landed, she pushed off, somersaulting right over me. I spun to keep her in view. Red spots of exertion were starting to show on her. She was dipping into her vamp repertoire to evade me. Encouraged, I followed up, striking with my fists and elbows.
'So quit and finish the run yourself,' Ivy said between blocks and counterstrikes.
My wrists smacking into her blocks hurt, but I kept at it. 'I told him… that's what I was going to do…' Strike, block, block, strike. '…and he threatened to lock me up for harassment. Told me I should concentrate on Dr. Anders.' Pull six feet back. Pant. Sweat.
A smile, real and unusual flashed across her face and was gone. 'Sneaky bastard,' she said. 'I knew God had put him on earth to be more than a happy meal.'
'Edden?' I wiped at the sweat dripping from my nose. 'He's more of a big kid's meal, isn't he?' I gestured for her to come get me. Eyes glinting in amusement, she obliged, attacking with a barrage of blows ending with a strike to my solar plexus that sent me reeling.
'Your concentration is slipping,' she said, breathing hard as she watched me kneel, gasping, on the floor. 'You should have seen that coming.'
I had, but my arm was going numb and slow from having been hit too many times. 'I'm all right,' I wheezed. This was the first time I'd seen her break a sweat, and I wasn't going to stop now. I shakily got to my feet and held up two fingers, then one. My hand went down, and she lunged with a supernatural quickness.
Alarmed, I blocked her vamp-quick blows, retreating off the mats and almost into the foyer. She grabbed my arm as I reached the threshold, flinging me over her and back onto the mats. My back hit with a thump, knocking the wind from me. I felt her feet padding after me. Adrenaline surged. Still not breathing, I rolled until I hit the wall. She was hot after me, landing to pin me there.
Eyes alight, she leaned over me. 'Edden is a wise man,' she said between breaths, a strand of hair that had escaped her tie tickling my face. Sweat dampened her brow. 'You should listen to him and leave Trent alone.'
'Et tu, brute?' I wheezed. Grunting, I jerked my knee up to her groin.
She sensed it coming and fell back. I had known she was too fast to let it land, but it got her off me—which was what I'd wanted.
Ivy stood her usual eight feet back and waited for me to rise. It was slower this time. I rubbed my shoulder as I took her in, avoiding eye contact to let her know I wasn't ready.
'Not bad,' she admitted. 'But you didn't follow it up. Mr. Big Bad Ugly isn't going to stand aside and wait for you to regain your balance, and neither should you.'
I gave her a weary look from around my red frizz of hair. Trying to keep up with her, much less best her, was hard. I'd never had to think about overcoming a vampire before since the I.S. didn't send witches to tag them. And whatever else, the I.S. took care of its own, on or off the job. Unless they wanted you dead.
'What are you going to do?' she asked as I felt my ribs through my sweatshirt.
'About Trent?' I said, breathless. 'Talk to him without Edden or Glenn knowing.'
Ivy's rocking motion faltered. With a warning shout, she leapt forward.
Instinct and practice saved me as I ducked. She spun in a tight circle, and I jerked out of the way. Ivy followed with a series of blows that backed me to the wall. Her voice echoed against the empty walls of the sanctuary, filling it with sound.
Shocked at her sudden ferocity, I pushed myself from the wall and fought back using every trick that she had taught me. I became angry that she wasn't even trying. With her vamp speed and strength, I was a moving target dummy.
My eyes widened as Ivy's face went savage. She was going to show me something new. Swell.
She shouted and spun. I foolishly did nothing as her foot slammed into my chest, sending me into the wall of the church.
My breath whooshed out and pain crushed my lungs. She darted away, leaving me to hang gasping. Staring at the floor, I saw the green and gold sunbeams shake as the stained-glass windows to either side of me shivered. Still not breathing, I looked up to see Ivy sauntering away. Her slow, mocking pace ticked me off.
Anger burned, giving me strength. Still having not caught my breath, I jumped her.
Ivy cried out in surprise as I landed on her back. Grinning savagely, my legs went around her waist. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her head back, sliding an arm around her throat to choke her.
Gasping, she backpedaled. I let go, knowing she was going to slam me against the wall again. I dropped to the floor, and she tripped over me. She went down. I grappled for her, catching her around the neck again. She bucked against the floor, twisting her body at an impossible angle, breaking my hold.
Heart pounding, I flipped myself to my feet, finding Ivy standing eight feet away—waiting. My exhilaration at having surprised her vanished as I realized something had shifted. She was moving from foot to foot with an unnerving, fluid grace, the first sign of her vamp background getting the better of her.
Immediately I straightened and waved my arms in surrender. 'That's it,' I panted. 'I have to get cleaned up. I'm done. I've got to do my homework.'
But instead of backing off as she always did, she started to circle. Her movements were languorously slow and her eyes were fixed to mine. My heart pounded and I spun to keep her in view. Tension laced through me, tightening my muscles one by one. She came to a halt in a sunbeam, the light glinting on her black body stocking like it was oil. Her hair was free, the black band lying between us where I had accidentally ripped it off her.
'That's the trouble with you, Rachel,' she said, her soft voice echoing. 'You always quit when it starts to get good. You're a tease. Nothing but a goddamned tease.'
'Excuse me?' I asked, the pit of my stomach clenching. I knew exactly what she meant, and it scared the crap out of me.
Her face tightened. Forewarned, I braced myself as she lunged. I blocked her fists, driving her away with a foot aimed at her knees. 'Knock it off, Ivy!' I shouted as she jerked out of my reach. 'I said I'm done!'
'No you aren't.' Her gray voice settled over me like silk. 'I'm trying to save your life, little witch. A big bad vamp isn't going to stop because you tell him to. He's going to keep coming until he gets what he wants or you drive him away. I'm going to save your life—one way or another. You'll thank me when it's over.'
She darted forward. Catching my arm, she twisted it, trying to force me to the floor. I gasped and kicked her legs from under her. We went down, my breath exploding out of me. Panicking, I pushed away and rolled to my feet.
I found her waiting her usual eight feet back—circling. A subtle heat had soaked into her movements. Her head was lowered and she was eyeing me from around her hair. Her lips were parted, and I could almost see her breath passing through them.
I backed away. Fear grew as the ring of brown around her pupils flashed to black.
Swallowing, I ran a hand over myself, foolishly trying to wipe her sweat off. I had known better than to jump her. I had to get her smell off me, and now. My fingers touched the demon scar on my neck, and my breath caught. It was tingling from the pheromones she was pumping into the air.
'Stop, Ivy,' I said, cursing the quaver that had crept into my voice. 'We're done.' Knowing my life hung on what happened in the next few seconds, I turned my back on her in a false show of confidence. Either I would make it to my room and its two locks or I wouldn't.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I paced past her. My heart pounded, and I held my breath. She did nothing as I neared the hallway, and my breath slipped out.
'No, we aren't,' she whispered.
The sound of moving air pulled me around.
She attacked silently, her eyes lost in black. I fended off her blows by instinct. She wasn't even trying. Ivy caught my arm, and I cried out in pain as she spun me around, crushing my back against her. I leaned forward as if trying to break her grip. As her arms tightened and her body leaned to find our balance, I slammed my head backward into her chin.
Grunting, she dropped her grip and stumbled back. Adrenaline sang through me. She was between me and my spells. If I went for the front door, I'd never make it. This was my fault. Damn it back to the Turn, I shouldn't have jumped her. I shouldn't have become aggressive. She was driven by instinct, and I had pushed her too far.
I stood, watching her come to a swaying halt in a sunbeam. Standing sideways, she tilted her head and
