My steps were slow in thought as I went into the church. Steam flowed from under the bathroom door, and I heard the chug-chug of the washer as I went by. The entire church smelled like witch, Were, vampire, and fabric softener. A small gathering of people were clustered in the sanctuary, chatting pleasantly as they worked on preparing dinner for whoever showed up. I had no idea where the groceries were coming from, and I gave them a thankful wave as I headed for the foyer, leaving an excited, whispering conversation in my wake. It was really weird. I had no idea who these people were, but they were doing what needed to be done, and I appreciated it. Me, the demon subrosa? This is going to go just great.
The door to the belfry staircase groaned as I opened it, and I made a point to hit every squeaky board on the way up, not wanting to burst in on Pike and Etude unannounced, but really, the gargoyle had probably been following my progress since I left the back deck.
“Etude? Pike?” Tapping my knuckle on the door, I went in. “You both awake?”
“Seriously?” Pike said from the fainting couch. “You think I’m going to nap?”
My gaze went from Pike reclining on the couch where Trent had moved him to Etude watching him through the window. “Thanks, Etude. Did he give you any trouble?”
“No.” Etude’s low voice rumbled to make the bell over our heads resonate. “We talked about sunrises and my youngest son so he couldn’t hear your conversation. It’s a good idea.”
A flash of guilt rose, vanishing at Etude’s steadfast belief in me. Back stiff, I turned to Pike, my hands on my hips. “Hi, Pike.”
Pike made a low growl of unease. “I don’t like the sound of that,” he said, and Etude’s laugh rumbled through me like distant thunder.
My hand touched the vials through my pocket, and I remembered the pain of turning into a mink to raid the I.S. files, and then, later, caught in Trent’s office and tormented. I can do this. Uneasy, I shoved his legs over so I could sit beside him and he could see me without straining.
“Sorry about the extended immobility.” Start with an apology. Nice, Rachel. That’s sure to impress him, I thought sourly. “Congratulations. You convinced me to leave Cincinnati,” I added lightly.
Pike’s eyes were pupil dark, but it wasn’t as if he could move. “I did, huh?”
“Yep.” I grabbed his shoulders and, straining, hauled him up a few more inches. “And this afternoon, you and I are going to walk right in the front door of the I.S. and down to Constance to tell her. Your attempt to seduce and bind me failed, but you did manage to convince me to concede Cincinnati to Constance nevertheless.”
“Okay. No,” Pike said, clearly not liking me manhandling him up like that, even if his chin was no longer crunched against his chest. “That’s not going to happen. And if you spell me to force me into it, her people will be able to tell I’m under duress. You will be her toy until she tires of you, and then you will be mine. If I can keep her from killing you outright.”
My thoughts flashed to Joni, her lipstick smeared into a smile, tears of fear streaking her face. “Did you not just hear me say you win?” I stifled a jump when Jenks darted in the open window. “I see the error of my ways, blah, blah, blah. All I want is compensation for having to move.” I rubbed my finger and thumb together, and Pike frowned.
“Good try,” he said, his black gaze dangerous and following Jenks as the pixy went to sit with Bis. “You’re a distraction so Kalamack can steal his Brimstone. Obviously.”
I beamed at him, resisting the urge to tweak his chin. “Come on, Pike,” I wheedled. “You’d be helping free Cincinnati from Constance.”
“I want her to hold Cincinnati. The stronger she is, the safer I am.”
Etude shifted his bulk, his nails scraping the new shingles. “You look safe where you are, little shadow,” he rumbled, and Jenks snickered.
Maybe short term, I thought. The woman had crossed from undead crazy to can’t-work-with-this crazy. “I need that Brimstone to keep Cincinnati from siding with Constance,” I said, knowing he didn’t care. “But if you need convincing, don’t forget that you already told her you broke me. If you don’t bring me in for her to gloat over and parade on TV, she’s going to skin you alive and lap the blood from every inch of you.”
“I never told her that,” Pike said, but his confidence faltered as I took his cracked phone off the dresser, held it to his face to unlock it, and then began to scroll.
“Sure you did,” I said as I studied the pictures of people he’d been talking with lately, memorizing their names in case we ran into them. There was Vince, a squat man with bulging muscles and a mustache. Someone named Kip, thin with white hair and a fresh, young face that most of the older vamps found too young to appreciate. Shawn, a muscular blond, and Leigh, who could be his brother. And finally, Constance herself, who didn’t have a picture, but instead an icon of a red-hot chili pepper. It was weird. Constance’s camarilla seemed to be borrowed from everyone else. There was no theme here, which was unusual for so old an undead. Perhaps she kept bleeding her children to death and had to adopt unwanted children from other lines. It might explain what Pike was doing with her. God . . . what an ugly thought.
“What are you doing?” Pike asked as I opened Constance’s thread and began typing.
“Congratulations, Pike. You just convinced me to kiss Constance’s ass through good old-fashioned threats. You did it without biting me, though. Points for me.” Fingers shifting, I typed in that “I” had been successful and was bringing Rachel in at five thirty, right before the six o’clock news. “I bet she could even arrange a news conference at the I.S. to hear my statement. I’m even willing to try to convince Zack to do the same thing if she gives me enough money to relocate,” I added, planting the seed that would get me in with the kid. A few more taps, and my smile widened. “A-a-a-and done!”
“She won’t believe that,” he said, but his phone was already vibrating.
“She doesn’t have to,” I said as I looked to see it was Constance. “All I need is her distracted for thirty minutes.” Eyes down, I typed back that I, being Pike, was busy.
Pike’s brow was furrowed when I set the phone back on the dresser and smiled. “She’s going to give me hell for not taking that call,” he said.
“Sorry?”
His breath came faster. “It’s not too late to make that text real. Come on, Rachel. I don’t know what you think you can accomplish here,” he said, but I wasn’t the one immobilized on the fainting couch. “Soon as you reach the I.S., you will be strapped and helpless.”
“Like that hasn’t happened before.” I stood up, hands on my knees as I loomed over him. “Sure, Constance is a bitch and no one wants to cross her—much less talk to her—but I probably know more people involved in the nitty-gritty of the I.S. than you and she combined ever will. You have a point, though.” I fixed his lapels, and his eyes darkened in anger. “I can’t drive Constance out unless Cincinnati gets behind me. And for that, I need the Brimstone on the street, not locked up in I.S. evidence, doled out to only those who follow her.”