck.
I blinked and shook my head, trying to drive that distracting thought away.
"You okay?" Ivy asked, her voice in that low, gray silk timber that made me want to kiss her so badly.
Once it had been okay for me to kiss her; when just the sound of her voice had been enough to make me crazy, in a very good way. Now it was frustrating beyond belief. Not that I wanted to kiss Ivy. I mean, our relationship had ended years ago. It was just a reaction; a habit I hadn't quite broken. Like my stupid comment on the steps.
It wasn't my fault that Ivy was still an incredibly attractive woman. I just needed space.
"Coffee," I blurted out. "I need coffee."
Was I just imagining the small sigh that slipped past Ivy's lips as she took a step away from me? "It should be ready," Ivy said softly as she walked over to the table and sank into her old chair.
Here in the church, we were falling back into many old habits.
"I have a plan," I said, when I had poured myself a steaming cup of coffee. Ivy's smile of faint pride warmed me through and through. "Yeah, yeah, I know." I waved her smile away, even as I cherished it. "But you're not going to like it."
"Oh?" Ivy asked, as she leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Just hear me out first," I said warningly, as I began pacing around the kitchen.
"Okay," Ivy agreed slowly, unhappiness already beginning to creep into her voice. "What's so bad about this plan?"
"Nothing," I blurted. "Well, nothing's wrong with the plan. It's a good plan, and it's going to work, but it's a little bit dangerous."
Her brow furrowed, and her lips pursed into a thin line. "I'm not some tame vamp, Rachel. I can do this. Just because I haven't officially taken a run in a long time, doesn't mean I haven't kept my hand in. I'm just as good as I was then."
"That's not what I meant," I said quietly. "I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back."
The words lingered in the silence between us, until Ivy broke eye contact and took a sip of coffee.
"You're stalling."
I let out a choked laugh because she was right.
"Okay, you asked what this spell was? Well, it's a disguise amulet. For a very specific disguise. I'm going to impersonate the were that jumped me in the warehouse yesterday. I bought most of the earth charms that I'll need for it, but I have to add a few finishing touches."
"All right," Ivy said slowly. "What are you planning to do with the disguise amulet?"
I took a deep breath. This was the part that she was not going to like.
"I'm going to go to Trent's house and tell him the truth."
"The truth?" Ivy prompted me.
"I'm going to tell him that Rachel Morgan took me to the ever-after, and threatened to leave me there if I didn't tell her everything. I told her everything and struck a deal with the FIB to let me go. I felt bad about ratting him out, so I came to warn him that the FIB had him under surveillance."
The humor had dropped from Ivy's face. Tension showed in the lines of her face. Her jaw flexed and tightened.
"If he believes that - and that's a pretty stupid thing for anyone to do - then he's going to try to kill you."
"I know," I said slightly surprised that Ivy was taking this so calmly. "That's what I want him to do."
Ivy blinked. "What?" She demanded. Her voice carried an edge that almost cut across my skin. She had risen from her seat, and her hands gripped the table tightly enough that I wondered if it was about to break under the stress.
"You're going to be recording this the whole time. When we have enough documentation to prove that Trent is both connected to the witch murders and that he made an attempt to kill someone to cover up what he did, then we'll arrest him."
"You're right," Ivy snapped. "I don't like this plan. Have you thought about what will happen if you misjudge the timing, just by an instant? One second too late and you're dead. Too soon and the whole plan is blown wide open."
"I can deal with anything that Trent can throw at me," I said firmly. I didn't like that she doubted that the arrogant Cookie bastard could take me.
"What about Quen?" she continued. "Can you take care of Quen too?"
"We can handle it," I insisted. "I learned enough from Al to match anything Quen's got." Okay, that was probably stretching the truth. Quen was one of the best ley line practitioners that I had ever seen, and he wasn't afraid to get a little bit of smut on his aura while he was at it. On the other hand, I had access to demon magics that he couldn't use, even if he'd known they existed. "You'll be there to back me up. We can deal with it."
Ivy wasn't satisfied yet. "What if he has a gun, Rachel? An amulet can't stop a bullet."
Trent straightened, a hint of interest showing in his features for the first time. "I'm flattered. What did he think I would understand?"
The dumb act was getting old. Time to cut to the chase.
"We tried to, uh, intercept Ms. Morgan this morning, like you said," I said, trying to sound good humored, if a little bit slow. If Mike's alpha really had sent him here, it would be for only one reason: to get rid of him for his failure. Mike would have to be a little bit slow on the uptake not to realize that. "But she fought back when we got to the warehouse. The FIB put me in custody for a while, but they let me go a few hours ago."
"And you came here?" Trent demanded irritably.
"Like I said, my alpha wanted me to give you a heads up." I was sweating now. Fortunately, it worked in my favor, for once. "You see, Morgan dumped me in the ever-after."
Trent blinked. "She did what?" he asked slowly.
"You have to understand!" I said my voice growing higher and more nervous. "She was going to leave me there and feed me to the demons. I couldn't let her do that to me, man."
Trent rose slowly from his chair, and nodded at someone behind me. I tried not to flinch, and to ignore the subtle itching between my shoulder blades. The soft sound of the door snicking shut behind me set my teeth on edge.
His hands braced on the edge of the desk, he finally looked up at me.
"What did you tell her?"
I shivered involuntarily.
"Nothing. Nothing, I swear."
Trent stood, folding his arms over his chest. "Do not lie to me. You are here. Obviously, you must have done something to convince her to bring you back."
"She just wanted to know who I was and why I was involved."
Trent's silence was loud.
"I didn't want to tell her!"
The door behind me swung open. I jumped at the sudden noise.
"Sa'han," Quen bowed as he entered and his eyes tracked me as he circled around to Trent's side of the desk. His eyes never left me as he spoke softly to Trent, his body angled to keep himself between Trent and I all the time.
My heart pounded in my chest as though I was a rabbit running from a wolf. If anyone could see through my disguise spell, or detect it, it would be Quen.
Trent gave Quen short nod and leaned away from the other elf.
"Mr. Carter was just about to finish explaining what obvious lies he told Rachel Morgan about me, weren't you?"
"They weren't lies," I shot back, temper getting the best of me. "They're the truth. You contacted my alpha and had him start murdering witches to bring Morgan back to this city in exchange for the Focus. Then you told him to bring you Morgan from the warehouse, yesterday morning."
Trent scoffed, "And then that was screwed up as well, yes. But there's no need to worry. We'll have this entire mess cleaned up, very soon."
He raised his hand and made a flicking gesture with his wrist. I turned, careful to keep Quen in my peripheral vision, to see who was coming through the door.
Ivy's was struggling in Jonathan's grasp, her arms held pinned behind her back. I tried to keep the urge to jump to Ivy's defense off my face. I knew she wasn't struggling quite as hard as she was making it look. She should be able to get free of Jonathan any time that she wanted to, unless he had become a lot more proficient since the last time that I had seen him.
"Tamwood," Trent spoke her name reflectively. "I didn't expect to see you here." He smiled. "I was under the impression that Morgan had ended your association some years ago. Not that you left her much choice in the matter. I can understand the urge to control Morgan, but quite a stupid decision on your part to let her slip away after you'd made the decision."
Ivy blanched, her head dropping to her chest. When her eyes rose again slowly to meet Trent's, they were the purest black. She had stopped struggling against Jonathan as she focused on Trent.
"I'm going to kill you, Kalamack. Slowly. After I make you my shadow."
Trent laughed. "You know, I've never understood your loyalty to Morgan. She never returned your feelings and she used you at every opportunity."
Trent's words hit me like a sucker punch. The urge to tell him where he could stick what he thought about our relationship was overwhelming, but all I could do was bite my tongue and hope that Ivy knew it wasn't the truth. I winced inwardly, knowing even as I did that Trent was almost right. Our relationship hadn't been repaired overnight, with my realization of what had actually happened. Years had still passed and the pain that both of us had suffered hadn't healed overnight. If either of us still even wanted a relationship - and Ivy had a life and a child now, completely separate from me - there was still no way to know if it would actually work.
"She loved me," Ivy said simply. "That's all I ever wanted."
"Must not have been very much; she did leave you." Trent looked reflective. "It makes me wonder why you're here. My sources say that Morgan has been seen going in and out of your estate several times in the last few days. If you're willing to tell me what she wanted, I would be more than happy to forget that you were trespassing on my property. As a favor to your mother and Rynn Cormel, of course."
Ivy's eyes flicked to me and then back to Trent.
"There's nothing to tell."
"Let me be the judge of that."
Ivy's gaze went to a point just beyond his shoulder, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her silence had a finality to it that Trent couldn't miss.
He sighed, as if momentarily put out.
"Very well, I suppose we'll do this the hard way. You give me no choice." His gaze flicked to Quen.
Rhom-
I couldn't complete the thought as light exploded around me. I tried to move and felt energy crackle around me, holding me in place. Quen had moved so quickly that I hadn't even seen it, his fingers twitching as he cast a ley line spell.
Energy crackled and leapt around my hand, as I tried to tug it away from my side, but nothing happened. I could still tap into the energy stored in my chi, but that was my last resort and I wasn't quite ready to tap into it yet.
Trent was staring at me when I looked up.
"You didn't really expect that to work, did you? Sneaking into my office has never been your best bet. That's right," Trent added, as he took in my surprised expression. "We knew it was you the moment you came into the office. We were just stalling to see if you'd brought anyone else with you."
I looked towards Ivy. I couldn't help it. She was watching Trent, but as if she could feel me looking at her, her eyes flicked over to meet mine. Her pupils were dilated, but there was still a thin ring of brown surrounding them. For a moment, the rest of the room disappeared. Trent, Quen and Jonathan went away as I sank into her gaze.
A sweet sadness filled me as I looked at her, not my emotions but hers. I tried to smile at her. If this really was about to be it, then I wanted her to know the way I felt about her. It was Ivy, and no matter what had happened between us, beyond everything else, I had never stopped loving her. I hoped she knew that.
Instead of responding to Trent, I turned to face Quen.
"You know this isn't going to hold me for very long."
Quen gave one of those small, bowing nods. "Perhaps, but perhaps you're overestimating your capabilities."
I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you're still working for this guy." I jerked my eyes towards Trent. "Haven't you gotten tired of following his dishonorable orders yet?"
"He's my Sa'han," Quen repeated, unruffled.
"Oh, right, I forgot."
"Enough," Trent cut in. "Finish this, Quen."
A brief flash of displeasure moved over Quen's eyes. It was nice to know that he wasn't happy about killing me. That would be a comfort, I thought sarcastically. Instead of his face, though, I focused on his hands.
His fingers flickered, and I lashed out with the energy spindled in my chi. There was no finesse or focus, just blunt force. Ivy was a blur of motion out of the corner of my eye. I lunged towards Trent. I slammed into him and together we hit the floor, knocking the air out of my lungs. Pain exploded as he shoved my head into the corner of the desk, as I scrambled to pin him down.
I planted my knee in his stomach and caught him up short, leaving him gasping for air. I fumbled for the zip strips in my back pocket. My head swam. Thick fingers closed around my throat and yanked. My legs flailed for traction, for anything I could kick against, for anything. The fingers tightened around my throat until I couldn't breathe.
"Stop," Ivy pleaded, sagging against a tall office chair. Her face was bruised, and a thin line of blood trickled down her chin. It looked like her own, and not someone else's. Her free arm was circling Trent's neck, holding him back against her body. She could snap his neck with one twist of her arm. "Just stop it. I'll kill your precious Sa'han if you hurt her. Let her go," she repeated.
Quen hesitated. His fingers loosened from around my throat just enough that I could wheeze in a breath, and not die while he was making up his mind.
"Sa'han?" Quen questioned Trent, his focus never leaving Ivy.
"Kill her," Trent gritted out, around Ivy's painfully tight grasp.
I thrashed in Quen's arms, but he held me in a secure grip.
"I'll rip his throat out," Ivy warned.
"She's bound to you, is she not?" Quen asked slowly. "Command her not to come after my Sa'han, and I will let you both leave in exchange for his life. Your safety will be guaranteed for the night, to live for anther day."
Ivy gazed at him, weighing her options. Quen's hand closed around my throat, his grip tightening. I gagged and choked, coughing desperately for air. My throat burned and my vision blurred. I tried to catch Ivy's eyes, pleading silently with her not to do it. I didn't want to be alive if it came at the price of being under her control. It wouldn't work. It wasn't worth it.
"No," Ivy spoke decisively, meeting my eyes cleanly. "No, she wouldn't want that, and I won't take that away from her."
Shock was practically radiating out from Quen. I felt him nod slowly from behind me.
"You honor her."
Ivy nodded, never taking her eyes from mine. "I do."
My vision was so blurry, I could hardly make out her eyes, and my legs felt like heavy, flimsy lumps.
"You're going to kill her."
"No," Ivy said simply. "I'm not." Without any warning, she crumpled to the floor, falling inwards and dragging Trent down underneath her.
Strength and energy surged up within me. Twisting my wrist I drove my shoulder into Quen. The sudden motion startled him enough to loosen his grip on my throat. I dove at him like my life depended on it, even as I fumbled out for a connection to the ley line that I knew ran deep and true through Trent's property. Without hesitation, I took it in and poured it through Quen.
He screamed as the pure energy poured into him. I didn't let the onslaught up, until I had him pinned on the floor, zip strips binding his wrists and ankles together. Only then did I stop and look up for Trent.
He had crawled out from under Ivy and was staring at me.
"You can take me in, but you don't have any proof. There is no evidence," he crowed. "Your word against mine, and it won't be you that they believe."
"You're right," I said, taking a step closer to him.
My confidence surprised and confused him.
"You're not going to kill me."
I tilted my head at him, considering his statement.
"Maybe," I said slowly, thinking of Ivy on the ground, aching to go to her, but knowing if I did that I would be wasting the chance she had given me.
He was circling away from me. Moving toward his desk, I realized. He must have something behind it.
I stepped into his path, moving faster than I had known I could move. He stumbled back, his fist lashing out at my jaw. I caught his hand mid-blow, and twisted it around, slamming his face into the wall and putting pressure on his arm until he grunted out in pain.
"On the other hand," I pointed out smugly, "I could just take the video of this entire incident to the FIB and see who they believe. What do you think about that, Trent?" I goaded him one last time as I slipped another set of zip strips around his wrists, and pulled out my cell phone.
It was going to take a lot of explaining, but somehow I had a feeling that, underneath all of his bitching, Glenn wouldn't be too upset when he got here.
Now all I needed was to make sure Ivy was okay. Then everything would be fine.
Author(s): Jaina
Fandom: The Hollows aka Rachel Morgan aka that series by Kim Harrison
Characters: Rachel Morgan, Ivy Tamwood,
Genre: Drama, angst, romance
Summary: Rachel is always making mistakes. One day things go too far. Some mistakes can't be fixed or gone past. Some mistakes are lasting, and some have consequences that can change lives.
Disclaimer: All characters, and the universe that they go with belong to Kim Harrison. I'm just playing in the sandbox. No infringement is intended.
Spoilers: Goes through White Witch, Black Curse, although I don't think they're particularly glaring or massive.
Notes: My thanks to my beta for this one,
infinitlight She was awesome enough to look over this massive fic for me, and I really appreciate the time, effort and level of detail that she put into looking over this. Also the number of times that she had to uncapitalize were and warehouse. Sorry, dude. My bad.Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven || Part Eight
Part Nine
I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Ivy was due to swing by the church any time in the next half an hour. If I was going to do this, I needed to get it done now.
I gave the liquid in my largest copper spell pot one last stir - clockwise, and not widdershins - and then let the thin droplets of liquid run back down the spoon and fall back into the pot. It was hell to get it off the counter, once it had dried on. I had learned that the hard way. No one ever mentioned that tidbit to up-and-coming witches.
Dusting my hands off, I grabbed my bag from where I had slung it down on the table and pulled on my jacket. Hopefully I wouldn't need my jacket or my bag. It should just be a quick in and out, but I had also learned better than to go into a situation like this one unprepared.
Making sure I'd turned the stove off, I took one last look around the kitchen to make sure that I wasn't forgetting something and then walked out into the graveyard. The graves weren't as well tended as they had once been. Weeds grew up a bit higher around the bases of the headstones, but across the yard the herb garden was larger than I remembered, and obviously well tended.
I made a mental note to go out and re-introduce myself to the pixies tonight, assuming I made it back to the church in one piece. Ivy had said that Jenks' children were tending the church now, but I hadn't seen any of them inside yet. Of course it was warm enough that they were probably still staying in the huge stump out back, but it still felt rude staying here without saying hi.
When I reached the ley line that ran through the graveyard, I stepped into it without hesitation, already prepared for the heady sensation of all that power. I closed my eyes and jumped myself through the lines. It was like simultaneously being compressed into a size that no one's body was meant to take and stretched to the breaking point. Saying that it was uncomfortable was a massive understatement.
I landed off balance and almost fell onto my face in the interrogation room. Not my most impressive entrance, I decided, as I brushed my knees off and stood.
My were friend was staring at me with wild eyes.
"What the Turn are you doing here? I told you everything I knew!" He complained. "Are you going to get me out of here soon? Kalamack is going to kill me when he finds out. You have to help me; you can't just leave me like a sitting duck."
I could, actually, and he knew it. That was why he was so scared. But he was safe, for now. Safe enough, at least, as long as no one but me knew that he had been indirectly working for Trent. Of course, he had been in FIB custody for over a day now. Someone, his alpha, at least, already knew that, and the more time that he spent here the more likely it would be that he would talk. I was willing to bet that if his alpha had consented to killing witches for Trent, then he wouldn't waste much time debating whether to clean up a loose end like an errant packmember that had gotten in over his head.
For a second, I thought about telling Glenn everything, but there was no way that he would let me get the evidence that was needed to put Trent away. I couldn't let him stop me or this would all be in vain. I just had to make this quick before anyone could get to Mike, here.
"Actually," I said, ignoring his pleading. "I need your help with one more thing."
He looked sulky and scared. So, he tried to sound angry. "You didn't say anything about it earlier," he growled, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't quite succeed. Instead of looking angry or intimidating he still just looked scared.
"I didn't know earlier," I retorted, taking a stab at being patient. "I need a lock of your hair."
"What?" He looked confused now. "What do you need my hair for?"
"You don't need to know," I said definitively. "All you need to do is say that I can have the hair. "
"You need my permission."
I rolled my eyes. Now he decided to try and play tough. Just what I needed.
"No, actually, I don't. I don't need your hair or anything else. I can just walk out of this cell and forget you're even in here, or that you told me anything useful." I glanced down at my watch. "How long do you think it will take Kalamack to get someone in here? I'm thinking twenty minutes, tops. He usually works pretty fast, but he'll probably want to make it look like you were'd out and tried to escape. That could take a little bit longer." I held up my finger and thumb, close together to give him an idea of just how little time I thought he had left.
He swallowed, looking suddenly pale and much younger than I had originally guessed.
"Take it, Turn you."
"Thank you," I said sweetly, and pulled the ceremonial knife out of my bag.
He fell out of his chair, stumbling to get away. It looked way nastier than it actually was. Although the depictions of sunken skulls along the handle weren't very ambiguous.
"I'm not going to kill you. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have to actually do it myself," I reminded him.
He swallowed and sat down. "Looks like a hell of a knife to be doing nothing with," he muttered.
"I'm not doing nothing. I'm going to be giving you a haircut. Don't move," I added as I stepped closer. With the knife in my hand, he might be tempted to try something stupid, thinking he could overwhelm the witch and find someway to get the Turn out of here. I wasn't going to let that happen. Not only would it be humiliating, but it would completely ruin my plan.
I grabbed a handful of his hair and held it up, giving it a harder yank than was strictly necessary, just in case he needed a reminder about who was actually holding the knife here. Then I concentrated enough to let my second sight slip into focus. I could see the smeary edges of his aura in the air around us, flaring out around my hand where I held his hair.
Under my breath, I muttered the words that I had learned from Al long ago and drew my knife through the chunk of hair that I was holding up, separating it from his head. It would leave a weird chunky spot missing from his hair, but hopefully no one would question him about it. There was always the possibility that it had happened during the fight.
I didn't relax as the chunk of hair came away in my hand. I was holding my breath as I drew it away, and slipped the knife back in my bag, reaching for the small pouch instead. The smeary colors of his aura still danced around my hand. Things like hair, fingernails, even patches of skin could be used in the darker flavors of earth magic, but in most cases the aura of the person didn't remain with these things once they had been separated from the person's body. In this case, separating it as I had, with special preparations, had separated a small portion of his aura along with it. It was that chunk of his aura that I needed to complete the spell that I had been brewing.
I opened my hand and let the strands of hair rain down into the open pouch beneath them. When the last one had fallen off my palm, I pulled the strings on the bag and made sure that it was tightly sealed.
Blowing out the breath I had been holding, I stepped back, almost giddy with my success. "Thanks," I called out as I jumped the lines back to the church.
The sound of an engine sputtering in the front yard caught my attention immediately. I grabbed for my splat gun, tucking my bag protectively behind me as I scooted along the lines of cover in the backyard until I could see who had pulled in the driveway.
When I saw Ivy getting out of the car, I relaxed and stepped out of the soft shadows that the warm morning sun were throwing across the ground.
"Is Marion okay?" I asked, genuinely worried about him. I could only imagine how important he was to Ivy.
"Yes," Ivy said with a smile. "He's fine. Believe it or not, he loves spending time with Erica."
"Something tells me that she's not the strict one," I guessed.
Ivy laughed. "You've got that right. She'd give him anything he asked for."
I had a feeling that Ivy spoiled him a good deal herself. I knew enough about Ivy's childhood and what Piscary had done to her, to know that she would try to give her child the best life that she possibly could.
"Will he be okay?" I asked a little bit more quietly, suddenly feeling guilty about accepting Ivy's help. She had bigger responsibilities now. Biting my lip, I wondered if I had pushed her too far. We weren't friends now; we had been through too much together for that simple label to apply, but there was no way that we could slip back into the simple comfort of lovers. Too much water had passed under the bridge for that. We had hurt one another too badly to even consider it.
"Yes," Ivy said calmly, but with an edge in her voice. "Erica will die twice before she lets anything happen to him."
"Good," I said firmly. "I'm glad he'll be okay."
Ivy nodded too, but it was an abstracted gesture, full of a distance that couldn't be bridged.
"Come on inside," I spoke to break the odd moment of silence between us. "I was just finishing up a spell when you pulled up."
Ivy's shoulder brushed against mine as we walked up the short path to the doorstep. I shivered as Ivy stopped in front of the brass plaque next to the front door.
"This was the best solstice gift that I've ever gotten, you know," Ivy said softly. From barely a foot away her brown eyes looked liquid and full of emotion.
"I thought you said I was the best solstice gift you'd ever gotten," I teased, the words slipping out of my mouth before I thought. My hand flew to my mouth, clamping over my lips as if it weren't already too late to hold in the words I very much wished I could take back.
It had been a joke between us; one that Ivy had liked to tease me with around the holidays, once we had become a couple. I had heard it so many times that I hadn't thought before I retorted with it. Hesitantly, I reached out and touched Ivy's arm.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I didn't mean-"
"It's okay," she said calmly, with serenity that only Ivy could muster. She squeezed my hand, but let go quickly. "I know you didn't mean it." She bit her lip and looked shy. "I meant it, though. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Rachel, and I loved this sign too because it meant that I was a part of something that I could believe in."
Her words took my breath away. She'd always had that power over me, even before I'd realized I was completely in love with her. I was no good with words or discussing emotions, though, and we had already reached our quota of hard conversations for the week, possibly for the entire month.
"I miss Jenks," I confided through the lump in my throat.
"I do, too."
Somehow the mention of Jenks eased the moment, and we slipped inside the church with relief.
"Do you have any coffee? I can't believe I'm up this long before noon," Ivy groused as she headed towards the kitchen.
I followed her, trailing after her with a smile at her familiar complaints about the hour of the day. Ivy had never been a morning person, and it seemed like that, at least, hadn't changed.
"I haven't made any yet," I called after her.
"What are you working on?" Ivy asked over her shoulder, as I headed towards the stove.
"Just an amulet that we'll need," I said evasively. I wasn't ready to tell Ivy about my plan just yet. I had a feeling she wouldn't like it.
"It looks disgusting."
I jumped and almost dropped the silver ladle that I was holding into the pot, as Ivy's voice came from just behind my shoulder. She had moved with that eerie vamp quite that annoyed me so much when she used it to surprise the hell out of me just like now. I shivered as the warmth of her breath ghosted across my ear.
"Well, it's a good thing you're not going to be the one using it then," I said lightly, setting the spoon down after I gave the hairs another good stir and turned to face her.
It was a mistake. If her proximity had been distracting before it was impossible to ignore now. She wasn't quite pressed up against me, but only a hair's breadth separated our bodies. She was close enough now that I could reach out and touch her. I had a sudden urge to reach out and clasp my hands behind her neck, letting my fingers play with the fine silky hairs at the nape of her neck.
I blinked and shook my head, trying to drive that distracting thought away.
"You okay?" Ivy asked, her voice in that low, gray silk timber that made me want to kiss her so badly.
Once it had been okay for me to kiss her; when just the sound of her voice had been enough to make me crazy, in a very good way. Now it was frustrating beyond belief. Not that I wanted to kiss Ivy. I mean, our relationship had ended years ago. It was just a reaction; a habit I hadn't quite broken. Like my stupid comment on the steps.
It wasn't my fault that Ivy was still an incredibly attractive woman. I just needed space.
"Coffee," I blurted out. "I need coffee."
Was I just imagining the small sigh that slipped past Ivy's lips as she took a step away from me? "It should be ready," Ivy said softly as she walked over to the table and sank into her old chair.
Here in the church, we were falling back into many old habits.
"I have a plan," I said, when I had poured myself a steaming cup of coffee. Ivy's smile of faint pride warmed me through and through. "Yeah, yeah, I know." I waved her smile away, even as I cherished it. "But you're not going to like it."
"Oh?" Ivy asked, as she leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Just hear me out first," I said warningly, as I began pacing around the kitchen.
"Okay," Ivy agreed slowly, unhappiness already beginning to creep into her voice. "What's so bad about this plan?"
"Nothing," I blurted. "Well, nothing's wrong with the plan. It's a good plan, and it's going to work, but it's a little bit dangerous."
Her brow furrowed, and her lips pursed into a thin line. "I'm not some tame vamp, Rachel. I can do this. Just because I haven't officially taken a run in a long time, doesn't mean I haven't kept my hand in. I'm just as good as I was then."
"That's not what I meant," I said quietly. "I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back."
The words lingered in the silence between us, until Ivy broke eye contact and took a sip of coffee.
"You're stalling."
I let out a choked laugh because she was right.
"Okay, you asked what this spell was? Well, it's a disguise amulet. For a very specific disguise. I'm going to impersonate the were that jumped me in the warehouse yesterday. I bought most of the earth charms that I'll need for it, but I have to add a few finishing touches."
"All right," Ivy said slowly. "What are you planning to do with the disguise amulet?"
I took a deep breath. This was the part that she was not going to like.
"I'm going to go to Trent's house and tell him the truth."
"The truth?" Ivy prompted me.
"I'm going to tell him that Rachel Morgan took me to the ever-after, and threatened to leave me there if I didn't tell her everything. I told her everything and struck a deal with the FIB to let me go. I felt bad about ratting him out, so I came to warn him that the FIB had him under surveillance."
The humor had dropped from Ivy's face. Tension showed in the lines of her face. Her jaw flexed and tightened.
"If he believes that - and that's a pretty stupid thing for anyone to do - then he's going to try to kill you."
"I know," I said slightly surprised that Ivy was taking this so calmly. "That's what I want him to do."
Ivy blinked. "What?" She demanded. Her voice carried an edge that almost cut across my skin. She had risen from her seat, and her hands gripped the table tightly enough that I wondered if it was about to break under the stress.
"You're going to be recording this the whole time. When we have enough documentation to prove that Trent is both connected to the witch murders and that he made an attempt to kill someone to cover up what he did, then we'll arrest him."
"You're right," Ivy snapped. "I don't like this plan. Have you thought about what will happen if you misjudge the timing, just by an instant? One second too late and you're dead. Too soon and the whole plan is blown wide open."
"I can deal with anything that Trent can throw at me," I said firmly. I didn't like that she doubted that the arrogant Cookie bastard could take me.
"What about Quen?" she continued. "Can you take care of Quen too?"
"We can handle it," I insisted. "I learned enough from Al to match anything Quen's got." Okay, that was probably stretching the truth. Quen was one of the best ley line practitioners that I had ever seen, and he wasn't afraid to get a little bit of smut on his aura while he was at it. On the other hand, I had access to demon magics that he couldn't use, even if he'd known they existed. "You'll be there to back me up. We can deal with it."
Ivy wasn't satisfied yet. "What if he has a gun, Rachel? An amulet can't stop a bullet."
It wasn't quite true. There were some amulets that could do something similar or act as Kevlar, but I wouldn't be wearing one. The more magic that I was wearing going in, the easier it would be for Trent and Quen to spot them and realize that something was wrong. My were friend wouldn't own amules and especially wouldn't wear any to a meeting with Trent Kalamack. It would be an immediate giveaway, and there was no way I was going to tip Trent's hand.
"Trent won't have a gun," I said firmly.
"You don't know that," Ivy pointed out grimly. "This isn't a good plan, Rachel. You're taking too many risks, for something that isn't worth it."
"Sending Trent to jail for the rest of his life isn't worth it?" I demanded, surprise and anger making a nasty mix in my chest. "I don't need your help, Ivy. You wanted in."
"And you're being blind and stupid, as usual. Wake up, Rachel. You don't always have to do something the way that's most likely to get you killed."
"This isn't going to get me killed. It will work," I insisted.
Ivy paced away from the table, her back to me as she made the circuit to the window and then back.
"Let me use the disguise amulet instead of you," she said finally. "At least I'll have a chance to get out of the way if Trent or Quen start shooting."
My heart stuttered at the thought of Ivy getting shot. There was no way that I was letting Ivy take a bullet for me. Especially not when she had a son to come back home to. If I made it back and Ivy didn't, there would be no way that I could ever look Marion in the eye and tell him what happened. No, I couldn't let Ivy do it. The time when I would let Ivy stand in front of me and protect me had passed. I shook my head.
"It won't work. The amulet is custom made. It would look completely different on you than it does on me."
"So buy another damn amulet," Ivy snapped.
"No," I contradicted her. "We don't have time. If we don't do this soon, then Glenn-" I bit my lip and wished I could suck the words back into my mouth. I hadn't intended to let Ivy know that this plan wasn't entirely FIB sanctioned. Ivy, however, knew me all too well.
"Glenn, what?" Ivy asked slowly. "Why is this time sensitive?"
I swallowed and took the plunge. "If we don't act soon, then Glenn will either make a press release stating that he has a suspect in custody for the witch murders, which would blow our cover with Trent, going in. Or Glenn will be coming back here looking for me, and if he finds me, he'll tell me that we don't have enough evidence to go against Trent; that I'm crazy, and I need to just leave things alone. And that will blow the only chance that we have, Ivy."
She shook her head as she resumed pacing. "You are crazy," she muttered under her breath. "So Glenn has no idea that we're doing this?"
"That's why it's so important that we have proof of everything that Trent's done. Once we have that, then we can turn him and the evidence over to the FIB."
Ivy shook her head again and then looked over at me. "You could have told me that you didn't have Glenn's approval for this," she said pointedly.
I swallowed. "You're still going to help me?" I couldn't quite believe it. Ivy had always disapproved of my wilder plans, and now she had more to lose than ever before.
"Of course, I'm going to help you. I meant it when I said that I wanted Trent to pay. But," Ivy held up a hand. "We're going to need to make a few changes."
I wrinkled my nose, even as I reminded myself that compromise was the name of the game. "What did you have in mind?"
*** *** ***
"I want to see Kalamack," I demanded.
"And why would Mr. Kalamack wish to see you? He's a very busy man."
"Just tell him that Mike Carter is here to see him," I said confidently. "He'll want to see me."
"Of course, sir," Jonathan agreed blandly. His usual smug disbelief was covered by a sincere smile. "Just a moment."
He disappeared into the other room, leaving me alone in the outer office. I glanced towards the stack of papers on Jonathan's desk. Once, it would have been tempting to go through the things on his desk. I would have, if Ivy and I didn't already have a plan, but there was no way that I wasn't already under surveillance. Using my second sight to check for spells and amulets scattered throughout the room would tell me exactly what we were facing, but it was too risky.
I couldn't do anything to tip off Trent that I wasn't who I was pretending to be. Once I had the proof we needed, then Ivy and I could focus on getting out of here. As the minutes slipped by, I tried to keep from fidgeting as I grew more and more nervous. I knew Trent was deliberately keeping me waiting, but the more time I waited the better chance that he would see something that could tip him off.
I tried to remember Ivy's advice as I shifted on the couch. She had laughed and shaken her head, looking disturbed when I had first put on the disguise amulet and walked through the kitchen. The sway of my hips in a man's body had actually made Ivy laugh. It was worth it.
"Mr. Carter, please come in."
I stood quickly, and strode toward the door to Trent's office.
"Thank you, Mr. Kalamack," I said, holding my hand out as I approached Trent.
He took my hand and shook it with a brief, perfunctory squeeze, then gestured for me to have a seat.
Instead I held my arms in front of me and spread my legs into a 'tough guy' stance.
"I'll stand."
A brief look of annoyance passed over Trent's face as he sank into his chair. It was just a momentary tightness around his eyes. Only someone who had as much practice as I did at annoying Trent would even notice.
"As you like," he said diffidently, steepling his fingers in front of him. "What can we do for you, Mr. Carter?"
I shifted uncomfortably. "I'm here about the situation with Ms. Morgan." The muscles in Trent's jaw jumped.
"Of course, it's lovely that Ms. Morgan has returned to her home town to help the FIB find the witch murderer, but I'm not sure what you mean by a situation," Trent deflected artfully.
I coughed, and looked down. "Mr. Kalamack, sir, my alpha sent me here to apologize. He said you were a reasonable man and that you would understand."
Trent straightened, a hint of interest showing in his features for the first time. "I'm flattered. What did he think I would understand?"
The dumb act was getting old. Time to cut to the chase.
"We tried to, uh, intercept Ms. Morgan this morning, like you said," I said, trying to sound good humored, if a little bit slow. If Mike's alpha really had sent him here, it would be for only one reason: to get rid of him for his failure. Mike would have to be a little bit slow on the uptake not to realize that. "But she fought back when we got to the warehouse. The FIB put me in custody for a while, but they let me go a few hours ago."
"And you came here?" Trent demanded irritably.
"Like I said, my alpha wanted me to give you a heads up." I was sweating now. Fortunately, it worked in my favor, for once. "You see, Morgan dumped me in the ever-after."
Trent blinked. "She did what?" he asked slowly.
"You have to understand!" I said my voice growing higher and more nervous. "She was going to leave me there and feed me to the demons. I couldn't let her do that to me, man."
Trent rose slowly from his chair, and nodded at someone behind me. I tried not to flinch, and to ignore the subtle itching between my shoulder blades. The soft sound of the door snicking shut behind me set my teeth on edge.
His hands braced on the edge of the desk, he finally looked up at me.
"What did you tell her?"
I shivered involuntarily.
"Nothing. Nothing, I swear."
Trent stood, folding his arms over his chest. "Do not lie to me. You are here. Obviously, you must have done something to convince her to bring you back."
"She just wanted to know who I was and why I was involved."
Trent's silence was loud.
"I didn't want to tell her!"
The door behind me swung open. I jumped at the sudden noise.
"Sa'han," Quen bowed as he entered and his eyes tracked me as he circled around to Trent's side of the desk. His eyes never left me as he spoke softly to Trent, his body angled to keep himself between Trent and I all the time.
My heart pounded in my chest as though I was a rabbit running from a wolf. If anyone could see through my disguise spell, or detect it, it would be Quen.
Trent gave Quen short nod and leaned away from the other elf.
"Mr. Carter was just about to finish explaining what obvious lies he told Rachel Morgan about me, weren't you?"
"They weren't lies," I shot back, temper getting the best of me. "They're the truth. You contacted my alpha and had him start murdering witches to bring Morgan back to this city in exchange for the Focus. Then you told him to bring you Morgan from the warehouse, yesterday morning."
Trent scoffed, "And then that was screwed up as well, yes. But there's no need to worry. We'll have this entire mess cleaned up, very soon."
He raised his hand and made a flicking gesture with his wrist. I turned, careful to keep Quen in my peripheral vision, to see who was coming through the door.
Ivy's was struggling in Jonathan's grasp, her arms held pinned behind her back. I tried to keep the urge to jump to Ivy's defense off my face. I knew she wasn't struggling quite as hard as she was making it look. She should be able to get free of Jonathan any time that she wanted to, unless he had become a lot more proficient since the last time that I had seen him.
"Tamwood," Trent spoke her name reflectively. "I didn't expect to see you here." He smiled. "I was under the impression that Morgan had ended your association some years ago. Not that you left her much choice in the matter. I can understand the urge to control Morgan, but quite a stupid decision on your part to let her slip away after you'd made the decision."
Ivy blanched, her head dropping to her chest. When her eyes rose again slowly to meet Trent's, they were the purest black. She had stopped struggling against Jonathan as she focused on Trent.
"I'm going to kill you, Kalamack. Slowly. After I make you my shadow."
Trent laughed. "You know, I've never understood your loyalty to Morgan. She never returned your feelings and she used you at every opportunity."
Trent's words hit me like a sucker punch. The urge to tell him where he could stick what he thought about our relationship was overwhelming, but all I could do was bite my tongue and hope that Ivy knew it wasn't the truth. I winced inwardly, knowing even as I did that Trent was almost right. Our relationship hadn't been repaired overnight, with my realization of what had actually happened. Years had still passed and the pain that both of us had suffered hadn't healed overnight. If either of us still even wanted a relationship - and Ivy had a life and a child now, completely separate from me - there was still no way to know if it would actually work.
"She loved me," Ivy said simply. "That's all I ever wanted."
"Must not have been very much; she did leave you." Trent looked reflective. "It makes me wonder why you're here. My sources say that Morgan has been seen going in and out of your estate several times in the last few days. If you're willing to tell me what she wanted, I would be more than happy to forget that you were trespassing on my property. As a favor to your mother and Rynn Cormel, of course."
Ivy's eyes flicked to me and then back to Trent.
"There's nothing to tell."
"Let me be the judge of that."
Ivy's gaze went to a point just beyond his shoulder, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her silence had a finality to it that Trent couldn't miss.
He sighed, as if momentarily put out.
"Very well, I suppose we'll do this the hard way. You give me no choice." His gaze flicked to Quen.
Rhom-
I couldn't complete the thought as light exploded around me. I tried to move and felt energy crackle around me, holding me in place. Quen had moved so quickly that I hadn't even seen it, his fingers twitching as he cast a ley line spell.
Energy crackled and leapt around my hand, as I tried to tug it away from my side, but nothing happened. I could still tap into the energy stored in my chi, but that was my last resort and I wasn't quite ready to tap into it yet.
Trent was staring at me when I looked up.
"You didn't really expect that to work, did you? Sneaking into my office has never been your best bet. That's right," Trent added, as he took in my surprised expression. "We knew it was you the moment you came into the office. We were just stalling to see if you'd brought anyone else with you."
I looked towards Ivy. I couldn't help it. She was watching Trent, but as if she could feel me looking at her, her eyes flicked over to meet mine. Her pupils were dilated, but there was still a thin ring of brown surrounding them. For a moment, the rest of the room disappeared. Trent, Quen and Jonathan went away as I sank into her gaze.
A sweet sadness filled me as I looked at her, not my emotions but hers. I tried to smile at her. If this really was about to be it, then I wanted her to know the way I felt about her. It was Ivy, and no matter what had happened between us, beyond everything else, I had never stopped loving her. I hoped she knew that.
Instead of responding to Trent, I turned to face Quen.
"You know this isn't going to hold me for very long."
Quen gave one of those small, bowing nods. "Perhaps, but perhaps you're overestimating your capabilities."
I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you're still working for this guy." I jerked my eyes towards Trent. "Haven't you gotten tired of following his dishonorable orders yet?"
"He's my Sa'han," Quen repeated, unruffled.
"Oh, right, I forgot."
"Enough," Trent cut in. "Finish this, Quen."
A brief flash of displeasure moved over Quen's eyes. It was nice to know that he wasn't happy about killing me. That would be a comfort, I thought sarcastically. Instead of his face, though, I focused on his hands.
His fingers flickered, and I lashed out with the energy spindled in my chi. There was no finesse or focus, just blunt force. Ivy was a blur of motion out of the corner of my eye. I lunged towards Trent. I slammed into him and together we hit the floor, knocking the air out of my lungs. Pain exploded as he shoved my head into the corner of the desk, as I scrambled to pin him down.
I planted my knee in his stomach and caught him up short, leaving him gasping for air. I fumbled for the zip strips in my back pocket. My head swam. Thick fingers closed around my throat and yanked. My legs flailed for traction, for anything I could kick against, for anything. The fingers tightened around my throat until I couldn't breathe.
"Stop," Ivy pleaded, sagging against a tall office chair. Her face was bruised, and a thin line of blood trickled down her chin. It looked like her own, and not someone else's. Her free arm was circling Trent's neck, holding him back against her body. She could snap his neck with one twist of her arm. "Just stop it. I'll kill your precious Sa'han if you hurt her. Let her go," she repeated.
Quen hesitated. His fingers loosened from around my throat just enough that I could wheeze in a breath, and not die while he was making up his mind.
"Sa'han?" Quen questioned Trent, his focus never leaving Ivy.
"Kill her," Trent gritted out, around Ivy's painfully tight grasp.
I thrashed in Quen's arms, but he held me in a secure grip.
"I'll rip his throat out," Ivy warned.
"She's bound to you, is she not?" Quen asked slowly. "Command her not to come after my Sa'han, and I will let you both leave in exchange for his life. Your safety will be guaranteed for the night, to live for anther day."
Ivy gazed at him, weighing her options. Quen's hand closed around my throat, his grip tightening. I gagged and choked, coughing desperately for air. My throat burned and my vision blurred. I tried to catch Ivy's eyes, pleading silently with her not to do it. I didn't want to be alive if it came at the price of being under her control. It wouldn't work. It wasn't worth it.
"No," Ivy spoke decisively, meeting my eyes cleanly. "No, she wouldn't want that, and I won't take that away from her."
Shock was practically radiating out from Quen. I felt him nod slowly from behind me.
"You honor her."
Ivy nodded, never taking her eyes from mine. "I do."
My vision was so blurry, I could hardly make out her eyes, and my legs felt like heavy, flimsy lumps.
"You're going to kill her."
"No," Ivy said simply. "I'm not." Without any warning, she crumpled to the floor, falling inwards and dragging Trent down underneath her.
Strength and energy surged up within me. Twisting my wrist I drove my shoulder into Quen. The sudden motion startled him enough to loosen his grip on my throat. I dove at him like my life depended on it, even as I fumbled out for a connection to the ley line that I knew ran deep and true through Trent's property. Without hesitation, I took it in and poured it through Quen.
He screamed as the pure energy poured into him. I didn't let the onslaught up, until I had him pinned on the floor, zip strips binding his wrists and ankles together. Only then did I stop and look up for Trent.
He had crawled out from under Ivy and was staring at me.
"You can take me in, but you don't have any proof. There is no evidence," he crowed. "Your word against mine, and it won't be you that they believe."
"You're right," I said, taking a step closer to him.
My confidence surprised and confused him.
"You're not going to kill me."
I tilted my head at him, considering his statement.
"Maybe," I said slowly, thinking of Ivy on the ground, aching to go to her, but knowing if I did that I would be wasting the chance she had given me.
He was circling away from me. Moving toward his desk, I realized. He must have something behind it.
I stepped into his path, moving faster than I had known I could move. He stumbled back, his fist lashing out at my jaw. I caught his hand mid-blow, and twisted it around, slamming his face into the wall and putting pressure on his arm until he grunted out in pain.
"On the other hand," I pointed out smugly, "I could just take the video of this entire incident to the FIB and see who they believe. What do you think about that, Trent?" I goaded him one last time as I slipped another set of zip strips around his wrists, and pulled out my cell phone.
It was going to take a lot of explaining, but somehow I had a feeling that, underneath all of his bitching, Glenn wouldn't be too upset when he got here.
Now all I needed was to make sure Ivy was okay. Then everything would be fine.
Tags: