“Take the cloth!” I exclaimed. “Burn it! Now!”
Cormel reached out, hand drawing back as if afraid to touch him.
“Oh, for Tink’s ever-humping loving,” Jenks swore, darting down and snatching the silk off Felix.
“Burn it!” I cried out, struggling against Trent’s arms as a thin ribbon of aura trailed from Felix, mixing with Jenks’s dust as he flew to the candle.
“No!” Felix howled, back arched and searching, and then the cloth hit the flame. It went up in a flash. Jenks darted to safety. Felix collapsed, sobbing, but it was different this time, broken, relieved, full of pain. His soul was trapped in him. This wasn’t going to be good.
I can do better than this, I thought, shaking as Ivy came to my mind. She wouldn’t have such a hard time of it since she hadn’t been dead for two centuries.
Cormel inched closer to Felix. “Is it done?” he asked, and I nodded, only now realizing that I was still in Trent’s arms.
His hold was tight in fear, and I looked up at him, seeing the stress in the lines by his eyes. “I’m okay,” I said, and he let go fast.
Jenks hovered close, eyeing me sharply. “You sure?”
My knees felt funny and my head was humming, but I nodded. Cormel dropped to his knees before Felix as the vampire sat up, hands shaking and tears of regret and guilt spilling down his cheeks. This was not going to end well. Ivy would handle this better.
“Rachel is okay,” Bis said, but he was still black in fear as he jumped to my shoulder, his tail wrapping tightly around me. I couldn’t feel the lines at all, and for the first time, I was glad of it. I shouldn’t have wrested the Goddess’s power from her, even if I gave it right back. She was going to start looking for me again, changed aura or not.
“Okay, Rache is all right, but what about him?” Jenks said, and we turned to Felix. My stomach hurt as Felix sobbed, sitting up and trying to wipe his eyes with his bound hands. His bare feet on the carpet looked odd with his business slacks and pressed shirt. It had worked. The real question was, would he survive its success?
“You can let him go,” I said, my voice sounding ragged to my ears. I was suddenly fatigued, and I waved off Trent’s help as I sat down. Buddy was gone. Smart dog. Are my hands sparkling, or is it my imagination? “He’s got his soul,” I added, though it was obvious. For better or worse, he had his soul, and it seemed to be working. Ivy . . .
“She is not okay!” Jenks snarled, and Trent leaned closer to the hovering pixy.
“Yes she is,” he insisted. “Look at her.”
“I am, cookie farts. She’s not okay!”
Bis leaned to put his face next to mine. “You’re okay, Rachel. I can tell.”
But I wasn’t sure how he knew. I started shaking, the entirety of the evening coming down hard. The Goddess had recognized me and my mystics had found me. She’d be on the lookout now. I’d be lucky if I could even use the lines.
“Where is Ivy?” I said, and Cormel looked up from where he still knelt with Felix. I didn’t like the hunger in his eyes. It wasn’t for blood, it was for his soul, and I held my breath, ready to move though every part of me was pained and sluggish.
Trent moved to get between us. “It’s done,” he said firmly, Jenks hovering beside him to create a united front. “She paid her and Ivy’s debt. Give us a token that you free them.”
Cormel turned to Felix, and my lips parted when Felix finally looked up. His eyes held sorrow, but there was hope, too. “I am me,” he said, voice broken. “I am whole.” Eyes shining with tears, he clung to Cormel. “I don’t hunger! Rynn, it’s gone! The ache is gone.” His head dropped. “Let them go. If she can do this, any witch can.”
Cormel stood. Trent shifted, becoming a threatening shadow in the flickering candlelight. “I want my soul. He’s whole and undamaged. Do it now!”
“I did what I promised,” I said, taking Trent’s arm so I could stand up, awkward because of Bis’s weight, slight as it was. “You know how to find your souls. I’m not going to do it.”
“You refuse me?” Cormel shouted, and Felix looked up, blinking.
“Find someone else!” I said, tentatively tapping a line and breathing in relief when I felt no change, no recognition. “I’m not the only demon in existence. Talk to one of them,” I said softly. “You can’t afford me anymore.”
Cormel’s eyes narrowed, black in the shadow light. “Perhaps. Remember you said that.”
What did he mean by that? I wondered as Cormel helped Felix to his feet. The once-powerful vampire was falling apart. Only time would tell if he could piece himself back together.
“I want a token that our agreement is fulfilled,” I demanded, leaning heavily on Trent. “If you threaten Ivy or myself, you’ll find out what it is to face a free demon, Cormel, and you’ll lose.”
He hardly even gave me a glance as he helped Felix to the door.
“Cormel!” I shouted, and he flung the door open. My anger evaporated. Ivy was there, Nina supporting her. Surrounding them were his men, all of them frustrated that they’d been commanded to stay out.
“Here is your token,” Cormel said, his teeth clenched. “We are done, Morgan. You and Ivy owe me nothing, and I owe you the same.”
Ivy hung in Nina’s grip, eyes dark as she took in my ragged state and Felix’s slumped weariness. The light of possibilities was in her eyes, and Nina was flushed and breathless. Buddy came from the bedroom at the sound of the door opening, and he trotted to Trent.
“Don’t come back to me,” Cormel said, his expression empty as he looked at Ivy, Felix hanging on his arm. “I will not see you.”
Ivy blinked fast, and Nina pulled her out of the way when Cormel gracefully carried Felix through the door. Immediately his aides descended upon them, and in a shockingly short time, they were down the stairs and gone.
“He has his soul?” Ivy finally asked, and I nodded, stiff as I forced myself to move. Where’s my bag?
“I’m so tired,” I breathed as I found it and shuffled to the door, not protesting when Trent scooped me up.
“I told you she shouldn’t do that dumb charm,” Jenks muttered, and I tried to focus. Bis. Where had Bis gone?
“She’s just tired,” Trent said, then more stridently, “No, we’re not taking the dog.”