Into the Woods: Tales from the Hollows and Beyond(27)
Author: Kim Harrison

"How many times do I have to kill you?" he snarled when Pierce pulled himself upright, and with a dark grimace, tugged his coat straight. His neck was clean. Not a mark on it.

I didn’t understand. I had seen blood. But had it been real? He was a freaking ghost!

"Once was enough, and I expect it will be your undoing, God willing," the man said raggedly, and my breath came in with a hiss when a ball of green ever-after swirled into existence between his two hands. He flung it at the vampire. The vampire lunged sideways, and the green, red, and black mass smacked into the wall, harmless.

My short-lived hope vanished, and I looked at Pierce across the living room. I knew it had been everything he had stored in his chi. He had gambled everything on that one throw. There was nothing left. He was helpless unless he could reach me and refill his chi. And there was a vampire between us.

Christopher seemed to know it, and he started to laugh. "I may not be able to kill a ghost," he said in perverted glee. "But I can still tear your f**king head off."

I backed to the door with the girl. Nothing left. Pierce had nothing left but those stupid ley line charms of my dad. I felt my expression go slack in thought. The ley line charms . . .

My hand went up to grip the charm around my neck. It would make a circle only I could break. Sarah and I would be safe, but Pierce . . .

Pierce saw my hand, trembling as it gripped the spell. "Use it, Rachel," he said, falling into a crouch. "Invoke the amulet!"

I tried to swallow, failing. I pulled the charm from around my neck, the chain catching my hair and tugging free. The vampire lunged to catch Pierce. He cried out in pain.

"Hey, prissy face!" I shouted, voice trembling. "You’re a pathetic excuse of a bat, you know that? Can’t get your fangs wet without a glass of milk? Come and get me. He doesn’t have any blood in him."

The vampire turned and hissed, and my stomach did a flip-flop. Shit.

"Rachel, no!" Pierce cried, but the vampire tossed him into a wall like a rude book. I winced when he hit and slid down to stare at me in fear.

"Trust me," I mouthed, and he scrambled up. But he was too far away, and he knew it.

Pulse hammering, I fell into a crouch and beckoned the vampire to me. "You’re nothing but a sorry-assed, hide-in-the-ground child molester," I taunted, and the vampire went almost choleric.

"I’m going to kill you slow," he said, advancing slowly.

"Great," I said, estimating the distance between us. "But first, catch this!"

His hands flew up as I pulled the pin and threw the amulet. It thumped into the vampire’s grip, and he sneered at me. I smiled back, and as smooth and pure as water, a wash of gold-tinted ever-after flowed up and around him, trapping him.

"No!" the vampire screamed, throwing the amulet, but it was too late. My eyes widened and I fell back in shocked awe as the vampire seemed to devolve into a raving lunatic, hammering at the barrier between us, almost spitting in frustration. Howling like a mad thing, he threw himself against it, over and over. And it held.

Shaking, I leaned against the back of a couch. "Stupid ass," I muttered.

"Miss Rachel!" Pierce cried out, and I blinked when he grabbed me, spinning me to face him. His hands heavy on my shoulders, he looked me up and down, his blue eyes searching me. "Are you well?"

I blinked again at him. The adrenaline was wearing off, and I was feeling woozy. "Sure. Yes. I think so."

The girl screamed, and a vampire dropped into the room through the hole in the ceiling. From behind the other door, the thumping of feet said the other was coming, too, drawn by Christopher’s furious shouts.

Pierce took me in a brief, surprising hug. "You’re grit, Rachel. Pure grit," he said, rocking me back. "But you should have used it to save yourself and the girl. All they have to do is throw you into the bubble, and it will fall."

"Nonsense," I said, hearing my words slur. "Just pull some more power from me and blast them back to hell."

His eyes widened, and he held me upright as the door behind us opened to show the second vampire. The girl was at our feet, sobbing. I might have joined her, but I had a feeling I was going to pass out soon, anyway. Damn it, I hated this. I was just kidding myself that I could do this for a living.

I pushed from Pierce, unsteady as I put my hands on my hips and looked from one vampire to the other. I felt like I was drunk. Faint through the broken ceiling came the wail of sirens. "You all better go," I said boldly, sounding like John Wayne to my ears. "Or my friend here will blast you all to hell. He can do it. Can’t you?"

But Pierce was watching the monitors with the strength of hope in his grip as he held me upright. I wavered as the two vampires exchanged a knowing look. The master vampire trapped in the circle hesitated in his tantrum, going white-faced when his two servants gave him a short, nervous bow.

"Don’t leave me!" the master vampire shouted, hammering on the invisible barrier. "I will hunt you down and take your last blood, then kill you again!"

I smirked, muscles going slack. Pierce caught me with a little grunt. On the monitor were several I.S. cruisers, a news van, and, Lord help me, my mother in her Buick. Robbie got out first, having to be restrained from storming the house on his own. "That’s the I.S.," I said, my words running into each other in a soft, slow drawl. "I left my mother a note. She’s probably got half the force behind her." Blinking, I struggled to focus on the two vampires. "Don’t mess with my mom. She’ll kick your . . . ass."

The two vampires looked at each other, and as their master howled, they levered themselves back out through the ceiling. There was a faint thump of feet overhead-and they were gone.

"I think I’m going to pass out," I said, breathless, and Pierce eased me to the carpet. My head lolled, and the edges of my sight grayed. "I’m sorry," I started to babble, feeling light and airy. "I shouldn’t have come down here. I’m no good at this."

"You are exceptional at this." Pierce held my hand and fanned me with a magazine. "But please, Miss Rachel, don’t pass out. Stay with me. At least a little longer. If you succumb, your circle might fall."

"That’s not good," I mumbled, struggling to keep my eyes open, but damn it, I had overtaxed my body and it was shutting down. When the adrenaline had flowed, it had been fantastic. I had been alive and strong. I felt normal. Now all that was left was the ash of a spent fire. And it was starting to rain.

"Rachel?"