White Witch, Black Curse

"Ivy," I breathed, seeing her down and unmoving. Mia was kneeling beside her with her back to me, her blue coat spread, looking like the wings of a bird covering her prey. Staggering, I started for them, yelling, "Get away from her!"

Remus got there first, and with one hand, he yanked Mia up.

"Let me go!" the woman yelled, fighting him, but he dragged her to Tom's running car, opening the passenger-side door and nearly throwing her in. Holly's crying competed with the jail's alarm system, but her cries became faint when Remus handed her to Mia and slammed the door. Giving me a sour look, he paced to the other side and got in. The engine roared. Tom rolled out of the way as Remus gunned it, headed for the road. Frozen slush pelted us, and they were gone.

Feeling as if my heart was going to explode, I got to Ivy, and fell to kneel in the pressed snow. "Oh my God, Ivy. Ivy!" I exclaimed, turning her over and pulling her upright, against me. Her head lolled, and her eyes were shut. Her skin was pale, and her hair was in her face. "Don't you leave me, Ivy! I can't live with you being dead!" I shouted. "Ivy, you hear me?"

Oh God. Please no. Why do I have to live like this?

Tears were falling from me, and I choked back a sob when her eyes opened. They were brown, and I rejoiced. She wasn't dead, or undead, or whatever. White and pale, she looked up at me, eyes glassy and not seeing. In her grip was a faded purple ribbon with a coin laced on it. Her fingers gripped it as if it was life itself, holding on with a white-knuckled strength. "I got it back," she rasped, victory in her vacant gaze. "She doesn't deserve love."

The building behind us was still making that awful noise, and I could hear men coming this way. Ivy took a breath, then another. "I need…Rachel?" she whispered, and then her focus on me cleared. "Shit," she breathed, and I held her closer, rocking her and knowing she was still alive. She hadn't died, and I wasn't holding an undead.

"You're going to be all right," I said, not knowing if it was the truth. She looked so pale.

"I'm not. I have to have it," Ivy said, and I looked at her, seeing the tears making tracks down her face and her fangs wet with saliva. It was obvious what she was talking about. Blood. She needed blood. Vampires were the banshee's closest relative, and they had a way to replenish auras. They took them in when they fed. Ivy needed blood.

Unafraid, I pulled her farther up off the pavement, and she started to cry in earnest, knowing she couldn't be the person she wanted and mourning the loss of a dream. "I wanted to be clean, but I can't," she said as I rocked her. "Every time I try to be someone else, I fail. I need it," she said, eyes glowing black. "But not you. Not you," she begged even as her eyes started to dilate and her hunger took hold. "I'd rather die than have you give me your blood. I love you, Rachel. Don't give me your blood. Promise me—you won't give me your blood."

"You're going to be all right," I said, frantic. I could smell antifreeze from the busted Chevy, and the faint smell of hot engine was fading.

"Promise me," she said, trying to touch my face. "I don't want you to give me your blood. Promise me, damn it!"

Shit. I looked up, only now seeing the flashlights and the men behind them. My bag with my keys was across the aisle. "I promise."

There was a crunching of boots on ice, and from behind me came an authoritative "Ma'am, get away from the woman. Lie down and put your face on the pavement! Keep your fingers spread and where I can see them!"

Face wet with tears, I looked up and behind me into the bright security lights, seeing a big shadow behind it. "Go ahead and shoot me!" I screamed. "I'm not letting go of her!"

"Ma'am," the voice said, and the light dropped to Ivy, then back to me.

"She's been hurt!" I exclaimed. "I was just in your offices, you idiots. Check your security tapes. You know who I am. You watched the entire thing. You think I ran that jack-shit car into myself!"

"Ma'am—" he tried again.

I started to get up, dragging Ivy with me. "If you call me that one more time," I huffed, straining until I got her upright, leaning against the SUV.

"Down! Get down!" someone shouted.

A boom shifted the air, and I jerked Ivy closer, managing to keep both of us on our feet. The man with the light turned it toward the sound of the explosion. Men and women were shouting, and the guy with the light looked ticked off that he wasn't involved. A purplish green haze of Tom's aura covered a nearby decorated tree, and my stomach turned as the tree started to steam and dissolve. The holiday lights flickered and went out. Holy crap! What had Al taught him?