Pale Demon (The Hollows #9)(119)
Author: Kim Harrison

"I’m not getting out of this van," Oliver said.

Vivian’s brow furrowed. "Got that right," she said tightly, and then I gasped when she hauled off and hit him square in the jaw.

Pierce cried out, but it was over and the man had slumped to the door, out cold. Vivian was wringing her hand, eyes tearing as she held her red knuckles. A charm must have been involved because she hadn’t hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious. "That hurt," she gasped, smiling. "Damn, I’m going to pay for that when the charm wears off, but it felt really good. He’s such a prick."

Just three of us, then, I thought, glad of it. Oliver would have messed it up.

A quiver went through me. It was time.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The rasp of the side door opening was loud, and heart pounding, I slid across the seat and followed Pierce out. We were at a sloping park where the streetcars turned around. The grass was cut and the bushes were manicured. Across the street, where the beach was, there was a small stone building that might once have been a public bathroom but was now boarded up. The wind was brisk by the water, and I sniffed, not bothering to tap a line.

It figured that Ku’Sox would be down here. Regular magic wouldn’t work well. Demon magic would, though, and I smiled grimly, feeling like a cupcake on a sparkling white plate. Here I am, Ku’Sox. Come take a bite.

My shoes hit the pavement, and I looked at them, wondering how they had found me a pair so fast when the city had come to a standstill. They weren’t new.

"Rachel, you said you had something for us to do?"

I forced the worry out of my eyes as I turned to Pierce. "Keep me alive when it’s over?" I said weakly, and he took my hand. It was a horribly romantic gesture, and it only made me feel worse. Things were clearer to me than they had ever been, and yet I gave his fingers a squeeze before I pulled away and turned to Vivian. There was a radio playing somewhere, and she was squinting up into the distant buildings, trying to place the sound. Otherwise, it was silent, rubble strewn about the edge of the shore. On the bay, it was beautiful, not a car on the bridge or a boat running out to Alcatraz. Hi, Mary. Eat your toast and kill your magic. It’s not worth it.

I didn’t understand this. My entire life would be decided in the next five minutes, the lives of Ivy and Jenks, the safety of all good people, and here I was delighting in the smell of the seaweed and how the sun shone on the tiny little bugs darting on the hard-packed shore.

"Vivian," I said, forcing myself to look back to her. "Oh, Vivian," I said, softer when I saw her fear.

"I’m fine," she asserted, her voice shaking. "Trent isn’t answering his phone. I’m sorry. I’ll keep trying. I think he flew back to Cincinnati with his little girl. What else can I do? I want to help."

The woman was terrified, and my heart went out to her. She had fought Ku’Sox for three days, seen two of her peers eaten alive. And yet she stood by me, ready to fight to the last. I didn’t want her here. I needed her in the city finding me a collective.

My hair lifted in the wind off the bay, and I smiled at the feeling. Focus, Rachel, focus. "Will you go back to the city for me?" I said, figuring the I.S. "driver" had left the keys.

"L-leave you?" she stammered, and I took her arm, leading her back to the van. "I can help!"

"I’m counting on it," I said. "I need you to go back. Stop at every church you can find. There are people there, right? Get them to ring the bells for me."

She stared, her blue eyes going wide. "For a collective," she said breathily, realizing what I was asking. A city-wide collective hadn’t happened since the Turn. It was both a warning and a gathering. An act of trust. I didn’t know if they would help or not, but if they didn’t, then I would fail and they would suffer.

"I’ll do it," she said, her voice trembling. "Rachel, if I have to light a fire in the middle of San Francisco, I will get you a collective. I promise."

Somehow I managed a smile, and I stumbled when she gave me a quick hug. Her eyes were brimming when she stepped back.

I blinked fast, trying not to tear up. "Thanks," I said, and her dusty shoes with the little bows scraped as she started to drift backward. "Don’t take too long."

Nodding, she turned and went back to the van. The door creaked as it opened, and her slight figure made the jump inside. "At least there won’t be any traffic," she said, and the door thumped closed.

The rumble of the van echoed against the abandoned buildings as the engine turned over. I felt Pierce’s presence beside me, and together we watched her pull away. The sound of the van quickly vanished, and we were alone. Sort of. Ku’Sox was here somewhere.

Nervous, I rubbed my palms together and breathed in the last of the exhaust fumes. "You don’t think they dropped us off at the wrong beach, do you?" I asked, and Pierce took my shoulders and turned our backs on the bay to look up to the hills of San Francisco. From here, everything looked normal, if a shade quiet and with the air markedly clean. If I had to do this with someone, I could do far worse than Pierce.

"Rachel," Pierce said, the depth of the emotion in his voice stopping me cold. He was going to say something, overcompensating for his part in getting me cursed. But I was a demon and he had devoted his life to killing them. I didn’t want to hear it.

"Wait," I interrupted, turning to find that he was too close. I didn’t move as he reached to steady me, his hand not falling when I found my balance. His dusty hair was all over, making him look endearing as he squinted from the wind off the bay. The slant to his eyes was determined, and I knew he had the strength to back up whatever he deemed a worthy task. He thought he loved me, even forgiving me for having prevented him from killing Al, and it was breaking my heart.

And I will cry when I go because I could love you forever.

I couldn’t love him. It would destroy him slowly, and I didn’t want that.

I leaned toward him, wishing I didn’t stink of the ever-after and demons. He blinked as he saw my intention, and his hands moved, one sliding behind my neck and the other holding firmly to my fingers. My head tilted and my lips opened. They met his in a shock of ley line, and I quivered.

I felt a tear slip out as Pierce held me, space between us as we kissed, leaving me aching when our lips parted. I didn’t know why I’d done it, except that I might die today. At least I’d die in the sun.

"Pierce," I said softly, our kiss ended but our foreheads still touching. "I can’t-"

We shifted apart, and he put a finger to my lips. I could taste his salt, and I blinked fast.