Black Magic Sanction

Dogs. Trent had dogs. I'd stolen something from him before, and he'd ridden after me. The moon was new. It was the Hunt. But no one was listening. And as I sat, terrified, Ivy got out, quickly followed by Pierce on my other side.

'I'm not getting out of this car!' I shouted, my grip tightening on the statue. 'Ivy, he's got dogs! I'm not going to be torn apart by a damn hound!'

Pierce leaned in, taking my hand to draw me into the night, where I stood and listened to the wind, searching for the singing of dogs in the rustling leaves. Not good. So not good.

Grit scraped under Ivy's heel as she slammed her door shut and turned to the distant glow of the city. 'What are we doing?' she asked as she put her belt pack back on.

'We're getting in the car and driving out of here!'

Ivy shook her head. 'The road is blocked already. Are we finishing this job or not?' she prompted, and I calmed myself, looking down at the ugly statue in my hand.

The thought of the dogs made me shiver in the cool night, but even so, there was a sliver of strength growing in me. I would forever have the refuge of the ever-after, especially now. All I had to do was find a line. And better yet, I knew my gut instinct about Nick had been right. It had only been my heart that had gotten in the way. I didn't have to feel guilty about hating him. And that... felt kind of good.

'Rache? We doing this?' Jenks asked as his kids chased the bats over the river.

I smiled up at him, pocketing the statue in my belt pack and zipping it up. 'Yes,' I said, and both he and Ivy relaxed. 'We got what we needed,' I said, following it up with a quick 'True, it didn't go off like I had intended, but we got something better, I think. I say we forget about crap-for-brains and just run the job as planned. If Nick talks, then so much the better.'

'Yes!' Jenks shouted, a burst of light coming from him.

Still listening for dogs, I turned to Ivy. 'Can you take care of getting the paperwork from David to claim FIB jurisdiction?' I asked. 'I know I was going to, but I can't go back into the city until we're ready to give the statue back.'

'Got it,' she said as she turned to the distant glow of Cincy. 'Where are you going?'

I exhaled, knowing they weren't going to like this. 'The ever-after,' I said softly, and Jenks darted to me, getting in my face and half blinding me.

'No!' he shouted, and his kids paused in their play before going back to tormenting a bat they'd caught. 'Rache, no!'

'Where else can I go?' I said, dropping back a step to see them ringing me in the faint light reflecting off the river. 'Not the church. Not anywhere in Cincinnati. Trent is going to be hot to find me. I'm surprised the dogs aren't baying already.' I shivered as I remembered the sound. 'They'll be following my scent, not yours. You should be fine.'

Looking calm, Pierce cleared his throat. 'I know of a place this side of the lines.'

Ivy gave him the once-over, her hip cocked. 'You know of a place. Why didn't you mention this before?'

'Because it was abundantly clear that you didn't want my help,' he said dryly, hands clasped behind his back and coat shifting in the wind off the water.

'You're not going to take Rachel alone to your place' Jenks threatened.

I shifted nervously, thinking that standing on a riverbank with dogs coming for me wasn't the best time to be eating crow, but I would. 'Pierce, you're my freaking hero for driving out here and saving my ass, but this is Trent we're talking about. The ever-after is the only place I'll be safe. If I run, his dogs will find me.' I stifled a shiver, but he saw, and I crossed my arms over my chest, pretending to be cold. I hated Trent's dogs. I really did.

Pierce raised his hand in disagreement even as he pulled a pair of heavy-duty clippers from a back pocket and cut the zip strip off me. 'I'm not an innocent in evading dogs,' he said, eyes meeting mine from under his loose curls. 'I know a spot nigh close to here. An almighty safe place this side of the lines.' His eyes went to me, black in the solid darkness of a night with no moon. 'There will be no black magic. You have my word.'

No black magic. Again I shivered as I remembered the awful sound of animals singing for my blood. We had left Trent's woods, but he'd ride for me anyway. He was probably saddling Tulpa right now, cleaning his hooves with his daddy's hoof pick.

Pierce took my hands. Ivy cleared her throat and Jenks clattered his wings. 'I can offer you nothing but a hole in the ground,' he said. 'But it is a hole never found by dogs or men with rifles. It was used to hide men and women on their way to freedom and is deeply spelled for safety.' He looked over the river as if looking into the past. 'I used to be a conductor on the underground railroad, or did that not find its way into Ivy's computer?' he said dryly.

I bit my lip, and Jenks's sour look eased. 'It's better than the ever-after and Al,' he said to Ivy, and the vampire grimaced.

Go with Pierce? Alone? Was he kidding? Ivy clearly wasn't happy with this either, but she finally nodded. 'I'd rather have you on this side of the lines,' she said sourly.

Pierce frowned at her mistrust as Jenks dusted a bright silver. Standing beside the river, the witch seemed to change. His mood darkened, and his gaze lingered on the moving water as if testing it. Hands in the pockets of his coat, he asked me, 'Can you swim?'

Suddenly the ever-after was looking a whole lot better. 'You want me to get in the water?' I asked. 'It's freezing!'

Ivy's steps were loud on the gravel as she came up to us, but any hope that she was going to side with me died when she took my elbow and started walking to the river. 'Rachel, Pierce is right this time,' she said, and I made a noise of disbelief. 'Trent owns Cincinnati. It's a death trap. The ever-after is just as bad. Go with Pierce.'

'Ivy!' I protested. My feet splashed into the water, and I jerked out. 'It's cold!' I said, pulling out of their reach and staring at the fast-moving water.

'Don't be a girl, Rache,' Jenks said, hovering over the water and jerking up three more feet when something jumped at him.

'Look!' I said, pointing and backing out completely. 'There are fish in there!'

Pierce ducked his head, muttering, 'I think she's afraid.'

I huffed, but Jenks came to my rescue. 'She doesn't need to be. I'm going with her.'

Ivy's eyes, black and glinting in the starlight, widened. 'You are not leaving me alone with your kids and that gargoyle.'

'I can't bring my kids with me!' he protested. 'Come on, Ivy, give me a break!'

I jerked when Pierce pulled me off balance and into the water a step. 'Hey!' I shouted, hearing it echo on the flat water. 'I said I'm not getting in the water! I almost died the last time.' Memories of ice and Trent surfaced, and I wrapped my arms around my middle. I had saved him, and he had saved me. What was wrong with us?

Ivy spun to me. 'Shut up. Go with Pierce. Jenks will go with you so we know where you are, then he'll come back and tell me. I've got the kids.' She glanced at Jenks. 'Okay?'

'Okay,' the pixy said, and I wondered if he'd really leave me. Except that if he didn't, she'd never know where I was.

'I'll get everything set up for Fountain Square,' she was saying. 'At least we didn't tell Nick everything about that! You keep the statue in case Trent follows me. I'm going to Rynn's, but better safe than sorry. Get in the water, Rachel. They can track you to here, but the water will kill the scent. I imagine you'll go down about a mile before you can make it across.'

'Depends on how well she swims,' Pierce said, his feet already in the water, and I shivered.

'Guys, this isn't a good idea,' I said as the cold seeped into me, but no one was listening.

'Jenks will come back when I've got everything set and bring you anything small you might need.' Ivy was starting to babble, and she shut her mouth, her eyes frightened. She didn't want to leave me, and I gave her a hug just to shut her up.

'Thank you,' I said, breathing her in, and her arms went around me tentatively. 'Thank you for helping me today.' I put her at arm's length and smiled, feeling my eyes warm with unshed tears. 'I don't deserve people like you and Jenks.'

'Aww, I'm going to barf fairy farts,' Jenks said, but he landed on her shoulder, shedding a bright sifting of