A Perfect Blood (The Hollows #10)(96)
Author: Kim Harrison

The three guys took it all in with their mouths hanging open. The pixies playing in the open rafters didn’t help. There’d probably be a gargoyle up there when the sun went down. God, my life was weird.

"Shit, man," the dark-haired Were with the starburst tattoo said when he finally looked at the torn and battered pool table. "Who burned your table?"

"Shut up, Oscar," the Were with the clipboard growled.

"We had an incident," I said, looking at the ring of burnt felt and wishing I’d fixed it sooner. But stuff kept interfering.

Jenks dropped from the rafters, startling the crap out of Chuck. "Some nasty bitch of a woman from the coven of moral and ethical standards tried to fry Rache," the pixy said, apparently proud of it. "I pixed the Tink-blasted dildo, and Rache’s black-arts boyfriend blew her right out the front door. Bam!"

I cringed as the Weres hesitated. "Ah, we had an incident," I insisted. "Can you fix it?"

Jenks laughed, then flew off, yelling at his kids to get out of their stuff.

Chuck was running his hand on the flat surface, picking the edges of the felt where it had been burned. "We can fill the gouges with a composite, sure. Level it. Wax the cracks. Put some new felt on it." He looked up, then blinked at the three pixies watching him from the overhead light. "Uh, it will take a couple of hours with that gouge. We might have to do two thin layers instead of one thick one."

"Whatever it takes." My fingertips brushed the nicked varnish. Kisten, I still miss you. "I’ll tell Ivy you’re here. She’s probably going to want to watch to make sure you get it level."

"We guarantee it," Chuck said, then stiffened. Two giggling pixies rose up with a piece of equipment from one of the satchels. "Hey!" he shouted, then glared at Oscar, who was staring, transfixed, his hands spread wide but clearly at a loss as to what to do, afraid he might hurt them. "Bring that back!" Chuck yelled, staring at the ceiling where a cloud of pixies hung, screaming at the top of their lungs, fighting over it.

"Jenks!" I said, exasperated. "Will you get your kids under control!"

A piercing whistle just about split my head open, and the kids scattered. The instrument dropped, and I gasped as Jenks darted under it, catching it and falling a good three feet before getting his wings under him and halting his motion. Adrenaline made my head hurt, and I exhaled loudly as Jenks dropped the gadget in Oscar’s hands.

"Sorry," he said, looking as frazzled as I felt. "They’ve been cooped up all day. I’ll get them outside now that the rain’s quit."

The three Weres had clustered, looking at the finger-size level as if the pixies might have damaged it. "Thanks," I breathed to Jenks. "I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just . . ."

Jenks grinned as he dusted. "Don’t worry ’bout it, Rache. I yell at my kids all the time."

Still, I felt guilty about the lapse, but he had already zipped to the top of the hallway to shout at his kids about getting their asses outside and cleaning their huts for winter before he bent their wings backward. Things had been different since Matalina died, but seeing him handle his fifty-plus children alone had granted him a new respect from me. He was a good dad, if a little unconventional.

I smiled hopefully at the suspicious Weres as the church emptied of pixies, Jenks included. "I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything," I said, wanting to make my exit before they decided we were too weird and left. "And thanks for coming out on such short notice. I really appreciate it."

"Yes, ma’am." Chuck had his eyes on the rafters and the single pixy Jenks had let stay.

Spinning on my heel, I stepped lightly down the hall and to the kitchen. Ivy was standing at the table, in her coat, fingering my prepped curses as if trying to figure out how they worked. Her purse was on her chair, and she looked as if she was ready to leave.

"Oh!" she said, flushing as she dropped the charm and it clanked back into the rest. "Ah, are they the pool table guys?"

I nodded and came farther in, still feeling like we were walking on eggshells. Jenks had told me she’d gone scary evil when she’d found out I’d been taken. It had been Nina – Nina, not Felix – who had kept Ivy from hurting herself or anyone else until she’d finally broken down and cried in frustration before focusing her soul on getting me back. I thought it telling that Ivy had been there trying to help Nina, but it was Nina who had helped her.

"Be nice," I suggested. "They aren’t keen on being in a church, and Jenks maxed out their ‘acceptable weirdness’ levels already."

She smiled with her lips closed. "Not a problem. These are done then?" she asked, picking up the one she had dropped, holding it carefully between two fingers.

Nodding, I yanked a chair out and turned it before sitting in it backward. "Yup. Providing they aren’t hiding in a ley line, they should work. I had a great focusing object." I frowned, remembering the HAPA knot I’d found while showering, snarled behind my ear. It was my hair, but their knot. It would work.

Tired, I put an elbow on the table, dropping my forehead into my hand and rubbing it. Ivy touched my shoulder, and I jerked my head up. "You’re sure you’re okay?" she asked, a hint of a smile for having surprised me.

"I’m fine," I said sourly. "Just . . . anxious." Winona was safe, but as soon as HAPA set up shop again somewhere, they’d mutilate someone else. I had to find them first.

My hand went to my middle, and Ivy began stacking the charms in a small sack with a spell-house logo on it. I felt ill, jittery from the Brimstone and queasy on self-awareness hitting me from all sides. Eyes flicking to the messy counter, I wondered if Trent would still accept a curse from me to give him his fingers back. And why had I touched his face?

Ivy carefully creased the bag closed, the folding paper sounding loud. Her attention went to my jiggling foot. "I wanted to stay while they fixed the table, but if I go now, the amulets can be on the streets at the next shift change. Mind if I take your car?"

"No, go ahead," I said, stopping my foot’s motion.

"Thanks. I’m going to see if Nina will talk to me after I drop them off. I’ll have my cell on in case Glenn calls."

My gaze flicking to her, I nodded, absently biting a fingernail. The image of Nina choking that man to death flashed through me, and I stifled a shiver. The FIB had been there, making it hard for the I.S. to cover up the incident – and they would cover it up if they could. "Is the FIB prosecuting?" I cautiously asked, and Ivy put the bag in her purse.