The Undead Pool (The Hollows #12)(53)
Author: Kim Harrison

“Rachel!” Ivy screamed, but instinct took over, and I braced myself, taking his momentum and flinging him into a pillar.

Felix twisted in midair. His shoulder took the blow instead of his back, and he sprang to his feet before I could shoot, eyes alight. “I’ve never had demon blood before,” he said, eyes flicking behind me, and I felt Ivy’s presence slide up to mine.

“That’s not going to change, dirt nap,” I said, drawing on the ley line until my hair floated.

Howling, he jumped again to kick my middle. My air exploded from me, and I found myself flung backward, skidding across the carpet until I hit the wall. My chest hurt. Eyes almost shut, I struggled to breathe, helpless as Ivy screamed and attacked. Fists a blur and shouts chilling, she forced him back from me. She seldom scored, but he was on the retreat. If he’d been trained in the arts, she wouldn’t have had a chance. If he thought we might be able to best him, he wouldn’t be playing with us as he was. If he noticed Nina crawling to the elevator to pull the chair away and send the lift to the surface . . . he might not be smiling, enjoying himself and the anticipation of our blood in his mouth.

But he didn’t.

My gun shook in my grip. He was too far away. The propellant was only good for about twenty feet. Screaming in outrage, Ivy landed a side kick that sent Felix falling into a roll. “Why do you fight me?” he said as he regained his feet. “The Free Vampires will destroy the undead. All of them. I can stop them, but I need Nina,” he coaxed, his hands spread in innocence.

Ivy retreated to stand beside me. “Do it without your slave,” she said, panting. “You won’t have her.”

He knew about the Free Vampires? Then it was them after all? They were trying to kill the masters. The misfires were just a side effect. My grip on my gun grew steady, and with a soft wing hum, Jenks hovered between us, his satisfied smile making Felix hesitate. He was back. The FIB and I.S. were on the way. Oh God, I hope they don’t shoot me.

“Your ass is staying under the grass, blood bag,” the pixy said, and Felix’s eyes became black as he looked at the elevator and Nina slumped beside it. Weak, she cracked her eyes and flipped him off as it dinged.

“You stupid bitches,” he snarled, and then he dropped to a kneel, hands laced behind the back of his head as the doors slid apart and angry, yelling men in ACG gear and bulletproof vests ran into the room.

It was an excellent idea, and I held my hands up, gun dangling. I hated it when the good guys didn’t recognize me. But then again, I was covered in blood. None of it was mine. I think.

“Don’t shoot the women!” Jenks was shouting as he wove between Ivy and me. “Tink loves a duck, you’re dumber than a troll’s dildo! Don’t you know a runner when you see one?”

“Ivy?” Nina cried in fear when a well-meaning man dragged her into the elevator.

With a quick palm thrust, Ivy snapped back the head of the man trying to cuff her. She bolted to the elevator, grabbing a gun from a second scared officer and throwing it across the room. “Don’t let him in!” Ivy cried out, falling beside Nina and grabbing her shoulders to make her look at her. “Nina, I’m here. We can get through this. I won’t leave you!”

Her cry brought everyone up short, and I could have smacked Felix’s face clean off when he watched, soaking in the emotion and relishing the pain and fear he was creating.

But he wasn’t trying to take Nina over, and I absently handed my gun to the man demanding it, having to lean around the flood of angry officers in order to see Nina and Ivy. Felix was being cooperative, which was more than a little disconcerting. Mad men do not submit.

“I don’t feel good,” Nina said, her complexion becoming decidedly green.

“She’s going to blow chunks!” Jenks warned, and I winced when she began to throw up great gouts of black vomit. It tended to clear a room out fast, and everyone gave her space as Ivy held her hair out of the way. Felix, the bastard, seemed amused.

“Sure, laugh now while you got the chance,” I whispered, and he turned to me, clearly having heard.

But the elevator opened again and more FIB and I.S. guys poured out. “Edden!” I called as I saw his balding head among the rest. David was with him, looking an odd mix with his long duster and borrowed FIB hat, and a knot of worry eased. He was all right. He must have escaped the chaos upstairs and gone for help. Seeing me, his lips curved up in relief and I knew we were okay.

Felix was smiling despite his hands being cuffed behind his back. As the only awake undead, he might be able to turn this around, especially if he kept acting cooperatively. But I’d seen the madness behind his eyes. He wouldn’t take Nina with him—not if I could help it.

“She’s been attacked,” I heard Ivy snarl at someone. “Get away from her.”

“I’m good?” I asked the man checking out my ID, and he nodded, handing my gun back. “Edden! David!” I called, and David touched Edden on the shoulder, leaving him with two officers as he started to me. Tired, I leaned against the back of a couch, getting nasty, icky blood all over it.

“I know I said I’d call you,” the Were said as he closed the gap. “But they did an end-around and took my scouts by surprise. I went to the church, but you were already gone— Hey!”

I pulled him into a hug, breathing in the complex scent of woods and gunpowder. “I thought you were upstairs in that mess,” I said. “I was so mad.” Leaning back, I looked at his grinning, sheepish face. “I still am mad!” I said louder. “Damn it, David. You’ve got to be more careful!”

Jenks wreathed us with a silver dust. “She was ready to avenge you,” he said, laughing. “I’ve never seen her aura like that, all silvery with the need to do mean justice.”

“I was not,” I said, embarrassed that some of the officers were listening. “Okay, I was,” I admitted. “So I take it you found some Free Vampires. Is everyone upstairs going to be okay?”

He nodded. “They are, though I might have to watch a couple of the younger ones for a while to make sure they don’t need some extra help avoiding addiction.” He leaned in, whispering, “They’ll be fine. The focus is stronger than any residual vampiric pheromone bonds.”

That was a relief, and I gave his shoulder a last shove to show how much he meant to me as Edden finished up with his officers and came forward. “You could have called,” I said.