Trouble With the Cursed (The Hollows, #16)

by Kim Harrison

vamps, both living and dead, had an unfailing need to protect the distressed even as they endangered those they professed to love.

and when his eyes went black? Da-a-amn.

But it was Pike’s confidence that elevated him beyond the usual living vampire, and I was secure enough in my relationship with Trent to admit that he was . . . well . . . mmmm.

Vampires were weird contrasts. The undead ones did ugly things thinking it was love, the living ones endured ugly things thinking it was love, but they both had a protective streak a mile wide.

the delicious scent of vampire incense rose in the stifling air, reminding me of when I had been younger and stupid. Still smells good, though,

“There’s usually a door downstairs in the kitchen.”

Um...

Apparently the Federal Spell and Charm Administration wasn’t yet convinced undead vampires having access to their original souls was a good idea. Neither were the long undead in DC.

Ivy! I thought in pleasure, wanting to take the call.

I hit accept and Ivy’s low voice rose in greeting. Immediately I felt my body relax.

I’m going to be in Cincy tomorrow night. I’m hoping more than a visit, but that depends on what the master vampire I’m escorting thinks.”

Oh my

“I’ll let you go. I wanted you to hear it from me, not Edden or the I.S. Love you.” The seldom-spoken words shocked through me, followed by a warm understanding. Ivy was deeply committed to Nina, but there was all kinds of love, and we’d been through a lot. “Love you, too,” I said, glad I could say the words as well, and the phone clicked off. I did love Ivy, not the way she had wanted, but we both understood each other and were happy with our relationship now.

The finger stick to draw the blood to invoke it was in a side pocket, and I hardly felt the prick as I snapped it open and jabbed my pinky. Immediately the living vamps enjoying the sun at the front of the shop turned, their heads swiveling to find me. The mixed group coming in noticed, too, and Pike, who looked up from his logos to give me a thin smile.

I was beginning to suspect that he liked wearing someone else’s blood as a badge of honor. I thought it totally unfair that it made him more attractive.

Nick . . . I thought, brow furrowing, but Nick was dead, starved to death in Newt’s oubliette. And then the original ever-after collapsed and took even his bones. Slowly my expression lifted.

We’d both grown, and it felt good to know that change, real change, did happen when people paid attention and tried to learn.

Tall latte, no fat, no foam, pump of raspberry. And cinnamon on top.

He’d been sipping on Ivy’s undead mother to keep his scion abilities of heightened hearing and strength and maintain the illusion that Constance was still his master. But it was becoming obvious that he wasn’t satisfied. It wasn’t just blood that a living vampire craved, but the highly charged sex that often went along with it. I knew he was finding himself increasingly frustrated and randy. That’s not why he asked for your help.

“Oh, my effing God,” Pike swore softly, and my attention flicked up, breath catching at the sultry confidence that had blossomed in his suddenly pupil-black eyes. “Jenks was right. You really do get off on kicking ass.” My lips parted, and I slid two feet down the bench away from him. “I do not!” “You do!” he insisted, his lips quirking as if it was funny. “You’re as randy as a goat.”

“You getting a tattoo?” I asked, sure he wasn’t. Vampires didn’t get them.

Guess I'm not a vamp

But since pain was part of the experience and vampires could turn pain into pleasure, no self-respecting tattoo artist would ink anyone with fangs.

:(

The undead will take care of themselves, but the living need a place to cut loose. Somewhere without an undead mucking it up. Somewhere they can forget about the hellhole they’re in.”

I stifled a shiver as I remembered getting blood-sugared, basically drunk on vampire pheromones. I’d been at their mercy. That they took it as a compliment and their compassion had been all-encompassing was not the point.

“I’m not dressing for Ivy,” I said, but we both knew that wasn’t true.

“I’m sorry, Rachel. If Castle was a regular Were, I might have some pull, but werefoxes don’t look to anyone.”

AAAAAAAAAAAA - fox

It was thought that werefoxes were witches once, cursed as the Weres had been. Their blood has lost the enzymes to kindle magic, but they could still tap a line well enough to dump off and take on mass, allowing them to shift size as well as shape. Their population had never been high in the U.S. Most lived in what was left of Russia. And Australia’s outback, apparently.

Ivy took a slow breath, beaming one of her rare, beautiful smiles.

I gave her a hug, eyes closed as I felt her arms wrap around me. Her quick squeeze and even quicker release were a reminder of how rare and fleeting any touch was for her, and I smiled, feeling the tears threaten. It had been months, and I’d been worried.

I knew I was flushed. I didn’t care. The scent of happy vampire coming from her was hitting me as if I’d been sipping tequila all day.

Pike’s gaze ran down her skintight, black knit traveling outfit. “Worth dying twice for,” he said, and I smiled all the wider.

“Who have you been sipping on, tall, dark, and deadly? And can I join you?”

Ivy liked scars, and I flushed, a hand running over my perfect skin. It hadn’t always been like that.

Mood :(

“They confiscated my knives,” Ivy said. “I wasn’t expecting having to go through TSA.” “I’ve got one,” Pike said, and Ivy almost purred, wrestling it out of his hand when it glittered in the faint light. “Hey!” “Don’t pull it if you aren’t going to use it,” she said, which made no sense to me, but I think she was flirting.

Ivy drew her hand back, and Brad opened his eyes. “Hit me again. Thrill me,” he growled as he pulled his feet under him and sat against the pylon. Her perfect face placid, Ivy cracked her knuckles, considering it.

“If anyone can get Pike upright in time for tonight, it’s her. She’s good at getting men upright.”

Blood and Brimstone, Brimstone and blood.

“What’s fabulous?” Ivy said, her low voice tripping down my spine to make me shiver in spite of the heat.

Ivy knew me eating crunchy things in front of her wasn’t the usual invitation to bite me, but why tread on those instincts?

Trent won’t mind if you keep it to blood only.”

“Life is short. I’ll never understand why you don’t take joy when it arrives on your doorstep.”

......

Her voice broke, and I put my feet on the floor, my lips parting. Is she crying? “I forgot how much I liked being here,” she said, damp eyes meeting mine before darting away in embarrassment.

She didn’t wipe her eye, but let the tear roll down. “Thank you for never giving up on me.”

Jaw tight, Ivy took a shuddering breath. “Damn it, Rachel. Hope hurts.”

The kiss good-bye was unusual. It could be because I said nothing when she had told me her fears and that was what Ivy needed. But I was guessing it was to tell Stef that I was still hers and to back off. Vampire logic was like that. Finding a compliment in there, I smiled.

“She’s got prescription-grade commitment issues.”

His widening pupils caught and held my attention, sending a soft quiver of promise through me. “You should not be hungry,” I said. “Stop flirting.”

The longer you associated with a living vampire, the less likely you were to leave their presence. They tended to become your world through their pheromones, trapping even the curious who lingered too long. It was evolution’s way to find them willing blood sources after their first death, and it was highly effective.

“The other guy doesn’t smell like Ivy. You do,” I said, glancing at the pretend Mr. Finnis. “And your shoes. His shoes aren’t right. But mostly Ivy.”

The next three curses were to remove sight, sensation, and hearing to lock a person into a state of sensory deprivation.

But honestly, a demon will more likely ensnare you with a contract, not muscle. Contracts have the law behind them, and demons love using it to bring people down.”

I was ticked, angry in a way that I hadn’t been since I was at camp and Trent stole my best friend, luring her into liking boys and leaving me behind.

Rachel....just...say that again but slower.