Trouble with the Cursed Page 2

  “Thump it,” I said, and he made a fist, smacking it into the walls and stomping on the floor until an echoing boom rose. His scarred, broken-nosed, tanned face turned to me in a smile, and I stifled a desire-born shudder at his small but very sharp canines.

  “Fire in the hole,” I mouthed, and he lurched out of the way.

  “Corrumpo!” I exclaimed, funneling the ley line energy running through me out my fingertips. The curse-harnessed power left me with a delicious, inside-out feeling, the gold and red ball of magic slamming into the wall with an attention-getting boom!

  I ducked, invoking a protection circle as the wallboard exploded out to send dust and chunks of wall everywhere. The haze flowed up and over me with only the faintest scent of plaster, and Pike waved his hand, squinting as he tried to see what we’d found.

  But all we’d done was expose the metallic fire door behind it.

  “That’s not the main door, it’s an escape hatch,” I said, and he nodded, squinting as he ran a finger, lumpy from past breaks, over the inlaid control panel blinking a faint green. Again I wished for Jenks, making me wonder if I had gotten soft, or if I had ever been capable on my own. I relied on the skills of others too much . . . maybe.

  “We should have brought Jenks,” Pike said, and I spun, intuition and a soft shoe scrape turning me to the five really big men suddenly staring at us from the door. They were clearly living vampires, dressed in jeans and logo-emblazoned tees. Their fangs were small but sharp, and their eyes were pupil black. Each one was a marvel of muscle, each one built for hurt.

  “Found ’em,” Pike said as he dropped back and undid his belt. It pulled from the loops with an ominous hissing sound, running through me like ice.

  “Gentlemen?” I offered as they filed in, each one barely making it through the door without having to step sideways.

  “We’ve had some complaints,” Pike said, half the belt now wrapped around his knuckles, the tail hanging like a makeshift whip. “You should have returned my calls.”

  But they said nothing, arraying themselves between us and the door. The window had bars on it. No wonder Doyle didn’t come in. . . .

  “Okay. We can do this one of two ways,” I said as I leveled my splat gun. “One—”

  They moved, liquidly fast.

  I gasped, arm rising instinctively to ward off a blow. It struck with a shocking pain, startling me alive. Three went for Pike, and then I saw little else as I retreated, arm numb as I struggled to evade another hit. “Son of a pup!” I exclaimed as I brought my splat pistol to bear, but the two coming for me were too close. They’d simply dodge it.

  Crap on toast, I miss Jenks. He never would have let me get cornered. My splat balls broke against the wall, useless. The potion only acted on bare skin, and I shot six more, making a nice dripping cluster but not hitting anyone.

  I winced at the dull snap of a bone and low bellow, emboldened when two of Pike’s guys rolled across the floor, tumbling into the wall, where they shook their heads and tried to get up.

  Black eyes found mine, and then they came at me again. “Off!” I shouted when thick arms encircled me, and then I gasped when the air was suddenly squished from my lungs.

  His teeth were way too close. I fought him, my splat gun hitting the floor as I kicked out at the second man, using the one holding me as leverage. The first wouldn’t let go, but he’d eased his grip when my feet thumped into the second, and I got a breath of air as he stumbled from me.

  “This is Rachel Morgan?” the vamp holding me said as his buddy got up and touched his lip to find it bleeding. “The demon subrosa? She’s smaller than I thought she’d be.”

  “And you,” I panted as I readied a massive amount of ley line energy, “are dumber than evolution allows. Let go!”

  Twisting, I jabbed my elbow and stomped on his foot—just for fun—and when his weight shifted, my feet planted themselves solidly and I wrenched his arm, sending him over my crouched back to slam into the wall and my still-dripping smears of potion.

  The man let out a yelp of surprise, and then the spell soaked through his shirt. As Pike howled exuberantly and snapped more bones, my attacker collapsed, out cold. Chest hurting, I limped to get my splat gun.

  I never made it, yelping as the other guy dragged me away. I was caught from behind in a bear hug again. Crap on toast, how many times does a girl have to say no?

  “You want some help?” Pike said, and I grimaced, blowing the hair out of my face as the guy lifted me up, squeezing the breath out of me again. Pike had his three men cornered and bleeding, cautious now that they had bones breaking the skin, their blood making the floor slick. They had to be hopped up on something, as they gathered themselves and rushed him together. Pike moved in a blur, belt smacking bare skin to make them jump and his knuckles doing damage. He spun like a dancer, sending them crashing into the walls before turning to me.

  “I got this,” I gasped, then funneled the ley line into the man holding me.

  The vampire screamed in shock. My crushed ribs rebounded. Gasping, I flailed my arms as I found myself hurling through the air until I hit the floor with a pained grunt.

  “Ow . . .” I whispered, arm throbbing. The man I’d just jolted was hunched, staring at me as if I had broken a rule. There was no rule here, and I stood, pulling more ley line energy into me until my hands glowed and the tips of my hair began to float.

  “You. Settle down!” I shouted. “What’s the code for downstairs?”

  His black eyes suddenly wide in fear, he launched himself at me again. He was more afraid of his master than us. I can fix that. . . .

  I dove for my splat gun, arm warming with a floor burn as I grabbed it, spinning to plug him dead in the face.

  He howled and pawed at his eyes . . . and then he fell on me, out cold.

  His weight hit me hard, pinning me. Damn it all to the Turn and back! I thought, struggling to push him off. One of Pike’s guys tripped over him and fell, and I downed him, too, before wiggling out and standing up.

  “Put ’em down!” I shouted, my good mood spoiled. “I’m not here so you can play!”

  Pike grinned at me from across the broken room. He was hunched and in pain, but clearly getting the better of the last two facing him. I’d once seen him flat out kill five assassins in as many minutes, but it was hot, and I had things to do. “I lost my gym membership last week,” he said, attacking with his belt before grabbing the vanity’s chair and brandishing it like a lion tamer. We had three of the five down, and if they hadn’t sent anyone else up, they probably didn’t have anyone.

  My phone, I realized, was humming, and as Pike gleefully snapped his belt and busted the frilly chair over the arm of one of his attackers, I dropped back to glance at it.

  Ivy! I thought in pleasure, wanting to take the call. “Do your cardio on your own time,” I said, gathering myself to wrap this up fast. My phone hummed again as I pulled on the line and focused on first one, then the other. “Stabils! Stabils!” I exclaimed, shuddering at the twin bursts of line energy flowing through me as it hit first one, then the other. Hodin claimed there was a way for the curse to act on them at the same time, but I hadn’t found the knack.

  “Hey!” Pike exclaimed as they fell in turn, the one still in Pike’s grip almost dragging him down. “How am I supposed to beat the door code out of them when they’re out cold?”

  “They can still talk. Beat away,” I said as the two vampires began swearing. One was facedown on the floor, the other now staring at the ceiling with his leg awkwardly pinned under him.

  Rubbing my bruised ribs, I hit accept and Ivy’s low voice rose in greeting.

  Immediately I felt my body relax. “Hey, Ivy. How you doing?” I said as Pike stood domineeringly over the two downed men. My breath was fast, and I flexed my sore arm, glad it wasn’t broken.

  “Good,” she said, her voice like living dust, silky and gray. “You sound busy. Is this a bad time?”

  I glanced at Pike manhandling the thugs upright, none too gentle as he slammed their heads into the walls to get them to pay attention. “No, you’re good. I’m helping Pike with some underage predation. He’s done playing.” My voice rose. “Right?” I said loudly, and Pike made a “maybe” gesture.

  “Door code!” he shouted, and the two spat empty threats.

  “I can call back,” Ivy said. “But it won’t take long if you have a sec.”

  Sore, I rested my butt on the windowsill and reclined against the bars, careful to stay out of the sleepy-time potion. The room was in shambles, and I nudged the torn canopy off the air duct in the hopes of some cool air. There were pillow feathers everywhere, looking like falling snow as they settled. “What’s up? Everything okay with you and Nina?”

  Pike smacked one of the vampires hard enough to split his lip. “Where’s Kip?” he demanded, eyes black. “Little thing. Short blond hair. Likes the color red.”

  “Never saw her.” The vampire sneered. “Go bleed yourself.”

  “We’re fine,” Ivy said. “She’s wreaking havoc with the old undead, but it’s a good thing. I’m going to be in Cincy tomorrow night. I’m hoping more than a visit, but that depends on what the master vampire I’m escorting thinks.”

  She’s coming home? But my elation hesitated. “Master vampire?” I asked.

  I could almost see her wince, her pale, oval face scrunching. “The DC undead know that Constance isn’t running Cincy,” she said, and I slumped. Pike’s gaze rose, finding mine as he paused his interrogations. “They think she’s twice dead and that you are responsible for it.”

  “Imagine that,” I muttered. The distasteful, psychotic, narcissistic vampire was alive. She was a mouse, but she was alive, kept in a very nice cage in Piscary’s old quarters where the light couldn’t reach her. “Would it help if Hodin put in an appearance as her again?”

  I wasn’t exactly thrilled about asking him. The first time, I’d had to give him six months rent free in the church in exchange for ten minutes of his time. He’d been an okay roomie, but I didn’t like the vibe I was getting between him and my other roommate Stef. I was already counting the days until our deal was up and he was gone. Al might talk to me again, too. . . .

  “Probably not,” Ivy said. “This guy knows her. An old undead named Finnis. He’s the reason for half her hang-ups, and he’ll be able to tell if it’s not her. Rachel, if you can’t produce Constance, they’ll assume she’s twice dead and press charges. Body or no.”

  I ran a hand over my snarled hair and sighed, startled when I found a pillow feather. “I don’t know what their problem is,” I said, ogling Pike’s shoulders as he resumed harassing the vampires. “Pike and I are maintaining order just fine.”

  “Maybe that’s it,” Ivy said, and Pike began a rhythmic punching, his fist thumping into one, then the other in a cringeworthy assault set to his hummed tune of “Frog Went A-Courting.” Weird. “They’re not happy you can do the job. It makes them look bad and opens the door for other powers to oversee their own people.”

  My head bobbed in understanding. Pike was probably making progress, but it was hard to tell. Until he managed to best the pheromones turning their pain into pleasure, they wouldn’t care how much he beat them.

  “Hey, tell Pike to threaten to break a fang,” Ivy said suddenly, clearly overhearing Pike. “That usually brings good results when they are hopped up on Brimstone and pheromones.”

  I glanced at Pike, and as he straightened with a shrug of shoulders, I stretched for the broken chair leg, tossing it to land in his grip with a solid thump.

  Without hesitation, Pike jabbed it into the largest man’s face. The vampire howled, blood gushing as the other stared in horror. Pike had done the unthinkable by damaging the one thing his undead master valued above all else.

  “Ooh, Pike,” I said, cringing as the blood flowed.

  “I said threaten, not do,” Ivy said, clearly guessing what had happened by the sudden burbling babble rising from both vampires.

  “Three kids. Downstairs,” the intact vampire said, his voice loud and panicked. “One chaperone and two clients. The code is 55512.”

  Eyebrows high, Pike pulled the torn canopy off the four-poster bed in a sound of ripping fabric. Motions rough, he wiped the vampire’s face and let the bloodied rag drop to his lap. My shoulders eased. The thug’s fang was still intact. It was the right front tooth that Pike had knocked out. I might have felt sorry for him, but there were three kids downstairs, three kids who were the tip of an ugly iceberg. He deserved far worse, and once he hit prison, he’d get it.

  “Thanks, Ivy,” I said. “I’ll call you tonight after I talk with everyone.”

  “Sounds good,” she said, and my head rose at a tinkling of broken glass from the front room. “I’ll let you go. I wanted you to hear it from me, not Edden or the I.S. Love you.”

  The seldom-spoken words shocked through me, followed by a warm understanding. Ivy was deeply committed to Nina, but there was all kinds of love, and we’d been through a lot. “Love you, too,” I said, glad I could say the words as well, and the phone clicked off. I did love Ivy, not the way she had wanted, but we both understood each other and were happy with our relationship now.

  I knew Pike had heard us over their continued babbling, but that was okay. He’d never met Ivy, but I was sure he knew our history. Hell, everyone in Cincy knew our history.

  “Thank you, gentlemen,” I said as I tossed Pike my splat gun to do the honors. “You should have gone with option number one.”

  His lips quirked in an ugly smile, Pike shot them both and tossed my gun back to me. Motions fast, he all but danced through the broken room, his eyes black as he entered the code. The door lock thumped as it released, and a wave of warm, incense-heavy air flowed up and out.

  Suddenly, my mood crashed. The scent was betrayal and violence made real, and it struck me to my core, bringing uncomfortable memories of being trapped underground with an undead. They were soulless, their power born in our need to see them as they were, not as they are. Dead.

  Pike took a deep breath, almost shuddering as the pheromones hit him. The young wouldn’t have the ability to say no. Hell, I wasn’t sure Pike could, or even wanted to, because even though there was nothing but lies down there, the pleasure was still real.

  “Hey, uh, you mind if I stay here to keep your way open?” I said, and Pike nodded, his expression grim.

  “Stay,” Pike said, voice husky, and in a dark flash of movement, he was gone.

  Silence echoed up, and then a scream and thump. “Pike! You good?” I shouted down the black stair. Please be okay. Please be okay. Don’t make me go down that hole. . . .

  “Just a sec!” his voice echoed faintly, then, “Kip! Focus! Where are the kids?”

  Relieved, I inched away as more swearing, more screaming rose up. None of it was Pike’s, and I tightened my grip on both my gun and the ley line at the sudden thumping on the stairs. The steps were fast, and light, and I lifted my hands high in reassurance when three kids boiled up from the darkness, their eyes wide and vacant as they slid to a frightened halt and took their first untainted breath for what might have been days. They were still in their school uniforms, and I had a hope that they were in the same condition as when their parents had last seen them.

  “You’re safe,” I said, trying to smile as I lowered my gun and shifted to stand between them and the door. Wild horses, skittish and scared. “Hang tight until Pike and Kip come up. We’ve got a car, and we’ll get you home.”

  They were young, well into their teens, clean limbed and soft. Fifteen, maybe. I didn’t dare touch them lest I spook them into running, and as they gathered in a frightened huddle by the bed, my anger grew at whoever had tried to steal their youth. They were living vampires and therefore doomed to a life that wasn’t their own choosing. But to take what little chance they had to fight it . . . That was unforgivable.

  “Please. No. He’ll kill me!” came a high-pitched, terrified voice from the stairwell, and then Pike shoved a tall woman up into the light before him, propelling the well-dressed brunette across the blood-slicked floor and into the broken bedframe. “I want I.S. custody. I need a safe house!” she babbled, clinging to the bed as if it might save her.

  “I’ll get you a safe house,” Pike growled, and the woman cowered as he stood over her. She held her arm close. One of her heels was missing and her bare foot was starting to swell.

  “I don’t know who those kids are!” she shrieked, then dissolved into a sobbing babble.

  “Where’s Kip?” I said, and his angry frown quirked into a grin to tell me the small woman was okay.

  “Following two undead.” Leaning, he looked down the stairway. “There’s a secondary tunnel. If she can identify them—”

  “She can’t best the undead!” I interrupted. “Hell, I can hardly best the undead!”

  “Nice you know your limits,” came a low voice from the door, and I spun, my rising splat gun falling. It was Doyle. His focus was on the kids, and I could tell he was as angry as we were.

  Seeing him, the woman at the bed made a sudden dive for freedom, shrieking as Doyle snagged her with an impossibly fast hand. Slamming her face-first into the wall, he held her there as he shouted the Miranda and Pike zip-stripped her hands behind her back. They released her together, and she fell into a despondent, sobbing pile of expensive linen and silk.

  Annoyed, I dragged my purse from the bed and slung it over my shoulder before Doyle claimed it was evidence and took it. “Nice of you to show up,” I muttered, and his neck went red.