The rims of Pierce's ears were red, and he flicked his gaze to me and away. 'Remind me to tell you about my aunt Sara someday,' he said, the words deep in his throat.
My eyebrows went up, and Pierce exhaled, seeming to settle himself. 'It sounds like an almighty good scheme. And when you are naked in front of all creation, how will you give Kalamack the statue?'
'I thought you could throw it to me?' I said hesitantly, and Pierce laughed.
Thirty-four
I didn't like being small. And I was just small, I wasn't a pixy. Unlike Jenks, I didn't have a quick escape if Pierce stumbled other than to grab a silky fold of his vest and hope he didn't squish me when he fell down. If being small in the garden was bad, being small in the streets of Cincy was terrifying. Everything was loud, big, and heavy. I honestly didn't know how Jenks survived. About the only pleasant thing to have come out of this so far was that I was clean—really clean—again. I didn't even care that I was hairy once more.
Jenks had stayed with me while Pierce jumped back to the church for the size-down curse and something small for me to wear to go with it, and I glanced down at the exquisite light green silk that fluttered about my bare feet in the draft of our motion. I was guessing it belonged to one of Jenks's daughters, and I held a hand to the low neckline as I began to feel seasick at Pierce's quick pace. I didn't have a scrap of red on, and it worried me.
Jenks was quiet as he stood beside me on Pierce's shoulder. He wasn't wearing any red either, dressed for work in his usual skintight black silk and thin-soled high boots. If we entered another pixy's territory without red on, we'd be accused of poaching and might find ourselves attacked. His wings were a depressed blue even as they hummed to maintain his balance, but he stood ready to grab me and fly if anything should happen.
The heat of the city felt good, and I shivered when Pierce hit the shade of a tall building. He was getting nervous, and the smell of the witch overpowered the stink of the city. I breathed him in, liking the redwood scent and the bite of shoe polish. He'd taken the time for a hasty shower at the church before borrowing Ivy's sister's car and coming out to find me, and the smell of soap mingled with the silk scent of his heavily patterned vest. Looking at him, you'd never know he had a chunk of elf porn in his pocket as he gave everyone we passed a nod.
And yet, he was nervous, feeling his pocket for the statue yet again as we slowed at a crosswalk and waited for the light to change. I could see a slice of the square a block up, and anticipation made me shiver. 'I'm of a mind we might be able to walk right up,' he said softly.
'Not likely,' I said, the only reason Pierce could hear me was because I was right next to his ear.
'You go straight here,' Jenks said, his voice magnified by 'pixy magic' and attracting the attention of the woman next to us. She gave a start until she saw Jenks and me, and then she was charmed, scaring me and putting Jenks in a foul mood if his comment about her perfume and a fairy's hind end was any indication.
Edging away from her thick finger poking toward us, Pierce adjusted his hat and muttered, 'I know how to get to the square. The dash-it-all thing is right in front of us.'
Impatient, I held my breath against the gas fumes and fidgeted. Jenks could fly me across the street, but I didn't want to leave Pierce and the statue behind. Trent's voice was being piped out over the sound system and a live video was being displayed on the news screen they'd put up the last time they revamped the square.
Impatient, I got to my feet, and Pierce winced when I grabbed his ear for support. But my nervousness shifted to fear when my gaze found a pair of uniforms standing across the street—waiting for us. Damn. I had hoped to get closer before we were IDed.
'Uh, Jenks?' I said, pointing, and the pixy's wings lifted, taking on a more normal hue.
'I see them,' Pierce said, having heard my tiny voice. 'I'll cross Main instead and come up on the other side of the street.'
With a last awkward look at the cooing woman, Pierce sidestepped away and crossed Main, almost jogging to make the light. I clutched his ear, my dress flying up as Jenks took my shoulder to keep me from falling.
It had begun. Steady and sure, the adrenaline seeped in, bringing me alive.
'Good going, Sherlock,' Jenks's dry voice said tightly as we reached the curb and Pierce slowed. 'They're watching you now because you changed your mind.'
'They were watching us before, Jenks. No big diff,' I said. 'Pierce, you want to shift your look?'
He nodded, and I shivered as a wave of ever-after cascaded over him when he stepped off the curb to cross Government. No one noticed, or at least no one commented on it in the throng of people trying to get to the square. Pierce now looked like Tom Bansen, which might get us stopped, or it might get us through, seeing that the dead witch had also been a corrupt I.S. cop. In either case, if the two officers on the corner had been watching for Pierce, they'd be looking for the wrong man.
We were almost there, but when I looked back, they were following us on the other side of the street. 'It didn't work!' I shouted, and Pierce winced.
'I see them,' he said, not looking. 'I opine things will get rough from here. Rachel, watch yourself. I'll get you as close as I can.' 'No black magic!' I exclaimed, and he sighed.
Jostled, we reached the corner of Fifth and Main, stymied by the light again. The square was right in front of us, and Trent's speech was in full swing. The cops shadowing us were clearly from the I.S., and I scanned the area for FIB agents, not seeing any. The I.S. flunkies were watching, waiting to see what we were going to do. One was on the radio. The net was being thrown. I had to stay smaller than the holes they were leaving. Pixy small.
The skin around Pierce's eyes crinkled as he glanced at the waiting I.S. officers. 'Jenks, we're going to be here a moment. Why don't you see what they're talking about? Make yourself useful, little man?'
Snarling something lost in the roar of a bus, Jenks darted over the organized chaos. I felt naked without him, and I held Pierce's ear more tightly. 'News vans, news vans,' I murmured, feeling better when I spotted them. I hated news vans, but they were going to save my butt today. The coven could be anywhere. If they didn't show, I was screwed.
My attention went to Trent, at the podium. Quen was behind him, and I felt a jump of worry. The man was better than me at just about everything. 'I have enjoyed serving you in the capacity of councilman,' Trent was saying, 'and could be happy for years more, but I see the corruption, I hear your frustration, and I want to do more. It is my responsibility to do more!'
The crowd liked that, and I jumped when Jenks landed next to me with a clatter of wings. 'I don't know how, but they know it's you, Rache.'
'We've got two I.S. agents ahead of us, four behind, and the two on the right,' Jenks continued. 'Trent has his staff on the stage, but it's mixed up with I.S. people. I say we get our asses up there, and trust wonder ghost here to join us when he can.'
Pierce tried to look at us, failing. 'I can get you across the street.'
He looked almost eager for a fight, and I became even more nervous. Damn it, if Pierce messed this up I was going to be pissed! 'No black magic!' I demanded, and his jaw clenched. 'I mean it! The coven is out there. No black magic! If you can't do it the way I want, I'm not going to let you help me!'
I frowned, teeth clenched. Clearly we had a few things to work out. But the crossing light had switched. I wobbled when Pierce took a step, and Jenks's wings hummed, ready to snatch me if I fell. The pavement threw up a wave of heat, buoying Jenks up like a balloon, and he finally took to the air to maintain his balance. Ahead of us waited two more cops. Vamps by the looks of it.
'Steady, Rache,' Jenks said. 'I'll be with you the entire time.'
'Don't you patronize me, too,' I said, heart beating fast. How did he survive being so small?
