Chapter Twenty-Eight

The vivid maroons and contrasting golds of the carpet had dulled to a gray smudge under the choking dust from broken concrete. It didn't help that the light was almost nonexistent as I strode through the hotel lobby, the ambient sun not able to reach deep enough into the large building to make a difference. Everywhere around me, people were quietly crying, whispering, or staring blankly as they huddled under yellow blankets pulled from hotel rooms, sitting against the walls or in informal groups in the middle of the floor. It was quiet. There were no more decisions to be made. They were down to just existing, shocked into a blank state, their minds as dull as the carpet, coated with the remnants of destruction. It stank of cracked rock and terror that had lost its ability to motivate.

But as I headed for the sun past the glass doors, a head lifted, awareness seeping in to show their individual fears and thoughts, like my feet pulling the dust from the carpet, leaving a bright and shiny trail of where I'd been. My jaw set and my arms swung a little harder. Demon witch. Clearly I'd been recognized, and I squared my shoulders. So I was a demon. Suck it up and deal with it. I was going to save their asses.

"Don't pay them any mind," Pierce said as he paced beside me, his dusty coat almost the same color as the carpet, the sooty gray fading as it rose until it regained its original brown at his shoulders. "They're scared."

"So am I," I admitted, staring straight ahead. I was scared and angry that Ku'Sox had been holding Ivy and Jenks for three days, hurting them to ensure I'd come to him. At least my mother was okay, having been in jail when Ku'Sox destroyed a huge chunk of San Francisco. She was still there, thank God, but at least now she knew I was back in reality. For a while.

Al, too, knew what I was up to. I don't know why I made them give me my scrying mirror so I could tell him I was okay, except that he had seemed worried, and that was a new emotion from him-at least where my welfare was concerned. I had sneezed for five solid minutes after I told him I wasn't waiting until dark to confront Ku'Sox and hung up on him, but that had been an hour ago, and he'd given up.

My scrying mirror was now in Vivian's care, but my magnetic chalk was tucked in my jeans pocket along with a couple of zip strips. I also had one of the coven's splat guns, its hopper full of charms I doubted would work at the beach we were headed to, but maybe Ku'Sox ducking them might buy me some time. Other than that, I didn't have much, having turned down the bits and bobs that Oliver grudgingly laid out for me. I didn't need his magic. Didn't trust it. Ku'Sox could take everything Oliver had and bathe in it. My intent wasn't to kill Ku'Sox. My intent was to hold on to him long enough to shift the curse. And survive. I wanted to survive, too.

My jaw ached, and I forced my teeth to unclench as I headed for the bright doors. Behind me, Vivian and Oliver trailed, creating a wake of whispers of their own. Why they were coming was obvious, but they were going to be little help other than as cannon fodder. I didn't care about Oliver, but I didn't want to be responsible for Vivian.

Pierce hustled to open the door ahead of me, but I stiff-armed the panel next to it. The door flung open, and a blast of sunshine hit me. It was like a smack, and I stood there, blinded, almost crying. The sun. I could hear sirens in the distance, and helicopters thumping, but I turned to the sky and smiled, blinding myself. Why had I ever wanted sunglasses to block this out? It had been only three days. Only a few hours if you considered that most of that time I'd been unconscious. But the warmth soaked into me as if I'd been in prison for years.

My gaze came down, and I knew I was still carrying my smile when Pierce stared at me, standing beside a black van with an I.S. logo on it, its side door open and waiting. Vivian and Oliver were already inside, arguing over who got the two forward-facing seats. Another black car with lights on it waited ahead, a third vehicle behind. The street was pretty much empty apart from the chunks of stray concrete and bits of paper. We were to have an escort to the drop zone. I looked up again, seeing three gulls gliding to the bay.

"Rachel?"

I pulled my eyes from the sky when a dark building hid the birds. Heart heavy, I trudged to the van, not a charm or spell in my possession. Not looking at anyone, I stepped in. Vivian and Oliver had taken the seats facing backward, so I took the one across from Vivian. It was next to a wide, square window, and I sat pressed up against the cold wall of the van, again searching the sky for the birds.

The thump of the door closing sent a shock through me, and the wonderful smell of redwood grew thick as Pierce sat close, leaving a wide gap between him and the door. "Let's move," Oliver said sourly, and the van inched forward. Through the big front window, I watched as the lights began to flash on the lead car, and we pulled out, quiet and peaceful-like a death march.

I sat and stared out the window. The gulls had reappeared from behind the building, and I propped the window open to watch them. Oliver complained; no one listened. The birds were beautiful, their stark white and black cutting across the blue as they screamed at one another, their voices echoing among the silent, broken buildings. It was quiet, the hush spoiled as the van's tires popped and crunched over the scattered debris.

Pierce touched my hand, trying to get my attention, but I didn't look away from the birds.

Ku'Sox held my friends hostage. I had nothing to fight him with except a curse I didn't know how to twist. Vivian and Oliver weren't going to be a help. Pierce might be, but I wasn't going to count on it.

The birds vanished behind another building, and I turned to Pierce when he squeezed my hand. He seemed different, older, tired, dirty. His hand atop mine was scraped from moving rocks, his fingernails split and knuckles gashed. His hair was gray from the dust. His youthful, never-say die determination was wearing thin. And yet, as his hand gripped mine, his first words were "Are you okay?"

Anger flashed, but his grip tightened on me when I tried to pull away. "My friends are bait in a trap for me, I've been unconscious for three days in Al's kitchen, the city that cursed me is asking for my help, and you want to know if I'm okay?"

"Al hurt you?" Pierce asked, his eyes flashing, and I shook my head.

"He..." I hesitated. "He kept me safe after I proved to the collective that I was a demon," I said, not looking as Vivian gasped and Oliver harrumphed as if he'd known it all along. I didn't like the fact that the driver was hearing this, too, but there it was.

Pierce thought about that, his brow wrinkling even more until he smoothed it when he turned to face me squarely. "And you're okay?" he asked again, and I didn't say anything. No, I wasn't okay. Fine maybe. Yeah, I was fine. Fucked in Extreme, as Ivy would say.

The car swerved to avoid another stalled vehicle, and I reached to steady myself so I wouldn't lean into Pierce, reclaiming my hand in the process. The blue Land Rover had been abandoned when a two-ton chunk of someone's living room had fallen on the hood. Bet that had been a nasty surprise.

We were heading down to the bay, and I caught a glimpse of it, sparkling in the quiet sun. My lungs filled and emptied. The blank faces at the hotel nudged into my thoughts. They'd called for my blood, chanted to give Trent the collective strength to slide Ku'Sox's curse off on to me. The collective...

Crap, I thought, almost groaning as I figured it out. Could I be any more stupid? I'd forgotten the collective! That's why the curse hadn't stuck! The Latin was right; the implementation was flawed. I'd tried to shift the curse alone, and something that far-reaching needed a collective to make it adhere! I needed a witches' collective. I needed the strength only a group of witches could give me.

My eyes narrowed, and my chest tightened. Yeah. Like they would help me now? But it was worth a shot.

"Rachel?"

I started, almost shocked to see Pierce sitting beside me, concern in the slant of his eyes. From the beginnings of hope, I found a smile. "You have dirt on your nose," I said, reaching to wipe it away. I hadn't touched anyone in three days, and at the feel of his warm skin against my fingers, an unexpected welling up of tears threatened. I didn't love him, but I could have, if things had been different.

"It will be okay," Pierce said softly, his hand coming up to cradle mine, between us. His grip on me was solid, real, and I felt guilty that I was reaching out for his support when I knew he loved me and I didn't love him. But I felt so alone; I couldn't let go.

"Tomorrow the sun will rise. He's just a demon," Pierce said, making things worse.

A demon who held my friends hostage. Sniffing, I glanced out the window at the sun. Empty streets. The boats at the docks with their SEE THE WHALES signs flashed past. "Do I stink?" I whispered, and his grip on my hand twitched. I looked away, not needing his answer. I figured as much. With everything else that was going on, I was worried about how I smelled? But it mattered.

"I pay it no mind. You've been in the ever-after. I hardly notice it anymore."

Why was he being so nice to me? I didn't deserve it. But I needed it. Taking a breath, I softly said, "Thank you for helping me." I looked up, encompassing Vivian and Oliver. "All of you."

Oliver snorted. "If we could do anything, we wouldn't have summoned you," he said. "I'm here only to make sure you don't run away."

Vivian frowned at him to be quiet. "What do you need?" she asked, taking her cell phone out of an inner coat pocket. "Anything at all."

The car turned, and the new coven pin on Pierce's lapel caught the sun, sending little gleams of light about the car like the flashes of Jenks's wings. I looked at Vivian's phone as she waited for my answer. My heart clenched in pain. Her phone was so small, all black and silver with tiny little buttons that would do everything but make you a smoothie. Ivy would love it.

I closed my eyes as I tried not to cry. Damn it, demons didn't cry, even when their friends were being held by a psychotic nutcase.

When my eyes opened, they landed on the driver's in the rearview mirror. I was sure he was some I.S. goon they'd dug up somewhere and that he'd go back to his boss with whatever I said. Just as well. I wanted them to hear this, too. "Trent gave me a curse," I started, and Pierce smiled.

"I was there," he said, trying for a light air and failing. In his eyes was his remembered anger at how they had made him helpless. "It's of no never mind."

I licked my lips, glancing past Vivian and Oliver to the driver. "He gave it to me to give to Ku'Sox so I can banish him to the ever-after for good, but I need a collective to make it stick."

Vivian's gaze became sharp on mine. "He planned this? Then why did he leave?"

Trent was gone? Crap, maybe I was wrong.

"Ku'Sox must be killed, not banished," Pierce said tightly. "The elven bastard will simply summon him again. I'm of a mind that the double-crossing scoundrel is the one summoning him now."

"We're not clearing your name if the demon can come back!" Oliver blustered.

"I don't think I can kill Ku'Sox," I said, glaring at Pierce. "And second, Ku'Sox is here on his own, unsummoned. He's special, created after the ever-after and not bound to it or to the pull of the sun. The demons don't want him, which was why he was banished here by using the same curse Trent gave me. Trent figured you wouldn't hold to our agreement at the FIB last spring. That's why he freed Ku'Sox. Trent thinks I can best him. Slide the curse onto the insane nutcase." My eyes went to Oliver, holding his. "After you promised me my citizenship, of course. This whole thing is your fault, Oliver."

Oliver took a breath. "Kalamack freed Ku'Sox!"

"You stupid...political...bastard!" Vivian exclaimed.

I shrugged, looking out the window to see that we were down by the waterfront and the tourist traps. When Trent wanted something, he didn't care who got hurt to get it. "He freed Ku'Sox because he knew Oliver wouldn't keep his promise unless forced to," I said, not sure how I felt about it. "Trent promised me my freedom, and Ku'Sox is his leverage."

"You can't make this my fault," Oliver protested, and Vivian rounded on him.

"Shut up, you oversexed, flabby warlock!" she shouted, and the driver glanced back at us through the rearview mirror. "This is your doing! All of it! If you'd just kept to what you promised her instead of trying to soothe your ego by bringing her down, half the city wouldn't be destroyed, Leon wouldn't need therapy, and Wyatt and Amanda would still be alive!"

"You cannot blame this on me!" Oliver exclaimed, and Vivian glared at him.

"I do," she growled, "and if any of us survive, I'm bringing you down. Count on it." Breathing fast, she looked back at me, flushed. Oliver gaped like a fish, shocked. And Pierce snickered. "Thousands of lives," Pierce said, his voice soft. "And the free world left in jeopardy if you should fail. Trent must believe most powerfully that you can put Ku'Sox back in his place." The young-looking but wise witch glanced at Oliver. "And by that you win your freedom, no matter what they call you, Rachel."

My breath slipped from me in a puff of sound. It was hard not to be flattered. All of this to make good on his promise to me? Trent was still a murdering drug lord, but he had honor. Not to mention a huge disrespect for innocent lives.

"If I can curse Ku'Sox and dump him in the ever-after, then we can all go back to being who we want to be," I said, then mentally added, Sort of. I'd still be a day-walking demon, but at least I would be in reality again. Vivian's expression eased, and I added, "I'm tired of being nice, though. If you ever screw me over again or piss me off, I'm letting him out."

"That's blackmail!" Oliver exclaimed.

Stiffening, Pierce turned to him, but before he could say anything, the van stopped with a tight squeal of brakes. My hand went out to stop my momentum, but Pierce was faster, holding me back from falling on Vivian. As one, we all looked to the front.

The unassuming-looking driver had unbuckled his seat belt and turned to us. His face was thin, and his expression from under his straggly brown hair severe. And his eyes...had gone vampire black. I shivered, feeling an ancient force take over the car, vampire incense filling me to overflowing. I stifled a shiver, a hand against my neck. Shit, this guy wasn't a driver. This guy was I.S. Inderland Security.

"Oliver," the man said, his voice causing ripples of sensation across my skin, "we at the I.S. think you've fucked this up far enough. If Rachel permanently eliminates the threat of this day-walking demon, no one will care if she's the queen of the damned and eats live kittens for breakfast in front of kindergarteners. You will leave her alone, or you will find yourself disgraced."

"Who the hell are you?" Oliver spouted, red faced, but he was scared. So was I.

Vivian flicked her eyes from Oliver to the driver, inching away from Oliver. Pierce, too, was staring with openmouthed awe. I just wanted to get out of this car before the vampire toxins sunk in my neck had me throwing myself at the guy. He was a living vampire, seeing as the sun was still up, but he was channeling a dead one. A really powerful, really old dead one.

"I'm your downfall, Oliver," the man said, and I shivered. "If you push, I will be on you with bodies in your pool and satanic symbols etched into your children's foreheads. But if all you put your faith in is titles, then I am the acting head of the I.S. west of the Mississippi, and as it stands, your coven is useless." His eyes went to mine, and a small sound slipped out. "You need to replace them with people not afraid to get dirty for the greater good."

I didn't think he was talking about the rock dust, and I smiled, letting it fade when he glanced at me.

"We're as close as we dare get," he said, and my pulse pounded when he leaned between Oliver and Vivian to take my unresisting hand in his. Pierce bristled, and amusement danced in the man's black eyes. "We at the I.S. wish you luck, demon. Letting you wallow amid mediocrity was our error." He looked at Oliver, then back to me. "Our grave error. Good hunting, Rachel."

It took me three times, but I stammered, "Th-thank you." Oh God. If I could pull this off, the I.S. would be...well, they'd probably not be on my side, but I'd probably not be on their hit list anymore. They'd grant me respect, maybe? Oh crap. Did I want their respect? They'd probably want me to do stuff for them.

The vampire kissed the top of my hand-and a thrill of desire spiraled through me, pulled into existence by a slip of teeth and the scent of incense. And then...he was gone, his door thumping shut behind him and his quickly moving figure getting into the first car. It drove away fast, the car behind us following. Silence crept in my open window, and fresh air coming right off the bay. We'd passed the chocolate factory on the way in, and I thought I could smell it.

"I'm not getting out of this van," Oliver said.

Vivian's brow furrowed. "Got that right," she said tightly, and then I gasped when she hauled off and hit him square in the jaw.

Pierce cried out, but it was over and the man had slumped to the door, out cold. Vivian was wringing her hand, eyes tearing as she held her red knuckles. A charm must have been involved because she hadn't hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious. "That hurt," she gasped, smiling. "Damn, I'm going to pay for that when the charm wears off, but it felt really good. He's such a prick."

Just three of us, then, I thought, glad of it. Oliver would have messed it up.

A quiver went through me. It was time.